What really happened

DH slept in a bit on Saturday, so I snuggled into bed with him and suggested, "If you're not up for the long walk, we could park the car half-way there and take a shorter walk." He laughed at me and agreed to the shorter walk.



Then he insisted that I pose to show everyone how well-prepared I was. (dry t-shirt and socks in the knap-sack. I perspire heavily.) Yes, I needed the earmuffs because the whistling noise of the wind blowing through my head is painful. And I needed the knitting just for the ride in the car.




this is how he prepared. Which is to say, he's dressed just like he always is. No special preparations.

We parked about half-way there and strolled past a local creek.

with sleepy ducks.

I remarked that I was intrigued by the play structure at the Montressori school, so we went to inspect it. It's all ropes and very springy.

Way fun!

I LOVE ite and may go back to play on it some more.

And here we are at Sully's.




So after breakfast, and a nice walk back, he evidently was feeling cheated and said, "Let's load up the bikes and go for a little ride." He gave in for me, It's only fair to give in for him. We went down to Oak s park and got on the wonderful urban bike path. The first sunny day in a month had brought out hordes of people. Walkers, bicyclists, rollerbladers all thronged the path. My bell got a good workout, as I firmly believe in giving people notice as you come up to pass. There were all too many times when I was startled by some young god on two wheels flying past me in a gust of testosterone and fury.

The path follows the river. Here is a quiet pull-out we took advantage of.

The dragon boats were out, but my zoom lens just wasn't up to the stretch.

We made it all the way to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, just in time to see one of the last functioning PT boats making a run up-river. There are a bunch of old swabbies who have restored and re-fitted this and take it out to show it off now and then.

One of the features of the Museum is a retired diesel submarine - the Blueback. With admission to the museum, you can tour the sub. Some high-school science classes even get a chance to spend the night. I have SUCH profound respect for the old submariners! And for the new ones as well.

We stopped for a break and some energy water at the Museum coffee shop, then rode back to the car. "How far did we go?" I asked the man who has a speedometer on his bike. "Eight and a half miles." he said, smiling. No wonder my knees felt shakey.

In front of the local upscale yuppie grocery store that we pass on the way home, a community group was having a fund-raiser barbecue. The mesquite smoke just sank a hook into the stomach and reeled us in. I had a juicy, delicious grilled hamburger with some fabulous coleslaw. DH had the cheesburger and slaw. It was bliss on a bun! I figured I had burned up enough points to get by. We went on home, unloaded the bikes, grabbed the shopping list and headed out again. By the time we got home, my knees were complaining pretty seriously. I got into a hot bath and soaked them for twenty minutes, then got out, dried and dressed, sat down in the living room, and fell asleep for three hours. Bang dead. Snoring, drooling, and twitching enough to scare the cats. Hunger woke me and we had salads for dinner. We had picked up some corn on the cob, and it was sweet as candy. Salad and corn on the cob, and then I was ready for bed. Again, I slept as if I had been shot and stuffed. Cats woke me for the five-o-clock feeding, but I may head back to sheet street soon. I think 8.5 miles on the bike, at an average speed of 14 MPH may have been overdoing it a bit.

Today, it's raining again.