Back in Manzanita

I was all packed up this morning. Fact is, I’ve been all packed up for days. My tendinitis is way better and I’ve been itching to get back to the trail. This is in no way related to all the poison oak Cappuccino and I walked through two weeks ago. No, this itching is completely in my head. 

Well, today I scratched that itch and boarded a Greyhound for Portland. Nancy was nice enough to take me over to the bus pick up point early this AM. After boarding, I sat back and enjoyed people watching. Mostly university students, but at least a couple business types, several scruffier folks maybe a little down on their luck, and one older woman that complained most of the way to Portland. Too hot, too cold, too stuffy, too humid; nothing was right for her. I was glad when we reached the Greyhound drop off point and I could disembark, leaving her to her misery.

I had to walk exactly one block to catch my AmTrak bus to Tillamook at Union Station. I had an hour to do it. Once I got there and figured where the bus would pick me up, I grabbed a train station hot dog and a coke. They were as delicious as they sound, but it was lunch.

The bus to Tillamook was not a Greyhound, but more of a school bus, an old school bus, painted white and blue. It got the job done, but the windows were sealed closed and there was no AC. Since the outside temp was in the 80’s, it was a pretty warm ride.

I had an hour layover in Tillamook and then it was on to Manzanita, an hour further north. On board there was a logger turned forest fire fighter, a cigarette smoking grandmother taking her daughter and grandson to Rockaway Beach for a vacation, a goofy older guy going to “get wasted and wake up on Sunset Beach,” and a woman that talked nonstop from the moment she got on until I got off the bus. She is probably still going at it even now.

Back in Manzanita, I stopped by the Grocery & Deli and grabbed a sandwich and drink. Then I hiked the mile south to Nehalem SP hiker/biker camp which is where I am tonight.

Tomorrow I hike partway to Garibaldi, take a boat across Nehalem Bay, and then catch a steam train the rest of the way. Should be interesting!

Happy Trails…