Reflecting on 2014

It’s that time again… the very first day in a brand-new year.

One of the cool things about having a blog is that it makes it REALLY easy to look back on major, and not-so-major, events.

I had to laugh when I read my pal Fuzzy’s annual re-cap and saw that she said “…it often feels like I never go anywhere and I never do anything…” She does a lot of fun stuff. I found it funny because I feel that way often, too. And I also did a lot in 2014. I didn’t ride my motorcycle nearly as much as I’d hoped to, but I got around.

As much as I appreciate being able to work from home, I think it makes me feel like I never go anywhere. On a day-to-day basis, my scenery doesn’t change much. Not that I’m complaining. I just want y’all to understand where that “I never go anywhere” feeling comes from.

For me, 2014 was an interesting year. More ups than downs, fortunately, but some of the downs were pretty low. Fuzzy and I really are kindred spirits in many ways. She said something else that rang true for me, too… “Much of 2014 was spent learning lessons about dealing with people and dealing with myself.”

Some of those lessons were harder than others, but I learned. I know I am not perfect. I try to be a good person, I do. (Of course, “good” is relative.) I can’t make everyone happy. Honesty is not always the best policy. People are complex creatures. I just need to live my life the best way I know how, for better or worse.

Anyway… here’s my look-back at 2014.

There were a few things I said I’d be doing that actually happened.

1. Hubby, Mike, and I took his Mom out to Washington State to visit Amy and her family (February).

2. Eric, our youngest kid, and his wife moved to Spain. But not until the end of September.

3. Hubby and I enjoyed another visit to Europe with our friends (September).

There were some things I’d hoped to do, but didn’t. Like get out on my bike more. Perhaps 2015 will be my year.

And there was a LOT of stuff I didn’t anticipate or plan. I hope you enjoy the re-cap.

January

We suffered a broken pipe at the WV Place. It was an oogy mess. Really.

It could have been much worse. It was sheer luck that Hubby discovered the break when he did.

The place actually cleaned up much better than we’d expected. There was only one broken pipe and it was really easy for Hubby to fix. Also, the contractor we found to do the major, labor-intensive repairs, eventually did a great job. It just took him a while to get around to doing the work (weather was the biggest factor).

February

On the whole, February was a quiet month.

The biggest event was that trip to Washington State to visit Amy and her family. You can read about it here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).

On a smaller scale, there was this cool lace-making demonstration at The Empty Nest.

March

We slid quietly into and through March.

First was the not-so-eventful trashcan redesign.

Then there was the visit with my girlfriends, Carol and Tracey. We’ve known each other for close to 40 years. The older I get, the more I appreciate these gals.

Friends are the family you choose. Good ones are worth keeping. It takes effort, though. There have been ups and downs over the years, of course, as we all lead different lives and have grown into people with very different interests. But our hearts will always be connected. We live in separate states, have widely varied responsibilities, schedules, hobbies, etc., but we make sure we stay connected.

Speaking of connected, my friend Brad came for a visit at the end of March. We’ve been friends since high school. We are both horrible at keeping in touch, but that connection runs deep and will always be there. I hope we are able to get together again soon.

April

I had a very nice surprise in April when my employer invited me down to Texas for a sales meeting. I hadn’t been back to Texas since joining the company in January of 2012. I’d never had a chance to explore much, so I stayed a few extra days and moseyed around the state a bit. It was lots of fun. It helped chase away those winter blues, too.

Post and picture links are provided below, if you’re interested:

Day 1: Friday in Austin — BLOG POST
Day 2: Saturday, Austin to Port Aransas — BLOG POST | Flickr pics
Day 3: Sunday, In and Around Port Aransas — BLOG POST | Flickr pics
Day 4: Monday, Port Aransas to Austin, then Home — BLOG POST | Flickr pics
Bonus – Sunset Captures in Port Aransas

May

The biggest event in May was Hubby’s unveiling of Grandfather’s Clock. If you haven’t seen that post yet, you should take a look. It’s all about the clock that talented Hubby of mine built completely from scratch, using black walnut harvested by his grandfather. There are lots of pics, too.

Oh, and I shared a video in a separate post., which includes even more images. It’s Mike’s finest woodworking project to date. It’s also one of the reasons we didn’t do much on weekends… he spent MONTHS making that heirloom.

I finally got some motorcycles rides in, too.

