Author Archives: arletelouise

by - 0 comments

Erie Canal – day 3

In the morning sun, a mural project in progress in Newark.
IMG_1218.jpg

(**Unknown reason discovered: I was out of space and had to upgrade my plan with WordPress. Old rate = $8/month, new rate = $17/month!)

There are so many cute towns along the route. Fairhope,IMG_1229.jpg

where Billie stopped to talk to Jim, who recommended Riki’s Diner for lunch.

IMG_1230.jpg

By a lucky chance, we got to see this boat go through the entire lock process. IMG_1233.jpg

It was nice to have sunshine today, but we were all quite exhausted by the time we got to Rochester. Miles = 37

by - 0 comments

Erie Canal – day 2

Billie lubed our chains before we left Weedsport. It’s raining ☹️
After a brief rest stop in Savannah, Donna got a flat on her rear tire – more difficult to repair. Getting the tire off the rim was incredibly difficult. A local resident, Fred stopped to help.We stopped at a garage nearby to check the air pressure – that didn’t work out too well but there was a collection of old bikes high on the walls.In Lyons, we discovered a red “caboose” with the best food. The owner John was very proud of his one-year-old business.
It rained ALL day and we were all exhausted, so getting to Newark was most welcome. After settling in, we walked to a local reataurant, Craft 120, for dinner.
Miles = 35

by - 0 comments

Erie Canal – day 1

7 am, leaving Syracuse.
Navigating the 10 miles to the start of the trail was somewhat frustrating – the Erie Canal guidebook was marginally helpful, the map from hotel staff was the same, asking locals was useless, cell phone maps were ok. But all combined, we made it work with many stops and group consultations.The beginning:
In Camillus, Houseboat Catherine beside newly-planted tobacco plants:A buoy boat:We arrived at our stopping point for the day just before the sky opened up and dumped a lot of rain. We had a few sprinkles leaving Syracuse but it actually felt good with a low temperature of 75. Humid!!
There is a strong weather system affecting everything in the northeast this week, we plan to be extra careful (i.e. Paula, don’t worry about us).

Miles = 28

by - 0 comments

To Syracuse

This morning, we were shuttled to Syracuse by Evan.Lunch at Tully’s, a short walk from the hotel.Our enthusiasm for going out to eat faded, so we searched for delivery options.Tomorrow we ride!

by - 0 comments

Warm-up ride

At breakfast, Donna and I practiced an elongated neck and wide-open eyes for a better picture. Fewer wrinkles, right? Billie laughed her way through the practice session.Stacks of patriotic tires:Today we rode the Shoreline Trail toward Buffalo from our hotel in nearby Kenmore.What? This gate is locked on the weekends?!! Detour required.The Peace Bridge to Canada across the Niagara River:We stopped at a Tim Horton’s for a snack, decided we’d ridden far enough, and headed back. Along the way, we leapfrogged a father/son team from Michigan who planned to ride 90 miles/day to Albany. They were already a few hours behind schedule, but something else bothered me. The father’s helmet was more on the side of his head, obviously not level or secure. I waved them over at one of our stops and asked if I could fix it for him. He let me! LCI 3879 doing some good in the world 😁
Miles = 24

by - 0 comments

Vacation Bible School

I did the story-telling portion of Vacation Bible School this week. Last week, I covered empty cardboard boxes with plastic tablecloths that looked like stone walls and went on an Amazon shopping spree which included a realistic 14″ fire – how else would the bread bake?
Monday opening. We had a small group this year.
Tuesday: Mary and Martha. Martha works hard:While Mary watched movie trailers and ate popcorn. Not fair!
Wednesday: sometimes army-crawling or rolling under the pews was more interesting. Sigh.
Friday. The end.

by - 0 comments

Val’s Celebration of Life

Val Martin/Lilienthal’s Rio Linda Celebration of Life (8/28/1955-3/1/2018) happened today at the Legion Hall. My favorite pictures from the past: at Archie and Sandi’s Christmas party 2016.

Making nocino, June 2017, at Justin’s with Val S, Maria, and Phyllis:

Today, there was a crowded gathering of family and friends from the Rio Linda/Sacramento area.

by - 0 comments

Cubs v Giants

Ade and I took BART into San Francisco the next morning.

Thank you, Ford Motor Company, for these bikes available for rent:

We walked a mile or so to ATT Park.

Originally our seats were in the sun, but Ade knew we could upgrade. “What do you have in 119?” she asked. And this is where we landed (GREAT idea Ade!):

The game went into overtime. 13 innings later, the Giants won 5-4, thank you Buster Posey!