Piya's Perspective

Start Line:  Ari was at the UW parking lot with his group by 5:30am.  I was happily tucked in bed.  I did wake around 4:15 when Ari kissed me goodbye.  I even ran downstairs and opened/closed the garage to get his attention.  I failed.  Luckily, I saw the spare hanging on the key rack when I came back inside and didn’t waste any time going back to sleep.

First half of the day:  Simeon woke around 6:30.  By then, Ari was pedaling his way south.  The rough night before made it easy to convince Simeon he needed more sleep.  I just brought him into my bed and laid back down.  We finally made our way downstairs around 8:30.  Having shown no signs of stomach problems since midnight, it was oatmeal for breakfast – and half of my bowl of cheerios (we’re currently at that stage where he wants anything mommy or daddy are eating). 

(Not quite) The day’s halfway point: Item one on my list for the day – pick up Ari’s car.  Ari left it on a street near my boss’s house – down the street from a nice little playground area with a swingset.  Around 10am, Simeon climbed into the stroller and we were off to play.  As expected, Ari called on the way.  He was in Spanaway – 55 miles Puyallup – 42 miles[1] cycled and time to get some food.  Ironically, I passed his car seconds after we hung up.

Second half of the day:  After playing for a bit, it was time to head back home.  Simeon fell asleep in the car on the way and got a 1.5 – 2 hour nap.  I managed to get some rest, some lunch, some laundry, some dishes and some afternoon planning accomplished.  Ari was breaking away from his group for bit and racing to the mid-point.

STP mid-point:  After running an errand, Simeon and I picked up B&B and headed to Greenlake for some swimming.  I had wanted to take him to the wading pool the weekend before and failed.  The weather was gorgeous and B&B were wonderful company.  Ari called as we were unloading the car.  102 miles and he had made it to Centralia.  He was in line for food (or bathroom), sounded great and had plenty of time to relax.  Unfortunately it was 20-20 hindsight that told him he should have gotten a massage – his thighs burned the next couple days.

Simeon just loved the wading pool!  The weekend before we had gone to the gym pool and finally dunked him under.  This weekend he just had a blast in the water, splashing and running around.  He was also being a great little boy.  A girl brought a toy over to him that had been floating in the water.  When she came back for it, I expected Simeon to have a fit.  Instead he gave it right back and didn’t make a fuss when she left to return it to the rightful owner.  It was also easier than I expected to leave the pool.  He was ready to come out on his own about the same time that B&B and I were starting to think about packing up.  We rested and noshed a bit before heading to dinner.

End of Day 1:  Dinner was unfortunately cut short.  Simeon had absolutely no interest in it, which meant I didn’t either.  Thankfully, B&B were extremely helpful and understanding.  Simeon fell asleep around 7pm as we were on our way to drop B&B back home.  I expected he’d wake up when we got home, but he actually slept the rest of the night.  I called Ari at one point , expecting he was resting in Toledo (120 miles into the ride and the night’s stop).  Luckily my question was quick, he didn’t have much time.  I found out later they still had a few miles to go, but my good timing had caught them when they had momentarily stopped.

The rest of the night was spent packing and doing a last load of laundry.  By the time I crawled into bed it was the end of Day 1…for everybody. 

[1] Correction after reading the first part of R’s story of the ride.