It's really hard to summarize oneself for the general public. I mean, really, what does the public want to know about me? Am I married? Yes. Do I have children. Yes, three, and they're all grown thank God. (By that I mean parenting is HARD. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but I'm really glad our offspring have all reached adulthood.) Do I have pets? Yup. Two dogs. Since the kids are all grown, you'll read more about my dogs than my kids. Because that's what happens when you get old like me. I have three grand kids, too, so you'll read about them as well. But the dogs live with me and, when I am desperate for blog topics, they usually help me out.
No one ever really forgets love, do they? Not permanently, anyway.
Like when you eat a hot fudge sundae perched atop a freshly made funnel cake and LOVE it. How can you forget that?
Funnel Cake Sundaes
Or, that time you not only enjoyed a moment with a special someone, but also managed to capture it perfectly on camera without really even trying.
Gaige jumping at Sunset Point
Gaige is our middle grand child. During our visit to Washington in February 2014, we walked together to this little park called Sunset Point, hoping to see a sunset. What a LOVEly memory.
And what about faces? Who ever really forgets the faces of loved ones?
Nap, Disturbed
LOVE those expressions!
Or the excitement when your loved one, young or old, finally gets a toy they’ve been wanting for the longest time?
Hubby, shortly after arriving home with his brand-new Victory.
Why am I always taking pictures? Because capturing special moments is priceless. No matter how mundane those moments may seem to someone else.
The DuCard LOVEwork is artfully crafted, I’ll give it that. But it needs a stronger background. It sorta blends in. I’ll bet it looks awesome in Winter under a fresh blanket of clean, white snow.
I didn’t want it to get lost in the ride post. But then, I realized I don’t love it enough to give it a post of its own.
What I loved more was the vineyard’s location. Talk about stunning scenery on a gorgeous Spring day.
View from the Vineyard
Pretty White Horse
The few wineries we’ve visited in Virginia really are in gorgeous locations. Even if you’re not an oenophile — yes, I had to Google “someone who loves wine” — some Virginia vineyards are worth a visit.
Of course, there’s a LOVE I’ll never forget. My Hubby. 🙂
It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend, weather-wise, in Central Virginia. Saturday, it was in the mid-70s with low humidity. Sunday, it was in the upper 70s/low 80s. The humidity was a teeny bit higher than the previous day, but still very low for this area. Monday was actually a bit warm for me — mid-80s with more humidity — but there was a nice breeze.
Lazy, porch-sitting afternoon. (Look hard and you’ll see K.)
I made myself quite a long to-do list of things to accomplish while Hubby is away. That, and a mysterious, nagging feeling that I shouldn’t ride, kept me off the bike Saturday and Sunday. And I actually got a bit of chores done.
By Sunday night, that weird feeling had gone, so I figured I’d ride on Monday. Rather than swelter mid-day, I left the house about 8:30 and headed NW toward Front Royal and the northernmost entrance to Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park (SNP).
Screen capture of my ride map.
There’s one of the VA LOVEworks at Morais Vineyards, not far from my house, so I tacked that onto the end of the ride.
When I left the house, temps were approaching the 70s. It was still mild, and quite lovely.
I didn’t map the exact route before I left. I can get to SNP any number of ways. So I just rode where I felt like riding. It was grand. Here’s a pic from one of my favorite spots.
Hume Road
You may even recognize that place. I know I’ve shared it here several times. I can’t help it, I just LOVE that road. It’s about 20 minutes from the house. I was looking west, across the Marriott Ranch (yes, that Marriott) to the mountains.
I’m so glad I went early. Temps were perfect. And there was even less traffic than usual on the roads.
SNP, oh, how I love thee.See my new mascot?
It was the inaugural ride for my new mascot. He seemed to be enjoying himself.
Acoustics were a bit louder than usual. Sunday was the annual Rolling Thunder ride in Washington, DC. Lots of the rider, many from all around the US, decided to make Skyline Drive part of their ride home yesterday.
SNP/Skyline Drive Entrance Station
I saw, and heard, several large groups. And lots of other small groups. Since I was early, traffic was pretty light, so the noise was only sporadic. And I made sure I didn’t end up traveling behind any noisy-ass bikes.
