Done!

Ha! Finally! Drove the last pile today at 2:45. Number 56, I want to note, of a program that originally included a total of 40 piles driven over three days. We started this job August 28, took Saturday and Monday (Labor Day) off and finished this afternoon. Drove approximately 1,500 linear feet of pile to depths between 11 and 43 feet.
--
I feel like I drove all of them with my forehead.
--
Mojo is off babyshowering for our friend Millicent, who will be in China adopting her little girl Nola at the same time we are going to be meeting out little Baoxin. Hope the gals have a fun time tonight - it's been a long August for her (and for Millicent) and they deserve a little pull-down-your-pants-and-slide-on-the-ice fun. So the Peep and I had Boy's Night: we went to Fred Meyer and bought some Hot Wheels cars, had ice cream at "Mommy's Ice Cream House" (a.k.a Dairy Queen), came home and played with the cars, ate more bad food, watched Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! until our eyes bled and then it was off to Peeper-La-La-Land.
Meanwhile, on the road to Logroño, Oscarito - Oscar Freire - did something that no one in this year's Tour de France did: won back-to-back stages! Freire, having won half of this year's six stages to date, powered out of a bunch sprint to take the stage today with the other sprinters, particularly Alessandro Petacchi, not able to take advantage of the long straight finish and strong tailwind. Discovery's Allen Davis made a gutsy break for the line but went too early, only to be caught by the sprint group, with Freire firmly in control. Well ridden, Oscarito!
--
The gold shirt is still on the back of Vladimir Efimkin of Caisse d'Espargne, but nothing new has happened in the GC for a couple of days. This will change: tomorrow's finish in the town of Zaragoza (ancient capital of the Kingdom of Aragon and home of the Napoleonic Agustina de Aragón) is known for its vicious crosswinds, and Saturday the second time trial will show the cyclists a different side of the Aragonese capital.
--
And...a week from tomorrow we will be on our way to a New World.
--
Goodnight.

General classification after stage 6

1 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 24.34.51

2 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 1.06

3 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC

4 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone

5 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team

6 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir

7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 1.28

8 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 1.33

9 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Karpin Galicia 1.36

10 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Liquigas 1.49