Watching your kids grow up

Watching your kids grow up is a bit sad, but exciting as well.

Jaime was home last night when I got home. We'd been away at the rally since last Sunday, and when we got home on Friday she was heading out of town to go to church camp. She is one of the youth leaders. When I got home last night she was there.

It was really good to see her and she talked about all kinds of camp things. The worship, the kids, the food, etc. Brings back lots of memories.

All the kids calling her "Miss Jaime". Kind of weirds her out - she is trying on this whole new "adult" thing. And people that she grew up with as leaders/adults (like Miss Janie) who know include her as one of the adults and talk to her that way. And a teen girl guessing her age... "30 maybe?" WHAT! "Ok... so I'm terrible with guessing ages." Jaime kept ribbing her all weekend. And the kids leaving her cards, "You are such a great leader", "We had so much fun in your cabin, you are awesome", etc.

Its with pride I watch my little girl grow up... its also with a bit of sadness. She's going to be gone before I know it - but I'm going to enjoy all the time left while she is here.

And then there is PeaBaby to spoil too. Life rolls on.

Ride Hard or Stay Home

Its 5:05 and I've been up catching up on work for the last 15 minutes. We are staying at the Great Divide Lodge in Breckenridge - and our window looks out over the valley. Its still dark out, but I've been hearing bikes leave since I got up.

Some folks have a long way to go - so are leaving before the crack of dawn to make it in one day. For others - it just hasn't been enough of a trip yet. JR, his friend and their wives, are from St. Joe MO. They rode out in 1 1/2 days - did the rally and are heading to Durango today. Then down to Four Corners and Mesa Verde. Then its on to Albuquerque and then heading east home.

Also met two women who are heading back to Dallas - then is off to the Posse Ride (ride to Delaware to start the ride, then 18 days to Portland OR, then home), home for a few days then on to Tenn/NC for another rally.

Live to Ride, Ride to Live...

Its a brotherhood

Tonight was a dinner and the "Rider's Meeting".

Cool stuff. Basically HD does a really good job of combining with HOG and making you feel like "part of the family". The company is into "riding with the customers". So lots of reps on the ride. People from HD put the event on, etc. A National "Road Rally" like this is very cool. Its not the "stay in one place and party" type of rally as much as a "lets go ride" type of rally. Not guide, but "Here is where we are stopping and here is a general direction - but do what you want." For instance, being a ride leader for a small group and from here - we've decided to go off map a bit and take some better roads (to suite our needs) and take a few side trips (to see some cool stuff). And that is all encourage. So cool.

But the whole "family" thing was very cool too. They went through the crowd (1045 people) and found

• youngest - 10 (and there was an 11 and 12 year old too)
  
• oldest - 79 and there were quite a few over 65 as well.
  
• representation - Australia, Mexico, Canada, 45 states and DC.
  

There was someone who had been on the very first HOG road rally - 15 years ago - which was in CO. Yup, CO was one of the stops on the first road rally ever.

Really makes me want to do some of the other rides.

Other interesting things:

• How many people 35 or under... probably 20 or so. Yeah - most are our age or older
  
• How many first time road rally - over 1/2.
  

Big plans for next year... HD 105 year anniversary and HOG 25. Big party in Milwaukee... Ted and Christie - our new friends, really want to go. If Tina can get the time off, it would be a blast. And its *so* close to MI. We could take the ferry across the lake and go see Pat and Ward. Big Trip, Big Celebration, Part of the family. Its cool.

New nickname

Ok... so we met some cool folks and have gone out to eat with them, done some riding around, and now I'm going to be the lead rider for our group, since I know most of the areas and they are all from out of state and basically flat-landers.

And Ted is quite like Tina in many ways, and now I have a new nickname "Skunk".

Yes... I ran over a skunk with the bike. I'm fairly certain it was already dead, cuz it didn't move, but it wasn't dead for too long, judging by the smell and the sound of crunching bones.

To go back... Today was a great day. Got up at 5:30 - did a bit of work, took a shower, and then was on the road by 7:00 heading for Wyoming to get a 'W' for ABCs. Then coming back I took a few small roads to pick up a 'N'unn. Oh, also got 'W'eld County. So 3 letters (1 state, 1 county, 1 city). Driving across the plains, cool temps, bright sun, great ride. Hit a small stretch where the road has shaded by trees on both sides and pretty dark. As my eyes got accustomed to the light, I spotted something in the road and tried to swerve a little (not too much, no use dumping the bike) and "crunch, crackle, pop,".... stink.

