August 30, 1997
Florence, Oregon, USA


Yesterday, I departed from Waldport at 11am, then, over the following nine and a half hours, I sprinted for 30 miles. Needless to say... It was a long day. For most of the day Mike followed me on the road and took photos. I was never able to get very close to him, and he didn’t have a zoom lens, so I’ll probably be an orange dot in most of them.

At sun-down, I was still two miles from houses, and just as I was starting to get scared and depressed, a flock of pelicans flew past in single file, silhouetted by the sunset. I then turned my head to the east, and saw that the landscape looked just like the Patagonia logo. "This place is beautiful!" I told myself. "I have no reason to be bummed!"

At 8:30pm, I landed on a beach lined with million dollar houses, then walked up to the only one which appeared to be occupied, and slept on their porch. This morning John and Jane invited me into their beautiful home for a plate of pancakes. They also let me get my email and a shower. Today, I expect to reach Winchester Bay; a distance of about 25 miles.