Smorgasbord!

I didn't get a nap today.

Not complaining, by any stretch, but I'm gonna sleep like a baby tonight! This morning started out sedately enough. Gigi asked if I had any laundry I needed done, and so I took a few items downstairs after breakfast, and we talked while waiting for Mike to get back from a pilots' meeting this morning. The forecast actually had us under a flood watch with Gloom and his brother Doom predicted. There were some clouds, yes, but none of them did more than float around. By 11 a.m., we started our rounds with the bikes, and I got to pick my rides after each mini route we would take.

First up, the Ducati 996. That bike needs a track where it can run. And it needs a pretzel to ride it. He was zippy, but not something you'd want to be on for any extended period of time. I did manage to stall at one protected arrow, but also recovered, restarted and got through the intersection before the light changed, and without putting my feet down. That bike is also a cooker, and I was keeping an eye on the temp gauge, in case it might need some cooling off time.

Next, the SV650S. This one was not nearly so contortional, and a better fit. Mike warned me it had a grabby clutch. I kind of wondered how that would feel, and when I first rolled off and my head snapped back, I learned what he meant! We had a couple of bridges to cross with that one, and it's pretty torquey, and nice for a 650.

Once we got back, it was time for lunch, and we went to meet Gigi at Poor Richard's Sandwich Shop on the waterfront, with Mike and me each taking a dual sport. On the ride there, I was on a Super Sherpa 250, which felt like it weighed about 50 pounds. Super light and maneuverable, and with its own milk crate on the back as luggage. We parked, sharing a spot and then walked to the restaurant, where we sat outside. Across the water was a replica of the ship that the first colonists came over on, and it looks dinky! Those were some brave folks to cross the Atlantic on something that small, I gotta say.

After lunch, we swapped bikes for the ride back. If you ever want to throw a curveball at Mike, be sure to hit the kill switch before he gets on a bike :) I always hit mine to turn the bike off, so when he got on the bike I had ridden to lunch, it took a minute for him to figure out what was wrong (heh, heh). My ride back was a DRZ400, which is quite a bit taller than the Sherpa. I had to climb up on the footpeg in order to be able to swing my leg over the seat (and in front of the ubiquitous milk crate). Once again, it was a nimble ride back to the house, and tomorrow looks to have more dual sport adventures, as the weather permits.

Once back at the house, Mike asked if I wanted to take a break, or if I wanted to keep riding. I asked him, "What is this 'break' thing you speak of? Am I cutting into your nap time?" He averred I was not, and the next bike to ride was a GSXR 750. Once again, there was a bit of leg scrunchage, but I was surprised at how tall the bike was. I flatfooted it, but my legs were fully extended. That bike will go from zero to stupid in a half twist of a wrist. I did eventually have it in top gear for a little bit, but not much. Plus, Mike wanted me to keep it geared down and rpm above 3k, since it was running a little rough in the lower rpm range. That was another fun bike, but really needed a track. I don't see how all those pretty boys can ride around town with their Gixxers and actually want to ride it as their regular bumming around bike.

The other fun part of that ride was that Mike was on his wife's GZ250, flogging it for all it was worth, hunkered down behind the handlebars to get it up to 70 going over the bridge. White helmet, hi-viz jacket and, and blinker left unattended. Now that was classic :)

Next up was Mike's VFR. He's got the twin to my bike, same year, make and model. His has slightly different handlbars, a Sargent seat, stock windscreen, mirrors and footpegs. I really liked how the Sargent on that bike felt. I sold the one my bike came with because I did not like how it felt at all. This one was totally different than that one, but not too far off from the Spencerized seat I've got on mine now. It might have run at a hair lower rpm than mine, but was identical, otherwise. It made me happy to know the bike I liked best was...my bike!

Last trip out, we took an actual ride. The other tours had been over and back across some bridges in a loop, or through some neighborhood roads with curves, but never longer than about 15 or 20 minutes. This last ride, I got to take the ST1300, with rain gear in the luggage since the sky looked like it might open up, and Mike hopped back onto the VFR. This time, there's actual proof I was on the bike, and not just near the bike. Back out of town, got a couple gallons of gas, and on to Engelhard, down highway 264.

