Apple Pie Surprise

Well I know you’re all dying to know how sleeping in the tent went with my four legged roommate. Let’s just say we didn’t start out on a great note because of fireworks in the distance. She did ok though and we carried on. Here is a picture of the nice large space I gave her with her own bed. 

She wasn’t happy with that space. She wanted to either be on top of me. Literally at one point she was lying on top of my head. Or she wanted to be in the little space between the tent wall and my mattress. I told her that space wasn’t sustainable all night mostly because it meant I’d hear panting in my ear the whole time!  So here she is in her tiny space. 

After about an hour I convinced that large space was pretty awesome and she finally quit moving around. But if you know anything about German Shepherds you know they’re protectors. So she took it as her night duty to stay up and protect the tent. She did not sleep or even put her head down for over 3.5 hours. Which meant I didn’t sleep much either. So at 1:30 am I took mercy on the pup and we went inside. She was asleep in less than 5 min!  Mental note...it’s much easier to sleep in a tent when you’re exhausted. Next time we will do lots of activity before making her sleep in a tent. Oh and she also needs to learn camping etiquette because every time she goes outside or by the tent she pees right in front of the door!  Come on man....move a little further away. Never did I think I’d be complaining of that instead of porta potty doors slamming in the middle of the night!

Day 1 of RAGBRAI always means an early rise because of the excitement of getting started. Today was no different except it wasn’t due to excitement. It was because I wanted to get my run in before it got hot. Well that was futile. Yikes it was toasty. I got in 8 miles and I don’t think I’ve ever sweat so much in my life. When I finished it was only 83 degrees, but there was 80% humidity and a dew point of 72. So just gross!  On my run I saw a man mowing his lawn while smoking a cigarette. I really wouldn’t recommend that. For a variety of reasons!!  I also ran by a house that has a nice garden and lots of little statues in the garden....and all the statues were wearing masks!!  Glad to see they’re doing their part to make sure you all can read an actual RAGBRAI blog next year!!  

Since it was so hot on my run I knew I needed to rely on an old standby RAGBRAI fueling method. PICKLES!  I needed to replace the salt so I had 4 big pickles spears....I’d say that’s equivalent to one big pickle. 

The real excitement of the day started around noon when Gabby was awoke from her mid day nap...told she didn’t sleep last night!  Someone had dropped something off at the door. When I looked to see what it was it was a GrubHub delivery from Bob Evan’s. Now I didn’t order any Bob Evans. So I called the restaurant trying to figure out who this needed to go to. They said don’t worry we’ll just deliver a new one...you get free food. It was about that time when I realized that someone had anonymously ordered me a RAGBRAI lunch. This wasn’t a wrong delivery...they wanted to make sure I had a RAGBRAI experience today. So I got to eat Chicken & Noodles, salad, and apple pie!  That’s right folks...my first pie of RAGBRAI!  I’m telling you Bob could give the church ladies a run for their money!  It was pretty tasty!  Church ladies probably still get the win, but the thoughtfulness and generosity of someone to do that puts Bob heads and tails above the church ladies this year. 

And the best part....I didn’t have to do the dishes or make the food!  This week is looking up!

In addition to being day one of the at home RABRAI, it is also the 8th anniversary of picking up my camping buddy furball. Yep today is Gabby’s gotcha day!  So I decided this afternoon would be a “gotcha day” party for her. Many of her fur friends are out of town this weekend but we still had fun. We went for a walk by the river and she did a little wading. She’s not much of a swimmer!  

We watched some kayakers, she chased some squirrels. The squirrels taunted her...it was a good afternoon. After our walk we headed to Petsmart where I told her she could pick out a toy and a treat. She went up and down both aisles twice checking out all the goods. She didn’t bark at any other people or dogs and she made friends with the cashier!  I think she had a good trip to the store.  She doesn’t get to go often.

After we got her treats and toy I had another surprise for her. We made two drive through stops. When we got home we put on our party hats and had a little gotcha day celebration. She wore a moose hat and I put on my taco hat! Then she got her birthday lunch of a cheeseburger and ice cream pup cup!  It is National ice cream day after all!  How could we not get ice cream to celebrate?!?  Don’t worry I got some ice cream too. I didn’t want her to feel left out!!  

Right as we got back to camp, there was a big gusty rain storm that came through. Complete with thunder. Don’t worry though...I’m a RAGBRAI veteran and I knew to close my tent up before we left!  Hopefully it’s not too wet in there. The nice part about camping in the back yard is you can come in the house when it rains!!

Happy Gotcha Day Gabby!!  Everyone should put on a fun hat and celebrate!!  

This picture cracks me up because she is licking her lips waiting for that burger and ice cream. And to no surprise of mine...she devoured the ice cream first and then ate the burger!!  She actually took the patty out of the bun and ate it and then the bun was last. I guess she likes to eat her favorite things first and save the boring stuff for last!  

I’d be remiss not to mention that on the first day of RAGBRAI there is always a “Mile of Silence” where we remember those that have lost their life while riding their bike. It’s always a sobering mile and everybody turns off their radios and reflects on how lucky they are to be able to see the world on two wheels. So if you’re reading this and ride a bike, please be careful, be seen, and follow the rules of the road. If you’re reading this and don’t ride a bike, please watch out for cyclists, please pass with at least 3 feet, please stay off your cell phone, and remember that cyclist you’re annoyed by could be me. 

I’m not sure what the rest of the evening will bring. I don’t know if there is a band playing tonight or not. I’m guessing the organizer of this at home RAGBRAI forgot to book one! It’s hard to find good help these days. 

Oh I forgot that the toy Gabby picked out was this cute squeaky cow. I think she picked it because she is missing her week at farm camp. 

I decided I should go get some groceries for the rest of the week since I doubt the Bob Evans fairy will keep coming back!  Gabs held down the tent while I gathered the goods. I came across a solid sale on blueberries so who knows...maybe a blueberry pie is in the cards for later this week. I think we’ll sleep in the house tonight. There is potential for more major thunderstorms tonight so Gabby would probably appreciate being inside...and I’d appreciate being dry!

Thanks for tuning in to this little piece of ridiculousness!!