My dear friends from the north had rented a house in Lincoln City. A house by the Ocean, you say? Great food? Nice conversations? OK, let’s go. But the weatherman had other plans. See, September has arrived in Oregon and now we can’t count on 100% blue skies day after day any more.  Still, I packed the Tiger instead of the old Audi. I like this picture.

Orange and Blue and other colors in between. September 17th, 2011

The Tiger was ready.

Ready to go! September 17th, 2011

Since the weather seemed to be changing for the worse, I tried to get there on the most straight line I could find. But did manage to find a dirt road I had never seen before, as part of a Park, the Finley National Wildlife Refuge.  I rode through it and made a note about it: good place to try some speed on gravel roads.

10 minutes topped on the way there. The time to fill the tank. September 17th, 2011

Not too much in terms of rain. I got there in 2 and a half hours. Great house, just by the ocean.

Just by the Ocean, Lincoln City. September 17th.

And it even had a garage where I parked the bike.

A garage for the Tiger. Lincoln City, September 17th, 2011

Among other things, Oysters for dinner.

Oysters. September 17th, 2011

A glimpse of sunset colors through the clouds.

Sunset. Lincoln City, September 17th, 2011

It was good to be with friends.

Friends. Lincoln City. September 17th, 2011

The next day it rained in the morning. At times, it rained a lot and I was glad I had the bike in the garage and I could load it in the dry.  After all kids (well, the boys) had a chance to sit on the bike, and I loaded it, the rains had slowed down to a a few sprinkles here and there.  I decided to go. And took every detour I had not explored yet between Lincoln City and Newport.

Rocky Creek (Ben Jones) Bridge. Oregon. September 18th, 2011

One-way road. The old 101.

Otter Rock Loop. Oregon, September 18th, 2011

And this is the view from there.

Nice view of the Oregon coast line. September 18th, 2011

I also stopped at the Devil’s Punchbowl.

View of the coast from Devil's Punchbowl. Oregon. September 18th, 2011

And this is it. I suppose.

Devil's Punchbowl. Oregon. September 18th, 2011

Surfers.

Surfers, at the Devil's Punchbowl area. Oregon. September 18th, 2011

I also checked the Yakina lighthouse. Had to pay three dollars to get in the park.

Yakina Lighthouse. Oregon, September 18th, 2011

A whale in the distance.

Whales traveling south. Oregon, September 18th, 2011

Once I got to Newport I took Hwy 20 east and went to find the Finley Wildlife Refuge.

Finley National Wildlife Refuge. Oregon, September 2011

Great place to see birds. I did not stop.

Wildlife Refuge. Oregon, September 2011

But I took it easy, not to disturb the birds, nor the bird watchers.  Here is a short video of the action.

I exited the park on Hwy 99W and went south towards Monroe. I never stopped in Monroe in the past,  this time I decided to take a picture.

Traffic Jam in Monroe, OR. September 18th, 2011

From there, in no time I was home.

Stats for the weekend. September 17 and 18th, 2011

Total for this weekend: 238 miles (383 km).  It is always a pleasure to rack miles on this nice, smooth bike. And this ride could had been the last warm ride of the year. From now on, rain and cold.  Time to start talking about things other than motorcycles, ride when there is a break in the weather, and start counting the days for the Winter solstice and then Spring.

Thank you for reading.

Cesar