Day 10: Newport to Florence, OR

Yesterday's rest day in Newport, OR was a welcome break after 5 days of riding.  After a leisurely breakfast I sat in the hotel's jacuzzi for 30 minutes before strolling down to Nye Beach for a well-deserved massage. By 2 pm, I was a new woman.  After a short nap at the hotel, I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and doing laundry. By 9 pm I was in bed dreaming of warm sunny days of riding still to come.  

Today's ride to Florence, OR was only 55 miles. Unfortunately, I had some work to complete and I decided to take a "bump up" to the first sag stop so that I could work. We stopped at a cute little cafe with free wifi where I was able to enjoy a latte while working. I ended up enjoying myself so much that I decided to hitch a ride with our guide the rest of the way into Florence. I feel a little guilty, but as I sit at the Maple Street Grill in Old Town Florence enjoying a salmon caesar salad I'm convinced I made the right decision. Its good to be able to catch-up on a backlog of email and update my blog. Besides, there are still plenty of days of riding ahead and an additional day of rest is always a good thing.  

A latte break at a roadside cafe.

View of the Oregon coast from the turnout at Sea Lion Cave.

Another beautiful view of the Oregon coast.

Sea Lion Cave.  You can take an elevator down to the actual gave, but the guide at the visitors center told us the sea lions weren't around today so I didn't see the point of paying $12 to ride an elevator down to see an empty cave. 

A view of Sea Lion Cave (courtesy the internet)

Sand dunes in Florence, OR

Below is a map of today's route. For much of Oregon we will be riding straight down 101. The good news is that the road is in good condition, the bad news is that it is heavily travelled which means sharing the road with lots of motorists.

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