A few weekends ago, it was my mom's birthday weekend and we decided to go on a bike tour of RAP Tour of Homes. The tour is the Riverside Avondale Preservation Society's annual event and showcases a variety of homes in the historic area.
It was an absolutely gorgeous morning and we met in Avondale and started our journey at Open Road Bicycles before heading off among the streets of Riverside and Avondale. I finally got a long-awaited addition for my bike - a basket, so I can pretty much just haul junk around - and then off we went.
It was a beautiful day and made me love living in Jacksonville even more. The tree-lined streets, the families out and about walking with children, dogs...it was just my idea of easy-going fun. And, we got to go inside the homes of complete strangers, which I love because I've always gotten a thrill out of being able to see in peoples' windows. Not the stalkerish kind of looking in peoples' windows, but seeing how people decorate and their tastes - especially in the huge, castle-like expanses that I'll never live in myself!
Each was unique and, of course, we critiqued every one. Inviting people to trapse through your house and allowing them to voice their opinions on what it looks like is pretty brave, so I admire these people. I personally got annoyed when my neighbor didn't like our brand-new fence and actually said so! So, I did appreciate the fact that people let complete strangers get so up-close and personal in their spaces.
We had some funny moments, too, that I guess you had to be there for. Every time my mom would hit a bump, her chain would fall off her bike. And, this was pretty much every five seconds (if you know the sidewalks in Riverside and Avondale, you can understand this). Her fingers were so greasy and as annoying as it was stopping every few minutes, it gave me the giggles and it became a game to see if she could delicately ride over bumps without the chain falling off. Didn't work so well, but it was fun trying.
After seeing five homes, a nice long lunch in Riverside, another five homes and a last stop at Open Road to get the chain fixed (by Ed for only $2!), we had ridden over 12 miles and had spent almost six hours enjoying the outdoors and each other. Simple pleasures are sometimes the most satisfying. And, I realized I miss so many things being cooped up in my car all the time. I want to take "get out and smell the roses" more literally more often. It is so worth it!
