Squid On Wheels - Indiana Edition

First -- I have been remiss in announcing the winner of the "how long will I drive" contest. Total hours driven by Mama Squid ... drum roll please ... Zero. Therefore, the contestant with the answer closest to the actual amount is ... Chumly. Chumly -- email me offlist with your snailmail address and your preferred colors and I will acquire and send off your sock yarn.


Now, on to our adventures in Indianapolis.

We started by arriving in our hotel in East Indy only to discover that this hotel did not offer either free or wireless internet access. Blah. We went without for a few days and got on-line at my brother's place. The hotel would also not put a roll-away bed into a room with 2 beds so Little Squid got to sleep on the floor -- it is his fault for being such a restless sleeper. We got the kids a room of their own on the way home.

Heading out to occupy a few hours before my kid brother and fiance' (henceforth referred to as Josh and Jaye) got out of work, we went to the Indiana State Museum. Not only is it not as boring as it sounds, it is actually a really cool museum. Most cool is the steam powered clock behind it and the plaques for all 92 Indiana counties which adorn the museum's outer walls. If you get to Indianapolis, do the museum and see the plaques.

We then strolled for a while up the Canal and had a lovely dinner with Josh and Jaye.

The next day is when we really started having fun. Swooping by their house, we led Josh and Jaye to a bike store in Carmel where we could rent bicycles. Being a proper school of traveling Squid, we already had two bikes in the car. (We decided that for the length of the trip vs the amount of possible cycling time that it was not worth it to bring the two road bikes and only brought the folders.) Josh and Jaye rented individual bikes and Squidette and I rented a tandem. See Josh with the big grin on his face?

That is because after all of these years (Josh is 15 years younger then me) he was finally comfortable on a bike. We took him for a 15 mile ride along the Monon Trail and by the end of the ride he was ready to buy a bike and start racing. Way Cool!

Mike is posing in front of the Monon Train sign because that is what owners of Bike Friday's do.

Squidette and Mama Squid on a tandem. I think I need one of these! Little Squid also got in some tandem time and we all vastly enjoyed the experience. Bike Friday makes folding tandems ... look for a new bike on this site sometime next spring.

Josh, Jaye and the Squid Kids (Jaye did wear a helmet, just not for the photo.) And so the Squid have conquered Indy. Next year we think that a week of riding before grabbing J and J for the weekend is in order. Indianapolis is a great cycling city and has multiple paved trails. It almost makes me want to live there. Almost.

Sunday saw the bike store opening late so biking was scrapped. Instead we did the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Much like the Norwalk Aquarium, this museum rates a Best In Category. It is even worth a single trip for childless adults. It is just that cool.

This is the least of it.

This ranks as the coolest picture taken during the trip.

Chihuly -- can you see the squid?This is a clock. Can you believe it?!Strangest sign seen in Indianapolis. Can anyone out there explain this? On top of the building were what looked like a lot of cell phone receiver / transmitters much like we have on lots of buildings here in NYC. I am very confused.
Found behind the Fine Arts Museum while Geocaching. Caching takes you to some neat places!And last, but not least, Josh and Jaye when we were done with them. Poor things, we wore them out!

Next adventure -- The Squid do Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Expect Corn Mazes, Good Food, Geocaching and of course, more cycling.

DYE-O-RAMA!!!

My Dye-o-rama Angel was Cookie and she ROCKS! Today I received a package of Purpley Goodness. (It actually arrived last week but I was on the road and then I had to spend all day waiting for my neighbor to get home from work. It was a trying day I tell you.)

Funny thing -- I was reading her blog earlier and stumbled upon this post. I immediately knew that she was referring to me and promptly got really antsy as I waited for my neighbor to get home from work. It was worth the wait. THANK YOU COOKIE!!!

I promise a trip update in the morning. Meanwhile, I leave you with these:
finished while driving back from Indy.

Squid on the Road -- Kentucky Bound

The Squid family does not do long road trips. Our trips until now have averaged 4 hours more or less with camping trips being confined to a 3 hour radius. So, to embark on a trip from New York City to Kentucky was a big adventure.

We did not do the "frequent stops and tourist" thing but pretty much spent the first day driving. One Geocache was found in Ohio -- a micro at an I-80 rest stop. It was a quick find which was good because Papa Squid was not hanging around for a long search.

We got pretty close to Columbus, OH the first day and would have made it except that Little Squid got a tummy ache around 8:30 so we decided to call it a night.

