Monday, July 28, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
RAGBRAI XLII: Just The Three Of Us
I was surprised that I was so excited when the RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) stopping towns were announce last January. After watching the RAGBRAI town signs being hoisted in the air at the route announcement party on TV, I turned to Daphne and exclaimed, "The route goes right by my grandma's farm! We should ride RAGBRAI this year!"
Daphne nodded, but didn't say much. You see, RAGBRAI had been a big deal to Daphne and her mother. My mother-in-law, Deb Gay, had ridden seven RAGBRAIs in a row - no easy feat - and Daphne had accompanied her mom on parts of two of those rides. Deb had passed away the last July, and the loss was still too raw. I think it still is.
Come June, Daphne had decided that RAGBRAI was within our capabilities, and so we started training. When her mom was training for RAGBRAI, Deb would ride a minimum of 500 miles. We rode four 25-mile rides and one 30-mile long trip, so we thought we were in shape for Wednesday's 38-mile route:
Really, it wasn't a matter if our bikes or our legs could make the ride. We needed to know if Charlotte could ride that long in her "little blue car". The trick was to make it fun for Char. The weather had to be cool, we needed to stop at parks when we saw them, and we had to make sure she had enough water, snacks, and breaks along the way. Speed was not a consideration.
On Tuesday morning we pointed our cars north. My car had all the bike stuff, and Daph's car held everything else. We arrived at my grandmother's farm around three o'clock.
A little back story: although Grandma lived on the farm for more than sixty years, raised four children there and countless crops, she doesn't live there anymore. Sadly, her age will not allow it. The farmhouse now sits empty most of the time. Last year Grandma had all the windows replaced, and the house was sided, too. Although she rarely visits her farmhouse, she won't let it go. I think she hopes, and I do too, that someday she'll be able to die there.
I called Grandma last month and asked we could stay there so we could ride the Forest City to Mason City route, and she was really excited. Getting to visit "the farm" was always a highlight when I was a kid, and I wanted to share that with Charlotte. Plus, I was aching to get the farm myself, it's not everyday you get an excuse to visit an empty house filled with 45 years of memories. I bet a lot of people moved away from their early childhood home like I did, but this place has been a constant in my life. The farm doesn't really change.
Considering the high temps on Monday and Tuesday, I figured the farmhouse would be an oven, but the keys Grandma mailed me opened a door to a very comfortable kitchen. Obviously, the window and siding guys knew their stuff. A quick pass with the vacuum cleared all the dead ladybugs from the carpet, and all was well. I brought a fan, but Grandma's air conditioner wall unit had cooled the main floor within an hour. Sweet!
We drove both cars along the bike route, and then planted Daphne's empty car along a street near a RAGBRAI camping ground in Mason City. Then we headed back to Forest City for some RAGBRAI dinner, and then drove back to the farmhouse to get some sleep. Charlotte loooooved the farmhouse. She bounced on the beds upstairs and found markers and a Santa coloring book up there, too. She couldn't have been happier: she's so excited Hobby Lobby is already in full Xmas swing (barf). I was just excited because Char would also have fun memories of Grandma's farmhouse.
We got Char to bed around 8:30, but unlike a hotel, we had another room to go to and hang out in the light. Unlike a hotel, we didn't have any WI-FI. Or cable. Grandma had a VCR hooked up to her TV, but since I left my VHS movies back in 1993, it wasn't much help. I turned on the TV in vain, anyway. Nothing. My laptop was also rendered worthless.
Luckily, I brought a book. One of my best friends had recently dropped off a few items at our house while we were walking to Casey's to get some ice cream. In the stash was a book I won't name by title because it's going to be a gift for another good friend of mine who reads this blog. By page 26, I was wholly sucked in. Daphne had a book, too, and we read side by side at the kitchen table for two hours. I plugged in the microwave to make some popcorn, and I found a pair of bowls in a cupboard. Without talking, we munched and read. Around ten thirty we went to bed and fell asleep to the sound of crickets. It was one of he best nights of this summer.
Without the internet available, it was like my body had hit a reset button. Instead of checking my email that morning, I checked the sunrise. I took a few pictures standing barefoot in the dewy grass. Char and Daphne weren't up yet.
