by Philip

Today’s our second rest day, so we didn’t need to set an alarm – and we managed to sleep in until 7am!!! Our cottage is in a quiet residential street, a couple of blocks away from the highway, and after a slow start to the day we wandered up to the Little Brown Hen café where I had a “plate sized” blueberry pancake – I initially ordered two, until the waitress looked askance and told me they were an inch thick … so I amended my order to one and didn’t manage to finish that! Liz had a waffle, and we enjoyed the buzz of this obviously popular place. There were beautiful stained glass windows in the café, made by a local artist 40 years ago, showing scenes from the town.

Returning home, Liz made some calls catching up with family and friends and I went to a nearby hardware store to replenish stocks of cable ties for our panniers. We got through some mundane jobs like laundry, and then walked into town. 

We went first to the west side and noticed huge sand dunes over the river, with nothing on our side, but with a good view of the draw bridge which was built in 1936. Walking into the old town we encountered a resident who told us the sand had been brought down by the river but we can’t quite work that out. The old town was charming, with craft shops, book shops, galleries, restaurants and ice cream shops, and with a small marina boasting a tiny restaurant selling Oregon’s best chowder. Sitting on the worst park bench ever (slatted steel) we had a call with Cathy, finalising details for next weekend when she flies out to join us, and then dawdled back to our cottage past the oldest house in the town.

After a rest and light lunch (still full of pancakes), watching a graceful Steller’s jay at the bird feeder, we ventured back into town and visited the Siuslaw (pronounced SeeUsLaw) pioneer museum with interesting exhibits showing the way of life from the early 20th century onwards. The curator told us about George Griffiths, who had worked on a family sheep farm in England, and in 1894 at age 35 made the journey across the Atlantic, and from Ellis Island came to Florence where he built a cabin and farmed sheep on 160 acres. He gradually bought more land, increasing the ranch to 1,000 acres before his untimely death in 1911. It was lovely to hear a detailed story about how one individual came to be here.

From there we did a little shopping and returned to the cottage, cleaned and oiled the bikes, and then enjoyed tea and more ginger scones. We played a game à la “my aunt went shopping”, but this time with “I went to America and visited …” naming the places we stayed each night. Surprisingly difficult and we needed to prompt each other. Trying to get where we had lunch each day was completely impossible.

With a smorgasbord of left overs for dinner, we put our minds to preparing for tomorrow – a long ride with strong headwinds and rain all day … hmmm. 

Additional notes

Rest day in Florence, Douglas county, OR.

Weather: Overcast and cool.

Things we did: Slept in till 7am. Philip got up and pottered but I had a slow start, sitting up in bed messaging, especially with Cathy about things to bring next weekend. We went out for breakfast. Called my mother at 9.45am while Philip went to find a shop for bike supplies. Zoomed with Jenny and K. Philip did the laundry. We went for a walk to find the old town. There are large, yellow sand dunes on the far side of the Siuslaw River and a 1936 draw bridge over the river, which we’ll ride over tomorrow. The town is historical and pretty with lovely old buildings and interesting interpretation boards. The waterside area used to be run down but in the 1970s the citizens took it in hand and transformed it. We had a video call with Cathy beside the marina. We wandered back and Philip had a nap. I relaxed and had some granola made by Bonnie (our host) which was delicious. Read my book, The Importance of Being Kennedy. We visited the museum which was interesting, about settlers, Native American peoples and a dead beached whale that caused a massive logistical problem. We headed home and cleaned our bikes and I left Helen C a voice note. We had tea and shared the second ginger scone. I mended a little hole I’ve had forever in my evening leggings and a slipper sock that was unravelling (apart from needing some mending, the clothes we brought were pretty much perfect). I got dinner and Philip posted the blog. Played our regular game of remembering each place we’ve stayed in order, and then added each place we’ve had lunch – even harder!

Breakfast: At 9am at the Little Brown Hen Café, buzzing with locals. Philip had a large blueberry pancake and I had a Belgian waffle. We were very full.

Lunch spot: At the house.

Dinner, made by Liz: Leftover pizza.

Wildlife: Bright finches, Steller’s jay and other birds in Bonnie and Pip’s garden.

Things we saw: Chopped elk steak and eggs on the menu at the Little Brown Hen Café. The café had beautiful stained-glass windows made by a late local artist, depicting the bridge and marina in Florence and the Heceta Lighthouse just up the coast.

People we spoke to or saw: Chatted with a man in the old town who said how much he loves living here – too windy further south and too many people further north, Florence is the sweet spot.

Incidents: I woke with a pummelled feeling like I’ve just cycled 700 miles. I find I miss my cycling identity on rest days when we’re out without helmets, neon kit etc; no one asks us questions, we’re just two badly dressed people. Remembered I brought Philip two liquorice and mint tea bags for each week we’re here but I’d forgotten about them so he has a few in hand now. More holes are forming in my only pair of evening knickers. The first hole appeared on the plane over (so annoying) and I’ve already sewn them up two or three times. Cathy is bringing a replacement pair next week. We are psyching ourselves up for rain and 20mph headwinds tomorrow.

Accommodation: Our little Florence home.

Today’s sound: Cross walk muttering – first it says firmly, ‘Wait!’ then who knows what it says when you can cross.

Today’s smell: Bonnie’s lilac flowers.

Special moments: Hearing from Cathy who was opening our post at home that we won £5,000 on the Premium Bonds this month! Jenny and K are away on the Gower and the three of us stole 10 minutes for a chat before they went out to dinner which was ace. They wanted to know everything and Jenny said the blog is spot on. I gave Philip his second rest day gift, a small bag of mini eggs. Having a lovely, peaceful, harmonious rest day. Cleaning my bike instead of leaving it for Philip to do.

Positive experience from my journal: Florence being such a nice place.

Appreciation from my journal: Giving myself time to rest.

Blog comments from Debbie Lane, my mother and Michaela Freed. Debbie: ‘It’s such a pleasure following your trip down the coast and sharing your experiences! Considering the energy that must be required to get through each day’s travel it’s impressive beyond words that you have enough stamina left to write such a wonderful account at the end of each day. Thank you for this! I have NEVER seen a pancake like the one you were served at the Little Brown Hen and I have to confess I have form with pancake eating. Hope the day ahead of heavy headwinds and rain all day – sounds somewhat challenging – isn’t too bad!’ My mother: ‘jjncrdihle,mijage repeat,incredible erarheryou than NMEA gungadin,,mwessenngers..first attempt,,lots of of love. Mum’. Michaela: ‘Your trip is truly amazing, enjoying the photos. Made my day Liz seeing you have had a message from dear Mrs Valentine. Good luck with your travels’.

Audio: Voice note to Helen C (7m50s).

Mementos: Florence True Value receipt, (cable ties). Sketch for Tessa and Maurice’s anniversary of a decorative house sign we passed yesterday that read The Joneses. Both of us wished we’d taken a picture of it for them.