Riding and Swimming

• 1 bottle Hale's Kolsch - Canal Street Cafe/Fremont
• 1 bottle Miller High Life - Ballard Loft
• 1 pint Olympia - Ballard Loft
• 1 pint Hale's Mongoose IPA - Anthony's
• 1 Mint Julep - Talarico's Pizzeria
  

There are a few things that I can do now that directly remind me of being a kid; riding bikes and swimming in rivers. Riding a bike reminds me of the true freedom that I had as a kid. I would just hop on my bike - no helmet, no special shoes, no "gear" - and pedal. The faster the wind hit my face, the better I felt. Riding no-hands also brings that feeling of freedom and just a small sense of not being in total control, which is important. Swimming in rivers is another special feeling - summer is here and I gots nothing to do! In Georgia, where I went to high school, there was a river about 20 minutes or so through the woods behind my neighborhood. When the days got warmer and the air more humid, neighborhood friends and I would walk the secluded and shaded leaf-covered jeep trail to the river. Not only was there a perfect swimming hole complete with a rope for hanging and jumping, but a gathering of boulders spaced perfectly so that it sent water shooting down river - a rock flume. We'd position ourselves above the flume and let the current catch us as we maneuvered in between the giant stones and let the powerful jets launch us through the narrow passage. When we'd had enough of this, we'd retreat to the rope and jump off the dirt edge, hanging on tightly and staring down at the cool pool of water at least ten feet below. Getting in a few swings back and forth we'd drop easily into the waiting water.

Today I did both of these things: rode a bike and swam in a river. A perfect summer day as a kid.