A Very Special Day Today

Today is Big D's birthday! Happy birthday babe!

I think this is a good time to tell everyone why you're such a great husband, so here it goes:

• You love me unconditionally, even when I'm a flake
• You gave me Annabelle...and you work on her for me
• You cut large trees off my car at 6:30 a.m.
• You let me dress Rascal as Santa
• You always encourage me to succeed
• You defer to me regarding social plans
• You take care of me when I'm not feeling well
• You're hot!
• You tell everyone I'm hot (even if it is a stretch)
• You just 'get' me (not many do)
• You laugh at my jokes, even when they're not funny
• You clean the house and do the laundry for me
• You're the most caring man I know
• You're my best friend

This list could go on and on. We've been through some really bad times and through all those times you were the rock.

I found a quote the other day by Sir James M. Barrie that reminded me of you, "If you have it (Love), you don't need to have anything else, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter much what else you have."

I love you, Babe, and I hope your birthday is wonderful. And remember: Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live!

How Not To Bake Christmas Cookies

This is the result when you forget you put that last batch in the oven!

A Bit of Storm Damage - Updated

Update #1: The neighbor's homeowner's insurance won't cover the damage. They said it was an act of God. I said "Prove it." They don't like me now. So, I saw my friendly local Geico adjuster today. We'll find out tomorrow if the car is a total loss. Not quite sure how I feel about that yet.

Update #2: I love Geico! My car is a total loss. Let me explain how good this really is for me. The small remainder of my loan will be paid. I am keeping the running/operating vehicle, and I will get some cash, too! Woo-hoo! No car payment and cash in my pocket? Thank you, Mr. Tree and thank you, Geico!

On Monday night we had one hell of a storm here. I haven't seen a storm like this in about 3 or 4 years. 80 mph winds, crazy-ass rain, and I think maybe a tornado. Well, maybe not a tornado. Mind you, these storms usually only last 5-10 minutes at this intensity level, but this one lasted for several hours.

When the storm started at 10:30-ish, Big D went outside to take the canopy off the gazebo in our back yard. Too late. The gazebo was trashed 5 minutes into the storm. While he was attempting canopy removal, the wind was so violent, his hand actually became impaled by the gazebo in 2 places. No worries, he's ok.

After the fun & games with the gazebo, I went to bed. When I woke up yesterday morning, I took a quick peek out the back door as I let the dogs out to do their business. It was wet, but I didn't see any new damage. It was also 4:00 a.m. and dark out. I probably wouldn't have noticed anyway.

Fast forward to 7:00 a.m.: I walk out the door to jump in the dented ghetto Buick. I have an all day seminar at the Arizona Biltmore, and I don't want to be late. This is what I saw:

The neighbor's tree had fallen on the Buick. I have actually had a tree fall on one of my cars before. So my initial reaction was, "You have got to be kidding me...again?!" I woke Big D and he broke out the trusty saws-all to get the tree off my car. There was surprisingly little damage, and my windows were not broken! I made it to the seminar on time, too. Here are a few more pics of all the storm damage. What a storm!

Ride Report: MMA/Sunshine Acres Toy Run - 12/5/09

Yesterday the Maricopa County and Pima County chapters of BACA supported the MMA's toy run for Sunshine Acres Children's Home. Please click on the link when you have time, and read about Sunshine Acres. It is a great facility that runs on donations only. They receive no funds from federal, state or local governments. Absolutely amazing.

We left the house at 7:30 a.m. It was 39 outside. It was NASTY COLD! Met up with the west side crew at Denny's. Then hit the freeway to meet the Phoenix crew. After that, we hit the 101 and headed to Mesa. It was a freezing cold ride to Toby Keith's Bar & Grill. Nice place, food was ok, but I don't think I'll be back. While we were there, I learned that Toby Keith's has a 'no colors' policy and the only time all of us bikers would be allowed in the place wearing our gear would be that day. Whatever. If they don't want our money, we will gladly spend it elsewhere.

Once we finished chipping the ice off our faces, we had some grub, registered for the run and took off for Sunshine Acres. I was extremely nervous because up until this point, I had only ridden my own with a group of 5 or 6 other bikes. There were 110 bikes on this group ride. I was about the 8th bike in the pack, so I felt better, until I looked in my mirror. The other reason I was nervous: Annabelle was blowing oil out from her breather. A lot of oil. But I discussed it with Big D and he said it should be fine, as Sunshine Acres wasn't more than 3 or 4 exits down the freeway.

So I did the group ride thing with no issues. We presented all the toys and more than $2K to Sunshine Acres and some of us took a tour of the facility. It's a really amazing place! They took us through 3 of the homes, one of which was just completed last month. Travertine tile, beautiful decor, very comfortable living. All these homes are donated. Contractors, builders, etc. donate building materials, time, money, etc. so these kids will have homes.

Other people elected not to go on the tour, and give the kids rides around the facility on their bikes. It was really cold out, but the smiles on the kids' faces were well worth it! These kids always look forward to having the MMA come out and give them rides. It was really great.

After leaving Sunshine Acres, the last stop was Garfield's in Apache Junction. This is WAY the hell on the opposite side of the valley from where I live. The place was packed. I was concerned about Annabelle, due to the oil issue. I had discussed putting her in the BACA trailer that Sticks & Dimples were pulling, earlier in the day. When they said they were heading home, I gathered a bunch of my BACA family to help get Annabelle in the trailer. The ramps weren't in the trailer, so she had to be lifted. Good thing she's not a road king! :)

After packing up Annabelle, we went back into Garfields and I figured since I wasn't riding home, I would have a beer or two. Or three. Whatever. Anyway, I had a few beers. I didn't win any of the raffle items, but had a great time. It was nice to ride bitch with Big D, again. I haven't done that since sometime in October! The ride home was just as cold, if not colder than the ride out in the morning. It seemed like it took forever!

When we finally made it home, we still had a group with us, so I put on the coffee while everyone thawed out. I was exhausted, and felt ready for bed. Then I looked at the clock and realized it was only 6:00 p.m.! That's the trouble with leaving the house at 7:00 a.m.; you're exhausted by dinner time. The last of our guests left around midnight, and I slept great. I'm a bit sore today, but it was worth it!

Blog Name Game

OK, I'm passing this from Jane's blog. Come on, now, it'll be fun! :)

Leave a comment describing me using one word that starts with the 3rd letter of your name. Then repost this in your blog. Let's see what people come up with!!

Things I Am Thankful For...

I had a bit of time today to really think about what I'm thankful for. I won't get into what led me to this line of thinking, but I will say that I'm thankful that it led me here.

1. I am thankful for my sisters, Gayle and Christine. They are the last ties I have to my parents, who I miss so dearly, especially around the holidays. I love you both.

2. I am thankful for my wonderful, supportive husband. He is not only my mechanic; he's my rock. He's the one who keeps me going when I think I can't go anymore. He's also the one who tells me to rest, when I can't see that I need it.

3. I am thankful for all 4 of my children, my son-in-law, 2 daughters-in-law, 2 grandsons, and my granddaughter that is on the way. They are among the blessings that I count each day.

4. I am thankful for the blogger friends that I have made. The ones I've met, and the ones I haven't. And the ones I feel like I have known all my life. You all enrich my life so much.

