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.
This image perfectly sums up our weekend of riding…
Sunshine, blue skies and big, puffy, white clouds.
And here’s a sample of some of the color we saw.
Buttercups!
We were a happy little riding pack for sure.
Bertha, Me, and Mike
Hubby has been testing the Spotwalla tracker app for his upcoming BIG ride. Here’s a screen shot of our tracks from this weekend. The upper portion was Saturday, and the lower was Sunday. Click on the pic and you’ll go to the actual map (I have no idea how long it’ll remain active, though).
Weekend Routes
I think the “F” is for first and the “S” is for second.
The weekend was fabulous. Really.
Sorry about the dirt on the camera lens.
More pics and info to follow. When I have more time.
My Aunt Bertha, age 69, achieved a milestone on Friday. She completed her longest solo road trip, about a 200-mile trek from her house in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to our home in Virginia. She’s been wanting to do it for a while, but fate has conspired against her. So, even though the timing wasn’t perfect — this being Mother’s Day weekend here in the US — it was the only weekend we all had free for quite some time.
It did mean we couldn’t visit with Mike’s Mom on Mother’s Day, though.
Mom and Mike
We’re hoping she understands and knows how much we both love her. She’s always been a wonderful mother to both of us, and she’s the strongest woman I know.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!
As for Aunt Bertha, she’s a Mom, too. But her son, Brian, lives far away in North Carolina. I’ll be seeing my son and his wife tomorrow, but my girls are both out West.
Bertha and I with her 2014 Can Am Spyder
She’s only had her motorcycle license since 2008. How cool is it for a 62-year-old woman to get her motorcycle license? Very cool, if you ask me. She usually rides with my cousin and/or a group of friends on day treks around Pennsylvania. I’m proud of her for riding down here alone.
I think it’s safe to say she’s having a good time.
Bertha (we were at a red light)
We are, too. We had a fabulous ride yesterday. Hubby made us a WONDERFUL dinner. And there’s more riding on the agenda today. Hubby says he’s got a surprise dinner for us, too.
More pics and details later. It should be another lovely day.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you Moms. Pet parents count, too!
I’ve been tweaking things on the blog recently. The changes in appearance are probably obvious. But I’ve been making some other not-so-obvious changes, too, one of which revolves around trying to combat the unwanted spam comments I’ve been receiving.
Unfortunately, some of these changes may hurt the functionality of this blog.
Ry was kind enough to let me know something was broken. Thanks, buddy!
If you have trouble seeing my posts and/or commenting, let me know. Please. You won’t hurt my feelings. Often, the problem isn’t apparent to me. And I can’t fix what I don’t know is broken, as the saying goes.
I’ve been using the ASKIMET plug-in, which, until recently, worked fabulously. I’ll have to try some other stuff.
So, really, if there’s something here that doesn’t work for you, let me know. Okay?
Anyone else being inundated with SPAM comments lately? They end up in a queue to be moderated, which is good, but I get like 20 a day. Jeez Louise. Actually, while this post was still in draft, I got about 50 spam comments, each of which generated an e-mail to me. Weird. The spam filter used to work better. Sigh…
Anyway, as promised in my girlfriend getaway post, here’s the stuff I saw for sale during my recent trip to Lancaster that made me chuckle.
One of many creative kitchen gadgets.Everyone needs a colorful, inflatable cartoon character for their home.This doesn’t apply to me, it just made me smile.Lovely fashion accessories.You can’t really see the merchant in the panda or cat hat, but I did.I guess Amish kids need baby dolls, too.Headless, child-sized mannequins.
Antique shops are always good for oddities.
A whole crib full of creepiness.
I think my brother had a bear like that big guy on the right. Knowing him, he may STILL have it.
Instant Ancestors!Ugliest Mickey Mouse mask ever.Are these really vintage?Parasol anyone?Creepy clown and scary baby.No clue what she’s supposed to represent.Frog lamp and creepy yo-yo (those little fabric circles) clown.
Jake’s Country Trading Post, my favorite shop in Lancaster County, has always carried an eclectic collection of new merchandise. Very eclectic.
