A Salmon Dinner

To Van Damme State Park, Little River, California -- 17.3 miles, 12.4 mph, 1050 ft.

We barely stirred until almost 8:00 this morning! Although we would only ride fifteen miles today, we still needed to get down the road. Andy had written late last night and proposed meeting at a restaurant 14 miles south for breakfast at 10 a.m. However, since that would take almost an hour and a half, we had little time to spare and were packed and ready to ride in world record time.

The stretch of road between Fort Brag and Mendocino turned out to be beautiful. There was no fog to be seen, the ocean was a sparkling dark blue, and the shoreline rugged. The four climbs between the two towns, thankfully, turned out to be fairly gentle.

We had a wonderful breakfast at the unexpectedly nice Inn at the School Creek. Emma, not feeling well, unfortunately could not joint us so we had had Andrew to ourselves. He was fantastic with the kids. He colored with Dex and Kylie and let them quiz him on what it’s like to be color blind. We learned that he is the oldest of three and had a chance to show him some pictures and videos of the Da Vinci system.  After breakfast, he let both Dex and Kylie try out their tandem.

Now that we were done with breakfast, the day's ride was essentially done. We rode the mile back to the Van Damme campground and picked out one of the last two empty sites. They both were literally at the top of hill, and what a hill it was.

Ah, but now, there was nothing left to do but set up camp, relax in the sun, and wait for my family to arrive. A little after 2:00, we excitedly welcomed the trio, Don, Joan, and De Ann. We hadn't seen Don since he rode away leaving us in Fergus Falls as I recovered from my sore bum. For DeAnn, this makes the third time we've seen here along the way. She traveled far and wide to join us, and we've loved having her!

Don and Joan's fancy pop up camper

As promised, De Ann treated us to a fabulous Salmon dinner, but not before walking down the hill and across the highway to spend some time on the rocky beach. The special meal commemorated the fantastic two weeks we spent with De Ann in New Zealand, where we feasted on a similar meal. Despite Don's scoffing, the Salmon was accompanied by two delicious boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese -- the kid's favorite. Thank you, Don, Joan, and De Ann.

Tomorrow we'll be back on the bikes, but for tonight, a little wine can't hurt.