Camera Clicks – Me & Maxine

Camera Clicks – Me & Maxine

Camera Clicks – Me & Maxine

Why Do You Ride?

https://bikerbooksandyarn.wordpress.com/2018/07/30/why-do-you-ride/

From the Lady Cave: Just Do It!

I am speaking from my own personal experience and hindsight.

I’ve often said “Be like Nike; Just Do It!”

(No this is NOT an endorsement)

What is your first thought when you hear this statement? I am willing to bet it starts with “But…”and then you list all the reasons why you can’t.

I get that there are financial constraints, so please don’t use that excuse.

What I am getting at is “How do you know unless you try?” Believe me, I know something about this; I haven’t lived this long without figuring out that I am the only person standing in my own way.

If you read my last post you’ll know that procrastination is not good.

Take that step, one little step! Nothing easy is worth doing, but I’ll guarantee that once you “try” you’ll realize it’s never as hard as you thought it would be. Sometimes doing stuff outside your comfort zone is Scary as Hell! But holy moly can it be an amazing experience; like driving my own motorcycle.

Aengus

What’s the worst can happen? You find out it doesn’t work out? So what! Now you have a better idea of what will work, so you back up and try again.

Recently for me I’ve discovered that in crochet, I really can do most of the things I thought were way to complicated.

Did I do it all on my own? Nope, sure didn’t. I used video tutorials, asked experts and I leaned heavily on what I already knew and BAM I FREAKING DID IT!

Poncho and baby Newsboy hat for one of my granddaughters.

2019 Vacay with the Harley (Part 2 of 2)…this is a long one folks.

Morning! We are headed to Washington, DC! So excited, I’ve never been. I do have some anxiety about what we may encounter, what with all the crazy stuff in the news. But in the meantime…We got the truck and trailer loaded, jump in and look up….there’s something stuck in the wiper…

Funny, funny….if you read the first part of this journey you’ll know why. 😆Off we go, we’ve decided to take the route Google has suggested, which takes us through NYC…little excited, shouldn’t be to bad for a Sunday.

Moving along, no major traffic issues…

Made it to Pohick Bay Regional Park outside Washington, DC where we will be camping with 2 of our most favorite people. Let’s get this party started!

We are all so excited about going to DC, but how do you fit in everything? Well, honestly you don’t unless you have 7 or 8 days to spend. We don’t, so we all talked about what was our #1 must see places, which were: Arlington, Museum of History, Library of Congress and Vietnam/Korean Memorials.

Having coffee and I have to take a few test shots…

Monday morning we went straight to the local train station. We rushed up to buy tickets and activated them, THEN we checked the train schedule…wanna guess what happened next? If you guessed, THERE WAS NO TRAIN COMING after 9am (we were basically an hour late) you’d be right! LOL

So we improvised and drove 2 hours to Colonial Williamsburg. This was on our list if there was time…neither my hubs or I had been, What a Cool Place!

To think people lived here in to the 60s and 70s in these original buildings. What I mean is, in some cases, descendants of the original families that built or founded this area lived in these homes that we now tour is mind boggling! Definitely would love to come again and stay here to have a full experience of colonial life.

Tuesday, July 2 we Uber’d to Union Station to play it safe this time. Lol

Wow! Ok, I am from Florida and am used to tourists wondering around with their mouths open, ok that was totally me.

But our next experience goes in the books as the weirdest, nastiest thing I have personally ever witnessed…and no it isn’t anything you could imagine AND thank goodness there is NO pictures…in short, I witnessed a lady washing her lady parts in the public restroom in FULL view of the doorway!!! 😱🤯🤢

I couldn’t believe my eyes, when she saw us she stopped and waited for us to go into a stall so she could finish “Freshing up!”

Moving on, Union Station was absolutely beautiful!

We arranged for a Capital tour through our local Congressman, I highly recommend this otherwise you will be in very very long lines. This was a major highlight of our trip. I would like to say at this point, I have never been prouder to be an American. Washington, DC is a place of History that ALL Americans should visit and know about. In some cases, it will help you brush up on the Historical facts of how we came to be.

In other cases, it will help you educate yourself on the sacrifices made for our country so that we all have rights and privileges that others don’t have.

I am going to do a separate post of this visit, so many pictures to share. We can’t wait to come back again❣🇺🇸

We got our picture taken in front of the White house…

I am drawn to the amazing architecture of all these magnificent buildings. Then we head to the mall area where the memorials are:

World War I:

World War II

Arlington National Cemetery

Vietnam War

Korean War

The Reflection pool (I was having a Forest Gump moment and a guy was coming from the other direction yelling “Jenny”) and Lincoln Memorial, because of the July 4th festivities we were not able to go up close to the Lincoln memorial.

