Getting to the Airport

The Huntington Tri-State Airport is 13.4 miles from our home using the interstate or 9.9 miles taking the more direct route. The fare for flying from Huntington was the same as flying from Charleston, WV or Columbus, OH and far more convenient, or so I thought. The Tri-State Transit Authority does not have a bus route to the airport. I called the two hotels the airport lists as having shuttle service and they don't transport people who are not a guest in their hotel. I called Yellow Cab and learned that it was $2.40 to get in and $1.40 per mile, making it approximately $17-$22 to get to the airport. I truly considered biking. I am only taking my backpack, so luggage was not an issue, but I didn't know what to do with my bike when I got there and the route was not a safe one to bike with my lack of experience and strength. Maybe for another trip?


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Brent's been preparing for my departure as well. He got the oil changed in the van on Monday then loaded up on frozen pizzas and cereal at the grocer's last night (by bike). I have always maintained he would be my biggest challenge to ditching the vehicles. He's been a good sport about it so far, but concessions and compromises are made for the sake of sanity and our relationship. We are planning to drive to pick up the children from school, then heading out for an early dinner on the way to the airport, all for the sake of time.

My family will enjoy their time with out me here and I will enjoy making memories with my two sisters, mom and all the other friends and family while in Phoenix. It will be an East meets West reunion for us all. My sister relocated to Arizona more than five years ago and left all her family in the mid-west. Her two best friends are flying in from Boston and Tampa. The groom's family is all in Phoenix.

This will be my third visit to the dessert, but my first without the children. Does anyone have some suggestions of things I need to do in Arizona, that I can't do anywhere else? I have been mapping out distances from my sister's place in Avondale, hoping to bike as much as I can. I packed my helmet and I can either ride my sister's bike or I found several places that rent them. The bus and light rail system seem to cover the entire city, so I don't feel I will have to be dependent on everyone for a ride after all.

It's also probably a good idea to re-mention that I don't feel cars are the enemy. My original intent with driving less was to save money, and I have done so, quite a lot of money actually. Enough to pay for my trip to Phoenix, but not enough to rent a car when I get there. Between all the vehicles the bride, groom and the groom's family own , the out of town guests should all be able to get to and fro without major hassles. Biking, walking and using the bus system just gives me a greater sense of independence and more options with my own time.

 I hope to keep writing and posting pictures from AZ, but my technology situation (I will have internet access, just unsure about other hardware, card readers and such) is still uncertain at this time. Perhaps you will see something tomorrow, or perhaps when I return next week. In either case, I look forward to reading your suggestions for my time in the dessert.

Patience with Huntington

There are challenges in every city in America and beyond. Sometimes I get very short sighted and focus on my angst with Huntington, WV. The city has a failing infrastructure that is taking a lot of time to fund and repair. One of the unique features in this town are the aqua-ducts or via-ducts. They are roads that were cut to go under the rail road tracks that run on the level ground. When we get a heavy rain, like we did very early this morning, they fill with water so quickly cars can get trapped and the water can't get drained away (The details are in the link above).

This morning Brent had intended to walk the children directly to school but London wanted to take the bus, so he oblidged her. They left at 7:20AM for a bus that was schedule to arrive at 7:50 and didn't arrive till 8:10. The via-ducts were full of water and the buses had to find other ways around. Brent called me from the school at 8:22 to report they just arrived, London forgot her lunch and our friends would be taking the children to school all next week. I know he was frustrated.

I am frustrated too. The bus was working out OK when it was only a couple minutes late (the very first day), but the inconsistencies and the forces of nature are too hard on the start of the children's school day. We were not the only ones on that bus trying to get to school this week either. Every day I rode there was another mother and son going to Spring Hill Elementary. I don't know what time their tardy bell rings, but if it was 8:00AM, they were late most days too. I wonder how many other Huntington families rely on the TTA for school transportation?