5. I am thankful for being invovled in BACA. Whenever I think about BACA I am proud to be a part of something that is bigger than myself.

6. I am thankful for my fabulous friends, near and far. Old and new. You ALL make my life so interesting. I love each and every one of you.

7. I am thankful for my Harley Davidson, Annabelle. She's a beauty, and she is my salvation. I'm feeling blue, I take a ride. And suddenly, my head is clear.

8. Finally, I am thankful that the bitch in the blue mini-van from Texas didn't hit my car when she came into my lane on the freeway today. I guess that makes me thankful for my good reflexes and light traffic on the I-17.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, whether you are with family, friends or both. Enjoy this life as every day was your last.

And So It Begins...

Santa


Even better...Big D as Santa...

Guest post

Yep, I hacked into the "secure" site of Ann's/Boston's.
I felt the since she ain't gonna tell all about her little 'addiction'  I will. 
As most of you already know "Annabelle' is not your ordinary sportster.
She's not a cute little 883".    Hell ,she ain't even a 1200 anymore.
It's a full blown AZHOLE performance bike.
She's been lightened, bored, ported, polished, re-geared...etc...
I have seen grown experienced riders shake after riding 'Annabelle'.
Some I've seen shake just being passed by 'Annabelle'
In Short...She's a Hemi Frieght train.
Why is this important for you all to know?

This lady just continues to amaze and impress the hell outta me and anyone who knows her.
And for a 'green rider' to pick 'Annabelle' as her first ride is beyond astounding.
And to be learning as quickly as she is........Wow!
Wether she learned by watching the many miles she rode behind me...or the many times I taught other riders to clean up their riding.....She's almost a natural.

She maintains her 'line' like a vet.  She's become so damn good I let her ride 'Outlaw' when she wants.
[For those who don't know..thats side by side in the same lane..think "CHIPS"]
And as for 'Annabelle's ' power...she can handle it just fine.

We just took a long sunday ride with a close group of freinds...Long streches of open road  and some desert twisties.
On the long straightaways I was testing the mods I did on 'Marie'  my ironsteed.
I 'rarely' attempt such speeds ..;]
rolling out at about 110, I was cooking.
I slowed down to let the pack catch up.....I saw Ann hunch down and crack the throttle...warp speed.
She rocketed to 80....and kept it at that speed like she was on rails with cruise control activated.
The entire pack behind went slackjawed......They were stunned.
I was impressed as hell...but I pulled her over and asked her 'What the hell are you doing?'
She replied...'Just riding the hell out of this bike'
In the twisties she maintained a good controlled speed and gearing and put that bike right where is was supposed to be damn near perfectly.
Arriving safely at home......she parked the bike.
Stood there with a euphoric expression and announced..'I always thought I understood this ..If I gotta explain..you wouldn't understand........But now I truly ,truly get it..
Yes, Babe..It appears you most certianly do.
[Now lets try to keep it under 60 for a little while..;}..]

So....

I was going to post something today. I have a video that Pepper took of me riding home from the BACA meeting with a bunch of members. It's a kick ass video. But I can't get it to post. I'm working on that. I have some funny stuff I was going to post, too, but I can't.

Riding has been taking up so much of my time, I don't have time to post right now. I was up at 6:00 a.m. today so I could do some laundry, clean the house and do some homework. Because we're going for a long ride today!

I honestly don't know how women riders do it! I have no time to clean, do laundry, watch tv, or anything! And I have no interest in doing any of those things! I just want to ride!!!!

OK...gotta get the next load of laundry in. :)

Ride safe!

What Stinkin' Parking Lot??? UPDATED

Yep, that's right! No parking lot for me today! We left the house around Noon and headed up to see Sticks and Dimples. Then we went out for an early dinner at Cucina Tagliani's and headed home to hand out candy to all the little ghouls. :) All in all, it was a great day. I've got some work to do on my turns, but it's mostly my confidence that needs work. I get myself all freaked out, then I have trouble. But I had the best day!!!! :) OK...here are the pics.

I must say, Vicki is a great photographer! :)

1200 Sportster vs. 250 Nighthawk

You read the title of this post and said, "Really?" or "WTF?" Please allow me to elaborate. Yesterday when I got home from work, I told Big D I wanted to ride. Big surprise. So he said, "Let's go." (I'm pretty sure he was expecting this.) We went to the old Walmart parking lot to practice. I had never ridden up front on anything but the MSF's bike, the Nighthawk. I sat on the bike, got myself accustomed to where all the controls were, and played with the clutch a bit. Then I was off and running. First, Annabelle is LOUD. That threw me off at first, but then it was good. Then, I noticed it was EXTREMELY different than the Nighthawk in the turns. WOW! I'll have to really work on that. Then I found Annabelle's false neutral. Ain't that a bitch? That totally threw me. Annabelle wasn't running exactly right, so I decided to stop. I'm sad that I have class tonight and can't go ride. But there's always Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. And I told Big D we're getting up early on Saturday to go ride again! I really want to get myself accustomed to Annabelle. I told Big D one thing that was really making me nervous was the fact that it's his bike...not mine. I was afraid of dropping someone else's bike. Even though he's my husband, I didn't want to ruin anyone else's bike. So he said, "It's your bike now. Feel better?" Actually, I do. After a slight handlebar adjustment for more comfort, it felt tons better sitting on her. Big D will work on her today and get her in tip-top shape so I can ride tomorrow. :) I was contemplating buying a Nighthawk or a Rebel because I was so nervous on Annabelle. But I LOVE Annabelle and I really want to ride her. It's just that the only thing I had ridden to that point was an underpowered POS. My problem was this: I'm a woman, I want to ride with the boys, and all the boys we ride with ride Harleys. I know you're all thinking, who cares? Right? Well, I do. I want to play with the boys, and I don't want to take any crap about my ride. So I will take my sweet time getting used to Annabelle and her little quirks. And maybe someday I will buy myself a newer Harley with different quirks. :)