The road actually had signs advising the pavement ended, and the road was closed, but I'll let you in on a secret. It wasn't closed. Nice thing, too, there wasn't much traffic on there. Most of what we went through had been burned in the Pains Bay wildfire earlier this year, which had been sparked by lightning, and burned thousands of acres of trees, with the primary fuel being peat moss. It burned for many months, and Hurricane Irene went a long way towards putting out most of the last hot spots. There is already green showing through the charred tree trunks, though, so life will come back.

There are approximately 10 curves or slight bends in the road for about 38 miles. Not too much excitement, but we did pass a Navy place where they blow stuff up, as well as an Air Force testing area, and saw F-18's playing tag in the sky on the way over, and F-16's on the way back (identified per my pilot buddy Mike). There were some rather lackadaisical turkeys in the road that didn't feel rushed by the honking bikes bearing down on them, and one other smaller bird walked part way across the road, and right as Mike was about to pass him, he vaulted up into the sky across his path of travel. The birds around here aren't the brightest.

Engelhard was just a stop to stretch and drink, before turning back around. Some local boy went past us three times in his jacked up pickup that had 'The Beast' written across the top of his windshield, and exhaust loud enough that we couldn't talk when he passed. Not much going on in the burg of Engelhard.

The road was still open all the way for our trip back (good thing), and we went over the Mann's Harbor bridge one last time before heading to the house. Tonight's supper was meatballs and stroganoff, along with loaded baked potatoes, rolls, and broccoli with cheese. The day was catching up with me (combined with being up until midnight last night), so I made my way upstairs at 8:30 to call it a night, and update here.

Tomorrow's tentative schedule is riding in one of the wildlife refuges with the dual sports, as well as getting in some aerobatic flying :) I need to hurry up and get some sleep so I can drain the last few drops tomorrow, since Mike will be back at work on Friday, with a 72 hour shift. Pics, and to bed.

Little Bears and Big Bodies of Water

I don't remember much about last night's sleep, which is always a good sign, and I woke up this morning to a mostly blue sky, with a few clouds here and there. Mike headed out for a bit, and I ambled downstairs to visit with Gigi, while she mixed up a batch of blueberry muffins (I am eating on the tall hog here...way high on the tall hog).

I also got a chance to meander through the yard, enjoying the natural charm of the pine needle carpet through the trees and shrubs in the back. Closer in to the house, I got to see some more unusual flowers, including a beautiful shamrock with purply triangles for flowers, as well as a couple others whose names escape me (one had leaves that were both green and hot pink...the leaves, not the flowers).

After a bit, Mike came back, and we had breakfast, after which he gathered up the new intercom system we were going to try, and radio, along with a hat and his emergency crash landing kit (containing a compass and mosquito spray). I grabbed a polar fleece vest and a hair comb, along with camera, and we headed off to the hangar.

Mike has a few items he wants Pony Tail Dan to check out and fix on his Piper Cub (he's the best fabric man around), and at the same time he was going to drop off his Cub at Dan's shop, he was going to pick up his Great Lakes bi-plane, which was there for servicing.

The Piper Cub is a cutie, and about as simple as you can get. There are no electronics, and no automation. Levers, needles and slides. I got to sit in the back seat, which was gracious of my pilot, since the front seat looked a little tight, and I was schooled on what to do in case the plane jumped the chock and started rolling while he was outside. He primed the gasoline three times, and a smidge. Wound the prop around three single times, and then gave it the big spin (come on Big Money!) It caught right away, and Mike let it idle for a little and then eased the throttle back a hair before swapping out the regular chocks for a 1 inch dowel in front of the wheel. He climbed in shortly thereafter, hopped the dowel, and we were taxiing down the runway. The only bummer turned out to be that the new intercom system didn't work, so I got to wear headphones and look snazzy, but they were just a noise barrier, and that's all.

With the plane being a tail dragger, the nose points up to the sky, and you really can't see out over the front, to see where you're going, so there's a bit of a swagger going on as it rolls left and right along to the runway to get a line of sight. Once we made our final turn, the throttle went up, we picked up speed and were airborne like the lightest thistledown being carried away. There wasn't any sensation of climbing, but you just noticed that the ground was suddenly falling away.