The next day saw us put in the last 3 hours to Alexandria, KY. We saw Columbus in passing:

And I mean passing. Maybe next year we will actually stop there.

We then discovered just how good the mapping software in our GPS was as it guided us along some winding roads to DBILs home / farm-in-progress. There, we discovered that they were putting the property on the market and would be moving again -- maybe to Michigan? I guess we will not be visiting Kentucky again any time soon.

Lots of fun was had there with lots of time in the pool,at the aquarium,
(Papa Squid's sister and her kids -- they flew out for this "family reunion.")

(Yes, that is the sock that was in progress. We rescued it before it could be eaten.)

and a day down in Lexington at the Kentucky Horse Park. Thanks to DSIL, Squidette is horse crazy and had a fantastic time at the Horse Park. Unfortunately, even a miniature horse will not fit on our terrace.

We also witnessed Uncle Steve mowing the lawn

and got to help with the chores.
We introduced Uncle Steve and Aunt Andrea to the pleasures of Geocaching and logged 4 Kentucky caches. (A separate post about Caching is forthcoming.)

After 3 days in Kentucky we headed off to Indiana -- but that's another post!

By the way -- if you ever have a chance to visit the Norwalk-Cincinnati Aquarium, DO IT! It is the best one that we have seen. Please note that despite our extreme New York City-centrism, we completely admit that the NY Aquarium is the pits and really is not worth a special trip if you have access to another aquarium. The Bronx Zoo however, is a different story!

Home!

Yesterday started as we met the wonderful Ann for breakfast. We did the usual "blogger exchange of gifts." Ann has fantastic photos of the two gifts on her blog -- I have the remnants of Ann's gift to us, here:















As you can see, it is a bit worse for the wear but, barely consumed. I am not displaying the contents of the box of handcrafted chocolates as they did not survive the heat so well -- they were still really yummy, even melty. Thanks, Ann!

We had a lovely time chatting and eating -- she is just as nice in person as she is on her blog and she seems to understand our eccentricities.

When we left Ann, we had the goal of making it to Pennsylvania for lunch. Ann thought we were dreaming. She was right. We gave up the plan about 10 miles short of the border when we remembered that food choices got slim in Western PA so we stopped just east of Youngstown and had a quick lunch. Before lunch however, we found this:

It spurred us on and, after a very long drive we arrived home a little after 9 P.M instead of spending another night on the road. Mike is thinking when we do this next year -- straight to Indiana this time -- we might be able to do the outbound trip all in one shot if we leave here before rush hour instead of afterwards.

There will be multiple posts over the next few days as I put our adventures in to words. Then, we take off again for a quick camping trip. Meanwhile, 3 more nights in my own bed!

Squid on the Road

We are still on the road but I finally have a significant amount of time and a good amount of bandwidth to do a fly-by-morning post.

In the last eight days we have been in 6 states, found 10 geocaches while introducing 4 more people to the activity, visited 3 museums and biked 15 miles. One tooth has been lost and the myth of the toothfairy lost forever due to an overly tired and overly stupid Mama Squid. (Squidette denys the overly stupid part.) Bonding has occured between siblings on both sides of the family (Squidette and Little Squid are already well bonded).

One more person is now comfortable on a bicycle and a tandem has been riden and is now being coveted by Mama and Squidette.

A much longer post (or multiple posts) will follow after the Squid Family returns to New York on Tuesday.

For now, a set of teaser photos:

SQUID! (Chihuly at the Indianapolis Children's Museum)

Josh and Jaye's new house!

Feed the birds ... (Norwalk Aquarium, Norwalk, KY)

Bicycle Built for Two

On the Road

This post brought to you courtesy of Holiday Inn - Southbury, OH. It is early morning and the male squid are asleep while Squidette and I huddle on our bed, shielding the light of the screen with pillows. We were under the covers but that got too hot.

Yesterday was spent driving. All day. O.k, we made two bathroom stops and two meal stops. One of each was accompanied by a fuel-up for the squid-mobile. We did manage to search for and find the I-80 Lame-OH cache at a bathroom stop. No sock was left however, since it was a micro cache.

Today, on to Kentucky! (Only one photo was taken and I can't get to the camera right now.)

Packing Up

Just a quickie before I start getting all crazy about the packing.

We went for a short bike ride today, just 14.5 miles, and impressed the heck out of the cashier at Chocolate Haven. She asked the kids how far they had ridden today and when they responded "only 13 miles" she looked aghast. "Only 13 miles?"

