Accident

So, I can't say I'm not surprised, but I was hopeful that I could bide my time in New Orleans and not be involved in a "motor vehicle incident" (that's what Chevron calls them). I call it what it is, an accident. I'm not at fault...but it is still a PAIN in my butt. I'll let the pictures do the talking, but I feel sorry for my poor little car, la bala de plata (that's "the silver bullet" for those of you who, like myself, don't speak Spanish). Oh, and there were no injuries, so I'm alright too. Worry more about my car than me.

RAGBRAI XXXV

WARNING!!! The following contains graphic pictures of people of all shapes and sizes in spandex. Proceed at your own will.

I remember oh so well the first year of RAGBRAI. I was 11 and riding a bike 500 miles across the state of Iowa. For those of you who think Iowa is flat, I would suggest riding a bike across it and then giving your opinion of it's topography.

So, some of the legacy members of Team Blarney (our biking team) rode this year--Pat and Dave Schulte, JoEllen, mom, dad and myself. Lance Armstrong also rode this year, but he's not fast enough to join our team.

I had a special request from my sister to eat the following in honor of her: a porkchop, a smoothie and homemade ice cream. Check, check and check. I was kind of glad that I went this year because it was Mr. Porkchop's last year (I got a picture with him thank goodness).

As usual, we met some amazing people. We are impressed year after year, as people we have never met allow us to stay with them in their home. And we got to see some of the beautiful scenery Iowa has to offer. "Is this heaven?" "No this is Iowa." Name that movie!! Well, a picture below should give you a bit of a hint.

My lack of training did prove to be a bit of a problem, I was glad to see Saturday and to finally finish. Let's just say...I was sore. Enjoy the photo's (as much as you can)!!

YSA, Florida and a Lavalava. 2007.

After last year's huge ordeal with the YSA conference and swearing them off for the rest of my life, I went to another one. Something about Florida...it's this state and it is known for it's beaches and...well, I don't want to spoil the surprise for those of you who haven't been. Oddly enough, we didn't spend a lot of time at the beach, and by that, I mean no time at all.

The conference was held at this adventure camp by Pensacola. To be honest, I knew there wouldn't be much beach time, but the idea of an adventure camp and tubing did sound enticing. I won't bore you with the details and there are no real exciting stories to tell like the "Gold Digger" and "Creed air guitar" incidents of yesteryear.

Peter had just returned from Hawaii. And he came hailing gifts of lavalavas. If you don't know what a lavalava is, see the picture above. I guess there is a first time for everything.