55th HS Reunion

My High School classmates got together today for a 55th reunion, at a local park a short distance up in the foothills from my home town. I rode my bike up to that park when I was a teenager, and it felt like an unbelievably long trip, a climb for superhumans, and my first experience with riding a street bike on offroad trails -- fun memories. However, I couldn't see myself traveling 1,000 miles for that event, as I still have memories of feeling like mostly an outsider from the numerous tight-knit cliques at our school. I realize now, that it was just everyone's way of fitting in, to find some kids with shared interests, and hang with them, but that feeling of being excluded still hurts. It was nice to receive a photo from a friend who attended, of a few of those classmates who have later become my Facebook friends over the years.

Flash Bang Smoke!

An intense storm cell just moved through here, leaving some shock and awe in its wake. I was gazing out my window, looking away from my Flight Simulator DC-3 flight, and watching my next door neighbor’s construction materials blowing around, when my window suddenly got so bright I couldn’t see, and at the same time I was surprised by the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard. The first thing I did, is check on Jennefer and the kitties, who were fine, but the cats were on the floor looking up at me with a questioning tilt to their heads. I tried to assure them that all was OK, when my phone rang, and my neighbor across the street told me they thought my house was on fire, as they could see and smell smoke. I hurried outside while calling 911, and walked around my house, smelling a strong smoke smell, but didn’t see anything on fire, or even any concentrated smoke, although there was definitely a light smoke haze drifting around. The Emergency operator transferred me to the Fire department, who said that someone in the next neighborhood over had reported a fire, and they were responding. They asked me if I saw smoke or flames, and I had to say no. They said call back if you do, otherwise you’re probably smelling the neighbor’s house on fire. It’s been quite a while now, and still no sign of smoke or flames here, so I guess we’re good! It appears they got the neighbor’s house put out right away, as I’m not smelling smoke any more. Wow. So much for a quiet afternoon! 🤷‍♂️

Recovering

I'm slowly recovering from my bike crash endo on 8/8. My sternum and rib cage in front are still pretty sore. There are some quite painful moments when I'm riding, when I pick one hand up off the handlebars, and my body compensates to handle the weight on the other hand. Also, in the gym, pretty much all the upper body exercises hurt like hell. And that's what I'm focusing on there, as I'm assuming the cycling is enough for my lower body. Coincidentally, I had my annual physical this week. The PA said there's a lot of connective tissue in there, and I may have torn some. Not much to be done, except just let it heal slowly... and be on the lookout for anything worsening. 

Saturday ride

Pleasant Saturday bike ride. Not so many other riders out there today. I saw some pretty clouds over the hills...

 

Boaters having fun with what looks like a big tube in tow...

A relatively rare coyote sighting, as they crossed the trail in front of me, and headed off across the golf course. I do love our wild critters, even the ones that would’ve eaten Mandy in a second. I got this one to look back at me for a moment, so I could catch a better photo. I know… my bad… then I waved, and headed off down the trail. Sheepish face…

I’m seeing more foliage changing colors out there. Another hint of why it’s time for pumpkin spice lattes again.

Keep cycling

Someone on a cycling group I follow recently posted a meme, which said something to the effect of, 

 

"No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everybody on the couch." 

 

This needs to become my motto… It really struck a responsive cord in me, as I'm usually the one being passed on the trails, and there's a part of me that is quite discouraged by that fact.

Oops

My Thursday afternoon started out pleasantly, 75° and overcast, pretty much perfect for a bike ride. This time I waited three days after giving blood, having learned my lesson. A couple of deer crossed the Chatfield interior trail just in front of me, which was a real treat.

A large thunderstorm rolled through when I was a few miles from home, and I ended up pretty soaked. I thought of that as a good thing, as it helped clean off the blood and grime from the spill I took about halfway around.

 

I had a misadventure after crossing the railroad tracks, when trying to coast down the rocky grade that had a new deep track in it, probably from a maintenance truck. 

 I’m now regretfully declaring myself as earning the “endo” badge, having gone over the handlebars when my front wheel came to a complete stop. I still find it somewhat unbelievable, that such a small discontinuity could have such a disastrous effect.

 I’m mostly fine, with a few scrapes on knees and elbows, and a some sore spots where my chest and lower rib cage took the brunt of my fall on the rocks. I suspect my sternum will be developing additional soreness, as the days go by. 

