We've Got Wheels (or, Adam Has a Rickshaw)

Most weekends, we boys try to get out of the house and give Tracy some momma time to relax, stitch or design appliqués, or whatever she wants. Over the last few years our outing has tended to be a walk around the neighborhood in the stroller. We’ve got a great neighborhood, but after the fiftieth time around the same blocks, a little change of scenery is needed.

Enter the bicycle. Earlier this summer we finally got new bikes. And, since we’ve got additional passengers these days, we got all the apparatus for a full crew. Ben has a seat on back of my bike, and Carter commands the trailer. We tried both boys in the trailer, but after one round (picture the boys squished into a tiny trailer on a steamy summer afternoon, Ben wailing and Carter covering his ears) we opted for separate seats for the boys. Yes, we are quite the crew rolling down the road.



With wheels, our range has expanded drastically. We can explore more nearby neighborhoods, we are an easy ride to the ice cream shop, and we’ve even made it to the farmers market or the botanical gardens. Our most frequent new stop, though, is the soccer fields. When we are on foot, we tend to opt for the nearby school playground. But by bike, the bigger park—with its soccer fields and playground and ponds and woods—is an easy ride. Here’s some quick pics from our recent visit.

Mean Irene

This time last week I was checking off the list of everything we needed to prepare for Irene. We had flashlights, batteries, a battery powered radio, non-perishable food and water, a full propane tank of gas to grill our thawing food in case we lost power. All in all I felt pretty prepared. Still I was nervous about the 8 hour forecasted hurricane event.

Originally they forecasted the worst of the storm to hit our area between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am. I promise you I would not have slept a wink if that forecast became reality. I would have had the boys downstairs and would have stayed awake to make sure everything was ok. When I was in elementary school we had a bad storm hit in the middle of the night and a BIG tree fell in our backyard with several branches crashing into our house. Ever since then Mother Nature and I have had an understanding. She always wins. And she always makes me a scaredy cat.

Thankfully, the storm hit sooner and the worst was over by midnight. Still, the wind gusts were strong for many hours. The power flickered LOTS but amazingly we kept our power throughout the storm. One of our neighbors is convinced we kept our power because our substation had so much damage from Isabel in 2003 that it was significantly improved during the repair process. Whatever the reason, I am grateful. I received a text from a friend tonight saying they are still out of power. And the grocery clerk that checked me out yesterday afternoon was still out of power too.

Check out the power outage map from last Sunday...



They said that over 75% in the city lost their power. How did we keep ours? I have no idea. We were very lucky.

On Sunday morning we loaded the boys up in the double stroller to see if anything happened in the neighborhood. That's when I realized just how lucky we were.

This is at the end of our street. The tree fell into the alley that we frequently walk down to visit our local coffee shop.



And this pine tree fell on the house next to the house in the picture above...



And this house is just across the street from the one pictured above...



At this point we have turned off of our street but are still just a couple of blocks away from our house...



There are NO winds blowing in this picture.



The poor trees were stuck in that position after all of the winds. The city has since come to straighten them up and support them. Hoping they will make it - they are so pretty!

All of the streets were covered in debris...



A lot of the trees that fell were massive with huge roots...



This was the worst of the damage we saw. And again, it was just around the corner from our house.



The family was in the house when it fell, but thankfully no one was injured.



They have since cut the tree out and there is just a HUGE hole looking into their house.

During our walk several things struck me as unusual...a smell of Christmas from all of the freshly cut tree limbs...the steady hum of generators every now and then...a genuine feel of concern from strangers in the neighborhood.

When we got home, Adam got his little helper and they cleaned up our yard and volunteered helping others too.



Here's hoping Katia stays east...far far east.