Although the morning weather was perfect, I was still worried. A twenty five ride with a three-year-old wasn't the same as a forty mile ride. What if the bikes failed? What if we had a flat tire? What if Char got sick? What if it got too hot? What if Daph or I got sick? What if... the questions and the worst case scenarios could go on forever, so enough of that junk. We wanted to be on the road by 7:30. Time to get a move on. The rest would have to take care of itself.
By 8:10 we were actually ready to hit the road. Not bad.
The night before in Forest City someone had given Charlotte an American flag bandanna, and she wanted to wear it for the ride.
Char got a bad case of "shy girl" about ten minutes into the ride. I can't say that I blamed her. She was basically riding in a box that was hovering about six inches off the ground, and about every 12 seconds some kind rider would peer into the box from above and ask, "Are you having fun in there?" If you think about it, that would be pretty intimidating. So, for about 30 minutes, Char hid underneath her blanket.
We stopped after an hour of riding for a snack, and she warmed up after that. The blanket was forgotten.
So far I had learned the warnings, "Bike On", "Bike Off", "Bike Up", "Car Up", "Car Back", and "Slowing", but many people were surprised to hear "Stopping!" We had to walk the last half mile to Venutra.
Ventura was pretty busy.
But I was able to snag a skinless, smoked brat and a hard boiled egg. I'm all about protein. Char didn't like the brat, but she ate my whole egg. Little stinker.
Next was the ride to Clear Lake. Char was pumped to find a park. The whole goal (besides actually riding a day of RAGBRAI) was to make sure Char had fun.
I had all these choices for food, and I picked a chili dog. I'm so predictable.
While Mom went to get a walking taco (her favorite), I hung out with Char, and we took pictures. She posed for this one.
And she took these with her camera.
Then Mom came back.
As a side note, I bet whoever threw this Schwinn Traveler bicycle against a dumpster in December of 2010 wouldn't have ever guessed it would be riding a full day of RAGBRAI four years later.
I was so proud of the Traveler. I swear he was beaming as we pulled into Clear Lake.
Then it was off to Mason City. It was cool when other riders would recognize how much work Daphne was putting in. We heard several people yell, "Go Mom!" at her.
And Char fell asleep for the last eight miles our trip.
Char wasn't the only one to get happier because they had something on a stick. This isn't the pork chop on a stick you get at the Iowa State Fair, but I wasn't complaining.
Before I knew it, our trip was done. The three of us had completed the 38 miles between Forest City and Mason City. I couldn't believe it. We had a perfect day. We didn't have high wind, high heat, or high hills. We just had fun.
After finding Daphne's car, I started to break the bikes down and fold the Burley up. To get everything into Daph's car, I had to fold the passenger's side rear seat down, and I spotted this underneath the seat cushion. It's been there for almost a year.
Let's zoom in.
No wonder everything worked out so well...
It's never just the three of us.
Daphne nodded, but didn't say much. You see, RAGBRAI had been a big deal to Daphne and her mother. My mother-in-law, Deb Gay, had ridden seven RAGBRAIs in a row - no easy feat - and Daphne had accompanied her mom on parts of two of those rides. Deb had passed away the last July, and the loss was still too raw. I think it still is.
Come June, Daphne had decided that RAGBRAI was within our capabilities, and so we started training. When her mom was training for RAGBRAI, Deb would ride a minimum of 500 miles. We rode four 25-mile rides and one 30-mile long trip, so we thought we were in shape for Wednesday's 38-mile route:
On Tuesday morning we pointed our cars north. My car had all the bike stuff, and Daph's car held everything else. We arrived at my grandmother's farm around three o'clock.
A little back story: although Grandma lived on the farm for more than sixty years, raised four children there and countless crops, she doesn't live there anymore. Sadly, her age will not allow it. The farmhouse now sits empty most of the time. Last year Grandma had all the windows replaced, and the house was sided, too. Although she rarely visits her farmhouse, she won't let it go. I think she hopes, and I do too, that someday she'll be able to die there.
