Button Post and BBP

First, the fiber content.

Friday night I decided that it was o.k. to start knitting for my nephew. You should understand that because I would not knit for this kid out of superstition, all of my baby knitting was stopped. Yeah, I went over board and now there are a whole lot of kids due who do not have Squid Knit love waiting for them. They will live with Squid Bought love -- my kin come first.

So, I picked up most of the yarn I needed for the Rainbow Blanket from Knit It! 2006. I am short one skein of green but I am hoping to get it today or tomorrow on my way home from work. I have finished 14 squares and have 35 squares and border to go. Do you think I can get it finished by the time I meet him on Saturday? I lost all of my knitting time yesterday due to work commitments so the answer is "not likely," but maybe on the trip home. (8 hours of train time gives one ample knitting opportunity.) No pictures because I do not want to scare my sister. ;-)

The remainder of this post is to put up all of the buttons I want to install in my sidebar. I am a bit slow on some of this Blogger stuff so I have not managed to figure out how to put something in my sidebar without first creating a post with the image embedded in the post. This gives the button / image a "permanent" home that belongs to me to relate to. So ... here goes:

I recently joined Sock-ret Pal and the Knitters Tea Swap 2:
I am also both a player and a square in Rhinebeck Blogger Bingo (Saturday only right now).
And here are some of my favorite blogs that have buttons. If you are not here I promise that I will work on it. Just no promises as to when. These guys will go up in the sidebar with their links sometime in the next week or so.

I have to put the Harlot first because she is why I started blog surfing in the first place.
And these are blogs that I MUST hit every day and trade emails with the owners. I know I am missing many, many blogs -- blog lines says that I am currently subscribed to 166 feeds -- but when I went on my button heisting trip a week or so ago, these were the ones that I grabbed. I will do another heisting trip soon.
And now, some baby blanket knitting!

Thank you!

Thank you Cookie, KnittyOtter, Ann, Kirsten, HPNY, Susan, Ginny and anyone else who even thought about us for all of your birthday emails and cheering thoughts as we rode yesterday. I am sure that your long distance cheers kept us rolling along.

I had a Sept. 11. post prepared but for personal reasons I am going in to Ostrich mode for today after we do our tribute at school. I hope everyone has the day they desire and that if you are in remembrance mode, please do not forget the survivors and their families while you are remembering the deceased.

Squid do a Century!

Actually, after all was said and done, we did 44/100ths of a Century including the ride home from the finish line. Both kids held up fantastically with a little bit of droopage just before the second rest stop -- about 29 miles in to the trip.

The day began with wake up for the adults at 5 a.m. (yup, that is not a typo) and for the kids at 5:15 a.m. Fortunately, they woke easily and Little Squid even woke up with a huge smile on his face. Never underestimate the power of a birthday to wipe away early morning grumpiness.

We all donned our biking gear, including the brand new matching Squid On Wheels tee shirts. We looked very cute if I must say so myself.

At the Start Line.

The comments began practically from the moment we arrived in Central Park in our matching gear. If the gear did not bring the comments, the presence of the Squidlings did. Some of the comments heard / directed at us during the day:

"There goes the biking family." (Notice how we were the biking family.) This was answered with "We prefer to be called the Squid Family or Squid on Wheels." Yes, I really said this and said it with a smile.

"Great Shirts."

"Your daughter is really strong."

"Your daughter is really built for biking." Followed by "So is your son."

"I told my daughter she should have come with me!" And then at the finish line, on his cell phone talking to the wife and daughter -- "Hurry, the family I told you about is here." (We left before they arrived.)

"It's so great to see a family riding together."

"What is that on your shirts?"

"Are you a team or a family?"

There was not one negative comment and so many people were pleased and surprised to see a family doing this together. I think we inspired a few of them to try it with their kids next year. We had some nice conversations with the commenter and gathered a small cadre of people who we kept bumping in to at the rest stops and along the way.

There were a few other kids there but I only saw one other on the 35 mile route. Most of the kids were on the 15 mile route so we lost them after the first rest stop -- their finish line.

