onemillionbicycles.org

onemillionbicycles.org

Let the kayaking begin!

Funny how the right equipment makes all the difference. Last night I installed the Yakima rack, with the Yakima kayak saddles, hully rollers and extender bar. Then I loaded Eliza without a single scratch to Angela. The extender bar is a very cool. It's a bar the slides inside the rack bar, but then can slide out to create a surface onto which one rests the bow, then lefts the stern onto the rack, then moves the bow onto the rack. After that the bar slides back into the rack and away you go.


Today Gerald, Krystal and I paddled up the Thames River from the Poquetanuck Cove Boat Launch to just opposite the wedge that is the Mohegan Sun. Here Gerald and Krystal demonstrate that essential kayaking skill - the shot block pass. Shot blocks are definitely The right equipment and Gerald was a hero to bring them.

Summer in Mystic

Suddenly, summer is here. You can tell by the traffic which backed up to the house today. You can also tell, more importantly, from the weather. Yeah!!!!!

After a long bike ride and the beginning of what could become a bad habit (I rode down to the Noank Village Bakeshop and had a lovely, warm, gooey cinnamon bun), I weeded the garden, did some transplanting and general housecleaning.

Amy is well on the road to recovery. Guess I'm starting down that road too.

We're not in Iowa anymore

Indiana is really flat. Say what you will but Iowa has nice rolling hills, but Indiana, Indiana is flat. Makes for great driving, but not as scenic. We spent the night at the Holiday Inne Express in Howe. We were tempted to try a straight drive but Amy really needed the break. She's holding up well considering but I'll be glad to have her home, and to be home with her. Should be tonight.

PS We are stopping at Kings, for another visit with Frownie!

The Greatest Adventure

When it all comes down to it, I guess one of my greatest adventures has been in parenting. An adventure that is far from over but one that continues to grow, change, surprise and most of all, teach me a great deal about love. The Girls.

Sunday morning we went to breakfast at the A & M. While waiting for Peter and Amanda I took this great shot. Iconic even. Lyss doing her cool, shade thing, Amy standing ready...all in front of a cafe (diner actually).

...and now a digression, but not a complete digression on to a topic that is often discussed in this blog. Coffee, or rather regional coffee issues. Previous I mentioned Saints Rest. A great coffee shop here in Grinnell. Today we hope to pack Amy up and get a little ways down the road. How far depends on how she is feeling. Before we go however we will stop at Saints Rest for a final coffee before heading off. My love of good coffee has been passed on to The Girls. Hmmm come to think of it, how much of that really comes from them?

PS Do you believe that a year ago I was coming just returning from the most relaxing vacation I've ever had. Ah Sedona.

Graduation and then some

Amy graduated today. I was so proud. She's worked so long and hard for this. It was a beautiful ceremony after a very long 24 hours. You see, the night previous Amy had emergence surgery. I won't go into the details, lets just say we spent the night in the hospital and she was lucky to make the ceremony and really, it was only her persistence that got her there. In the long run however, she'll be just fine, very Amy.

Grinnell, Iowa

It's spring in Grinnell, and it is beautiful. You really have to love this place and these people. It you are ever looking for a nice town to settle if for a year, say to write that long overdue novel, this would be it. It's relaxed, friendly, beautiful, clean, cultured yet simple.

Yesterday we woke in Indiana. Lyss took the first shift at the wheel and drove through the Chicago outskirts which are remarkable for their billboards and electrical lines. After an hour we were rolling through the flat farmland of Indiana and within an few hours crossed The Mighty Mississippi into Iowa. The soft rolling hills of Iowa are just now covered in spring spring and everything is blooming. Lilacs are everywhere! I was afraid I'd miss their bloom back home but their bloom in Iowa is just a wonderful. I love their scent.

We met Amy, picked up coffee's at Saints Rest Coffee House, then chatted while at the park. Town is full of student parent groups in a reverse of four years ago when we dropped them off. Yup. Four years.

Then it was off to the President's reception, then dinner with Peter and Amanda, and then honestly...I went to sleep and slept for 9 long, lovely hours. Today's schedule is a bit more relaxed but it is time to get going.

A Brownie with Attitude

After a long day of driving that began at the usual I-hate-driving-through-New-York-traffic-so-leave-at-4am departure Lyss and I have arrived in Portage, IN. Five hours from Grinnell.

It was a good trip. We were pleasantly surprised at our first stop. A person in Pennsylvania talked to us. It always takes me by surprise the first time I'm out of CT and someone just starts a conversation, then I remember, 'oh yeah' people are generally pleasant, and they chat.

Our second stop in Pennsylvania was on the Ohio border when we went to Kings Restaurant for breakfast and were surprised by the Angry Brownie, Frownie. Funny to have angry food as your mascot, but actually very effective. It was hard to resist the angry stuffed toy, the angry t-shirt and the angry mob sundae may yet have my name on it. Here's a little story on the brownie situation:

Driving through Ohio I listened to "A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" and then in Indiana we channel surfed spending a little time enjoying Christian Rock, Japanese Rock, Latin Salsa, and NPR.

Now I've got to go find a salad.