The most memorable for me was my long-anticipated yet sorta impromptu meetup with my friend, Rachael (aka FullyGalore). I wrote all about that meeting here. I’ve been following her blog for quite a few years and had been wanting to meet her in person for a long time. We really are kindred spirits. But she lives on Long Island, which isn’t exactly close or easy to get to from Virginia.

Then there was the Piedmont Loop ride with my friend, Dottie.

I compiled a neat little video using some of the footage I captured while riding with Dottie. Watch it if you dare. It made me want to get out and RIDE. Like now. But with temps in the mid-30s and no heated gear, I decided to just finish working on this blog post.

We spent the three-day Memorial Day Weekend sprucing-up the WV Place.

I even managed to squeeze a furniture painting project into the month of May.

June

The biggest event in June was Meg’s 15th birthday. We don’t usually celebrate our furkids’ birthdays. Heck, we don’t make much fuss over birthdays in general.

But we never thought Meg would make it to her 15th birthday. That’s like 105 in dog years.

Her health had slowly but surely been declining, so we felt that since she’d made it that long, it was a milestone we just HAD to celebrate. She got cake and ice cream in addition to that awesome hat.

Another notable event was my nephew Josh’s high school graduation.

Oh, and our eldest daughter Shannon got her motorcycle license!

We finished of the month in high style with a sorta last-minute trip to Texas. My company celebrated it’s 15th anniversary that month. Since we had a pretty good year, they decided to fly all of the remote employees and their spouses in for the party.

Hubby hadn’t been to Texas since before we were married. He’d spent a lot of time there early in his career since the company he was working for built the Marriott Rivercenter hotel.

Here are the links to posts from that trip:

Getting to Texas was half of the the adventure
Hill Country and Fredericksburg, Texas
Exploring a back road or two
Big-ass Texas cowboy
Texas BBQ really can be a religious experience
Roadside attractions in Texas
Exploring downtown San Antonio
San Antonio to Austin and then home

It was a nice bit of goofy fun for us.

July

It’s funny how things turn out. July started as virtually a blank slate, other than work. But cool stuff can happen unexpectedly.

I FINALLY finished another major furniture makeover. See for yourself.

I squeezed in a brief motorcycle ride AND our Canuck friend Alain stopped in for a visit. We met him back in 2010 when we did our first motorcycle tour in Europe. He was part of the group, and is one of the nicest and smiliest folks you’d ever want to meet. I hope we get to see Alain again soon.

I also enjoyed a morning ride with Dottie, which is when we discovered the Blue Ridge Country Store, which isn’t really a store, but the coolest yard decoration ever.

Finally, closing out the month, I got to ride my bike up to Pennsylvania to celebrate my Dad’s birthday with him.

August

I did a bit more riding in August, starting with this trip in early August, which is when I found that awesome frog statue.

On that same day, I was finally able to visit American Celebration on Parade. And the Yellow Barn.

Both of those places are at the Shenandoah Caverns complex in Quicksburg, Virginia.

I even did a post just about the ride part of that glorius and VERY full day.

In the middle of the month, Hubby and I did a weekend ride. There are several posts about that trip, ’cause we covered a lot of ground:

The intro post
Home to Staunton, Virginia (pronounced like Stan Ton)
The Back of the Dragon (in Virginia, not that other Dragon)
The road home

That ended up being our very last road trip together on matching motorcycles because shortly afterward, Hubby bought himself a brand new touring motorcycle.

September

In September, I bought a new point-and-shoot camera.

Then we went on a trip to Europe. It wasn’t quite two weeks long, but we packed a lot of stuff in. I still haven’t finished posting about the trip, but here’s what I have so far. The first six posts were either written while traveling or shortly after we got back to Virginia. I tried to at least keep y’all somewhat updated, but I didn’t have a ton of time what with traveling around, limited Wifi, and spending times with friends we rarely get to see.

Post #1: We Have Arrived
Post #2: Whirlwind Tour of Europe’s Most-famous Sites
Post #3: Brussels… Sneak Peek
Post #4: Quickie Update (UK and Bruges)
Post #5: Arrival in Switzerland
Post #6: Back Home

The posts that follow are more in-depth.

