Day 16, p.m.

The cheese factory was fascinating. 40-pound blocks of cheese being chopped into smaller blocks, wrapped, spun around, and boxed, may sound totally mundane to some people, but I could have watched it for hours. Did you know that their cheddar cheese is aged for at least three months, and some of it for over a year? I had no idea cheese took that long! A trip to the gift shop yielded some oh-so-yummy squeaky cheese, a magnet for our ever-growing fridge collection, and ice cream for everyone. As good as Maggie Moo’s ice cream is, and as much as everyone in Texas thinks that Braum’s is the best ice cream, I’m sorry, but they are all wrong. Tillamook ice cream blows the competition away. Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t live here any more, because I would weigh 500 pounds if I could get my hands on more of this ice cream!

It’s drizzly right now, and no matter where we wanted to camp, we wouldn’t have the tent set up and ready until 11pm or later, so tonight will be our hotel night. That will allow us to drive further, since it will only take ten minutes to carry everyone inside instead of 45 minutes to get everyone into sleeping bags. So if you’re ever in Lincoln City, Oregon, I highly recommend the Econo Lodge there. Clean, decent rooms, low rates, and a continental breakfast of Costco muffins, toast, and orange juice, which is more than enough to keep my kids happy. Sooooo nice to have a bed and a hot shower!

Total miles today: only 110.