Broccoli and Cabbages and Tomatoes, Oh My

All the vegetables have been for about two months and thanks to all the rain we have been getting, things are growing like crazy!!!

I got my first crown of broccoli which was the size of my head (no exaggeration here) and pulled the last of the radishes.  With a little extra space in the plot I figured I would try to grow some butternut squash.  Although summer starts tomorrow, it is never too early to start thinking about the fall harvest. 

Too Many B's to Count

Bikes, beers, blue, besties, BBQ, Bike & Build, a birthday ... the list could go on and on and on!!!

Like any B&B ride day, we were up before the sun rose to get packed and get breakfasted.  I should also note that my birthday kicked off at midnight with a rousing version of happy birthday and a large man hug from the gentleman's club.

It was smooth sailing down the road towards the Ohio River (read long winding hill) and the SUS crew met up with CUS going over the Purple People Bridge.

 

Let's go ride bikes.  But first, lemme take a #selfie

Bike physics states that goes down must come up.  After we left downtown we had a long, steep climb.  As I came around the last bend, not only was there AMAZING happy birthday chalking, the rest of the SUS'ians were singing happy birthday with a cake in hand.  A girl couldn't ask for better teammates if she tried.

A close up of the crew, post cake, all dressed in (different year) kits! 

We rode about fifteen miles when the rains started.  Jessie and I decided to hang back at the gas station to get coffee and let Nate and George tackle a large switch back hill.  Feeling pretty lucky we decided to get a pair of lottery tickets; when the jackpot is $100 million you don't pass up the opportunity.  Turns out we were just dreaming big (neighboring private islands, an on call pretzel lady for Jessie) because none of the numbers we picked were drawn. 

On any B&B trip you always dream about lunch and on long days second lunch.  Today was no exception so before we headed back to the host we stopped at Eli's BBQ; nothing says SUS reunion like BBQ.  To make things even better there was soda in glass bottles!!  It's the little things here people. 

After a three hour nap (another B&B tradition), we wrapped up at the Wunderbar.  The evening was filled with good beer, German food, live old school country music and great friends.  I could not have asked for a better ending to a 27th birthday if I tried.  Here's to another year of friends, family, adventures and a new job!!!!!!

A Walkabout Queen City

After we shuttled CUS to their build site, we headed into Cincinnati.  

Nate got this great shot of us walking over the Purple People Bridge, one of the only pedestrian bridges in the US (it was officially converted in 2001).  It is also Cincinnati's first railroad bridge to span the Ohio River.

The bridge is lined with planters being entered into a local gardening competition.

We spent the afternoon wandering around by the river and catching up.  We even got to grab a Ruben at Izzy's.  It also sounded like the build day was a total success; riders were able to put up drywall and help build a porch for this home in Kentucky. 

Another SUS Reunion for the Books

It seems like many 20 somethings create new "families" for themselves as they head off to college and start to find their place in the world.  While living in DC my roommates and I did everything together, including Sunday dinners, and created the perfect dysfunctional family.  While biking across the country another (much larger family) was formed.  Just like your blood relatives, you may not talk to them or see them on a daily basis, but when you get together it is as if nothing changes.

The family reunions keep on coming and this time several SUS '12 riders headed out to Cincinnati (well technically over the state line in Kentucky) to meet up with CUS '14 and leader extroidinare Jay who was also on our trip.  Who would have thought I would make it to Ohio twice in less than a year?  Definitely not me!

All good road trips start with some good snacks, the perfect playlist and a great traveling companion. This morning Hannah and I left Bmore bright and early to begin our trip west (thankfully this time we would be doing it in a car).  Nine and a half hours later we finally reached the Kentucky boarder; turns out we would be staying just over the boarder.  We would have been there sooner, but the GPS got us lost.  We had planned on pulling over to take a picture with the state sign, but the sign was sadly over the bridge. 

Ten SUS '12 teammates crashed the CUS party.  The guest list included one SURPRISE Arden.  She hid out in the podium until each SUS'ian walked through the door.  I, however, knew she was coming because I had seen her a few weeks before at Tour de Fat.

After dinner and meeting everyone from CUS, the crew got to catch up and play a game of hot seat; both are fairly common at any reunion.

Come bed time we all crashed in one of the church classrooms.  

The sleeping arrangements were very similar to our evening in Not-Cuba, Cuba. 

Tour dem Parks Hon

It is that time of year when Alex and I saddled up and headed out for the Tour dem Parks ride.  The 38 mile ride took us around Baltimore and saw several of the larger parks and a good deal of the Gwynn Falls Trail.  About half way through the ride, we ran into two NUS '13 riders; the jersey makes it easy to find other alumni at organized rides.

 

On the last third of the ride, the ride took us to Patterson Park; the Pagoda was opened for the riders.  

The final stop of the morning was Fort McHenry.

 

Wanting to round up the morning's ride to a cool 50 miles, Bernard and I rode by the Inner Harbor headed to the farmers market on the way home.

Beers, Bourbon and BBQ

We all headed out to National Harbor for the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival; a much different environment than the usual bike ride to see the Great Awakening.  I decided to stay away from the bourbon, but there were over 60 craft beers on tap.  Surprisingly, after going to so many beer festivals in the last year, the names of the breweries are starting to become familiar.

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around the festival and trying our best to stay cool.  While most of the BBQ companies had simple grills this one went all out with the train theme. 

PBI Wrap Up

Most people don't think of Florida when they think of summer vacation spots, but what's not to love.  The sun is shining, the beach tennis court is calling your name and there is tons of time to spend with family.

Three generations hit the court: Memere, Aunt Lynn and me!!

Every day we hit the tennis court, I got to play with the dog and cook dinner without having to buy the groceries - talk about the charmed life.  After five days in the Sunshine State, I am head to the Mid Atlantic for a weekend filled with beers, BBQ and bikes.  With 18 days until actual employment starts the next few weeks are jam packed with travel, reunions and checking things off the bucket list(s). 

I GOT A JOB!!

Many days I feel like my life is a Thought Catalog article: reminiscing about all the good things from the 90s, confirming all the stereotypes of going to an all girls Catholic school, feeding the never ending wanderlust.  A few month ago they posted an article on the 22 Things Everyone Does When They're Unemployed and I can honestly say I am guilty of several:

1. Sleep until noon (well maybe 10).

4. Finish whole seasons of TV shows at an expedited rate.  

Once I got a similar note to this one featured in an Onion article - guilty of a West Wing marathon(s).

6. Make light of the situation by calling it “funemployment” while you are secretly dying a little more inside every day.  Well my funemployment was pretty fun - giving bike tours of DC.

8. Bring your laptop to a café, hoping that the change of atmosphere will help you be more productive. 

Anyway I digress.  The real reason for this post is to announce that I have a real person job, with a real person paycheck and real person benefits.  At the ripe old age of 26 I have officially joined the work force (the goal was to find one before I turned 27 so just in time).  The countless hours spent pouring through job search databases and crafting the perfect resume and cover letter have paid off!  I start at the University of Maryland Medical Center in a few weeks!!

The Fortune Cookie Has It!

Last night I got a fortune cookie and it hit the head on the nail. 

There is lots of travel ahead which means shorter distances between family and friends and lots of smiles and laughs. Let the postcard sending and random site seeing commence.