Post #7: A closer look at central Brussels
Post #8: Annelies and Yves’ New House
Post #9: ToadMama in Bruges (my new favorite European city!)
Post #10: Canterbury Cathedral (yes, it was amazing)
Post #11: UK Road Trip
Post #12: UK Road Trip Continued
Post #13: Our Visit to Stow-on-the-Wold
Post #14: Another AMAZING Cathedral… Gloucester
Post #15: Fine, Relaxed Dining in Switzerland: Raclette
Post #16: Our Last Day in the UK
Post #17: A close-up look at Zaffelare, Belgium (Annelies and Yves’ town)
Post #18: Road Trip to Switzerland

We were a little scared about going, due to Meg’s health, which had been declining even more rapidly since her birthday in June. But she was still hanging in there when we got back.

Then, at the end of the month, Eric, our youngest, and his wife, Kelsey, moved to Spain.

Our "Hasta Luego" Lunch at El Toro — Our “Hasta Luego” Lunch at El Toro

On September 15, I learned that my moto-blogging buddy, Bob, had passed away. It was very sad, and hit me harder than expected, which is why I didn’t do a blog post about it until early November.

That pretty much covers September.

October

The month started off nicely on Mike’s birthday weekend with a visit from our friends, Kathy and Barry. They came down from Maryland for the day. Kathy and I enjoyed a shop hop/wine tasting event while Mike and Barry went for a motorcycle ride. Sorry, I don’t have any pics to share. Did I mention that my new camera had broken and was at the shop for repairs (under warranty, thankfully).

The following weekend, we took a road trip — two-up! — on Hubby’s new motorcycle. All the way to Niagara Falls, Canada and back.

We also managed to squeeze in some local riding. Together, but on separate bikes this time.

The last weekend in October, when a previously planned trip for me had to be postponed, I did a long, solo ride on Saturday.

It was awesome.

Then, on Sunday, Dottie and I did a much shorter trip into West Virginia.

November

Things started getting sorta hectic in November.

We lost Meg on November 13. She’d fought the good fight, and was with us much longer than either of us ever expected. When her health had finally deteriorated to the point that I knew she was in pretty much constant pain, I knew it was time.

It was the right thing to do, but it was very, very hard. Even though we’d known for so long that it was coming. We both miss our crazy old girl.

I did travel to Rehoboth, Delaware with another friend from childhood, but haven’t done a post yet.

Meg’s passing, Thanksgiving, and the scattering of Meg’s cremains, among other things, sorta set me reeling.

So the month of November was a bit of a blur.

December

December started off with a bang, too.

First, we went to San Diego December 5 through 9 to visit with Shannon for her birthday.

Amy flew down from Washington to join us, so it was a mini-reunion with 66.6% of our offspring.

It was a lovely visit. I haven’t done a post about that trip yet — I was too busy getting ready for Christmas — but captured some cool pics I’d like to share. I’ll do a post one day.

December 15 was a busy day…

Eric and Kelsey came back from Spain. They hope to return in the Spring. I haven’t seen much of them — they were sick, too — but am glad having them back on the same continent.

It was the day of my annual Chickmas gathering with Carol and Tracey. This year it was at Carol’s house in Southern Maryland.

AND it was the day everything we were shipping needed to be boxed, wrapped, and delivered to the post office or UPS store.

On December 17, Shannon flew here from San Diego to join us for Christmas. She was here through December 27.

My Dad and mother-in-law were here for Christmas, too (Dec 23-27). Hubby and I both fell ill with bad colds mid-way through Christmas Day.

The holiday was hectic, but good. We had a very low-key New Years’ Eve — we both needed that! –and I’ve spent quite a few hours today compiling this annual re-cap.

It’s for me, just as much as it is for you. I find l looking back at previous year in review posts is kind of interesting, too.

Here’s my recap of 2013, if you care to take a peek.

So that was 2014. I’m sure I left some things out, and I know I am behind on posting stuff, but I’ll catch up one day.

For now, I wish you, your family, friends, and other loved ones a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous 2015.

December 29, 2014December 29, 2014

Road Trip to Switzerland

After publishing my last post, I realized I’d forgotten to share some important pics. Cows!

Not just any cows, Belgian Blues, a very muscular breed.

I also forgot to share this image of a house with a thatched roof, which I took specifically for my mother-in-law (her sister visited Belgium years ago and told her about thatched roof homes).

BE_to_CH 011 — House with thatched roof.

And then there was this spider. There are lots and lots of these spiders in Annelies and Yves’ garden (yard).

Oh, and this brick barn. Everything is built with brick in Belgium, even barns.