I called Grandma last month and asked we could stay there so we could ride the Forest City to Mason City route, and she was really excited. Getting to visit "the farm" was always a highlight when I was a kid, and I wanted to share that with Charlotte. Plus, I was aching to get the farm myself, it's not everyday you get an excuse to visit an empty house filled with 45 years of memories. I bet a lot of people moved away from their early childhood home like I did, but this place has been a constant in my life. The farm doesn't really change.
Considering the high temps on Monday and Tuesday, I figured the farmhouse would be an oven, but the keys Grandma mailed me opened a door to a very comfortable kitchen. Obviously, the window and siding guys knew their stuff. A quick pass with the vacuum cleared all the dead ladybugs from the carpet, and all was well. I brought a fan, but Grandma's air conditioner wall unit had cooled the main floor within an hour. Sweet!
We drove both cars along the bike route, and then planted Daphne's empty car along a street near a RAGBRAI camping ground in Mason City. Then we headed back to Forest City for some RAGBRAI dinner, and then drove back to the farmhouse to get some sleep. Charlotte loooooved the farmhouse. She bounced on the beds upstairs and found markers and a Santa coloring book up there, too. She couldn't have been happier: she's so excited Hobby Lobby is already in full Xmas swing (barf). I was just excited because Char would also have fun memories of Grandma's farmhouse.
We got Char to bed around 8:30, but unlike a hotel, we had another room to go to and hang out in the light. Unlike a hotel, we didn't have any WI-FI. Or cable. Grandma had a VCR hooked up to her TV, but since I left my VHS movies back in 1993, it wasn't much help. I turned on the TV in vain, anyway. Nothing. My laptop was also rendered worthless.
Luckily, I brought a book. One of my best friends had recently dropped off a few items at our house while we were walking to Casey's to get some ice cream. In the stash was a book I won't name by title because it's going to be a gift for another good friend of mine who reads this blog. By page 26, I was wholly sucked in. Daphne had a book, too, and we read side by side at the kitchen table for two hours. I plugged in the microwave to make some popcorn, and I found a pair of bowls in a cupboard. Without talking, we munched and read. Around ten thirty we went to bed and fell asleep to the sound of crickets. It was one of he best nights of this summer.
Without the internet available, it was like my body had hit a reset button. Instead of checking my email that morning, I checked the sunrise. I took a few pictures standing barefoot in the dewy grass. Char and Daphne weren't up yet.
Although the morning weather was perfect, I was still worried. A twenty five ride with a three-year-old wasn't the same as a forty mile ride. What if the bikes failed? What if we had a flat tire? What if Char got sick? What if it got too hot? What if Daph or I got sick? What if... the questions and the worst case scenarios could go on forever, so enough of that junk. We wanted to be on the road by 7:30. Time to get a move on. The rest would have to take care of itself.
By 8:10 we were actually ready to hit the road. Not bad.
The night before in Forest City someone had given Charlotte an American flag bandanna, and she wanted to wear it for the ride.
Char got a bad case of "shy girl" about ten minutes into the ride. I can't say that I blamed her. She was basically riding in a box that was hovering about six inches off the ground, and about every 12 seconds some kind rider would peer into the box from above and ask, "Are you having fun in there?" If you think about it, that would be pretty intimidating. So, for about 30 minutes, Char hid underneath her blanket.
We stopped after an hour of riding for a snack, and she warmed up after that. The blanket was forgotten.
So far I had learned the warnings, "Bike On", "Bike Off", "Bike Up", "Car Up", "Car Back", and "Slowing", but many people were surprised to hear "Stopping!" We had to walk the last half mile to Venutra.
Ventura was pretty busy.
But I was able to snag a skinless, smoked brat and a hard boiled egg. I'm all about protein. Char didn't like the brat, but she ate my whole egg. Little stinker.
Next was the ride to Clear Lake. Char was pumped to find a park. The whole goal (besides actually riding a day of RAGBRAI) was to make sure Char had fun.
I had all these choices for food, and I picked a chili dog. I'm so predictable.
While Mom went to get a walking taco (her favorite), I hung out with Char, and we took pictures. She posed for this one.
And she took these with her camera.
Then Mom came back.
