Memorial Day Weekend - the rest...

We had a great day during our second day of exploring Arkansas, but it didn't end as expected.  The third was a nice ride most of the way back to KC.  I'll update sometime today or tomorrow when I have time.  I got home this morning, and met the kids in the park.  They weren't expecting me, and it was fun to see how happy they were.  Elliot got this look on his face like, "I think I know that guy", before his eyes lit up and he yelled "Daddeeeeee!" and ran towards me.  Noah looked at me and got this big grin on his face.  This is the best part of  coming home.

Elliot sat beside me jabbering away about Arkansas, my motorcycle, my car, and whatever else had been on his mind the past few days.  He speaks better than I remember - is it possible in just a few days, or do I just appreciate it more?  Noah and I played tag a lot, his favorite game with me.  I was hot in my boots and jeans, but so was he in his shorts and bare feet.  

The happiest person was probably my lovely wife, who not only was glad to see me, but even more happy to know she wouldn't be on call 24/7 without a helping hand.   As always, she stepped up and took the brunt while while I was away.  She said she was going to run to the store to get groceries, but given how long it's been, she may be off having a well-deserved glass of wine...

Memorial Day Weekend - day 1

When I take a trip, I always have this anticipation that doesn’t let me sleep.  It’s Memorial Day Weekend, and unlike years past, where we’ve gone to the farm in Callao as a family, this year I’m on a weekend motorcycle trip thanks to Mandy.  There are a couple other stories I’ll post later how I came to have another motorcycle, and how I got Mandy to allow me this, but for now, on to the trip.  

I wait around for a little bit to see if Mandy will come downstairs before I leave.  Finally about 6:00 AM I leave her a note instead, and a picture/letter for Noah to hang above his bed; something I do whenever I leave town.  I pack up, head off to QT to gas up and talk for a few minutes to the cops that are getting coffee.  It’s been a long night for them, and it’s not even the weekend yet.  They are also splitting time on duty down in Joplin, so it’s been a busy week.  

It’s clear and a little cool, about 50 degrees, as I head out of town.  Traffic is light, and once I get to Harrisonville and head east on more rural roads, I relax a little and enjoy the rolling landscape, the cows and the crops.  My mind is initially full of lots of things, as it usually is when I go riding, as if it’s trying to find the right thing to think about at length.  I think about Mandy and the boys, sorry that I missed seeing them wake up, but glad for a peaceful morning. It’s so traffic-free, that I pass a farmhouse with about 8-10 dogs laying in their driveway and the road. Maybe this is the country-equivalent of the cat lady?

By the time I get to Clinton, I’m cold to the bone.  The cafe I was supposed to meet someone at is gone, so it’s time for plan B.  I wait outside the gas station, warming up with coffee, before I spy a clear local and ask where the best place to get breakfast is.  He tells me, and I text my change of plans to Jeff, who’s running late.

I walk in, and it’s clearly a place the locals like to go. There are dozen conversations going on, across the tables and across the restaurant, lots of laughing and teasing going on.  Mostly older couples, and groups of old men wearing ball caps advertising fertilizer, tractors or some other farm implement.  Perfect. The waitress/hostess tells me the breakfast special - an 8oz ribeye, eggs, and half a dozen other things I couldn’t possibly eat all of.  She tells me I can sit anywhere I like and says “You can sit in the smoking section, or the non-smoking section” and even after she points out to me which is which, I can’t tell.  I look around the smoke-filled cafe, and see a waist-high wall that I guess must be what barely delineates one from the other, when a group from the smoking section walks through the non-smoking section to pay their bill, with cigarettes ablaze. Normally this would bother me, but not today.  Jeff finally makes it, we eat a heartier-than-usual breakfast.  Oatmeal may have been on the menu, but it didn’t stand out.

