Weekend in review: Relaxing, riding, pouring, and painting

I like to think I'm a typical Midwesterner in that I fill up my social schedule in the summer to make up for winter when there are fewer options and more weather interruptions.  Maybe that's not just a Midwestern thing. Maybe it's not a thing at all.  Except that it seems to be the case for me.

This past weekend was a prime example of my life lately.

Well, Friday started quiet enough.  Some tentative plans for the evening fell through and for a while, I was tempted to find new ones.  But I decided a quiet night at home might be the best plans, so that's what I did.

 

I drank a wheat beer out of the proper glass (which I learned about a few weeks ago at a glassware tasting event ... I should write about that at some point) and watched some mindless movies I picked up at Redbox. It was really nice to have some solitude for the first time in what felt like ages.

Saturday morning, I loaded my bike into my car and headed downtown to meet up with some work friends for the Pedal for Paws bike ride, which benefited the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.

Above is my team.
Below is the route we rode.

Or at least the route we were supposed to ride. We took a shortcut after the #2 point on that map.  But it definitely wasn't easy by any means.  I thought the hills might kill me.  I had to leave my team after that because I was on a stricter time table.  I finished the route solo although I did make some friends along the way, as I often do.

I made it back to my car a little before 2 p.m., which is approximately three hours after we started our ride.  Not too shabby for a 20-mile trek that included two pit stops.

Saturday evening, I volunteered to pour beer at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent for a few hours at Summerfest in Ankeny (which is just a little bit north of Des Moines).

Photo snagged from the Iowa Craft Beer Tent facebook page, so you could get the full effect.

It's legit a trailer with 24 taps -- at least on this night that's what it had, at the Iowa State Fair, I'm pretty sure that number is doubled.  And it's all Iowa beer.  This is one of my favorite things.  It's where I spend most of my time when I go to the Iowa State Fair and any other event where they appear.  The guy who runs it is super nice, and it was fun pouring craft beers and helping people find beers they might like. (Spoiler alert: No one hated the beers I suggested to them.)

After my volunteer shift, I hung out with friends and listened to the band playing at the festival.  Of course, I enjoyed a few complimentary brews as well as some fair foods.

Sunday, I woke up bright and early to make the 35-mile drive to help some friends paint their house and garage.

These are relatively new friends, but I like them enough that I was willing to give up what would have been my one free day this month to help them make some progress on their first home. Although I don't like them enough to climb up on that scaffolding.  I only painted areas I could reach with both feet on the ground.

Needless to say, I am a bit exhausted after the last few days.  Next weekend should be plenty busy as well since it's my birthday weekend!  There's a lot in the works and a few pieces that still need to fall into place, but it will be a great few days.