Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Oh MAN!


Out of the frying pan and into
the other
frying pan

I'm leaving for the west coast tomorrow...off to visit my beloved sister in Portland, OR, for five days yes, she's related to me, can ya believe it?? then off to the coast and Oceanside, OR, for a week with my beloved girlfriends, some of whom I've known since I've been six years old...ten of us sans kids, husbands, boyfriends, and work for an entire week. After being spread throughout the country for the past 20+ years, we took our first trip together during the summer we all turned 40 and decided it needed to happen every five years. So here we are, celebrating turning 45...for some of us our 39th year of knowing each other...a rare phenomenon.

My plan is to travel light -- one bag, travel clothes, hiking boots and They that Dwell in the Underworld there appears to be something missing....

...I'm leaving my wonderful travel bicycle at home.

WHY AM I LEAVING MY WONDERFUL TRAVEL BICYCLE AT HOME?!!??

Packing ten of us into two vehicles departing Portland, then into a house means space is at a premium...
AND
since I'm not taking my planned mountainous bicycle trip this summer I don't need to stay in cycling shape...
AND
given our last trip together, lazy days spent reconnecting are what this trip is about -- that can't as easily be done if I'm off on the bike missing the ritual of making breakfast, hanging out with coffee and deciding what to do for the day...and then doing it...

have I convinced myself yet???
So, why the frying pan?

After the week we've had here in midwest, I was so looking forward to Portland's typical 80-degree July temps, but...

I'm
not
even
believing
this.


Oceanside, however, is predicted to have its normal July highs in the lower-to-mid 70s while we're there...whew!

- O still a hottie B

7 comments:

C. P. said...

Thanks as always for the plug...enjoy the travels!

Jaco said...

Have fun. I hope that we'll here from you during that time. If not I look forward to your posts when you return... Ta for now.

The Old Bag said...

Thanks to both of you! Hopefully, I'll get to drop in a post now and again...but if not, have a wonderful couple of weeks!

Ptelea said...

You have wonderful powers of reasoning OB! Seriously though you do want to spend all of your time enjoying your friends. Your bikes will be waiting for you when you return. Have a great time!

Anonymous said...

Sure you don’t need a bike?! Enjoy.

The Old Bag said...

Thanks Ptelea.

'Berto -- NOT HELPING! :-]

Anonymous said...

Ok, so my sister, The Old Bag, showed me her blog and gave me directions on how to post something. She may live to regret that at some later point. I'm kind of non-techno-hip - I do have email but don't own a cell phone (or a blog or a website). As you can see by the lovely picture of me that she posted, I have distinctly large ears, a family trait. I can tell you that The Old Bag has even BIGGER ears which she tucks up under her helmet! That's one reason she bikes (oops, I mean "cycles") so much. Ask her to remove her helmet sometime and you'll get a fight.

The Old Bag is my YOUNGER sister, so I guess that makes me the Even Older Bag, or The Old Bag's Sister, or the Portland Bag, or maybe I'm just the Lazy Old Bag. I have an old Raleigh in the garage, purchased in about 1985, very low mileage.

Happy Trails and enjoy the coast. Hi to all the Bobcat girls!