Day 3 & 4

So after riding for two days we decided that it would be a good idea to take a break as well as miss the memorial day traffic! We woke up to black bunny rabbits nibbling on our tent and decided to hit the beach. We hung out by this log to cover us from the wind and entertainment came our way all day long! We learned how to fly a kite called the slingshot, found out how Velcro was made, played some new tunes on the harmonica, met a surfer dude who had some words of wisdom, and Mark fell in love with this girl with black hair riding a black horse by the shoreline! We then ate some more pizza, so good and watched the Nuggets kick tushy! It's amazing how hectic our lives can get and we lose track of the present and constantly worry about the past or the future. It's neat how sitting on a log the whole day we learned so much about the locals attitudes, surrounding environment, and the proiorities in our own life.

We met an awesome guy named Kurt who had a very calming way about him, he bought our beers, thanks again! We met him at his work site today, right off the highway and we were able to see the project they were working on. They are building a ceremonial plank house on the Chinook Indian reservation by Fort Yamhill. The building is huge and all made from cedar, actual trunks of trees as well as planks that cover the sides and roof! It was absolutely beautiful! We were able to chat with Bobby a Native American whos ancestors were the first inhabitants of the land. Bobby educated us about his people and the hardships they have perservered through as well as all of their accomplishments in the last 25 years! It is so neat to learn first hand from people who had such difficult lives, but had the courage to continue fighting and never giving up about the things they are passionate; their culture and history. He was also interested in our story and the reasons why we are biking for Invisible Children. There are so many bad things going on in the world today and it is up to us, people, to do something about it! "Be the change you want to see in the world" is such a true statement! It is so easy for us to get caught up in our own lives but you wonder what the child soldiers are doing right now, being forced to fight against their will, a child should have the right to be a child, play games, sing songs, and go to school. It truly breaks my heart to know how corrupt our world is in every direction you look. We hope to give the children a little something to improve their resources to get an education and stop this war.

We continued riding, and I almost got attacked by a dog as well as almost ran over a bird! Key word, almost. We rode a total of about 60 miles and stopped in Monmouth, Oregon where they have never heard of campsites. We ate some Mexican food to get our energy levels up and called around to see if there was any place to stay, I gave in to getting a hotel room for the night so I could shower and sleep in a nice comfy bed! Mark and I decided that we would call a campsite in advance from now on because we can't afford hotels.