My right brake/shifter handle got bent over about 45 degrees, and I couldn’t force it back, so I had some relearning to do, to get home, but I was glad it still worked. This might be my painful opportunity to disassemble the beautiful job the bike shop did on my handlebar tape and brake hood and cables, and see if it’s a simple task to get everything back where it belongs. Oh well, it was mostly fun… 🤷‍♂️

 

Technology

I've promised myself that I'd continue to try to embrace “new technology” (whatever that means), as I get older, partly to avoid getting left behind, and partly to enjoy the benefits of new and more efficient capabilities. I was tickled to use Apple Pay for the first time a few years ago, when my niece and I walked down to the South Platte River, ended up unexpectedly at Panera Bread without my wallet, and decided to get lunch. Then, a few years later, I got a pretty capable watch, then found myself without my wallet again, this time after pedaling to the bike shop, and was able to use Garmin Pay for some supplies with my watch! I was so proud of myself. It feels nice, to be working toward freeing myself from having to carry that filthy germ-ridden cash, or having to visit the bank regularly to get it, or having to deal with making and receiving change, or the risk of losing it all to a lost wallet or a mugging. I totally understand that everybody’s different, and it’s rare to find two approaches to life that are exactly the same… 

And then, just to show how far I have NOT come, we just had breakfast with someone who no longer carries her purse or even a wallet. She has everything on her phone, including her ID (Driver's license), proof of insurance, credit cards, and whatever else she needs, within reason. She said it feels so freeing, after years of lugging so much extra stuff around for her young ones. Wow.

 

As we arrived home, we noticed the nearby Quarry fire is still generating significant smoke this morning.

Gym

It's been quite warm here, in the mid to high 90s. With all the heat and smoke, I haven’t been riding, so we finally got around to re-signing-up for the gym company we used to attend, although they closed four of their facilities nearest to us during the pandemic, so this one is a few miles farther away. We took it relatively easy, but I know I’m going to be sore over the next few days.

Maine Trip

Next adventure! Off to visit my cousin in Maine! I always relax a little, after we get the process of packing, getting to the airport, checking our bags, and getting to the gate, out of the way. 

No delays getting to, or going through, the airport, whew… just finished reading the safety card for the A320, my first time on this type aircraft. Nice to have a little extra leg room in the exit row.

After all our concern with the CloudStrike fiasco, our travel day went surprisingly well! The one hiccup was the plugged-up Boston traffic. 

We’re now comfortably ensconced at our vacation lodging near Bath, Maine. We’ve already enjoyed the gorgeous view, and a flyby of the local Heron and Osprey. 

We had a beautiful moonlit view from the living room, just before bed. 

7/21 We awoke to a beautiful Sunday post-travel morning. It was fun to see the uncovered land bridge, from the mainland over to Jenny's Nubble at low tide. Living in Colorado, we don't have much occasion to pay attention to the tides, but here the tidal range is approaching ten feet. Makes a difference!

 

We loved watching the crab boats come pick up their traps, and place new ones, every morning while eating Jennefer's delicious home-cooked breakfasts.

 

The local sailboats also provided us with some fun marine-themed entertainment. This sailor criss-crossed our view of the New Meadows river and Winnegance Bay many times.

 

We spent the day wandering around historic downtown Bath, and exploring the parks, views, and shops, in particular one very fun store named "Now You're Cooking", which is full of interesting kitchen utensils and other delightful gadgets.

 

Close up of the whimsical weathervane on top of the City Hall in the Davenport Memorial Building. Seems appropriate, considering the rich history there, of building sailing ships. 

 

We spent lots of time enjoying the view out of our living room window, especially at sunset.

We tried taking some full moon pictures with our relatively new cameras. The double image was from the two window panes, but I wasn’t venturing outside to do battle with the mosquitoes, just for a better photo.

7/22 We had a delightful breakfast table view of the crab boats managing their traps, at this beautiful place on the Maine shoreline. 

We took a little bit longer Monday walk to the Green Point Preserve, with a fun Barred Owl sighting.

7/23 We enjoyed a cool and rainy, but delightful Puffin viewing cruise! I’m always concerned about the possibility of motion sickness on an ocean cruise, but this went well for me. 

We got well and truly soaked by a widespread rainstorm on our way out to Eastern Egg Rock island, but loved every minute. We sought out a warm local seafood restaurant afterwards to try to dry out a little. 

7/24 We woke up to a wonderfully foggy 69° Wednesday morning, at our rental house in West Bath. This foggy moored sailboat view reminded me of paintings I've seen and loved.