The Basic Riders Course

Saturday was day 1 of my course. I was a bit apprehensive, but so was everyone else. There were quite a few women in the class. This surprised me. I thought I would be the only one. We went through the book and watched some informational videos. Then it was lunchtime. After lunch we hit the course for the first time. The instructors had us stand by a bike that we thought would fit us. They were all relatively the same size, so I don't know what that was all about. I chose a Honda Nighthawk 250. After some instructions, we were told to start the bikes. Mine started up just fine. Between exercises, we had to shut down the bikes, and then start them again for the next exercise. OK, that's cool, no problem, right? Well, this little Nighthawk did NOT want to start. It had a dead battery. The instructor got on it and popped the clutch to start it for me. He told me not to turn it off after the next exercise. No problem! Then I stalled it. :) We all got to take a nice little break while they got another bike for me. Same model and size. Rocking the bikes back and forth to find the 'friction zone' (where the clutch just barely catches) was great, but I was ready to ride. We had to 'power walk' the bikes across our lanes to the other cone. Then we were instructed to put our feet up and ride back to our original cone. YAY! There was one woman who just didn't get it. She left about 1/2 way through the afternoon. She came back this morning and they transferred her to a private course, no extra charge. That was cool. After learning to start, stop, shift, turn, etc. I was ready to roll! I got stuck behind a girl named Lisa on day 1. It sucked because everytime we did something, the instructors would stop Lisa and instruct her some more. So I had to wait with my clutch pulled in. OUCH. I was getting tired of hearing, "Lisa, stop!" More on Lisa later. When I got home last night I was absolutely EUPHORIC! I rode all afternoon, and it kicked ass!!! I was totally hooked. However, there was one slight issue: my left hand was throbbing and felt as if it would never go back to normal. Nothing a Soma and a glass of wine can't fix! This weekend, Big D had gone up north for a BACA child ride. So I called him as soon as I got home. The whole gang was up there and yelled "Congratulations" to me over the phone. They all knew how anxious I was about turning and not dropping the bike. That was really cool. I'm sad that I missed the child ride, but I'm so happy I took this class. After talking to Big D for a while, he made me promise, again, NOT to take Annabelle out of the garage while he was gone. I promised. With my left hand such a mess, I really had no inclination to, anyway. After a great night's sleep, it was day 2. I got up extra early, had some coffee, chatted with some good friends on Facebook, and got ready for class. As I was driving to class this morning, I thought, "This is boring! I WANT TO RIDE!!!" No, I did not take Annabelle. A promise is a promise. I wasn't ready anyway. More instruction and some videos this morning, and then....the written exam. I guess after being back in college for more than a year, taking written exams just doesn't bother me anymore. I wasn't nervous at all. And I shouldn't have been. I passed with a 100%. :) Lunch and then on to the bikes! I was really excited about riding again. I was a little nervous, because I knew the skills test would be held this afternoon, and that worried me. Those damned figure 8's SUCK! I kept going outside the box. I've always been an 'outside the box' kind of gal, anyway. :) But when I told that to the instructor, he just shook his head and said, "This is one instance where you need to be an inside the box kind of gal." Dammit. So we did some stopping, turning, curves, slaloms (which I LOVE!), and accelerating through a turn. Then more figure 8's. These were killing me. It was bad. Then it was time for the skills test. This made me very nervous. I started sweating profusely and taking deep, calming breaths. I was the 4th bike in line. I watched 3 men execute PERFECT figure 8's. Not only did this annoy the living shit out of me, it made me more nervous! Now it was my turn. Clutch in, 1st gear, ease off the clutch, roll on the throttle. 1st turn: head turned, press & roll, good. 2nd turn: head turned, press & roll - TOO MUCH! Outside the box twice on the 2nd turn. Now accelerate and swerve to the right, then come to a quick, complete stop while downshifting to 1st gear. No problem. Executed perfectly. I love swerving! Then we had to go in a straight line, get up to 20 mph in 2nd gear and stop just after the cones. No issue, right? My bike stopped 2 ft too late. I lost points for that, too. Then, we had to execute a 90-degree right turn, accelerate, and then a 135-degree turn while accelerating through the whole turn. Stay in the lines, inside-outside-inside, and do not slow down in the turn. Apparently, I slowed down. Lost points for that, too. After completing all the tests, we were told to ride over to the staging area and they called us over one by one to give us our scores. The anticipation was killing me. When the instructor called my name, I walked over to him. I told him that if I failed, he should just tell me to walk away, and I will. I lost a lot of points. He said I was probably just nervous on the last turn, because I had done it perfectly several times before that. He explained how I lost points, and what I could do in the future to avoid making the same mistakes. He also told me to practice a lot. Then he told me I passed! :) Remember Lisa? The chick that was solely responsible for my throbbing clutch hand Saturday night? She failed. I think it's a good thing, though, because I really wouldn't want to see her on the road on two wheels. She was really bad. I do give her credit for not giving up, though. I really thought she would. Everyone else passed the class. We all got our paperwork to bring to the DMV and went home. While I was driving home I thought, "This sucks. I want to ride!" However, I still need practice. And I have never ridden Annabelle before, and she's a whole lot different than a Honda Nighthawk 250! I am going to take her to the old WalMart parking lot next Saturday morning to practice. Maybe if I get comfortable enough with her, Big D will let me ride her home! It's only 1.5 miles! :) Thanks to everyone for all your encouragement, support and kind words. They mean a lot to me, and I was thinking of all of you when I was riding this weekend. I was thinking, "If I don't pass, I'm going to eat a lot of shit from the bloggers!" LOL! Have a great night and ride safe!

I've Been Sick...

I'm glad everyone liked the pictures from the East Side Run. We really had a great day. I ran into some medical issues that night, though. I was carted away from Smokey's by ambulance that night with some serious belly pain, and other issues. Everyone was in agreement that my gallbladder must have burst. Well, after an ambulance ride, a blown IV, some anti-nausea medication and some morphine, I was rolled away to have an ultrasound. The hospital tells me my gallbladder is fine. I was wheeled back to my little room in the ER where Big D, Ice and Kickstand were waiting for me. D and Kickstand went outside to get some air. The nurse came in and told me I could get dressed, after she gave me more morphine. I got dressed (with some assistance from Ice) and waited. And waited. And waited some more. I'm not sure when the nurse came back to release me, because I got tired of waiting and left. Ice was trying to tell me to wait, that I couldn't just leave. I said, "I'm leaving, are you coming with me or not?" By this time it was after midnight. We were at a hospital waaaaaay out in BFE (Gilbert, AZ). Thankfully we were staying at Uno and Pepper's house which was very close to the hospital. It was determined that I shouldn't ride on the bike with all that morphine on board, so someone called Pepper to come pick me up. I should back up a minute here. The security guard at the hospital was upset with D and Kickstand because they were smoking near the bikes in the parking lot. Apparently you're not allowed to smoke on the hospital's property at all. So, about 10 minutes later, when Pepper came to pick me up; Homeland Security's Gangland Task Force pulled in right behind her. She made a u-turn to pick us up and I quickly lost track of that white van we see almost everywhere we go. Coincidence? Who knows. I just know that we run into the Gangland Task Force more than the average bear. So, I had an appt with the doc, who referred me to a gastro specialist. I am having some kind of test on my gallbladder tomorrow morning. Then, next week, the doc is going to shove a camera down my throat to check everything out. It should be a good time. I told him if he knocked me out, he could shove a Mack truck down my throat if he thought it would fix me. So, this is why I haven't really been present around here. I've been too nauseas to eat. I'm living on chicken broth and ginger ale. When I take my anti-nausea medication it makes me sleepy. The good news is, I am taking my basic rider's course this weekend. I feel well enough to do it, and don't want to reschedule it. So it's on. I'll update you all on my medical status and the rider's course next week. Ride safe!

BACA 1st Annual East Side Run Pics

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Life Stages

Our lives can be broken into 4 stages. I think this sums it up pretty well...

New Seat!!!

We finally bought a Mustang seat for the Dyna! A big thank you to Aaron for getting us his dealer discount!!!!

I cannot wait for the weekend! Wooo-hoooooo!!!!

And, Annabelle is all ready for me! Ain't she a sight?

The Basic Riders Course

OK. I did it. I signed up for the course. It's on 10/24 & 25. I figured it I blog about it, I'll be more accountable. And if I fail it, I'll NEVER hear the end of it, especially here at home. So wish me luck everyone. And if anyone has any pointers on turning without dumping (not you Dave), any suggestions are appreciated! I do have a few pics to post, and promise to post sometime this week. I have been extremely busy since being voted to the Board of Directors of BACA. Have a great week!

