Balloons Over Baltimore
This is Preakness week, and that means the hot-air balloons are in town. We went out early this morning (Saturday) to see the balloon inflation. Back when we lived on Rueckert Ave in Baltimore, they did this in Patterson Park. When we moved to Kingsville, they moved it to Hunt Valley. Now we live in Columbia, and they have moved to Turf Valley — just 15 minutes away. (I’m just stating a fact.) If we wanted to see lots of balloons, we should have gone on Thursday or Friday. By Saturday, many of the balloon teams had left. Only one full-size balloon was in the air (tethered balloon rides — just $15!). There were also a couple of mini-balloons. Still, it was a nice morning and we had fun. Afterwards, we went out to Bob Evans to take advantage of a BOGO breakfast. (BOGO means “Buy One, Get One”.)
We Were There!
It was eventful all week, starting with our concert last Sunday. As you may remember, we heard the symphony play the music to Charlie Chaplain’s “Modern Times”. We were both delighted. I had always associated CC with old-time slapstick comedy in silent movies — good in its day, but not very interesting any more. I found an amazingly funny and uplifting movie. The movie had slap-stick comedy — one great gag after another. It also had a story. It had characters. It was uplifting. In short, it was a good movie. Danita’s favorite part was when Chaplain started doing Michael Jackson’s “Moon Walk”. I got a biography of Chaplain from our E-library. The man lived through a very rough childhood. But he was eternally optimistic about his (and our) future. I found a copy of “The Kid” on Amazon. It’s on our “to watch” list.
Having passed my PT (I expect to be discharged Monday) and having raised the handlebars on my bike (so I don’t re-injure myself), it was time to get serious about training for the ride up the Blue Ridge. I have two serious training rides — a 65 mile course around Liberty Reservoir that includes 6,000 feet of climbing, and a hilly circle around Ellicott City, crossing back and forth across the Patapsco River, using the steepest hills I can find. My training plan has 3 parts. 1 – Ride both training rides twice within one week. 2 – Continue riding each training ride once a week, while mixing in some other rides I find more fun. 3 – Go back to serious training rides for the last two weeks of June. I must be in better shape than I thought. I achieved the first goal this week. I did the second Liberty Reservoir ride Friday in absolutely perfect weather. The temperature was moderate. The sun was shining brightly. The spring flowers and greenery were in full bloom. Having ridden around much of Howard and Carroll county, I can safely report that this spring has brought a bumper crop of construction. Everywhere I went, I saw house renovations and repairs, new home construction, and of course road construction. It looks like one of the roads I use on the Liberty Reservoir route will be unrideable due to a repaving project. This will close the route for me (there being no reasonable detours). Even though I temporarily lost one training route, I am quite pleased to have met my goal so soon (and also still a little tired).
Besides that, we went to “Medicare 101”, offered by a Howard County volunteer organization. We learned that if one MUST sign up for Medicare Part A within 3 months of their 65th birthday. If a person decides not to sign up for Part B and later changes their mind, they will pay a penalty for the rest of their life. There are many, many parts to Medicare. The system is unbelievably complicated. Lastly, we learned that thanks to Danita’s many years of service to the state of MD through her job at UMBC, we are very lucky to need only Part A. We don’t have to go to Medicare 102. We don’t have to compare Part D plans on the web. And we don’t have to visit a Medicare counselor to try and figure out which of the many options is best for us.
We also had a neighborhood art show Friday evening. We have a lot of very talented artists living in our neighborhood.The garden club offered floral arrangements next to many of the paintings. They did an incredible job of complementing the art. Of course, being a SOCA event, there was food and libations. After seeing all the art work, we relaxed on the porch, chatting with neighbors and enjoying the perfect weather. It’s a good thing we went to that party, because the next one won’t be until Sunday, when we have an Elvis impersonator coming. Sometimes it’s hard living up to the Jonses in this neighborhood. One does what one must.
Rick, Dani, and Mom might remember when Dad had that little Austin Healey Sprite, how we joked about how it was Dad’s road dinghy. Well, here’s a picture of somebody else’s road dinghy. I though it was a cute pic.
That’s it for this week. I hope this finds everybody doing well.