There was an opinion piece in our local Herald Dispatch newspaper this summer about how we can all help with the stormwater issues. If you live here, I suggest taking some of Bill's advice (we have). In the mean time, we are going to go forward with our car pooling plan to get the children to school.

A Different School Commute

Miles Walked: 16.8	Biked: 25.3	Bused: 8.4	Drove: 3.6	This week
16.8	25.3	8.4	3.6	Since August 14, 2011

There must be something in my nature, or the way I was nurtured, but I don't like to do the same things twice. Not in exactly the same way. Be it cooking, reading, or traveling, I enjoy a little twist, or the discovery of something new because I did something different. I feel that there are so many things to learn and experience that it's worth trying as many as I can. This sense of adventure comes and goes, but it's fully active now. I am feeling energized to make this car-free month one worth writing about.

If you haven't had enough of our back and forth to school, read on my friends, read on. Otherwise, check out Let's Go Ride a Bike, where our family and Huntington were mentioned in their Summer Games contest today.

How They Got There
Brent walked the children and his bike to the bus stop this morning and rode with them to school. This was his first bus ride in Huntington since 2007 or 08. He spent last night looking at videos on how to load his bike onto the bus bike rack. Very techno nerdy, but he felt more confident this morning. It never occurred to me that there would be videos, but there are many many of them, except of course, on our very own TTA site. Once the children were at school, about 8:06AM today, he rode to work down Norway which turned into 20th Street.

"Chaotic" sidewalk on Wiltshire.

Note: Wednesday is garbage pick up day.

Hard to find shade with this intense sun.

How We Got Home
The return from school to home, I walked Avery and Oliver up to school with the single stroller. It was lighter and more compact, but harder to manage over "chaotic" sidewalks. This also meant Avery had to walk the entire trip, which he did without complaining. I took the whole trip at his pace and we stopped often as the sun was intense today. We even wondered down that new asphalt patch we saw this week to see where this new section of the PATH might go. It was a dead end by the way. We got to school just after dismissal time, so the walk took about 50 minutes as this pace, versus the 40 when I push them up in the double stroller at my own.

We play the punch buggy game on all our walks. It was a top down kind of day, most certainly.

Someday I will walk through this arch. It's so inviting to me.

The new section of the PATH.

Drats, dead end.

Avery insisted on taking a break here.

Avery's not a great driving, but I love his efforts.

We spied the #2 as we were walking on Norway to get the children from school .

Avery wanted to jog along side the stroller while we were going up hill. Determination.

Snack time.

London is so very excited to be playing the clarinet in school band this year.

Waiting for the return bus. Note Oliver playing London's head like a piano.

I took the single stroller because it folds tight and I decided to bus everyone home today. The #2 would come by school at 3:45ish which gave me time to chat with teachers and provide everyone with an after school snack while still at school. The children were thrilled with my surprise. They really love the bus. We paid our $3 and pretended it was the Night Bus from Harry Potter the whole 2.1 miles to our stop. It didn't require a lot of imagination, that bus feels fast and stops just as quick.

More drink breaks and some hat tossing.

After our bus departure we had a nice shady .8 mile walk home. Stopping for water and hat tosses along the way. I left the house at 2:15 and we arrived home at 4:30. I am glad that I have plenty of time to spend. Grandma enjoyed the peace and quite at home. After we arrived it wasn't quiet again till 9:30PM.

What the Future Holds
Tomorrow will be our fourth day of school commuting, and we are doing it differently again. I just can't find the "right" way for us and I am having a good time working it out.

More School Commuting Issues

Avery, ready to walk to school yesterday.

Kid power.

Yesterday I walked up to the school at pick up time, with the little boys in the stroller, gathered the big kids and walked home, but it was torture. My first mistake was not packing enough snacks for their hungry school drained bodies. Second mistake was walking home, down Norway with scuffing children. Third mistake, was walking six, almost seven, miles today, mostly over hills. Am I sounding like a wimp yet? Extremely unfit? A mother of four cranky children? A bit unrealistic and insensitive? Probably a bit of each.