Those images were captured on our afternoon excursion to secure provisions for our upcoming road trip to Switzerland. We were to leave once Yves got home from work.

BE_to_CH 042 — The Master Packer of Trunks

Yves really does excel at packing a lot of luggage and other stuff into small spaces.

In total, the drive to Tammi and Martin’s house, which is about 20 minutes northwest of Lausanne, Switzerland, was expected to take about eight hours. We decided we’d do about half of the driving on Thursday evening, so we’d have more time with our friends in Switzerland on Friday. Annelies planned a route that took us south through Belgium, into and out of Luxembourg, to Metz, France, where we spent the night.

Rather than eat at home, we decided to grab a quick meal on the road. That’s how we ended up at Burger King in a highway rest stop in Luxembourg.

They speak French in Luxembourg, so I decided to muddle my way through ordering. I was doing okay until the cashier asked if I wanted mayonnaise or mustard. What an odd question to ask about a burger. So I told her make it the normal way. You know, make it however it was usually served. She looked confused by that so I figured I’d make it easy on her and choose the mayo. It was only after my dinner was placed on the tray in front of me that I realized she was asking if I wanted ketchup or mayonnaise for my french fries!

Belgians claim to have invented french fries (pommes frites), and they typically eat them with mayonnaise, NOT ketchup. We got quite a few chuckles out of that whole experience.

Next is one of my favorite captures from that drive…

Minions, as seen at a rest stop in Luxembourg.

I’m still kicking myself for not buying that bearded minion.

The rest of the trip to met, while stormy and dark, was uneventful. And we rose bright and early the next morning to continue our drive to Switzerland.

Sunrise over Metz, France (from our hotel window)

Because we took Yves’ company car, Mike and I weren’t allowed to drive (we’d taken their personal car to the UK), and were relegated to the back seat. I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to where we were, I just sat back and enjoyed the scenery. It was quite beautiful, really, especially as we crossed through the mountains west of Alsace, France. Colorful villages with the painted buildings I LOVE, old stuff (castles, churches, etc.), and vineyards.

I told Mike I wanted to return to that area via motorcycle one day. It was quite picturesque.

BE_to_CH 047 — As seen in a small town/village in France.

BE_to_CH 048 — As seen in a small town/village in France.

BE_to_CH 049 — As seen in a small town/village in France.

We stopped at a genuine French patisserie for breakfast, which made my day. The pastries were delightful.

A bit later, we stopped at a rest area for a potty break. The French know how to do road food. (Click on the image for a closer look.)

And we drove right through the heart of France’s Alsacian wine region.

BE_to_CH 052 — As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.

BE_to_CH 056 — As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.

BE_to_CH 057 — As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.

BE_to_CH 062 — As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.

BE_to_CH 063 — As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.

BE_to_CH 066 — As seen in the Alsacian wine region of France.

There were vineyards everywhere. And it was harvest time. 🙂

If only we’d had time to linger…

Honestly, though, we were all anxious to see our friends, so we pushed on.

BE_to_CH 073 — As seen at a rest stop outside Basel, Switzerland.

Soon enough, we were overlooking the lovely valley where Tammi and Martin live.

The tall mountains in the background are on the opposite side of Lake Geneva, across from Lausanne.

We were all very happy to reach our destination that day.

BE_to_CH 081 — L-R, Annelies, Heather, me, and Tammi.

That’s cherry beer we are drinking, NOT red wine on ice.

BE_to_CH 098 copy — L-R, Martin, Tammi, Annelies, me, Mike, Yves, Timo, and Heather

Oh, and we can’t forget their sweet, crazy dogs.

We all enjoyed sitting on their lovely terrace, drinking, and chatting. In fact, we did that for hours. Later that night is when they served us Raclette, which I wrote about previously.

Mike and I are truly blessed to have such friends in our lives.

In my next post, I’ll tell you about what we did on Saturday, including our fun, impromptu visit to the nearby medieval village of Gruyeres.

December 28, 2014December 28, 2014

Walking Tour of Zaffelare, Belgium

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. It was a bit of a bust around here. Just a bit, though. We thoroughly enjoyed a visit from Shannon, who was here December 17 – 27. We got to spend time with my Dad and Mike’s Mom, too (they were here December 23 – 27). We were supposed to have a post-Christmas party on December 26 — our son and his wife, and my brother, sis-in-law, and nephew were going to come — but then Mike and I both got walloped with colds halfway through Christmas day. So, sadly, we had to cancel the after-party. It was during that party-that-never-happened that I’d been planning on taking pictures of everyone, so I have very few pics of the people who were here. Sigh…

Instead of a Christmas post, I’ll just get back to the vacation re-cap.