Got back to the room... maybe its not the bike, maybe I can just still smell it. Tina, "What is that smell!" Hmm... "You need to go wash the bike." I go out and take another look... yeah, blood, tuffs of hair - off to the car wash.

I got most of it off, and by the end of the day it was fine - but everyone had a big laugh and now call me Skunk and "You should put a skunk tail on the back of the bike", etc.

Its all part of the adventure.

Sweet

You can now renew your license plates online, at least in about 5 of the counties in CO. Painless and only takes a few minutes. Did cost $5.03 for a processing fee. Is it worth it or that much easier than just writing a check?

Well... probably not for some folks - but I hate writing checks and mailing them, for some reason; so I procrastinate. If its payable on the web, I'm all over it. So yeah, for me, its worth it. :)

yeah, yeah, I know - license and registration

While at the Red River Rally, and buying patches, one that cracked me up was

Yeah, yeah, I know
License and Registration

But then I thought... Hey, I've *never* gotten a speeding ticket on the bike, so it wouldn't really fit... Must have been a prophetic moment and I guess I should have gotten it.

Coming home from Questa, NM towards San Luis, CO - its just a pretty straight flat, 65MPH road. Most everyone on it was doing 70 to 75, and I was staying with the flow... but then I got behind a car and trailer (and I hate being behind stuff on the bike, makes it harder to see, etc.), so I figured "I'll just go around him then slow back down" - of course going around him required me to hit, apparently, 83MPH, because the white SUV that came toward me right as I pulled back in happened to be a Sheriff and she hit her lights. Busted.

I just pulled over right away, no use making her follow me for a while. Tina said, "Do you think the lights were for us?" - "Yeah."

So I pull over and get off the bike and she pulls up behind and starts walking towards me and is talking. A number of Harleys go by right then and I can't hear a word she is saying, so I start walking towards her, pointing to me ear. Behind me Tina says "JAMES!" and I stop, turn around and then look back at the officer to notice she is putting her hand up in front of her in a "Don't come any closer" motion.

Hmm... a couple of bikers. Me over 6 ft, 220+, dressed in leathers, bandana on my head and a scowling wolf snarl dust cover across my face. Yeah... maybe not a good idea to get in her personal space...

I pull off the cover, pull my glasses up and "Yeah yeah, license and registration". I get in the back of the bike, thinking all the time, "Man, I hope I have all the current stuff in here." and I do. Phew. She takes it all and says "Stay off the bike and don't get into any of the compartments." Yeah, I guess you never know and pulling over someone who apparently looks a little intimidating out in the middle of no where - I stayed away from the bike just to put her mind at ease.

She was all business about the whole thing until I signed everything and she was headed back to her vehicle:

Tina: Wow, that was *really exciting*. I haven't had a speeding ticket since I was 18.
Cop: Turns and grins Well maybe you should speed more often!
Tina: Throwing her thumb over her shoulder and pointing at me, Nah, *he* takes care of that for me.

And it ended with a "Ride safe, slow down and have a good day out there." and us saying "You have a good day too."

BTW: For those keeping track, last ticket was Oct 2005. I just can't make it the 3 years without one... New date for getting points off my license and insurance, Memorial Day - 2010. :(

Anyway - guess maybe I should have gotten the sticker... or yeah... or slowed down! :)

diver bomber

We always have birds that create nests in the bushes in the front yard. Usually it is one out by the sidewalk and mailbox, but as the bushes in front of the house get bigger, the birds are starting to nest there too.

Saturday I was mowing, and the mother actually started dive bombing me! This usually doesn't bother me too much, as they just kind of swoop once or twice and sit in the tree and yell. I get it. Just trying to protect the nest.

But Saturday this female really took it to extremes. She was dive bombing me over and over. One time she brushed my arm as she went by, and then another time I heard her coming (kind of a buzzing noise) and flew close enough I could feel the wind as she went by.

Sunday as I was washing the bike, she was on the garage roof yelling at me again, and dive bombed me a few times. Apparently she has decided that I am "the dreaded enemy" and must be constantly harassed, no matter where I am in the front yard, even if it isn't close to her nest. Tina just laughs and me and says "She doesn't understand: 'That's enough now!' or 'KNOCK IT OFF'". I thought about splashing her with the hose, but I get she is just being protective.

Although after Tina moved Jaime's car this morning, which requires walking up the driveway, she did say "That bird has GOT to go" and "If you go outside make sure and wear your helmet."

