Unsure

I hung out in my hotel room right up until time for checkout, just relaxing, enjoying the nice, clean space I had all to myself. With such a short distance to go today, I decided to spend some time checking out Astoria. I biked along the boardwalk by the river for a time, and then headed inland for the Astoria Column. ...My god, the road I came up from the river was steep. For a time it was so steep that not only could I not bike up it, but the effort of walking my bike and trailer up was almost too much. Biking up the winding hill to reach the Astoria Column was more than slightly crazy. I met a man at the top who told me as much, and who couldn't stop asking about my adventures. The view was well worth it though, especially the pictures of my bike I took in front of the landscape laid out below, highlighting the acvomplishment of the climb. The ride down was a rubber burning affair, and I came way too close to not making one turn sharp enough to stay in my lane.

From there I biked over yet another long bridge, though this one shorter and with a wider shoulder, and then headed on toward Seaside. The wind was intense and made some added effort, but it was generally an uneventful ride. I took one detour over to the beach. Riding on sand is difficult. I wanted to take a picture of my bike right in front of the ocean, but the kickstand rapidly sank into the wet sand every time I tried to stand it up. I had to settle for further back where the sand was firmer.

My host tonight is an awesome older gentleman who provided me instructions on how to let myself in since he's away until late in the evening. His one request is that travelers like me write in his guest book. There's a prompt to describe one random act of kindness you've undertaken lately. I was a little ashamed I couldn't think of much. I feel like I take more than I give. But then, I managed to think of a few incidents, like returning a lost cell phone, and wondered whether we generally even take notice of the times we do little things for strangers. I  am unsure of yet if I want to be the sort of person who has many stories of kindness toward others, or thinks so simply of such kindness to forget it.

And speaking of unsure...I've been having a lot of uncertainties lately. A number of stays I thought I had have now been lost thanks to my schedule change and I'm unsure of where I'm going as soon as tomorrow. I'm unsure about the ache in my left leg, seemingly a tendon issue. I'm unsure of myself and how I'm going to make the next 1000+ miles.

But then, I think a little uncertainty and self-doubt are a good thing. It means that you're genuinely considering the problems and how to face them. I'll figure things out, somehow, probably.