Jake’s does sell lots of other cool stuff. Like Lazy Ones brand PJs (house pants), which I LOVE. And a huge collection of garden flags. Not to mention wrought iron towel racks, candleholders, etc., garden statues and planters, quilted purses and wallets, moccasins, wall art, artificial flowers, Christmas ornaments, etc.
On to other stuff…
Six-foot-long concrete alligators.A three-foot-tall garden gnome. (I actually think he’s cute.)Why are so many hot sauce manufacturers obsessed with admitting they’ll burn your ass?So you can strap on a bottle of wine.Disturbing dog statue.
That’s it. Quite the mixed bag, eh?
These images only scratch the surface of oddities we encountered. At least it made shopping a bit more entertaining.
A lot of women feel empowered when they ride a motorcycle. I don’t. I’ve always just thought of it as something that I do, not something that makes me special. But that’s me. I was never one to give in to the whole “just a girl” mentality. If there’s something I want to do, I do it.
That being said, I completely understand why some women find being a motorcyclist liberating. So, every year, to show my support and do my part to show women everywhere that ANYONE can ride, I make an effort to hit the streets for IFRD.
Initially, we were planning on riding to Clifton Forge, Virginia to return a dog crate I’d borrowed. But then some other things crept up. One particularly BIG thing was a party at my friend Kelly Ann’s quilt shop to celebrate inclusion in this Spring’s Quilt Sampler magazine. She’s been in business for 10 years. Being named one of the top 10 quilt shops around the country and across our northern border is huge. Really. (The spread in the actual magazine is much nicer than the digital blurb that’s my link destination.) I couldn’t miss the party completely, but that meant we couldn’t leave as early as we should for the Clifton Forge round-trip, which would have required a minimum of eight hours.
Hubby had to replace the shower valve at our WV place, so we decided to go there instead. Then I learned that there the owner of the borrowed dog crate was helping on a southbound dog transport. Which meant if I could get the crate onto the transport, I wouldn’t have to haul it all the way to Clifton Forge.
I had to meet the transport in Strasburg, VA at 3:00. That meant, we had to leave the WV Place no later than 1:30. We took the fastest route to WV, but apparently hadn’t left early enough. At 1:15, when I realized we were still at least 20 minutes away from our little cabin in the woods, we decided that I should peel off and head to Strasburg. I’d be able to meet the transport and Hubby could just catch up later.
The bike looked a bit red-necky with the dog crate and bedding strapped on the back, right? I didn’t care how it looked, really. But it screwed up my aerodynamics. The wind was wreaking having on me at highway speed for sure.
The weather was absolutely perfect, but a bit cooler than I’d anticipated when selecting my mesh jacket for the ride. Shortly after Hubby and I split, I pulled over to don the jacket liner, which is more of a wind and rain barrier than insulated layer. It’s exactly what I needed.
I was pressed for time, so didn’t get to enjoy the road I REALLY wanted to ride, but I did enjoy revisiting some of the other roads we rode regularly when staying at the WV place. It’s a lovely area, really.
Grassy Lick Road
Lilacs
Augusta-Ford Hill Road (looking roughly north toward Augusta)
Augusta-Ford Hill Road (looking roughly south toward Rio and Baker)
I didn’t have time to linger. I continued south on Augusta-Ford Hill Road, then turned left on WV-55 at Baker. It’s a sweet piece of road, truly. I’m going to have to revisit that area again soon.
I followed 55 through Wardensville and into Strasburg with plenty of time to spare for the crate hand-off. Hubby met back up with me about 30 minutes later.
Hubby, arriving at Arby’s.
After a late lunch, we back-tracked a bit to Back Road–gotta love THAT road name–for a bit of a bimble through the countryside.
Our Discombobulated Route
I’d perused the map while waiting for Hubby. We’d been on Back Road briefly about five years back. I know VA-42 is a nice Valley road. And I figured 263 and 610, which led toward and along the edge of the George Washington National Forest couldn’t be bad. And the ride across US-211, across the New Market wind gap and Thornton water gap is always nice, unless you get stuck behind pokey four-wheeled traffic (we didn’t).