Should be interesting to see how things progress.

Cosmo

My Uncle Danny (Cosmo) just sent out mail that he has a myspace site set up. He didn't include the direct link, but I found it here. Its got four songs he has done on it, which is very cool. Ticket to Ride is a cover by Chocolate Hare - which is very cool that was my uncle's group at the same time we were touring so we got to know all the guys pretty well. Gilbert who is playing organ on the song was in our band for about a year after Chocolate Hare broke up, which was a blast.

Anyway - check Cosmo out!

Math - its a cool thing

One more thought...

Helped Jaimer with her ACT math practice tests. Yeah - its been a long time. I don't remember how to do things like quadratic equations and other things - but I'm still good at graphing (which she was having a problem with). For the most part, I might not be able to quickly figure out the right answer... but given a problem and a multiple choice set of answers - I can usually figure out which one makes sense. So we spent time going through all the problems she missed, and when all was said and done, I showed her how to get the right answer on many of them.

I thought it was fun and why I like math so much. One answer makes sense and it is "easy" to see. "The graph kind of pops out in front of your face and you can see what a line represents", etc. She wasn't so thrilled with the concept as I was - but she got it much better than before, so that's good.

One of those nights

Lots going on at work - and we are in planning stages, not actually coding anything yet. So having big design discussions. Woke up at 1:15AM with all kinds of thoughts flowing around in my head. They'll just stick there and keep me away if I don't get them "on paper". So logged in and updating the wiki with new interface specifications and design thoughts. There... emptied the brain out for now. 3:10 AM - time to go back to bed for a few hours.

Night all...

Red River Rally - Sunday

Another good day. Road the Enchanted Circle "road rally". Won $10. :) Paid for the entry fee.

Bought a bit more stuff, talked to some folks, ate vendor food and local food and watched the bikes. Tomorrow's weather looks good. We aren't staying for the parade. Its been a great time - but time to get home and get ready for work and the week to come. So we are leaving early in the morning. Have a few good stories that I'll post later along with pics.

Just wanted to post we are having fun, its been a good time and we'll be heading home tomorrow. I imagine this will be the first of many Red River rallies.

First full day of the rally

Mostly what you would expect. Buy stuff, going on rides, listening to bands do covers of classic rock tunes. Doing a few jello shots... Yeah I know - but hey, you only live once and I've never done a jello shot before! Fun stuff. :)

A few observations:

• At least 90% (if not more) of the bikes are Harleys
  
• Probably 90% of the people are bikers. There are also some tourists that come up for the day to look around
  
• Just like bands, bikers apparently have groupies too
  
• They sell a lot of little kid stuff and "My grandma" or "My grandpa" - yeah, bikers are aging.
  
• There are some pretty harmless looking people - and there are some pretty scary looking people at bike rallies.
  

I'll have to post the conversation Tina had with the vendor from Bad Pig... but I've got to go get ready for todays ride. Should be fun... although maybe a bit wet.

There are kids at rallies

PeaBaby,

Those folks we road in with from Denver to the Red River Rally - they had a 10 year old girl with them. And I've seen a number of kids at the rally - some dressed in leathers. Not too many... but I figured I'd mention it anyway.

Maybe Red River won't be your first rally - but we'll have to take you somewhere! :)

Love ya,

PapaJames.

Trip to Red River

We had discussed going to Red River and had made hotel reservations in Taos - the closest hotel we could get. But then on Wed we were both feeling kind of sick and the weather wasn't looking too good - so we called and cancelled the room. Still have to pay for one day that we could use some time in the next 6 months - so we said that was fine.

Friday morning - sun is shinning, we both have the day off and the road is calling. We decide to go, so I call the Best Western in Red River - and they had one room free up for the full 3 days. Woo hoo.

We leave town at noon. Stop south of Pueblo at a Taco Bell to grab some food and decide to get gas. We see 8 other bikes. We gas up quick, pull up behind them and ask if they are going to RR. They are and say we are welcome to tag along. So we travel with them all the way to Cimarron. They traveled as a group pretty well (stagged, hand signals, etc.). Its always nice to travel in a group - just feels safer - like people can see you, etc.

Weather was looking wicked bad when we hit Walsenburg (towards the west), but they were heading south, so we stuck with them. We eat in Trinidad, then head to Raton. Hit rain, but not bad. Going south towards Cimarron it got worse and one bike stopped so we all pulled over. Just sitting in the cold rain/sleet, letting it pour down. Its all about the adventure! 10 minutes later it stopped and we broke off from them at Cimarron and headed up to Red River. *Beautiful* ride. Stopped to put on my leater jacket ('cuz I had rain gear on), as it was getting very ccld.

