Adventures In Bike Riding

Started off the morning by finishing Robin Hood. Not bad. The second half was more interesting than the first half, but it was still too long and too dour. On the other hand, this was a lot more realistic than most versions of the famous British tale, and Russell Crowe and especially Cate Blanchett were fine as Robin and Marion. Really, it depends on what you're looking for. I'd recommend it over the ridiculous Kevin Costner version without hesitation, but if you want a more colorful Robin Hood, check out Errol Flynn or Disney.

Headed for the Haddon Township Library as soon as the movie ended. It was a lovely day. Probably still a bit chilly for the time of year, in the mid-upper 40s, but otherwise sunny and breezy. I passed many people walking dogs and children, as well as a flock of Canadian geese, in Newton River Park.

The library hadn't been open for too long when I arrived around quarter of 11, but they already had at least one other volunteer there. I concentrated on returning the few DVDs that were there and organizing the kids' DVDs.

They had the third and final new American Girl mystery, the Rebecca story A Bundle of Trouble, on the shelf with the other AG books. I grabbed that one. In the spirit of trying something new, I decided to try a disk for the current PBS version of Curious George. I have fond memories of the version of George that ran on Nickelodeon when I was very little. I also found the newest Tinkerbell movie Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue and more Max and Ruby. Since the live-action movies I took out last week were gritty action dramas, I went with two comedies this time. I chose the 1988 hit A Fish Called Wanda and last year's Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (love that title).

After a short stop at Super Fresh, I rode over to Audubon for lunch at one of my favorite local restaurants, Simply Soups. It was 1 by the time I made it over there, and the small, dark room was packed with families, executives, and local shop-keepers enjoying their lunches. I was lucky I was able to grab a table! Good thing, too. I had two breadsticks and a delicious cup of spinach tortellini soup. The soup was one of the best I'd ever tasted, with tons of spinach, huge tortellinis, and enormous halves of stewed tomatoes. It made for a very satisfying and tasty lunch.

It was such a nice day, I just went for a ride down to Haddon River Park after I finished my meal. Haddon River Park passes through Audubon and Haddon Heights and is much longer and larger than Newton River Park. It's so long, I only took in the part that runs between King's Highway and Mt. Ephram.

Most of the Mt. Ephram side of the park was on the edge of a hill that mostly bordered houses...but I saw fields up there, too. I thought I'd check it out. The hill was long and steep, but I managed to get my bike to the top. Turns out there was a school and a field on the summit of the hill. I didn't want to disrupt any remaining kids, so I headed back down.

That was a little scary. The hill was very steep, and the bike kept wanting to go without me! I should have left it on the bottom of the hill. There were a couple of times I almost ended up sliding down the hill on the dry leaves.

After that incident, I did no more roaming around the hillside. (And ironically, I saw a ramp just a minute away that lead to another part of the school and the park's playground.) I just rode straight home.

I was a block away from my apartment when the gears on my bike just stopped turning. Yes, the chain had come off. Again. I walked it the rest of the way home and tried to get it back on myself, but nothing I did seemed to work. I ended up hiking it down the block to Doria's Deli and requesting help from Mr. Doria (and a half-pound of turkey from Mrs. Doria - I could use it for lunch tomorrow).

When I got home, I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the bathroom. I've been putting it off, but I really couldn't do it anymore. The sink in particular was gross, and the tub didn't look much better.

I ran Max and Ruby while baking Chocolate-Dried Cranberry Granola Bars and Curious George during dinner. Much to my disappointment, both DVDs were badly scratched, so much that I couldn't really watch the second half of the George disc at all. And I think the Max and Ruby disc is relatively new!

Birthdays are the theme of the Max and Ruby disc. For once, Ruby tended to come off better than Max in most of the stories. I especially liked "Bunny Money," where Max learns a lesson the hard way about saving for a rainy day and Ruby about doing price research before you buy when they go shopping for their grandma. The three-part-story about Ruby's birthday party is also very sweet...especially Max's present in the last episode!

The importance of caring for the enviorment is the theme of the Curious George set. George and his buddy The Man With the Yellow Hat go back and forth between city and country living as George learns how to grow carrots, recycle, and that you don't throw a box with your buddy's favorite hat in it in the trash! I found the series to be charming and funny. The little balloons representing George's imagination are a nice touch; the animation in the balloons is in the style of the original books.