And so it goes. We picked up yummy gifts for the various people we will be visiting -- a "only in New York" kind of gift and then continued riding uptown where we found this:

Since I have been informed that it is not about the riding, but rather about the chocolate, we had to stop and picked up some interesting bars. Little Squid chowed down on part of the Key Lime filled bar earlier and proclaimed it to be excellent.

This card arrived from Ann yesterday. Thanks! (I get to meet Ann a week from tomorrow!)

Now to get ready to hit the road. Blogging will be sporadic, if it happens at all, over the next 10 days.

Wish us luck -- we have a map of Pennsylvania but not of Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana. I figure we should be able to get the appropriate mappage as we get closer to each state. We are armed with a GPS which does have the maps for the entire route loaded and we will be on I-80 for most of the trip. Music is ready to go, my knitting is packed in multiple locations -- the "car" bag, my purse project and extra yarn in the suitcase. The gallon of sunblock is already in the car. Snacks are already packed as are games for both the car and when we are in situ. Phone chargers are in the car ... I think we are getting close to ready.

Fantasy and Reality

Yesterday was a day of contrasts. While exiting the subway we encountered a view of Ground Zero. At that point we decided that it was important to educate the kids as to the significance of that giant construction site. I went through what had happened, some of which Squidette remembered and all of which was essentially new to Little Squid who was just 4 when it all happened. He knew that there had been a World Trade Center but had not understood. Sadly, innocence is now lost and he asked a lot of questions and then, as I kind of knew he would, wandered out of his room at 9:30 p.m. in tears about all of the dead people. We talked some more and he returned to bed somewhat comforted. Sometimes reality is a rough place.

Reality, however, is also somewhat ironic and the sign over Century 21 attests. (The view is of Ground Zero from the Winter Garden. We were standing where the entrance to a bridge to the World Trade Center once existed.)

We then turned to lighter matters as we studied the Kite exhibit flying high in the Winter Garden.


















The kites were neat but less then we expected (the write up made it seem like the kites were all different).

Sauma was amazing and better so for being unexpected. It is an interactive installation including Sight and Scent Bubbles representing 3 cities -- Paris, Budapest and Helsinki; velcro jackets for those who want to be close and, disposable wedding dresses.

































We then walked uptown, touring the monument to the Irish Potato Famine and a wonderful sculpture garden just south of Chambers Street. The kids got a short playtime in at a playground in between the two and then we did lunch and hung out in the air conditioned apartment for the remainder of the day.










































Notice that my mini-socks got in to the act as they found feet -- and ears -- to cover. The sock even fit one of the feet!

Now to pack for our trip and take my photos for Sunday Socks.

Squid on New Wheels

There he is -- the Little Squid on his newest set of wheels. I know it looks like a kid's bike but in reality it is a full size folding bike with with the handle bars lower then they are supposed to go (The seat is not at its lowest setting.) The nice guys at Larry and Jeff's cut about an inch off the handle bar post for us. When (if) the Little Squid needs the extra height, years from now, the post can be replaced for little, relative, cost. The shop folk also threw in a bell and water bottle because we are such nice people. (O.k., they probably did it because we give them a lot of business and the Little Squid is pretty cute.)

The Squid then all conquered the Great Hill in Central Park with Little Squid passing Mama Squid on the uphill. I am suitably embarrassed. Unfortunately, about 2 miles home, Squidette bonked and was crying when we finally made it to our exit. (Bonked is apparently the biking term for "hitting the wall." ) She simply ran out of energy but managed to finish the ride. We all got off the bikes and walked the last half mile with Papa Squid holding her bike as well as his own. All of the Squid ran through a set of playground sprinklers before going up to the apartment to inhale large quantities of watermelon and water. In the future we will pack more carefully for a ride of this length on such a hot day. We wound up being out an hour longer then yesterday (for the same milage) and it felt hotter. [Squidette is just fine -- a shower and some food and fluids brought her back to herself again.]


And in conclusion -- a monkey in a tree, just for the heck of it.

Now to figure out what knitting I am packing for the trip.

