It's A Fine Life

And They Call the Wind Mariah

2011-07-05T05:50:00.001-06:00

A short way into today's ride---Manistique to Escanaba 52 miles---we began to see a break in the clouds and a little bit of blue sky peeping through. Turns out we were trading out the rain for wind.

We bucked a headwind a good portion of the day. Mike and I took off so we could get to Escanaba in time for Mike Roon to take us to the airport to catch a 4:52pm flight to Detroit, then home to Salt Lake City. The leaders of our church were being changed, and we wanted to be there.

Breakfast at Big Boy. This is the third dressed up moose I've seen standing outside of a business.

A charming centerpiece. Do you think Martha Stewart can see the decorative potential of bike helmets?

A message to the Rain Gods... Maybe we should have been more specific.

Loren and I are twinners in our Maine jerseys

Why don't we just sit and chat a spell?

The Escanaba Airport. Our plane had room for 22 passengers.

Escanaba Standard Time?

For more photos go here.

There is Sunshine in My Soul Today...

2011-07-04T04:38:00.001-06:00

But, pretty much nowhere else. It rained again on us---almost the entire day. We did have a few intermittent clear spells, but then the rain would start up again. To our left there was a tiny patch of clear sky trying to poke thru, but ahead of us and to the right of us were black clouds. Lake Michigan was on our left all day, but we didn't acutally see it very much because of the fog. I needed windshield wipers on my glasses. At one point, I was telling Joy just to follow the sound of my voice. (It was a joke, but not that far from the truth.)

Today's ride: Mackinaw City to Manistique---88 miles. We had to be shuttled across the Mackinac Bridge in the Michigan Coast Riders van. They only allow cyclists to actually ride across the bridge a couple of times a year. Here we are, giddy to start a new day.
Joy, JB and Loren in the front seat. Jeanne and Mike in the back.

The 5-mile long Mackinac Bridge looks like the Golden Gate Bridge. It connects Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas, and bridges the Mackinac Staits which connect Lake Huron with Lake Michigan.

And yes, it was already raining.

A popular food item in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) is a pasty. Rhymes with nasty, I've yet to try one. They look to me like a cross between a chicken pot pie and a turnover, but drier. Any kind of meat can be used and a variety of vegetables. (I even saw a sign advertising bison pasties.) My postcard says pasties "taste best with ketchup and margarine or gravy on the side." I, also, saw a sign for "pasty pizza." Maybe we'll consider adding that to the Pier 49 menu....um, probably not.

Joy and I looking for a potty...and a diet coke.

When in this part of the country, be sure not to miss the Smelt Fest.

The Yoopers (folks who live in the U.P.) are very friendly.

Do you think this looks like a columbine? That was our best guess.

The rain really is getting ridiculous. To pass the time while riding, Joy and I were singing any song we could think of with rain or clouds or sunshine in the title. Some of our Top 40: "Sunshine on my Shoulders" by John Denver; "Singin' in the Rain", of course; and "Blue Skies Shinin' on Me, Nothin' but Blue Skies Do I See"---we were beginning to hallucinate. Can you think of any others to add to our medley?

I, even, remembered a poem by Shel Silverstein that ends with "So pardon the wild, crazy thing I just said, I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head."

After dinner, the skies had cleared a bit and it was really quite pleasant for a walk along the beach.

Mackinac Island

2011-07-03T15:40:00.000-06:00

But you don't say the "c." It's "Mackinaw", not "Mackinack."

Located part way between the mainland portion of Michigan and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, there are no motorized vehicles allowed on this island, except for emergency vehicles---police, ambulance, and fire trucks---and pick-up trucks used by the utility companies. You get around by foot, bike, or horse. In the winter, an ice bridge forms and you can ride your snow mobile across the ice to St. Ignace. Kids over age 12, after completing a saftey course can drive a snowmobile.

It's about a 20-minute ferry ride to get there. After riding our bikes almost 70 miles, it was nice to get somewhere by somebody else's power.

This weekend the 44th Annual Wheelmen Meet is being held on Mackinac Island. The Wheelmen are a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping alive the heritage of American cycling, promoting the restoration and riding or early cycles (1918 or earlier), and encouraging cycling as part of modern living. I think they sound like very nice people :)

Here are a couple of their members out for a spin on the island.

600 of them will converge on Mackinac Island. There is a parade, and a 100-mile ride. To ride that far you have to circle the island about 12 times.

The bikes with the big front wheel and the small rear wheel are called penny-farthing, high wheel, or high wheeler. I've never seen one being ridden in real life, but because the Wheelmen were gathering they were all over the place. There were lots of other kinds of old bikes, too.

Not old bikes, just a lovely picture.

Another way to get around town.

I bet the people who live here are very nice, too.

A cousin of the lilac?

Tourists are called "fudgies" here, because there are so many fudge shops and who doesn't like fudge?

Here are two tourists buying fudge now. They look a lot like Mike and Joy.

The misty, foggy view from the ferry.

Rain, rain, go away!

2011-07-02T15:00:00.000-06:00

We started the misty morning with birthday wishes for our Maine man JB. There will be 50-something candles on his cake.

JB and his wife, Loren, ride a yellow-orange tandem named "The Mango." When referring to their bike do not forget "the." You should see them zoom downhill.

Most of the morning we rode in the rain. As a result, I took very few photos today.

Then it rained harder.

Then it hailed.

Then we saw two lightening bolts.