Mary’s Rock Tunnel
It was really a beautiful ride. Temps stayed in the low-to-mid 60s the entire way. It’s always cooler atop the mountains, especially under the trees.
Looking south from the tunnel pullout.
Looking east over the mountains.
The haze is due to the climbing humidity. I left the park, descending onto the piedmont, shortly after taking that pic. It was definitely warmer down there, but fine as long as I kept moving.
I was supposed to cap-off the ride with a capture of the LOVEwork at Morais Vineyard. But, when I got there, I discovered it’s only open on Saturday and Sunday. And the property is gated.
In my opinion, it’s pretty lame to have a LOVEwork that people can only see during very limited business hours. Good thing I hadn’t ridden far out of my way to see it, eh?
Corny Selfie
I did manage to capture this selfie at the corn silo. 🙂
I got home right around 1:00. The girls, who were very happy to see me, and I spent the rest of the day relaxing. A blender of margaritas may have played a role.
As for Hubby… he continues to make his way west. He encountered quite a bit of rain near Houston on Sunday. Luckily, he made it through that part of Texas before it got really bad. Have you seen the news? It’s crazy. Some places reported 10 inches (25.4 cm) of rain.
There were thunderstorms yesterday morning in Del Rio as he was preparing to leave, so he didn’t depart until a couple of hours later than planned. Lots of lightning (he sent me a video), hail, and even a tornado warning. Luckily, his bike was parked under cover.
I captured a screen shot of the weather radar at 6:30 Texas time as he and I chatted via text.
See the purple hue? That means really, REALLY heavy rain. That’s part of the system from West Texas that converged and wreaked such havoc on Austin and Houston.
And did you know this? A tornado actually hit Ciudad Acuna during that very storm. Ciudad Acuna is six miles (a 20-minute drive) from Del Rio, where Hubby was hunkered down.
After the storm passed, he left. He says the roads were quite wet for awhile, but dried out quickly as he motored along. He said temps were in the low-to-mid 70s all day. In fact, he kept his jacket liner in for most of the day.
So the Four Corners Tour continues. His destination for today is San Diego. He’ll actually be there for two nights visiting with Shannon and her boyfriend, Chris. I’m sure he’ll enjoy the break.
Official “Start” Photo
One more thing before I go… I really have been doing lots of chores. And, although I did get some relaxation in yesterday, I stayed away from my office, and my computers. The phone really sucks for commenting. So, while I’ve been reading your comments, I wasn’t able to reply from the phone. I’ll try to be more timely in the future, okay? I really do appreciate each and every one of you. Thanks so much for following.
So far, so good for that adventurous Hubby of mine.
He made it to just outside Orlando on Thursday evening. That’s about 900 miles.
Then, yesterday, he reached the southernmost point in Key West.
Did you know there was a live-streaming Web cam in Key West? Pointed right at that infamous buoy? Yeah, me either. Until yesterday.
How cool is this?
Was that him?!?
Luckily, I discovered the cam early enough to alert some others. Shannon was watching from San Diego, Amy was watching from near Seattle, Annelies was watching from Zaffelare, Belgium, and I was watching from Virginia. Thanks to the Spotwalla, I knew about when he’d arrive at that point.
Amy saw the drive-by (above), but it was Annelies who gets credit for the sighting AND screen capture.
The line to pose for pics in front of the buoy was long. Hubby was hot, tired, and hungry, and he HATES lines, long or short.
He sent me a text upon arrival, and then called me. Once I told him about the web cam, and that the world was watching, he made another pass for us. After removing his gear to cool down a bit.
Hi, Honey!
I managed to get a screen cap of him looking at the camera, but missed the wave. He DID wave, though. It was awesome.
Later, when we spoke more at length, he told me traffic absolutely sucked getting to and from Key West. And it was hot.
He didn’t cover as much ground yesterday as he’d hoped to cover. It was around 6:00 when he stopped for dinner outside Miami to wait-out an approaching storm.
He was bushed (or “knackered” as Annelies said). So he decided to find a room for the night.
As we were chatting he told me, “These mobile travel apps I have on my phone SUCK. They’re so hard to use.”
I have a few favorites, and don’t find them too terribly difficult, so I told him maybe it was just because I have more experience.
That’s when he decided to use…
MOMstar Navigation , although now a bit dated and little-used, is an awesome remote personal navigational assistance service that helps certain travelers plot routes, find important sights, and secure lodging.
