# 12 – What event are you currently looking most forward to?
This prompt is like the “trip” prompt. There are several events coming up, and I am looking forward to all of them. But I guess it’s fair to saying I am currently looking most forward to my annual girlfriend getaway.
I’ll be in Pennsylvania in two weeks. With these ladies.
L-R, Tracey, Carol, and Me
I’ve known them both since I was a kid. Around 40 years? Hard to remember, exactly. I just know it’s been a LONG time. I think this year will be the 22nd year we’ve done an annual getaway.
Four days of fun, food, fun, shopping, and no one to answer to but ourselves. I am really looking forward to it. Really.
# 11 – What are you thankful for today?
Hmmm. I’m thankful for my girlfriends. As evidenced by my response to Prompt #12. I’m thankful for all of my friends, actually.
I’m also thankful for my Hubby. I sure lucked out with that selection. He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t just pick any old birthday card because he is simply meeting an obligation. He spends a long time reading a bunch of cards until he picks just the right one. You know, the one that lets me know how much he really loves me. And I love him right back.
I’m thanful for my kids, too. Furkids included.
Goofballs
Yes, I know I share a lot of dog pictures. But they make me laugh.
Which brings me to the final thing I’m thankful for… LAUGHTER. It really is the best medicine. It’s also something the girlfriends, Hubby, kids, and furkids keep my life filled with.
# 10 – A story you love to tell.
I thought long and hard about this one. I have lots of fun stories. But I wanted to share something moto-related. There are actually two funny stories with a motorcycle theme.
The first involves the motorcycle safety training class that Hubby and I took together back in late 2000. It was held at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Glen Burnie, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. I think about half of our classmates were African American.
Our instructor was this cute little white guy from Minnesota. Or maybe it was Wisconsin? I don’t remember exactly, but I do know it was one of those Midwestern states where the people have an unusual accent. So the way he said some of his words was interesting and definitely different.
We were in the classroom, doing this exercise where he asked the class to name normal, everyday things that posed road hazards. When someone gave an answer, he’d write in on a chalkboard. Or whiteboard. The list got pretty long. He kept saying we were forgetting something, and kept giving clues like, “There’s a lot of it around Baltimore. It’s all over the place. It can be dangerous. Really important to watch out for. Sometimes it can jump out at you if you’re not paying attention.” Etcetera.
Finally, he gave up on us and said it himself. He said what everyone in the class thought was… BLACK GUYS.
There was quite an uproar. He looked confused, but wrote his words on the board anyway.
BLACK ICE
The uproar turned to laughter. He was definitely perplexed, so we had to explain to him what we thought he’d said. We all got quite a chuckle out of THAT one.
The second story is much shorter. It’s a snippet of conversation I overheard one day while in a visitors’ center gift shop along Skyline Drive. The nice volunteer manning the cash register — an older lady (close to elderly, but not quite) — was chatting with another visitor about speeding along the Drive. She told him most people obey the 35 mph speed limit, which is strictly enforced. Most people except the young kids riding those CROCK ROTCHETS.
I can’t unhear that one. From that day forward, I’ve thought of sportbikes as crock rotchets.
This Year’s Brave, Bold Bloggers…
Be sure to visit their blogs to see how each interpreted this challenge.
This weekend, I’ll be playing catchup on writing my own posts and reading what everyone else has been up to.
It has been a mentally challenging week. Not bad, as in “oh em gee, I’m losing my mind,” just a crazy work load thanks to not one, but TWO bosses being off vacationing. I’m not complaining, they both work really hard and deserve the break.
Nothing like the absence of people who are usually around to make the tough decisions to make one — me! — appreciate what they have to deal with on a daily basis.
Anyway… I survived. Hopefully, I’ll get all caught up over the next day and a half so life can get back to its regular routine.
Yes, I am posting a day late. Work has been extra busy this week. My boss is on vacation and all kinds of unique and unexpected stuff came in that requires my attention. It’s been a hectic few days.
I did think about this post yesterday. I even took the “Shoeless T-Mama” photo yesterday. I was hoping that moniker would have the same ring to it as Shoeless Joe Jackson.
It doesn’t.
I don’t wear shoes as much as most people, because I don’t leave the house often. LOL. Working from home means I don’t need shoes. Except for once a day when I walk the dogs. And that only lasts 30-60 minutes or so.
Usually, I just wear socks. Those pictured are my favorites, for what it’s worth.
I do have a few pairs of favorite shoes, but they’re sandals, and are all packed away for the winter. Not pretty, dainty, girlie things, Keen sandals. Like these…
Not actually my shoes.
I didn’t know they came in purple!
I’m behind on my blog reading, too. Sorry folks. I’ll catch up, I promise.
See how other BBBC 2016 participants
interpreted today’s prompt.
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If there’s no link in the above list, that blogger hadn’t yet posted at the time of my writing. I’ll do an update as soon as I can. You can always use the link to each blogger’s home page in the list provided below.
This Year’s Brave, Bold Bloggers…
Be sure to visit their blogs to see how each interpreted this challenge.
When Hubby and I first started riding together 15 or so years ago — has it really been that long!?! — weather had a way of quashing our plans.
We were fair weather riders back then, probably because we also didn’t have proper gear. I’m a bit embarassed now to admit it wasn’t until I experienced a different type of riding during our 2010 trip to Europe that I started wearing real gear. It used to be I’d just insist on heavy jeans, boots, and a long-sleeved shirt. On really hot days, I even used to ride in tank tops. Thank goodness I survived.
