So...B has been training, raising money, and finally finished his bicycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles! Yes, you read that right. He rode his bicycle 545 miles and between 40 and 100 miles per day. Luckily, I managed to get to the finish line in time to see him finish the ride!
We were soo happy he was done, but he says it was the best time. B is still debating on whether or not to do it again because of the time commitment, but we'll see.
Let's back up a bit though. How did I get to Los Angeles in time?! I'm still kind of amazed I did get there by 12:30PM.
I managed to have the foresight on Friday to fill up the gas tank and remember to ask my friend to watch Caboose. Finch is usually okay with just some water and food. I set the thermostat to turn on the air conditioning if it got too hot. I also left the bedroom doors open so she could hide under the bed if she still got hot. (She's staring at me as I'm typing this. Can she tell that I'm writing about her?)
I also couldn't sleep that night. I was worried that I wouldn't get everything ready in time and was excited about seeing B again. He also hadn't sent any messages after mentioning that there was a very emotional vigil Friday night. He had been sending goodnight and good morning messages up until then. I got out of bed after Ro fell asleep and I had been staring at the ceiling for a good hour. I then cleaned out the whole car, folded a ton of laundry, packed all of our bags, and filled up the car to be ready for us to leave early Saturday.
On Saturday morning, Ro woke up around 4:30AM, but I managed to convince him to go back to sleep by pulling him into my bed and under the covers. I then woke up around 6AM and Ro was still asleep. I got ready, dressed Ro (still asleep), and got everyone in the car. I had just thrown Caboose into my friend's house when B called me to let me know he was alive. Of course, he couldn't understand why I was worried, but maybe that's just how things are when one person in the couple thinks the other is MIA. I dropped Ro (still asleep) off at my mother-in-law's house afterwards. I drove off and made it to Kingsburg before I realized that I still had Ro's shoes and his carseat in the car. I had to double back to my mother-in-law's house, dropped those items off and then noticed that my tire pressure light was on. I checked the tires and they were fine. I continued driving until I checked the tires in Lebec (still fine), and eventually found a parking spot a mile away from Fairfax High in West Hollywood (still fine) around 12:30PM. I had somehow forgotten to eat, drink, or use the bathroom before leaving home, too.
B texted me a few times since the phone call, but I still wasn't really sure where he was. I thought it would be a good idea to wait near the finish line, thinking that he would have called or texted by now if he had already made it. Because of this thinking, I was there in time to watch him finish the ride. It was pretty emotional, but I managed to hold myself together. We took a few pictures of B with his bike as I had taken a few pictures already of him at the finish line. We were able to fit everything in the car without a problem afterwards.
Originally, I had planned to pick up B and turn around to drive back immediately after. I changed my mind Friday because I thought it would be a good opportunity for time without a kid. I couldn't find a decent hotel or Airbnb room near Fairfax High that wasn't over $200, and so I ended up booking a room at Hotel Constance (clean, good service, and beautiful) in Pasadena. It turned out to be inexpensive because no events were going on in Pasadena, but that worked well for us. B was fed really well during the bike ride and was able to walk around with me for a little bit. We had dinner at Braise and Crumble (delicious and such nice people) and then we walked around to explore. We ended up finding a street closed off for a community event and a good milkshake and root beer float at The Stand. It sounds like we did a lot, but we did take things very easy.
After breakfast at Andy's Diner (good service and okay food), we finally checked the tire pressure at a Firestone and found out the tires were perfectly fine (go figure). We recalibrated the tire pressure sensor, filled up the gas tank in Burbank, and then continued driving until we reached the Outlets at Tejon. It's becoming a regular stop, but I think that's because there are stores there that aren't at the Tulare Outlet stores.
We made it back in town early enough to get B a new phone (his phone had hit gravel at one point of the ride and cracked the screen), take his bike in for a quick adjustment (we had anticipated dropping it off, get iced teas at 15 Tea (delicious), and pick up Ro before 5PM.
How do you support having to drive a few hours to pick up a spouse after a trip?
Let's back up a bit though. How did I get to Los Angeles in time?! I'm still kind of amazed I did get there by 12:30PM.
I managed to have the foresight on Friday to fill up the gas tank and remember to ask my friend to watch Caboose. Finch is usually okay with just some water and food. I set the thermostat to turn on the air conditioning if it got too hot. I also left the bedroom doors open so she could hide under the bed if she still got hot. (She's staring at me as I'm typing this. Can she tell that I'm writing about her?)
I also couldn't sleep that night. I was worried that I wouldn't get everything ready in time and was excited about seeing B again. He also hadn't sent any messages after mentioning that there was a very emotional vigil Friday night. He had been sending goodnight and good morning messages up until then. I got out of bed after Ro fell asleep and I had been staring at the ceiling for a good hour. I then cleaned out the whole car, folded a ton of laundry, packed all of our bags, and filled up the car to be ready for us to leave early Saturday.
On Saturday morning, Ro woke up around 4:30AM, but I managed to convince him to go back to sleep by pulling him into my bed and under the covers. I then woke up around 6AM and Ro was still asleep. I got ready, dressed Ro (still asleep), and got everyone in the car. I had just thrown Caboose into my friend's house when B called me to let me know he was alive. Of course, he couldn't understand why I was worried, but maybe that's just how things are when one person in the couple thinks the other is MIA. I dropped Ro (still asleep) off at my mother-in-law's house afterwards. I drove off and made it to Kingsburg before I realized that I still had Ro's shoes and his carseat in the car. I had to double back to my mother-in-law's house, dropped those items off and then noticed that my tire pressure light was on. I checked the tires and they were fine. I continued driving until I checked the tires in Lebec (still fine), and eventually found a parking spot a mile away from Fairfax High in West Hollywood (still fine) around 12:30PM. I had somehow forgotten to eat, drink, or use the bathroom before leaving home, too.
B texted me a few times since the phone call, but I still wasn't really sure where he was. I thought it would be a good idea to wait near the finish line, thinking that he would have called or texted by now if he had already made it. Because of this thinking, I was there in time to watch him finish the ride. It was pretty emotional, but I managed to hold myself together. We took a few pictures of B with his bike as I had taken a few pictures already of him at the finish line. We were able to fit everything in the car without a problem afterwards.
Originally, I had planned to pick up B and turn around to drive back immediately after. I changed my mind Friday because I thought it would be a good opportunity for time without a kid. I couldn't find a decent hotel or Airbnb room near Fairfax High that wasn't over $200, and so I ended up booking a room at Hotel Constance (clean, good service, and beautiful) in Pasadena. It turned out to be inexpensive because no events were going on in Pasadena, but that worked well for us. B was fed really well during the bike ride and was able to walk around with me for a little bit. We had dinner at Braise and Crumble (delicious and such nice people) and then we walked around to explore. We ended up finding a street closed off for a community event and a good milkshake and root beer float at The Stand. It sounds like we did a lot, but we did take things very easy.
After breakfast at Andy's Diner (good service and okay food), we finally checked the tire pressure at a Firestone and found out the tires were perfectly fine (go figure). We recalibrated the tire pressure sensor, filled up the gas tank in Burbank, and then continued driving until we reached the Outlets at Tejon. It's becoming a regular stop, but I think that's because there are stores there that aren't at the Tulare Outlet stores.
We made it back in town early enough to get B a new phone (his phone had hit gravel at one point of the ride and cracked the screen), take his bike in for a quick adjustment (we had anticipated dropping it off, get iced teas at 15 Tea (delicious), and pick up Ro before 5PM.
How do you support having to drive a few hours to pick up a spouse after a trip?
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