This ride went much better then the other two organized rides that we have done. The pace was much better then the Tour de Brooklyn and we stopped for traffic very few times between rest stops. The traffic stops were so light that we did the mileage a lot faster then on any of our other rides. The weather was great, the views were spectacular and we had a fantastic time. Next year -- the 55 mile segment!

A few of the photos are below. For more, go here and here. For the GPS map, go here. (Ignore the weird part in Manhattan -- it was a GPS anomaly. The weird part on Randall's Island was us getting slightly lost.)

A Squid pace line. All 3 white shirts are Squid.

Rest Stop #1. Look how fresh they are!

The Triborough Bridge from below.

Rest stop #2 -- starting to sag just a bit.

Squid on a Turtle. Amazing what some food can do to perk up a tired Squid.












On the Triborough Bridge. This is just about the time that Little Squid actually turned 9. Yes, we sang to him on the bridge just after carrying the bikes up the second set of stairs. (Squidette carried her own bike this trip.)






At the finish line! For our efforts we each now have a new tee-shirt and water bottle. The Squidlings plan to wear their tees to school tomorrow. Yes, they are planning to show off a little. I am not discouraging this.

And now, for some cake!

Happy Birthday Little Squid!

Yes, nine years ago today Little Squid came in to this world and promptly started annoying the heck out of us. That seems to be his purpose in life -- to annoy (in a good way) his family.

Little Squid loves to sing and you can tell when he is happy in what he is doing since he will hum or sing softly to himself. He likes to try new things and is even willing to like them.

My Little Squid is an incredibly cuddly, warm, snuggly child. He is bright and insightful and deep thinking. This is a kid who can see something on the street and, after thinking awhile, ask you about it ... 2 months later.

This is the child who can lose a shoelace off of the shoe on his foot and a glove off of a hand that is holding a lunch box.

This is my Little Squid and I love him dearly.

Happy Birthday, Little Squid.

Happy Birth Day Nephew Squid

My sister just called -- I am an aunt again. Everyone is healthy. These short sentances cannot express the emotion I acutally feel. Baby Nephew (to distingish from my other 2 nephews) had countless people wringing their hands waiting to get word this morning. Many people were holding their breath and sending positive vibes up to the mom. Superstitions ran high on my part and now I just have tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat.

Sis -- I hope your son brings you and CB all of the joy and pleasure that my children have brought to me. I can wish you nothing more since I think I have it all. May he grow healthy and strong and give you hugs, kisses and lots and lots of Love!

Now to get knitting!

They grow up so fast

This morning we took the subway instead of driving. When we got uptown we all walked to the Middle School and Squidette gave me a huge hug. Little Squid and I continued walking, hand in hand until we reached the corner of his school block. At that point he dropped my hand like a hot potato and said "I can go to school from here." Since I had to walk past his school to get to the bus, I stayed with him. At the door I paused, waiting for a hug and kiss. Nothing.

I guess it is o.k. when he is in the car in front of the school - no one can see him there. Oh well. He still gives me lots of snuggles in private.

Birthday Squid hint: This Squid's favorite Disney flick is Dumbo. This Squid also just read "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" for the first time and loved it.

Cheering Section Wanted!

On Sunday we will be riding the 35 mile portion of the New York Century bike ride. A Century, in biking terms, is 100 miles. We are not doing that. No, we are not yet that crazy. All of the long rides we have done in the last few weeks have been to train the Squidlings for this ride. We think we worked out all the kinks in terms of fuel and such and are ready to roll.

We have, however, lost our cheering squad. I should be able to share why sometime tomorrow or Saturday but don't want to jinx it. Let it stand that our Cheering section will be serving a more important function on Sunday morning.

So, if you are in Manhattan, Brooklyn or Queens and want to cheer on Team Squid, (this is not a race but cheering would be cool) then come on out. We leave Manhattan from Central Park at 110th Street at 7:30 a.m. We should arrive at the first rest stop in Prospect Park by 9 or 9:30 depending on traffic conditions and how fast Little Squid is riding. Our next rest stop is Astoria Park some time around 11 more or less and then finally back in to Manhattan to end where we began at Central Park at 110th Street.