As a side note, I bet whoever threw this Schwinn Traveler bicycle against a dumpster in December of 2010 wouldn't have ever guessed it would be riding a full day of RAGBRAI four years later.
I was so proud of the Traveler. I swear he was beaming as we pulled into Clear Lake.
Then it was off to Mason City. It was cool when other riders would recognize how much work Daphne was putting in. We heard several people yell, "Go Mom!" at her.
The above two photos were sent to me by a RAGBRAI rider who was kind enough to use his smart phone to take the pictures, record Daphne saying what my email address is, and sending the pics right away. Thanks Daniel!
After Char woke up she was really crabby, so we went into town to get her some food. We call this "feeding the monster". Mango on a stick did the trick.
Before I knew it, our trip was done. The three of us had completed the 38 miles between Forest City and Mason City. I couldn't believe it. We had a perfect day. We didn't have high wind, high heat, or high hills. We just had fun.
After finding Daphne's car, I started to break the bikes down and fold the Burley up. To get everything into Daph's car, I had to fold the passenger's side rear seat down, and I spotted this underneath the seat cushion. It's been there for almost a year.
Let's zoom in.
No wonder everything worked out so well...
It's never just the three of us.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Adventureland '14: Third Time's A Charm
Charlotte changes every year, as you'd expect. Two years ago she loved the rides at Adventureland, but she didn't know how to smile for the camera - Char would only make a grimace. Last year she could smile, but she was too intimidated by the rides. We'd wait in line until we were next to get on, and then she'd flee in terror.
Who knows what this year's trip would bring? On Sunday it was time to find out.
First up was the Infant Ocean. And that was fun.
Charlotte doesn't smile for the camera as much as she used to. She wants to make a goofy face that will make her laugh when she sees the picture. That doesn't mean I can't photograph a happy face, I just have to catch it in the act.
Getting ready to cruise a Hampton Car.
Joining the Convoy.
The bumper cars on the Frantic Freeway were such a hit with Charlotte we had to run around and get right back in line when our time was over. Here's a lucky, action shot of Char while she and Mom are trying to crash into my car.
I spotted this sign while we were waiting for in line for the Underground.
If I was going to risk being tossed out of Adventureland, I don't think I'd spend my time advertising for Red Robin, "Yuuuuummmmm!" (Irony noted because I just did.)
The Frog Hopper brought genuine smiles.
We rode the Ferris Wheel to take a break and catch a breeze.
This about as high as I want to get. I'm not a fan of the Space Shot, and you can forget about getting me on the new Storm Chaser.
On the Lady Bug and again, the tongue.
Then it was hot enough to head over to Adventure Bay to splash around Heron Harbor, slide around Kokomo Kove, and brave the waves in the "biiiigggg" pool. Adventure Bay has a swim up bar located in the middle of the lazy river. They serve alcohol drinks there, but for the kids there is an identical swim up bar located next to the pirate ship in the back. When we were there the flat screen behind the "bartender" was playing Frozen, and it was cute listening to 30 kids sing "Let It Go" in unison. I think it's interesting that candy cigarettes and gum cigars are frowned upon, but a kiddy version of a bar is fine.
We were in Adventure Bay for a few hours, and it was packed. I didn't take any pictures, though. You never know who's going to show up in the background of the frame. Prisons are full of people who have made bad decisions, and so are public swimming pools.
After Charlotte and Daphne squeezed out of the ladies changing room - the changing areas are woefully undersized and are the only flaw in the design of the park - we went to ride a few more rides.
Char and Daph took the Chuckwagon for a spin, and while they were riding Char told Mom she had a pet dragon named "Lolly Dragon". Daphne decided her dragon would be named "Flame Dragon".
When the ride ended Char jumped over and asked what my dragon's name was? After seven hours at Adventureland I honestly told Char my dragon's name is "Myassis Dragon" (sound it out).
Then, what do you know, they rode the Puff Dragons. This explained Char's dragon name game.
After the Log Ride (the camera was safe in the pool bag), Char wanted to stick her tongue out at the camera one more time.
Anytime I watch Char enjoying these rides I get a sense of Déjà vu.