With a bit of quick, expert, top-notch assistance, MOMstar reserved a reasonably priced, king room at an Aloft property a few short miles from where he’d stopped. All he had to do was show up.
Cushy, king-sized bed for the weary traveler.
Modern amenities he was mostly too pooped to enjoy.
I told him which mobile travel apps work best for me (Booking.com and TripAdvisor.com), but he says he was so happy with the service he received, that he might just use MOMstar again.
Tonight, he should be in Louisiana. As for me, I have chores to do. Hopefully, I’ll get to enjoy a wee bimble of my own today, too. Here’s hoping y’all have a fabulous weekend!
May 21 is finally here. After months upon months of planning, and, before that, talking about this for years, Hubby Mike has set off for his loop around the good ole US of A.
This ride, known to motorcyclists as the USA Four Corners Tour, is sanctioned by the Southern California Motorcycling Association. As their Web site says…
The rules are simple. You have 21 days (or less) to ride your motorcycle (or trike) to these Four Corner cities of the United States; San Ysidro, CA; Blaine, WA; Madawaska, ME; and Key West, FL using any route and sequence you desire. You do not have to return to the first corner to finish the event. The ride is approximately 7000 miles (depending on your route), not including your travel to the first corner and your ride home from your final corner.
If all goes as planned, between now and June 6 — 17 days — he’ll cover roughly 10,000 miles (16,093 km) as he loops around the US.
Quite an adventure, eh?
He’s very excited. And I’m very happy for him. He’s literally been talking about this since 2000 when we bought our first bikes.
4:05 a.m. Departure
He’s done long, solo rides before, but this is the longest. This is the reason he traded in the zippy “little” BMW F650GS for that big-ass “battleship,” as Yves called it, of a bike.
Yes, I’ll miss him. Yes, I’ll worry. But I’ve never been one to let “what if” stand in the way of achieving a dream, big or small.
If you’d like to follow along or periodically check his progress, CLICK HERE. That link will take you to his Spotwalla tracker map. A map that’ll get a lot of views by me for sure!
Yes, I’ve already checked his progress about 10 times in the last hour.
I’m sure some of you are wondering why I’m not tagging along. It’s simple, really. Covering long distances over a set, condensed period of time just doesn’t appeal to me. I like to take my time on trips, traveling at my own pace, seeing what I want to see, when I want to see it.
Long distance riders are a rare breed. Hubby is one of them. When he brought up the idea of his doing the ride this year, I said, without hesitation, “Go for it.”
Life is too short and too fleeting NOT to do something you really, REALLY want to do when the opportunity presents itself.
So, I’ll be living the life of a bachelorette for a couple of weeks. While that handsome Hubby of mine clocks some serious miles. He’ll be stopping for a brief visit with Shannon in San Diego. He’ll also get to see Amy, TJ, and the grand kids in Washington. And then he’ll head back home to me. I’m already looking forward to his return.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I haven’t been absent for lack of things to chat about. I’ve been busy. (My friend, Carol, hates that particular “B” word.)
Work has been a bit nuts. My job requires lots of writing, thinking, and involves a good bit of math, too. All under deadline. Which can sometimes be mentally draining. Especially when multiple projects with many moving parts, all very important, are due at one time.
Shortly after Aunt Bertha left, my mother in law came to visit for a few days. It was lovely having her here. So I couldn’t very well spend evenings on my computer after spending long hours each day holed-up in my office.
Then there’s yard work. I had stuff that HAD to be done before our fabulous friend came to do clean-out of the planting beds and spread lots of mulch for us.
Then on Monday. day one of another very hectic week, something weird happened. My world was spinning, literally. And I couldn’t think. I’d read e-mails three times, but it still felt like I was reading Japanese. All of this with one pretty major work deadline looming, and a second, only slightly less important work project. Off to the doctor I went.
Icky Pollen
As it turns out, all the pollen I’ve been bitching about caused fluid to build up in both of my inner ears. And that caused vertigo, hence the spinning. After a couple of days on multiple prescription drugs and one OTC med, I’m feeling much better. And my world is once again on an even keel.