How will you recognize us? Simple, we are the four idiots wearing the Squid Knits logo on our t-shirts. Color on the back and black and white where a pocket should be on the front. The kid's bikes will also sport orange safety flags which may or may not have squid drawn on them. We will be the group periodically yelling "Squid" and spontaneously singing "Happy Birthday" around 11:00. Yes, one squid will age during the ride. (O.k., we will all age but one will be able to say at the start of the ride "I am x years old" and at the end of the ride "I am x plus 1 year old."

As for which Squid that is, here is another set of hints: This Squid enjoys reading, cross stitch and computer games. Said Squid also recently acquired a brand new bike.

So, come out and cheer on Team Squid and stop lurking already! Hi Mary!

Blogger Bingo!

I'm joining and I want to be a square! (I also want to play, so there!) I sent my email in. What about you? (If you didn't figure out to click on the button, click here instead.)

School Supplies

This is the week where things are very intense both at work and at home. At work you have to focus on the most important stuff while not forgetting about the smaller stuff which can be dealt with next week after everyone is settled in for the semester. At home it is all about the same thing.

At work there are over 2,000 people, all with their own issues, all just wanting to get / give an education. At home there are just 4 in this apartment but many others outside it who all have their own needs. Switching between work and home is not easy at times. The Squidlings come home with their back-to-school needs and I am always tempted to analyze why their schools do things as they do. I try to suppress the urge to do this in front of the kids. At some point in the evening I break in to a spate of verbal diarrhea and bombard Mike with my day. He actually listens. Do I have a great guy or what?! Then I remember to ask about his day. Oops. (I only overflow after asking about the kids' day and ... listening to the answers.) Squidette is already impatient with taking the bus home. How soon before she asks to take the subway?

Yesterday I came home from work and rushed right back out to get money for the various people we have to pay cash to for goods and / or services and to get a monthly metrocard for the college student who brings Little Squid home every day. Today I had to go out to get some "need now" school supplies for Squidette. After finally picking up my knitting I had to analyze and appraise a birthday present for the soon-to-be Birthday Squid. Some problems but we can make it work.

Birthday-Squid Hint: This Squid's favorite animal is the elephant of which many of the stuffed variety are owned. This Squid also takes up an inordinate amount of space in a bed and was recently banished to the floor for the duration of our Kentucky / Indiana trip. This Squid also desperately needs a haircut.

And, for those of you who have put up with this post up until now, I have this:This is a Giglio. If you need more explanation, click here. That is my school behind it and the famous Rao's on the left. Yes, the perspective is correct -- it is about 2 stories higher then my 3 story, HIGH ceilinged, school. My school neighborhood is very closely tied to the local RC church. When we had to evacuate due to a fire last winter, they took the entire H.S. student body inside to keep the kids from freezing in the sub-zero weather. Yes, the kids were respectful.

First Day of School

I got a little silly this morning and insisted on taking everyone's "first day of school" picture.

Little Squid's legs are not really that huge.

Squidette's eyes are actually blue.

Yes, thank you, that is a huge zit on my chin and no, that is not what Papa Squid wore at work, just to work. He changed in his office after riding down.





Best line of the day was uttered by Squidette who came home all by herself today. (I dropped her off.) "School was fine but the commute was horrible."

Sleepy Sunday

Today was a sleepy, errand running kind of day. I was the first one up -- makes sense, I was the first one in bed last night -- and the day kind of crept along from there.

We went on a short bike ride to check out the rock/plaque commemorating the works of Nelson A. Rockefeller. Little Squid had noticed it on a prior ride and needed to get back to see what it was. We then rode to our favorite treat place and replenished the supply of chocolate for us and for friends. When we arrived back at our building, Papa Squid led us around the entrance circle 3 time before allowing us to dismount. Apparently the GPS was 0.04 miles away from a round mile and he just had to get that last 4/100 of a mile in. Total mileage: 7 miles -- exactly.

