And the basement is finished...well sort of

My dad and I finished painting the basement about a week ago. With the help of my brother and brother in law and a few others, we installed most of the plumbing and electrical over the last two days. We now have a light in every room of the house and working toilets and sinks. It is really quite incredible to be able to flush the toilet when you have been using the neighbors toilet or a little squatty one I borrowed from a coworker.

Here are some photos from painting the basement and also the work quite a few people helped us do over the past few days (the updated photos are at the bottom of this album...just scroll down and you will see them)

https://plus.google.com/photos/104120906655696580108/albums/5928777895095720161?authkey=CKmY2Yva55ys0gE

Rehab Weekend

Now is the chance to get your hands dirty or at least covered in paint while helping me get my house ready to live in. I am having a rehab weekend from January 18-20th. There are a variety of tasks to be tackled including painting, tearing down a wall, tearing up the kitchen floor, cleaning, wiring, plumbing, etc. There is a little something for everyone.

Just click on the link below and fill out the short form...it will help me know how many folks are coming and on what day(s).

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OLYaf9uVnjO0PqnMbAFLcdhpeo9yiYPiWi43cFwvriI/viewform

My Rehab Addiction

I haven't updated the blog in awhile. I am going to try and post on here more often especially with progress on my house. Below I have a link to all the pictures I have taken so far...with notes on them. Some were posted earlier before we started doing any work...

We have done so much although it doesn't always look like it at time...feel free to take a gander of them. Also today was a great day working on the house...albeit a little (read lots...) terrifying. I completed a major repair at the house today with my dad. One of the main support beams in the basement was sitting on broken metal plates and as a result was twisting and shifting slowly over time. We jacked up the house three times and replaced all three broken plates. I might have experienced minor heart attacks all day especially when jacking up the house. And we also had to move the beam over...also scary. It's done and so much better now.

The photos from today are the last 10 or so photos of this album.

My Rehab Addiction Photos

Good Listen

I understand the irony by posting this on a blog...but it is the best way to reach a lot of people. I listened to this story this morning. It was a great reminder of hour technology helps but also controls much of our lives. I highly encourage a listen:

http://billmoyers.com/segment/sherry-turkle-on-being-alone-together/

So I Bought A House

This is probably very surprising to most people that know me...but if you have been privy to my thoughts process for the last 2-4 years and especially the last 6 months to a year...it might not be all the surprising.

The Details
Detroit holds a real estate auction every September and October. The first round is in September. You can bid on properties and the minimum bid for the property is the total of their back taxes for the past three years...give or take. Essentially these homes are beyond foreclosure and have sat empty for years. They have already gone through the banks process and now the county is just trying to get some money from them and hopefully get people living in them. They might have squatters...they might not. And they are in varying degrees of condition. Some look great...some look terrible...If they don't get bought in the first round, they go to the second round starting in October where the minimum bid is $500. This is where people get the real deals.

I have known about this auction since I moved to Detroit. I looked at properties last year but mostly because it was fun to look. I never had any intent to buy. Well this year, again the auction came up and I found out the house right next to the house I used to live in was on the auction block. Ever since I moved to Detroit, I would look at this home and kind of dream of owning it and fixing it up. It was all a dream...until suddenly it appeared in the auction. My dream could actually become a reality.

I talked to my dad and we drove down to check out the house. It was solid in terms of the fundamentals...but needed a ton of work. The house was stripped and all the appliances were gone. Additionally it needs a furnace and water heater. You can tell it's a real piece of work.

The Auction
I could be wrong on the numbers, but there are something like 20,000 homes in this auction. They are all assigned to parcels and auctioned off during three days. My specific house was in a parcel that was auctioned this past Monday. I had decided to bid no matter what in the first round. I felt like the house was worth it. If I waited longer it was just going to kill me. I sat in front of my computer all day watching my house on the auction website. Finally about 15 minutes before the auction was set to close someone else placed a bid. I would have to bid that day regardless if I wanted the house.

I was ready to place a counter bid and my internet completely went out. I frantically called my brother and he logged into the site for me and placed my proxy bid...which essentially is a bid that tells the system how high I am willing to go. The proxy bid was in place and I just watched the bids go back and forth. Finally the other person bidding against me stopped and the auction closed. I won. I was shocked because I thought the bidding on my house would go much higher. It's in a great neighborhood (at least I think it's great) and close to downtown.

