August 21 Crossing America

Florence OR – Reedsport distance 20 miles.
Total distance traveled through today 4,504 miles, 3,836 on a bike.

One of many Lighthouses along the Oregon Coast

Today Larry had to go back home in order to work tomorrow.  As a convenience to me he arranged to ride a bus from Reedsport to Eugene where he’ll take the Amtrak to Seattle.  That was very considerate and nice as I don’t know how I’d been able to take him all the way home and get back to meet my hosts for the next couple nights, Suzy and Ed.  In addition Dale is driving in to SAG for me the rest of the way down the coast.  We are then going to meet Jack and Connie who are vacationing here on the west coast and made special arrangements for a get together tonight.  Gees! I feel like a celebrity with Jack and Connie taking time from their vacation to meet in Bandon.  They are from Florida and have been avid followers of my journal.

The ride from Florence to Reedsport was relatively flat allowing me to complete the 20 miles in an hour and 40 minutes.  I arrived shortly before the bus arrived to pick up Larry.  I did have concern there was going to be a bus as I stopped at the Chamber of Commerce office in Reedsport and the gal running the office was adamant there was no bus stopping in Reedsport on Sunday and showed me a bus schedule to prove she was right.  The GPS map on my iPhone showed the address Larry gave for the bus stop was a 7-Eleven store.  When I stopped there the clerk had no idea what I was talking about regards to the store being a bus stop.  I tried to phone Larry but only got his voice mail.  Thus I kept riding through town until I came to Jimmy’s X-Presso coffee shop, that’s where the gal at the Chamber office told me was the bus stop.  Sure enough Larry was there and the bus arrived only 10 minutes late.  Thank goodness.

After Larry was on the bus, I drove to Bandon to meet my hosts.  Bandon is one of the prettiest towns I’ve passed through in Oregon.  The bike route leads you along the seashore, where there is a small port, beaches and of course the usual tourist shops.  Suzy’s directions to her home were excellent as I made it without a wrong turn.  I did have hesitation when the paved road ended into a dirt lane but Suzy had told me about it.  Voila!  At the end of the lane there was Suzy and Ed’s place.  Very nice indeed, two story home with floor to ceiling windows over looking a private lake.  How peaceful and beautiful, I think I just stopped in a little bit of paradise.  Suzy came out of the house as I got out of the car and gave me a warm welcome to her home.  We walked around the place, met her four chickens and then went for a brief stroll through the woods to meet Ed who was completely gutting and renovating a summer home he lived in and helped build back in the sixties.  How quaint, Ed and Suzy had both vacationed here in neighboring homes during their youth but weren’t lovers until a few years ago.

Dale arrived about 3 PM and we barely had time to introduce him to Suzy and Ed before heading out to meet our CLCHS classmates Jack and Connie.  They met us at the front entrance of the Inn they were staying.  Jack the always good humor guy said, “Look you’re famous we found this laying on the counter inside”.  It was a collage of pictures of me on my adventure which Jack had done.  Thanks Jack you had me there for a few moments.  Thank you too, for doing the collage it was very thoughtful of you.

What an evening, the hours flew by catching up with each others lives over the years.  All too soon it was time to say good bye to Jack and Connie the consolation I will be able to visit with them a couple days while on the East coast stage of my journey.  They are as friendly and nice as I remember from our high school days.  No make that even nicer.  Jack shared with me he was truly inspired to get back on his bicycle and ride regularly after reading my journal entries.  He had major back issues and thought his riding days were over but he gave it a try and is now riding on a regular basis.  In fact, he plans to ride with me a day or two on the East Coast.  I look forward to riding with him probably more than he with me as I too am inspired by folks with a positive attitude.  Jack thank you for inspiring me to continue my journey.

A great evening with friends. L-R: Jack, Connie, Me and Dale

Follow