Lunch and then a trip out to Best Buy, the Container Store and Barnes and Noble for all Squid. Best Buy yielded a 2 Gigabyte memory chip for only $23. No, you can't get this deal -- there was an instant rebate and then we had a gift card for $25. Papa Squid kept the 2 Giga and I got his hand-me-down 1 Giga chip to replace the 256 M chip that I lost last week. I do not need 2 gigs for my audio books -- the 256 was serving me just fine.

The Container Store yielded some shelving ideas and very long lines due to the recent, annual, influx of F.I.T. students.

Barnes and Noble yielded lots of books and while there we managed to convince the Squidlings that The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was worth a go. We did not buy it then, however, because both Papa Squid and I were convinced that we had two copies of it at home. Once back, however, we discovered that we had two copies of Life, The Universe and Everything but zero copies of Hitchhiker. I went back out and got a copy. (It has since been read by Squidette and determined to be "eh." Little Squid is now working on it and Squidette is working on Restaurant at the End of the Universe on the theory that sometimes a second book is better then the first.)

Squidette and I attempted to do some shopping at City Quilts but they were closed for the long weekend. I will try to get home early enough to take Squidette there one day this week. She has a project in mind and needs the fabric for it. We also hit the post office to take care of a friend. It is nice to live near the main post office -- it is open 24/7.

And now, the promised Knitting Content.

Woven is coming along, one sleeve is about 1/3 done. The first corn maze sock is finished and the second has the beginnings of a toe. (It is a toe-up sock so this is not as good as it seems.) That's it. I have nothing else for you.

I will, however, leave you with this:
Someone (not me -- now that would be funny!) baked a birthday cake and cupcakes today. That means that another Squid has a birthday quickly approaching. Decorating ideas are flying fast and furious around here with Elephants and Frogs two of the possible designs. Next Saturday will see the decoration for a Sunday birthday. Try to guess which Squid is changing ages. I will drop hints over the next few posts.

Hint #1: This Squid's favorite color is Blue.

Oh so tired!

I find it amazing how a job that does not involve much physical activity can be so exhausting. Friday night I did not feel it. Yesterday I crashed hard. I was mostly fine while visiting with my sister-in-law. (We retrieved Squidette's clothes so she now has long pants.) On the trip home I kept my eyes open until I no longer had to navigate and then fell asleep for the entire length of the Palisades Parkway while Papa Squid battled nasty winds on a winding road.

It seems that my SIL's MIL -- whose English seems to be improving -- is interested in getting back in to knitting. The next time we go up I am going to kidnap her and drag her to a knitting shop I found in a nearby town. There is a quilting store in the same town so Squidette might want to come along for the ride. Just call me the enabler!

We went to the Museum of the Hudson Highlands in Cornwall, NY yesterday. There were lots of cool animals and the kids learned about the Great Horned Owl and various turtles from the staff. Since I neglected to take my camera, all I can provide you with is this:The Great North American Orange Backed Chair. They are rarely found in captivity so this is a unique specimen.

Knitting? What knitting? Oh, that knitting. I'll post some to Sunday Socks and get other stuff up by the end of the day.

Friday Night

This is what Friday night looks like at the Squid home from Mama Squid's perspective.

Mama Squid is the last to arrive home, coming in while violin lessons are in progress with three or four violin cases open on the dining room table and an other wise hushed home. She immediately proceeds to the bedroom where she removes all of her work clothes and changes in to non-work clothes. She washes her face, removes her nail polish (a new addition to the work persona), takes off her jewelry and watch leaving on the signs of marital commitment. (Engagement and wedding rings) Mama sings a shabbat tune softly to herself as she makes the transition from Mrs. Squid to Mama Squid.

Quiet conversations are held with the squidlings as they rotate in their lessons and with Papa Squid who supervises and plays along for some pieces. Mama hits the chocolate, hard, and catches up on her blogs while the music continues in the background.

Dinner is ordered (yes, we often order in on Friday night), delivered and ... not yet consumed. Shabbat candles are kindled, prayers are said, wine is sipped (or shot back as one adult or the other finishes the small amount served out) and dinner is consumed.

All the Squid watch the Simpsons and tonight, an episode of Who Wants to Be a SuperHero (don't give away the winner, we watch that episode tomorrow). Yes, our interpretation of Shabbat is a loose one but it works for us.