The Outcome
So I own a house now...that needs a lot of work. Once you win the bid, you have 24 hours to pay for your bid in full. I went to the Wayne County Treasure's office on Tuesday. I handed over my check and it's mine. I still need to wait for the deed in the mail but otherwise we are good to go. There are some other hoops to jump like paying the 2013 taxes which weren't rolled into the minimum bid tax bill. We also have to transfer the property and work with DTE for electric and gas...and also figure out the water situation. Now my contractor (my dad :) and I are going to start getting it ready to live in. There is a ton of work to do to make that happen but one step at a time and we will get there.

The House
I have a link to pictures below...just prepare yourself. It is sometimes great and sometimes bad. I am really excited about the whole process of working on the house. It has been a dream of mine for a long time to fix up a dumpy old house. I am eager to learn about electrical and plumbing along with everything else that comes with owning a house.

Don't worry...I will send out a call for help in the coming months. I would love help clearing out the house and tearing out all the walls in the basement and cleaning it up. We aren't ready to do that yet...but soon. I am pumped.

Check out the photos:
Just click the link to check them out: House Photos

GLR

A few weekends ago, I participated in a race across Michigan called Great Lakes Relay. It was awesome. My relay team of 10 people ran a little over 280 miles over three days from the east side of the state to the west side. I would do it again in a heart beat. Beautiful views and great people. You can ask for more. Here are some photos of the weekend.

https://plus.google.com/photos/104120906655696580108/albums/5906234746914857697?authkey=CJ2am-uP2-_Few

And Finally Photos

I was finally able to get photos from Deanna, write comments on many and upload them to share. There are a ton. I couldn't bring myself to delete hardly any so you might find some have a lot of similarities. Feel free to look at them all or just skip through. There are also some pretty good videos in there as well.

https://plus.google.com/photos/104120906655696580108/albums/5896985164489802097?authkey=CNqWno_U1vrG5QE

If you make it all the way through, I am thoroughly impressed. Actually I will be impressed if you only go through half of the photos. Let me know if you have any favorites.

Back to Normal

Or whatever that means. I got in very late on Sunday night and spent the day Monday unpacking and catching up. I am waiting to get photos from Deanna...then I will post them all with descriptions. Your eyes can feast on them. There are some pretty good ones in the bunch. Adventure Cycling does this contest every year for photos from touring that they make a calendar out of. Every time we took a good photo we decided if it was worry to send to Adventure Cycling and if it will make the calendar. You can be the judge when I post the photos. And my actual camera took much better pictures than those I posted from my iPod.

Thanks for following the tour...and like I said..more photos to come soon.

The Beginning of the End

Tomorrow we head to Anchorage for the last leg of our trip. Honesty it feels like I have been here for months and months at this point. 

The last week has been completely not bike related but great. We went on a two night two day sea kayaking trip with Deanna's friend Jim who is a great host. We stayed overnight on Fox Island near Seward and kayaked during the day. Apparently we were there during some amazing weather. I am beginning to think Alaska is always sunny and hot. 

On our kayaking trips we saw all sorts on animals. I told Jim it was the best zoo I had ever been to. Sea lions, seals, whales from about 100 yards, puffins and many other birds, porpoises and much more. 

Today we made a day hike at Russian River and jumped into a lake at the end of the trail. It was so hot out but the lake water was beyond cold. I apparently screamed pretty loud when I jumped out of the water. 

Jim's friend also manages a Salmon Weir on the lake. We got a tour and saw how it works. This guy counts every salmon that comes through to that lake to spawn every year. It's stunning to realize what the salmon do to basically lay their eggs and die. 

Tomorrow we head to Anchorage for the last leg of our trip. We have a little over a hundred miles left and then we are done. It's been amazing so far and I am ready to get back on my bike tomorrow. 

Sunset while camping on Fox Island. 

Salmon for dinner. 

Beautiful lake we swam in. 

I have been getting complaints there aren't enough photos of me. So here you go. Me after we finished swimming. 

So much to say

So little time. I am in Soldotna, AK now which is a long way from when I last blogged. Again some short notes to catch you up before I hit the road. 