Intermittent Access and Other Random Thoughts

No, that doesn't mean we have computer or internet access issues. Intermittent access refers to the time that I'm able to dedicate to my blog and the reading of others' blogs. I apologize for that. There are several reasons for my intermittent access. School is really ramping up now. Psych nearly killed me. The class was terrible! But I passed. No final grade posted, yet, but I know it'll be at least a B. And now on to Paradigms in Health. Ugh! Work has been EXTREMELY busy in the past month or so. My boss had an administrative hearing a few weeks ago, which requires a lot of preparation on my part. And now it's 2010 budget time...fun, fun! And then there is BACA, which has taken quite a bit of my time, lately. We had a very successful benefit poker run for our friends Sticks and Dimples last weekend. You can see the pictures from that run here. Along with 2 others, I have been tasked with planning our state picnic in November. And we have our 1st Annual East Valley Poker Run coming up on October 10th. AZHD and Linda came to the benefit, and Linda even won something in the raffle! We have a lot more raffle prizes for the East Valley Run, too. I would like to formally invite all our blogger friends to this run. For those that would like to attend, the Days Inn & Suites next door to Smokey's in Mesa is offering $39.99/night when you mention the BACA run. Their normal rate for this time of year is $110, so they are really helping us out. You need to call during the day and talk to Stacy, the manager, to get this rate. The number is 480-969-3600. I hope to see some of you there! And this weekend, we're leaving Friday for Tucson, AZ to participate in the Thingamajugs Breast Cancer Run on Saturday. I'm looking forward to the weekend, and the riding, but not necessarily the ride to Tucson. There is nothing but wide open desert between Casa Grande and Tucson on I-10. That's about a solid hour of riding through nothing. At least it won't be 115° out! So, as you can see, along with everyday life, doctors appointments, Vicki, etc., I have been swamped. I'm reading some blogs from work when I can, but I can't comment from there. I'm hoping things calm down for a while, but it's not looking good right now. Ride safe!

An Interview With A Doctor

I had an opportunity to interview a world-reknowned cardiologist, Dr. Wailee Ming, a few weeks back. He was very difficult to get a hold of, and no, he is NOT taking any new patients. Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true? A: Heart only good for so many beats, and that it... Don't waste on exercise. Everything wear out eventually. Speed up heart not make live longer; that is like say you can extend life of car by driving faster. Want live longer? Take nap. Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables? A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does cow eat? Hay and corn. What are these? Vegetables. So, steak nothing more than efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef also good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable).. And pork chop can give 100% recommended daily allowance of vegetable products. Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake? A: No, not at all. Wine made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine. That means they take water out of fruity bit; get even more of goodness that way. Beer also made out of grain. Bottoms up! Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio? A: If you have body and you have fat, ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, ratio is two to one, etc. Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program? A: Cannot think of single one, sorry. My philosophy: No Pain...Good! Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you? A: YOU NOT LISTENING!!! .... Foods fried in vegetable oil. How getting more vegetables be bad for you? Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle? A: Definitely not! When you exercise muscle, it get bigger. You should only do sit-ups if want bigger stomach.. Q: Is chocolate bad for me? A: You crazy? HELLO ... Cocoa beans! Vegetable!!! Cocoa beans best feel-good food around! Q: Is swimming good for your figure? A: If swimming good for figure, explain whales to me. Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle? A: Hey! 'Round' is shape! Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets. Dr. Lee is the busiest doctor in the world after interviews like this! For those of my readers that may not have made the connection, this came to me via email, but I just had to share it!

My Trip Back East

First I would like to express my gratitude to everyone for your prayers and kind words for our friends, Sticks and Dimples. They are doing well and expected to make a full recovery. They, too, appreciate your kind words, prayers and thoughts.

Recently, I went back home for a long weekend. I just felt like I needed to connect with my sisters.

I landed in Boston on Friday afternoon and the sun was shining brightly. That was the last I would see of the sun all weekend. I met my sisters for lunch at Ruby Tuesday, and ran into an old friend while there, too. It felt good to be sitting at the same table with my sisters, rather than talking on the phone or trying to communicate through email or facebook. It just seems like some things get lost in translation through electronic communication. It was great to re-connect with them.

Friday night, I went out with our friend Joker and Susan. It was nice to meet Susan, she's a great gal. And it was great to see Joker. We had quite a time with Blackstone at the Boneyard. It just seems like the bars close SO EARLY back there! Anyway, I stayed at their place Friday night because it was too far and too late to drive back to my mother's condo. I got up early Saturday morning and drove back after sleeping on the most comfortable couch my ass has ever made contact with!

After sleeping a few more hours at the condo, I had to dial-in to a conference call back here. It lasted 1.5 hours, and my cell phone would only work in a parking lot near the condo. Not actually at the condo. So I sat in my rent-a-wreck in the rain while on the call. After that, I enjoyed some wonderful New England Clam Chowda, and headed back to the condo.

In going through my Mother's things, my sisters found a large box of letters. These weren't just any letters, though; they were letters that my Dad had written to her while he was in the Army and she was in college. One of my sisters is reading them, the other does not want to. So after Gayle reads them, she will be sending them to me. I sat down to read some of the letters Saturday afternoon. They were wonderful! My Dad ended every letter with "Love, George" and "P.S. I miss you." These letters are a true treasure, and I'm so glad my Mom kept them.

Saturday night, we had a sleepover at my sister Christine's house. She had a few friends over, as well. It was a great night filled with lots of old memories, and beer, wine and spirits. ;) It is times like these that I wish I lived closer to them. We had so much fun.

Sunday we went to the cemetary, as I hadn't seen the new stone since Mom had passed. Then we went to lunch at Lindsay's. The chowda, crab cakes and clam plate were all incredible, but I just couldn't finish it. There was so much food!

After lunch, I decided to hang out on Cape Cod a little longer. I went to Onset Beach and took a nice walk. It was overcast, but not raining. And it was warm enough that I didn't need my sweatshirt. I walked on the pier and watched the people that were fishing. Saw all the boats moored in the harbor, and remembered when Dad had a boat moored not far from here. We used to love going out on the boat in the summer. Even though it almost always broke down, we still had fun. These are the kinds of memories that I cherish. I often wonder if I would cherish them so much if I still lived there? Or do I cherish them more because I don't live there anymore? Yes, there were some real deep thoughts going on that weekend.

After coming back from the Cape, I stopped in at Gaff's, the local watering hole in Taunton. Our great friend Savina was there, and I had a few beers with her. We were dancing and having a great time when I noticed someone familiar-looking at the bar. I took a second look and realized it was someone I hadn't seen in 19 years! I went to school with John, and after that he worked with my Dad for a while. It was so nice to see him!

When we left the bar I gave Savina a ride home and got back pretty late. I had to get up fairly early for my flight on Monday, so I was just going to read a little bit and then go to sleep. That didn't exactly happen. I ended up reading Dad's letters to Mom until 3:30 a.m. I figured I could sleep on the plane. :) I really can't wait to receive the rest of those letters from my sister.

It was difficult to leave the condo, as I knew this would be the last time I saw it. I think it was so difficult because this is not only where I last saw and spoke to my Mom, it's where she died. It didn't make me uncomfortable to stay there, but it was very hard to leave.

