For a bunch of stay-at-homes, we sure got some travelin' done this weekend. You wouldn't believe the stuff we saw. Saturday we went to the city to take care of some belated Christmas gathering-type stuff with my brothers. The trip down and back not dull. First we passed a small airport where the whole field was covered with snowboarders carving up the snow behind kites like you might see on an ultra-light. They were quite graceful, like swooping, soaring raptors hitting the updrafts on a summer day.

I checked into the sport and found that it is called kite boarding, except when you do it in the snow, wherein it becomes snow kiting. It looks like something that would have been a whole lot of fun back before we turned twenty. In those days we loved to ski while being towed behind the neighbor's snowmobile and the sports look fairly similar. (They are also alike in that you aren't going to catch me doing either now.) You can get a basic kite for about $199. Guess you just add a snowboard and some flat, snowy ground...oh, and maybe some lessons.... and you are G2G.

Next we drove through the historic district of the city where we were treated to the sight of a massive young gent, about seven feet tall, strolling up the middle of the road carrying a huge pile of binders under one arm and dangling a telephone by its cord from the other, sort of bouncing it down the street. He was gently swaying and staring off into space like he had been puffing on something a bit stronger than Virginia Slims. We wended our way carefully around him and went on our way shaking our heads. I am sure that sort of thing doesn't even raise an eyebrow downtown, but to us rural folk it was plumb unique and different. About the only thing you see wandering down the middle of our roads out here is an occasional woodchuck or maybe a stray cow.

Then Alan saw three owls sitting all in a row in a tree. I missed that amazing sight, as I was keeping the car pointed at the road, but I sure wish I could have stolen a glance.

Add in the maniac in the red car who whipped around us at a red light, running the same at about fifty MPH right in town, who only avoided t-boning two on-coming cars because the other drivers were awake and quick, and you have an eventful journey.

Believe it or not, after all that sensory overload, we actually went out again today to a retirement party for my aunt. Had fun too. I am feeling almost like a citizen of the larger world.