After breakfast, we continued to head south on 13, and down through Stockton Lake.  It was still cool, but the sun was out warming things up.  One of the things I love about riding through the rural countryside, besides the peace and natural beauty of it, is the unexpected things that you run across almost constantly. A two-story totem pole here, a sculpted metal-art mailbox there, a front yard full of chickens, goats and cows, with a child’s playground in the middle.  I’m not sure who the fence was for.  I ride past a house with an old marquee sign in the front yard, with black plastic letters advertising “For Sale.  Eggs. Road Grader”.  Another with a large piece of plywood, propped up by a trash can, that is blue spray-painted with “For sale  $6”  on it.  I think, “but you painted on it...” while I ponder whether it’s the trash can or the plywood that’s for sale, or if someone already took off with the six dollar item in question.  These folks would probably shit their pants with joy if they discovered craigslist.

We're never lost, just not always sure where we're going next. Trying to find a detour around a road closure.

I know where we're not

I guess they were right about that "road closed" sign

Due to the ominous looking sky, Jeff and I stopped in Greenfield to put on our rain gear, and just in time. As we took off again, it started pouring, and several miles away from shelter we found ourselves in the middle of a huge lightning storm.  Lightning was striking everywhere, and it was close enough that the sounds of thunder were immediate.  Riding behind Jeff, I saw him jump on his bike - as did I - as a huge bolt of lightning hit off to our left. It was one of those massive bolts, thick, bright and went on for seconds - a finger of electricity perfectly vertical from heaven to the ground.

Storm comin'...

We rode on a little further, with nowhere to hide.  At one point, I noticed five huge fingers of lightning strike all at once, directly ahead of us.  Our odds seemed to be getting slimmer when we rolled into Avilla, and Jeff spotted an old abandoned feed store, with a covered loading dock area. We spun around and got underneath, as the skies continued to pour.  

About a block away we spotted a bar that we weren’t quite sure if it too wasn’t abandoned, given all the abandoned buildings around it.   I thought we would either find ourselves in trouble, or it could be a nice place to ride the storm out.  In one of the brief respites from the rain, we hurried over to it with lightning hitting all around, and went in.  It was dark, but dry and warm.  It had just a few, a pool table and the bar came complete with the cliche regular sitting at the bar and the sexual-objectification-of-women beer poster proudly on the fridge (not a “cooler”, a real refridgerator).  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had food for sale.  Soon after we sat down and ordered a couple of burgers, marble-sized hail started hitting the ground outside.  It would have been hugely painful if we were still riding.  A few minutes later, the concrete floor of the bar started flooding - apparently it does this once in a while.  

Watching the marble-sized hail pour down, shortly before water started coming in the door.

The bar/grill looks like someone's kitchen

Sky still looks sketchy as we leave, but at least it's not hailing or lightning-ing. 

There was a guy behind us who worked in Joplin, and we talked about the tornado that hit last Sunday.  Since we were only about 15 miles away, we decided to swing by and see it first-hand. He gave us directions on a way to get in to town, avoiding the traffic.  As we came in to Joplin on I-44, there was a massive, tattered American flag flying at half-mast.  The condition of the flag itself seemed to lend evidence to the violence that had gone on that day.  

We took the directions the man gave us, and it popped us out right on top of the St. John’s hospital area.  All the cliche superlatives that people seem to say in disasters spring to mind, but none do it justice.  The devastation is total, and it is hard for the mind to wrap around what power it must have taken to even move some of the objects we’re looking at, much less destroy them completely.  How 30% of the town was even able to take adequate shelter is beyond comprehension.  Even basements wouldn’t have been enough in many of the houses we’re looking at.  

I'm not sure where he came from, but in the middle of all this, a young boy came riding through very slowly, just staring at the damage. I'm sure this storm will leave an imprint on him for the rest of his life. 

After a while, we got back on the road, and headed back to our intended route.  We took some fun, curvy roads that took us down through Table Rock Lake.  It was getting late now, so I stopped to call the kids before it got into their bedtime.  Noah told me he missed me, and wanted me to come home.  This is always the hardest part of any trip away.  I hang up, and Elliot calls me back a few minutes later to tell me how his day went. Thankfully, Mandy sounds pretty good too, even though I know these two are a handful alone.  

Great place for a call home.

We finally roll into the Holiday Inn Express in Harrison, AR about 8:30 and meet with Keith, who rode straight down in one long push this afternoon.  It’s been a long day; over 14 hours since I left this morning, and 415 miles ago.  Bed will feel good tonight.  We grab a late dinner at Colton’s Steak house.  I don’t think I’ve had a worse day, diet-wise, than what I’ve had today.  It was all good though.  With no particular plan of action, we’ll figure out where we want to go tomorrow, tomorrow.  