For the next 45 minutes or so, we flew west to Edenton, going across the Alligator River, the Albemarle Sound, little towns dotted here and there, kayakers, bridges, rusty house boats and wildlife preserves. Our altitude stayed right around 900 feet, and our speed maxed at 75, though we were averaging closer to 67 or so. There were a couple of dips from turbulence, but nothing that wasn't its own kind of fun. Pretty soon, I saw a long strip of cement ahead, with a few intersecting lanes that was the airport in Edenton. We'd been going around 2,100 rpm up to that point, but as he banked for the turn to line up with the runway, he dropped back to around 1400 rpm, and it was peaceful with how slow and quiet it was. We lined up and dropped down to the runway, with a slight bump, and then headed over to the hangars there.

Fred met us outside the hanger that housed Mike's other winged toy, the Great Lakes bi-plane. This one is a pretty blue, and definitely bigger than the Cub, but by no means a large plane. Fred and Mike got the accordion style hangar doors opened and then rolled the Great Lakes out, before pivoting the Cub around and backing it in. There was a minor search for Mike's headset that has a cloth helmet attached to it, but it turned out to be lurking under a seat in the plane, so that was all good. I got a tutorial on how to get into the front seat (no simple task) and then buckled up the harness once I was in. There are controls in the seat where I am (as there were in the Piper), and I got a quick rundown of what not to touch (simple...anything that moves). Mike got in and we headed out, sashaying down the runway again before lining up to take off. This plane had a bit more power than the Little Bear, and the wash from the propeller was noticeably stronger. Of course, all that is in front of me in the plane is a small windshield, where the Cub had a roof over top of it, so it's only natural that I get more air.

At any rate, we're off, climbing up to around 3,000 feet for the trip back. I recognize some of what we passed on the way in, although it looks a bit smaller when you're three times as high up. There were some clouds starting to roll in, though, and the temps were a bit chillier up high, so Mike came down closer to 2,000 feet for most of the way back.

The headset worked better in this plane, where I could hear Mike, but my side never would transmit, so he probably thought I was an awfully quiet passenger. We passed a CIA landing strip where you never want to have an emergency landing, we flew over the worst speed trap county in the state, and from up there, we could really see how little land there really is to the Outer Banks. Roanoke Island loomed before us shortly, and we were #2 in line to land.

As we did the final turn to come down to land, I leaned to the side so Mike could have a clear view of the runway. Again, bounced down lightly for touchdown and rolled on over to the hangar for the bi-plane. For this one, he has a dolly of sorts that will capture the rear wheel and raise it, so he can then maneuver the plane by pulling the dolly, and he towed the plane back into the hangar (which also had a couple of other motorcycles in it).

It was lunch time then, and we went to a local eatery called Darrell's, that had some super smelling barbecue smoke wafting outside. Mike said that Gigi rated their she crab soup as her #2 favorite, so I tried a cup of that, along with the barbecue plate with fries. I was afraid it would be too much, and true enough, I wasn't able to finish all the barbecue and fries, but dang, I gotta say that was some good she crab soup!

Once we got back to the house, it was nap time. Part of the SOP for the pilots where Mike works is to have quiet time from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and if possible, to avail themselves of sleep. Pretty nice to get paid to sleep, I'll say! Just as we were coming back from lunch, it was starting to sprinkle, so there wasn't much else to do outside anyway. I sawed logs until around 4, and then went out on the front porch to sit in a hammock swing to catch up on some knitting and enjoy the patter of the rain. Mike came out after a while, and then Gigi, and after a bit, Buddy, who is Mike's brother, and another resident here.

I knit on for a bit more, and came inside to a supper of nachos and quesadillas. Gigi also made a butter pecan layer cake, with cream cheese frosting that we got to sample later on. We had some great conversation around the table afterward, swapping stories of road trips and the adventures we've been on, and the ways God has worked out the seeming difficulties we've faced. If you ever get a chance, you should ask Mike about the Red Bull story, though. That's a classic!

Mike wandered off to read while Gigi and I chatted at the table, each with her netbook out, and showing pictures. I finally headed upstairs around 9:30 to start this and get it wrapped up before calling it a night. Tomorrow's forecast has scattered showers, so we might try to dodge a few, while I get to try out some of the different bikes that fill the two car garage downstairs. Even if it pours rain, though, I'm having a grand time, and will not feel ill used :)

After the rain...

Gonna have to pick a new title theme pretty soon...

This morning, there was sunshine in the sky, which was pretty exciting. First time I've seen any since last Thursday. I got to have breakfast with the family before they had a devotional and then headed out to the doctor. Only two girls had appointments, but the whole troop ended up going. Naomi made me a pot holder during my short stay there, and I'm thinking I'll have to knit something for the girlies later on.

