Well, it is officially the weekend of the corn roast, and it seems we may have quite the group attending. I called and ordered the corn for pickup on Thursday afternoon while Len was working in Victoria. He sent me a text later that afternoon to say holy shyte is this stuff made of gold, its friggin expensive! I had no clue what he was talking about as I was quoted $25 per bag and therefore would make it $50 for 8 dozen corn. He told me it cost him $185 to go and get it. Then he informed me that it was fifty for the corn with an added $135 from the local constabularies!!! He got himself a speeding ticket on the way to get it!!!! Yep that was some expensive corn.
Friday rolls around and off I head to work, I wont get home until approximately six and we may have the first wayward souls arriving sometime today. I went to leave and find a truck parked in the driveway. It seems Mike and Mark have arrived sometime in the night and are sleeping in the truck. Cant pass up this opportunity even with my wimpy stock pipes. So I fire her up and rev the bike to wake him up before I leave! See yall tonight, I gotta go to work. Wendy and Dez from Comox are on their way early for an appointment in Vic and instead of going home they were going to head here and set up camp. Dez didnt want to be left out so they drove the "magic bus" and trailered the bike down. Well little do I know as Im working my ass off but Len ended up not working and they got here early so the 3 of them socialized and had a great afternoon. Len sent me a text just as I arrived back to the shop that they were thinking of riding out to the Lake to meet me and since I had to wait for payroll anyways said sure why not. So I sat around and waited for them, having a well deserved beer with the crew and Mountain until they arrived. We hung around and BS'ed for awhile then it was time to head back. We were all getting hungry and some of us were a little tired. We stopped for gas in the Lake and then I was just planning on taking the slab home. Well mass confusion insued as Len decided he wanted to take the old road and try to beat me to the Skutz falls turn off. Not sure what happened with Dez but usually you follow the lead bike, instead he saw Len wave his arm that he was going the old route and followed him, not realizing that Len was going to go like a bat outta hell along it. I just happened to look back and see Dez making the right and figured here we go everyone taking their own route. So I proceeded to out do them all and was at the turnoff with a smoke lit before Len got there. He pulled up to the slab as I was sitting on the old road now, I hinked he looked and then turned around and was laughing til I asked him what he did with Dez. Opps, thought he followed you? Nope! Oh Shyte! We waited a few minutes and eventually along they came, not realizing that Wendy was cursing a blue streak on the back. We wandered along the old highway and down hospital hill in Duncan then turned off to take Kokisilah out. We stopped at the river for a pee break and that is when we found out that with Dez trying to keep up to Len he had hit a few of the real bad bumps on the lower part of the old road and now Wendys back was killing her. She gave him an earful and then we carried on a easy pace along Kokislah to the TCH. We pulled into the Payless because it seems Len had gone missing again and Wendy was worried something had happened or is there another road. Well ya there is but we dont usually use it cause it comes out on a frontage road that is chip sealed and somewhat bumpy. I went an got smokes then thought, ya he is in that mood he has taken it to see if he could go faster then us on the highway! Dumbass! Meanwhile Wendy is on the phone to him and he answers and informs her that he is ahead of us. So off we go to pick him up down the highway and head for home, he really has to stop doing this stuff and confusing the hell outta everyone. We got back to the house and lit a fire and decided to roast weenies over the flames for dinner. We sat around and chinwagged for hours until it was time to fall down.
Saturday morning arrived and we took some time to wake up with coffee, but then had to get ingear to finish setting up for the roast. We had 8 dozen corn to schuck, not to mention chairs to set up and a few more odds and ends to pick up at the store. Thankfully I had help in the form of Wendy, Dez, Mike and Mark. While Len was busying himself with other finishing jobs. Didnt think it would all get done but somehow we did manage to finish it all off before anyone arrived. Len had to make a quick run off to do a job quote but the rest of us kicked back and relaxed for a bit until the first of our guests arrived. I was still a little concerned that we would have enuf spots for those that wanted to stay but couldnt worry about it too much.
Slowly people started to arrive and the party began. What a great night for sure and a great group of friends from up and down the island as well as the 2 from the mainland. I cant remember the total count on the number that were here but Im sure it was close to 40. We slowly got around to getting the corn on to cook and Len making his oysters all while people were still arriving. Everything was a hit. The corn was well worth the exobitant price (lol) huge cobs of peaches and cream and even though I had said 2 per person, they were so big that a lot of people could only eat one! Oh well I will pass out any extras to those that want some to take home. Everyone cooked their own meat and pigged out and in the meanwhile lots of laughter and shyte chucking was going on. We had a fire going, but tried to keep it small just in case the fireban was still on. Slowly people tapered off and headed for home, those that were not planning on staying of course. At the last minute we had one more couple decide to stay so up went the tent and makeshift beds were made for them. In the end we had over 16 people spend the night! Im still not sure where we hid them all for the night but they were here and none were in either house. I think I fell down for the night somewhere around 1 AM but I heard the others made it til close to 3AM. Crazy buggars! Oh well thats what a party and campout are all about.
Sunday morning rolled around and most were late waking. We actually slept til 7:30 for a change got the coffee going and decided to hit the tub for a bit while others started to rise. Considering the number of folks that were here the grounds were in pretty good shape. Most people found the garbage bucket and the bucket for the empties! There was actually very little mess to deal with. The kitchen was clean as Kaylee took it upon herself to do up the dishes from the night before and just a few things laying around here and there that needed to be tidied. Thanks to all for keeping it clean and thoose that may have done a little extra during the night to make it so. Definately a big help. People slowly started crawling out of their make shift homes, Flo then Jeep, Wendy, Sheila, with a steady trickle of one eyed party goers iin search of the all neede java, which was waiting in the kitchen! Everyone did a little to help clean up the last of the mess and slowly as they awoke they dismantled their camps to head homeward. Flo and Eric were the first to head north with intentions of meeting up with riders from CR. Everyone finally got organized and said their goodbyes and thanks for a great night. Wendy and Dez were in no rush to head home and instead we had planned on taking them on a scenic backroads tour of the south island. Len decided that East Sooke was in order with lunch at Mulligans on Otter Bay road. We gave extra time for Sue and Steve to get home and drop the kids and get the bike as they wanted to join us in Vic. As we were waiting for their call to say they were ready, Mountain called and decided to join us for the ride.