I think he likes it

I just found this on my cell phone - a picture of Elliot eating an ice cream cone at McDonalds, celebrating Noah's last soccer game of the season.

Those fingers aren't getting any skinnier after this meal.

Easy night

When I got home from work last night, Elliot asked me to go for a walk, and Noah wanted to go for a bike ride.  We settled by going on a bike ride to a nearby school playground.  

Noah decided to ride his "big bike", which we got from the neighbors after their sons outgrew it.  His other bike is getting too little for him, although he can still motor on it, and watching his legs pedal furiously is a pretty funny sight.  This bigger one is still a little big; it's tall enough, even with the seat all the way down, that he has trouble starting and stopping.  He has to jump on and go, or hit the brakes and jump off.  But with his energy, once he's on he can easily go so fast that I need to pedal hard to keep up.

Elliot, on the other hand, likes to stop and smell the roses.  Pick up a random leaf here and there, point at all the dogs being walked and stop to chat with whoever happens to be out working on their yard. While he's getting very good on his Strider, he apparently finds it impossible to talk and ride at the same time, even to me. 

Noah would zoom ahead, stop, tell me we needed to wait for Elliot, then yell at Elliot to hurry up.  Lather, rinse, repeat about a hundred times.  We eventually made it to the playground.  

It turned out to be a short visit, as Noah decided (of course) he needed to go to the bathroom RIGHT NOW.   This is why I still have the baby seat on the back of my bike, for just such an occasion.  I piled Elliot in, and we took off at top speed home.  It's actually not a bad thing, because it short cuts the inevitable protests about having to go home. 

Yes, he really did have his hands clasped, asking me sweetly if he could swing, as if I'd deny him that pleasure at a playground.  With that look, I probably would have said yes if he'd asked to drive my car. 

"Smile Noah" is no longer the right thing to say to him if I want a decent pic - that's his Halloween-night-say-thank-you-face after some lady dumps an apple in his pumpkin.  

My little climber

Bikeride to Preschool

This Spring we have only ridden bikes to school once. I thought we'd do it a lot. We have had a lot of not so springy weather, and even more than that, we are usually rushing to get out the door in time as Noah will sleep until 30 minutes before school starts.

Well we have skipped Spring and gone straight to Summer. I told Noah last night if he was up early enough we could ride. He was up right at 6:40am asking excitedly if he was up early enough. He ate breakfast, brushed teeth and got dressed in excellent timing and I had to wake up Elliot early to make good on my promise. We got there in 20 minutes. I want to try to do this more often. It's hard getting both the boys fed and ready that early, but I want to make the effort. I'd rather promote exercise and have a little fun, than go through the carpool line.

Just taking off

on the Trolley Trail now

Gas prices are $3.75.  Pedaling to school only makes sense.

Almost there

We made it!  Fast.  We had to hang out for 5 minutes before they unlocked the doors :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Noah Carter

 

 

 

Elliot Henry

 

Weekend getaway

Cooped up between work and cold and wet weather, we spontaneously decided on a short road trip to Rocheport last weekend, to ride the Katy Trail along the Missouri River.  We had our usual Saturday pancake breakfast, then told Noah we had a surprise for him.   We packed a change of clothes, put all the bikes in  the van, and headed out, stopping to rent a new movie.  We had hoped it would keep the boys occupied on the way down, but Yogi Bear didn't seem to interest them any.

Elliot finally fell asleep right before we got to Rocheport, and since this would be his only opportunity to nap, I stayed in the car while Mandy and Noah stretched their legs at the Les Bourgeois Winery/Bistro that sits atop the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River.  Noah had energy to spare and had fun running up and down the steep hill.  After a short nap, E woke up and we walked over to the A-Frame, the original winery building.  This place had not changed a bit since I went to college there 25 years ago, and neither had the college kids, who were wearing the same Polo shirts and tailgaiting (with beer) outside the entrance.  I remember college being a bit early for my appreciation of wine too.