I'd planned to get out by 10 or 10:30, but with packing, loading, planning and routing, it was full on 11 a.m. before I headed out of there. Carolina had mentioned the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel as something interesting to go see, and it intrigued me enough, I set out for it before heading south to Manteo. I got some cash at an ATM, passed by a motorcycle dealership, and headed on over to the bridge.

It's worth noting the dealership, because I've developed some sort of a noise on the front wheel from what seems to be a brake disc. I thought about stopping in there on my way to the bridge, but then just kept riding. The bridge was pretty dang cool. It alternated between being above the bay, to diving down below it in tunnels, kind of like a big thread stitching over and under the water. I never got off on the far side, but turned around within sight of the toll booths at an overlook and then did a return trip.

The whole time, I'm conscious of the sound up front. Not liking it. Wondering a little bit. Instead of going straight onto 64 to begin the trip to Manteo, I retrace my route to Sunrise Cycles. Walked back to the service desk, explained my predicament, and asked if someone could take a look at it. One of the guys came out and gave it the once over, and aside from the front wheel being down to the wear bars, and the chain needing to be replaced, and the front brakes being paper thin, everything was great! Nothing was to the point of needing to absolutely be replaced before I get home, and having two different mechanics there evaluate it gave some nice peace of mind. I still don't like the sound up front, but hopefully can get that remedied shortly after getting home.

So, twenty minutes after stopping, I'm back on the road, angling south. I'd meant to fill up with gas before getting out of Norfolk, but forgot, so I stopped in Great Bridge, VA to get both fuel and food, since it was now hitting 1 p.m. My first thought was to go to a McDonald's, because I do like their salads, and they have wi-fi. I'm not sure what McDonald's the interstate signs were referring to, because I never saw one. I settled for a Moe's at the last minute, since they had wi-fi there, and that broke the tie between them and Subway.

I'm not doing real well on my choices of lunch stops so far on this trip. Aside from the food just not tasting that good, I sat in a booth that adjoined a couple of ladies on their lunch break. The one facing me did not use her inside voice. I heard about her advising a friend to get a colonoscopy, I heard about this young girl who had terrible skin, yet her mother would do nothing, and I heard about the quote she got to pave her driveway for $30,000. And much outrage over said quote. Aiyaiyai! I was glad when she and her listening post left. Other lady didn't get much word in edgewise, as far as I could tell.

Back on the road, I was only about 80ish miles away from Manteo. The skies were getting more and more blue, and the traffic was light, so I was just toodling along. Crossed over some nice bridges and canals, entered into Kitty Hawk. South of there was Kill Devil Hills, and I made a cultural detour to go see the Wright Brothers' Memorial. It's way on top of a hill, and has a great view (as long as the tourists stay out of the frame). There was a replica of the brothers' first plane down on the traffic loop that I got some shots of, and by then it was around 4:00, so I got back out to get on my way to Manteo. I topped off with gas again, and started looking at my directions for those last few turns.

I made my last turn, and started looking for the street name on the left that I would need. Kept going, kept looking. Kept going. And going. And got to another big bridge that was definitely farther than I needed to go. Turned around. Started looking at the street signs again, making sure I hadn't missed any. I hadn't, but the road I was looking for was not showing. I stopped off at the Ace Hardware in town that was on the main drag that I was going back and forth on, and asked if the cashier knew where the street was. She did not, but went over and grabbed a handy dandy phone book that had a map of the town, and we looked it over.

There had been one street I noticed that didn't appear to have a sign. Sure enough, that was the one I needed. It's tucked away between some buildings and almost looks like it could be a long driveway or alley, but indeed it is a street. Once I started rolling along to see the houses, I realized I couldn't see house numbers on a lot of them, so I had to rely on my memory of a shot I'd seen of the house from a travel thread on BBO. Happily, past the next stand of trees was a Toyota Tundra that I recognized, as well as a gaggle of motorcycles in the driveway. I saw my bike's twin, which confirmed this was the right house to be at. Mike was sitting on the front steps and came over after I hit the kill switch to welcome me in from my trip. I was almost 30 minutes later than I intended to be, but glad to have finally reached my destination!

