Summer traditions: bicycles and airplanes

Traditionally our first bicycle outing of summer is a short one. But it's a trip we repeat several times over the summer.

We load an assortment of airplanes -- balsa wood gliders, plastic war birds, foam passenger jetliners -- into my son's bike trailer. We also pack peanut butter sandwiches and fruit for lunch, or supper, depending on the timing of our ride.

We bike up to the UMD campus. We always swing by the "hotdog man" statue (not it's official name, but the map "Sieur du Luth" is holding sure looks like a hotdog to us) outside the Tweed Museum. Then we cross over to the "wild ricing moon" sculpture at the new science center.

We launch airplanes from the hill, eat dinner, take in the quiet of the campus, then head back home.