We finally got organized and headed south, picking up the others in Langford and heading out Vets Memorial to Latoria, across to Metchosin, Happy Valley, Rocky Point, East Sooke, Gillespie and the Sooke road to our Lunch stop. Wendy and Dez sure loved that section of the road. We had a great lunch with a whole lotta shit chuckin around the table. Somehow we got on the idea of taking the Renfrew/Cowichan loop back up island instead of returning the way we had come. Steve didnt want to join us as it would be to late for him getting home. We all tried to convince him into it but to no avail. We said our goodbyes and parted ways. We headed out along Otter Bay Road to connect to the West Coast road out. If you havent taken Otter Point before it has magnificint views as you are about to join up with West Coast road. Well worth the trip. So the 4 bikes headed along toward Renfrew. I wish they would get their signs fixed out there. Just as we left I remembered that Dez and I had not filled up since Friday night and we werent concerned before because we didnt realize that we would be taking this route. My bike was telling me I had approximately 130km left in the tank, Dez would have slightly more then me as his bike hadnt moved since Friday, mine went on a joy ride Saturday morning with Mike around Shawnigan Lake. I tried to signal Len to no avail to find out what the mileage was back to the Lake. Finally I got Mountain to ride up beside me and ask him, he said dont worry its only bout 100 kms. Great I could be coasting in on fumes! As we pull onto the West Coast road there is a sign that says check your fuel next stop 60 km then just beyond it says Renfrew is 56km, so what is there a gas station in Renfrew? I dont every recall one being there. Oh well guess we carry on and see what happens. We made it to Jordan River and stopped for them to take some pics and admire the view then carried on out to Renfrew. This has got to be the worse section of the road, besides being twisty and windy you got some good size frost heaves as well as potholes and ruts to dodge. Definately keeps you aware. I held back to keep pace with Dez while the boys bombed along ahead of us. They were loving this trip. There is a section where they are doing some construction, or maybe that is destruction at the Sombrio bridge. Last time Len and I went thru here it wasnt to bad but now they had the gravel on a steep downhill section with a 90 degree turn at the bottom. Well Mountain came upon it a little fast and thought for sure he was going to go sideways but managed to keep it together. There was a truck and boat coming the other way and we werent sure he was going to stop but he did thankfully. We all crept down this hill slowly and easily but then were off again. We stopped breifly in Renfrew and told Dez and Wendy about some good picture opportunities along the way. Im still slightly concerned about gas levels. Off we went in search of Lake Cowichan. Over the Renfrew bridge slowly for some pics and back on track. We sailed along with no traffic and finally came to stop at Harris Canyon to take more pics. What a great view! Im really starting to get concerned now as my reserve light has come on. The way my clock/odo/trip/gas reserve display works is that when you hit the reserve the gas light comes on and then the display shows an R with the number of Kms you have left to travel. Usually if you go to long and you get to around 15 to 18 km left it changes to "Lo" telling you "hey idiot, ya better stop now or your going to be screwed" Well this here idiot had nowhere to stop only a hope and a prayer to make it. Mind you Len said not to worry cause he had a siphon hose if it did run out. Smart ass troublemaker Dez says he has a better one with the pump on it, oh but it is in the trailer at the house! Ya thanks Dez, alot of help that will be! I had also heard that its not a good thing to run out with fuel injection, which mine is. Not the same as the carburated engines. And I have no clue what we might have to do if it does, and not sure if the others do either as they are all carburated. So we are now counting backwards and praying that I will make the Lake before going dry. I know we are getting closer and just before the switchback uphill climb I switch to the dreaded "hey idiot" signal! Now I have no clue how many km I have left in the tank and the last signage I saw said Mechaie Lake was 27kms and my tank said it had 29kms left. I also didnt know how far the Lake was from Mechaie but was sure it was more then 2 km. This is getting tight! We crested the hill and the others pulled off to take a few pics of the valley, I kept going as I didnt want to sit and idle or turn the bike off and started again. I figured the best chance was to try and keep a steady speed and pray. Eventually I saw Mountain catching up to me but not the others and then I lost sight of him again. I carried on in dread until I came to a stop Len and I had made before at Lens Main (also where we scooped the sign he now has in the front yard) Well when the "Lo" lite came on I saw the last reading being 15km and Im sure I had traveled a good 10 since then, and was pretty sure that I wasnt going to make Lake Cow. They all stopped and we briefly thought about trying to siphon some into my tank, whereas Mountain says never mind just ride and see how far ya can go, closer we are to the lake, closer it is for someone to turn back with gas. He also told me that if it did start to sputter and cough, pull in the clutch and hit the kill switch and roll to a stop. Atleast this way the engine isnt trying to cycle dry. Okay will do, with this in my brain off we go. Well it seems for some reason after turning it off and restarting it the numbers are back up to 24km and the Lo light is gone. Im still on edge wondering if Im going to make it but follow along to push the limits. Well somehow the praying worked and I made it to the gas station in the lake. Damn I need a beer! And boy was the tank dry, she ate over $20 in gas! Never done that before even at high prices. We decided on one last stop at the Oak in Duncan before getting our company loaded up and headed north. Before we left the station I told Dez to follow me and then yelled at Len that we were taking the slab, no more misguided adventures like Friday night! Mountain headed off in search of a fishing licence and said he would meet us there. We had a couple drinks and some appies, said goodbyes to Mountain and headed homeward, with Len making a quickstop for cream for the morning. It seems we ran out this morning, no idea why will all the overnight guests! LOL We got home just after 9 and Dez set to work hooking up the trailer and loading the bike so they could head north. They were definately going to have a late night but they both had an awesome time and wouldnt have changed a thing. The ride, the party, the company, food everything was great for them and they couldnt wait to do it again.
Sadly we said our goodbyes and we will see them in a couple weeks on their turf this time! It was 9:30 when we finally sat down to relax, it didnt take me long to give up on looking at the puter and decide to crawl into bed and read. Not sure when Len came to bed but he woke me up laughing at me as I had my book in my hand, open as if I was reading it but my eyes were closed and I was asleep. Yep I must have had to much fun over the weekend!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
For Bear
Well its 9 AM, Im up and having coffee. Not dressed yet but soon to be as we are heading out on a poker run from the Legion on Gorge rd. It is the defender MC 17th Annual Poker run for charity. I believe it is making a loop around the peninsula. Maybe call or pop by if it ends out that way.
Also have to stop and pick up the girl on the way home.
Will report in with the days happenings when we return, until then have a good day.
Stay tuned, same bat channel, same bat time!!!!!!!!
Okay, home now and its 830 at night. Great ride today with a great group of different people that we only ride with on occasion. They are part of the HOG group but also have their own little club called the VICR (Vancouver Island Charity Riders) I do say we have a great bit of fun with them when we do ride with them. All but one or two today were a problem. We had Annie along for the ride and she has spent most of the year on the back of her boyfriends bike and not practicing or riding herself and lord it shows! She admitted that she doesnt have the confidence to ride in a group and she really needs to get out more. Best thing I could say was to get out on her own or with a couple of people to help gain your confidence. Being unsure in a group ride is not safe for anyone.
Besides that it was a great ride on pretty much all backroads. we took West Sanich to Lands End and back to the Dog for brunch, then down to Wallace drive and across Prospect Lake rd. We took a small detour on Munns to see if Deb was home and was going to come along. It seems the rest of the group behind Len decided to follow us in prolly cause they didnt see the rest of the group keep going straight. They left and caught up with the main group and we eventually headed out to catch them along the Crawl to Metchosin, Happy Valley, East Sooke, Gillespie, Sooke Rd and across Humpback to Ma Millers before heading back to the legion where it all started for prizes and food. Gotta love the rides that meander along roads you dont travel that often cause your always in a hurry to get someplace.
We got back to the Legion and I think I got screwed, last time I checked Art was doing pretty good with all his hands but mine was the shits and low, so I figured I was a shoe in for low hand. When they announceed it they even said low hand with a high card of 8 and I figured yep got it but it was Art. Dont know what he managed to sneak below me with. Oh well all in fun. They then proceeded to do an auction with the items they had donated and that was pretty funny to watch and join in. For some reason Len bid on a mess table top food cover, guess he figured it will keep the flies off the corn next weekend. I got me some more bling lights for the bike(ah which means more work for Len) and then was bidding on this "thing" for Kaylee. Wasnt exactly sure what the hell it was but it had the "I" in it like ipod, iphone etc. This gizmo was called an iboogie, so figured it would have dance lights or something like that on it and would be right up her alley. Well gave up bidding on it at 15 cause I wasnt really sure what it did, but ended up getting it anyways from the lady who won it for 10. She was sitting behind me and we plugged it in to see what it did and all had a laugh. It seems the screen I thought would have lights on it actually has a little dancing man who dances to the music from your MP3 player and acts as a speaker as well. Little cheesy but funny to watch for a few minutes. They also had meat draws and 50/50s being sold by legionaires. The big winner was Flo at our table. She won 2 packs of meat and the 50/50. Here she is winning everything and we are spending, Id say something is wrong with this picture!
Len ran into an old coworker from years gone by and sat and BSed with him for a while then it was off to get the girl. We had a quick beer with Sue and Steve and then headed out homeward. K didnt have a jacket and it would start cooling off on the hat soon, kinda like someone the day before. We made good time heading home with no idiots to mention except one who went screaming past us at the south Shawnigan exit. We were doing our usual 120 and we were standing still to this bozo. Caught up to him on the single lanes at the summit and sure nuf knew he was going to fly again when we hit Bamberton. Yep there he goes, well I wanted to see bout what he was doing so I flew after him. Bozo had to be pushing 200k, I backed off at 160 and he was pulling away from me easily. When we passed him at the Mill Bay lights I looked and sure nuf was a young punk driving the mini. I gave a little signal that I called the cops, hoping he might slow the hell down before he killed himself or someone else but who knows if he paid any attention.