Joy and I took refuge next to a truck in some nice person's yard. It was POURING!

When it let up a bit, we still had about 5 miles to go before we reached the tourist area of Traverse City for our scheduled breakfast stop. We rode along the bike trail along the water front. We were so happy to make it to McDonald's. I don't really like hot chocolate, or egg McMuffins, but I had the best hot chocolate I've ever had in my life, and my first Egg McBagel. Just happy to be out of the rain for a minute.

Along the bike trail at Traverse City

Note to self: When planning next bike trip, consider Miami.

For more photos go here. Thanks Mike, Shane, and Brad!

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head

2011-06-26T18:15:00.003-06:00

Donning our bright yellow rain jackets, the ten of us left Charlevoix heading for Mackinaw City about 73 miles away. The first 17 miles were along a gorgeous bike trail skirting Lake Michigan. And, yep, it's still raining.

We are in the Petoskey area, which coincidentally is where Petoskey stones are found :) They are fossilized coral with a fascinating honeycomb pattern on them, and are found along the beaches of Lake Michigan. Jeanne knew the general vicinity to look, so we stopped to do a little rock hunting. I know, I know---I'm a grown woman and I still collect pretty rocks. Jeanne found one right away. Continuing through the town of Petoskey, I saw a cute house with rocks neatly surrounding their flower beds. Gotta be Petoskey stones, right? The owners had found a bunch!

Cool, huh?

Here are some awesome pictures, showing what they look like after they're all polished up.

The town of Petoskey, also, had some adorable Victorian style homes.

How cute is that?

Breakfast at Johan's in Harbor Springs

Mike Roon, Shane, Joy, and Mike

Townhouses in Harbor Springs

You may need a bike to ride from one end of your boat to the other.

Harbor Springs

The picture I really wanted to get was standing behind these chairs looking out at the lake. But on closer inspection it was loaded with poison ivy. Instead, I got a nice photo of the chairs with Joy coming back to see what's distracted me now.

Shortly after I took this picture I was given a nice, little pep talk to try and focus so we could get to our destination---Mackinaw City.

What?! And miss everything?

Lunch stop in the town of Goodhart. Can these towns get any cuter?! This is our fearless leader, Mike, and one of the fearless followers, Jeanne.

On the Road Again

2011-06-25T09:33:00.000-06:00

Finally. Let's get this party started. Riding about 68 miles today from Ludington to Beulah, Michigan. Did you know that Lake Michigan has 116 lighthouses? They're not just for oceans anymore. (Spoken by a person from a land locked state.) This one is in Manistee.

And just around the corner (literally) is this cute neighborhood.

These daisies are everywhere. I have to keep myself from gathering them by the handful. I do, however allow myself to pick a pretty flower here and there, and wedge them onto a spot on my handlebars.

These dainty irises are all over the place, too.

One of the hardest parts of these rides is that we don't have enough time to stop and look at everything. For instance, what do you think is at the top of this staircase? No time to find out.

I did get sucked into this cute little store though to buy a postcard. And a sticker. And sample a piece of fudge :)

Thankfully, some construction workers pointed out some poison ivy to us. All I could remember is something I learned in Girl Scouts: "Leaves of three, let it me." I am certain they saved us from some kind of nasty rash. Thanks guys!

Pretty innocent looking, isn't it? It's everywhere!

We really haven't had very many great views of Lake Michigan yet. Just a peek, here and there. But this one was breathtaking. Oh my!

A few weeks ago we were watching a piece about golfing in Michigan on the Golf Channel. In between highlights of fabulous golf courses, they would show other interesting places to check out while you're in the area. One dining recommendation was The Cherry Hut in Beulah, Michigan. Their motto seems to be "Anything is better if you add cherries to it." Anything. The Golf Channel highlighted their cherry hamburgers. I had my mouth set for one of those all day. Would it be sweet? Have a different texture? Would I see red bits of sweetness when I bit into it? Joy and I shared one for lunch. Turns out it did taste good and was quite moist, but we had to ask if we had really gotten the cherry hamburger. So, it tasted about the same as a regular hamburger, but lower in fat. Other items on the menu: Cherry BBQ Pork, Cherry Jelly and Peanut Butter, Cherry Chicken Salad Croissant and, of course, just pick your favorite dessert and they have a cherry version of it.

And if you like your cherries inside and out, in the ladies room you can use complimentary cherry hand soap, cherry lotion, and cherry perfume.

We're Back in the Saddle Again

2011-06-19T18:08:00.000-06:00

After a verrrry loooong winter we're back at it. We signed up for a tour with Mike Roon owner of Michigan Coast Riders. We are going to ride our bicycles counter-clockwise around Lake Michigan. According to my travel guide Lake Michigan is "the third largest of the five Great Lakes in surface area. It is about 300 miles long, an average of 75 miles wide, 118 miles across at its widest point, and up to 925 feet deep." Starting in Muskegon, Michigan, our route will take us just over 1000 miles (assuming we don't get lost) and 14 days. That turns out to be about a 75-mile bike ride every day with one day off. There are nine riders with three support crew members. We, somehow, tricked our good friend Joy Hunter into riding with us. This is her first time riding anything like this. We, also, get to reconnect with our pals, JB and Loren, from Maine. JB rode the East Coast with us last summer.

Yesterday we met up with the team and our bikes were assembled by, Shane and Brad, our talented mechanics. My bike, affectionately known as Gladys, had a bent derailleur acquired upon shipping. Shane was able to bend her back into shape and I think we'll be ok. (Cross your fingers.)