I stopped at my sister Gayle's house on the way to drop off the rental car. I hadn't seen my niece Amanda all weekend, and I wanted to see her before she left for college at Johnson & Wales University in RI. She's moving into her dorm today, by the way. Good luck, Manda-Panda!

The flights home were uneventful. I wasn't able to sleep, but did read The Notebook. I was a crying mess while reading that, but it kept people from talking to me, so it was ok. :)

After getting in late Monday night, I had work and class on Tuesday. Then I was at an HR conference for the rest of the week. We're having a party today, and I have a huge psych paper due on Tuesday. To say that I've been busy would be a large understatement. I should have taken Tuesday off from work just to rest up and get some things done around the house. But that's what Saturdays are for. :)

Brother & Sister Down

Sticks, Cody and Dimples

Saturday night, our BACA President, Sticks, and his wife, Dimples, were in a serious bike accident. A truck was involved...I don't know who hit who and I was there. The truck rolled, and crushed the roof. I'm told those people are stable. Sticks and Dimples were thrown more than 100 feet from the bike. No head injuries, no internal injuries. They are both in ICU. Sticks is awaiting surgery. Injuries range from a badly broken pelvis to broken knees and elbows and a broken scapula. They are lucky to have survived it. They will have a long road of recovery ahead of them. We are completely devastated. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

Harley for a Blind Guy

Thanks to my good friend Linda Dahl at Quick Throttle for sending this to me. :)

Kids Say The Darndest Things...

Before I begin my post, I wanted to mention that we lost a sister rider this weekend. PaulR, retired SAA of the Medieval Madens M/C was hit while on her bike Thursday night. Her bike broke in half, and she lost her battle with serious injuries on Saturday. Please keep her family in your thoughts. Now the main reason for my post. Saturday evening, our daughter Vicki went for her first ride with a group. Just four bikes, but a big deal for an 11-year-old, right? Well, she rode with Daddy, and I rode with our friend Cowboy. Daddy asked her how she liked it so far, riding in a group. "It's ok," was all he got. So, Daddy wicked on the throttle a bit and passed some cages (safely) to give her a thrill. He then said, "How did you like that?" Vicki's response, "It was ok, but you should take me to California and split lanes!" Then she asked how old she needed to be to get her motorcycle endorsement. My answer: "39." WTF???!!! We are in trouble!

Thanks to Tipher for taking the pics, as I forgot my camera, yet again! :)

The Fryed Brothers Band

For those of you going to Sturgis, you must see this band! They are playing at the Knuckle Saloon Tuesday through Saturday. Here is an excerpt from their movie "I Ride":

If you can't make Sturgis this year, I totally recommend this movie. You can get it here. The Fryed Brothers Band: The most dangerous biker band in the world. :)

Too Broke - Chapter 2

Saturday morning I woke up around 6:30 a.m.; pretty much the very moment the sun hit our tent. Surprisingly, I felt great! Just needed some coffee and an aspririn to get me going. And thanks to the good folks at the CMA, there was plenty of coffee for everyone! I lured Big D out of the tent with a cup of coffee and gave him a breakfast burrito the CMA had made. After we both woke up a bit, and sat around the fire chatting with friends, I decided that I wanted a shower. Well, I needed a shower. We learned that the coin-operated showers were near the general store. Someone told me they were $6.00 to operate. Someone else told me there was an hour wait. I was willing to pay $6.00. I was not willing to wait an hour. So I brought $12.00 with me. I figured I could offer to pay for someone's shower and get at the front of the line. :) That wasn't necessary, as I had received some bad information. The showers were $2.00 for 5 minutes and it was only about a 20 minute wait. The shower was cold and refreshing. I totally needed it. When I got back to camp, Big D decided that he was going to drop off the bike at the pinstriper in the vendor area. After he got back to camp he said he ran into at least 60 people that knew him, but he didn't know them. They were calling out, "Hey, Caveman!" He couldn't understand it. I told him that he was the man with the camera Friday night, so he was everybody's best friend. :) We walked up to the vendor area after a while and chatted with friends we ran into. Then I decided I needed an ice cream cone. Yum! So while sitting down with my ice cream, I spotted this guy with a rubber pig nose on his face. I asked him if I could get a picture, and he insisted that I be in the picture. So there I am with my ice cream cone, my holographic middle finger glasses, and my Too Broke shirt taking a picture with Piggynose. (Which is what I called him after that. He loved it.) We sat and watched the biker games for a while in the arena. The slow races were pretty funny. They had one game where they gave the passenger a fishing net and they had to pick up as many stuffed animals as they could along the course. I had never seen that one before, but it was definitely amusing. Then, of course, the weenie bite. One chick got the whole weenie! Another one nearly fell off trying. I really wanted to do the weenie bite, but the bike was still at the pinstriper, so it was a no-go. Oh, well, there's always next year. :) We picked up the bike from the pinstriper (which came out absolutely incredible!) and rode back to camp. At this point, we pretty much sat around, drank and talked to everyone. Then Linda decided we were going over to the 81 supporters camp to share some love. Tequila. So off we went. Linda works for Quick Throttle magazine, so she brought her camera and told all the ladies they would get a shot of tequila for a shot of their exposed parts on camera. It worked out well for Linda. She even got some guys to participate! At this point, things get a bit fuzzy. I know we ate dinner somewhere in there, but it was too late. Jack and Jose were already having a battle and I was getting out of control. I recall getting ready to go to the bar. I remember me and Linda putting on our pasties. Mine were sparkly pink stars, and hers were bright red lips. :) I don't think I made it all the way to the bar, though. After this, all I remember is waking up Sunday morning with a NASTY hangover. Sunday, we broke down camp pretty early so we could try to beat the heat coming back into Phoenix. No such luck, though, as one of the guys we rode down with had some mechanical issues. Big D had to use a bungee cord to keep the guys exhaust on his bike until we got some bolts. He is such a MacGuyver! By the time we got home, it was 3:30 p.m. and 110°F. It was like riding into the wind of a hair dryer set on the highest heat setting. Disgusting. It was so hot, I didn't even complain about my ass hurting from the stupid seat. We walked through the house, into the backyard and jumped in the pool. After that, I went to bed and pretty much slept all night. All in all it was a great weekend. We connected with lots of old friends, and made some great new ones, too.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Too Broke - Chapter 1