We got home and attempted to make dinner til the propane ran out, so we scrapped that plan and just fed the child. We werent overly hungry anyways after the burgers at the legion. She fooled around with her new toy and then we eventually got ready to call it a night.
So there ya go Bear, the accounts of our normal day, with a bit of excitement thrown in.
Also have to stop and pick up the girl on the way home.
Will report in with the days happenings when we return, until then have a good day.
Stay tuned, same bat channel, same bat time!!!!!!!!
Okay, home now and its 830 at night. Great ride today with a great group of different people that we only ride with on occasion. They are part of the HOG group but also have their own little club called the VICR (Vancouver Island Charity Riders) I do say we have a great bit of fun with them when we do ride with them. All but one or two today were a problem. We had Annie along for the ride and she has spent most of the year on the back of her boyfriends bike and not practicing or riding herself and lord it shows! She admitted that she doesnt have the confidence to ride in a group and she really needs to get out more. Best thing I could say was to get out on her own or with a couple of people to help gain your confidence. Being unsure in a group ride is not safe for anyone.
Besides that it was a great ride on pretty much all backroads. we took West Sanich to Lands End and back to the Dog for brunch, then down to Wallace drive and across Prospect Lake rd. We took a small detour on Munns to see if Deb was home and was going to come along. It seems the rest of the group behind Len decided to follow us in prolly cause they didnt see the rest of the group keep going straight. They left and caught up with the main group and we eventually headed out to catch them along the Crawl to Metchosin, Happy Valley, East Sooke, Gillespie, Sooke Rd and across Humpback to Ma Millers before heading back to the legion where it all started for prizes and food. Gotta love the rides that meander along roads you dont travel that often cause your always in a hurry to get someplace.
We got back to the Legion and I think I got screwed, last time I checked Art was doing pretty good with all his hands but mine was the shits and low, so I figured I was a shoe in for low hand. When they announceed it they even said low hand with a high card of 8 and I figured yep got it but it was Art. Dont know what he managed to sneak below me with. Oh well all in fun. They then proceeded to do an auction with the items they had donated and that was pretty funny to watch and join in. For some reason Len bid on a mess table top food cover, guess he figured it will keep the flies off the corn next weekend. I got me some more bling lights for the bike(ah which means more work for Len) and then was bidding on this "thing" for Kaylee. Wasnt exactly sure what the hell it was but it had the "I" in it like ipod, iphone etc. This gizmo was called an iboogie, so figured it would have dance lights or something like that on it and would be right up her alley. Well gave up bidding on it at 15 cause I wasnt really sure what it did, but ended up getting it anyways from the lady who won it for 10. She was sitting behind me and we plugged it in to see what it did and all had a laugh. It seems the screen I thought would have lights on it actually has a little dancing man who dances to the music from your MP3 player and acts as a speaker as well. Little cheesy but funny to watch for a few minutes. They also had meat draws and 50/50s being sold by legionaires. The big winner was Flo at our table. She won 2 packs of meat and the 50/50. Here she is winning everything and we are spending, Id say something is wrong with this picture!
Len ran into an old coworker from years gone by and sat and BSed with him for a while then it was off to get the girl. We had a quick beer with Sue and Steve and then headed out homeward. K didnt have a jacket and it would start cooling off on the hat soon, kinda like someone the day before. We made good time heading home with no idiots to mention except one who went screaming past us at the south Shawnigan exit. We were doing our usual 120 and we were standing still to this bozo. Caught up to him on the single lanes at the summit and sure nuf knew he was going to fly again when we hit Bamberton. Yep there he goes, well I wanted to see bout what he was doing so I flew after him. Bozo had to be pushing 200k, I backed off at 160 and he was pulling away from me easily. When we passed him at the Mill Bay lights I looked and sure nuf was a young punk driving the mini. I gave a little signal that I called the cops, hoping he might slow the hell down before he killed himself or someone else but who knows if he paid any attention.
We got home and attempted to make dinner til the propane ran out, so we scrapped that plan and just fed the child. We werent overly hungry anyways after the burgers at the legion. She fooled around with her new toy and then we eventually got ready to call it a night.
So there ya go Bear, the accounts of our normal day, with a bit of excitement thrown in.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Pig n Fin weekend
Well off we head for the Pig n Fin, this time decided to bring Kaylee along with us as Suzie was bringing her adopted daughter and she would have someone to hang out with if the adults went missing. I had loaded all the gear IN Mountains RV on Thursday and rushed home from work to shower change and pack my clothes. I grabbed the 2 girls from my house and then headed over to Lens to get things ready and wait for Suzie and Steve to arrive from Vic. The plan was to meet Mountain at Hwy 1 and 18 and put the girls in the RV with him then go like hell to get there. He had said that he needed to be up there by 7 for the spot he had reserved. Well I thought we were running late but it was actually him, so we met him just before 7 at the Esso and piled the girls into the RV and off we went. Surprisingly with the heavy traffic we were actually making good time. Booked our way along and stopped in Nanoose for the boys to gas up, and Mountain goes flying by! Damn he is making good time as well with RV and trailer! Load up for the 10 minute trip to the grounds and in we are.
Steve and Len quickly dump gear out of their bags and head to the beer store with the girls. Suzie and I set to setting up our homes for the weekend. Suzie has no clue about how a tent goes up but as soon as I have mine up I come over and help her out before doing the girls tent. They come back and Steve is amazed asking Sue how the hell she did that so quick cause he couldnt see me. Then he realized that I was there doing most of it for them. We all quickly got the tents and beds made then sat down to have a few drinks before wandering around. We filled our cups and headed over to say Hi to Art and Colleen. Good seeing them as usual. Took a quick look around at the vendors then back to fill our cups and head in to see what the bands were like. We caught the end of the second, not bad, the third was horrible and we spent a little more time wandering around and at the camp instead of listening to them. But headed back for the last band which were quite good with good dancing songs.
Their was quite a police presense in the beer gardens and around the grounds. Kinda reminisent of the stomp. Was even told by the girls that they were giving them the evil eye when they were sitting on the swings minding their own business (kinda nebermind what was in the thermos they had with them) After the bands were done we headed back to the site and proceeded to have a few more drinks. The girls were there and behaving to the best they could. Well Kay knows my rules and she was abiding by them but boy is she funny when she has a few drinks. Hopefully she wasnt going to feel the effects to bad the next day! Getting close to 2 am and time for everyone to fall down. Lots of goofy pics taken before hand and more to come for the morning.
Saturday comes around all too early of course and we start the day with coffee and baileys, sit around and shoot the shit bout the day before. Finally the girls get up and are looking a little ruff around the edges. Kay is adamandant that she doesnt have a hangover but not to sure at this point. She has a little breakfast then tries to go back to sleep for awhile. We kick about for awhile then make a run to Qualicum for more beer and get bac for the start of the games. Our friend Irene from Comox shows up to party with us as well. Damn good to see her again cause she is quite a hoot.
Kay has showered and she is ready to go and wants in all the games! Good for her, so we head over and get registered and wait to see what events they have for partners. Ended up going in quite a few with Kaylee. She did the handlebar race, balloon toss, down tube, potato hunt and finally the weenie bite. Her most memorable was the potato hunt. We were the second team knocked out but damn she did great. She was one of the last 2 trying to find the damn tata, and it was well over 5 minutes when they decided to toss another one in, K dove on it had it until the other bigger girl tackled her, threw her down then had her in a choke hold. The whole time, K aint letting go of the Tata for hell or high water. She gives the other girl a couple shots trying to shake her loose off her, then the girl manages to wrestle the tata away from K but she aint done yet. She reaches out and grabs the girls pants and just about had them pulled off her! K stood up and the girl ran like hell. She was beaten but boy was she mad now! She wanted to beat the tar out the girl for taking her tata! Len and I both gave her a big hug and told her she did awesome, she got back on the bike and off we went to park while she tried to calm down. Well the girl she was fighting with was the next out, so that made her feel better.
