So I've purchased new tires for my bike this season.  I've never actually bought new tires before, so this was an educational experience.

Introducing the Specialized Crossroads Armadillo

Come to think of it, I've never actually owned a new bike.  Everything I've ridden over the years has been purchased used.  So I guess I could splurge on some new tires, right?

I'm currently riding an early 1990s Giant Iguana mountain bike that I bought used from the adventure trip folks at Phantom Ranch back in 1996.  Over time I've probably replaced almost every element on the thing… crank, seat, handlebars, cables, etc.  (At one point, I fractured both my arms while riding it, but that's another story.)  Sure, I should probably get a new bike with a better fit, but other priorities always come up.

Steve and his bike last summer

As we finally put winter and cold weather behind us, one thing that really brings me joy is the ability to ride my bike.  Last year, Amy and I really hunkered down to eliminate our student loans and other outstanding debt, thus bike repair wasn't really in the cards.  But this season we got our bikes tuned up and repaired… and I shopped for new tires.

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It was March 1997 and I was a senior in college. A few guys that lived on my floor invited me to join them for Spring Break in Florida, as one of them lived there at the time.

Steve sings a painful "Via Dolorosa"

I'm not a Spring Break party animal, thus during our stay we enjoyed a day at the Magic Kingdom, spent a lot of time outside, watched a few spring baseball games, and attended a very early Sunrise Easter Service at a local church. Needless to say, because of that early wake-up call, we were quite tired from getting up at the crack of dawn, and personally, I think I was a bit loopy.

This video is a result.

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We got together with some friends last night to play Monopoly.  Amy & I are not huge fans of the game, but they are.  Plus, you can only play Ticket to Ride so many times, right?

Steve is a hotel maniac!

We used a standard board, but for a nice twist added in the "Speed Die" and "Bus Tickets" from 2006's Monopoly: The Mega Edition.  This accelerates the game a bit by allowing the player to advance to the next unowned property during the beginning game rolls, thus enabling you to quickly buy these locations.  As the game progresses and the properties are all owned, this same die forces to you advance to the next property you owe rent on… so that's painful.

In the end, I had hotels on half the board and ended up victorious!  Just call me Rich Uncle Pennybags (or Mr. Monopoly if you prefer a retconned name)!

Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.

Amy & Greg at the Magic Kingdom (1979)

While last week we looked at a childhood photo of mine taken at EPCOT Center, this week it's time to dive into Amy's past. For that we jump back to 1979 and a family vacation she took to Florida.

Here we see adorable little Amy (age 3½) at the Magic Kingdom with her brother Greg (age 7), posing for a photo in front of Cinderella Castle.  Of course, Amy has her Mickey Mouse stuffed animal, with the pose looking like an affectionate sister/brother moment.  However, in reality, Amy was trying to brush away Greg's arm in a "hey, don't touch me" sort of way!

Over the years Amy & I have had fun adding our own captions to this photo.  What's yours?

We recently got to see our friend Nick Rosario perform in a local community college production of the musical, Hairspray.

After the Show: Steve, Amy, Stacey, Nick, & John

He played the iconic man-as-woman role of Edna Turnblad (John Travolta played this part in the 2007 film adaptation).

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At the end of March we attended our second Chicago Rush home game of the season.  This time around in Arena Football action it was against the recently-revived San Jose SaberCats, a team that was part of the "old" AFL.

Clark enjoys his first game

As a fun change of pace, we were joined not only by my parents, but also one of the partners at the counseling practice Amy works at, Dr. Clark Barshinger.

Welcome San Jose back to the AFL

He was curious about Arena Football and wanted to find out what it was all about, so he asked her if he could join us for a game sometime.

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A few weeks ago, I went to a Cubs day game with my friend Tim, a huge Cubs fan. We both work from home, so this was a nice break from the everyday. The Arizona Diamondbacks were in town, it was "Starlin Castro Bobblehead Day," the sun was out (but it was cold), so why not?

Wrigley Field is decorated to start the season

This game took place shortly after the season started, thus Wrigley Field was still dolled up with all the promotional garb used to kick off the Cubs latest battle into anticipated futility.

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Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.

World Showcase Omnibus (1985)

The year is 1985. The place is EPCOT Center.

While my parents had taken me to Walt Disney World before, this was my first "memorable" trip, which I experienced at age 10. EPCOT Center was just 3 years old at the time. That vacation had quite an impact on me becoming a Disney theme park enthusiast.

Today's photo — taken with a Kodak Instamatic 126 film camera and cropped accordingly — spotlights the World Showcase Omnibus, a double-decker vehicle that used to provide transportation for guests to visit the various countries around World Showcase Lagoon. It was phased out in the mid-1990s, probably because it couldn't contain a gift shop, timeshare information stand, or pin trading station.

Standing in front of the bus is my little sister Karen (age 7), sporting a lovely red Walt Disney World visor… and I'm not sure what she's really doing with her hands. I'm standing cluelessly next to her in my 1985 Walt Disney World shirt (I wore that thing a TON!) and tan EPCOT Center visor. To be honest, I'm not sure if we actually ever rode the bus!

Nevertheless, they are missed in World Showcase, as the buses provided motion, activity, and a unique sense of place.

Back in October, we posted a photo of our guest bathroom wall, where we had been keeping track of the "Steve vs. Amy" Ticket to Ride scores. Since that time, we've added another column and here are the results:

Round 2: Steve vs. Amy Game Results

In Round 2 of our matchups, we tied in wins with 8 games each.  You'll note that our more recent games have included the awesome new Alvin & Dexter Monster Expansion, which really adds so much more fun to any Ticket to Ride game.

On the wall you'll also note our "W+D" references, which represent the "Warehouses and Depots" game elements that are part of the Europa 1912 Expansion (and like Alvin & Dexter, can be added to any version of Ticket to Ride).  This expansion also includes new Destination Tickets much like the USA 1910 Expansion for the original game, except that Ticket to Ride Europe is now the benefactor, providing 3 different expansion games to play (Europe Expanded, Mega Europe, and Big Cities of Europe).

Providing a fun break from regular TtR games, our friend Jason Steele gave us a fan-made map of the London Underground which really was quite different.  We haven't released the monsters on this city yet, so apparently the folks on London are safe for a little while longer!

I'd also like to point your attention to a fan-created set of rules called the Ghost Train, which actually did a very nice job of tightening up the USA map for a 2-player game.  Such a simple concept, but it added a lot more cutthroat action in a recent game.

Finally, I'm particularly proud of the Nordic game we played where I won with the really low score of 71-57.  This game almost had me sleeping on the couch because I ended up defeating Amy in under 20 minutes using a strategy I read about online.  She was NOT happy about that technique.  Needless to say, I haven't used that strategy since then.

Who's ready for Round 3?

I was looking for something to read the other day, and to save some bucks, Amy suggested I see if there were any books I wanted to read from the library.  Of course, the library!  That great place where you can check out books for free.

Steve's Old Chicago Public Library Card

I wondered why I never thought about that, given that my Mom was a librarian for a very long time… and I got a lot of free books that way over the years.

So I went to the Chicago Public Library website to see if I could put a hold on some books and have them sent to my local branch.  But apparently my library card, which I got when I was 10 years old or so, didn't even register as valid.  As you can see from the image above, it's been "modified" quite a bit over the years, with new bar codes and labels attached to it as the library systems changed.  You'll also note that it granted me the ability to check out "records and videocassettes," as well as gain access to a "typewriter."

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