Tuesday, July 5



I know that my photos don't match but I wanted to get some in so it wasn't quite so gray.



Hoover Dam July 4.  It was great.  Cool and not too many people.  Rather than ride across the new bridge, we elected to walk over and back.  We got to take a lot of photos that way and actually see something.


Starbucks coffee on my coffee card from the Pieps. Thank you, Pieps. Tasted great. Then we walked back to the motel for a continental breakfast, and got to the shop before 8 a.m. First in line for service. Sitting waiting for our services and tires. Glad they could help us. We're only a couple hundred miles from San Jose. We can do that before breakfast most days, as long as I have my coffee anyway.


Found a hat with a cop shop badge on it. Gotta have it to ride the cop bike ...


I also thought of a new idea for the HOG Christmas party for a fund-raiser. More on that later. I sure wouldn't want to give it away, and I need to run it by the officer group first. It's what I do while sitting on that bike for mile-after-mile-after-mile.


We've talked to some great folks here at the shop, people getting service, people that work here. It's always interesting to meet new people with different perspectives on riding, new riders, riders that are first-time Harley owners.


There's an old green bike on display at the Bakersfield shop, and the owner, Vince, is 93 years old. His birthday was July 4. They had a huge celebration for him. Would have been nice to meet him, but at least we've seen his bike. It's a 1941 high-compression flathead, spray painted from a can, a rich Kelly green is my take on the color. He rode it to California in the early 40s from Indiana. Roads weren't so good back then. No interstates, and probably a lot of dirt. The shop has framed the original $400 sales receipt for the bike ... back then that was a year's wages.

Another cool thing that happened at Vince's party was that Whitey Thomas ????????) from the Glen Miller Band, most of you may not remember that, was there. He is also a pretty fair age, but he played the horn ... wish I could have been there. The Glen Miller Band was music maybe a little before my time even, but an era of music that I still love. Chattanooga Choo Choo ... pardon me, boys, is this the Chattanooga Choo Choo, track 29, and so on. Great stuff. Must have been one hopping kind of party.



I cannot help myself.  I have to take photos of wind farms.  This one had a variety of turbines, and they were so close together you'd have thought they could touch each other.  There were hundreds of them it looked like.

While we were waiting Birdie and I decided to go to lunch since there were a few ples within walking distance. We passed up a McDonald's since we could see a Denny's in the near distance. I don't usually like them, but it was still better than McDonald's. So Denny's was the place of the default choice. I had a cranberry, apple, chicken, glazed pecan salad that was actually pretty good. While we were waiting we looking at the multiple menus and there was one item called a nutrition menu. I started looking through it to see what the calorie counts were for some of the things we were eating. I decided that if you have to ask how many calories are in something, you shouldn't be eating it. Eat on. Everything in excess continues to be my motto.


As we were eating my phone rang. It was Harvey checking to see where we were because Spot had not tracked us anywhere. We told him we were doing maintenance, tires and other sundries ... brake pads, neck bearings or something, heated grip issues. Today was the best day to do to them since the rally was just registration, opening ceremonies and a meet and greet that we may get there in time for. I called and told them we'd be a late registration, and we just decided we'd chill today. We're about 200 miles from the rally site, maybe a little less after talking with some folks who have come through the shop today.


It appears we will run the 99 to 46 to the 101 and then cross over into San Jose. It should be a little cooler. It's over a hundred out there now and it's only about 2 p.m. Hot!!!


We finally got out of the shop a little before 5. They appeared to be very thorough and the front end is not clunking anymore.


As we were riding, it reminded me of the Facebook Farmville game. On the left side of the road there were trees in bloom, colors of dark rose, pink and white. They were all lined up, just like I used to line them up when playing the game. They were beautiful.


We came upon a mile or so of the little oil rigs, the ones that look like birds pecking the ground for worms. To the right they were as far as the eye could see. To the left, they weren't as deep, but they were dense. It was like a little community of birds pecking ... up ... down ... up ... down. They look like happy things.


Rode hard, gas and go, gas and go. We finally arrived in San Jose, after the sun had gone down, four or five lanes of traffic, and people all over. I just follow the tail lights. I was starting to wonder where we were when we were riding through a residential area. But I thought, Edith had not yet steered us wrong. (Edith is the name I've given Birdie's GPS.) And that was so, as we came upon this long driveway with a beautiful white stucco (I think) facade. Then I realized, this was the real mccoy ... a California mansion. It's Hayes Mansion. We parked on what may have been a sidewak, went inside and got registered.


Our room is located very near the festivities area. As we rode around looking for it, I asked a lady what the number was up above her head. Turns out it was Mickey from Texas. She was very sick last year, and looks super this year. I also saw a few other Texas folks that I tried real hard to offend a few years ago. Didn't work. They just seem to like me for it. I'll try harder next time. So good to see all of them. Found Ruth and Sylvia from Kansas, too. Got all my peeps in a row.


So, tired, but don't know if I can sleep. The room ... all I can say is WOW!!!!!


Wednesday, July 6

It's great to be somewhere for a few days. No nesting going on, no packing, no loading of the bikes.


We got up and over to registration by 7 and then went to eat breakfast. We both tried the eggs Benedict. Not bad. But not the best I've ever had. But sometimes ya just gotta try it.


Got geared up to go on the long ride, 137 miles – from the mountains to the ocean. It was a great ride, lots of twisties and back roads, some that were basically one-lane trails. We even passed Alice's Restaurant, which is an old Arlo Guthrie song. Stef (Jaz) and I did a bunch of these roads back when she and I rented Harley's and rode around for a week. Jaz and I went in Alice's, but don't remember if we ate, drank or just looked around.

The ocean in this part of the country is beautiful.  Would have liked to spend more time wandering around and putting my toes in it, and walking in the sand.  But we needed to get on the road again and get to our lunch place.

 A lone hawk or something was hovering overhead as we did the slow, twisted ride, possibly waiting for something to happen and we'd become his road kill?  Foiled again.
Had lunch in Davenport, and then rode a few more back roads back to the rally site at the Hayes Mansion. The mansion is gorgeous, manicured lawns, blooming flowers, bathrobes and slippers in the rooms, fancy soap. Very lovely place.



Beautiful rooms and the accommodations make you feel really pampered.


Tonight there was a barbecue at a park, and four cops and their bikes stopped by. Two Harley's, and two of something else that I can't remember. But still very cool. We got to visit with them, and of course, I had to have a photo.

Was nice of the cops to talk with us and let us take photos.

Back at the hotel Birdie went to the pool. I'm tired and wanted to drink water and play on the computer. Maybe tonight I'll get a good night's sleep since we don't have to be anywhere until 8:30 a.m. We're going on a San Francisco tour, on a bus. So our first day off the bikes. A good thing since you need a break now and again.

So, I believe I'm all in for the night.