Waldport, OR to Washburn State Park - 21 grueling miles
We had an easy morning with a short 2 mile ride to church. When we arrived, we found out that today was their branch primary program. For as long as I can remember, the primary program has been one of my favorite Sundays of the year. Adorableness, pure innocence, nervousness and unforeseen mishaps always combine for a healthy dose of sabbath appropriate entertainment. The Waldport Branch primary did not disappoint.
My favorite part about this particular program was watching Bins. Since we may not be home in time for our own primary program, Bins decided to participate. Whenever the primary sang a song at a different tempo or sang slightly different words than he had learned, he made sure to let us know his disapproval or surprise with his facial expressions. Considering he had never practiced with this primary, he did great. He even took his turn at the end of the program to tell the congregation at the microphone one thing that he likes to do with his family. "Right now I like to go on bike rides with my family from Canada to Mexico." Tan sat with Stephen and me and sang along with some of the songs.
We planned a short day of riding since we only had half the day, but it ended up as hard as any other day we have had. The wind blew so fiercely it could have blown us back to the Washington border if we were headed in the opposite direction. We did have 1 mile when a row of trees between us and ocean was taking the beating for us, but apart from that we battled a head wind for 4 hours.
It's fun to stop and look north along the folded coastline and know that we have biked as far as the eye can see. Freedom! That's what I feel on a bike. My own body and a piece of equipment I can lift in my hands got me to that point... will get me all the way from Canada to Mexico.
When we started this adventure, some people thought it was pretty gutsy, even reckless, to attempt such a ride. Today we were passed by a couple that started biking this summer in Alaska. They plan to take an entire year and end in Argentina. Suddenly the length of the United States pales in comparison to their ride from border to border to border to border... you get the idea. It's not tempting to me though. I'll stick with touching just 2 ports of entry. Don't worry Mom and Dad, we won't be checking out for an entire year. We'll see you sometime before Thanksgiving.