Elliot looked ready to beat anyone who tried to take his grape juice away.

Picnic lunch at Les Bourgeois' A-frame

We had a bread, sausage and cheese lunch atop the windy bluffs, then drove down to Rocheport itself and unloaded the bikes.  Mandy took off with Noah who predictably raced ahead.  Elliot and I took a little longer, although he wasn't exactly dawdling.  He is getting really good at his pedal-less bike, but seemed to think the entire trail belonged to him, careening from side to side without regard to the other traffic.  He occasionally scared me by going right up to the steep dropoffs that are on the river side of the trail.

Waiting on Dad

Of course he has to climb the bridge to see the river better.

Noah continued to burn energy like  a rocket, racing his bike against me and Mandy, back and forth. We finally turned around and headed back, a little worried he might burn himself out. Elliot was done by this time and we fortunately had the forsight to bring the CoPilot for him to ride in on the way back.  We played in a playground near the trailhead for awhile, then took a break for some ice cream.  After another round of play, we headed to our next "surprise".

E was willing to accept a lift home

Playing in the train park!

Noah has no fear of jumping off anything

 

Noah has been begging us to go to to a hotel for a few weeks - his idea of the perfect vacation.  Mandy found a last minute cheap deal in Columbia, and we headed there to stay the night.  As we pulled in, and told Noah we were at his next surprise, he couldn't believe it.  "Are we really staying at a hotel, Mommy!?!"  "WOW, this is the best day, EVER!"  He was so happy, you'd have thought we just told him we were going to Disney.
 
We checked in, changed into our swimsuits, and headed for the pool - one of the main reasons that Noah thinks hotels are so cool.  Elliot and Noah both loved it, and my shoulders were sore from catching them both as they jumped over and over.  Afterwards, we changed and headed out to eat dinner.  We hadn't gone very far, and Noah looked ready to pass out.  When Mandy asked him if he was tired, he said, "No, I'm just having trouble keeping my head up straight."  We turned around and headed to the Cracker Barrell by our hotel, and had a high-carb dinner. 

Air E.

Noah can get some distance on his jumps.

I walked back to the hotel with Noah, and we gave both boys a baths, figuring they would go down pretty easily.  As usual, we figured wrong.  One room, one bed and one pull-out couch was not enough room or quiet for them to go down easily or together. We finally split up, and Mandy laid down with E on the bed and I laid with Noah. When they were both asleep, we put Elliot on the couch with Noah.   Mandy and I were  both so tired from the previous couple of days, we decided to go ahead and go to bed.

Passed out. Finally.

I couldn't sleep very well, so I finally got up around 3:00 AM, got a cup of coffee and went for a drive around Columbia.  It had been quite a while since I had been here, and it was a pleasant stroll down memory lane, sparking memories I hadn't thought of in years.  I went through the campus, by a couple of past apartments, my old dorm and the fraternity house I stayed in for a few years, and by a few other memorable places.  Maybe someday, I'll write down a few of those memories before they escape me completely.  I had quite a bit of fun in this town.

I came back around 5:30, and the boys were already up.  We went for breakfast and coffee, then Mandy took the boys swimming again.  We finally got packed up, checked out and headed to Stephens Lake park to let the boys play some more before we went back to KC.  It was a great park, especially for climbing rocks, but it was a cool morning, and we didn't stick around too long.  After grabbing a bite to eat, we headed home. 

Noah DiCaprio yelling, "I'm the king of the world!"

Well, hey there.

As we were leaving, we passed a firetruck and ambulance attending to someone who was lying down on the sidewalk.  As I pointed it out to Mandy, Noah complained that he couldn't see, and as we passed by, we just ignored him thinking it was probably best he didn't see it anyway.  A few minutes later, out of nowhere he said, "I didn't get to see the guy lying down, dead."  I said,  "He's not dead, he's just sick."  Noah said, "Oh, I figured since he wasnt moving he was dead."  For some reason, just the nonchalant way he said it made Mandy and me laugh, and wonder where in the world he comes up with this stuff.

The boys were both asleep a few minutes after we hit the highway, and in a bit of good luck, slept the entire way home. It was a good little getaway.

Best passengers ever.