My original plan was to go to the farmers market on the Monticello square, followed by a fairly long ride with a lunch stop at the fabulous Mexican market in Eatonton. Something came up a few days beforehand that caused me to shorten my route - more on that in a moment. I still had a most excellent outing.
I had breakfast at home before I left for my ride. Most mornings I eat oatmeal, Quaker old-fashioned oats that I cook in the microwave and then add some kind of mix-in: chocolate chips, pumpkin, blueberries, etc. On Saturday morning I had muesli, a chilled oatmeal variation that is especially delicious in the warm months. I also have fresh fruit and plain Greek yogurt (extra protein in the Greek style) with my oatmeal. On muesli mornings, it all gets mixed together. Here's the recipe:
Muesli
2 cups quick or old-fashioned oatmeal (uncooked)
2 cups unsweetened apple juice
8 oz. plain yogurt
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Fresh fruit of your choice (bananas, apples, peaches, strawberries, etc.)
Chopped nuts of your choice (pecans, walnuts, etc.)
Combine oatmeal, apple juice, yogurt, and vanilla extract; mix well. Cover; refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Add fruit and nuts at serving time; serve cold. Refrigerate in airtight container up to 4 days.
Yield: 3-4 servings (I eat a third at the time, three days in a row.)
Notes: 1) That's right, you don't cook the oats! They soften overnight in the liquid and come out with a "cooked" consistency. 2) The original recipe calls for using vanilla yogurt, but I prefer the taste of plain yogurt with a little vanilla extract. 3) The original recipe also calls for adding the fresh fruit to the oatmeal mixture before refrigerating, but I like the texture better by adding the fruit at serving time.
After breakfast, it was off to the square. I visited with a few of my vendor friends, Shane, Shannon, and Laverne, and bought some okra. Was that a food truck on the Monticello square? Yes – Papi’s Tacos! Immediately I modified my ride plans. I would come back to the square at the end of my ride and get a couple of tacos for lunch. What a great alternate plan since I didn’t have time to go to the Mexican market in Eatonton like I had originally planned.
But first, I had one last stop on the square: The Vanilla Bean, where I had second breakfast, an indulgence on these occasional leisurely Saturday morning cycling outings. I sat outside enjoying some Earl Grey tea and a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, listening to local institution Les Steele play Georgia on My Mind on his electric keyboard. It was a good Monticello morning.
I dropped the okra off at Jordan Engineering to pick up later. Then I headed down Highway 11 S.
This is my favorite time of year, from approximately Beltane to the summer solstice. The bright blues and greens of a late spring day, brilliant in the high arc of the sun – magic! As I rode down Fullerton-Phillips Road, a beautiful rural road with little traffic, I pretended I was on a flying carpet.
I crossed Highway 212, where the road name changes to
Hillsboro Road. It’s even smoother once
you cross into Putnam County. I’m
incredibly fortunate to have such excellent riding conditions where I live.
I stopped briefly to check in at Willard, Georgia on
Facebook. Willard consists of an
abandoned store where Highway 142 dead ends into Highway 16. Just because, I like to check in at Willard
periodically when I go through there.
I was thoroughly enjoying my ride but still kept an eye on
the time. I needed to leave my house
about 2:00 PM. I had just enough time to
ride back to Papi's for my taco fix.
Papi's definitely did not disappoint! The tacos are made with flour tortillas that are grilled. You have a choice of meats and toppings. I got two chicken tacos with the works: lettuce, tomato, onions, and cheese. They also have a couple of salsa choices in bottles that you can add yourself; I opted for the delicious green salsa. Of course, I needed a beverage, too. I was going to order a Coke but then saw something intriguing on the menu board, horchata. I asked what it was, and when they described it as an iced drink with coconut milk and cinnamon, I knew I had to get that. What a splendid way to cap off my ride!