We got back safe, after our winding trip through the Maine back roads, to see the play “Shakespeare’s Will” at the Theater at Monmouth. Beautiful old theater! The actress did such a wonderful job. Man, that theater was cold! Once again, I was thankful to have a good GPS receiver and navigation apps, to guide us safely to a place I’ve never been, and back in the dark of night, with no concerns.

7/25 Beautifully foggy 57° Thursday morning in Maine. Jennefer cooked us all breakfast, for most of the days we were there. We did hop over to Mae's Bakery and Cafe for some different breakfast and take-home dessert choices.

My sister found us a fun afternoon walk at Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, in the coastal forest a couple of peninsulas over from where we're staying. She said, "It's really different from anything I’ve hiked before. It felt like the old forest - closest thing I can think of is the Black Forest in Germany."

7/26 Pleasant start to our Friday morning. It's always fun for me, to watch the boats, and the local wildlife, including a nearby Cormorant on a buoy, drying their wings. 

We had a humid but delightful Friday afternoon at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, which are pretty amazing, with some good trails for hiking, too. 

7/27 Travel day to Boston. We started with a clear and comfortable 70° Saturday morning on the Maine coast. We’re starting to slow down a little, after our initially frenzied pre-departure housecleaning. 

I’m sad to be leaving this place, but looking forward to seeing my cousin's daughter and her family tomorrow.

Our Boston hotel room, on the other side of the hotel, had not quite as pretty of a Boston city view as we had last year, but still nice. 

We had a delicious dinner at The Daily Catch Waterfront restaurant, a short walk from our hotel on Long Wharf. We sat outside, and had an inquisitive visitor nearby. The girls all love birds, so that kept us busy, through the short wait until our dinner came. 

7/28 We awoke to a hazy 71° Sunday morning at Boston harbor... my sister and I went for a walk to the local coffee shop, and I was able to redeem my free birthday item - cinnamon coffee cake, of course!

We kept ourselves busy for the rest of the morning, with a delightful Trolley tour of Boston. They wandered all over downtown Boston, and inundated us with so many facts, I think we all ran out of brain cells to process it all.

That afternoon, we headed over to my cousin’s “new” home in Melrose. It was new to them two years ago, so I suppose now it's routine to them. We enjoyed seeing them in their own house, instead of their old apartment. After we arrived, and the oldest son had given each visitor their own personal tour, I was treated to a happy birthday party at my cousin’s house. 

We got to see everyone we missed last year, when COVID-19 hit their house when we were in town, and finally met their newest son, who arrived during the pandemic. 

 

The older son was very sure of himself, even with all of us rarely-seen family around. I enjoyed having him tell me all about everything. 

After more than a week of failed daily attempts to find my favorite Entenmann’s crumb coffee cake in the local Maine grocery stores, I was ready to admit defeat, and one day away from heading home without it. My cousin and her husband came to the rescue, presenting me with the only box he could find, on my birthday. What a pleasant surprise! 

Once the party and other fun activities with my cousin and her family were done, we headed back to our hotel, and were treated to a pretty sunset view reflecting off downtown Boston.

7/29 Travel day heading home. It was fun to see the old Constitution sailing ship from our room on this cool moist overcast morning. We had breakfast at the hotel restaurant to keep things simple, then picked up our rental car from the valet, and headed off to find gas for the car, and then the car rental return facility. That wasn’t as easy as expected, as there were quite a few road closures, and we ended up going in a circle around downtown once, before we finally were on our way in the Blue Line Bus to the airport. Glad we left ourselves tons of extra time for this part of the trip. 

Quiet, cool & moist Monday at Boston Logan airport, and a mostly relaxed beginning to our travel experience. We had to wait an extra hour for our flight crew to get here, but that just gave us plenty of time to explore the menu at Legal Seafoods. Their crab cake sandwich and Boston Cream Pie were delicious!

And then we were off! We had some fun cloud views out the window during the climbout. According to the map, we saw Lovells Island, just before we disappeared into the cloud layer. I was able to squeeze in exactly two movies. I didn’t expect to enjoy the end credits music as much, so I found myself still listening to them, as they were shutting down our 737-900 at the gate. Perfect timing!

Home sweet home! The kitties were happy to see us, if a little skittish, after our first extended time away from them. We were glad to receive occasional updates from the cat sitter, which helped us enjoy the trip.