We took the bikes out for a little warm-up ride. I had been craving stroopwaffels (a yummy, syrupy, Dutch cookie) and ta-duh! we happened upon a cute Dutch Bakery in Muskegon----owned by an authentic Dutchman.

One of the best parts of these long bike rides is eating. We're always on the lookout for our next snack stop. And by "we" I guess I actually mean me.

It's always so fun to meet and talk to Nederlanders. Mike practices a little Dutch and pretty quickly we have some new best friends. This little bakery was decorated with klompen (wooden shoes) and all kinds of Dutch trinkets.

This is Lake Mona. So far, we haven't actually seen Lake Michigan. We understand it's just like the ocean, but you can drink it.

Sunday we didn't ride. We watched the other cyclists take off from the hotel, then we went to church. According to my father-in-law (and Disney), "it's a small, small world." We attended the Spring Lake Ward. It was just two miles down the road from our hotel. So, we walk into the chapel and sit down. I look up and there is Ken Otto, the ophthalmologist I served with in Cambodia last summer! What a great surprise to see him again. I had forgotten that he is a Michigander.

A huge part of the fun of these bike trips is the people you meet---whether it's the other cyclists, or random people along the way.

And the food.... Just tryin' to be honest.

Tomorrow is our first day riding. We are excited to get going!

For more photos see the Michigan Coast Riders blog, and also here.

Nothin' Could Be Finer than to Be in Carolina....

2010-09-02T08:01:00.001-06:00

Day 17

Whiteville, North Carolina to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
55 miles, 550' climbing---ha ha, still not begging for hills.

Seemed like a very short day, lovin' those flatlands. We made it to the hotel by noon-ish.

Our SAG stop was in the parking lot of a little grocery store. If the van didn't have quite what you wanted, the store had options. Such as:

Anybody got any good recipes?
What do you serve them with?

Seems like a good price. And they are farm fresh.

Fortunately, the SAG had everything I needed.

Love the big, round hay bales.

This kind of view makes the miles zip right by.

Would you let these two into your state?

At last! This trip is starting to look like a vacation!
The view from our room.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

2010-09-01T15:27:00.001-06:00

Day 16

Warsaw, North Carolina to Whiteville, North Carolina
73 miles

With all the farmland we've been seeing, I was hoping to see some cotton or peanut harvesting. Early in the ride this morning we came upon this truck of Spanish speaking sweet potato harvesters.

It looked like very hard work.

We've seen quite a few churches with catchy sayings on their marquee signs. Wouldn't that be fun if the LDS churches did this in Utah? What message would YOU post?

Name them one by one....

This sign was in front of the cash register at our lunch stop in Elizabethtown, North Carolina.

I wonder if it works.

I'm learning a lot on this bike trip. We are being taught safety tips for riding; we learned some bike riding skills in the parking lot one afternoon; and today, underneath a tree, we were taught bike cleaning from Mike Roon.

The maestro cleans and lubes.

One more day of riding, then a day off in Myrtle Beach.

The Dog Days of Summer

2010-09-01T07:27:00.000-06:00

Day 15

Rocky Mount, North Carolina to Warsaw, North Carolina

100 miles! 1,875 "climbing"----we are told there really is no more climbing. Only flat. We are, also, told that we will be begging for hills, just so we'll have some variety in the terrain. I'm not convinced that I'll be begging. We shall see.

Even 100 miles of flat-as-a-pancake is still 100 miles of pedaling. Also, 100 miles of reading our cue sheets and watching for the next turn, and dodging the usual number of hazards. It makes for a pretty long day.

Let's just say.....I was glad to see the Holiday Inn Express in Warsaw, North Carolina.

The only photo I took. Honestly, if a horse would have come by, I would have hijacked it.

Thanks everybody for the great tips for dealing with the naughty dogs. We've had some terrific success, but don't just take my word for it. Check out Mary Kay's blog---scroll down to the Aug 29th post; and Carl's blog, too. I think we have these cranky dogs handled.

Summertime and the Livin' is Easy

2010-08-29T18:40:00.002-06:00

That is unless you're on some wacky bike trip where you ride your brains out every day. In that case, the livin' is hard. Life for us: get up, eat, ride 7 or 8 hours (where I come from we call that a job), shower, eat, collapse into bed, and repeat it all the next day. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know---we brought this upon ourselves. We paid good money to be this tired, but we really are having a blast.

Day 14
Emporia, Virginia to Rocky Mount, North Carolina
59 miles (practically a day off!) 1,085' climbing---in other words a whole lot of flat

We started riding this morning and I had to look down at my shorts to see if I'd inadvertently put on some shorts without the padding in the seat. Nope, I had on my new-specially-bought-for-this-trip Terry cycling pants. I swear yesterday they had a lot more padding.

Since we ride the backroads, we see a lot of farmland. One crop I've never seen but wondered about is cotton.

Poofy cotton balls on a cotton plant.

It feels and looks just like, well...cotton.

This is a peanut plant. The peanuts grow beneath the soil like potatoes. I've been intrigued with peanut plants ever since I first read about George Washington Carver in the 5th grade.

Some baby peanuts.
I wonder if they'll get to be Reese's Peanut Butter Cups when they grow up.

Steve W., Mike, Mary Kay, and I entering North Carolina

Today's SAG stop was at this lovely spot on the river
near the Roanoke Rapids.

