Monday 7 - 21-08

It has been awhile since my last blog entry. I have taken a few short trips with the wife here and there. I am glad to find that she likes riding around on the back of the Hog. She has even started suggesting places for us to go and things to do on the back of "Babe" the Blue Bike.

Last weekend we took a trip up to Mt Rainier. Carol likes it up there. We went all the way up to Paradise. We bought a pet carrier that just fits onto the luggage rack on top of my trunk box. Mandy our Boston Terrier rides in it. She didn't know what to think of it at first, but after a few minutes and a couple times in and out of it and she caught right on. She is the kind of dog that likes to go alone where ever we go. The pet carrier is made by Tee Bags and is custom made for the Harley boxes. I had a picture of her sticking her head out of the carrier (it is made that way) but my camera went on the fritz and I am getting a new one in the mail (soon I hope). All of my pictures were out focus. I lost my focus once too...

This weekend we did a bunch of yard work and it got pretty warm around here in the after noon. Carol suggested we take Babe out and get cooled off a bit. We went up to Paulsbo then Silverdale where we stopped at a Starbucks and had some iced tea. We continued south on Hwy 3 to Gorst then south to Belfair. We took 302 back to Purdy then went home from there. It was a nice ride. After we got home, Carol planted about 100 flowers in a couple of our flower beds. we are trying to get our yard ready for my son's wedding. For some reason he wants to do it at our house.

Today (Monday 7-21-08) I called a friend (Mike Neeley) of mine who isn't feeling up to snuff these days. We chatted for a few minutes and he gave me a heads up on a nice ride down around Aberdeen. More specifically, about half a mile or so south of where 101 and 107 come together. There is a restaurant there called "Clarks." Mike assured me the food was excellent. It was. When he told me about the place, he went into great detail about the blackberry shakes they make down there. I was determined to have one, and it was pretty awful good at that. The make a real good old fashioned shake to begin with then put a big blob of soft ice cream in the middle of it. Its Awsome. Mike had suggested the club sandwich but the waitress said I shouldn't order it unless I was real hungry because it was HUGE. She pointed to another guy who had just gotten one. That thing would have fed my whole family. I opted for a cheese burger. Equally good, I am sure.

The day was nice and sunny and the traffic light, being a weekday. I set the cruse at the speed limit and had a "happy drive" through the country side. It was a nice fun, relaxing time. I rounded a couple curves and saw a some troopers running radar today. I just waved and continued on. On days like this it is good not to be in a hurry.

Earlier, I had worked a bit of off-duty stuff so I really enjoyed being out there this afternoon. When I got home, I had to begin prepping the kitchen for a fresh paint job. Riding the bike was more fun. Tomorrow, I will be painting the kitchen, so I know I will need more "bike therapy" after all of that. I have no idea where I might go.

I miss having my camera and posting pictures of all the cool things I see out there. I suppose you guys miss seeing them as well.

Sunday - 6-29-08

From Wenatchee to Winthrop, then home.


20 bikes assembled this morning at the harley dealer. They were closed and we looked longingly into the windows... we wanted tee shirts, and pins, and well, you know... After leaving, some riders dropped out here and there to take different routes back home.

We got in gear and ready to go right around 0900 hrs. It was already beginning to get hot. Jerry and Dave gave us our brief which had changed a bit due to the hot weather. They added a break at one of the gas stations where we could get cold drinks if we wanted to. That was a welcomed change.

The ride to Winthrop was a nice one but it was 101 degrees when we rolled in to town. We ate at Three Fingered Jacks and I left the camera in the bike. I was too hot to think straight. My radio didn't work too well in the mountains so I picked up some music to put in the CD player. That was the first time I had used it. By the way, this trip was the first time I used the CB radio too. That worked out real well with Dave in front and me in the back. I guess I mentioned that yesterday. After having slipping the CD into the player, I had reached the milestone of having used all the toys on this bike. Too bad there isn't an ice machine on it...

After having lunch, we started over the passes on hwy 20 back to I-5 and home. It was a long haul. I have a picture that I got from Dave. It was actually taken the day before, but it shows our long line of bikes. I just thought it looked good right about here.

The second day of our ride was the most scenic. Hwy 20 is a pretty famous route around these parts. You just can't beat the view of Ross and Diablo Lakes. I didn't tale any pictures of this part of the route. It was hard to pull out of the group and do my own thing. I just let it pass this time.

This was the first organized ride that I had a part in planning. I thought it was a great deal of fun. We raised a bit of money for the Chaplain and our club as well, we met some nice folks and we rolled some miles on the odometer. This stuff is a lot more work that I would have imagined.


Hope you enjoyed reading about our Memorial Ride this year.

Iggy