We made it back to Annelies and Yves’ house in Belgium on Wednesday evening, just in time for dinner. By Thursday, Mike and I were both ready for a down day, so we just relaxed around the house while Annelies worked.

At one point, I decided to go for a stroll around town. I wanted a closer look at the brick work I’d been admiring. As the below excerpt from a book I found on-line explains, Belgians are artists with brick.

Annelies and Yves currently live in the town of Zaffelare, which is part of the municipality of Lochristi, located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. Here’s a Google Maps link if you’re curious.

Neither of them think their town is particularly remarkable, but I find it quite charming. Especially when you look at the architectural detail, which I think they probably just take for granted.

It appears very well-maintained, too. There were lovely flowers everywhere, and the streets were very clean.

I found it a charming mix of old and new. There were a number of older, brick buildings being renovated and some new buildings being erected near the town’s center.

There’s even a small castle! (Kasteel van Zaffelare)

I thoroughly enjoyed my walking tour, and I collected quite a few images to share with you. Some of those images are included below. If you like, you can view all of the images I captured during my walk by following this link to my Zaffelare album on Flickr.

First is one of my favorite buildings. I love how the builder used different colored bricks to add detail. Up close, I was delighted to discover some of the bricks featured a ceramic glaze.

Zaffelare 003 — Green and White Glazed Accent Bricks

Zaffelare 004 — If I remember correctly, this is still being used as a school.

Zaffelare 006 — Church (even the steeple is brick)

Zaffelare 013 — Older building undergoing renovation.

Zaffelare 014 — The Castle (Kasteel van Zaffelare)

Zaffelare 036 — Steeple Fashioned from Black Bricks

I was also impressed by the Belgian builders’ use of different varieties of brick and stone. The following picture is a good example of this variety.

Zaffelare 043 — Look at that variety of brick.

I also noticed a lot of stained-glass windows, as seen in the image below (second storey window). I find the bump-out in that building interesting, too. Also, check out the window shades, which are sort of like little garage doors over the windows. These shades are very common on homes, and often have electronic open/close mechanisms (like on garage doors).

Zaffelare 049 — Leaded Stained-glass Window Detail

Another shot of my favorite green-glazed bricks, but this time with a bonus reflection.

Zaffelare 056 — I just love those green-glazed bricks.

Zaffelare 059 — Interesting variety of brick and stone.

Zaffelare 061 — Unique structural support.

Zaffelare 063 — Mix of old and new. Note the closed window shades on the left.

Zaffelare 067 — Cute, newer, modern cottage.

As I made my way back to the house, I was treated with this nice view of the sky while walking down Annelies and Yves’ street.

Zaffelare 085 — Annelies and Yves’ Street

Shortly after I reached the house, Mike and I went to the store for lunch provisions and more beer to take along on our upcoming road trip.

As soon as Yves returned from work, we’d all be piling into the car and heading south through France and into Switzerland for our planned rendezvous at Tammi and Martin’s house. I’ll save that for the next post.

Did you find the masonry as intriguing as I did?

December 23, 2014

UK Wrap-up

I am woefully behind on posting about our European vacation. Heck, I’m behind on blogging, period. It’s been hectic around here, and I just haven’t been motivated to post.

But here goes…

From Gloucester, I’d thought we could wend our way through the countryside, see a couple more cathedrals, and finish the day off in Brighton, a seaside resort town. But since we’d lingered longer than anticipated in Stow-on-the-Wold AND Gloucester, and still had a three-plus-hour drive ahead of us, time was getting tight. And by then, we were both kind of cathedraled out. One can only see so many of those absolutely amazing places in one short span of time before they start blending together. So I told Hubby to just let the GPS plot the fastest route to Brighton and off we went.

Fast routes are rarely scenic, and they’re not always fast either. The GPS took us down past London — on the southwest side — and then south on the M23 past Gatwick Airport. It was nearing rush hour, so traffic was rather heavy.

Our hotel was actually in Hove, a town to the west of Brighton. It appeared to me that the two sort of blended together. As it turns out, Brighton and Hove were merged in 1997 to form the borough of Brighton and Hove. Then, in 2000, the conjoined towns were officially granted city status. So I guess you could say we stayed on the Hove side.