By the way, I wore my RAAM 2015 finisher's jersey that day because it was the start of the 2018 team RAAM event. Also, I wanted to show solidarity with Team Valkyrie from Denmark. Team Valkyrie organizer Heidi had contacted me last year through Facebook as she sought to have the first Scandinavian women's team complete RAAM. They finished soon after midnight yesterday - congratulations Team Valkyrie! (Thanks to Robert for being my videographer yesterday afternoon.)
So why did I have to be ready to leave my house by 2:00 PM a couple of Saturdays ago? Robert and I had an appointment at the Southeastern Greyhound Adoption (SEGA) kennel in Acworth to pick up a greyhound! A few days earlier, I had seen a SEGA post about two male greyhounds needing to be fostered. Robert and I are ready for another greyhound after losing sweet Mr. Spock last month. We decided to foster with the distinct possibility of failing fostering (i.e., adopting permanently).
Robert read the online descriptions of Elijah and Lyon. Both looked wonderful, but Robert was leaning toward Lyon only because Elijah sounded more vocal from the descriptions. (Our hounds are quiet, and we'd like to maintain a non-barky home.) After making the several-hour trip, we met Lyon. We walked him outside briefly (it was raining) and laughed as he obsessed over the papers in an open file drawer inside. This big boy was full of personality - all 80 lb. of him!
There were actually three adoptable greyhounds that day: Doc Cherry, Elijah, and Lyon. I wish we could have taken all three, but we stuck to Robert's plan to bring home Lyon. Happily, Doc Cherry and Elijah both have been adopted since then - woo hoo!
Typically, you use a foster's racing name (or portion thereof) and let the permanent adopter choose a different name if he/she so desires. Lyon's full racing name is Hakeem Lyon. Melissa, the SEGA volunteer who met us at the kennel, mentioned that Lyon's dam's (mother's) name is Stevie Nicks. Robert immediately renamed him Fleetwood. It suits him perfectly.
Fleetwood did well on the long ride home:
One time he entertained people in other cars when we were stopped at a red light:
It was a lot of change in a few short hours:
I had already planned a rather special dinner that night, and now we had an extra reason to celebrate. We feasted on some goodies I had picked up at Fresh Market in Macon the day before: Georgia shrimp and a bottle of rosé plus the okra from the farmer's market that morning (fried - another splurge) and some homemade biscuits. This is one of my favorite shrimp recipes, which I make only when I can get fresh Georgia shrimp:
Savannah Marinated Shrimp
4 lb. peeled, cooked shrimp
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup tarragon vinegar (I add some dried tarragon to regular white vinegar)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium onions, sliced
Salt, black pepper, and red pepper, to taste
Marinate in refrigerator overnight (or start in the morning to eat that evening). Travels well in a wide-neck Thermos - great picnic item!
Note: Recipe can be reduced. I make about 1/4 of this for Robert and me.
Greyhounds usually have to learn about stairs because they have never encountered them before. Fleetwood started getting the hang of our basement stairs even on the first day. The biggest thing we're having to work on is teaching him that he can chew only on toys:
He's mangled a few things, but fortunately nothing too serious. He did eat one of my cycling gloves, but at least I have several pairs. A few days ago, Robert stocked up on chew toys at Petsmart. That seems to be helping. Fleetwood turned two the day before we picked him up, and so he's really just past puppyhood.
As for getting along with greyhound Allie and beagle Shelly, there don't seem to be any worries there:
Oh, yeah - he likes watching Family Feud, too:
It's not quite official, but - pending Robert's final OK - I hope Fleetwood becomes a permanent member of Polyhound Farm very soon. As if there should be any doubt...
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| Good answer! Good answer! |
It's not quite official, but - pending Robert's final OK - I hope Fleetwood becomes a permanent member of Polyhound Farm very soon. As if there should be any doubt...
A bicycle ride in June, tacos (with horchata!), fresh Georgia shrimp, wine, and greyhounds - it doesn't get much better than that.
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