day 10: twin harbors state park to (awesome) koa on the willapa bay

my belly is full and i'm sitting overlooking the ocean. the sky is cloudy but i get peeks of the neon orange sun sinking into the night. it's slightly cold, but i have a lot of clothes on to keep me warm. my fingers are moving a bit slower than usual. 

we got in before 5pm today after cycling 51 miles, the earliest we've arrived at our destination. i literally dropped my bike and ran into the koa office and desperately said, "i want to pay for a site, but i need to pee so bad! where is your bathroom?" she gave me the code and told me it was around the building. i had held it in for at least 30 minutes in "i have to pee bad" status. how? i have no idea. this bike ride is developing super muscles down south or something.

we arrived 2.5 hours earlier to camp than most days, so we got to dilly dally a bit!! who knew the koa sites were so great?! i totally thought it was this luxury campsite for rv's. well it is, compared to the state parks: hot water! free showers! clean bathroom! nice reception! ice cream! dishwashing soap and dishwashing area! laundry! coffee in the morning! i want to live here. it is awesome. we used all of the amenities and then went to watch the sunset, to blog (me) and read (he). what a different pace.

(tortilla filled with cous cous, veggies and avocado.)

the pace mirrors this morning when we started our ride before the small towns had a chance to wake up (bright and early at 9am). we rode along the mud flats on mostly empty roads. it was overcast and quiet and such a contrast to yesterday. it was actually peaceful. 

we stopped after 30 miles to have lunch and charge our phones, which led to a stop at mcdonalds to get some iced coffee. and then....a bike path!!! it was only a few miles long, but we got a kick out of a special lane made just for us. :-)  (oh, and just a few miles down the hwy, we stopped again for local oysters. thankfully samuel doesn't like them, so i had half a dozen all to myself!) 

we cycled a while with some head wind, then that head wind grew, and eventually the head wind blasted us into our past during the last stretch. oddly enough, it was so beautiful as the tide rolled in, that i didn't mind it very much...(until i needed to pee). 

gosh, i am so grateful for the energy to ride and the great facilities at the koa. the lady who welcomed us made me feel like i had come home. what a pleasant feeling to have in the middle of nowhere!

tomorrow is our last day in washington before we arrive in oregon!