Timeout for us all on Norway.

There were melt downs and complaints and very unsafe tugging of backpacks and kicking between children on narrow sidewalks with a lot of cars. No narrow misses, no one hurt, but very unnerving for me and probably for the drivers. The boys didn't complain once, but London's feet and legs really hurt. I suspect she needs to stretch  more and get better shoes. I made sure to stop many many times and I massaged her aches and pains when we returned.

Big kid power.

More rest time yesterday.

There must be a good way to do all this without our van. I am stubbornly unwilling to accept that covering a two mile distance is not reasonable without a vehicle. We could bus home, for another $3/day. We could ask someone to bring the children home, but then I would miss the interaction with the teachers and double checking they didn't forget anything. Or we could try what we are going to do today.

Going to find a bus stop this morning.

An Oliver on my back.

Wait time.

This morning, all six of us, biked and walked to the bus stop. Brent had a very early day on campus and decided to join us then head on into work. Since he wasn't able to stay home with the little boys, I loaded Oliver into the backpack carrier and Avery walked with us. London and Elliot rode their bikes. Two walkers, three riders and one in a carrier. 4/5 of a mile, 20 minutes, $3. We actually left our house on time and had about 15 minutes to wait on the bus. Fifteen minutes means the bus didn't arrive until 8AM, the same time the tardy bell rings at school.

The children arrived too late, but we were able to get their bikes to school without riding them up any hills. Loading the bikes onto the bus rack was a new experience. The driver had to get off the bus to show us how to pull the rack down and then lock our wheels to the rack. I am sure that annoyed all the other passengers and set us back even further. Yet, now we know. In consideration, I did not take photos. Avery, Oliver and I walked the two miles home.

Bikes made it to school.

Avery's shoes were bothering him, so he waked most of the way home this morning in socks.

avery insisted on running the length of Woodland to the mailbox where I said we could take a break, but then he didn't want to.

Oliver, Avery and I will walk to school at pick up time today and then Elliot and London can ride their bikes home while I push the others. I did make it very clear to them all that we will have to go over the big hills to stay off Norway in exchange for riding. I really should have made them walk the hills yesterday, but Norway is the more direct way and at that point I had covered 4.8 miles and wanted to just get home. Additionally, the short biking we did this morning didn't bother London's legs and feet at all, so I am hoping our return this afternoon will be smoother.

On our walk home this morning, we noted a fresh patch of asphalt next to the cemetery. I read on the Create Huntington Facebook page yesterday, that this is the new portion of the PATH. According to the old map, PATH should provide us a way to get from Wiltshire to very near Our Lady of Fatima Parish School, with a safer route that follows Norway. Create Huntington said an updated map of the PATH should be available soon. Perhaps this will assist us in our school commutes?

New section of the PATH.

Good morning.

Miles Walked: 13.2	Biked: 9.3	Bused: 2.1	Drove: 0	This week
13.2	9.3	2.1	0	Since August 14, 2011

First Day of School

Miles Walked: 6.8	Biked: 2.1	Bused: 2.1	Drove: 0	This week
6.8	2.1	2.1	0	Since August 14, 2011

 

Matching bedhead. London and Elliot's first days of 4th and 2nd grade, 2011-2012.

 The children insisted on taking the public bus this morning. I was probably more anxious than our first ride because this time it meant they may be late for school and not just a little late. If we missed that bus, we would be over an hour late. I stayed up far too late last night to get some things worked out for our first day, then pressed snooze too many time, felt I really needed a shower and then didn't get the children up till 6:45. The breakfast I planned to make the night before got put off till this morning (the butter wasn't soft last night) and didn't come out of the oven until 20 after 7. The children ended up with peanut butter sandwiches as we rushed out.

I hadn't practiced this walk or scouted out this bus, but I did call the TTA a couple of weeks ago to confirm the route and drop off time. Look at their schedule and tell me if you can predict what time that bus is going to cross each street? The TTA told me to expect the bus to arrive at school at 8AM. The tardy bell rings at 8AM.

