Tag: sharing

Uncategorized

Shared Rides

2chicksandapen

I was on a recent trip to a smaller-sized town with not too much to do, yet I wanted to get some exercise in while exploring. I couldn’t pack my bike for the trip thus I was a little disappointed. However the town ride share came to the rescue.

For a $3.00 fee you could unlock the bike at one of the area spots and use it for an hour or $1.00 more if you wanted to cruise beyond the initial hour. Cool concept. Easy access once you downloaded their app and paid your fee. Having this option available was key to me exploring a couple of days.

I got to see a pretty sunset. I got to see a snake on my path. I shared smiles with many I passed along the way. The snake I will say I was glad to see while on a bike vs .walking. I got to see a little about the people in the town while I cruised around too. Some visiting. Some were homeless finding resting spots not far off the trails. Just an alternate way of seeing a new place.

While on this same trip I happened to notice a large concentration of vans, box trucks and trucks in a mall parking lot. Out in the distance from where one may park to go into the mall. This got my curiosity up. Was somebody renting parking spaces? What was this fluid truck concept? See photo above. Why it was another form of ride share. Clearly not a bike yet equally purposeful to some I’m sure. Myself included. As a business owner I need to rent trucks from time to time. The ride share concept of grab-and-go is not only affordable but the ease of access seems far more appealing than your traditional Penske or U-haul type rental place.

My mind is always wandering and exploring when I’m in new places. You never know what value you may find hidden just beyond your normal landscape or routine. Keep your options open to discover and explore no matter where you are. Small towns might be more savvy than meets the eye.Just a girl on adventures choosing to share some tidbits with the world here and there. Hope you enjoyed this random post about bikes and trucks. It’s funny since I also wrote about rail travel not too long ago as well. Guess it’s travel season for this girl.

I also like to include photos when I can in a post. This sign was a new one for me. It was located just after a stop sign on the bike path. Clearly the warning sign was appropriate for the upcoming terrain yet it was funny to see a stop sign and this distinct slanted warning sign. It was accurate though.

As an added fun fact, I have opted to ride a bike on many rail trails. Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, Florida, and a few other states. The majority of these trails are flat which I like but I learned on this trip they can also encompass inclines. I am going to have to make it a point to hit some new states by bike.

celebrations

2-2-2(3)

2chicksandapen

Ah a day of twos on the calendar. And when I thought about writing about this day of twos I genuinely thought it was 2/2/22. Little old me had a brain fart. I forgot we are in the year 2023. That could be due to my sleep deprivation. Oopsie. Well I’m still writing about my day of twos with a 3 on the end.

A tennis match is set on this day. Rain got in the way. No outdoor fitness for me today. Too bad. Too sad. I guess I won’t go 0-2 or 2-0 in tennis today. Way too much rain today.

Today is the second day of my birth month. I already got a cool gift on day one. Can’t wait for day two of surprises. Maybe it’s no surprise today. Maybe I’ll surprise myself with a gift. That’s kind of fun to do too. February is always a fun month for me. Valentine’s Day. Birthday. Holiday thrown in for a day off. A short month. I do like the month of February. It also the only F month which also coincides with my favorite four letter F word which just so happens to be my word of the week.

A sequence of twos in the date. And three just dangling on the end of the date.

Maybe even a little bit of a lucky twos day.

Too bad it’s not Tuesday too.

For today I’m opting to write a few notes about my day of twos. For today I am focusing on happy. How to incorporate happy into every waking hour of the day. Not that I don’t choose happy other days, rather I’m choosing to document happy hour every hour today. Just because.

I didn’t know I’d start with 2am but here I am at 2:08 am on a day of twos. Odd that I was startled at such an hour. Odd that I decided to write. But here I am. Here is the proof above of the time stamp this all began. I have many items to tackle today this why I’m probably awake. Thinking and rethinking the best path or route for the day. I’m tired of course but my mind isn’t settled to rest. The delicacy of this dilemma.

I guess I will hope for two hours of deep sleep before my real waking day of two begins. I guess you will need to read on to see how the day of two unfolds. I sent my first happy gram out via text. Since I’m focusing on happy today I figured I’d use my 2 am hour to make some folks smile first thing in the morning. Task one is done for me.

I didn’t plan to be awake at 2:22 am today thus I will consider it my calling. I am not making a wish for this magical time of awareness on 2/2 it 2:22 am. My own little moment of weirdness.

How many times can I do things in two today?

I put on my two shoes before 8 am. It was cold outside this I opted for two layers of shirts. Well a long sleeve and a sweatshirt. Then I decided to take out my deck of magical profanity affirmation cards. I picked two at random and delivered them electronically to some special people in my life. Fun. Snarky. Spontaneous. Just part of the day of twos. The one below ironically had a mirrored image showing two….

My day ended up getting tanked with a lot of random issues that all piled up in the morning, in the afternoon and the rain pretty much shot my evening plans. That means less cool things to write about today. That leaves with a little wisdom to share.

Start your day off with some positivity. A note to a friend. A text. A phone call. A cup of coffee with a friend. Find the fun or happy in every hour despite the shittiness that can pop up. This way no matter what shit storm hits your desk or plate in the day, you still win because you started your day off with happiness. I also know a friend wrote hand written notes to some key friends this week. One was of particular importance. Never miss an opportunity to share your caring self. If you get the time to write a personal note, card, letter just do it. You will be one of the few who take the time to stroke a pen with a purpose. This is my two cents on this day of twos.

adventure

Pacific Northwest Coastal Edition

2chicksandapen

So much to see on the Oregon coast but with limited time on my hands I opted for the best adventures in short time window.

