Ferraris, football and footloose...

Saturday midday, I was sitting contemplating what to do and where to go and did I really want to do it on my own? Seems that I’ve been in a rut these last few weeks and most days have been routine and a little mundane with little spontaneity on my behalf.
Then, Deb called and asked if I could meet her in Etoy village proper at the football field. My reply was noncommittal, if Deb saw me then great, if not she shouldn’t worry. I put the phone down and decided there and then to seize the opportunity and go somewhere different on my own and without full knowledge of where I was going. Within a few minutes I was ready to go, I grabbed my mobile and hit the road.
Saturdays are really busy days and the road was full of traffic and I was ambling along minding my own business when I heard the growl of a powerful motor behind me. I pulled to the right and then the growl was in my ear and from the corner of my eye I caught sight of a red monster, and then I was left with 4 rather large exhaust pipes disappearing down the road. Hey, same colour as my chair and the real deal to boot. The driver must have picked up on the colour of my chair because he pulled over a bit further on and revved the motor a few times. Serious music to my ears and as I went passed him I made my own growl. Not half as good as the real thing but not bad for a chair. I got a smile and the shake of the head and my chair has been acknowledged.
After a 15 minute drive through some pretty busy roads I arrived just on the outskirts of the village of Etoy but still didn’t know where the football field was. I called Deb to see how lost I was and then spotted a sign with a football on it.
Kind of figured where to go.


Sunday, and Nathalie called to say she was going for a ride on her bicycle and would I like to go along. No hesitation on my part, I need to run my chair in and iron out the wrinkles and I was out of the house in a flash.
I met Nathalie in the centre of Buchillon and we took the road to St-Prex. 3 kms later we entered the village. It was fairly quiet and there wasn’t much traffic around, there were more bicycles and pedestrians than cars. We went another two or so kilometres and then right there in front of me was the way to the lake. Of course I had left my camera behind but there was a short pathway along the shore, a small yacht mole and a pavement café. There were 5 or 6 scuba divers at the water’s edge and a couple of boats further out.
Nathalie decided that she wanted to go further on and I was cool with that. Just turning into another road changed all that. It went from quiet and slow, to noisy and fast, in an instant and I found myself on a main road with traffic zooming by at 70kmph and there was no bicycle lane. So now I really am going where I probably shouldn’t although technically I’m classed as a bicycle and where a bike goes, so can I.
I’m not a nervous driver but I am aware of the fact that motorbikes are often not seen by drivers and I’m on something smaller than a motorbike and a bit less manoeuvrable in the bigger picture.
I lasted about 2kms and then chickened out. Enough playing Capt Kirk and the quest for new worlds, a cup of hot chocolate was calling. Did a 180 and got out of there back to a more sane and comfortable village road.
Found a coffee shop owned and run by a chocolatier and had a large mug of home made hot chocolate.
Awesome!

Do pigs fly?

Okay, so the time has come for me to use my voice recognition program full-time. My hands and fingers are now, almost useless to type with. I find that I can manage one or two sentences, and then I start missing keys. That's one of the reasons why I haven't written in the last few weeks, another reason is that I can’t keep writing about the same trip that I do, either to the coffee shop or through the forest. I need to look further afield.
I did the forest thing with Deb a couple of weekends ago, I did the ‘where power chairs shouldn't venture’ stunt and drove through the middle of the forest. I only got stuck once, and having Deb on hand it was a breeze. Of course, having a puppy along for the walk and Deb’s mom, Penny, tested my concentration. Wouldn't do to drive over the puppy…... Just goes to show that males can do more than two things at once.

And so my new power chair arrived this week. It arrived on Tuesday all new and shiny Ferrari red. Totally awesome!! With headlights, indicators and hazard lights and seriously comfortable seat I am now going for coffee in style and comfort.
Whole new learning curve again, the controls are so responsive and I have to lighten my touch, the seat is higher and getting on and off takes a bit of getting used to and I have to remember to lower the seat before sitting at the table. Already started to bruise my knees and send things tumbling…
Took it for a spin but behaved myself, stuck to the road and stayed as slow as I could.
Yeah, right, and pigs can fly….