Day 11, 8/25/08

We were shooting to cross into Oregon today. To our surprise, we almost made it. I say surprise because it started raining again (of course) and we also expected several steep climbs along the way. We were near the town of Castle Rock around mid-day and it began raining. It seemed like a good time to eat lunch anyway, so we holed up in a pizza parlor and waited for the rain to subside. The pizza was very good. We were lucky to have a place to stay dry as it poured rain outside. The rain stopped and we pressed on.

The hills out of Castle Rock weren't that bad and we made good time over the next 30 miles. SR 4 along the Columbia river was not that good. The shoulders were often narrow and of pour condition and the traffic was heavy.

We rolled into Cathlamet around 7 pm. A kid on his bike, Tony, offered to show us where the Marina was located. That's where we were planning on camping for the night. As we were heading over there just a few blocks away, yeah, you guessed it, it began to rain hard. He guided us to a sheltered area where we waited it out. Cold, wet, miserable, still sick. Again. After the rain subsided, we checked with the camp host and then went to check out our camping site - right at the edge of the water next to some RVs camping. Not excited about camping at the water's edge where it was windy, wet and cold, we opted for the $80 cabin up the hill.

After hot showers, we had a homemade pasta dinner with sausage, onions, peppers and mushrooms. Some red wine, & peanut butter cookies.