For sale at our local convenience store.

You can buy a big styrofoam cupfull for $2.99. They come in the shell. You open the shell like
you normally would, then eat the hot, squishy peanut inside.
I think they taste like pinto beans.

I zeroed out my odometer as we left Maine. Today it rolled over 1000. 1000 miles! That's far even in a car.

Yes, Virginia...

2010-08-29T09:00:00.003-06:00

Day 13
Mechanicsville, Virginia to Emporia, Virginia
91 miles 2,285' climbing

We started off the morning riding through the Cold Harbor Civil War Battlefield. We, again, felt like it was disrespectful to just go whizzing by.

Civil War Cemetery

The battle lines at Cold Harbor stretched nearly seven miles.This was the center of the Confederate position.

We passed the half-way mark today. We are half-way between Maine and Florida. Hard to believe we are actually doing this.

Are we there yet?

Last night as we were at rap (I think I mentioned that's when we go over the next day's ride---what to watch out for, where the SAG stops are, where the Dairy Queen is, anything tricky) Shane mentioned that we would go over a drawbridge. I was hoping we'd get to see it doing it's thing, and ta-duh! we did.

What you can't see behind the photographer is lined up traffic. We went straight to the front of the line.

Here comes the boat that needs to go under the bridge. I know, doesn't really look that big.

Here you can actually see that the bridge is drawn. It didn't open up like an upside-down "v" like I was expecting. It had a level platform that elevated straight up to let the boat through.

Civil War convenience store?

Taking a short-cut through a tobacco field.

Mike now leads the race with the most flat tires---three. Also, we are being warned about a couple of things. We have been told to take our bikes with us into the convenience stores in certain towns, and that the dogs are mean, run loose, and chase cyclists in North and South Carolina. If you have a good strategy for fending off dogs while you're on a bike please comment. It is a nightly discussion. Also, please leave a comment anyway. It's fun to know who's reading this.

We're Officially in the South

2010-08-28T15:30:00.000-06:00

Day 12
Fredericksburg, Virginia to Mechanicsville, Virginia
74 miles, 2350' climbing---the least yet!

We rode through the Fredericksburg Civil War Battle Ground today. A hallowed place, many deaths there. It's hard to imagine Americans killing each other amongst the peaceful trees. I couldn't help but think of my great-great-great grandmother who lost two sons because of the Civil War.

Fredericksburg Civil War Battle Ground

Mike picked up some kind of wicked nail and scored the first flat of the day. I want it to be some old Civil War relic, but I'm told that couldn't be possible because it would be all rusted away by now. He needed not only a new tube but a new tire, as well.

The culprit

Eating has taken on a weird dimension. I now eat to fuel my body, while I normally eat more for pleasure. We stop at the SAG stops to keep our bodies going, not because I'm actually hungry. I keep finding myself craving cheesecake during the day as we're riding---usually I crave a hamburger.

A typical SAG stop. The table is loaded with granola bars, bananas, pears, apple slices, pretzels, fig newtons, fritos, oreos, peanuts, dried fruit mix, crackers, and ice cold water. We're always happy to see the van.

Gotta love the silos.

One of the last towns of the day was called Studley. We couldn't pass up that Kodak moment. Get serious.

John, Me, Carl, Mary Kay, Mike, and J.B. at the gun show.

Two flats, a broken rib, and pie

2010-08-26T15:11:00.001-06:00

Day 11
Washington, D.C. to Fredericksburg, Virginia
91 miles, 3850' climbing

We rode out of D.C. via the bike trails. Such a great trail system. It's amazing how much wooded area there is so close to the city. Lots of commuters on bikes heading in to work. Kind of a bicycle rush hour.

J.B., Mike and I

Me racing George Washington and his horse. I am winning.

Hey, look! Virginia is welcoming us. What nice people.

Carl had a front tire blow out at about mile 37. Luckily he was going slowly uphill when it happened. He said even so it was hard to control his bike. It looked almost like a surgical incision across his tire. There's been a lot of debris on the road lately, including broken glass. We called the SAG van and he replaced his tire only to have another blow out a few miles later on his rear tire.

The first of two blow-outs

The best part of the day---eating "Mom's" pie

Also, we got news today after Steve was x-rayed that he actually has a broken rib from his fall the other day. He's got a prescription for Vicodan, so the way he sees it he's good to go.

God Bless America

2010-08-25T19:10:00.000-06:00

Rest Day in Washington, D.C.
Stats for the day: 0 miles which means 0 climbing. (Pump fist while saying, "Yesssss!")

Ready to give our behinds a rest from the bikes, we wandered down to see the White House. In front of the most famous address in the world, we overheard a 4 or 5-year-old girl ask, "Daddy, is that where Barack Obama lives?" Very cute.

Where Barack Obama Lives

We, also, checked out the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. By then, though, our legs had had it and Mike hailed a cab to get us back to our hotel. The best ten bucks ever spent.

On the way to hail the cab we stopped at the Vietnam Memorial Wall. This one always touches me. I was in high school during this war and my older sisters had friends who were drafted, so that means many of those people listed on the wall should have been just a little older than I am now. They didn't get to see those birthdays. Also, having been so recently in Southeast Asia I could easily put faces on the people they lost over there, as well. Such a loss. So many saddened families.

Vietnam Memorial Wall

Back on the bikes tomorrow.