The games were over for the day and we headed back to have some dinner and beers before heading over to the dance. We were hoping that the shitty band was going to be on first and save the good one for last. Nope other way around. So we liten and dance to the good band and give the other one a chance but nope they still sucked. So we went back to the campsite to have our own fun and try and drown out the noise from the band. Thankfully the police were not as much as a bother. Len and his camera were busy taking pics again and now he had to try using me as a tripod and when that didnt work he decided to lay down in the middle of the road to get the desired affect. Good think the cops werent around. The music stops and they announce the winner of the bands and of course how do you win when you suck? You play so badly that people leave and then it is just the drunks there with no taste who vote for the worst band going. What a shame that they won in my opinion. We finally head to bed for the night.
Sunday comes with the same morning ritual of coffee and baileys, K is doing good as she really didnt drink oon Saturday night even though we snuck her into the dance with us. Len decides he wants to go for a ride before the show and shine and the last of the games. He tries to start his bike to no avail and ends up taking Mountains for a burn. Thought he was going for a little ride and to pick up some smokes well the ride turned into a trip to Port and back. He gets back and we try to bump start his but for some reason he cant get it to go into second gear and it is just locking up in first. We end up boosting it and off he goes for another ride to charge the battery, this time to Horne lake. As he gets back, I have already wiped off some of the dirt on my bike and entered it in the show. I came back gave Mountains a quick wipe down and while he was sleeping I went and entered it for him. Len finally got his cleaned up and brought his in. There was quite a bit of compitition this year in the show. I had 7 others to go against and the deckers were the biggest this year with over a dozen!!! I was hopeful but in the past the judges have made some wierd choices but I didnt care, most of my compition were stock as wel. Only one that had a custom paint job on it. Len didnt think that he had much of a chance with so many bikes but really there were only 2 that had any customization, himself and one other. We waited around while they did the judging and they started the weenie bite at the same time. Len saw that the judges had finished with the deckers so he grabbed Kaylee and off they went to play in the last game of the weekend. She tried but she was a little to short to reach the weenie. We sat around after that and waited for the winners. Well surprise to both of us we both got second place and they were nice plaques as well.
We grabbed the bikes and took the 3 of them back to the campsite to tear down and head home. End to a great weekend. We decided to do a little bar hoping on our way with a stop at the front, and then the Cassidy. We also detoured in Lake Cow to help the big guy unload his bike before heading to drop off K and then down to Vic to drop off Amber. Finally by almost 10 we were home for the night with pizza on its way, a quick shower and we were done.
Lots of fun this year, many old friends we got to see again and some new ones. It was great having my girl along and her having so much fun participating in all the events. Next year she wants her own bike and to ride up there with us! Lord it is that time already!!!! Maybe she will be along again at the Port Alberni Toy Run and go in some more games there, hopefully doing alittle better and winning a prize. Guess we have to wait and see what unfolds on the next adventure!
Steve and Len quickly dump gear out of their bags and head to the beer store with the girls. Suzie and I set to setting up our homes for the weekend. Suzie has no clue about how a tent goes up but as soon as I have mine up I come over and help her out before doing the girls tent. They come back and Steve is amazed asking Sue how the hell she did that so quick cause he couldnt see me. Then he realized that I was there doing most of it for them. We all quickly got the tents and beds made then sat down to have a few drinks before wandering around. We filled our cups and headed over to say Hi to Art and Colleen. Good seeing them as usual. Took a quick look around at the vendors then back to fill our cups and head in to see what the bands were like. We caught the end of the second, not bad, the third was horrible and we spent a little more time wandering around and at the camp instead of listening to them. But headed back for the last band which were quite good with good dancing songs.
Their was quite a police presense in the beer gardens and around the grounds. Kinda reminisent of the stomp. Was even told by the girls that they were giving them the evil eye when they were sitting on the swings minding their own business (kinda nebermind what was in the thermos they had with them) After the bands were done we headed back to the site and proceeded to have a few more drinks. The girls were there and behaving to the best they could. Well Kay knows my rules and she was abiding by them but boy is she funny when she has a few drinks. Hopefully she wasnt going to feel the effects to bad the next day! Getting close to 2 am and time for everyone to fall down. Lots of goofy pics taken before hand and more to come for the morning.
Saturday comes around all too early of course and we start the day with coffee and baileys, sit around and shoot the shit bout the day before. Finally the girls get up and are looking a little ruff around the edges. Kay is adamandant that she doesnt have a hangover but not to sure at this point. She has a little breakfast then tries to go back to sleep for awhile. We kick about for awhile then make a run to Qualicum for more beer and get bac for the start of the games. Our friend Irene from Comox shows up to party with us as well. Damn good to see her again cause she is quite a hoot.
Kay has showered and she is ready to go and wants in all the games! Good for her, so we head over and get registered and wait to see what events they have for partners. Ended up going in quite a few with Kaylee. She did the handlebar race, balloon toss, down tube, potato hunt and finally the weenie bite. Her most memorable was the potato hunt. We were the second team knocked out but damn she did great. She was one of the last 2 trying to find the damn tata, and it was well over 5 minutes when they decided to toss another one in, K dove on it had it until the other bigger girl tackled her, threw her down then had her in a choke hold. The whole time, K aint letting go of the Tata for hell or high water. She gives the other girl a couple shots trying to shake her loose off her, then the girl manages to wrestle the tata away from K but she aint done yet. She reaches out and grabs the girls pants and just about had them pulled off her! K stood up and the girl ran like hell. She was beaten but boy was she mad now! She wanted to beat the tar out the girl for taking her tata! Len and I both gave her a big hug and told her she did awesome, she got back on the bike and off we went to park while she tried to calm down. Well the girl she was fighting with was the next out, so that made her feel better.
The games were over for the day and we headed back to have some dinner and beers before heading over to the dance. We were hoping that the shitty band was going to be on first and save the good one for last. Nope other way around. So we liten and dance to the good band and give the other one a chance but nope they still sucked. So we went back to the campsite to have our own fun and try and drown out the noise from the band. Thankfully the police were not as much as a bother. Len and his camera were busy taking pics again and now he had to try using me as a tripod and when that didnt work he decided to lay down in the middle of the road to get the desired affect. Good think the cops werent around. The music stops and they announce the winner of the bands and of course how do you win when you suck? You play so badly that people leave and then it is just the drunks there with no taste who vote for the worst band going. What a shame that they won in my opinion. We finally head to bed for the night.
Sunday comes with the same morning ritual of coffee and baileys, K is doing good as she really didnt drink oon Saturday night even though we snuck her into the dance with us. Len decides he wants to go for a ride before the show and shine and the last of the games. He tries to start his bike to no avail and ends up taking Mountains for a burn. Thought he was going for a little ride and to pick up some smokes well the ride turned into a trip to Port and back. He gets back and we try to bump start his but for some reason he cant get it to go into second gear and it is just locking up in first. We end up boosting it and off he goes for another ride to charge the battery, this time to Horne lake. As he gets back, I have already wiped off some of the dirt on my bike and entered it in the show. I came back gave Mountains a quick wipe down and while he was sleeping I went and entered it for him. Len finally got his cleaned up and brought his in. There was quite a bit of compitition this year in the show. I had 7 others to go against and the deckers were the biggest this year with over a dozen!!! I was hopeful but in the past the judges have made some wierd choices but I didnt care, most of my compition were stock as wel. Only one that had a custom paint job on it. Len didnt think that he had much of a chance with so many bikes but really there were only 2 that had any customization, himself and one other. We waited around while they did the judging and they started the weenie bite at the same time. Len saw that the judges had finished with the deckers so he grabbed Kaylee and off they went to play in the last game of the weekend. She tried but she was a little to short to reach the weenie. We sat around after that and waited for the winners. Well surprise to both of us we both got second place and they were nice plaques as well.
