A Girly Bike

It has been a very long time since I had a girly bike, but NOW I do.

Bikes and I go back a long way...February, 1960 shows me on a bike that is perhaps a little small?

That's me sporting one of the annual perms our Mom used to give us. I so wish I could see those shoes better--seems as if it was very daring to be wearing black socks! The faded color makes it hard to tell, but I'm thinking the bike is red?

It is not without precedent, me getting a bike for Christmas. Apparently, I got this bike for Christmas in 1960.

Is that not the funniest, me with a little purse on my arm? The above bike looks like one I was meant to grow into, doesn't it? That brown grass must have come from a hard freeze in December which we still think of as unusual. At least I'm back to wearing white socks with my little patent leather shoes.

So, those are two girly bikes I've owned, (thanks for keeping the photos Dad!), and then, when I was 16, Bruce bought me a bike which was anything but girly. It was a new fangled, or at least to me, ten speed Schwinn boys bicycle. Try as I might, I was not able to scan this photo all that well as it is stuck to the album page. And although B is on his bike, mine was very similar. An interesting side note--I made my coat, and as I recall it was ribless corduroy.

I have no idea who would have taken this of us at Lake Eola. We used to ride those bikes everywhere, including to the beach in Melbourne from our home there. Bruce was a bus boy at a hotel restaurant called The Robert Myer, located just across the street from where this photo is taken. Saving his his tip money he not only bought me a bicycle with it, he used to call me long distance after I moved to Melbourne for the last two years of high school. Younger folks will not recall the cost of long distance, however, back then it was a very big deal.

Saturday was a gorgeous day, one that begged anyone with a heart and soul to venture out. Reading in the newspaper about an open house at the newly remodeled Citrus Bowl, we began our day heading there. Except the paper had it wrong...the event was on Sunday! Nonetheless, we did a little drive by, and at least from the outside, it looks pretty spiffy.

That didn't work, so what next? Christmas shopping! Except the place of our intention was closed. Who closes on a Saturday, two weeks before Christmas??? Not much was happening as we'd planned, but usually that is when things get interesting. We had a wonderful lunch, sitting outside in the sun on the patio of The Greek Corner.

Super yummy if you've never been. And before I go further, while we are on the subject of eating out, B wanted to go out Friday night for dinner. I think all this working from home is making him want to get out more than we usually do. In any case, we set out for Winter Park, however, along the way he suggested we try the new restaurant, SoCo, having taken over the former Hue site, on the corner of Summerlin and Central. Going in, I was skeptical because Bill took Fallon there, and did not have a lot of good to say about the place. Then the hostess seated us in the bar, which was fine, except she put us at a table that was 14 inches wide, barely large enough for one glass, let alone a meal. Once moved, and perusing the menu, I was still skeptical because the ingredient lists for the dishes were such odd combinations, however, once we tried one thing, it all went uphill from there. Confining ourselves to the "small plates" portion of the menu, we tried the Fried Green Tomatoes with pickled okra.

Allegedly it is a deconstructed salad explaining the greens on the left. As well, we had the fried macaroni and cheese balls, the pork belly sliders on biscuits,

ravioli, and something else I can't remember. SoCo is a reference to Contemporary Southern which in some cases they have taken a little too far. You were wondering about all the fried stuff, weren't you? A coconut spice cake for dessert, followed by hot tea.

Bruce skipped dessert for a glass of port. All in all, the menu is kind of weird, but the service was excellent, ambiance good, and the food very interesting. The prices are a little on the high side though, so not a place one, or at least folks like us, will be visiting often. I so hope they make it as it is a high profile location to be empty!

Back to Saturday...we walked along to another store and lo and behold we came by a bike store with lots of cute bicycles out front. I exclaimed over their cuteness, and the next thing I know, B is insisting on buying me one for Christmas even though my current bicycle is perfectly adequate. Cute, not so much. Boy bike--check. When I told Cheryle I got a new girly bike she asked if it was pink, and alas, I did test ride a pink one with the cutest mint green basket on the front, but cuteness only goes so far. Instead I chose the candy apple red one.

White fenders!! Cool grips and pedals, and by the time we were finished with accessories, it looks more like this:

He insisted on taking my photo with it where he'd placed it by the tree. :)

Christmas has come early to the Peck household! Another Schwinn, looking not too unlike the one I had when I was 6. Which reminds me....

Taking it out the back door of the bike shop for the test ride, I mentioned to the young woman helping us that B bought me a bike when I was 16. After my ride it occurred to me that if you reverse those earlier numbers, he is doing the same thing again. Sweet isn't it?

You might note the book rack on the back which I used yesterday---all of my plastic bags to recycle at Publix went there, and a bag of dry cleaning went in the front basket. But you already know that I'm the practical type.

Finally, although my Christmas bunting looked good, it helped my sales not a whit. At least the weather was better.

That's all for today dear readers, who, I'm very grateful for--whomever you are! Time to put my girly bike to use.