Hard and you gotta stay focused

2010-08-24T09:10:00.001-06:00

Day 9's stats: 81 miles, 4270' climbing.

Shane rated this day as "hard and you gotta stay focused." I can see why, because the first 30 miles or so were in traffic that was whizzing by and very close. I didn't like that part. It was quite stressful. One of our riders (Steve) came around a corner where the asphalt pavement had a sudden dropoff. He was launched over his handlebars and luckily landed in a grassy patch just off the road. His shoulder hurts but nothing appears broken. He was able to ride the rest of the day. At about mile 32 we stopped at a convenience store---not quite time for a full lunch so I downed a diet coke, a bag of potato sticks, and a Reese's peanut butter cup. Mmmmm....probably the same stuff Lance Armstrong uses for energy, right? Turned out it was just what I needed because we never did get a lunch stop the rest of the day and I felt pretty good.

Good to be out of the traffic.

I'm told that arriving by car to Washington, D.C. is difficult and complicated. By bicycle it's a different story. We connected to the Rock Creek Bike Trail about 25 miles out of the city and it took us to within a couple of blocks of our hotel at Dupont Circle---which is within walking distance of the White House. The trail is lots of pieces all connected together. We rode thru city parks, wooded areas, over several bridges, and past an old, old cemetery. Amazing that the trail is so close to the city.

Rock Creek Bike Trail

The highlight of the day: At one point along the trail we saw a sign that said "LDS Temple Visitors Center." We were excited to look up and see the bright white spires of the Washington, D.C. Temple poking up out of the trees. Just up a steep-ish hill and we were there. It felt like I was home! A great feeling. The missionaries in the Visitor Center let us stow our dirty bikes and filthy shoes in the back room. They were amazed to hear that we started in Maine. And more amazed when we told them where we are headed. The Visitors Center featured a special sculpture exhibit of stories from the life of Christ. It was great to be there.

And just in case you have a spare boat laying around, we saw this sign in a yard in Maryland:

Day 10 is a much needed day off the bikes in Washington, D.C.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Hunt Valley, Maryland

2010-08-22T20:19:00.001-06:00

Stats for today's ride: 67 miles, 4,625' of climbing. This ride had me freaked out before it even started. Our leader, Shane, has been rating each day's ride at our meeting each night when we go over the next day's plan. Yesterday's ride rated a 9 out of 10. Others have been 6.5 or 7. All have been hard. Last night he told us today's ride was rated a full 10. Yikes. How could that be? How could the rides be any harder? Well, today we found out. Just add in several steep climbs. Or add in a bunch of moderate climbs alternating with hard climbs. And just for good measure add a climb equivalent to Woodland Hills Drive (a very steep road by my house.)

So I was freaked out before it began. Before we woke up to rain. Ok, now it's a 10.5. There are no photos of any of the climbs, because well....I was just trying to drag myself up the hills. Just take my word for it. They were tough. And wet.

When I wasn't gasping for air or wringing out my gloves I snapped a few photos. Just a few miles into the ride we crossed the Susquehanna River at the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge.

St. Luke's Cemetery 1772-1946---- somewhere in Southern Pennsylvania.

The gang at the Pennsylvania-Maryland border.

Ride the East 2010

2010-08-21T19:04:00.000-06:00

Mike and I just completed day seven of the Ride the East Tour with America by Bicycle. We are riding 1,675 miles from Maine to Florida over 25 days. There are ten riders and four support people who are taking great care of us. A typical day consists of an early breakfast, then we're in our saddles from roughly 7am until about 2:30-5:00pm depending on how many miles, how big the hills are, and how many times I get distracted to go check out something cool. Also, mixed in are two SAG stops (Supplies and Gear, or the term I prefer Snacks and Gabbing.)

Today's ride was from Pottstown, Pennsylvania to Lancaster, Pennsylvania-- 64 miles, 4,275 feet of climbing.

The regular road was closed, so we had to take a detour on a dirt road through the forest. Steve from Chicago used his GPS to save the day.

A very nice couple who gave us directions.

Very high laundry on a pulley attached to the house.

More Pennsylvania farmland. I love the silos. Somehow they are very peaceful to me.

I was having problems with my computer, but I think now they're fixed. Another rider is also posting photos. He's done a great job. Go here and search Carl Groch.

Welcome Aboard the USNS Mercy

2010-07-12T21:42:00.000-06:00

See this ship? Isn't she beautiful? Her name is Mercy, and I called her home for a while. Seriously. I got to take part in Pacific Partnership 2010---a partnership between the US Navy and several NGO's (Non-Governmental Organizations---think charities.) Before she returns home to San Diego, Miss Mercy will have set port in Guam, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Jakarta, Timor Leste, Indonesia, and Australia. It's a humanitarian ship, basically a floating hospital. I was chosen (with about 80 other LDS folks) to represent Latter Day Saint Charities. Among us were all manner of medical people: from anesthesiologist to veterinarian. (My apologies if there were any medical people in the w-x-y-z category.) I left home on June 12th and returned July 1st.

Maybe the photo above will give you a better idea of Mercy's size. See that little, tiny boat in the lower right-hand corner? It's called a band-aid boat, and holds about 40 people. That was our shuttle service from ship to shore---about a 20-minute or so ride. Now, with the band-aid boat in mind, look again at the first photo of Madame Mercy. She's BIG, huh?

Check back for more details and photos of my adventure.