Thursday night included a lot of running around, packing, visiting friends and waiting for the mechanic to finish Big D's bike. We picked up the bike around midnight. Yep, and KSU time was 6:30 a.m. After picking up Big D's bike in New River, we had to go home, which is 35 miles away. Not a bad ride in normal conditions. However these were not normal conditions. About a mile or two after we hit the freeway, a HUGE dust storm attacked. I was behind Big D in the Buick, and it looked like he was riding sideways. The rain drops were like mini-water balloons, seriously...I've never seen anything like it. One rain drop soaked half my windshield! Then I saw Big D nearly taken out by a random piece of flying debris. It came VERY close to his head. We finally made it home, and Big D was set to put on our new Mustang seat that he bought from Craigslist that day. Apparently, a Wide-Glide Dyna seat doesn't fit a regular Dyna. Never fear, Big D had an idea. He put on this Badlander seat he had in the garage. Hmmmm...this was not good. This was equivalent to riding on the bare fender for me. Big D thought it would be helpful because it had softer edges than the other seat we had. Not so much. My ass still hurts and we've been back for more than 24 hours. Time to find a new seat. Riding up to Mormon Lake on Friday morning was incredible! Once we got out of the valley and the heat, it was a gorgeous ride. We stopped in Pine at the Sidewinder for bloody marys and in Happy Jack for lunch. After eating a great lunch, we walked outside to get ready to roll to Mormon Lake, when we saw a terrible accident. A bike was turning right into the Happy Jack campground (where we were) and the bike behind him smacked right into him. I don't think he ever hit his brakes. We just heard a loud crash. Biker #1, who was hit from behind was ok. Biker #2 (Billy), who did the hitting, wasn't. He was conscious, but he was air-lifted out to an area hospital. It just so happened that one of Billy's friends was in our group. We got an update on Saturday that Billy was in ICU with 4 cracked ribs and a punctured lung, and was having a tough time. Prayers for Billy, please. So, after we knew the accident scene was being handled and we were no longer needed, we got back on the road to get our campsite secured. It's first-come, first-served at Too Broke. Once we started getting set up at camp, the beer started flowing. We walked around, checked out the vendors and drank. This is when I realized that the front door of our tent was set up on top of an ant hill. Uh-oh. I grabbed my Deep Woods Off and began spraying. After killing most of the ants, I sprayed the Off in a big semi-circle to make a perimeter around our tent opening. That kept the ants away all weekend! Big D and I went to dinner at the Mormon Lake Lodge restaurant on Friday night, where I had my very first Buffalo Burger. It was AWESOME!! I wanted another one before we left, but it didn't work out. After dinner, we hit the general store for some necessities, and headed back to camp. We were just in time for the Miss Too Broke contest! It was nice to see a 'real' woman win the contest instead of some skinny little bitch with fake boobs. Congrats to Joann for winning! Linda and Raven from our group both entered the contest, but it wasn't in the cards for them this year. Better luck in 2010. :) After the Miss Too Broke contest, things get a little fuzzy for me. Big D took pics of the tattoo contest. There was a band. I think they were good. I remember the guy with the Boob-O-Meter. And the beads, too. :) I'm not sure I recall getting back to our tent Friday night, but I know I woke up there, and my boots were off, so I was good! Thanks to the good folks of the CMA that camped right next to us. They were up at the crack of dawn making breakfast burritos and serving coffee to anyone who wanted it! They can camp next to me ANYTIME!!! More memories and a great slideshow in the next post. I will say that I don't recall much of Saturday night, but the day was fun! That's the problem when you start drinking at 10:30 a.m.

Things I Learned at Too Broke For Sturgis

Our weekend at Too Broke For Sturgis was a total blast. We had a great time, and have some really great pictures, which I will put up later. Right now, I would like to share some things that I learned this weekend:

1. When you buy a Mustang seat from Craigslist, make sure it fits the bike first. :(
2. Badlander seats cause undue amounts of pain in the region below the waist.
3. Not all pasties are created equal. :)
4. Jose Cuervo Especial and Jack Daniels DO NOT mix.
5. Tents are easier to put up if you read the directions first.
6. Deep Woods Off will kill ants on the ground...and keep them away from your tent all weekend.
7. Aspirin is necessary when camping.
8. Watching a motorcycle accident happen right in front of your eyes makes for a very nervous passenger.
9. Porta-pottys are NASTY.
10. A cold shower after a long day of riding really is priceless.
11. Pinstriping can really change the look of your bike. :)

Some Randomness

I haven't had a lot of time to post, lately. I've been extremely busy with school, work, etc. All my hard work paid off, though. I got an A in the first math class I've taken in more than 20 years! I'm still scratching my head over that! That was Algebra I. Last night, I started Algebra II. So for the next 5 weeks I'll be struggling with polynomials and exponents. Yeah, good times. Road Captain commented on the "My Hometown" post that his parents lived in my hometown, not very far from where I grew up. I wonder if I knew them. Or if my parents did. Small world. Seems like Joker is too busy to even leave comments for us bloggers, lately. That sucks. I wonder if he's getting ready for his trip to Sturgis? I wonder if he'll comment on this post? We're getting ready for Too Broke for Sturgis this weekend. We are scheduled to leave Friday at 7:00 a.m. It will be a beautiful ride up north, as we are going the back way, not on I-17. We're lucky enough to be riding with a group that has a chase vehicle and a trailer, so I am bringing our stuff to Linda's house tomorrow night to be loaded into the chase vehicle Friday morning. We'll be partying like rock stars all weekend...I cannot wait! I promise to take plenty of pics. For those of you that aren't in the know...my 11-year-old daughter took her first cross-country flight by herself last week. She's flown with me and Big D since she was 2, but this is the first time she did it alone. She's visiting her big sister, brother-in-law, and nephew in VA. She was a little nervous, but she did fine. There was a layover, and she actually slept from Detroit to VA! She's been to the beach, they are going to Water Country, and maybe Busch Gardens. She'll be back next week, and I can't wait. I really miss her! Our kitty, Springer is a noisy little shit. I think he's part Siamese. He meows a lot...and he's LOUD! I also think he's missing Vicki...she's been with him 24/7 since we got him. Finally, here are some ads I read about online somewhere. The headline was 'Ads the Celebs Don't Want You To See. Some are amusing, others stupid. Enjoy!

My Hometown

I always thought my hometown was cool. Big D called it snobby. And truth be told, a lot of snobby people do live there. But I wasn't one of them. Well apparently Money Magazine thought my hometown was pretty cool, too. So cool, in fact, that they made it #37 of their 100 Best Places to Live 2009! "A bedroom community of Boston with unemployment lower than the national average, Easton has a classic New England downtown that quickly yields to farmland." Yes, they do have quite a bit of farmland! And beautiful open fields, ponds, woods, etc. I grew up outdoors. No sitting around watching TV all day unless you were sick! I saw the article this morning, and it made me a little homesick. I always get a little homesick when it's 115° out. I would like nothing better than to be sitting on the beach on Cape Cod right now. At least I never got heat stroke there. But that's another blog for another day. I'm just so proud of my little hometown, and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Sturgis? No. Too Broke? Yes.

Now you may be thinking the title of this post means we are too broke to go to Sturgis this year, and that is, in part, true. I also can't take the time off from work, so the money doesn't even come into play. The title of this post, however, refers to ABATE of AZ's 18th annual Too Broke For Sturgis Rally. Up in the pines of northern Arizona at Mormon Lake, this is the rally of the year in AZ. Today, while enjoying a few of my favorite libations with our BACA crew, we were invited by Linda Dahl at Quick Throttle to ride up to TBFS with her group, and a trailer will be taking our gear up the night before we leave. How cool is that? It took all of 3 seconds for Linda to convince us all to go. Thank you, Linda! So, now I extend the invitation for those who cannot make it to Sturgis this year, and you know who you all are...come party with us at Too Broke!!! :) Here are the really important details (in case you can't click on the link!): When: Friday, July 24th - Sunday, July 26th How much: $30/per person FOR THE WHOLE WEEKEND! So, anyone up for a trip?? Let us know!