We grabbed the bikes and took the 3 of them back to the campsite to tear down and head home. End to a great weekend. We decided to do a little bar hoping on our way with a stop at the front, and then the Cassidy. We also detoured in Lake Cow to help the big guy unload his bike before heading to drop off K and then down to Vic to drop off Amber. Finally by almost 10 we were home for the night with pizza on its way, a quick shower and we were done.
Lots of fun this year, many old friends we got to see again and some new ones. It was great having my girl along and her having so much fun participating in all the events. Next year she wants her own bike and to ride up there with us! Lord it is that time already!!!! Maybe she will be along again at the Port Alberni Toy Run and go in some more games there, hopefully doing alittle better and winning a prize. Guess we have to wait and see what unfolds on the next adventure!
The day after!
Well, I guess fortunately for some, I got the day off but as it would be it soon changed and Len was taking it off as well. While we were sitting having coffee and trying to load the pics, Mountain called and he was some upset about losing the cooler and the gear. Also now a few weeks later I have come to realize that my camera was in the cooler also. Not just a small palm camera but the big two handed type. Well he hadnt slept well and offered to pay our way if we wanted to go up and have a look to see if we could find anything. Would make him feel better if we did and actually found something. Len thought about it for a few and then said what the hell lets go.
So here we are home for all of 8 hours and heading back for the ferry. We decided on taking only one bike to save him some money, but stress my nerves! I am a really shitty passenger now! We headed south and took the Shwartz Bay ferry, seems that was the only one that we hadnt been on over this trip so we better change the scenery and take it, not to mention it was hourly. We hoped the boat to the mainland and with a quick stop at Barnes for Len to grab some new bling, we were off on our way down the freeway to Hope and the top of the Coq. We stopped in Hope and had a quick pit stop and gas up, my nerves on edge the whole way there and not looking forward to heading up the Coq. Its not that I dont trust his abilities but he is a wee bit agressive while riding. Nor does he completely pay attention, playing with the radio or lighting a smoke, damn it keep your hands on the bars, ya got precious cargo here ! LMAO Theres a corner coming up, that guys changing lanes infront of us, I think we are going to fast. Nothing like trying to steer the bike from the back seat!!!! Thankfully he just laughed at me and I didnt really bother him that much. Well up the Coq we head and not far along we come into some corners, well the wind is blowing pretty good here and we are getting buffeted around pretty bad from a truck infront of us. He tries to go around him and the wind was so bad, I felt like it was going to pull me off my seat! The faster he tried to go to get around the truck the worse it was. I just bout broke down quoting, oh fuck, let me walk up the friggin hill. I had a death grip on the back rest and tried to tuck in behind him as much as I could to no avail. When we finally got past him and on the straight away he commented as well how bad it was but I cant blame him for wanting past instead of being stuck behind and getting thrown about.
We got to the top, approaching the toll boths and slowed down so we could scan the ditches for any sign of the cooler. Bright blue should stand out amongst the landscape. We ended up making 2 or 3 passes one exit either side of the toll booths looking in the side ditch as well as the median ditch. Didnt see a damn thing. It was kinda commical though as Lens rear signal lights are small and LEDs you cant really see them in the sun, therefore he typically uses hand signals. Well not really anyway of doing that for a hazzard light or is there.... Well I pretended to be the hazzard lights and had both arms stuck out behind me and kept opening and closing my hands in unison to act as the lights, prolly looked friggin hilarious from behind but it worked. Even though we were riding the shoulder it caused the semis and most cars to change lanes around us. We called Mountain to double check where he thought he saw it come off and it was the right place. Oh well no luck, guess we will head for home.
Well we got moving again and just as we got up to speed, rounded a corner, holy shyte stop!!!!! Theres my boots on the side of the road. Again we hit the shoulder and walked back to grab them. The poor things were pretty beaten up. Looked like one foot had been run over by a semi and had ripped the heel off, mind you it was sitting right beside the boot. We hiked up and down the ditch in this new area and found the lid for the cooler but to no avail we found nothing else. The hats were light enuf that they could have blow anywhere, same with my jacket now as for the now realized camera it shouldnt have gone too far but if it did land on the road and got hit there wouldnt have been any use for it Im sure. Strangest though was that there was absolutely no sign of the cooler in one piece or multiple bits! Maybe it got stuck on the front of a semi and got dragged down the Coq! Well it was still friggin hot up there and we had given up hope of finding anything else so boots in the saddlebags we headed back down.
Tired and thirsty we stopped for gas in Hope and a quick beer, also checking ferry options and which ones we might be able to catch. Well it seemed that there might be a slim chance we could get one from Horseshoe Bay but it would be tight and we werent sure what the distance was from Hope to Horseshoe. So we downed the beer with the intent of looking at the first mileage sign and guesstimating if it was possible, if not guess we would be back on the same 815 ferry to Duke Point. Now remember, me shitty passenger and rush for the ferry. Len takes off out of Hope like a bat outta hell, we were in Chilliwack within 15 minutes and he was only "slightly" over the speed limit. Dont know how the hell I did it but I tucked in and didnt look at a friggin thing, except the speedo once and then crawled back into my hidey hole behind him and held on for dear life. Might have been the watering eyes but think the speedo was around 150, wasnt going to look again. Well approaching Chilliwack we made our judgement call and didnt think we would make Horseshoe Bay so we carried on and cut down to 0 Ave again at Mission towards the Peace arch. Like I said before great detour around the traffic.
We made the ferry but were concerned cause we didnt bring our jackets and we might have a cold ride down island. Thankfully it wasnt too bad and we were home by 11ish. Tired, and a little bummed that we didnt find more. Next time the shyte will go in the RV!!!
So here we are home for all of 8 hours and heading back for the ferry. We decided on taking only one bike to save him some money, but stress my nerves! I am a really shitty passenger now! We headed south and took the Shwartz Bay ferry, seems that was the only one that we hadnt been on over this trip so we better change the scenery and take it, not to mention it was hourly. We hoped the boat to the mainland and with a quick stop at Barnes for Len to grab some new bling, we were off on our way down the freeway to Hope and the top of the Coq. We stopped in Hope and had a quick pit stop and gas up, my nerves on edge the whole way there and not looking forward to heading up the Coq. Its not that I dont trust his abilities but he is a wee bit agressive while riding. Nor does he completely pay attention, playing with the radio or lighting a smoke, damn it keep your hands on the bars, ya got precious cargo here ! LMAO Theres a corner coming up, that guys changing lanes infront of us, I think we are going to fast. Nothing like trying to steer the bike from the back seat!!!! Thankfully he just laughed at me and I didnt really bother him that much. Well up the Coq we head and not far along we come into some corners, well the wind is blowing pretty good here and we are getting buffeted around pretty bad from a truck infront of us. He tries to go around him and the wind was so bad, I felt like it was going to pull me off my seat! The faster he tried to go to get around the truck the worse it was. I just bout broke down quoting, oh fuck, let me walk up the friggin hill. I had a death grip on the back rest and tried to tuck in behind him as much as I could to no avail. When we finally got past him and on the straight away he commented as well how bad it was but I cant blame him for wanting past instead of being stuck behind and getting thrown about.
We got to the top, approaching the toll boths and slowed down so we could scan the ditches for any sign of the cooler. Bright blue should stand out amongst the landscape. We ended up making 2 or 3 passes one exit either side of the toll booths looking in the side ditch as well as the median ditch. Didnt see a damn thing. It was kinda commical though as Lens rear signal lights are small and LEDs you cant really see them in the sun, therefore he typically uses hand signals. Well not really anyway of doing that for a hazzard light or is there.... Well I pretended to be the hazzard lights and had both arms stuck out behind me and kept opening and closing my hands in unison to act as the lights, prolly looked friggin hilarious from behind but it worked. Even though we were riding the shoulder it caused the semis and most cars to change lanes around us. We called Mountain to double check where he thought he saw it come off and it was the right place. Oh well no luck, guess we will head for home.
