Day 2 – Forks to Astoria via Moclips Hwy and Long Beach

​What a great day today!  Had a quick yogurt and coffee at the hotel and were on the road by 8:30 a.m.   Most of our day felt like we had the road to ourselves.  Gorgeous ride over 101 to find Ruby Beach - our first glimpse of the ocean and beautiful shoreline.  Pulled the bikes in and took the short trail down to explore the beach a bit.  Then on to the Moclips Highway on a quiet highway through the trees to 109 and then Aberdeen.   At this point we were more than ready for food and stopped at the first place we saw – Duffy’s Restaurant.   Highly recommend it.  It is clearly a family run restaurant.  The food and service were excellent and prices were on par with most other places we’ve seen.  We stuffed ourselves (including a massive piece of coconut cream pie we couldn’t even finish) - convinced that we would burn calories from the vibration of our bikes during the rest of the day anyway!  On our way out of Aberdeen we had to stop at what was advertised in the Washington guide as “one of the largest Star Wars stores in the country”.  They weren’t kidding.  This guy had a massive collection of Star Wars memorabilia, all crammed cheek-by-jowl in to every available space.  If you’re a fan, it’s a must-see.  Heading out of Aberdeen, we made our way to Raymond and then along the coastal road to the Long Beach area.  What a pretty ride.  We didn’t ride the highway all the way up the beach, opting to head over to the closest access point at Seaview and spend some time walking the beach.  The weather was perfect.  It wasn’t long before we gave in to the temptation to ditch our boots and dig our toes in the sand.   Blair insisted that to do it right, we would now have to go put our bare feet in the ocean.  Many creative expletives were expressed when the cold tide came rushing over our feet!  We let it happen one more time before taking our west coast weenie butts on out of that!   A little further along the beach, we were shocked to see that what we thought was a big piece of driftwood, was actually a ship’s prow with a figurehead that bore a striking resemblance to me!!!  We had to photograph the discovery.  😉
After soaking up some wind and sun, we reluctantly put our socks and boots back on and headed for the bikes.  We crossed the awe-inspiring and monstrous Astoria bridge just after 5:30 p.m. and checked into the Columbia Inn.   Once more, an older, modest motel, but friendly front desk, clean beds and a good recommendation for dinner.  We went to the Silver Salmon Grille for dinner and it was excellent.  Indulged in steak and prawns like we hadn’t eaten all day, then waddled the waterfront boardwalk to see the bridge up close and personal.  It really is an amazing structure.  As the sun set, we headed back to our rooms and are looking forward to another fun-filled adventure tomorrow!