Since then, tonight has been very relaxing and interesting. Relaxing with a good turkey supper put together by Miss Gigi (and I just finished up some ice cream and brownies...yum!) and interesting from talking with Mike about bikes, and going over to see his office (a helicopter) and a couple of his toys (one of them is yellow and rhymes with 'Piper Cub'). Weather permitting, there might be some aviation going on tomorrow, and I'm solidly in favor of it :) Other plans involve the famous Ducati, as well as some dual sports. Perhaps an SV. The BSA has gummed carbs, sad to say, or else I'd have to see about that one...it looks so cool! The array of choices is almost bewildering. I'll try to be strong and muddle through somehow, though.

Showers of blessing :)

Today was indeed a good day of rest and worship. No pictures, but good sermons, and getting to meet lots of friendly folks at the church. Carolina's husband, Ryan, is the associate pastor at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, and preaches on Sunday evenings, and is going through the book of Jude. This morning, Pastor Harrell preached on Psalm 103, which is my favorite. Today also had the perfect afternoon for a great nap...cool, cloudy and drizzly. It's always better when the rain is outside, and I'm inside. I like it that way.

Tomorrow I'll be heading on my way to Manteo. I've heard about a bridge that intrigues me, though. It's in the opposite direction of where I need to go, and since there's not a set arrival time for me down there, I might be taking the northerly route to go south. We'll see. The forecast for tomorrow is partly cloudy and 74. Which is subject to change...

During the rains...

Some rains you ride into. Some rains you ride out of. And some rains stick with you like a dryer sheet on dark pants. Today was a dryer sheet day.

I was able to get the bike loaded and pointed in the right direction by a decent time, and left the Wilson/Havlen households by just before 10:30 this morning. I had less than 5 hours to ride, so I wasn't worried about an early start. I was more concerned about being over dressed for the weather, because it didn't seem that chilly when I was standing out there.

Once I got going, however, I noticed the 59 degree day in my hands, and eventually under my jacket, where I just had on a long sleeved shirt. About 15 miles north of Greensboro, on I-29, I pulled over under a bridge to reassess. I added a windproof fleece vest under the jacket, and put on my rain covers for my gloves, as well as putting the hood up on my jacket that goes under my helmet. Thus fortified, I continued. I'm not sure why Frogg Togg pants are as short as they are, but they were about like knickerbockers when I rode. Barely came down past the top of my boot covers.

The rain never became a downpour, thankfully, but was steady drizzle to regular rain for the next four hours of riding, and the thermometer mostly sat at 59. Once I was all suited up, I didn't want to stop unless it was worthwhile, so I kept on riding and riding. Most towns I went past (going east on Highway 58) were small burgs, with not much going on. Around the 150 mile mark, I came up on South Hill, and thought about stopping there, but then saw a sign for Emporia (a real town!), and opted to ride there before stopping for fuel and food.

My fuel light usually starts to flash when I near 200 miles on the tank, and I was at 192 miles when I finally topped off at the Shell station. Right across the street was a Cracker Barrel, and I decided to take a long lunch break there. It was perfect...I parked out front, and then used one of their benches to sit down and delayer, shaking all my rain gear out before going inside. The food was a little lame, and the service matched, but it was handy, upon leaving, to have the same benches out front for me to re-layer. Some of the most annoying part of having to put on all that gear inside is that you get overheated by the time you're ready to leave. Sitting outside to put it all on was nice, and when I left there, at 3 p.m., I was eager to get back on the road and finish the last 80 miles of the day.

Heading into Norfolk on 264E, there was one tunnel to go through, with lanes that looked slimy-slickery in the lights of the tunnel, and on the far side, there was a grated drawbridge section to ride over that was especially dicey, since it curved to the right, and the bike wanted to get a little squirrelly in the turn. Interstate 64 itself was a washboard ride in the rain until I got to the exit I needed to take to get to my friend's house. At 4:45, I arrived, much to the intense observation of three young girls in the entry way to the house on Newell Avenue. The fourth was in her mom's arms, being shy, while I had help from Naomi, Eliana and Charity to get some of my rain soaked layers off. Luggage held up ok, though some stuff did get damp. The downstairs bathroom was shortly overrun with wet gear dripping off everywhere, and I was shortly warm, dry and comfortable. Good trade.

