On Thursday, we took advantage of the kids being in school to run some needed errands. I had to pay a fine/buy a book (anyone need a copy of Ricks Steve’s Amsterdam, Brussels & Brugge?) in Wallingford, had to get the boy some new rain boots at REI, had to return some mis-sized but wedding-appropriate shoes to Nordstrom rack, and we both wanted to go on a ride together. Combine all of this with some super nice weather and you have the perfect Xtracycle date and errand day. If you want the details, here’s how it went down:
We dropped the kids off at school on foot, stopped at home for the Xtracycles and fancy footware, and then boogied up to the Wallingford branch of SPL. There I got the bad news that they wouldn’t take the book I bought to replace the book I lost. So much for my MLIS degree carrying any weight in the library world.
We leisurely spun over to to REI. Of course I had to try on shoes, browse the returns and contemplate lantern mantels. What can I say, it’s what I do.
Next stop was a two minute ride away: Nordstrom Rack. Despite the name, there’s only one bike rack anywhere near the front of the store and that was occupied by a partially stripped Huffy. The adjacent 2″ thick urban sapling wasn’t a confidence inspiring alternative so I waited with the bikes while the spillover crowd from the market gawked at the two Xtracycles.
By then we (OK, Anne) were totally starving so we popped down to the market and Michou. Michou is takeout sandwich Mediterranean eclectic place where you can get amazing fresh panini, salads, olives, pizza, and more. All at very reasonable prices. I hesitate to tell people about it because I don’t want them to get all big and fancy, but I want to keep the place in business. So there. I did it. Go. It’s good. And fast. And reasonable. And if it’s a nice day you can watch the tourist crowd stumble around in the sunshine.
Sated (though I really wanted to either grab a beer at the Pike Pub or a cookie at the Dahlia Bakery, we had room for neither), it was back on bikes to get the kids from school. Anne got our son from preschool while I swung by the grocery store for a gallon of milk, etc… I still met her at the elementary school in time for us all to ride home together.
Not a bad way to spend a day.
-Tim
Anne & Tim
Tim King
Anne
cfdgirl
Tim K
Car Free Days 
In defense of libraries (and a fellow MLIS degree recipient), it just doesn’t work that way — we have people buy books/CDs to replace ones they’ve lost but they must pay the fine, and WE’LL make the purchases, thank you! Didn’t they teach you that in library school? Ha ha
I am loving your blog — it is providing a lot of inspiration and ideas for my upcoming Xtracycle purchase.
Thanks for the comment. I’m having fun with the blog (and the xtracycles).
As for the book, I paid for it gladly. I just wish they would have taken my book and some processing money instead of starting all over charging me the cover-price. That would have been the more cost-efficient thing to do.
That said, there’s no need to defend libraries from me. They RULE!