The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have. "Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain."
Do what you like ~ Like what you do ~ Optimism can take you anywhere!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
The Relatives Came
John's sister, Rita, and her husband, Rick, stopped by for a visit Sunday morning, on their way home. Rick's band played at a wedding reception Saturday evening.
The grandchildren came up from Louisville to meet Great-Aunt Rita and Great-Uncle Rick. Noah and Kaitlyn are tasting tangerines...
The truck is loaded with tent, air mattress, sleeping bags, chairs, bicycles and assorted supplies. We are ready for the 18th annual Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure. GOBA began on Sunday, June 18, but there were many activities at the Greene County Fairgrounds Saturday.
Team Bob rented its own truck. The temperature is rising; riders are seeking relief in the shade of the truck.
Here are a few of the participants in the Saturday evening bicycle parade.
Sunday was the first day of our adventure. We rode our bicycles, along with 2,998 other riders, from Xenia south to Wilmington. The designated route was 54 miles with headwinds. We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant with several friends. And of course, there was a shower while we were at dinner; our tent 'door' was open; we got a little rain in our tent....
The rainbow over the school as seen from our tent 'door' .
Monday, we rode 45 miles from Wilmington to Hillsboro. We were told as we entered the fairgrounds at our destination that they don't call it Hillsboro in Highland County for naught! We had headwinds again during the first part of the ride; after the 'lunch' stop (at 8:30 a.m.), we encountered serious hills...
Our camp was in the valley which proved to be a good choice. Monday evening, there were high winds and storms.
Tuesday was a 'rest' day. We ate Chris Cakes pancakes for breakfast, rode the route backwards out to Rocky Fork State Park, visited downtown Hillsboro for a second breakfast and tour of the town. Later, we ate dinner at the Senior Center and watched bicycle races in Hillsboro.
Wednesday, the fun began. The skies were dark as we put away the tent. We rode just past the first snack stop, hoping to get a little farther before the rain started to fall. The rain started; we stopped in Leesburg at a small bakery for coffee and a donut while the rain poured and the lightning lit the sky. We were there for about 45 minutes; the rest of the riders were being held in either Hillsboro or at the first snack stop. This was our longest day - we rode 65 miles. When we weren't riding, we were on porches or in barns to escape the rain. We got to Circleville, found the yellow Penske truck, climbed inside as the rain and storms really began.
The sun came out, we put up our tents and shared stories (swapped lies) of our adventures for the day. We rode our bikes into Circleville and had a very nice dinner at the Roundtown Cafe . I had a gyro (say, "yee-ro") that will spoil me for any other gyro!
Here is most of 'Team Bob'. Judy and Pete, sitting in the front row, are our chaperones, drivers, suppliers of ice, and in charge of getting the best camping spot available.
Thursday was our second 'rest' day. The weather was hot; folks went swimming at the YMCA, where we were camped. Riders had the choice of a 50 or 100 mile loop or just hanging out in the shade.
The highlight of the day for those who had participated in GOBA for 10, 15 or all 18 years was an all-you-care-to-eat dinner prepared by Bob Evans staff (Bob Evans is the chief sponsor of GOBA). The highlight of the dinner was an outside temperature drop of 20 degrees, followed by yet another down pour - followed by a bicycle ride back to camp in the rain...
Friday we rode through spitting rain, 52 miles, from Circleville northwest to London. We were soaked when we got in to camp and the rain just continued. Pete said the rain would continue through Saturday. We put on dry T-shirts; I was ready to go home - it was 10:30 in the morning and only 21 miles, I had heard, by bike trail to Xenia. But there was goofy Steve, putting up his tent in the rain; not to be outdone, we put up our tent, too. Remarkably, the tent was dry inside.
Riders put their bicycles under the truck to keep them dry. John's recumbent is in the foreground.
Friday evening is the 'song contest'. Here is Dave, accompanied by Steve, with his entry for the song contest.
The 21 mile ride by bike trail to Xenia Saturday morning turned out to be 34 miles. We were in Xenia by 8:30; ate breakfast at Bob Evans before helping Pete and Judy unload the truck.
Yet another successful - but rainy - Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure for those of us on Team Bob.
Hmmm, what could it be? Did you order anything from redENVELOPE? Should we open it now? Or should we save it for Father's Day?
How pretty! What COULD it be?
Could it be a shirt? A tie? Socks? A box of home made chocolate chip cookies? Candy? I know. A box of light weight tools!
Hmmm...
'a gift for you'
In Asian cultures, gifts are often presented in a simple red envelope, or in this case, a red box, a symbol of honor and appreciation.
A solar radiometer, a Father's Day present from Christine and Bob, is sitting on the table in the sunroom. What a surprise! Thank you very much!
The solar radiometer was invented by an English physicist in 1875. Called the Crookes radiometer, or light windmill, it proved that light exerts a force. Its black and polished vanes convert light into energy inside the vacuum globe. When set under 'warm' light, such as a table lamp or the sun, the vanes spin, and, depending on the power of the light, can reach thousands of revolutions per minute. The radiometer will not spin under 'cold' fluorescent or neon lights.
Please know, that the radiometer is sitting directly on the table. I placed it on the red lid so it could be seen in the picture. :-)
Here is what might be called 'a work in progress'. The color, 'hazelnut cream', was to match the color of the smaller building to the right. Well, not quite... But the color is an exact match to the color of the motor home!
The sides are painted, but we liked the original green color much better.
That's more like it!
We returned from a short bicycle ride Friday afternoon to find two trucks, one pulling a trailer with a bobcat, in our drive. Finally, I get to watch them paint the roof. But no such luck. They had come while we were out and were all finished with the painting. It does look much better!