We also spent time in the Smithsonian National History museum

and the Library of Congress which has the original collection (what was left of it) Of Thomas Jeffersons extensive Library. They are in the process of digitizing it. He had books from the year 1555!

It’s an amazing American Heritage story. This was my personal #1 place i wanted to see, I bought the book about its history and I didn’t realize it’s actually 3 different buildings.

And to cap off this years adventure, we head to the Charlotte area to visit our newest granddaughter.

And just like that vacay is over! For the record we still walked a total of 65 miles on this trip, even after all the Driving, Ubering, and Train/Subway riding. Woo Hoo what a journey❣

💗🇺🇸💗🇺🇸💗🇺🇸💗🇺🇸💗🇺🇸💗🇺🇸💗🇺🇸💗

2019 Vacay with the Harley (Part 1 of 2)

First, I am not being compensated in anyway. These are my experiences and my opinions only.

Now, let me share…This is 1 of 2 posts on our vacay this year.We started out June 21 from Florida headed to Boston area.

We stopped twice on the way up. Those stops were memorable only because the Super 8 motel’s were cheap but let me tell you, they were sketchy as hell! In this case BELIEVE the online reviews. Ok, that’s all I am going to say about that, rest assured, NEVER AGAIN!

Here are a few pics of a beautiful rest area we stopped in.

Here is my car project I finished on the first day, I’ll definitely make a couple more of these.

At one of our stops, we went to this little place by the hotel, the caveman wanted a cheesesteak hoagie. So he saw a picture of this and thought if it’s close to the picture it’ll be good. I can tell you it looked exactly like the picture and he said it was great! It was cheese, steak, shrimp and chicken…yum!

I haven’t been this far north in a very long time. I was able to snap some pictures along the highway, that honestly doesn’t do the scenery justice. In some you’ll notice vehicles or motorcycles but look in the background. I am also always drawn to rocks and there are plenty of those to see sticking out of the mountainsides.

As I anticipate getting to Boston, I can’t stop thinking about the Revolutionary war. What it must have been like to live during that time. The only modes of transportation were by horse or by your own two feet. When I look out at scenery like this, I think about the people that walked or rode a horse around these mountains and hillsides looking for a better existence.

I also give props to the surveyors that plotted these roads from way back then to modern times, what adventurous souls they must have been.

We Made It!!!

Now for a train ride into Boston!

As I take pictures around Boston, I can’t help but to switch back and forth between color snaps and Black and white because old places just look better.

We hit 3 historical places: The Bell in Hand and the Green Dragon. These 2 in particular were places that Freedom strategies were discussed…total goosebumps!

And the 3rd… well…

We also walked around Boston Commons Park. What an amazing green space and let me tell you the people watching did not disappoint.

One of our guided motorcycle rides went to Minute Man National Historic Park. What, an amazing experience, we only wish we had more time to explore; future trip for sure. Brush up on your History…

To say I took many pictures is an understatement! Please let me know if you’d like to see more. This place is beyond special….We then drove a few more mile’s to the visitors center…

Then we went to the historic town of Lexington for lunch…

A few of us had a few hours to burn so we took a ride to Salem!!! Definitely would like to explore this place further!

I had to buy a new Hat and Broom!!!

Stay tuned for our next leg, going to Washington DC (for the first time ever!) for 4th of July!!!

Lady Rider – Carpal Tunnel Recovery

Good Morning! How was everyone’s weekend/Father’s Day?

We live in Florida and it has been a very wet few weeks. Its officially been a whole month since I had Carpal Tunnel release surgery on my right hand.

You know as a motorcycle rider, that’s a pretty important hand. Those who drive a motorcycle know this, but for my non-rider friends, with your right hand you control the throttle aka the gas and your front brakes.

I have to say, I didn’t expect it to take this long to recover. I am mostly chalking it up to “the older you get, the longer it takes” theory. I am not saying I like it, but I haven’t ridden my bike in 3 months. I’ve been a passenger a few times, but haven’t driven because of various reasons that include carpal tunnel issues and the after effects or recovery from this surgery.

90% of the carpal tunnel issues I was having before is completely gone! Thank Goodness!

I am wearing a compression glove during the day mostly to help with swelling. Once it starts to swell then it gets really sore. I’ve been also using a 3lb weight ball to try and strengthen my hand and to help the scar tissue flatten out.