It freaked Hubby out a bit. He’s about to embark on a wee solo journey, which he’s been planning for MONTHS. I’ll tell you all about that tomorrow. I would’ve felt horrible if he’d been forced to postpone.
I’ve been working on a furniture project, too, which was halted due to a flawed, ad hoc design, which I hope to correct this weekend.
I have quite a to-do list, let me tell you. I’m not complaining, just sayin’.
Hmmm, what else?
There were the birds, too. A pair of Northern Cardinals unwisely built a nest in our yard. A yard occupied by two bird dogs, one of which spent a full week completely obsessed by said nest. Which used to be occupied by babies. Sadly, the babies are all dead, thanks to Special K, who I’ve newly renamed K-MOB (murderer of birds).
K-MOB in action.
I feel horrible that my boss had to step in on Monday, amid a frenzied day of her own, to keep my BIG project on track. I really, REALLY hate not being able to pull my own weight.
Lucky for me, a VERY unusual thing happened. One of my deadlines was pushed back. I can breathe a bit easier now, and give it the attention it deserves.
The bulk of the yard work is done, save for some tomato plants and coleus that need planting. And a few pots that remain to be filled.
The fresh mulch really makes my newest frog stand out, doesn’t it?
My newest frog is much more noticeable.
I’m glad this week is winding down. And there’s a three-day weekend coming up, which means my to-do list will become shorter, if all goes as planned.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s big announcement. For now, I leave you with this image, captured during a recent ride.
I like turtles.
Ta ta for now!
– – – – – – – – – – UPDATE – – – – – – – – – –
I completely forgot to mention something else. Big.
We sold the WV Place! 🙂
The deal is closed, and the check is en route. So I figured it was safe to report about it now. Although there was a bit of a scare yesterday. The title company’s e-mail was hacked, and the proceeds of the sale were almost wire-transferred to someone posing as us (using our name and a different account). How’s that for some post-closing excitement?
And this occurred after they’d already mailed us a check. Left us both scratching our heads a bit… I mean, they were told to mail a check to us. They mailed a check. But then they get this out-of-the-blue e-mail requesting a wire transfer. So, they stop payment on the check and transfer the money. Good thing someone on the receiving end was skeptical.
This past weekend was one of the nicest Mother’s Days I can remember. Actually seeing the kids would have made it better, but none of them live in the same state. And Eric, the youngest, is a chef-in-training and almost always has to work on major holidays. I did speak with both girls, and made plans with the boy to have lunch yesterday. So all was good in the kid department.
That Hubby of mine did a fine job making the whole weekend special for Aunt Bertha and me. He planned and led a lovely ride on Saturday. He even prepared fabulous dinners on Saturday AND Sunday. I’m a lucky girl.
As for the riding, the weather couldn’t have been better. It was close to being a bit too warm, but as long as we kept moving and rested in the shade, it was great.
Saturday was a bit more cloudy than Sunday, but still awesome.
Mike giving Bert a bit of history on Bunny Mellon and her estate.
If you’re curious about Bunny Mellon, now deceased, read this.
A happy Bert on Rokeby Road.
Time to move on!
I did capture videos and pics at various times during the ride, but it’ll take me a while to do the editing.
Selfie practice.
Smoked pork butt (before being ripped apart for pulled pork).
Yes, he made a giant bowl of cole slaw, too. The man has MANY skills.
The three of us, about to dig into a fabulous meal.
On Sunday, I took the lead.
Rest break.
Aunt Bertha’s Sweet Spyder
Hubby, striking a pose.
Same pose, better light. I just LOVE him.Lovely spot for a break.
Wineries have some of the most-beautiful locations.
Waiting patiently for me to finish with my picture-taking.
Aunt Bertha got a bit lost on her way down. There’s an intersection of roads, around Leesburg, that can be a bit tricky. She was quite tired by then, especially since she’d gotten stuck in rush-hour traffic. Since she was just about 25 miles out, I went and rescued her. I led her to our place via some very shady and pleasant back roads.
Yesterday, as she was preparing to leave, I decided to lead her partway home. I wanted her return journey to be more pleasant. I picked a memorable spot for our parting, a place I knew she’d be likely to remember so I can meet her the next time she rides down to visit.
Love that pink, polka-dotted silo!
Thanks to Hubby and Aunt Bertha, it really was a lovely weekend.