Squidlings prepare for bed, hug their parents and all is quiet.

The week is over the day is done and I will try not to think about work until some time on Monday.

Tomorrow, I promise some knitting but no cycling since the weather report is for nasty rain all day. Have a safe a pleasant Labor Day Weekend!

A day of contrasts

This has been a day of highs and a day of lows. High #1, finding just the right bottom (short skirt) to go with my school T shirt which I had to wear in a show of School Unity today. (It is the small things that make me happy.)

Low #1 seeing how fast the parking spots filled up today. Dealing with parking issues is one of the banes of my work existence.

High #2 -- having my child retrieval issues taken care of for the next few months. This was a big one. Two nights ago the college student that picked the squidlings up from school last year called and said she still had to finalize her program but right then it did not work. We were not supposed to have a solid answer until after school started next week. Somehow she managed to fix it and called me today to tell me so. Then she called me back to ask what Little Squid would like for his birthday. I was on cloud 9. Child retrieval has been one of the biggest fear-shadows since DMIL passed away. She took the kids to and from school every day and cared for them every work day from the time Squidette was 2 months old. Boy I miss her -- and not just for the child care.

Low #2 -- Just before high # 2, a good friend got some very bad news and had to run out of work.

Low #3 -- losing the SD card from my Treo. Fortunately it was a small one and only had my audio books on it. If I am lucky I will find it in my office tomorrow but more likely it popped out one of the times I had to quickly answer my cell phone and just popped the Treo out of it's holster. Since the phone was on silent mode I would not have heard the warning beep that the phone usually gives when the card pops out. I will live and it can be replaced for not too much money but still ...

High # 3 -- this sunset

Mmmm Lammmmb

Stop reading now if you think that the consumption of fiber bearing animals is cruel. You can resume reading after the next paragraph.

O.k., the rest of you can salivate as I explain that I entered the apartment to the smell of lamb sizzling on the stove. Pair that with mashed potatoes, grape tomatoes and a good red wine and then imagine how I feel right now. Comfy, sated and nice and relaxed.

The day was of neutral character -- nothing bad, nothing wonderful -- kind of a dreary, half rainy, sun never really came out sort of day. After work I headed over to Knitty City to check in to how the Harlots visit will go. Pearl gave me the dope and I got info on some other happenings there and left with a new book and some more sock yarn. Hey, did you really expect me to walk out without yarn?! That made the day a little less neutral, on the side of good. Dinner finished the transition. I really love lamb!

And now, for something completely different.

When my mother-in-law passed on last June we spent the summer cleaning out her apartment. We let a lot of stuff go to the liquidators but while they were doing the final clearout, they found a roll of papers and showed them to us. Including in these papers was this:Grandma Rose's teaching certificate. In the upper left-hand corner, third item down, is her file number, the gold standard of identification for a NYC teacher. I thought I was in shock when I realized last summer that DMILs file number started with a 1. (As in 100,000.) My file number starts with a 6 and teachers coming in today are numbered starting with an 8. Yes, the numbers are given out sequentially. Grandma Rose's file number starts with a 7 ... as in 70,000 ... and was issued in 1922. While my brain understands that obviously there were people with file numbers going all the way down, having the paper in my hands and being related, even by marriage, to one is really wild and warming. Over the next few days I will try to photograph more of these documents so they will be somewhat preserved. This is a small piece of history that I am glad the liquidators did not take.
And this may be the future of our world of education. We could do far, far worse.
And, if anyone still cares, these are one of the new pair of shoes. I shed them as soon as I walked in the door. My toes are a bit sore the heels were a bit too high. Flats tomorrow ... old flats!

Shoes, I got Shoes!!!

The two pair of shoes that I ordered on Sunday arrived today. Woo Hoo!!! And they fit! Now to figure out what to wear tomorrow so I can show off a new pair of shoes. Is that vain or what! I think that I need to look serious on Friday. Hmm... what do you think ... new suit with new shoes? (Just joking, I do not need to look serious on Friday. That was today and I opted for casual anyway.)