So I went for a nice easy 40 minute ride down to Harley to buy a new rain suit; I know you get what you pay for but those things are expensive!

My hand was pretty sore after that first leg of the ride which I expected, “No Pain, No Gain”, right? I did have the compression glove on. It felt like I had a rubber ball (the size of the ones you get in a gumball machine, hell I can’t recall seeing those anymore lol) stuffed in my glove all the while working that throttle and brake. I worked through it, because that’s what we do, right?

So we bought the suit and headed back the way we came because the rain clouds were building. We did get wet but not the worst we ever experienced. I took the glove off this time to see if that helped, at first it did but overall, No.

So here we are on the verge of our yearly motorcycle trip and I will not be taking my bike. Poor Aengus is going to have to sit this one out.

Overall, this recovery has been slower than I expected but, it has been a relief without all the other issues from the carpal tunnel.

Stay tuned for my blog posts on this years trip, it’s going to be Epic!

We are going to UpState New York briefly, Boston/Danvers, Washington D.C. and Charlotte, NC in a little more than 2 weeks. 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸

Camera Clicks – Friendly Friday Photo Challenge

I am participating in the Friendly Friday Photo Challenge and the topic with week is “Inspiration”.

So let me introduce one of my favorite inspirations, my Aengus! No you are not seeing things; yes its a motorcycle!

Riding is a special thing to me, in a nutshell, driving makes you put all that stuff you have rolling around your brain, aside for a while. You get to smell all the smells of nature, some good and some not so much LOL. But when we get home, I feel like my soul has had a thorough dusting.

I enjoy riding a lot…so much so, that I have blogged about our Vacations on the Harleys for the last 2 years, see links below.

2018 Vacay with the Harley’s (Part 1)

2018 Vacay with the Harley’s – Louisville (Part 2)

2018 Vacay with the Harley’s – Ohio (Part3)

2018 Vacay with the Harley’s – Michigan, Georgia & Home

Our 2 ½ weeks on the Harley’s (Part 1)

Our 2 ½ weeks on the Harley’s (Part 2)

Our 2 ½ weeks on the Harley’s (Part3)

Our 2 ½ weeks on the Harley’s (Last but not least Home!)

 

BB&Y Book Review By Dixie

Gloria, A Lifetime Motorcyclist

By Gloria Tramontin Strick

• Published in 2018

• 256 pages

Synopsis:

At the age of 92, Gloria Struck becomes an author to tell her story. A story that includes a detailed family history as well as her many journeys on a motorcycle.

My thoughts:

What an absolute amazing tough Lady! This book is full of lots of family history and how her family came to the United States. She goes into great detail on how she started riding a motorcycle and the many many places she has ridden; including Europe. I would highly recommend you read this book and if you would like to have a conversation about it please let me know, because I would definitely like to be in on that. I hope I get to meet Gloria one day, what a serious inspiration.

Gloria and her daughter Lori

Gloria says “I never worried, I always acted like a lady and I was always treated like one.”, when talking about traveling by herself. Now isn’t that refreshing? Here is a lady who likes to ride a motorcycle (a male dominated sport) who doesn’t feel the need to show how tough she is. Who I might add exudes confidence and doesn’t need to explain herself to anyone. Now don’t peg me for a diehard feminist because I am no such thing. I am just saying there is no posturing here, she is who she is!

Gloria is a lifetime member of the Motor Maids motorcycle club

  “It’s never too late to live your dreams”

Our Lovie

So our granddaughter is 3 weeks old❣ WHAT, an amazing journey, so far. We are all twisting in the wind over this little being. I have seen so many amazing transformations in all of us, its been, well AMAZING❣😁

I love coming up with nicknames for the kids in my life. I have a Mooshka, who has the mooshiest cheeks, a Lizzy because she was always sticking her tongue out, a Ms. Thing because she was always in to something, a Princess PJ because she rules mightily, a monkey because he is all boy and i could keep going….but Lovie, now that one just struck me. I made a few “lovies”  while we were waiting for her arrival. And as these last few weeks have flown by she became our little security blankie.  We are all just so attached to her already. 💞

If you can envision a human pyramid with this little one being on the top with all the rest of the family holding each other (and her) up, this kid has one hell of a posse!

We are so incredibly humbled that all of her family members on bothsides, not only get along but truly are her village. To help make her one of the next generations greatest citizens, whatever her path.

Our Lovie❣