Banff, Trebuchet and Other Stuff

In between rides and races, we found some time for normal things this week....well, normal for us, anyway. Everett and I headed in to the Banff Film Festival this past Monday. It was definitely my favorite year of films. They were all interesting and funny or gripping. They had a little bit of everything including, trekking, speed climbing, base jumping, white water paddling, mountain biking, caving, and some epic adventures. Many of our friends were there, so we go to hang out with Aimee and Ann.

Mo (on the right) got our tickets for us and saved me an extra trip into Atl. Thanks super-mo!

After the films, we stopped at Waffle House to talk about our favorite films and of course....college. I think Everett is really ready to stop talking about the next four years and just get it over with already! It was really awesome, as always, to spend some time with him. Such a cool guy.

Then, later on in the week, Jansen started building his Trebuchet for Latin class. He designed it himself and used all scrap wood from the back yard. Of course he does all his wood working by himself and we end up with a medieval contraption in our driveway.

That log that he is using has got to be 50+ lbs.

We're not really sure how we are going to get it to the school....that will just be another adventure.

On a side note, we have a new library that is pretty close to the house. It is one of the few environmentally conscious buildings in this area.

Various vehicles park here, but it still sounds pretty cool. Inside they are conserving water by using rain water to flush the toilets.

There is a park right across the street from the library and it is always packed. It is great to see so many people outside.

**

Ah, a perfect sunny weekend!!

We had a great, sunny weekend! Lot's of racing to be had, too! Jansen took off with Andy to Florida, while Everett and Shey stayed here to race at the IHP on Sunday. Then, Shey drove down to FL to race with Jansen on Sunday. Whew!

I rode over to IHP to see the guys race and hang out with Aimee and Q.L.

Miss Thang had her own chair.

She didn't want to wear her hat, but liked putting on everyone else at the race.....here we see how it rounds out Everett's outfit with a nice splash of color.

And Aimee has the downlow/homegirl/cooley thang goin' on......

Team mate handing chip over to Everett. They had a lot of fun and won their category.

Podium shot.

Jansen had a strong race in Florida with no mechanicals....finally! Second, with Tanner ahead and Brent just behind. Great top three guys.

Shey didn't get down to FL until like midnight and slept on the ground beside the truck. He had a pretty strong race, but was tired, for sure.

Great weather for some great riding!

**

Good Times in NYC

E, J and I decided to head to NYC for a day this past weekend. They don't have a red-eye flight from ATL to NYC, anymore, so we took a late night flight in on Friday, then took a nap in the airport until it was light enough outside to start exploring.

Friday: Jansen hit the Mo's and patiently waited with all the college spring breakers, for his burrito, chips and queso. He saved the burrito for later and we shared the chips while waiting for our flight. Everett was really glad he brought his laptop to keep him busy in the various airports.



I got to sit next to a Jamaican guy who used the F-word in every sentence and continued to talk on the phone while we were ascending and descending, ugh. (ya know, when you're supposed to have all your electronics turned off?) However, I did sleep most of the time, so the flight went by quickly.

Saturday early a.m.: When we got into JFK, we found a quiet place and settled in for a nap. Jansen awoke at around 2:30 am and was starving so he pulled out his Mo's burrito and created a Haiku about it.

I can't remember it now, but it was freakin' hilarious at the time......roughly:

2 a.m. New York
Eating a burrito now
It's from Atlanta

Yep, deliriously tired......

Here is Everett, the headless, taking a nap at JFK airport.

As soon as it was light outside, we got a metro card and took the subway in to Manhattan.

We stopped at a street vendor and got doughnuts and hot chocolate to keep us warm. Yum.

We walked around Central Park for a bit and enjoyed watching all the dogs running around and playing with each other. We sat on a park bench in the sun and enjoyed the live action of the runners and cyclists. One of the pieces displayed in the park is an obelisk.

Next we hit the Metropolitan Museum of Art right when they opened so we would miss the crowds. Very smart move for us!

We all enjoyed the Roman and Greek art. Everett found a bench to take a short nap, then he was up and running again.

This museum is huge and I knew we wouldn't make it through half before we were ready for some fresh air and sunshine.

Jansen giving his best no-smiling-cause-I'm-a-guy pose, next to a roman column.

Hercules. Super-bad-***

Island art. Yep, after this room we were ready for some island traveling.

Gold masks 10th-11th century Peru.

Ah, reminded me of Italy.......

Egyptian ruins.

Had to stop for NYC pizza!! Our timing was perfect and we hit this pizza place right before the lunch rush.

Lots of great entertainment in the subway....blues, punk and native american bands, death threats from a high guy to someone who took his seat, tons of ipods and a dude dressed in drag.

We took the metro to Chinatown and Little Italy.

We hit an amazing medicinal shop that was full of dried plants and creatures (like sea cucumbers and various sea life). I think our favorite place, though, was a really awesome martial arts shop. They had nun chucks, weapons, ninja outfits and lots of Bruce Lee videos. I picked up a very vague fortune at the Buddhist Temple.

Love those seafood markets!

Mott street in Chinatown.

See that tiny speck off in the distance? Yep, Statue of Liberty...

All in all, we had a great trip, but the walk down to see the statue of liberty, put us on the subway later than I had planned. There was a change in the subway schedule and our train was running on a different line, due to construction, so we were even later arriving at the airport and we missed the last flight. A quick check of flights and we hopped a train to the La Guardia airport for an early morning flight. (also needed to make a birthday call to my awesome dad during this chaos...not sure if he could hear us with all the racket on the bus) Finally, first class on Aero Mexico, with breakfast, and we were back home. Yeah!

Can't wait for the next trip with my favorite two companions!

****