I was right about the roads. They were all fabulous. (Except for a small section of VA-42 with a tar-and-chip surface.) And we accidentally discovered Orkney Springs.
All in all, it was a fabulous day. We were both sorta amazed at the end to see, upon arriving home at 7:00 PM, that we’d covered 292 miles.
Another successful IFRD my handsome, BRD (bestest riding buddy).
I hope some of you ladies managed to get out and represent, too. And that you guys enjoyed an awesome Spring Saturday, too.
My annual girlfriend getaway was a success. But it went by way too fast, as usual. And Tracey could only stay through Friday afternoon. Carol and I missed having Tracey with us, but we made the best of it.
L-R, Tracey, Carol, and Me
On Thursday, we did a little shopping, and eating. But mostly, we just enjoyed each other’s company. We don’t get together nearly as often as we’d like to.
Selfie with the mascot at Katie’s Kitchen
We had dinner at Katie’s Kitchen, near Strasburg. They have the BEST fried green beans. Nothing like a healthy dose of veggies for an appetizer.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania is a unique place.
Friday took us to The Green Dragon. It’s billed as a farmers’ market and auction, but it’s more than that. There’s meat and produce, of course, but there’s also a slew of other stuff for sale. Anything and everything, really. Baked goods, nuts, candy, home decor of all varieties (and decades), hardware, live plants, produce, pet supplies, clothing, flags, rugs, furniture. You name it, you can find it at The Green Dragon. For better or worse.
Unfortunately, it was PACKED with people. We usually go around late-February/early-March. Apparently, the colder temps keep folks away. The warmer temps bring them out in droves.
Whoopie Pies
But we made do, elbowing our way through to our favorite baker of Whoopie Pies. They have a new, radical sign-maker, who decided to change the spelling of one of our favorite treats. It’s supposed to be WHOOPIE. Really.
And we got our favorite lunch treat, too.
We love pretzel dogs.
A visit to The Green Dragon wouldn’t be complete without a pretzel dog. Or two.
Pretzel Dog
The pretzel dogs were absolutely delicious. And look what I had for dessert…
Peanut Butter Cookie Whoopie Pie
I saw an important instructional sign, too.
Tracey left us at The Green Dragon. She had to go to a dinner party/wedding cake sampler affair. Carol and I continued on to some of our other favorite little shops.
But first, Carol needed to run into Wal-Mart. I waited in the car, capturing this shot of the Wal-Mart parking lot.
Buggy Parking at Wal-Mart
Next up was Carson’s in the Cornfields, a truly unique spot that sells antiques, architectural salvage, re-purposed items, painted furniture, cabinet hardware, outdoor accessories, and other stuff. It’s one of my favorite shops.
Saturday, I went shopping for clothes — ugh! — while Carol visited with her niece and great-nieces for a bit. Then we shopped some more.
Almost Paradise Outdoor Shop
Throughout the course of the four-day shopping extravaganza, I was constantly amazed at the variety of, um, stuff, being sold. I’ll save that for another post, though.
Almost Paradise is always entertaining, with their yard full of concrete and resin statuary.
Mary on the Half Shell!
How can you not smile at that?
And Carol finally found the perfect dog.
“Hi, puppy!”
The adoption fee was a bit steep, so the doggie didn’t come home with us.
I was so tickled to see a group of Virginia gentlemen seated around a picnic table that I just HAD to join them for a spell.
The Virginians
It’s a fun place, if you like kitschy stuff as much as I do.
Cutest Little Over-priced Piggy
And look what we saw on our way back to the motel. It was parked outside a country store.
Pony and Cart
Perhaps a horse and buggy was out of this person’s financial reach?
Lancaster is a picturesque place.
Although temperatures were a bit on the cool side, the weather was generally pretty nice. It’s such a picturesque place, really, when you are away from the mega shopping outlets and such.
But the shopping places are fun. And look what I found…
New yard art!
Yes, I brought him home.
I’ll share some of the more unique stuff I saw in my next post.