Christmas at the Dicou's---2009 Home Tour

2009-12-31T17:27:00.001-07:00

Before I take down the Christmas decorations, I'm taking you on a little tour of the Dicou home front. We had three Christmas events at our house this year: the All About Pets Christmas party, the Dicou Family Party, and I hosted our Bookclub Luncheon. So I had to have all of the decorating done by December 8th. Note to Self: Get done early again next year. Christmas was so much more enjoyable that way. It removed a TON of the guilt and anxiety. I actually felt on top of things. Ok, here we go.

First stop---The Fireplace

I love snowmen. They're so happy. Over the years I've collected a bunch. What's great about using snowmen to decorate is I can leave them up until Memorial Day, believe me--- we'll still have snow.

Here's a close-up.

And another.

Next up---The Christmas Trees

Each tree had it's own theme. The tallest is decorated in tourquoise, magenta, lime green, and red. The middle one had mostly poofy-felt/fabric ornaments, and the baby tree had our Hallmark ornaments that we've been collecting since 1980.

I made a felt circle garland for the tallest tree that I discovered here on Anna Maria Horner's blog. She made a great tutorial with easy to follow instructions. I chose the colors of the felt, then pretty much built the rest of the tree around it. I did the stitching while watching Jazz games on tv, or on a flight to New York, or while in the car (I wasn't doing the driving). Each circle took about five minutes.

Moving along we come to---The Nativity Scene

I've, also, been collecting Nativity scenes on our travels. In this one, I love that there's a bunny sitting in the manger with baby Jesus, and how many times do you get to see a gray tabby cat among the mix of sheep and cattle in Bethlehem?

Let's slip into the kitchen and see---Our First EVER Gingerbread House

We were invited by the Skousens and the Ferres to join them in one of their Christmas traditions. So, we made our very first gingerbread house. I think it turned out absolutely adorable. Our snowman salt and pepper shakers look like they're about ready to step inside.

Last stop---Our Christmas Card Photo

I was tickled with our photo. Taken on Thanksgiving Day we had just finished eating, so with full tummies I dragged the gang out to the porch. I was given five minutes (it was really, really cold) to set up the tripod, set the self-timer, jump into the photo, suck in my belly, and look relaxed. And I found a cute frame at Target that matched perfectly.

That's it until next year.

Happy 2010!

It's gonna be a good one.

What Santa Claws brought Murray

2009-12-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

Keeps you warm and your paws free.

Merry Christmas to All!

No, Virginia....

2009-12-22T20:10:00.001-07:00

Me. Santa. 1962.

When I was about 8-years old, my friend, Jo Maxfield told me that my dad, a Texaco owner, was Santa.

I remember thinking something like, "You mean the gas station is just a front?"

No.... She said that her dad was Santa, too.

Then she told me about sex.

So...dear blog reader, how did You find out?

About Santa, that is.

Moaning and groaning.

2009-10-05T20:37:00.003-06:00

The emergency room.

So there he is, minding his own business, vacuuming.

Next thing I know Mike's laying on the bed in fetal position gasping, "There's something bad going on inside of me," and moaning. Moaning and groaning.

He wants to shower. Less than a minute later he's lying on the bathroom floor. In fetal position. Moaning.

He'd been sick earlier in the week with an upset stomach and other gastro-intestinal symptoms.

The moaning continues.

We decide a trip to the emergency room is in order. He heads for the truck. I scramble to find my shoes, purse, and car keys. I'm 30 seconds behind him. Next thing I know he's laying in the driveway. Moaning and clutching his abdomen.

We head down the hill with him alternating between telling me to hurry and telling me to quit driving so crazy. Laying in the backseat, every turn jars him and increases the throbbing pain.

We arrive at the E.R. with my shoes still sitting in the passenger seat. Hunched over he stumbles into the waiting room, still moaning. They grab him, rush him to a bed, and begin trying to hit a vein to place a catheter. He ran 10 miles that morning so he's dehydrated and they need a port to be able to give him pain medication.

The nurse asks on a scale from one to ten what level is your pain. "TEN!"

From the second we walked in, the doctors and nurses were suspecting kidney stones.

A CT scan confirmed the diagnosis. He had a kidney stone the size of a tomato seed lodged at the junction between his ureter and his bladder. (The ureters connect the kidneys to the bladder, the urethra connects the bladder to the outside world.)

For the next six hours Nadine is his new best friend. She has the morphine.

Finally, sweet relief. At least the pain level is now a "seven".

We are given a few options. One involves running a tube up the "channel" (the doctor's words) and placing a stent to provide an opening to let the backed up urine flow into the bladder. The other option involves running a basket up the "channel" and retrieving the offending stone. Hmmm.... not wanting anything in his "channel" we take option three: loading up on intravenous fluids, to see if we can flush the thing out, and Flomax to help the smooth muscle of the ureter to relax it's grasp on the stone. And a request to keep the morphine handy.

Thankfully, with the pain somewhat controlled---now at level 5---he was sent "upstairs" to the regular part of the hospital.

The plan worked. He made it through the night with only two more shots of morphine. In the morning, the pain level was about a two.

Apparently, the ureter had spit the stone into Mike's bladder.

The doctor sent him home with a paper filter that resembled a snowcone cup, and instructions to strain his urine and watch for the stone.

Sure enough, on Sunday evening Mike became the proud owner of a dark-brown-tomato-seed sized kidney stone.

Mike does not want to repeat this experience. Ever.

Are you kidding me?