1.  We biked the whole if the Glenn Highway to Glenn Allen. It was beautiful and difficult. Very up and down. The people we met and the scenery were some of the best so far. 

2. We were planning in taking 3-4 days to get to Valdez on the Richardson Highway from Glenn Allen. Our first day was beautiful as we had views of the Wrangell St. Elias mountains and National Park. 

3.  Our second day we planned to go 30 to 50 miles at most. We climbed a huge difficult pass and the campground at the top was closed. So there was no where to wild camp so we pushed to Valdez for a total of 83 miles for the day. It was very hard but satisfying. And the last 25 miles into Valdez is absolutely stunning. 

5. We saw two separate black bears on the road. The first one really freaked me out. But we were fine. And I saw my first bald eagle in real life which was totally cool. 

6. We stayed in Valdez for a few nights because Deanna has a friend there and the ferry doesn't run everyday. It wax nice to relax but I was ready to hit the road. 

7.  We took the ferry to Whittier and Deanna's friend Jim picked us up. We stayed at his house last night in Soldotna and planned out next few days. We ate going on. Three day two night sea kayaking trip with Jim as the guide and sleeping on an island somewhere. I know this is a bike trip but really it is just an adventure. We will finish out the trip by biking to Anchorage. 

That's about it for now. Much more i don't have time or patience to write.

On the road

Again this will be short but I will do my best to capture some snapshots. Right now we are staying in a campground in Glennallen. I have been sitting in the bathroom for the last hour charging my devices and checking email and reading the news. No I am not having a long bowel movement. The Mosquitos here are do bad it is the only place I can get a break. They were literally swarming every part of my body. 

Onto updates. 

1. The Glenn Highway might just be the prettiest stretch if road in Alaska. The views of the mountains for here are incredible. 

2.  People have been so generous. We were going to camp last night but met a great family who own a rv/cabin/campground. They let us stay in one of their cabins and served us an amazing dinner and breakfast. And we got to play Catan with them. It was a beautiful night if hospitality and fun. 

3.  We also met an older couple who we ended up camping with for two nights in a row. They had an RV but just camped alongside us. They made us a Few delicious meals. And we had great conversation. We camped one night next to a river when we met them but realized we had first met them in Denali. That's a long great story for when I get back. 

I am sure there is more but I am tired. I heard the road to Valdez is stunning. I am very much looking forward to it. Here are some photos and videos from the road. We have had long days with tons of climbing. And all sorts of weather. I have used every bit of clothing I brought with me. Most at the same time to stay warm. Until next time.

Having breakfast with a beautiful family in the road. 

My first taste of caribou. It's delicious. 

Our campsite by a beautiful river. 

Rain rain rain. And cold. Lots of it. And all of my jackets are yellow and black so this sign was very funny to us. 

Power green smoothie made for us by friends we met on the road. This was so good after days if oatmeal. 

This is what midnight looks like. It's actually lighter out than this photo is showing. 

A Run Down

I don't have much time to write so here is a quick rundown of some events. 

1. Spent three days and two nights camping and biking along the Denali Park road. 

2. Saw a bunch of wildlife close up. 

3.  Hitchhiked from Denali to Palmer. Pete, our ride, was very interesting and we had an amazing trip. Well worth the hitchhike. 

4. Met another traveling cyclist. This time a lone female from England. She inspired us to hitchhike and wild camp. Get over our fears. 

5. Decided we were running out of time to see everything we wanted to see partially because the Denali highway is closed and we can't ride it. So we had to change route. We flipped a coin and took best two out of three to decide which direction to go. 

6. Headed on the Glenn Highway now on our way to Valdez which I am told is a beautiful way to ride. 

We are headed to go shopping at a full stocked grocery store. Quite the luxury after the shit grocery stores along the road in the small towns. 

Lunch in Palmer. Finally a vegetable. 

A moose right in our campground. 

Letter Home

i thought I would write a blog post in the form of a letter home to my mom. She worries quite a bit but who wouldn't when you have a kid biking in Alaska. 

Hi Mom

We are safe. No problems so far. We have been staying in the same campground in Denali taking in the hikes close by and the ranger programs. We mostly wanted to give our legs a rest for a couple days. We succeeded at that until we did a huge hike today up Mt Healy. I was exhausted at the top but the view was worth it. 