Pulled into town and there were bikes *everywhere*. All down the middle of the street and on both sides. Vendors everywhere.

Ate quail for dinner at Texas Rob's and called it a day. Of course... it is a rally - so folks blow-drying their hair at midnight and bikes up and down the road all night - but they, that's part of the deal.

Beautiful Saturday morning and we're off to find food, check out vendors and do some rides.

The pros and cons of getting older

Getting older is very cool because then you have grandkids. I cannot wait to come roaring down the street on Capt'n Jack and to have PeaBaby come bursting out his front door yelling "PapaJames PapaJames" - similar to how Jaime would welcome me home from work when she was little. I just cannot wait and I think about him all the time when I see little boys on the plane, in restaraunts, etc. Yeah... I obsess.

And its cool that I've worked my way up and have the money to do things like have Capt'n Jack and go on rallys, etc.

On the other hand... you start realizing you're not going to live forever. Little aches and pains and high blood pressure and the doctor worrying about your glucouse count, etc. make you realize that your body will eventually break down.

Its just one of those reflective mornings... Like Sis says - she can't imagine us not being close, as her dogs miss us terribly when we are gone - she can't imagine how PeaBaby is going to handle it. So I just can't imagine not being around for ever and seeing PeaBaby (and all the other babies) grow up and then seeing their kids and on and on. But you take the good (we can make some trips down there and its going to be so cool) with the bad (we can't live next door to them and follow them around the us) and make the best of it. But sometimes you still think "Wow - I'm getting older and I'm just not going to be able to do everything I want to do. But I'm so blessed, so quite whining and get to work." :) [Some times I have to snap myself out of it].

I am a blessed person and love my family so much.

Trip to DC

So - just a brief summary of the trip to DC... [As a side note - mostly if I don't blog something right after it happens - I don't blog it. But this was pretty cool so I figured I'd post something - more for myself than anyone else - so years from now I'll read it and be like, "Oh yeah - that was so fun!"]

Flew out Sunday - got to the hotel pretty late, but in time to watch the very end of Survivor. Terry and I are both fans so we decided to meet in the lobby after and go find food. We ended up with McDonalds, because apparently 10:15 PM in Sterling VA on a Sunday night is NOT a good time to find food - other than maybe a pub somewhere, and we weren't too up for that.

Monday was a blast - and exhausting. We basically spent the day driving/walking in circles and getting lost now and then - but having fun the whole time. Took the Metro from Falls Church. EVERYONE says "Don't drive in DC - take the Metro." I'm always like, "Yeah right" - but for once I decided to listen to people - including Terry who said, "I think we have to because I don't think we'll find anywhere to park". So now I'm one of those people who says - if you are going to DC from the outlying areas... "Don't drive in DC - take the Metro!". It is cheap - you can get an all day pass for $6.25 - as long as you start after 9:30 AM, and it goes most everywhere and once you get the hang of it, its really easy. Took a few exchanges to get the hang of it - but apparently most the staff is used to tourist. All I had to do was stare blankly around like I was lost and most anyone in a uniform (staff, security, some guy sweeping) would be like, "You want to go that way" and point... at which point I figured how could they possibly know that, since there are many possible destinations and I'd start to say "But I want to go to XXX" at which point they'd just nod and say "Yeah - that way". All in a not overly friendly manner, but also not rude. More like, "Yeah, yeah - another lost tourist - move along." It was fun.

Anyway - went downtown and spent the first 1/2 of the day around the mall. Saw the Vietname War Memorial - different that I had expected; the Lincoln Memorial - awesome - in the true sense of the word... inspiring awe. Very cool. The WWII memorial and Washington Memorial were cool as well. Went over to the WhiteHouse where the park service was doing a tour for some elementy school kids - 3rd grade maybe:

PS: "See this fence. Its kind of low. One time one kid bet another kid that he couldn't jump the fence and make it to that fountain... Do you think that was a good idea?"

Many little kids: "NNNnnnnoooooo"

PS: "Thats right. You can't see them right now, but there are men on the top of the Whitehouse that keep an eye on things. Do you know what they did when they saw him?"

One little boy: "They killed him?"

PS: trying to stifle a laugh "No... but they did come down and talk to him to find out what he was doing."