Squid On Wheels -- A Thursday Ride

No exciting destination or good food. Today was all about the riding as we pedaled up to and half-way around the Central Park loop. Then the ride got exciting. We exited the park on the East Side at 90th Street and headed to our favorite bike shop on Second Avenue (the 87th Street "Larry and Jeff''s" if you care) where the little squid tried out a new bike, a Dahon folding bike. After a bit of adjustment and several sample rides it was determined that we had a bike that could enable him to more easily keep up with the larger squid and also have a bike that will grow with him until well after puberty. The bike is having the handlebar stem trimmed a bit and will join our family tomorrow afternoon. The current littlesquidcycle is going to a friend who lives near the bike shop -- we will ride up, claim the new bike and drop off the old one with our friend. Little Squid also got a new helmet which, assuming no accidents, should last until near puberty.

I am now the only person riding a "hand-me-down" bike with a "hand-me-down" helmet. (Mike found a better helmet about 3 days after buying the one I now own.) I rode the Bike Friday today to try to get used to it. Right now I still think I prefer the Specialized but I will give the Friday another chance tomorrow.

On a bike accomplishment front -- all 4 squid rode the "Great Hill" in Central Park. We all made it up and only one squid was breathing hard. I have got to get in to better shape.

Tomorrow, the same ride.

This and That

First and foremost, profound apologies to my yarn angel and the organizers of dye-o-rama. You guys did a great job and I apologize for being impatient. I will say no more until the promised yarn comes through. I know that the angel is doing this out of the goodness of their heart -- I offered to be an angel -- and I am properly appreciative. My words for the person who snuck out on her responsibilities however ... after all, she got her yarn.

On other topics ... this morning I went skating and was finally able to snap a picture of this:

a ghost bike. Ghost bikes are placed where motor vehicle caused biking fatalities have occurred. This one is located on the Hudson River bike path right by the entrance to the NYC tow pound. The biker was killed by a tow truck leaving the pound. As I passed this spot today, a tow-truck operator was gently honking his horn to warn the path denizens.

The couch shopping was a bust as the one we really like will not fit in to our elevator or through our very narrow door. We are now broadening the search and are first asking "can it be taken apart for delivery" before we commit our hearts to such a large object. Fortunately it is not an urgent need so we can take our time.

We did order a new coffee and end table. The coffee table's top raises so that you can comfortably work on a computer or even eat a meal on the couch. This would have been useful during the construction. It also has two compartments under the table that look like perfect storage for circular knitting needles!

I did get the "linen" shopping done and the kids now have 2 new sets of sheets each and we all have new towels. The old towels will now become "sprinkler / camping towels" and the current sprinkler / camping towels will become the cleaning rags that they already resemble. All of the new stuff still has to be washed but that is a task for another day.

Tomorrow we are hoping to do something physical, perhaps a ride in Central Park ...

I Won!

See the lovely stitch markers? I won them in the Dye-O-Rama drawing as a participant who sent her yarn and had it received by the deadline. Yes, one is "pastel" and the other is dark, it is not the lighting. Please note that I still have not received any yarn from this swap and am feeling a bit put out. Everytime I start thinking about travel projects I dream of taking my swap yarn with me and know that is not happening. Pout.

The markers, however, are happily guarding the ribbed edge of CeCe which I have mentioned many times and never shown. Here she is in a close to finished state. There is one or two more days worth of work in her.

And here is my new dining room table! Complete with hand-woven placemats and our dinner reading material.
If you want to figure out who sat where ... I am reading the hardcover, Papa Squid is reading the sports section, Squidette is rereading some Oz (same side as the paper) and Little Squid is rereading some Hank Zipser. This arrangement proved to not work as both male are lefties and both females are righties. What happened was that all of our reading material wound up competing for space in the center of the table. Tomorrow we will go back to men on one side and women on the other.

(My book is Elizabeth Peter's "Lord of the Silent," if anyone cares. I have been listening to this series and this is the second book that is not offered in unabridged audio format so I am actually reading it. Barbara Rosenblatt narrates this series and I love the voices she puts to the characters, I am trying to keep her voice in my head as I read it. It seems that the next one is also offered only in abridged format so a trip to the library is in order to get the actual text before we leave for Kentucky.)

Tomorrow may see us decide on a new couch. If you are interested in seeing the contestants in this contest, click here. The couch on which both Little Squid and Papa are sitting on is leading in the polls. My sister-in-law thinks that the print is too space-age and I think that the plain fabric on all of the others is too boring. The sofa in question also has a recliner built in to it, as does the matching chair. This should increase the over all amount of seating in the living room as Papa Squid tends to sprawl his lower tentacles all over the couch, taking up all 3 spaces currently available. Check back tomorrow to see if we were able to commit!