Well we got moving again and just as we got up to speed, rounded a corner, holy shyte stop!!!!! Theres my boots on the side of the road. Again we hit the shoulder and walked back to grab them. The poor things were pretty beaten up. Looked like one foot had been run over by a semi and had ripped the heel off, mind you it was sitting right beside the boot. We hiked up and down the ditch in this new area and found the lid for the cooler but to no avail we found nothing else. The hats were light enuf that they could have blow anywhere, same with my jacket now as for the now realized camera it shouldnt have gone too far but if it did land on the road and got hit there wouldnt have been any use for it Im sure. Strangest though was that there was absolutely no sign of the cooler in one piece or multiple bits! Maybe it got stuck on the front of a semi and got dragged down the Coq! Well it was still friggin hot up there and we had given up hope of finding anything else so boots in the saddlebags we headed back down.
Tired and thirsty we stopped for gas in Hope and a quick beer, also checking ferry options and which ones we might be able to catch. Well it seemed that there might be a slim chance we could get one from Horseshoe Bay but it would be tight and we werent sure what the distance was from Hope to Horseshoe. So we downed the beer with the intent of looking at the first mileage sign and guesstimating if it was possible, if not guess we would be back on the same 815 ferry to Duke Point. Now remember, me shitty passenger and rush for the ferry. Len takes off out of Hope like a bat outta hell, we were in Chilliwack within 15 minutes and he was only "slightly" over the speed limit. Dont know how the hell I did it but I tucked in and didnt look at a friggin thing, except the speedo once and then crawled back into my hidey hole behind him and held on for dear life. Might have been the watering eyes but think the speedo was around 150, wasnt going to look again. Well approaching Chilliwack we made our judgement call and didnt think we would make Horseshoe Bay so we carried on and cut down to 0 Ave again at Mission towards the Peace arch. Like I said before great detour around the traffic.
We made the ferry but were concerned cause we didnt bring our jackets and we might have a cold ride down island. Thankfully it wasnt too bad and we were home by 11ish. Tired, and a little bummed that we didnt find more. Next time the shyte will go in the RV!!!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Monday - heading home
Think that was the longest either of us have slept in a very long time. For both of us, sleep is usually about 5 to 6 hours a night. Wow 9 hours! We woke around 6ish for coffee and to think about anymore route changes. Nope stay the course, head for Oliver and the winery and then circle back towards Keremeos. Glad we did, the wine country there is beautiful. Just after leaving Oliver we came across the winery we were looking for. So what, its 10AM, big deal, what a better way to start the day. We pulled in and the property was gorgeous, well maintained with a road leading right thru some of the vineyards. We took a few pics outside and then went in for our "Breakfast." Great place, great staff, great fun. We must have tried atleast 6 wines each and also got to nibble on some crackers and dark chocolate.(my fave) We ended up buying 2 bottles of wine to bring home with us. Could have stayed there much longer but of course we did have to ride home today.
The smoke was pretty heavy along here from the fire in Kelowna and I gave Len a bandana to tie over his mouth and nose. We carried on to the junction and then turned back towards Keremeos. This is a great road. 2 lane blacktop that you can just fly along and of course we did. It wasnt long before we came across this beautiful lake and we pulled over to get some good pictures of it. This is Yellow lake and the colour is amazing. We continued down the road for not too long before we came across B and B's and stopped in to see them once again. They told us that the lake actually changes colours and that it is airated as well as stocked. We visited with them for a bit then knew we needed to carry on if we were ever going to get home. Not that we wanted to but because we had to. We said our goodbyes again and hoped to see them when they came to the island later this summer.
We proceeded to work our way thru Keremeos and on to Princeton to stop for lunch. It was a toss up on Billy Bobs or the pub across the street, but we ended up in the pub. Cant say that we made the right choice there. You know the food is great at Billy Bobs! The pub not so great, his soup was really thin, and I only ate half of my ceaser wrap. The smoke wasnt as bad here in Princeton but according to conversation in the pub, all rooms were booked up by those escaping from Kelowna, or trying to get home that couldnt. Hard to believe that they were booked up that far south. We finished up lunch and then on for basically the last stretch homeward. Into Manning Park we go.
Oh damn forgot bout those switchbacks again. Last(and first) time I went Hwy 3 was a couple years ago on my way to New Denver, I was paranoid and did slow down and take it in my own comfort zone only to get belittled when we hit Princeton cause I slowed down to much and dont have to go the speed they post on the warning signs. Whatever, I was extatic that I did it period. Well this time, I was much better and actually kept up pretty good with Len. He still outpaced me a bit but I hate those things and wasnt going to over do it. We travelled along and were in Manning Park. It is beautiful up there and we had the road to ourselves. Both riding along in our own lanes. Len took a great chunk of video now that he finally figured out how to keep his fingers out of the way. Frog hopping each other in the clip and he even managed to get some of me behind him looking thru his mirror. Was really pretty kewl. Only hit one little slow down on the way down into Hope. Thankfully we were lucky, I guess the day before a car had gone over the cliff and they were there hoisting it up. We stopped just past that for a little break and then down into Hope we went.
We didnt need gas so we carried on to Chilliwack, got gas then headed over to Dukes for a quick beer and to check ferry options. Well it was a good ride but looked like we would be on the 8:15 to Duke Point and home by 11:30ish. We finished our drinks and made for the ferry. With the time being later the traffic wasnt that heavy but we still took 0 Ave from Abbotsford to the Peace Arch and then 99 to the ferry. 0 Ave is a great ride and a great way to avoid all the traffic and the headache of taking number 10. All the farms and markets along the way, if we had of had any room in the bags I would have stopped to buy some to bring home. Its also neat in some areas along 0 Ave that you have the American road running paralell with you seperated by a ditch. And if you look up or into the fields you can see the US border cameras watching. Not going to be able to cross there without a hassel. Even saw some border patrols parked off on a side road.
We made the ferry, tired but happy. Great trip all the way around, with wonderful friends and many memories(Im sure I have forgotten some as I have written) Back to work tomorrow or so we thought. As we were about to dock in Nanaimo, Mountain called us with some unfortunate news. He seems to think something blue came off the trailer at the top of the Coq. Oh shit, that would be our cooler with bout $600 worth of HD gear in it! Oh well nothing we can do now but head home and talk about it tomorrow.
We arrived home at 11:30, tired, happy and ready to fall down.... after a quick dip in the hot tub first.
The smoke was pretty heavy along here from the fire in Kelowna and I gave Len a bandana to tie over his mouth and nose. We carried on to the junction and then turned back towards Keremeos. This is a great road. 2 lane blacktop that you can just fly along and of course we did. It wasnt long before we came across this beautiful lake and we pulled over to get some good pictures of it. This is Yellow lake and the colour is amazing. We continued down the road for not too long before we came across B and B's and stopped in to see them once again. They told us that the lake actually changes colours and that it is airated as well as stocked. We visited with them for a bit then knew we needed to carry on if we were ever going to get home. Not that we wanted to but because we had to. We said our goodbyes again and hoped to see them when they came to the island later this summer.
We proceeded to work our way thru Keremeos and on to Princeton to stop for lunch. It was a toss up on Billy Bobs or the pub across the street, but we ended up in the pub. Cant say that we made the right choice there. You know the food is great at Billy Bobs! The pub not so great, his soup was really thin, and I only ate half of my ceaser wrap. The smoke wasnt as bad here in Princeton but according to conversation in the pub, all rooms were booked up by those escaping from Kelowna, or trying to get home that couldnt. Hard to believe that they were booked up that far south. We finished up lunch and then on for basically the last stretch homeward. Into Manning Park we go.
