May Excursions

This morning, as I was mapping out the route I will take from the airport to reach my lodging, the familiar flutter of travel excitement finally settled in.

Tomorrow I am off on another one of my celebratory end-of-training-season-can-finally-leave-Oregon-even- though- I-love-it excursions.

This tradition began three years ago, with two weeks in Sicily:



Okay, so Sicily was a little more than just a break-from-work trip. It was also my I-finally-finished-that-tortuous-thesis-and- completed-graduate-school trip! And it was the trip that inspired the start of this blog, and the purchase of my first digital camera.

In May 2006, I was just looking for a quick and cheap escape. Spokane provided the backdrop:



May of 2007 found me learning how to milk a goat in the California desert with my sister and her family:



And May 2008? Well, there's no particular method to the selection of this year's location: Nashville, Tennessee. I'll be back on Friday night with pictures!

*And for those who played the guessing game in the last post, it wasn't a hint about this trip!

My favorite signs of summer:

bike map
Originally uploaded by Katherine H.

Longer days
More daylight
Bike rides
Sun-ripened berries
New places to explore!

So, can you guess where I am going?

Here's a hint: Last September I crafted a weekend trip to Chicago around this renegade event.

Six Pic Saturday: Bikes, bikes, bikes!

My Saturday was mapped out with errands, but then a curious sight caught my attention...



A couple of weeks ago a large red-covered billboard appeared across from the city library. And today, the old City Center Motel property was crawling with bikes, bikes, and more bikes. Of course, I stopped.



Rooms 101-104 had been converted into small art galleries:



This is Dave. He's an art student at Western Oregon University. He and his wife, Rachel, happily demonstrated their participatory bicycle art.



The second floor balcony was a showcase of bicycles from the past. One of my favorites was the 1977 Schwinn Lil' Chik.



I did get to my errands, eventually. Befitting the day's theme, they were also bicycle-related. Two weeks ago I was invited to participate in the Cycle Seen exhibit that will take place in Portland during Pedalpalooza. Here's a preview of the two photos that will be shown:



Toes not included.