Trippin' with Susan Straley

Greetings from the shade of my kitchen in Inverness, Florida, In two weeks Steve and I are flying to NY to watch the solar eclipse and visit his family.  This weekend they got seven inches of snow!   I can't remember if I purged my winter boots when I was cleaning out my storage or if they are stored up in Steve's attic.  I guess I will have to do some searching before I buy a pair.  We might even do some skiing or snow showing in the Adirondacs while we are there! As you can tell from the title of this post, we made it home from our bicycle ride.  I apologize to Steve, as I did not spend a lot of time planning this trip, I guess. And our motels turned out to be a lot further apart than I had expected.  We didn't always follow the Google path.  So we had three days in a row of higher than planned days.  50-ish.  And me on a new-to-me bike seat.  Let's just say, the pain made me wonder at times why I ever thought this would be fun. Steve was a great sport, though.  A rea

Hello!  The weather is crazy, I hope you are safe and well. Before I get to telling you where we are and what is going in, I have to tell you a story that I forgot to share last time. The 3% grade up to the tunnels on the Elroy Sparta trail isnt steep but it can be long.  To avoid bordom, I pulled up one of my audio books on my phone and let it play.  The book I was listening to was Demon Copperhead .  It was recommended by a Sister on the Fly.  So far it is about a boy put into the foster care system. I don't have my headphones with me.  I just play the book. The trail wasn't busy.  Steve was riding well ahead of me most of the hill. Anyway, when I reach the Tunnel I dismount, turn on my bike lights, and start walking my bike through the tunnel.  I must have been deep into the tunnel because it was very dark when I noticed I had forgotten to turn off the book. You can imagine as I get into the tunnel how the narration is reverberating off the walls and seems quite loud.  But i

 I said I wasn't going to write to you again until I got back to New York in September.  But, I couldn't do it.  It's too long a time to not touch base. I am excited for my friends Jim and Ann at are also traveling this summer.  They have made their way from Florida up through California and into Oregon.  They are spending time in each lovely place and enjoying the views.  We reach out to each other once in a while and send a couple pictures. Then I think of my friends that are working their way through health challenges and I send them love and Tinkerbell sparkles. Last I wrote to you I was near Niagra Falls in New York.  I was about to cut through Canada to arrive back in the USA north of Detroit.  I was worried about the crossing and my dog spray (pepper spray).  Well, as usual with worry, it was wasted energy.  I went early in the morning and they asked me if I had any weapons. Rather than explain my kitchen knives and pepper spray, I said, "Nope!"  Is that a