Dinner outing, Oliver @ Wolf Trap, animal care, calls and plans

The time is now 0237, and I'm caught up on LJ.

Around 17-1730, Esther IMed me to ask if I wanted to join her and her dad for dinner before the show, and we arranged "la Madeleine by Tyson's @ ~1815." I took my bike and managed to arrive right at 1815, but I saw heavy traffic on 495S, which they were using to come south from Rockville. So I waited, and waited some more, and--not having my cell on me--waited more. I believe they arrived around 1850 or 19, when we were planning to be at Wolf Trap by 1930 for the 20 show. We decided to have dinner anyhow, and it was quite tasty, though with a strange restaurant style: the atmosphere is sit-down, bit you still pick and choose and/or order entrées at a counter. Left the restaurant around 1930.

I was in my seat by 1945, they showed up around 1958. The show was pretty good--amazing choreography/dancing, remarkable singing, impressive set... but it just didn't do it for me. I'm glad I saw it, but I wouldn't want to see it again. Had a much longer time getting out of the park than I expected; though I got my usual good parking spot with the bike, the traffic routing out of the park was significantly different from the last two times I went to the park, resulting in heavier traffic on the access road. Rode home, arriving sometime around 2330, at which point Nathan mentioned that he'll be out of town for a wedding this weekend and assumed I'd be in town, but learned that I'm also going to be out of town this weekend. He says he mentioned the event, date, location, and participants in this wedding before, but I'm pretty certain all he mentioned was the existence of the wedding. Anyhow, he made a call or so to arrange care for his dogs. (My animals will be fine from Saturday morning through Sunday evening, with proper preparation.)

I then talked with Christine from about 2340 to 0210 or so, despite her supposed intent to be off the phone by 01, and then completed the aforementioned LJ catchup. :)

Friday, need to get ferret food and litter, and plan to see if I can find a helmet accessory that will close up the space between my neck and the helmet. If Christine's unreliable friend bails on the Capitol Haunting tour--as she did last year--then I'll meet her early evening, else it'll be around 21 to join her and friends at Chez Antoine in Adams Morgan. :)

Food rant,

Maybe if I get more raw ingredients and less easy-to-prepare stuff like sandwich materials and milk/cereal, they'll last longer. :P (Last I checked--maybe 2-3 days ago?--there were 6 hamburger buns, at least half a pound of turkey, almost a gallon of milk, and half a box of cereal in this house. Now there is none of the above. However, the foods that actually require cooking or more significant preparation haven't been touched. :P)

Knowing that Petsmart doesn't carry the senior formula of the ferret food that Misty feeds her ferrets, I looked up the local Petcos--one in Dale City, one in Burke--and headed out. First stop (after calling) was Coleman, where I picked up a "chin curtain," a.k.a. "chin skirt," a ventilated piece of stretchy cloth on a curved plastic frame, designed to close the space underneath one's chin in a motorcycle helmet. I was pleased to find that it worked as I'd hoped, preventing wind from blowing up and irritating my eyes. :) (While at Coleman, visited with the guy who sold me the bike, who had an alternate suggestion that would also close off the under-sides of the helmet, quieting things down a lot. Don't remember the details, though.)

Next stop, Petco in Dale City. They didn't have the senior formula. Bastards.

Back home, called Petco in Burke, grabbed the Back-A-Line back support to try it out as I rode there. So far, I'm unimpressed, and certainly not $40 of impressed. Maybe it'll prove itself this weekend as I round-trip to Norfolk, or maybe it'll just hold in heat. :P Picked up the 6# bag of food.

Final stop, Giant, where I picked up 20# of cat litter for the ferrets, and 25# of dog food--would've been 40#, but they were out of that size--and between the side-cases and a rope to tie the dog food across the back seat, managed to carry all of the above home by bike.