Supper was a tasty Indian stew, and afterwards, to help blow off some stink, Carolina (Spanish pronunciation: Caroleena) let the girls outside with their galoshes and sweaters on to go splash in the puddles in the back yard. Twenty minutes later, three thoroughly soaked young girls came inside to get out of their wet clothes and into a warm bath. Afterwards was a devotional time before they went to bed, and shortly after that, Carolina's husband, Ryan, came home. Good conversation followed (well, some of it good, some of it corny...don't you carrot all?), and I finally meandered up to the guest room around 10:30. Tomorrow will be a good day of rest and worship, and I'm looking forward to getting to ride in a minivan...moving forward in an enclosed space, dry, warm and relaxing :)

Before the rains...

Today was a seasonally cool day, delicious after the hot summer we've had. In the morning, I was treated to homemade banana and chocolate chip pancakes, before going outside to play with the girls and Rosie, an adopted stray puppy. The temps were a bit of a shock to Adela and Nora, who had to go back in for jackets with hoods. Swinging in a hammock was the pastime until this chick's arm got tired of pushing back and forth. Spent some time with Rosie, who has the attention span of a gnat when the girls are there, but was actually pretty attentive when it was just the two of us. She's in the gnaw and nibble stage. She's got the cutest ears, though, and as is my habit, I got a picture of the canine resident, without getting pictures of my friends (yet).

Lunch was Chick Fil A, while chili was cooking in the crockpot for supper. The afternoon had some homeschool work going on with Adela who wanted me to be her teacher for the day. We worked on some math, penmanship, logic, and reading. Got to find out about that ol' Reddy Fox and Milly-Molly-Mandy. After that, I needed a nap (which I got) and then it was supper time. Afterwards, while Ames was mixing up some cookies from my dad's recipe, I watched a Czech production of Cinderella, complete with English subtitles. Amy's husband, Leo, is Czech, and the girls are both bilingual, moreso Adela who was born in Brno, Czech Republic. It was actually a pretty good adaptation from the early 70's...not your Disney version, but more along the lines of 'Ever After' with Drew Barrymore. And it had a fairy godowl.

Once that was done, and the kids corralled for bed, Amy and Leo, along with her dad and I went out for some cosmic bowling, while grandma stayed home with the girls. We didn't get there until after 10, so they had the funky lights on, disco balls and thumpity music (or noise, as it really is). It's rather nice to have it be smoke-free in there, so we only came out smelling like the grease of the fries they sold, and not ashtrays. My bowling was consistently stinky...a couple of spares, a strike or two, but then the odd gutterball and single pin frames. Amy's dad ended up being the super star of both games we played, and Leo played more than half of Amy's turns, while she rested up between frames.

Now I'm yawning to beat the band, and getting ready to turn in. Tomorrow's forecast keeps flip flopping. Only thing that's guaranteed is that there will be weather. Of some sort. I'm hoping to get on the road by 10, which will get me into Norfolk still in the afternoon, even if I dawdle. I plan to stick to non interstate roads as much as I can. Should be a little more scenic that way. Hopefully my throttle hand won't be too worn out from the bowling ball tonight :)

First Step

The last minute packing this morning was interesting. I'm sure I packed way more than I needed to, but still managed to do a respectable job of getting it on the bike (and balanced, no less). The bike looked like a pack mule in the parking lot of work, but that's ok. That just means I'm going somewhere!

This really is going to be a relaxed trip, as compared to my normal riding binges. Today? Oh, 180 miles is all. Worked half a day, then met a friend for lunch at the incomparable Bucky's (if you're ever in Greenville, you have to stop there). Got fuel, and on the road at 1:45. Traffic was brisk, except for a few left lane hogs, but by the last stretch of 70 mph speed limit, I'd seen enough fuzz patrol to keep right around the big 7 on my speedometer. Did see some cool clouds, though.

Tonight, I got to catch up with my old college roomie, Amy, and her family. She and her husband are staying with her folks until they find a house that suits them (something about being able to afford it, and the right school district, etc., etc.), so there were three generations here tonight, between her parents, she and her husband, and her children. Neither Adela nor Nora are shy, and I was definitely the star attraction of the night.

I delayed the inevitable as long as I could, but after supper, my lot was cast such that I got to play with doll houses and have a couple of young chicks exhibit their dressup wardrobe. The most interesting combo was Adela with her Peter Pan skirt, blue hawaiian lei, and knit ski mask. Dancing.

After the girls were in bed, I got to chat with Ames a good bit, and Leo came in belatedly, although he's got to go to work tomorrow (unlike some of us...). By midnight, the house is now quiet and I'm about zombified. A few pictures now to upload, and I'll be done.