And so forth. Cool stuff. I saw the Whitehouse Christmas tree... which you can see from the Washington Memorial and I thought "Hey - that looks like it would make a cool Christmas Tree." And it is!

Anyway - much walking around, going to musemes, getting lost down by the riverfront and eating good food. Was a fun day - and yeah, you can't see it all in one day, even if you are booking along.

The rest of the time was spent working (met to discuss 4 different projects, with many teams and all of it was extremely productive - which was very cool) eating and sleeping. Ate Thai (of course), Sweetwater Tavern (good halibut special), Irish Pub (cornbeef and cabbage - with a carrot/parsnip mixture which was awesome). We discussed being "adventurous" and heading into DC for dinner on our last night but: a) we would have gotten there about 8:00 - which was cool with me but too late for many people, and b) what we could find looked pretty expensive - over the per diem for the day just for dinner. So we decided to do Thai fairly close - but far enough away that it was somewhere different (Reston) and we took two cars, and we both got lost on the way - so that was fun.

Yeah... since my internet connect was pretty hosed at the hotel (finally got it working the last morning) and so there wasn't much to do but watch TV - eating late and getting lost on the way there is just fun. I mean - what else is there to do? One way to see the area. :)

So all in all a good trip. I'll definately have to think about going out early or staying late next time as well - because it would be cool to go downtown again.

Freedom Memorial Ride 2007

Went up to the Freedom Memorial Ride 2007 yesterday. Turns out there wasn't much of an organized ride (not like most rides I've been too) - it was more like "Hey, come up and see us." But we went with 5 bikes from the Springs to Denver and came back with Robert, on Hwy 83. So it was a great trip, beautiful day for it, and it was a good cause. They hope to have it in place and the dedication next year, that would be cool.

Ate some vendor food and stuck around for the official ceremonies, part of which was mentioning the 52 people who have died in Afganhistan or Iraq in the latest war. Seth Staton's name was mentioned.

Having just returned from DC and having visited a number of memorials there, I think the idea of this memorial is a good thing.

Spanish Tapas

Ate at the Washington DC La Tasca while I was out there last week on business. Its a Spanish Tapas restaurant. Very cool food. I had the:

• Berenjenas fritas con queso cabrales,Fired eggplant with a cabrales cheese dip
  
• Selecion de embutidosA selection of Spanish cured meats
  
• Vieiras gratinadas, Scapplos sauted with garlic, onions and peppers.
  
• Gambas al Ajillo, Shrim sauteed in olive oil, garlic and "Guindilla" peppers.

I liked the eggplant the best, as it was different from anything I've had before. Sliced pretty thin and deepfried, almost like a chip. And the cheese dip was very good. But all of it was good and it was a nice atmosphere. It was Monday night and they had a special for $25 get 4 Tapas and 2 Sangrea. If you are in the DC/Maryland area, check it out.

Turns out there is a Tapas restaurant in Denver - the 9th Door. I'll have to check it out some time!

google humor

1. go to google
   
2. click on "maps"
   
3. click on "get directions"
   
4. type "New York" in the first box (the "from" box)
   
5. type "London" in the second box (the "to" box)
   
6. click on "Get Directions"
   
7. scroll down to step #23 (or so)
   

Some companies get a sense of humor. :)

What a cutie

Got home Mon night and was sitting on the couch watching TV and getting warm. Heard the garage door open and then Jaimer walked in.

"Hey... who is in *my* house! No one lives here except ME!"

What a cutie.

She didn't have to be to work till 11:30 yesterday, so we spent a good hour or more just catching up and talking about what is going on in her life. Her day with Miss Christie was awesome. She told us all about it, "Miss Wagner... Miss Wagner - can you come eat lunch with me?" "Miss Wagner - you are my bestest bestest friend."

She spent the day in kindergarden - and now she wants to go to college to be a teacher! Not a big surprise. She has always loved little kids and wanted to do *something* with them. And Miss Christie's class was so fun. We talked about college quite a bit. The good and the bad. How you'll love it - and hate it at times. I loved school and have always missed it. So much I went back for my masters and thought about getting a doctorate - and maybe I will some day - but not right now. I just treasure my time with my family too much and school takes quite a bit of work!

But I'm so excited Jaimer is seriously looking into it. It will be a great time for her. And while teaching isn't about the money - it is something she is passionate about, has been "called" to do since day one probably - and will love doing. So its all very good.

It was great to be home and spend some great quality time with my kid - talking about what's going on in her life and what she sees for the future.