Washington Blvd and Hal Greer. Manned police vehicle on the right.

Meadows School families waiting to cross with the guard.

Tree lined streets the rest of the way to the bus.

Again, I didn't have a clock, but I grabbed a slightly charged ipod that read 3:26AM when I walked out of the house. The crossing guard was at Hal Greer like she is every school morning and the police were on the opposite corner to assist in reminding traffic that you are still not permitted to turn right on red and pedestrians do use this intersection. We walked through residential streets and passed several families on their way to school. The excitement was energizing, but I was still nervous, it's in my nature. When we arrived at our choosen cross street to meet the bus, 18 minutes had passed

The #2 arrived two minutes later. I thought this was both good and bad. Great that we hadn't missed it, that it was probably on time, but I don't like having only two minutes to spare. We could have spent those two minutes at the crosswalk, as sometimes the wait is long.

$3, 8 minutes and 2.1 miles later we arrived at school. I genuinely thought we were on time as there were still a lot of families trickling in, but alas it was three after 8 when the children walked through the door. Tardy on the first day. We will have to improve on this tomorrow, but I did get them to school, and it wasn't all up hill for us, just the bus.

Blackberry jam bars.

I walked the two miles home with my camera and water bottle and enjoyed those jam bars I made this morning with some ice water when I got there. Brent took off for work on his bike and promised to get me some more cash for the bus the rest of the week. I can't expect London to find $12 more dollars in change around the house, but she did well today.

Extra Curriculars with Children

Soccer and Fencing

Brent coaching Avery's team at the YMCA.

It's almost soccer season here. Every year we have had at least one child play at the Kennedy Center YMCA fields or Virginia Point in Kenova. Both fields are nearly 30 minutes away by car, in opposite directions. I haven't found a downtown option for team soccer.

A quick look at the transit service website and I discovered a bus that goes to the YMCA, even on Saturday when games are most often played. They had an evening service that would cover practice times. In the past many of the YMCA teams have practiced at Ritter Park and you could sometimes request a team that would meet there during the week. I have heard about a bus that goes out to Dreamland Pool in Kenova that would get us close to Virginia Point, but I was unable to find information on the TTA site about such a route.

London practicing fencing at Ritter Park, spring 2011.

London has been participating with a fencing group. Sometime they meet at Ritter Park. Sometimes, when it is very hot or rainy, they meet at a dance studio on the more western side of downtown. We have managed most park practices and have missed many at the dance studio. We could have ridden to the indoor practices, even in the rain, but we have chosen not to go, first because of the extra distance and second because usually the rest of the children must go and I don't care to corral them in a waiting room for 90minutes. London is still able to participate when she can, practice at home and on a few generous occasions, she has gotten a ride with another fencing family to the indoor studio.

Thus far in our car-lite/free journey, very few opportunities have been missed. That may change as school begins and the children pick up their extra curricular activities, such as scouts, sports, play dates, music, and community events. I will look at each opportunity individually and make decisions as they come, just as I would have done when we drove our van freely. What I have learned is that while some opportunities will be missed, if I do a little research and ask around, I think most events can be reached, it will just take more planning.

Charleston Carpool

Brent had to be in Charleston this morning at 9:00am. I wanted him to take the $3 Intelligent-Transit service offered up by our fine TTA. The bus would have left from downtown at 6:45am and arrived at the Capitol Complex in Charleston at 8:00am. Sounded fine to me, but of course I wasn't the one who was staying up till 2am to get extra work done and then having to get up at 530 to get ready and walk to the bus station, as we were unsure if the bus would have a bike rack (there isn't one in the picture above). Then of course the bus didn't leave to return to Huntington until the business work day was done and Brent would be through with meetings by lunch.

Several other colleagues from Marshall University were going to this meeting as well. Brent emailed someone about getting a ride and the problem was solved. It's good to carpool.