It’s 2:19 am in Michigan and I’m in a sleeping bag in an airstream. How did I get here? I wasn’t supposed to be in Michigan until tomorrow (later today). An impromptu night drive instead of an early morning one seemed more appealing. So frantic packing and tying up loose ends followed by 6 hours of driving (including a few stops) in a Prius with four humans and a lot of bags and we are here, ready for tomorrow’s adventures.
year of fun
HAVE FUN. EVERY DAY. SIMPLE BUT DAUNTING.
Category Archives: Outdoor Fun
Day 286: Bikes, Part Two
Ok. More about the bikes. Mine is a Schwinn Legacy Cruiser. That just means it looks vintage but isn’t. Cruisers have one speed and sit low enough that both feet can touch the ground. The hubs got a hybrid which means it rides well on streets and mountains. His is also a Schwinn and green. We look like quite the pair on our lemon yellow and grass green bikes.
Today we took them out for the first official ride. I am planning on using mine to ride to work, a little over one and a half miles away from our place. I really don’t want to ride on Irving Park (pretty busy four-lane street) even though it is the most direct route, so we tested out the more bike friendly, back road way. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, not the Chicago city streets, but the physical effort. When my RA is more active, I become less active. This often causes my RA to become even more active and thus a vicious cycle of increasing amounts of pain and increasing time of rest. So as much as I try to work out when I can, I often feel out of shape. The bike ride did nothing to dissuade that. It was hard. I was panting and sweaty. It was actually kind of gross. But also freeing and fun. I think I might just need more practice before I can feel good about riding to work, otherwise I’ll look a total mess all day. I’m definitely looking forward to facing this new challenge on my new, bright yellow friend!
Day 285: Bikes!
OMG the hubs and I bought bikes! I don’t know what else to say. It’s so fun!!!!!!!!!
Day 284: Llama
I just spent the last hour reading about llamas. True. Llamas. Apparently they are becoming much more popular as pets. Except people start with two or three and end up with 20 or more because of how loving, social, curious and adorable these creatures are. People sheer them for the wool, sure, but they also show them. Apparently there is a whole llama breeding and show circuit very similar to dogs. I’ve also been reading about their use as therapy animals for people with mental and physical disabilities. Their infectious personalities and humorous (yet super cute) appearances make people smile. And they seem to be intuitive to human need in the same way as dogs. One lady wrote about taking three of her llamas to meet some children with special needs. One llama went right over to a boy in a wheelchair and laid its head in his lap. My heart immediately melted and of course now I am investigating how much land one needs to own a llama or two. And look at the babies!
Day 279: Mike and Joe
The hubs and Chad talk about Mike and Joe like everyone who went to the University of Illinois knows who they are. Like most people in Chicago of a certain age (read early to mid 30’s) worship these cover band gods. This may be true but only because Mike and Joe allow these Illinoisans to cling to their music the way they cling to their college years and lost youth. So you can imagine my disappointment when the legends themselves played at the Southport Festival to a crowd of only 100 or less. Though there were some definite rockers of the early 90’s reliving senior year of high school through this duo’s soothing covers of DMB and Third Eye Blind (the hubs and Chad included). Ok, fine. I was totally jamming out as if my high school boyfriend was introducing me to Weezer all over again. Playing The Sweater Song is what did it for me Mike and Joe.
year of fun 