Wearing full gear really does make a difference. Now I can ride in cooler temperatures, and rain doesn’t really phase me. Sometimes, rain can even be pleasant, given the right environment.
Last years’ jaunt down the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) comes to mind. It was late-afternoon on my first day when thunderstorms started rolling through. The first one looked like a doozy. Since I saw it coming AND just happened to be at a tiny little visitor’s center, I decided to wait that one out. Later, as more storms approached, I just donned the waterproof layer and rode on.
Most other folk had abandoned the Parkway by then, so an already light traffic day morphed into me having the road practically to myself. The 45 mph speed limit is strictly enforced, so I motored casually along. It made it more of an adventure for me in a way.
I’ll admit, the lightning and thunder had me a teeny bit weirded out, but not enough to make me want to stop.
Doozy of a Thunderstorm
Okay, had I seen that one coming, I might have stopped. If there’d been a place to shelter (there wasn’t). But, if I remember correctly, it just seemed like more rain showers until I rounded a corner and found myself in the middle of a hefty storm. I just slowed down a plodded along. The alternative was stopping and just sitting in the rain. In my mind, it made just as much sense to keep moving.
I took the picture above shortly after driving through that mess.
Riding in the rain does sound scary. Once you’ve done it a few times, you realize it’s not so bad. Granted, I wouldn’t want to do it on city streets in heavy traffic. But the BRP is a great place for foul-weather riding practice.
I’ve been told it can get quite foggy up there at times. That would freak me out more. There are enough critters living in those woods — deer and bears are the big ones — that I’d much rather have a clear line of sight. If I’m going to hit one of those suckers, I’d really rather see it coming, I think.
I’d love to ride in snow. I love snow! But it’s slippery stuff.
I don’t mind the cold as much as I used to and now, since Hubby got me a heated jacket liner and gloves for Christmas, I’m even more prepared than I used to be. Unfortunately, thanks to the recent blizzard that dumped 30-36″ (76-91 cm) of snow on my region, with more at higher elevations, there’s still quite a bit of loose sand and gravel on the roads. Even after some torrential rain we experienced during the past week.
I’m anxious to try the new heated gear. Alas, there’s more snow in the forecast for the overnight. Not much. Maybe about 10% of the amount we saw during the blizzard. But they’ll still spread a new layer of salt on the streets.
I can wait, I guess. My bike isn’t going anywhere without me.
See how other BBBC 2016 participants
interpreted today’s prompt.
How did the other brave, bold bloggers respond and/or interpret this daily challenge? See for yourself!
If there’s no link in the above list, that blogger hadn’t yet posted at the time of my writing. I’ll do an update as soon as I can. You can always use the link to each blogger’s home page in the list provided below.
This Year’s Brave, Bold Bloggers…
Be sure to visit their blogs to see how each interpreted this challenge.
I daydream often. Even more often when I forget to take or run out of my ADD meds. (Yes, that’s a real condition adults struggle with, too.)
More often than not, those musings involve travel. And since riding the bike is my favorite form of travel, I often daydream about motorcycle trips. Usually there’s a specific destination involved. because of the roads leading to that place, not because of the destination itself. Or, I’ll find something — a place or an attraction — I want to see and imagine all the different routes I might take to get there.
Lately, though, my most often recurring daydream has focused on me, in my 50th year, taking a decent chunk of time off work and just riding. I’d arm myself with a bunch of maps — I am a map lover — along with some clothes and such, and just go. You know, on a wee bimble.
The only endpoint of the trip would be home. I’d really like to visit Illinois (the state with the highest concentration of Muffler Men — have you visited American Giants?).
On the UP
I’d probably stop in Indiana for a day or so (personal reasons). I have never been to the states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, so might as well motor through there. Spending a day or two relaxing on a beach sounds nice, too. I’d swing through Georgia, which I hear is beautiful AND a couple of like-minded folk reside there. While in the neighborhood, I’d probably meander through the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. Maybe explore Kentucky a bit more.
Crap, I forgot to mention Canada.
I’d like to pop into Canada for a bit, just because I’ve never ridden there, and I hear some nice folks call that country home. I’d almost certainly head back south through Sault Ste. Marie so I could see the Mackinac Bridge, maybe meandering around Michigan’s UP for a bit before crossing the bridge and continuing south.
Or, even better, heading west across the UP and riding south to reach Illinois and Indiana from that direction. It looks like I should plan on allowing some time to explore the UP a bit while I’m there. Lots of natural wonders to see.
Here’s how it looks so far…
That’s 7.5, 8-hour days. And that’s roughly plotted on main routes. I’d be mostly on secondary highways and back roads. There’ll be some stretches of interstate highway, I’m sure, but those will be limited.
I should probably spend some time on Route 66, too. I mean, how can I not if I’m in the neighborhood. Imagine all the fun stuff I’ll get to see.
I’d kind of like to ride to New Mexico, too. That may need to wait for another trip.
That’s my favorite daydream. I think I need to start saving vacation days. And money. I don’t camp.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? I’m quite interested to see what fellow BBBCers come up with.
See how other BBBC 2016 participants
interpreted today’s prompt.
How did the other brave, bold bloggers respond and/or interpret this daily challenge? See for yourself!
If there’s no link in the above list, that blogger hadn’t yet posted at the time of my writing. I’ll do an update as soon as I can. You can always use the link to each blogger’s home page in the list provided below.
This Year’s Brave, Bold Bloggers…
Be sure to visit their blogs to see how each interpreted this challenge.