2009-09-30T17:16:00.001-06:00

It's only September 30th! September! 30th!
I think I'm going to go cry for a little while now.

A biker chick and a couple of dudes

2009-09-24T10:46:00.054-06:00

This photo of Mike was taken over my shoulder while riding my bike.

Kids do not try this at home.

Can I just say, "Saturday was awesome!" Mike and I and our friend Doug rode in the Moab Century Tour. A "century" for the uninitiated (and probably far less foolish) is a 100-mile bike ride with support stations along the way that offer cut-up bananas and oranges, Power bars, salty snacks, energy drinks, water, and other treats. Sometimes the really good stops have a full-on make-your-own subway sandwich bar with potato chips and ice cold Coke. (What a great sport this is.) Also, many "century" rides offer shorter options of roughly 20, 40, 60, or 80 miles.

Mike checking out the snacks.

If you pedaled the full 100-mile ride in the Moab Century Tour you got to experience a climb called the "Big Nasty"---a 3000-foot ascent over seven miles. That sounded a bit steep to me (a bit?), and when I looked online at the description there were points along that climb called Little Nasty, Tom's Misery, and Stairway to Heaven. Hmmmm.....

Not wanting to christen a spot on the course called Leslie's Misery, or be knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door, I opted for us to ride the 65-mile "rolling" course. It featured a couple of pretty good hills, too, but they weren't notorious enough to get scary names.

Oh. My. Goodness. Sometimes I forget how truly beautiful Utah is. The ride began at 7 a.m. and paralleled the Colorado River for roughly 34 miles to the turnaround point. In the morning light, the red rock canyons seemed more vibrant; the green brush seemed more lush; and the river rippled past us like foamy chocolate milk. Absolutely stunning.

There is often talk of "runner's high." I'm pretty sure I had "biker's high."

I couldn't quit commenting on how beautiful it was. I took a few photos but they don't even come close to what I saw with my eyes that morning. Breathtaking.

Why do we ever go anywhere else?

White moustache and green bug-eyes

2009-09-17T12:50:00.000-06:00

In Memoriam

Stanley Poopenstein Dicou

1999-2009

Stannie first came into our lives as a 3-month old paraplegic kitten. The family who brought him in to my veterinary clinic had no idea what had happened. He was fine when they had let him outside, but when they went to let him back in he was dragging his hind legs behind him. Nothing abnormal was seen on the radiographs. There was a chance he would recover via the magic of prednisone and time.

Or...it could be permanent.

The family was pretty much overwhelmed by the whole thing and asked to have him euthanized. About this time my (then 18-year-old) daughter Natalie showed up. She instantly fell in love with the little handicapped kitten with the white moustache and green bug-eyes. The family ok'd the adoption and he was ours. Or rather Nat's.

At home, we introduced him to our dogs Maggie and Frank. He, at first, would hiss and lunge at them swatting with his front paws, and at the same time, dragging his back legs. He was really quite pathetic, but it gave us a hint of his attitude towards life. In short, he wasn't going to take anybody's guff.

It only took a few days for his legs to return to normal. The only real deficit he showed over the rest of his life was rather than land softly on the ground like most cats dropped from waist-high, he landed with a hard thud.

Stannie soon grew to be Nat's best friend, little buddy, and constant companion.

When Nat was a student living in Provo he wandered away one night. Nat searched for him thru the night and called us early the next morning with the distressing news. She printed up and distributed about 1700 flyers (no exaggeration). We had a couple of false alarm responses from people who thought they had him, but no. It wasn't him. We even brought Frank to Provo to serve as a sort of bloodhound to try and sniff out Stan. But Frank didn't understand his duty. We, also, hoped that maybe Stan would recognize Frank and come to us. (By this time, Stan no longer hissed and lunged at Frank. In fact, he found him quite tolerable).

As children of the 70's and fans of "Dragnet", as well as other cop shows, Mike and I were well-acquainted with stake-outs. We walked the neighborhoods going door-to-door talking to people (also, a "Dragnet" tactic) we were told about dumpsters where lots of cats would congregate at night. That's when we came up with the idea of a stake-out. We brought cans of cat food---the smellier the better---and lined them up in a trail leading to what seemed to be the most popular dumpster. Mike and I sat in our old red Jeep Wrangler. Waiting. Now that I think of it, we should have brought donuts.

We watched over a span of about three hours as several cats came to sample our wares. But none of them were Stan. The sun was setting and it was getting cold. Our scheme didn't seem to be working. We started up the Jeep and began to pull out of the parking lot. Our headlights shone on a set of green bug-eyes. They were staring right back at us. Could it be?

I immediately flew out of the passenger side of the Jeep and ran (right in front of oncoming traffic) towards him. Of course, he saw this crazed woman running at him and...took off running himself. Nat says to this day she didn't know this old gal could move that fast, but I wasn't going to lose him now.

He ran around the corner with me in hot pursuit. Nat came running also. I can still hear her calling, wanting to believe, "Is it him?" He was hiding under a car and I called to him softly. He walked up to me and I snatched him up and would not let go of him until we had him safely in the squad car, I mean Jeep. (I think if I had handcuffs it would have been just perfect).

Stan has been by Nat's side for the last ten years. Others came and went. But Stan was always there for her. Waiting to snuggle. He showed that attitude sometimes though. When he was done snuggling, that was it. He'd hiss in your face and walk away.

When Nat would come in her apartment door from work she'd call, "Stannie, I'm home!" and he would come to greet her, ready to be scooped into her arms to hear how her day was.