Every Story Has a Moral

I received this email yesterday from my friend Bev in Rhode Island. She usually doesn't send jokes, so I knew it had to be really good. It is. True story, I was happy. My girlfriend and I had been dating for over a year, and so we decided to get married. My parents helped us in every way, my friends encouraged me, and my girlfriend? She was a dream! There was only one thing bothering me, very much indeed, and that one thing was her younger sister. My prospective sister-in-law was twenty years of age, wore tight mini skirts and low cut blouses. She would regularly bend down when near me and I got many a pleasant view of her underwear. It had to be deliberate. She never did it when she was near anyone else. One day little sister called and asked me to come over to check the wedding invitations. She was alone when I arrived. She whispered to me that soon I was to be married, and she had feelings and desires for me that she couldn't overcome and didn't really want to overcome. She told me that she wanted to make love to me just once before I got married and committed my life to her sister. I was in total shock and couldn't say a word. She said, "I'm going upstairs to my bedroom, and if you want to go ahead with it just come up and get me." I was stunned. I was frozen in shock as I watched her go up the stairs. When she reached the top she pulled down her panties and threw them down the stairs at me. I stood there for a moment, then turned and went straight to the front door. I opened the door and stepped out of the house. I walked straight towards my car. My future father-in-law was standing outside. With tears in his eyes he hugged me and said, "We are very happy that you have passed our little test. We couldn't ask for a better man for our daughter. Welcome to the family." The moral of this story is...

"Always keep your condoms in your car."

In My Pocket

I have memories in my pocket.They rattle among the change. My memories of you are treasures I carry wherever I go. They are stored in bits and pieces, parts of a beautiful whole. They give me comfort when I think I am alone. Yes, I have memories in my pocket, like so much other stuff I keep there. But of all the treasures I have, it’s the memories of you that are the most precious.

4th of July Party Detail

Usually, what happens at our parties, stays at our parties. But I do have a short little story to tell, just because it was so damned funny! I don't know what time it was, but it was pretty dark out. Big D and a few others were in the hot tub, and Big D says, "Watch this...it's my James Bond move." The next thing everyone heard was a very loud "THUNK!" Jeff said, "Was that Caveman?!" I ran over to see what had happened, and there's Big D, sitting on the cover of the hot tub, which is on the ground. WTF?! Of all the times I didn't have my camera at hand! He looked like a little kid wondering what the hell gravity was!!!!! LMFAO!!! Once I realized there were no injuries, I couldn't stop laughing. I think Sarah and I laughed for an hour. My stomach still hurts from laughing. James Bond move, indeed! I still don't know what he was trying to do, but I doubt he accomplished it! Hope you all had a happy 4th!

How To Tell The Sex of a Bird

Until now I never fully understood how to tell the difference between male and female birds. I always thought it had to be determined surgically. Until now. Below are two birds. Study them closely...see if you can spot which of the two is the female. It can be done. Even by one with limited bird watching skills..

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Happy Independence Day

Today is our nation's 233rd birthday. In honor of this birthday, we will be celebrating our independence! I hope you will be, too. During your celebrations this weekend, please do not forget the reason you are celebrating. It's not just another day off from work, people! Here are a few images to remind you...

My Luck Keeps On Keepin' On

Since I won the grand prize at the Rumble on Rt 66, and the stuffed HD piggy, and the carriage ride, it seems my luck has been on a roll! I won an iPod Shuffle at work this week for being runner-up in a contest to name our new company intranet. That was pretty cool! Then yesterday, I got a call from someone in our HR dept. Apparently the name I chose (that won me the Shuffle) is the name HR chose to go with for their new benefits website. So they will be giving me some sort of prize for that, too! How cool is that?! I guess I should shut up and go play the Powerball now, huh?

Technical Difficulties

I very much want to post Day 3 of our trip, but I am having some difficulties with the video I captured of part of the trip. Once I get that figured out, I will post. Sorry for the delay, but the video is definitely worth it. :)

Taking the Road Less Traveled: Day 2

Before I begin my tale of day 2, I would like to know where the hell is Joker?! No posts for nearly a week, no comments, no emails, nothing! I'm a little concerned about the abrupt absence of our friend in MA, and I'm just putting out the APB on him now. Joker, send us a friggin' smoke signal or something, will ya?! And now, back to our regularly scheduled program... Day 2 in Williams began early for me. I was up at 6:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. So I hit the shower and got ready for the day. I began my attempts to wake Big D at 7:30. At about 7:45, I called BB to see if they were up. I figured since they didn't get into town until 2:00 a.m., if they didn't want to do the run, we would just stay behind with them and hang out. No worries there, as BB answered all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; ready to go! I was most impressed with our Cali counterparts' stamina! BB still had some getting ready to do, so I took a walk to the little pancake shop in front of our hotel and got coffee for me and Big D. I finally lured him out of his slumber with a nice hot cup of joe. Once he was ready, we strolled down to room 10 to finally meet our friends. I remember walking across the parking lot, seeing WillyD outside and saying, "It's WillyD!" The rest is history (that I will document for you here.) :) Let me back up a minute, here. AZHD called me at 8:00 a.m. and said he and Linda were at a breakfast place across from his hotel (next door to ours) and the food was great. I told him to go ahead and eat, because Big D wasn't cooperating with me on getting his ass out of bed. Once we met up with BB, Dave and WillyD, we headed to the restaurant for brekkie. AZHD and Linda came over to meet our Cali friends, and they were headed off to register for the Rumble. Breakfast was great. Our waitress looked about 107 years old, but she was a seasoned old bird; never wrote down our orders and got them right! At breakfast, Dave gave me the 'penis talk'. Apparently, when he called us the night before, he said something about having his head up his ass. Because I had enjoyed many glasses of my favorite libation, I responded, "That's because you have a penis." He laughed and it was all good. But apparently the word 'penis' ruffled Dave's feathers. I thought that was ridiculous and told him so. Then I called him a penis. :) When he just laughed at me, I knew I had made a friend for life. After breakfast, we headed over to the starting point for the Rumble. Dave, BB and WillyD still had to register. Since we were early, we decided to walk around and check out the vendors. This is where Big D first had his parts frozen. He noticed the bike had not been running great, and anticipated having issues in the higher elevations we were headed to on the run. He purchased some cryogenically treated spark plugs from the inventor, had them installed, patted and caressed the bike and paid the nice man for the plugs. I need to say that I thought this was all BS. Big D had his doubts, too. But these plugs made a HUGE difference immediately! I will let Big D get into all that on his forum, but the difference was so immense that I had to mention it here. Soon after the plug installation, it was time to roll out. We were escorted by the Williams PD around the town of Williams on The Mother Road, and then our escort rolled aside and off we went. Well, we all stopped for gas, and caught up the rest of the riders later. Stop 1 was the Double Eagle Trading post about 20 miles south of the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Right before we spotted stop 1, we went to a gas station and took pictures with the buffalo. I think this was Dave's favorite stop. The buffalo love you long time, Dave. ;)

