West by Northwest day 5

Woke up early but putzed around the hotel and made a plan of attack for the day.  Objective 1 was to see the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  The bridge was completed in the summer of 1940 and collapsed during that fall during a time of high but not unusual winds.  This historic event is used by many schools and colleges in physics class to demonstrate the importance of harmonic motion and natural frequencies.  No human life was lost in the bridge destruction, but a dog in a car did die during the collapse.  A new bridge was completed in 1950 and the parallel bridge seen today was completed in 2007.
A video of the collapse can be seen here:Youtube Tacoma Narrow Collapse

After planning the day and eating complimentary waffles, we headed north.  Traffic was heavy but not bad considering that we were heading through the state capitol.  Roads were well marked and there was a surprising lack of mean driving.

We went over the Tacoma Narrow Bridge which was a pretty impressive structure to drive over.  Just past the bridge, online maps showed a small park nearby where the bridge could be seen.  I found a guy walking his dog and asked him where the park was.  He gave directions and after a bit more looking, we found the park.  The park is down a long tree covered drive; almost hidden.
The park itself is very nice and has great views of the water and bridge.  We spent some time there looking around and taking pictures, all under the watchful eye of a Sheriff, who I hope wasn't called by someone just because I was motoring around the neighborhood looking for the park.  Oh well, I was harmless.
Heading over the bridge was free.  However, if we wanted to return across it, it cost $5.  A little bit of a racket if you ask me.

After seeing the bridge, we headed back south and west to US101 to drive down the coast.  US101 was pretty (I guess), but very anticlimactic.  I was expecting more than fleeting views of the actual coast line.  The drive was more like any other hilly tree lined drive, with the occasional view of the water, and then only of various bays, not the actual ocean.

We crossed into Oregon by US101 which enters the state by a very long bridge.  Once in Oregon, I can proudly say that I have been in every state west of the Mississippi.  A minor footnote in my life's goals, and a baby step toward my goal of riding my motorcycle through the 49 states accessible by land.

Once into Oregon, the traffic turned crazy crowded.  I can't imagine what it must be like in the height of the tourism season.  As we went south, I found a small park where I was able to have my picture taken with the Pacific Ocean in the background.  My Goldwing has now been to both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

We got to Seaside, OR and got gas and found a Hotel.  We had made reservations for this hotel as there are many in the area, and many are extremely expensive.  The Inn at Seaside was a nice hotel if not a little expensive compared to where we normally stay.  It had the absolute worst wireless internet service I have ever seen.  A dedicated 56k dial-up line for each room would likely be faster, perhaps even a bell-boy to courier all internet packets by bicycle.
The town of Seaside defines what a Northwest tourist town is.  Bumper cars, indoor minnie golf, shops with ceramic beach themed crap.  I guess we have to do these thing once in a while.  We ate a lite lunch and then walked around town a bit.  We entered one free exhibit about sharks.  I was a little apprehensive as nothing is free and I was worried this was a time share sales pitch.  It was.  The woman laughed about it and said that she was just like the sharks in her exhibits but with smaller teeth.  It was refreshing to see her sense of humor and realism about it.

The beach area at Seaside is one of the theoretical turn-around points for Lewis and Clark.  While that may or may not be true, the beach is pretty nice once you get away from the masses; this is easy to do since they all stay in the main area.  The views are pretty decent as well.
This has to be one of the most pet friendly areas I've ever seen.  Most hotels have a dog policy and many of the shops allow dogs as well.  Several businesses had dog water bowls outside of them for the furry friends.  I didn't see any cats though.

Dinner that night was local seafood including Oysters on the halfshell.  Ice cream on the way back to the hotel rounded out the day nicely.

Mileage for the day was a mere 256 miles.