Here's my sister Michelle and I on July 25, 1971.
link
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Walking to Casey's To Get Some Ice Cream On A Saturday Night
One of my favorite childhood memories is eating vanilla ice cream topped with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup and Spanish peanuts while sitting on the Paulson family's porch. While we sat there we could see the fireflies float between the corn stalks in the field, and it was like watching the stars dance.
Time will only tell if Charlotte remembers eating this twist cone.
There's a chance...
Time will only tell if Charlotte remembers eating this twist cone.
There's a chance...
Friday, July 11, 2014
Taking the High (Trestle) Road
RAGBRIA runs through my Grandmother's town this year, and we'd thought it would be neat to ride the day between Forest City and Mason City. The route is 38.5 miles long and relatively flat. But we have to get a few miles under our bike tires before we even think about that.
This week we took two trips out to the High Trestle Trail Bridge. We started our ride in Slater and rode twelve miles to the High Trestle Bridge and then took the same trail back. It's a test to see how well Charlotte can ride in her "little blue car".
Here's two more views of the bridge from two opposite directions. Light makes such a difference in a photograph. About one minute separates when the shots were taken, and I did my best to follow the rule of thirds.
Here's a view of the bridge from the west side. What a cool architectural design.
Here's a goofy Char enjoying that view. Little did we know what was going to come in about 30 minutes.
Here's two more views of the bridge from two opposite directions. Light makes such a difference in a photograph. About one minute separates when the shots were taken, and I did my best to follow the rule of thirds.
On the first ride we stopped in Madrid for lunch at Saddles BBQ Bistro. Unfortunately, Charlotte got sick. When she got out of her blue car she threw up, and we suspected she had gotten too hot during the ride. We were hoping the air conditioning in the restaurant would help, but it didn't. She threw up again while we were waiting for our food to arrive, and all she could do was lay down in the booth with a wet napkin on her forehead.
I gulped down my food and sped off on my bike to get the car in Slater. While my out of shape legs were pumping as fast as they could, Char threw up two more times in the booth and spent some time in Saddle's restroom letting her mom clean her up. I pulled up to the restaurant 35 minutes later, and I packed up the bikes while Daphne got Char in the car. Poor thing, Char fell asleep in the car with a "vomit cup" around her mouth and chin.
Charlotte was mostly back to normal after we got her home, cleaned her up in the tub, and let her sleep for three hours.
The gal who was working at Saddles was so nice to my girls, she was so understanding about having a sick child, and I can't praise her enough. I also can't wait to stop by there and eat again, but I'll eat slower this time. The smoke sauce was great on my pulled pork, and Charlotte loved the grilled cheese sandwich the next day - a three cheese sandwich off the kid's menu is pretty awesome!
The next morning we tried the same bike ride. Charlotte kept agreeing that she really did have fun before she got sick, and she was willing to try again. This time we started out about an hour earlier, we packed more snacks, and we took more breaks. Success!
The next time I'm on the High Trestle Bridge, or eating BBQ at Saddles, this is what I'm thinking:
I gulped down my food and sped off on my bike to get the car in Slater. While my out of shape legs were pumping as fast as they could, Char threw up two more times in the booth and spent some time in Saddle's restroom letting her mom clean her up. I pulled up to the restaurant 35 minutes later, and I packed up the bikes while Daphne got Char in the car. Poor thing, Char fell asleep in the car with a "vomit cup" around her mouth and chin.
Charlotte was mostly back to normal after we got her home, cleaned her up in the tub, and let her sleep for three hours.
The gal who was working at Saddles was so nice to my girls, she was so understanding about having a sick child, and I can't praise her enough. I also can't wait to stop by there and eat again, but I'll eat slower this time. The smoke sauce was great on my pulled pork, and Charlotte loved the grilled cheese sandwich the next day - a three cheese sandwich off the kid's menu is pretty awesome!
The next morning we tried the same bike ride. Charlotte kept agreeing that she really did have fun before she got sick, and she was willing to try again. This time we started out about an hour earlier, we packed more snacks, and we took more breaks. Success!
The next time I'm on the High Trestle Bridge, or eating BBQ at Saddles, this is what I'm thinking:
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