We were both a bit loopy from hunger and fatigue, so after we checked into our hotel, we set out to find a pub.

There were two reasons I wanted to go to Brighton. One, to see an English seaside town, which I pictured as looking much like Wildwood, New Jersey or Ocean City, Maryland. You know, with a boardwalk, souvenir shops, tiny restaurants galore, small hotels and motels, etc. The second reason was to get real, authentic fish and chips.

It took a while, but we finally found Hove Place. And, as you can see in the image above, we secured some fish and chips. They’re commonly served with mushy peas, which I loved, too. Hubby, not so much.

The fish-and chips were seriously the best we’d ever eaten. As is to be expected when dining in a seaside, UK town, right?

Hove Place Collage CLICK HERE for bigger view — Hove Place Collage (click for bigger image)

After that lovely, delicious dinner and two very large glasses of beer, we crashed back at the hotel.

The next morning, we looked around Brighton a bit before heading east to Dover, where we were scheduled to get a 2:00-ish ferry back to France.

Brighton was not at all what I expected. It’s not a cute, quaint seaside town, it’s a bustling city — with tall buildings and everything — that sits beside the water. And we had to cross mountains to get there. The city itself is quite hilly.

It was still cool to see. We explored Brighton a bit the next morning. After finding a car park — aka parking lot — we headed for the water, which was a bit more challenging than anticipated since we were in the middle of a city. But we did it.

We were hoping there’d be restaurants or cafes on the boardwalk, but since there wasn’t a boardwalk, we had to head back into the city.

Look what we spotted in a little alley…

Since I’d never had a genuine English scone, we HAD to go inside.

I’m so glad we did. It was super-cute.

I snapped pictures while we waited for our breakfast to be served.

We both ordered scones and coffee. They were DELICIOUS, and were served on transferware to boot.

After that lovely English breakfast, we strolled around a bit more. Here are some of the fun images I captured.

beachwalk — Hubby waiting while I walked on the beach.

heart rock — Look what I just happened to see on the stony shore.

Finally, a bit of the seaside tackiness I love.

I thought that might have some sort of maritime significance, like a thing ships tied off to, but it’s just art, known as the Doughnut Groyne.

I had to laugh when I saw that, which immediately reminded me of the song, Shiny Disco Balls.

Here’s a collage of images for you…

It wasn’t long before we had to set off for Dover, which was a couple hours away. The drive was interesting, but mostly unremarkable except for some sheep.

Before too long, we were at the ferry terminal.

dover1 — Waiting to pay our ferry toll in Dover.

I used to think the Washington State ferries were big, but they got nothing on these English Channel behemoths!

If you like to see the full collection of pictures from that day, CLICK HERE to get to my Flickr album.

Next up… a walking photo tour of Annelies and Yves’ charming village in Belgium.

November 4, 2014November 4, 2014

Not Forgotten

Those of you who follow my blog and read the comments may have noticed an absence over the last couple of months. Since mid-August to be exact.

That’s when my moto-blog buddy and his wife, Yvonne, set off for a trip-of-a-lifetime.

In addition to two motorcycles, he also has a Corvette. He and some Corvette buddies had their cars shipped from Vancouver to Harrisburg, PA. They flew to Harrisburg for some sightseeing, then drove down to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to visit the National Corvette Museum and see where his car was born. He was very excited about the trip and even took his SPOT along (see the track here) so his followers would know where he was.

Being a devoted blogger, he posted almost daily. But he was having Internet connectivity issues, one of the issues being not wanting to pay the exorbitant connectivity fees charged by the higher-end hotels.

Saturday, August 30, Bob posted about their visit to Diamond Caverns in Kentucky, saying the next day they were headed to Tennessee. Days went by with no posts, so, like many others, I figured Bob was still having connectivity woes.

It wasn’t until September 15 when I got a text from another moto-blogging buddy, Trobairitz, that I learned Bob had passed away in his sleep on September 1 in Nashville.

Just like that, Bob was gone.

I never met Bob in person. I followed his blog, and he followed mine. We also exchanged a number of e-mails over the years, and actually came close to meeting twice. Most recently, when he and Yvonne were in Harrisburg. We’d hoped to rendezvous at Roots Market on August 19, which is very close to my Dad’s house. That date stands out in my memory because it was the second anniversary of my Mom’s passing, and I figured Dad would also enjoy a day out. Unfortunately, due to pressing work deadlines, it didn’t happen.