Oh damn forgot bout those switchbacks again. Last(and first) time I went Hwy 3 was a couple years ago on my way to New Denver, I was paranoid and did slow down and take it in my own comfort zone only to get belittled when we hit Princeton cause I slowed down to much and dont have to go the speed they post on the warning signs. Whatever, I was extatic that I did it period. Well this time, I was much better and actually kept up pretty good with Len. He still outpaced me a bit but I hate those things and wasnt going to over do it. We travelled along and were in Manning Park. It is beautiful up there and we had the road to ourselves. Both riding along in our own lanes. Len took a great chunk of video now that he finally figured out how to keep his fingers out of the way. Frog hopping each other in the clip and he even managed to get some of me behind him looking thru his mirror. Was really pretty kewl. Only hit one little slow down on the way down into Hope. Thankfully we were lucky, I guess the day before a car had gone over the cliff and they were there hoisting it up. We stopped just past that for a little break and then down into Hope we went.
We didnt need gas so we carried on to Chilliwack, got gas then headed over to Dukes for a quick beer and to check ferry options. Well it was a good ride but looked like we would be on the 8:15 to Duke Point and home by 11:30ish. We finished our drinks and made for the ferry. With the time being later the traffic wasnt that heavy but we still took 0 Ave from Abbotsford to the Peace Arch and then 99 to the ferry. 0 Ave is a great ride and a great way to avoid all the traffic and the headache of taking number 10. All the farms and markets along the way, if we had of had any room in the bags I would have stopped to buy some to bring home. Its also neat in some areas along 0 Ave that you have the American road running paralell with you seperated by a ditch. And if you look up or into the fields you can see the US border cameras watching. Not going to be able to cross there without a hassel. Even saw some border patrols parked off on a side road.
We made the ferry, tired but happy. Great trip all the way around, with wonderful friends and many memories(Im sure I have forgotten some as I have written) Back to work tomorrow or so we thought. As we were about to dock in Nanaimo, Mountain called us with some unfortunate news. He seems to think something blue came off the trailer at the top of the Coq. Oh shit, that would be our cooler with bout $600 worth of HD gear in it! Oh well nothing we can do now but head home and talk about it tomorrow.
We arrived home at 11:30, tired, happy and ready to fall down.... after a quick dip in the hot tub first.
Day 4 - Heading home, Kinda
What a night! Thank goodness I drank myself to some point of inebriation or I would not have had any sleep at all. As with the past couple mornings, of course the band played til dawn. That is usually just when the sun is starting to rise. Well when I did finally force myself to open my eyes it was full sun. Hey I actually kinda slept in, NOT! But why the hell was the band still playing while Im trying to sleep?? Well it seems that the band had stopped but it was the boyz in the corner behind us who still had their stereo system cranked to extreme! Nice, cant even tell them to knock it off! So much for sleep, knew we werent going to get much. Oh well struggle out of bed.
Now remember yesterday and Len playing in the burnout pit. Well as Im about to crawl out of the tent and shake off the cobwebs, he is bout to come back in. Instead he stops, starts laughing at me and Im completely confused. What I look that bad for another year older or what??? He stops laughing and proceeds to inform me that my face is black and how come. Cobwebs gone, I bolt out of the tent heading for a mirror on a bike proclaiming WTF!!!! You goofball, its from you! Well it seems after his video of the burnouts not just the camera was covered in rubber but so0 was he. We just couldnt tell the night before in the dark. With him cuddling up in the night and kissin me he had managed to transfer the rubber to me and the pilows and the sheepskin! Dumb me, I brought pillows with cream cases on them and my white sheepskin wasnt so white anymore! I was looking like a backwards mime! Before I could find a cloth and some water, our friend Colleen happened to already be in our camp with coffee and started laughing at me as well. Find a cloth and some water and try and wipe this shyte off me, meanwhile when Colleen manages to stop laughing she is hightailing it to get her camera. Thankfully she wasnt fast enuf and with a little elbow grease and some cold cream someone had left on the table, I manged to get it all off before she got back. Now that Len is done laughing at me he realizes how much he has on himself as well and tries to get the worst off of atleast his face. Knowing that in a few hours we would be stopping in Vernon for a well needed shower.
We have coffee and some breakie and slowly everyone starts getting up. The music from the corner finally stops at 7am, bout when most have been woken up. Thanks guys. Suzie and Steve waste no time getting their stuff packed up as they are heading all the way home today. Us on the otherhand have no major destination, just tour south, couple visits with friends that moved away and carry on til we feel like stopping, hopefully finding some roads that we havent been on before. Mir and Bill are both up packed and loaded to go early. Guess Bill had a few issues getting his bike started but was ready to roll out as well. We all said our goodbyes to Mir and Bill and wished them a safe trip home. Suzie and Steve werent long behind them. We set to getting our stuff packed up and over to the trailer so Mountain could head out for the rest of his mini vacation. Helped him get his bike loaded and our stuff in the trailer, he made some minor adjustments to make everything fit and straped down the load before he left for parts unknown. We went back to the bikes and made our rounds saying goodbye to Art and Colleen as well as B and B. Everyone was planning on different routes home as we had all heard that the highway from Kelowna and the connector were close because of the fire. Art suggested to us to take 33 to Rock Creek and that is what we figured we would do.
We headed out on another hot morning and worked our way to Vernon, where we stopped in for those well needed showers and a visit with our friend Cathy. Was great to see her again and she was looking awesome and happy. She wasnt impressed that her bike was still in the shop and that she couldnt show it to us but we did get to meet her new pup Jazz. What a cutie she is. Sorry if there was a mess left in the shower but that would be all the rubber off Len as he tried to clean himself up, the water rolling off him was black! Wish we could have spent more time with her or if she had her bike go for a ride as well but we had to carry on to Kelowna for another visit. The smoke was pretty much nonexistent in Vernon but as we got closer to Kelowna you could definately smell it in the air.
Not til we stopped in Kelowna for lunch and our next visit with Deb could we actually really see the smoke. You could even see on one hill the fire. Hmmm glad we arent planning on staying here. Debs was looking great also, she has lost some weight and seems to be happy in the interior. She was so happy to see us and just wanted to jump on the bike and come with us. Ya know we would have kidnapped her if she could escape work! Hopefully she will make it down sometime in August for a visit here on the island. She really misses all her friends here. She told us about an opportunity that she may have to open her dog grooming business and hopefully it will happen for her as she will do well. It was time to head out as we really didnt know how long a trip it was to Rock Creek or what the traffic would be like and we werent sure where we were going to stop for the night. We said our goodbyes to Deb hoping to see her soon and off we went.
We found our way to Hwy 33, and there was a fair bit of traffic especially RVs and boats heading this way. But we wound our way thru the traffic, first with Len breaking ahead then signaling me that it was clear for me to pass. We kept hopping along like this instead of sitting in the traffic and going slow. Most of the drivers were good about it and even some would wave me ahead before Len did. Was great as long as they didnt pull to the shoulder and blow dirt and rocks at me. We made it past the summit and roads had created somewhat of a detour for people to get to Penticiton. Quite the cluster phuk if you ask me. Some of them were turning or missing it and trying to back up to make the turn! Amazes me the skills of some drivers out there. I had a quick look at the detour and saw gravel and a sign that said grater working! Not a friggin chance are we going that way. Around the idiots and off we zoom with very little traffic now. Was a nice route to take and of course more great scenery along the way. We stopped in Beaverdell and had a beer before carrying on. For some reason the historic hotel there was shut down but there was a little place across the street, that was more then hospitable. We continued along 33 with some nice gentle twisties, following along a river and eventually we stopped at a rest area to take a few pics, have a drink and just look around. Nice place for sure. We carried on finally getting to Rock Creek and proceeded towards Osoyoos. The whole ride was great, but I knew that those dreaded switchbacks down the hill into Osoyoos were coming eventually. Oh well carry on. Up at the top before you hit the viewpoint, I guess they are putting in new estates called Regal Ridge and at each entrance they had some great carvings of different animals. Really pretty kewl to see. We stopped at the summit to take in the view and for some pics. Then it was time to head down to see if we could find a motel.