Stop 2 was Ski Lift Lodge at Arizona Snow Bowl. On the way to stop 2 we encountered a little rain, but nothing too bad. It was damned cold, though! And at 9,000 feet, everyone's bikes were running like crap, except ours, with the frozen plugs. We had lunch at stop 2 and watched the rain while we ate. AZHD and Dave both left their cameras outside in the rain, but they seemed to be ok. Dave dryed our seats with his ShamWow. My seat had two little puddles on it, and it would have looked like eyeballs on my ass if he hadn't dryed it for me. Thanks, Dave. I had enough eyeballs on my ass later that night. :) Stop 3 was Grand Canyon HD in Bellemont. We were happy to be out of the higher elevations, and into the slightly warmer weather. I did purchase gloves, because my hands were numb and my gloves were in Phoenix. Who needs gloves in Arizona in June, right?! Before we headed out to stop 4, AZHD told us which exit to take. Big D and I were in the lead, and took the exit to go back to Williams and everyone followed us. Once back at the start/end of the Rumble, AZHD and Linda took a ride to see if they could find stop 4. They did, so we all took a quick ride over to get our cards signed. We had come all this way, and I couldn't justify not going to that stop, especially when it was so close. It was Williams Motorsports, and the guy at the shop was pretty cool. He talked to the menfolk about motors and oil, etc. When we left Stop 4, Big D said he needed a nap. So he went back to the room, and I rode with WillyD to the start/end point. We put in our cards for the drawing and stayed for the raffle and biker games. It was funny to watch this local guy with a big ol' green bagger trying to win these games. He kept riding into the hay bales! The town of Williams offered up free beer for everyone, we just had to stay in the parking lot. I thought that was pretty nice of them! When you register for the Rumble, you don't pay any money. You just have to donate a motorcycle-related item for the raffle. We dontated a couple of HD t-shirts, found on clearance. They were easy to pack. :) I won a stuffed HD piggy, with a leather vest and hat on. He's adorable. :) BB won a black baseball cap with HD in blue rhinestones. It looked cute on her. And Dave won some HD book. The assistant police chief told him it was perfect for him, because it had lots of pictures! LMAO! He also said that BB and Dave weren't eligible to win, as they were not American citizens; they were from the People's Republic of California. LOL!!!! After the raffle, we headed over to the hotel to take naps. Big D was up and ready to roll, but we were all done. Big D decided that another hour of beauty sleep wouldn't kill him, so we all napped for about an hour. Without that nap, I wouldn't have made it past 10:00 p.m. After our naps, we rode to Wild West Junction, because the raffle was going to be at 7:00 p.m. We figured we could eat after that. Not that I EVER win ANYTHING, but there was a slight chance. AZHD and Linda were at the steakhouse for dinner, and said they would be at WWJ shortly. So we saved seats for them at our table. BB and I listened to the music while Dave, WillyD and Big D went out front to watch the staged gun fight. Then the raffle started. Things would never be the same after this raffle. They called 3 names for the grand prize, and nobody was there to accept it! Then they called my name!!! I said, "Really?!" I won the grand prize: a $100 gift card to Grand Canyon HD!! As I stated before, I NEVER win ANYTHING! And I had already won the HD pig earlier! :) Then they started calling names for other prizes. I had put my name on Big D's card (good thing I did, because he was watching the gun fight!) and they called my name again! I had won a horse and carriage ride in Williams. BTW...I think Dave & BB brought it home with them. By the end of the raffle, they had called all of our names, except WillyD. When they called AZHD's name, nobody thought quickly enough to go accept his prize. Sorry! So the next name they called was the guy sitting next to BB. Everyone that won something was sitting at our table! There was only one guy that wasn't sitting at our table that won something. This is when Dave came over to me and said, "I'm getting some dirty looks from the locals." To which I replied, "Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke!" AZHD and Linda recommended the steak house for dinner, so we walked over. AZHD and Linda stayed at WWJ and saved our seats. Dinner at Rod's Steak House was EXCELLENT!!! Everything was perfect! We were getting some pretty strange looks from the locals in there, too. Mostly from the prim and proper old ladies, who didn't appreciate us biker types dirtying up their town. Whatev. After dinner, we met back up with AZHD and Linda. They had walked to WWJ, so we rode back to the hotel to drop off the bikes. We would meet them at the Sultana bar. We did a lot of dancing and drinking. And a whole lot of joking around. We even found a mini-buffalo that we had missed earlier! So we jumped a fence to have our pictures taken sitting on Mr. Mini-Buffalo, of course! It really was a great night. It was a late night, too. And we finally decided it was a long ride to Phoenix on Sunday, so we hit the hotel and savored the memories of our day in slumber.

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Next up: Day 3, and our (mostly) BEAUTIFUL ride home! A video of part of our trip to Phoenix will be included in the next post.

Taking the Road Less Traveled: Day 1

Our Williams weekend getaway was fabulous, fantastic, superb, spectacular and just plain fun! Aside from a little sunburn, rain and leg cramps, it was the perfect weekend! Friday afternoon we had a beautiful ride all the way up to Flagstaff, then got caught in a downpour. We had to stop at a Big 5 Sporting Goods to get Big D a sweatshirt, as we didn't see a need for our heavy leathers in Arizona in June. Mistake #1. Once we made it to Williams, the weather had cleared, but it was still a bit cool. We stopped at the rally point across from Wild West Junction on Old Rt 66 and registered for the next day's ride. While registering for the ride, we met the Assistant Police Chief of Williams, who Big D got along with famously. We chatted with him for a while, checked out each other's bikes and then decided we should find our hotel. We came to a stop sign and spotted AZ Harley Dude to our right. We pulled off and he pointed us in the direction of our hotel. It wasn't the best, but I've stayed in worse for $60/night. After checking in, we met up with AZ HD and his friend Linda at Wild West Junction. We had a few drinks and some chow and enjoyed the live band. After this point, Friday night gets a little fuzzy for me. I know we found lots of animal statues and sat on them for pictures. Cows, bears, etc. I do recall that we dropped the bikes at our hotels and walked to the Sultana Bar. There we found a HUGE stuffed moose head hanging over the door. By this time, I was obsessed with all the animals in this town, and I wanted to climb up onto the moose. Paul dared me, and said he'd give me 10 fingers. That was all it took! We walked up to the moose, and the door man actually gave us his barstool once he found out what we were up to! I have to say this was the coolest bar I have been to in a long time. Lots of friendly people and the staff was very attentive. Friday night they had a band, and Saturday night they had a DJ. A man approached Big D in the Sultana and offered to draw his picture in chalk. We asked to see some of his work, and it was pretty good, so Big D sat for 20 minutes for this guy. Let me tell you, the pic he drew was incredible! But I'll let you all be the judge: After that, we decided to hit another bar: The Canyon Club. This was a good little bar, but the karaoke guy had his sound system so loud that the bar was getting noise complaints. It was barely tolerable to sit in there with it being so loud. So, needless to say, we didn't stay long. Sometime between dinner and the two bars, we got a call from BB. They had called earlier to tell us they had been waylaid. Now she tells me they are 300 miles out. I think this was around 8:00. We thought they would be there around midnight, so Big D and I decided to wait up for them to arrive. After leaving The Canyon Club, AZ HD and Linda had called it a night, and I went back to the Sultana for a few more with my love. After more than a few more, we decided to start walking back to the hotel. After riding all day, and enjoying my favorite libations all night, I was beat. While walking back to the hotel, we got a call from Dave. They wouldn't be there for a few more hours. They were riding in 90mph winds and stopping frequently. I think Dave said something about having his head up his ass, but I'm not clear on the conversation. All I know is I used the word 'penis' and I got 'a good talking to' from Dave the next morning at breakfast about it! LOL! Up next: Day 2 and the Rumble on Rt 66. Stay tuned! The next post will have a picture slideshow, too. :)