I sent Bob an e-mail to let him know, and he replied with this.

Bob’s passing surprised a lot of folks. He was very active and well-known throughout the moto-blogging community.

A number of his friends have posted tributes, which are cataloged here. (This post by Sonja is one of my favorites.)

I haven’t read all of them, but will one day. That’s not something I can sit and read at one time. It’s just too sad.

I’m glad Bob and Yvonne got to share that last, epic trip together. He’d been so looking forward to that vacation with his beloved Mrs. Skoot…

In an interesting turn of events, some of Bob’s friends have decided to keep Bob’s blog live as a tribute to him. There’s a little wooden scooter, dubbed ScooterBob, that will be traveling the world with Bob’s moto-blogging pals, seeing the world as Bob wanted to see it, with the many people he’d befriended, both in the flesh and virtually, along the way.

I think it’s a fitting tribute, and I look forward to the time when ScooterBob will travel with me.

Life is short. And fleeting. I may not get to meet Bob here on Earth, but am hopeful that one day our time really will come.

October 29, 2014October 29, 2014

West Virginia Revisited

My friend, Dottie, who just got her motorcycle license earlier this year, has been itching to go for a ride with me. Since my usual riding partner was otherwise engaged with chores, Sunday seemed like a good day to do just that.

Why not take her along on Saturday? Not only did she have other plans, she hasn’t been riding for long, tires easily, and is quite sensitive to cold. So I knew the trek I had in mind on Saturday might just do her in.

Sunday’s weather wasn’t nearly as nice as it was on Saturday. Mainly because it was really windy. But it was still pretty.

I thought the temperature was just right, but Dottie was freezing. She still hasn’t figured out her proper gear combination. It takes experience for a person to know what to wear in different conditions to keep oneself comfortable. But she toughed it out, and we had a pleasant day.

When it came time to plan the route, I figured I’d take her outside of her usual riding zone and head over into West Virginia. I hadn’t been over there on my bike since early May. And even that was just a brief visit. I miss my old haunts.

We didn’t go far into West Virginia, but I did enjoy seeing that little corner of the George Washington National Forest again. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Wardensville, West Virginia was our first stop.

There’s a funky little country restaurant there — the Star Mercantile — that I like and thought Dottie might enjoy.

It’s cute, kitschy, and their food is decent. The waitress can be sorta grumpy, but that’s part of the charm.

I was excited to see some new artsy additions in town. Like this giant rooster, across the street from the restaurant.

And this interesting “mural” a couple blocks west of the Star Mercantile. Upon closer inspection, I was delighted to see it was made out of old bottle-caps.

I didn’t know what the heck it was supposed to be — honestly, I thought from afar that it was a pig — but found out later from Dottie’s daughter, Ashley, that it mimics The Son of Man, a famous Rene Magritte painting.

Wardensville getting artsy? Huh.

After a nice, long lunch so Dottie could warm up, we ventured into the George Washington National Forest via Trout Run Road.

We stopped for a quick peek at Trout Pond, which was still a bit colorful.

And then we continued through the forest. My memory isn’t as good as I thought. We did a bit of circling before we finally made it to Wolf Gap. But at least they were scenic circles.

DSCN0441 — Near Lost River, West Virginia

DSCN0440 — Near Lost River, West Virginia

DSCN0442 — Near Lost River, West Virginia

Dottie didn’t enjoy the forest roads nearly as much as I did. They are narrow, have no shoulders or no shoulders (drop-offs), were a bit covered with fallen leaves, and the bright sun through the trees made it hard to see.

In addition to being where the West Virginia/Virginia borders meet, there’s an overlook, which I have never visited, where you can see a mountain named Big Schloss.

After that, we headed home.

I did stop outside of Flint Hill, VA, on Ben Venue Road, to capture this image of the old slave quarters, rare because they are made of brick.

Former slave quarters on Ben Venue Road.

What felt like a brief ride to me — I logged 175-miles — may have been Dottie’s first 200+-mile day. She lives about 20 miles from me and we met at my house, so she covered a few more miles than I did.

It was nice being back in West Virginia, but it has left me itching for more. Hopefully, Hubby and I will get a chance to head out that way before winter really settles in. Fingers crossed…