Saucy Monkey #1

J and I rode up to Angola as soon as he got off work Friday. We just missed the rain passing through Auburn. We didn't see any, but smelled it and the roads were still wet. I was supremely conscious of the fact that I was riding on a brand new front tire and carrying a precious passenger, but the traffic was tolerable and we didn't have any problems hammering up there.

We stayed overnight at the Angola Ramada which was very clean and in good condition. The only thing that I didn't like about it was the uphill entrance on the crest of a hill. I'd be surprised if there haven't already been traffic fatalities at the entrance. The room was clean and in good repair, but it wouldn't haven't mattered if it hadn't been. It was a wonderful treat just to get away from housework, cats, children to feed, assignment deadlines, ringing alarm clocks, and last but not least, serving the public! We rode down to Las Limas to share drinks, chicken nachos, and a couple of games of pool. What a luxury it was to leisurely enjoy breakfast in our room, then we packed up and set off to explore some natural scenic beauty. We started at Winghaven because I really wanted J to see that little jewel. The only flowers in bloom were phlox and wild geraniums, but we did see one Jack in the Pulpit and there was plenty of poison ivy and poison sumac to keep us on the straight and narrow. There was one flower that I haven't been able to identify yet, but I think it may be some kind of gentian. This year the blooming cycle seems to have wobbled out of its parabolic orbit. The May Apples were in bloom and some were already bearing fruit, which normally doesn't happen until later in the summer.

Afterwards we rode to Pokagon to hike to Devil's Point where we met up with Sean, Kelly, and Justin who were coming from the opposite end of the trail. Of course those whippersnappers reached the halfway point long before J and I, but in our own defense, it was our second hike of the day and we 'd stayed up pretty late. So late in fact, that I fell asleep on J and had to have my fingers pried loose! After the hike we were starving so we carried our picnic lunch down to the beach and watched the kids playing in the water. When we dangled our toes, it changed my mind about taking a swim. The water was still too icy for me-brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...................

Next we dropped in to visit my parents. I tried to keep everything very low-key and matter of fact while introducing my parents to J, but it was a little irritating to hear my Mom ask him what he did for a living considering I'd already told them all of that stuff in preparation for their meeting. I guess it could be that she was trying to initiate a starting point to the conversation.

On the way home we wandered around the countryside trying to find my Dad's secret route to 327 and finally gave up and opted to take old 27 south from Angola. It was windy but much better than battling the holiday traffic on 69.