I've only been back at work for two days and I am already losing it. Monday I was good and got properly prepared, even putting on my lipstick before I left the apartment. At that point I was sure that I slipped the lipstick in to my purse where it should live for the rest of the year for application on the fly. So, expecting it to be in my purse, I did not even look for it with the rest of my face paints this morning. Fast forward to a wacko lady pulling out the entire contents of her purse at a stop light looking for the blasted lipstick. I even contemplated stopping at a drugstore to get a back up but was not willing to risk a parking ticket to do so. It's o.k., despite being dressed on the casual side and sans lipstick my meeting still went well. I've met with these guys often enough that I do not need the window dressing anymore. I have learned that it does make a difference early on but after a year it should not matter.

So what does a Mother Squid do after a long day of work ... she goes grocery shopping. Note: this is usually a Papa Squid job but I had the car ...

Then, she instigates an asparagus fight at the dinner table.

And on that note ... how was your day?

Finished Object and Progress

Here we go ... a finished CeCe! This is the picture that shows off the sweater.

This is the picture that makes me look good. (Or at least better.)

And here is the body of Woven! The first sleeve is now on the needles. I am hereby swearing not to start another project until this one is finished! Not even a pair of socks.And, because it is a quiet news day ... a happy cantalope.

WIPs and other stuff

I know that I have a lot of works-in-progress and I have neither forgotten nor abandoned them. Woven is in my lap as I type and I am close to finishing the body. The Tulip and Gingham socks are languishing but not forgotten and the Mitered Sweater is waiting to see if I can get any more coordinating roving at Rhinebeck. Yes, I could order it but I have plenty of other stuff to keep me occupied in the mean time. The second dye-o-rama sock is on the needles and the first Corn Maze sock is 75% finished.

On the main wheel is the Shetland that I am processing and spinning. Two more batts were carded and spun today at which point I discovered that the rest of the locks in the bag were a different shade of pink -- the already carded and spun stuff is more purpley. I have a vague memory of buying two different pink shades last year but it was a year ago ... Tomorrow I should finish the spinning of the more purple stuff and start carding up the pink. Maybe I will start plying the purple stuff. On one spindle is some multi-colored silk for a shawl-in-progress, on another some lovely space dyed BFL picked up at Rhinebeck last year from The Fold. On a third is the roving I picked up in Lancaster. The silk is my purse spinning, the BFL is my bike spinning (stationary bike) and the Lancaster roving is my laundry room / playground spinning. So things are getting done, just slowly.

For the last 10 minutes I have been eavesdropping on a conversation between Squidette and a friend. They are comparing back-to-school / new school strategies -- brown bag or lunch box (or school lunch), what kind of back pack to use and where to meet after school. I find this all fascinating. We left much of her shopping undone until she could see what others were doing and then decide how she wants to clothe herself. (Within reason -- I will NOT buy pre-torn jeans.) This year should be interesting as she gains a huge amount of independence and starts commuting (one-way) on her own.

We Squid have spent a quiet day, mostly at home. Seven hours on bikes yesterday took its toll on all of us. Our day's excursion included only a walk to the Green Market with various stops on the way back. Little Squid is now equipped with all of the clothing he should need for this year except for a long-sleeve white button-down shirt. All they had was short sleeve. Blah! I will have to order that when I order their winter jackets. Squidette still needs some jeans because Old Navy does not do "slim" past size 10. She is too tall for the 10 and too slim for the 12. This means I actually have to exert myself here. Have I mentioned that I hate shopping?

My own wardrobe should be ready to go with the last two pair of shoes that I needed now ordered. Over the last few years I have shifted my wardrobe to a more professional look and have slowly started wearing nicer shoes. For most of my career I wore the same style shoe in 3 or 4 different colors. I am not kidding. I would go in to the 9 West outlet and stock up on Blue, Black and Brown in my size with occasional forays into white, off white and tan. I even had one pair in red. All the same, very conservative, very plain, uncontroversial style. Ever since my old boss retired and a new, female, boss took his place, I have paid closer attention to my own look and how people interpret it. I like what I have created and am trying to keep it up even if it means searching for shoes that are not all the same. (Just as long as they click-clack as I make my way through the halls!) I even started wearing lipstick everyday after seeing my boss before she put on her make-up. It really does make a difference -- I never thought it would.