I haven't showered in at least three maybe four days. Honestly I can't remember at this point. Showers are expensive here and after awhile you don't notice the dirt. I only kid. About the dirt. Not the showering. You will be proud to know I have changed my underwear everyday. Deanna and I have actually contemplated seeing how long we could go without a shower. 

My clothes are getting pretty gross but we are headed out into the park tomorrow for two days. We have campsites but they are very primitive. We decided to take showers and wash all out clothes when we get back out. 

Tomorrow we take a bus with our bikes on board to the Eilson Visitor Center. It is about 66 miles into the park. The road extends out 90 miles but isn't open just yet to buses. We would bike the whole way but that would require a massive uphill climb from mile 90 to about 70. We would rather avoid it. 

From the visitor center we will bike back to the park entrance sleeping two days at campsites much farther in the park. No wireless there. 

With any luck the Denali Highway will be open and we will start heading that way. It is still closed because of a few washouts on the road. It's probably passable by bike but we are waiting for final word. 

We are really having a wonderful time. It was freezing last night but otherwise the weather has been beautiful if not a little too hot. Below I included some photos. 

Much love

Mari

Turn off the lights

It's almost impossible to sleep here. Between the constant light, fear of bears, and my inability to find a comfortable place to put my arms while laying down, I haven't found much restful sleep. 

I wake up probably 2 to 3 times an hour and eventually find sleep about two hours before we get up. 

Eventually I assume I will be so exhausted I will just fall asleep. 

We start biking today for day three. Both of us feel pretty good. No real body pains. 

More to come later. Here is our campsite from last night. 

Day one

We are in Nenana, AK for the night. Beautiful ride today with some tough climbs. Lots of ups and downs. We found a nice campground in the middle of Nenana. 

Josh if you are reading this we pushed through to Nenana. Our friends dropped us off outside of Fairbanks so we only biked 40 to 45 miles. It was still tough. Glad we are staying here. 

Photos and more blurbs coming later. Don't expect too much. Wireless will probably be a luxury. No major wildlife sightings yet. I did get a nice camera so I will post photos for sure after the trip. 

Making a Garden Grow

I recently spent a few days with my dad and lots of dirt and wood and built some raised beds for my backyard. They look awesome! And already have some great plants growing in them. Check out the photos below.

I am going to be gone for a month in Alaska biking but my roommate and upstairs neighbor are going to be taking care of the plants and most likely already be able to starting eating what they produce. It's quite exciting. I have always wanted a garden and here it is happening.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100460788717711.1073741828.20008861&type=1&l=b168701d93

Beauty

I just listened to this radio story today. It ended and I had tears in my eyes. It is just beautiful. It is an hour and well worth your time. Makes me want to get on my bike and just ride somewhere...

http://transom.org/?p=33988

Listen to this

This was on NPR this morning...part of their Story Corps project.

http://www.npr.org/2013/02/08/171382156/a-life-defined-not-by-disability-but-love

Steve Inskeep, who was introducing the news, got chocked up at the end. I definitely had tears in my eyes driving down the road.

Moved!

I just moved! If you want my new address, send me and email and I will send it your way. I don't post such things on the internet. And if you follow this blog, I am just going to assume you have my email address as well.

More updates to come soon....but one to wet your appetite:

I am going to Alaska for 3-4 weeks in May/June to bike from Fairbanks to Anchorage and around the surrounding area. I am biking with my friend Deanna who has lived there for 6 or 7 years. I have always promised I would visit and I am making good on that promise before it is too late...she is leaving this summer. I have a voucher from an Air France flight I was bumped from....which makes the flight to Alaska free...so I can't complain. More info to come soon.

It's Been Awhile

Well life has been busy at times and totally uneventful at other times. I thought I would give a little update on how I have been spending my time and some new developments...or at least some things in the works. Mind you....everything listed has happened over a 3-4 month period...not all at once. And this is pretty much the random thoughts in my head right now.

I have a meeting with Rashida Tlaib next week. She is my state representative for where I live in Detroit. I am super pumped to sit down with her. I will let you know how the conversation goes.

