Thanksgiving in Stepford

er, Seabrook.

We didn't have Thanksgiving at Paul and Sean's this year, instead we all rented a house at Seabrook. In attendance there was Paul and Sean, Jimmie and Adam, Jeff, and the three of us. Since our last visit Seabrook has grown a bit, there are a few more houses, a couple more businesses, and a community pool. For those of you keeping count, this is Thanksgiving number four with this core group and even though the Mexican theme was abandoned, the meal did not disappoint. Don't know what else to say really, good time all around.

Don't know what Adam was planning with the bat, but it couldn't be good.

Paul, fighting the good fight in the kitchen. I should also point out that Mo'vember has really become a lifestyle decision for Paul. He's really rocking a Flanders grade 'stache these days.

I'm not even sure what Jimmie is doing here, but he's got a big knife so I kept my big mouth shut a took the picture.

I'm not really sure how a ghost bike is supposed to help promote the dog store, but whatever.

Out for a stroll.

After losing Paul at the store, Michele, Porter and I continued on to newer(longer) the beach trail. Still short but a nice little hike.

Look who we found on the beach, Sean and Jeff. No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, Sean's wearing pants that extend not only past his knees, but all the way to his ankles. Craziness.

Well, it was a good one. I can hardly wait to see what next year holds. Maybe we'll own some sort of domicile by then and we can host. Yeah, right...

I'm Not So Bright

It's cold, I'm fat, and this bike currently hates me.

BTW - I couldn't handle the humiliation of the 32:21 so we're back to an 18 on the rear wheel.

It's Happened

I've turned into one of those people.  I spend every waking moment with my kid.  I sing about everything I do as I do it.  All I have to talk about with other adults is what my kid is doing (or not doing).  It's as if I completely forgot how to relate to others, specifically the fact that they don't give two shits about my kid that I keep talking about.  Oh, and I find myself doing stuff like this to keep my kid from fucking with the goddamned TV:

*I know I already used this image on Google+ but reusing images is a part of the new me.

I hardly know who I am anymore.  Good to know I still don't have a filter for cursing at least...

Company

Things have been going good here in PA.  Michele is still working very long hours (but only four days) so Porter and I are getting to spend a lot of time together.  We've also had our fair share of visitors roll through in the past few weeks.  First it was my parents.  Mom spent the entire three days making goo-goo eyes at The Monster.

Dad and I actually got out for a ride, of course being dad that didn't stop him from working while we were out, here he is taking in the Elwha valley while fielding phone calls.

Rachel, Sully and Rach's sister Steph came out for a quick visit.  Porter spent the entire time picking on Sully.  It wouldn't be a problem if Sully was able to defend himself with anything other than a shrill banshee's scream.

Also Paul and Sean came out for the day a couple weeks ago to celebrate their purchase of a new car to replace Sean's Nissan that was totaled in an accident.

Also, unpictured, Tim and Lucy came back a week after the blue kid incident and stayed the night.  Of course they didn't actually stay in our house, rather they parked their truck in the drive and slept in the back. That Alaskan camper of theirs is pretty cool, a little big (and expensive) for my tastes but cool nonetheless.

Someday, I'm hoping we'll actually have something halfway decent in the way of guest accommodations.  The plan is to buy a house in the first couple months of next year and ideally we'd like to find something with a nice ADU or at least room to build one.  Until then, guests are always welcome but prepare to be stuck in a small room, on a hard bed, and next to the boy's room so keep the damn noise down after hours.

The Little Differences

This is what the Monster did to celebrate his 1st birtday:

And this is how Michele and I celebrated:

Musings

The Monster and I went out for a little adventure today while Michele had Saturday clinic.  Rather than ride from the house we packed up the Element and headed over to Sequim to ride from Railroad Bridge Park over to Robin Hill Farm Park and back.  I chose this as our ride for a couple of reasons.  First and foremost, I wanted to forgo Porter's helmet and this route is completely removed from cars with the exception of a 100' stretch where it is given a 10' wide bike lane on a 20 mph rural road.  Second, it's completely flat and I was pulling with the tank. 

I also left my helmet in the car, completely unintentionally, I was really focused on getting into the park to take a piss and forgot to grab it out of the car.  It's funny how naked I felt the whole time without my helmet.  I wasn't concerned about crashing or anything like that, but I don't ever ride without.  It's akin to how I've felt when riding in a car without a seatbelt (something I haven't done since I was a teen and only then did it when there wasn't a belt to be had), just not right.

Overall I'd say we had a good little ride.  Porter did a lot of laughing from behind me and was totally mesmerized by the tractor we stopped to watch halfway back.  Porter spent a lot of time waving back and forth with the operator, that's actually a lot more entertaining than it sounds like.

So on the drive home I got to thinking about my bike collection.  You may have noticed (but probably didn't) the tank is now sporting a flat bar and some Oury grips.  The cruiser bars were damaged from over tightening when I bought the bike, nothing a couple tin shims, a new stem, and proper torquing couldn't fix, at least in the short term.  The time finally came where the bars needed to go, and go they did.  The flat bars are okay but I think a little rise may be in order.  That plus a proper seat and I don't think I'll ever need to touch this bike again.

As for my other two bikes, I've never been quite happy with the EBB on El M. and TBFKaU just doesn't get ridden due to my unworthiness.  On the drive home I got to thinking about this whole situation.  I really like El M. a lot and the geometry is spot on.  Maybe it's time to sell or part out TBFKaU and ditch the El M. frame in favor of the newer version sans EBB.  This is really just an idea I'm toying with and not really serious about (yet).  I don't know that I've ever loved or put as much time into a bike as much as TBFKaU, but it's just been gathering dust for the last few years.  If I do sell, I'm not totally sure I could part with the frame anyway, so maybe just parting out is the answer.  I really don't know.  I think I'll just sleep on it for a while.

*side note: Michele was extremely nonplussed with the idea of me getting rid of TBFKaU, like REALLY nonplussed.  

Elwha, Sprint Boats, and Cake

Saturday was a hell of a day.  It started with a trip downtown to the farmers market and the festivities celebrating the removal of the two dams on the Elwha river. After that I spent my afternoon at Port Angeles' new Extreme Sports Park to watch the USSBA national finals.  Pat was supposed to come up and join me in manly pursuits but couldn't get away from family obligations, oh well.  That shit was crazy and fun to watch but I could see getting tired of it after a while (like most manly pursuits).

Finished off my day with a live taping of eTown at the PA high school.  Did I mention Cake was there?  Oh fuck yeah they were, and they brought it.  played some from the new album, dug deep to play a track from Motorcade and capped it off with my #2 song of theirs, Shadow Stabbing. It was fun and not something I really expected to go down in this small town.  Good times.