And so it goes. If I knit for the next hour I might finish Woven's body. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Last but not least, for those of you who actually read through the post, some eye-candy -- my squirrel socks which celebrate my prowess with a squirrel trap. (Have-a-heart, I promise.)

Squid on the Beach

Every so often Squid do return to their native waters, in this case, the Atlantic Ocean as seen from the Boardwalk at Coney Island.Yes, the Squid went to Coney Island today and did it ... On Wheels. Click here to see the convoluted path that we took to get there. It was actually pretty direct except for that one section after the south end of Prospect Park. It was at this point that we got kind of dumb despite the prior warning of a kind fellow biker who warned us that it was a tricky maneuver to get to the Ocean Parkway bike path. Next time we will know better. Really, click the link if you want a good laugh. Since it is a Google Map you can go all the way in and in Hybrid mode, even see the pattern of planks on the Boardwalk! Zoom out and then back in if the entire map does not seem to appear.

Once on the Ocean Parkway bike path we had the pleasure of remembering our ABC's as we worked our way through the alphabet of Avenues finally arriving here:
Those of you who know us well will understand the significance. Papa Squid is often referred to as "Z" by his students.

Welcome! This is the land of our ancestors. All of our parents spent time here in their youth either growing up or enjoying the sights. My dad recalls a bike ride from way up in the Bronx, through Queens, down to Coney Island, up through Manhattan and home to the Bronx. He says he was quite a bit older then Little Squid when he did this. My dad also rode to Boston through a hurricane and has the pictures to prove it.

The Brighton Beach end of the Boardwalk with the amusement end in the background. The tower in the middle is the famous Parachute Jump. It no longer functions as such but they recently added lights to give it prominence at night. Yes, the sky really was that dark and that is the reason that we never did make it to the other end of the Boardwalk for a ride on some of the amusements. We do not do the Cyclone if you are wondering. Papa dragged me on it once and that was enough. One of us will brave it again if one of the Squidlings wants to ride it but only then.

After making it all the way to Coney Island, we went in search of Mrs. Stahl's knishes in Brighton Beach. It seems that they no longer exist. Boo. :-( The last time I rode out to Coney Island was on a two-boro knish tour with Papa Squid and his mother. That was probably about 16 -17 years ago. I still remember the taste of those knishes.

This is where we wound up stopping for lunch. The waitress was kind enough to take the photo. I felt like such a tourist! We ate outside right next to our bikes.

This was the menu.

The other side was in English.

Little Squid enjoying (really!) Cold Red Soup. Not Borscht. Squidette also enjoyed it. Papa and I had a cold green soup which tasted kind of like cold Campbells vegetable soup and was really refreshing. We completed the meal with chicken stroganoff and homestyle pork stew. Yum!

Little Squid posing on the Boardwalk.

SQUID ON THE BEACH!!!Papa Squid with the ubiquitous Bike Friday.

Mama and Papa Squid did not pose on the beach due to the fear of the effect of sand on bicycle cleats. Next time we will take bike locks and walk out to the water in bare feet.

On the way back, Papa had a flat tire which he fixed with his usual efficiency while the squidlings rested on a nearby rail. I assisted in the operation and took a picture.

Squidette approaching Grand Army Plaza on the return trip. Look how happy she is!Mama and Little. It looks like we are going much faster then we really are!Cool picture of Manhattan as seen from the bike cam on the Brooklyn Bridge.

The ride took almost 7 hours including lunch and getting lost in Brooklyn. Hopefully we can do the next big ride in less time. We loaded the water bottles with Accelerade to give the kids a bit more to go on. It seemed to work pretty well. Little was fading a bit as we hit the Brooklyn Bridge on the return trip but after almost 7 hours on the road, what do you expect? Now we and the kids know that they can do the ride we have planned on the 10th. Yea!!!

Total Mileage: 35.7 !!!