Back in the saddle

We are back in the saddle again-- after a three week break. It felt nice to be on our bike again. We rode from Rocheport to McBaine.

It's one of my favorite rides-- meandering along the Missouri River, wetlands, and bluffs.

I made Josh stop and take a picture next to the Terrapin Creek-- after all, he is the Hungry Terrapin on Twitter.

I spent a good amount of time trying to photograph my shawl. 

This photo doesn't even do this place justice. It's so beautiful. I am vlogging a bit on Snapchat. If you want to add me, I'm Whereverweland.

It was nice to ride again-- but I am pretty sore!

Do you see a trend here? August 12 and 15 Little Dixie

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Do you see a trend here? Knit. Fish, Repeat.  I'm combining two trip here! Josh had a birthday last week and when it's his birthday, he wants to fish- for weeks. No complaints here!

I'll say it again. Little Dixie Conservation area has the best sunset in Mid-Missouri. Hands down.

You will probably see a million more where that came from.

Joshua had a rather productive fishing night-both nights. I can remember when it was hard to get anything to bite. Not anymore-- even though that bass seemed way bigger on the hook.

Bananas where prevalent and I somehow felt like I needed to take a picture of it.

And my feet. It was relaxing for sure. It was another great  couple of nights at Little Dixie.

Sunday Ride Aborted

Our Sunday ride started out with good intentions.

We were all set to ride from North Jefferson to Tibetts on the Katy Trail, but when I went to air up my tires and things went downhill. I set my bike up against the wall and this happened:

It feels like a minor dent, but I was overly dramatic and went back to the bike shop and demanded an exchange.

I am a little disappointed that my Specialized Ariel Disc bicycle  already has a paint chip, but I also have to realize a worn bike is a bike that has been ridden. 

Josh's bike had two days alone while my bike was repaired. I like to pretend they are in love, but they are actually just bikes.

The shop put touch up paint on it (kind of) and they suggested that I get a kickstand so that my delicate bike doesn't get bruised again.

I'm honestly kind of in love with my kickstand and I realized that I really like my bike and don't want to live with out her.  And, the drama continues.

Strange Donuts

We only tried Strange Donuts because Harold's Doughnuts was out of their sprinkle ones.

The decor of the pace was kitschy. Someone put a lot of work into it and you can tell.

They share a place with Seoul Taco and I can't wait to check that out too-- when it's not 10 am.

They have a bunch of neat donuts flavors like gooey butter cake, toaster strudel, campfire, etc.

Since their counter was kind of small, it was hard to decide and the hipster crew were a little pushy. "Move it along. We can all share the space." I might being willing to forgive--- for donuts.

I tried the toaster streudal and the campfire donuts. I just have to say-- OMG, TS was so good.

It really tasted like the toaster strudel from my childhood with a jam center and sugary icing. I could eat one of these every week, yo. 

Truthfully, I didn't even finish the campfire one. It was a very attractive donut, but the cakes consistency wasn't really that good and the donut didn't rally have a good balance--- it was mostly chocolate with graham cracker crumbs and one marshmallow.

I am just going to put this out there--- Harold's donuts are better. They have a better flavor and are more moist. Strange donuts has the "strange" thing going for it and I like that, but they need to up their donut base. I think it's a little bland.

I will probably go back and I definitely can't wait to try a Seoul taco with a donut on the side, but it won't be my regular donut place. 

The Root Cellar

The Columbia Farmers market doesn't really have much pork. There is a pork vendor, but they had limited stock and seemed to focus more on sides of pork. (Don't quote me on that. That was just my impression.)

Jay and I decided to take a look at The Root Cellar which is a mostly local grocery store.

They had plenty of frozen local meat and fresh trout. We stocked up well and even subscribed to their bounty box. We will get a box of local veggies every Thursday and 10% off everything else. I'm pretty excited about this-- it will be like getting a present every week.

Our Haul:

Logboat beer, mead, trout, sunflower sprouts, chicken, and pork

Columbia Farmer's Market

I have long been a super market grocery store shopper. The food is all in one place. I can get in and out... wham, bam, thank you ma'am. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, per say. Grocery stores serve a purpose, but most of the food is shipped in from far away which isn't very sustainable.

The farmers market pride themselves in serving you local food. We went to the Columbia Farmer's market for the first time in a couple of years and were met with friendly farmers who where proud of their food and very happy to talk to you about it. We met Kay from Lage Farms who invited us (an probably anyone else) to go visit her farm. She even gave a sample of her grassfed Waygu ribeye which prompted us to buy two for dinner tonight.

Plus, the farmers market has REAL FOOD. Oh, imagine that. I don't even have to worry about cookies, candy, or boxed foods that contain ingredients that I can't pronounce. Meat, vegetables, eggs, and fruit. It's simple.

Our haul: tender asparagus, small heads of buttery romaine lettuce, curly dark green spinach, hot house ripe tomatoes, farm fresh eggs with yolks as yellow as the sun, creamy raw milk cheese that melts in our mouths, oxtail for stew, ribeyes waiting for the grill, homemade soap made of ginseng and lemon, and found antlers for our pup.

Our Haul