Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Part 2: In Which I Go Exploring

  Let's review. I have arrived in New Hampshire without any problem. I found my hotel without any issues (thanks Garmin!), had dinner and went to bed. 

  The whole reason I took this trip was to ride in a charity bike ride, benefiting the Krempels Center. I was invited to attend the morning meeting at the Center on Friday, so I could learn what they do (and so I could deliver some handknits to my friend Ted). I was thoroughly impressed by what they do the the Krempels Center. I stayed to listen to Ted and Timmy talk about bike racing and brain injury, and delivered the handknits afterward. As usual, I forgot to get a photo.

  It was time for lunch, and I wanted to explore the city of Portsmouth. Off I went. I had no real plan, so I just plugged an address that I randomly chose from the map in to my trusty GPS. Well, that restaurant was PACKED - so it must have been a good one. But, I was starving and didn't want to wait for a table, so I checked the map again, chose another random address and headed toward the center of town (I think it was the center, anyway). I found parking by a giant mural of a whale, I figured that would be helpful in locating the car when it was time to leave. I had a yummy (and healthy!) lunch, got a cupcake for later, then just started wandering.

I came across a kitchen store. I couldn't resist going in and comparing it with All Through The House. Yup, pretty much exactly the same. I recognized about 80% of their merchandise, was impressed by their tea selection, and bought some maple sugar candy in the shape of New Hampshire. Out the door and to the left. Huh. Two doors down, I found a toy store. (sound familiar to anyone?). I recognized a large portion of their merchandise too. I had to ask - "Your store isn't connected in some way to the kitchen store is it? Because that would be weird." I explained why I asked, and no it wasn't. But now I know, if I decide to run away to New Hampshire, I could likely find employment in a familiar environment. (It could happen, you never know).

Still, no photos. I had my camera with me, I was just enjoying myself too much to remember to take any pictures.

I would have loved to sit on a bench and knit for a while, but it was starting to rain, so I headed to the bike shop to pick up my rental bike for tomorrow's ride, then stopped for a very filling dinner on the way back to the hotel. I enjoyed my cupcake the way you should - in my jammies in front of the TV. Once again, in bed by 9.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

In Which I Arrive

  The post-vacation glow is starting to lift. I want to prolong it as much as possible, so I'm just going to tell about it in little bits. 

  My outgoing flight was uneventful. I left a gray morning with a few sprinkles. A short layover at O'Hare airport - just long enough to grab a sandwich. My "economy" flight had no snacks, just beverage. That's OK, I was busy knitting. Arrival in New Hampshire was in the sunshine. An airport security guard (a dude!) complimented my hair. I thought "Wow, I am going to like it here!" Car rental was a breeze, and because they were disorganized, I got a free upgrade. From a Toyota Corolla to a Kia Sportage - plenty of room to haul a bike, and it's a size I'm used to driving. Dave, my trusty Garmin, got me to the hotel without a problem. The "Moose Crossing" signs on the highway made me giggle.

  Hotel check-in was a breeze, and my room was on the ground floor. I had a patio door that opened right onto the parking lot, with a view of a funeral home / crematory. But, the room was nice, and I didn't plan on spending a lot of time in there. I asked at the desk where to go for dinner, and she recommended the restaurant right across the street. Yummy - home made soup and a nice salad with some really good dill bread on the side.

 After dinner, Dave found me a Walgreens, and I went for some essentials (I never bring toiletries, just buy travel size when I arrive) and a few snacks. By then it was almost bedtime and I was tired, so, as usual, I was in bed by 9pm.

All in all, everything went smoothly, and I was happy for that.

Up next: exploring Portsmouth.


Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Countdown

One. More. Day!! Then it's vacation time!
I think tomorrow will be the longest day on record. I'd better have something to keep me busy at work, or I'll go absolutely crazy!

Friday, October 5, 2012

Well Deserved

It recently came to my attention that Sweetest Day is Saturday, October 20. Why is that important, especially since my husband "doesn't believe in that made-up holiday"? (Maybe some handsome stranger will give me flowers and make him jealous)) It's important because I got called in to work the rush at the flower place the week before.

I'll be working Friday, Saturday at Giggles, Sunday at flowers, Monday at Giggles, Tuesday at flowers, Wednesday at Giggles THEN I get to leave on Thursday! Throw in a late-night LMS gig (welcoming the veterans home at the airport from the Honor Flight) on Saturday night just for fun. Wow, I'm really going to need a vacation after a week like that!

In preparation for my ride at the Krempels King of the Road Challenge (sponsor me here, get your friends to sponsor me too- I'd love be in the top 10 fundraisers) I took advantage of a beautiful fall day yesterday, and planned to go for a nice long bike ride. I was all ready to go, excited because I hadn't been on my bike since the ill-advised ride on July 4. It took a while to get my bike out, there are bikes and doors and bales of wood shavings in the way. I did finally extract it, leaned it up against the house, and here's what I found

Needless to say, I was mad. I found out that someone who shall remain nameless, but lives in my house and owns a lot of bikes, took my pedals and put them on his time trial bike. I am not a bike mechanic, I was not going to reattach my own pedals. So, I changed plans, got out the old mountain bike (and had to put on a water bottle holder, but that was not a surprise), and took a little trail ride. The scenery was beautiful and I left the camera at home. I surprised myself by making it up "hospital hill" without a problem, and riding over the floating boardwalk was fun (but against the rules). It was over too soon, and the rain started to fall just a few minutes after I got home. I hope I'll have time to ride a few more times before I leave, but I doubt it.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Which is it?

I'm either the coolest Mom in the world, or the dumbest.

It's semi-permanent, which means it washes out in about 2 months.

In other news, this past Friday, I attend my high school band's alumni reunion. It was homecoming, so the alumni get to join the current band on the field for the pre-game. I had a good time, even though there weren't very many people there. I'm mad at myself though because I forgot to take pictures while I was there. But, here is one of me practicing at home:
 
  Yeah, that's my high school band jacket, AND IT STILL FITS! It's funny how you hear 4 drum clicks, and you immediately mark time. I still got it.