Stan was a very important part of our family. We will love him and remember him forever.

In case you are considering renting goats

2009-09-12T01:00:00.003-06:00

In July, five friends and I rented goats for a week-long backpacking trip to the Uintas.

"They just follow you", we were told.
"They go 10 or 12 miles a day", we were told.

Let me introduce you to.....GOAT TRIP FROM HELL.

Within a half-mile of leaving the trail head we'd already lost a goat! Lost. Replacement value $600 for the goat, $600 for the gear.

Half an hour later I found him standing in the trees. We should have headed back to the trailer and called it good then. When the heavens give you signs like that you should listen.

We pulled, prodded, poked, begged, pleaded, cursed, and sometimes the goats would go. And sometimes not. When they would go they would average one mile an hour! And that was when they were going pretty good. At one time we figured it had taken us 90 minutes to go one mile. We kept saying that it was like herding cats. Ridiculous. And exhausting. At least if you had a pack-cat and it wouldn't go you could pick it up. By the end of the day we felt like we had gone 10 or 12 or 50 miles. Really we had gone 4.5.

So that was only part of it. On a steep, boulder-y slope (about 7-miles up the trail on the second day) a gigantic wind came up. Seriously, it had to be like hurricane gusts or something. It knocked over Karen, Joy and Sarah. Sarah broke her arm. So now Karen and Sarah had to hike off the mountain and it was late afternoon when they headed down. At one point they were hiking in the pitch black dark.

They went to the ER in Roosevelt to get Sarah's arm set. Sarah's son came to get her, and Karen headed back up the mountain after sleeping in a church parking lot for the rest of the night.

Meanwhile back on the mountain, there were four of us trying to wrangle five naughty goats and Betsy had not only HER backpack on but Sarah's strapped on her back, as well. She looked like a double-wide trailer.

Just exhausting. And very stressful.

We topped it off with a trip to the mechanic in Roosevelt because Sarah's truck was smelling hot. The gauges said everything was ok but there was a strange burning smell coming from the engine.

Actually, I'm amazed that we got out of that trip with only one fracture.
We weren't slated to come home until Saturday, but we couldn't take anymore.

Oh yeah, I left out the goat stampede.

Believe me when I say we considered a goat barbecue. We headed instead to Fish Lake for two nights.
Without goats.

Goatee and I during a lull in the pandemonium.

Saddling Goatee. Looks easy enough.

Karen giving Vulcan a little, uh, "guidance."

Joy ~~dragging~~ encouraging Cooper across the creek.

Goats HATE water.

Sarah with her splinted broken arm about to hike out 7 miles.

This gal is tough.

Betsy as a "double-wide." This chick is strong.

A happy ending. All smiles at Fish Lake

My First Giraffe Kiss

2009-08-29T12:25:00.002-06:00

When I go to Africa with Africa Is Life Changing one of the first things we do is visit the Giraffe Centre in Lang'ata just outside of Nairobi, Kenya. It was founded in 1979 to help rescue the endangered Rothschild Giraffe and to educate Kenyan school children about their country's wildlife. Most of them have never seen a giraffe.

So, here's how it works. You climb the wooden steps of an elevated platform that puts you at face level with the giraffes. Next, you grab a handful of cigarette-butt-sized pellets of giraffe chow. Hold out your hand and the graffes slurp up the tasty morsels.

After you have been brave enough to handfeed the giraffes, the attendant offers up a more intimate encounter. He says to put one of the pellets in your mouth (with as much poking out as you possibly can---wait, maybe that part just goes without saying) and the giraffe will take it from your mouth like a junior high boy/girl party game.

This photo (click on it to make it really big) is the result of my encounter. Mostly I think I was slimed by giraffe slobber.

So, there you go. My first giraffe kiss.
Maybe my last, but I'm leaving my options open.

It's a fine life?

2009-08-26T18:31:00.000-06:00

Hey, look at me! I'm entering the blogosphere. (Thanks JoSue!) I had no idea how stressful it could be. Right off the bat, I had to think of a title. A title? I didn't want it to be too specific. Or too cute. I wanted it to include whatever topic I wanted to yammer on about. So, Sunday, Nat and I were playing Scrabble while the musical "Oliver!" was on tv. One of the musical numbers sung by Nancy (the sweet and way too good for him) girlfriend of Bill Sykes (the scruffy and mean, bad guy) comes on. She sings as she's working the crowd at the pub "It's a Fine Life." So half-listening and trying to come up with a triple-word score---(it takes every neuron working at full power to beat Nat)--I thought that "It's a Fine Life" would encompass everything I wanted.

After JoSue helped me get the blog set up, I came home and wondered what the rest of the words said. In my mind it was just "mmm...mmm.....mmm.mmm...mm.mm...It's a Fine Life! .....mmm...mmmm...mm...mm..
mmm...mm...It's a Fine Life!

Thanks to today's technology I found the rest of the song.

The other lyrics: "If you don't mind having to go without things, it's a fine life!"
[Yeah. That makes sense. Life isn't about "things".]

The song continues, "If you don't mind taking it like it turns out, it's a fine life!"
[So far, so good. We don't always get to say how things are going to turn out. But life can still be good.]

Then comes, "If you don't mind rats bringing the plague in, it's a fine life!"
[The plague?....Really?]

Hmmm...well....that could put a damper on things a bit.

I think I can change the title if I need to.