Summarization of Spring

I have not been very diligent about blogging this spring so I will just highlight some events. The title of this post is actually a bit misleading because by any reasonable measure "spring" never really occurred. It went from winter to summer in a blink.

Once again we met my family in Tybee Island, of the coast of Savannah, GA for a week of sun and sand. We stayed in much more luxurious digs this year and I've got to say that I prefer the simple, (and less expensive) one story, traditional beach cottage of last year. This year there was a new baby to meet and some of my brother's in-laws joined us.
Not too far from much tonier Hilton Head, Tybee Island is beautiful, small and not over-built. Howeverm I was very disappointed when I went for a run on the beach one evening as the sun was setting and the tide was coming in and the entire beach was strewn with the refuse of that days beach-goers. These same pigs surely came to the beach for its beauty yet felt no responsibility of stewardship. I continue to be shocked by the cesspool of humanity that our culture has created. It made me want to retreat home, one of those few places left in the United States where the majority of people treat their environment with reverence.

Last snow of the season.....we hope.
We returned from Georgia to rotten weather. At least the snow was off the bike path and we could resume biking to school. I grabbed my camera on the way out of the house in hopes that I would be photoing the last, winter's snowfall. So far so good.

Lefty Shenanigan the Vanagon
I am considering this Tony's mid-life crisis purchase.

As May winds down the sun is out in force and so are we. We have been spending most days after school riding into Driggs and hanging out at Pendl's Bakery and then the Skateboard Park. We are trying to built our mileage for our bike trip to Vermont. Weekends have been spent back in Idaho Falls so I can spend as much time as possible with Ben since he will be leaving to attend University of Idaho in Moscow while I am at The Middlebury College Language Program this summer.

Owen's Gowen Goth?

I had to zoom in on this photo for you to be able to truly appreciate the hilarity of it. No, he is not wearing lipstick. The only explanation I can come up with is that my camera adjusted his rosie, luscious, red lips (you know, the kind of lips that certain women pay for) with its auto red-eye eliminator.


Spring is here, wet and windy. I just rode my first 30 mile ride of the season in gale force wind that had me at a crawl on the way west and flying on the return trip east. There is no chance of mountain biking on trails anytime in the near future since the ground is like a sopping sponge and the mud is formidable.


We just got back from a long weekend in warmer latitudes. It was not a whole lot warmer than St Louis but there were palm trees, sandy beaches, and an ocean. That kind of backdrop really changes one's outlook. Life is just a little better for a while. Although I certainly would not go as far as Tony and proclaim it to be the most wonderful place on earth. Or something to that effect. It's the south; which means it is a dandy place to visit and then go home.

Our wealthier relations, my brother Brian and his wife Chari, rented a house for 5 days on Tybee Island across from Savannah, GA and invited my parents and us. Not being the types to pass up free AND really liking my family, we graciously accepted the invitation. Chari is 8 months pregnant and was looking forward to having Owen around to play with their 2 1/2 year old daughter, Alaina. There is a mutual worship that goes on between Owen and Alaina. Very cute.


We were only 3 blocks from the ocean so that, of course, was the theme of the trip. We cycled the beaches, swam, built sand castles, fished and ate a LOT of seafood. The first evening we went to an over-priced seafood restaurant and had mediocre food so we decided to cut our losses and eat in the rest of the trip. The boys, both young and old, successfully caught our dinner a couple times. My dad went down to where the boats come in and bought a bushel of oysters for $30.00!!! Tony and Brian were determined to finish eating every last oyster long after they were full.