Can Summer last All Year?

Spring seemed to take its sweet time arriving, but now that its here (and summer, too) it has been jam-packed with things to keep me busy--sometimes more busy than I'd like to be!

I spent almost a week in the Windy City in April for the American Planning Association Conference.  It was a great week spent catching up with the planning legends that shaped my passion for my profession, some of my great grad-school friends and reuniting with the city.  This trip to Chicago has a special place in my memory. Despite having grown up visiting my uncle every year or more, I saw the city in a whole new way on this trip. Not only did my friend, Pat, introduce me to several new neighborhoods and restaurants that I've never ventured into, but I also spent the week "living" in my uncle's place, taking the L to "work" each day and navigating the city solo.  And of course, a conference isn't complete without spending a morning away from the sessions to venture to that great breakfast place that was only a few blocks away in my memory.  After a 13 block walk, I was happy to find that my memory hadn't failed me on the quality of the food.

Breakfast and Bikes all in one place. What more could you need in a morning away from the Conference.

Despite the rain, we managed to sneak in an impromptu game at Wrigley Field.

May included a few visits to Fort Wayne and Indianapolis and a visit from my beautiful nieces.  I was lucky to be able to take man friend for a visit to see my hometown and meet the parents, celebrate a dear friend and mentor's dream of starting a family, and be reunited with the entire Police clan as we remembered my grandpa's life. A few weeks later, after their whirlwind trip to DC, I got to spend an evening listening to Simpson's jokes that were over my head and avoiding "tight-rope-walking" disasters in the backyard with Sophie and Eve (and Nick and April, too).

Apparently the Simpsons prank calls are all you need in life...

June has been a blur of fun summer activities and lots of work. The weekends have been packed with 5k's, bike rides, hikes, kayaking, baseball games (when they're not rained out) and lots of other fun stuff with the "Bike Gang" (my friends Joyce and Cait, that is).

The "Bike Gang" at the Spring Creek 5k...my first 5k.

Luckily there was more water for kayaking this year than last year.

The next few weeks will be quite a scramble at work and at home as I prepare for a few trips to Virginia and Maryland.  As many of you know, I'll be participating in a Bike & Build ride through Virginia in the middle of July. http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/index.2012.php?rider=6916 I've been working hard to get ready for the 9-day trip that I'll spend riding my bike between various cities in Virginia to build houses with Habitat for Humanity chapters.  I can't tell you all how much I appreciate your support either by donating to my fundraising for the trip, getting out there and riding the roads of Centre County with me, or sending me advice and encouraging words about the journey.  I'm excited and nervous that the trip is only a few weeks away... but I've ridden almost 750 miles since March in order to prepare, so I'm ready to hit the road! 

Don't let our smiles fool you... our shoes are full of water after getting stuck in a downpour! 

Hope everyone is enjoying the start to their summer.  Happy early 4th Holiday!