Another perfect Fall day

I was able to get out of the house a few minutes earlier then normal and take a route to work that is 4 miles longer the my usual route. Rather then climbing a mile and a half right away and getting a view 500 ft above Lake Superior and the Duluth Harbor, I rode downtown and took the Lake Walk (as seen above) . It was a glorious morning. The winds were calm, as the waters show, the temp was 50 degrees and the brilliant mid-September sun was comng up over the lake. In the picture the sun had only been up for about 40 minutes. You can see how long the shadows still are. It was hard not to just keep riding and go right on past work.

Susan and I went on a "Thursday Date" tonight. It's a tradition we started back in 1999 or 2000 when we lived in St. Paul. We had been living together for a year or more at the time. We missed just going out together on dates like we did before we moved in together. We decided that didn't need to change. So we started Thursday night date night. Thursday night because it gave us a jump on the weekend and seemed to make the work week seem shorter. We stopped doing them for awhile , but started up again about a year ago. We get out about 2 or 3 Thursdays a month. It was fun in St. Paul because we lived near St. Clair and Lexington. We were within walking distance of so many different restaurants along the Grand Avenue area. Or we could walk over to the Ruminator Bookstore (no longer in business) or see a movie at the Highland Theatre. A small, two screen neighborhood movie theatre. It was fun.

Tonight we played miniature golf. I hadn't done that in 25 years and Susan had never played it. One of Susan's co-worker's husband, who is semi-ritired, owns Capt'n J's and she gave us some free passes a couple of months ago. We figured it was now or never because the weather is turning colder in the next few days. We had a good time. And I had two holes-in-ones. All the holes were 1 or 2 par holes except for two that were par 3. It was the two par 3 holes that I got the holes-in-one. Go figure because I still finished 7 over par for the 18 holes. I guess I'm better under pressure. Susan didn't do quite as well but made up lots of ground on the "back 9" and had one hole-in-one and finished a bit behind me. The evening finished with a stop for ice cream. It's the little things.

Yesterday I discovered we have a new Outfitter in town. They've been open downtown since June 1st. I've been researching gear for the Arrowhead race. Race rules state you have to carry a minus 20 degree sleeping bag. I have a cold weather bag but it's only rated to zero degrees. It's a down filled Marmot. It's an incredibly warm bag that has kept me warm down to -20. But I need a certifiable -20 bag. After researching I can't find any bag comparable to a Marmot or one that I trust to keep me warm, and possibly alive, in extreme condtions. So I was going to order a Marmot this week. I like Mountain Gear and REI. Susan used to work part-time at the Bloomington REI so that we could utilize the employee discount. That was nice!! Mountain Gear has the bag I want with free shipping. I was about to order it when I discovered this new outfitter carries Marmot. After work today I stopped by to inquire if they could order this bag for me. Chuck thought they could and said they could match REI's and Mountain Gear's price (which is MSRP). The upside is I buy from a local merchant. The downside is I pay tax on the purchase. But I'll do that to support a local business. If I could find it for a $100 less on-line, that would be a different story.

Todays mileage: 24
September: 386 mi
2006 total: 5,753