REI was incredibly busy during the holiday season. There was a never ending line of people. I believe consumerism is alive and well. I couldn't believe how much money people were spending on gifts. Blew my mind. In practicing my anti-spending ideas around Christmas, I settled for making some nice sets of cards for my family (if you would like a set...I could probably get one together for you for a small price...I mostly need to pay for the paper, clue and a little labor). I make the cards and envelopes (from magazines). I have to say they are pretty creative. Collin thinks I should sell them on Etsy but that might take the fun out of making them.

One day while working at REI, I was headed to the bathroom and I got to the door at the same time as this little boy and his mother. He was probably 6...maybe a little older. Anyway, as we both put our hands on the door to open it, he looked up at me and said, "You're pretty." I could barely stop myself from laughing and managed just to say thank you. Mind you I had been working all day...probably hadn't washed my hair in about 4 days...but you gotta love those unsolicited compliments from the mouths of babes. The only awkward part of this was going to the bathroom at the same time. The kid was in the stall right next to me. I hurried right out of there.

Yesterday I posted on facebook that if life were a contest I would be winning. Why you might ask? Well I managed to make all of the doctor's appointments I have been avoiding for years, a dentist appointment, a haircut appointment, set a date to get my car fixed with an autoshop and set up my meeting with Rashida. I am pumped.

As for work/school...I am thinking about going back to school or maybe getting an internship exploring some things I am interested in. Hopefully this experience will help clarify if I need more schooling or if my skills are transferable to a new field. I am doing a bunch of information interviews right now and hoping they will lead to some new options. I will keep you posted on this one...it is still in development.

I have definitely spent a lot of time reading. My only wish was to have more people to talk with about the books I have been reading. Here is a small sampling:

• The Oath by Jeffrey Toobin
• Cover the current supreme court and their controversial rulings
• The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin
• Covers the court of Sandra Day O'Connor and the lead up to Bush v. Gore. 
• So Rich So Poor by Peter Edelmann
• This book is all about why it is so hard to end poverty in America...excellent read. And depressing. I strongly recommend it.
• It's Even Worse Than it Looks by Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein
• If you aren't into politics, I would avoid this book. They do an excellent job outlining many of our current problems with deadlock in Washington. I should point out one is a liberal and the other a conservative so it is written from both perspectives.
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• Fiction...murder mystery...I will leave it at that
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
• Most have probably heard of the movie...this is the book it is based on. Excellent read...the stories all overlap.
• How Children Learn by Paul Tough
• This one is really a must read for any educator or actually anyone with children. There is also an excellent chapter about teaching chess to middle school students (Ruth please share that with Mr. B. I thought of him the entire time I was reading that chapter). Here is an interesting review of th book...I agree with much of what the reviewer has to say: http://dianeravitch.net/2012/10/23/paul-toughs-how-children-succeed/
• People Who Eat Darkness By Richard Lloyd Parry
• Nonfiction about a rapist in Japan who preys on young women from mostly western countries who come to work in the hostess culture in Tokyo and around Japan. Disturbing to say the least but very eye opening.

There is only one book on that list I did not love....or at least enjoy quite a bit while I was reading it. I will let you try and figure it out. It was recommended to me by a friend. The two of us have very different tastes in books but I read it because she recommended it. 

I have also been able to see quite a few good movies recently. I would recommend all of these if you haven't seen them yet. I am sure I have seen more but I just can't remember right now.

• Lincoln
• Promised Land
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Pitch Perfect
• Les Miserables

I also caught up on Downton Abbey and by that I mean I found season three online and watched it. Pretty good over all. I definitely cried...actual tears falling down my face on one episode. You will know the exact episode when you get there. I almost stopped watching the show after that episode. The Christmas episode this season was also pretty sad. I have no idea where they are headed with this plot. I will leave it at that so I don't give out any spoilers.

I finally started watching The West Wing as well. How I let that show go unwatched for so many years is a mystery to me. I loved it so much...I had no control. Seriously it was like crack. I would watch one episode and then another and then another. I finished season one in something like three days. That is definitely not healthy. It was at that point I gave most of the seasons back to my dad since I couldn't manage self control on my own. 

Do you have any good reading recommendations for me? Or movies? I am always looking for thoughtful and inspiring books, movies, shows.