Kodiak

Single Star

My big fish

Just chillin'

Scenic

Baldy

Fluke up dive

Hope you enjoy these choice pics from our fantastic Labor Day weekend in Kodiak that I finally got around to posting.

"Rex's With Leaves"

Can you say...

Acute Allergic Reaction? I knew that you could. Today I went on a field trip with my son's 2nd grade class to the Botanical Gardens. The kids learned about glacial erratic's and the differences between evergreen and diciduous trees as well as many other things. Then we went into the herb garden. There were mints of all tastes and smells as well as sage and different types of parsley. And there was sorrel. It's a large leaf herb that has a sour taste to me but all the kids were eating it. I tried a piece about the size of a quarter and spit it out right away. It tasted nasty to me.

About 10 minutes later my lower lip started to itch and developed a little bump. After another 10 minutes I knew I had a problem because the whole lower lip was getting puffy and I was now having trouble talking and was getting short of breath.

I arranged for the kids I brought to get a ride back to the school with another parent and headed to the ER. I got there and the lady's like, "Looks like you got some swelling there" and I say in my best Bubba Gump voice, "I think I'm having an allergic reaction" with my lip seemingly flapping up above my nose. Well, no shit. A bird could have built a nest on the son of a bitch.

Doc gave me a shot of some steroids that made me sleep like a dead person when I got home and gave me a script for some Prednisone. I feel better now but it was quite a trip seeing my lip grow and grow.

As I told my wife about it, with a little of my humor thrown in for good measure, she was laughing so hysterically that she got a stitch in her side. We can laugh about it now and the pictures are post ER - so if you can imagine - it was even bigger. I'm just glad it didn't pop.

O.K. - you can laugh now.

Time Has Come

This Friday is my last day at work (woohoo!) before I start a new job on Monday. Nothing like not missing a beat, eh.

Speaking of missing beats, I've been missing a few on the bike recently but remedied my jones for muddy riding on Saturday. It was the first crystal clear fall day in a while and the sky was a beautiful blue set against the bright yellow birch leaves. As I gained elevation and neared the Glen Alps parking area, Flat Top was set against the clear sky after being hit with Termination Dust. I rode from my house near sea level up to Flat Top via the Powerline trail from Prospect Heights and made note afterward that my ride had 2,800 feet of climbing. To say is was muddy would not do the conditions justice. There were parts of the trail that had running water and others where the mud was so deep and thick it would nearly stop you in your tracks while climbing.

I didn't get too muddy on the way up - it was the descent that did it. By the time I got home I was literally caked with mud. Mud was everywhere: the back of my neck, splattered on my face, caked to my lips, in my ears, up my nose and although I was wearing eye protection, I even had a couple of mud nuggets stuck to my eyelashes. And Fango was a mess. I spent quite a bit of time cleaning the machine and looked forward to the next chance to be like a kid again and get as dirty as possible.

Autumn has been nice and I'm looking forward to the big changes that will be coming soon. Enjoy the weather where you are and if you can, get out in the dirt and mud before (depending on where you live) everything is covered in snow.