Weekend in a Blur

Our weekend passed in a blur of mostly small things to do. We got the last few pictures taken for the family book (expect for swimming, which just might not make it in).

We preped the bikes for our up-incoming three day bike tour. This included a trip to the bike store to purchase necessities such as new tires for the tandem, a couple of new water bottles and a handlebar extender so that Davan doesn't have to reach so far to get to the handlebars. It's seems like everything costs money, even a supposedly cheap bike/camping trip. Ah well. We should more or less be set up for a summer of bicycling now.

Davan also went on a flight with the Young Eagles program. This is really cool and if you have a kid, you should check it out for your area. Kids can go up in a personal plane (usually a 2-4 seater) with a pilot. Depending on age, the child is usually given control of the plane for a short period of time while in the air, as well.

Anthony took Davan to that on Saturday while I went to a book group meeting. Sunday found Davan and I spending 4 hours, incongruously, in a Catholic girls' school. Davan was in a Peter Pan play and her class was invited to perform select scenes from their show at a student dance showcase. The facility where it was held was at St Mary's Academy in downtown Portland. What with getting there early for multiple run throughs and staying through the end to watch others and to take a bow, we were there quite a long time. It was fun, though, for the kids to get up on stage again and we enjoyed the other dances. We both particularly liked a troop of boys - about 25 or so - who did a group dance.

Over the course of the weekend, we did manage to get the bikes almost ready (the tandem still needs a new tube in the front) and to do a trail packing. As we haven't done multi-day bike tours before, we weren't sure how the packing would go. Anthony was particularly worried about not having enough space. However, all the bulky stuff (tent, sleeping bags, therma rests) plus his and Davan's stuff sack of clothes fit on the trailer he and Davan will pull with the tandem.

I got almost all of the food ready (we aren't going to buy our bagels until the day before we go so they're fresh) and packed it up. It fit neatly into my trunk and one panier with room left over for most of the kitchen (stove, dishes, ect). My second panier will hold my own clothes and a few more kitchen items (water filter and pot). So, it all fits and we're excited about the trip!

My goal for today was to get four pictures printed out (not at home) for the family book. Barbara wants to see it before the committee. I assume so she can make suggestions if she doesn't approve or thinks we should add something. So, I'd wanted to get it done today. However, I had a very annoying time of it at Target. First, there was a couple who were trying to use the machine, but having trouble with it. So, they needed help from a store employee. Davan and I had stopped off on the way to her Girl Scout meeting just to put the pictures in for developing, but ended up not having time to finish. So, I took Davan to Girl Scouts and came back.

Sadly, when I came back, a lady was using the machine to make copies of 10 photographs. For some reason, she was having to start the whole process over at the beginning of each picture and, at the end, needing an employee to come over and punch in a code. Also, if a picture wasn't right, the process had to be started over again. I left when she had 3 remaining pictures to copy.
Luckily, the library is close by, so I went over to pick out some books for Davan, as she's just flying through books right now. 2-3 chapter books a day! When I got back, she was just finishing up. I finally get to the machine. It doesn't have an USB port. Grr. I know that Walmart has a machine with a USB port, but I really don't like Walmart and I was getting fed up with the process by then. I gave up and joined Davan at the Girl Scout meeting.

So, this afternoon, when Davan's friend (who came home with us from Girl Scouts) is picked up, she and I will have to venture out to get these pictures developed.