First stop was Cape Arago State Park just south of Coos Bay, Oregon.  Just before reaching our destination we stopped for a quick bite to eat at a fish house eatery.  I had grilled halibut. It was the days special and it was oh so fresh. With full bellies we finished the last bit to the park.

As we were approaching the fog came rolling in. It took away some of the distant views but offered a quaint murky view. The views were amazing in all directions. The sound of the powerful waves hitting the rocks were ever so relaxing. The sounds of the sea lions singing away was an experience in the foggy distance.

The views from up high were great but the views down low yielded another amazing perspective of the same area. From the simplicity of the rocks to the mystery of the logs on the beach. All yielded its own special place in my photos.

Unfortunately, I can’t post every picture from my reel but this will just encourage you to put this area on your bucket list for travel as it is truly an experience worth making time for.

About a half hour away we began our next excursion on the sand. Not the beach per se, but a new sand experience. We took a tour on ATVs on the sand dunes. Since this ride was so monumental, it will have to have its own blog post. Stay tuned for the dunes post in a few days. Until then I will leave you with one more coastal photo to entice you to visit the Oregon coast one day.

fitness and nutrition, giving

Poke Me Poke Forward

2chicksandapen

I’ve made it a point to try new things this year. New things include new foods. Today I experienced my first poke bowl.

I was a bit conservative with my choices but I enjoyed it and thought it was filling. I had double shrimp for my protein. They were small shrimp but they tasted good. I had some roughage in the bowl as well as crunchy onion bits, carrot strings and onion slices. I stayed away from the sauce and raw stuff.

I neglected to save a photo because I was too excited to give it a try. This meal was especially sweet because a loved one sent it to me via Uber eats. It came delivered nicely in a brown bag dropped on my porch. This was also my first time using Uber eats even though I didn’t actually place the order. 

What I learned in the process was how convenient Uber eats can be for somebody you care about that is a distance away. You can easily order online, follow the delivery status and communicate to the recipient for them to follow along as well. I even got a text showing it arrived. So convenient.

In my case this was sent from miles away in another state. I enjoyed the thought of a virtual meal with my buddy who was unable to be with me in person. Such a cool experience. I will be sure to pay this idea forward in the weeks ahead. 

My hope is that I send a meal forward and the recipient is as elated as me and pays it forward to another. Not to make Uber eats benefit but rather to share joy with others through a meal even if you can’t sit across from each other at a table.

Poke forward. That’s my motto for the weeks ahead. Maybe for a meal train for somebody in need. Maybe for an elderly person living alone. So many options.

challenges

Shattered

2chicksandapen

My daughter got a cameo on the big stage…a chance to play on the field of an NFL stadium. Only five minutes. A handful of plays. But I knew it would be an experience she wouldn’t forget.

Of course I had to go cheer her on. We traveled to downtown Atlanta, a far cry from our suburban home. Waze dropped us in a part of town I didn’t know that well. I felt pretty good that we found free parking on the street about 8 blocks from the stadium. We pulled in and walked to the game.

There was a clear bag policy and I forgot my clear bag. Ugh. I grabbed my wallet and cash from my purse. Not sure why…I usually wouldn’t take all that in my pockets, but I figured better safe than sorry.

We took in all the sights and sounds of an NFL game. We cheered when she passed to a teammate who ran it in for a TD. She made her mark.

Flash forward to a couple of hours later. A rain storm had hit. I don’t really care about NFL football so we headed back to the car shortly after halftime. We passed a car about 10 spots away from ours that was going through their trunk, etc. as we walked by. I didn’t think anything of it. Then, as we approached my car, I noticed debris all over the sidewalk. The first thing I saw were my daughter’s faces. Their buttons from years of playing sports. I was so confused. Why were they on this wet sidewalk? Then, toiletries. Those were from my gym bag. And then I looked up to see my passenger side window, broken. Shattered. It took a minute to set in. A smash and grab.

I had been robbed.

Too many details to share here about what got taken, what got overlooked. (They skipped all my gift cards, took my airpods…) Things that were valuable to me that had no meaning to the thieves. There were at least 10 cars that had the same thing happen on this block. Some got hit others got missed. I assume it was because I had bags on my seats. I called the police but they did not come. So we drove the long chilly January air conditioned highway home.

As we drove, I said out loud all the things I was thankful for. They didn’t take those gift cards or my triathlon medal. They didn’t take my awesome stadium blanket or some other valuables I had stashed away. I can only figure they were after cash and easy sellables. Probably addicts.

I was thankful I did not walk up on them while they were doing this. I was thankful my car was otherwise unharmed. I was thankful I am not in a position where this setback would be a real mental or financial hardship. I am SO thankful something whispered to me to take my wallet! It could have been so much worse. I really was not shaken or shattered inside. I can only attribute this to my mindset work and knowing to keep losses in perspective. I would not have responded this way a few years ago.

In a few days, with the help of my family, my car was fixed and all of this was in the rear view. Am I glad it happened? Of course not. But I am grateful my life pushes on. Building your mental and physical muscles matters. I remembered this quote from Dutch Bros. Something I aspire to. There are still a handful of people and situations that can get into my mental fortress, but not nearly as many as there used to be.