Well I made it down thru the switchbacks and we lucked out and found this little place that had rooms as well as a campground. The owners were awesome and talked to us about the bikes and our trip. It didnt take us long after returning from the store to relax and get comfy. We sat outside and had some dinner and I ended up leafing thru a travel magazine for the area. Hey looky here the Jackson Triggs Winery is on our way in the morning, think we need to stop there as we drink enough of it. We took a short walk to the beach to take in the lake view and then came back to put my feet up. For some reason, maybe the heat, my legs had swollen and were a little sore. We laid on the couch watching the idiot box but it didnt take long til both of us were falling asleep. We ended up in bed before 9pm and out to the world by 9:05, Im sure! Didnt even matter that the bed was a little soft, we were done!
Now remember yesterday and Len playing in the burnout pit. Well as Im about to crawl out of the tent and shake off the cobwebs, he is bout to come back in. Instead he stops, starts laughing at me and Im completely confused. What I look that bad for another year older or what??? He stops laughing and proceeds to inform me that my face is black and how come. Cobwebs gone, I bolt out of the tent heading for a mirror on a bike proclaiming WTF!!!! You goofball, its from you! Well it seems after his video of the burnouts not just the camera was covered in rubber but so0 was he. We just couldnt tell the night before in the dark. With him cuddling up in the night and kissin me he had managed to transfer the rubber to me and the pilows and the sheepskin! Dumb me, I brought pillows with cream cases on them and my white sheepskin wasnt so white anymore! I was looking like a backwards mime! Before I could find a cloth and some water, our friend Colleen happened to already be in our camp with coffee and started laughing at me as well. Find a cloth and some water and try and wipe this shyte off me, meanwhile when Colleen manages to stop laughing she is hightailing it to get her camera. Thankfully she wasnt fast enuf and with a little elbow grease and some cold cream someone had left on the table, I manged to get it all off before she got back. Now that Len is done laughing at me he realizes how much he has on himself as well and tries to get the worst off of atleast his face. Knowing that in a few hours we would be stopping in Vernon for a well needed shower.
We have coffee and some breakie and slowly everyone starts getting up. The music from the corner finally stops at 7am, bout when most have been woken up. Thanks guys. Suzie and Steve waste no time getting their stuff packed up as they are heading all the way home today. Us on the otherhand have no major destination, just tour south, couple visits with friends that moved away and carry on til we feel like stopping, hopefully finding some roads that we havent been on before. Mir and Bill are both up packed and loaded to go early. Guess Bill had a few issues getting his bike started but was ready to roll out as well. We all said our goodbyes to Mir and Bill and wished them a safe trip home. Suzie and Steve werent long behind them. We set to getting our stuff packed up and over to the trailer so Mountain could head out for the rest of his mini vacation. Helped him get his bike loaded and our stuff in the trailer, he made some minor adjustments to make everything fit and straped down the load before he left for parts unknown. We went back to the bikes and made our rounds saying goodbye to Art and Colleen as well as B and B. Everyone was planning on different routes home as we had all heard that the highway from Kelowna and the connector were close because of the fire. Art suggested to us to take 33 to Rock Creek and that is what we figured we would do.
We headed out on another hot morning and worked our way to Vernon, where we stopped in for those well needed showers and a visit with our friend Cathy. Was great to see her again and she was looking awesome and happy. She wasnt impressed that her bike was still in the shop and that she couldnt show it to us but we did get to meet her new pup Jazz. What a cutie she is. Sorry if there was a mess left in the shower but that would be all the rubber off Len as he tried to clean himself up, the water rolling off him was black! Wish we could have spent more time with her or if she had her bike go for a ride as well but we had to carry on to Kelowna for another visit. The smoke was pretty much nonexistent in Vernon but as we got closer to Kelowna you could definately smell it in the air.
Not til we stopped in Kelowna for lunch and our next visit with Deb could we actually really see the smoke. You could even see on one hill the fire. Hmmm glad we arent planning on staying here. Debs was looking great also, she has lost some weight and seems to be happy in the interior. She was so happy to see us and just wanted to jump on the bike and come with us. Ya know we would have kidnapped her if she could escape work! Hopefully she will make it down sometime in August for a visit here on the island. She really misses all her friends here. She told us about an opportunity that she may have to open her dog grooming business and hopefully it will happen for her as she will do well. It was time to head out as we really didnt know how long a trip it was to Rock Creek or what the traffic would be like and we werent sure where we were going to stop for the night. We said our goodbyes to Deb hoping to see her soon and off we went.
We found our way to Hwy 33, and there was a fair bit of traffic especially RVs and boats heading this way. But we wound our way thru the traffic, first with Len breaking ahead then signaling me that it was clear for me to pass. We kept hopping along like this instead of sitting in the traffic and going slow. Most of the drivers were good about it and even some would wave me ahead before Len did. Was great as long as they didnt pull to the shoulder and blow dirt and rocks at me. We made it past the summit and roads had created somewhat of a detour for people to get to Penticiton. Quite the cluster phuk if you ask me. Some of them were turning or missing it and trying to back up to make the turn! Amazes me the skills of some drivers out there. I had a quick look at the detour and saw gravel and a sign that said grater working! Not a friggin chance are we going that way. Around the idiots and off we zoom with very little traffic now. Was a nice route to take and of course more great scenery along the way. We stopped in Beaverdell and had a beer before carrying on. For some reason the historic hotel there was shut down but there was a little place across the street, that was more then hospitable. We continued along 33 with some nice gentle twisties, following along a river and eventually we stopped at a rest area to take a few pics, have a drink and just look around. Nice place for sure. We carried on finally getting to Rock Creek and proceeded towards Osoyoos. The whole ride was great, but I knew that those dreaded switchbacks down the hill into Osoyoos were coming eventually. Oh well carry on. Up at the top before you hit the viewpoint, I guess they are putting in new estates called Regal Ridge and at each entrance they had some great carvings of different animals. Really pretty kewl to see. We stopped at the summit to take in the view and for some pics. Then it was time to head down to see if we could find a motel.
Well I made it down thru the switchbacks and we lucked out and found this little place that had rooms as well as a campground. The owners were awesome and talked to us about the bikes and our trip. It didnt take us long after returning from the store to relax and get comfy. We sat outside and had some dinner and I ended up leafing thru a travel magazine for the area. Hey looky here the Jackson Triggs Winery is on our way in the morning, think we need to stop there as we drink enough of it. We took a short walk to the beach to take in the lake view and then came back to put my feet up. For some reason, maybe the heat, my legs had swollen and were a little sore. We laid on the couch watching the idiot box but it didnt take long til both of us were falling asleep. We ended up in bed before 9pm and out to the world by 9:05, Im sure! Didnt even matter that the bed was a little soft, we were done!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Saturday the 18th - My Birthday
Well as we knew, we were awake at dawn with the band still playing, thankfully it stopped shortly after and it was time to have coffee and Baileys for breakfast! Definate great way to start any day camping but especially today. Well of course I decided it was already time to be loud, to annoy our partying friends next to us and well just because! We sat around just taking it easy and enjoy the brief bit of cooler temps knowing within an hour the sun was coming over the hill and we were going to get blasted with heat again. Art and Colleen came over to join us again and some how we ended up having a rather unusual and a bit disturbing morning conversation. Some how we got on to the state of the outhouse and the bag of lime sitting out front. Art is now giving us all directions on how to get rid of a body in the outhouse but it must be done before the rigor sets in or we arent going to get the body in!!! Not sure where this all came from but was an interesting way to9 start the morning for sure. Kinda made me wonder what he was up to after his deranged hair day on Friday and now this! Artie, lubs ya bud but ya were startin to worry me!
Well being my bday and all, I was in no rush to do much of anything. So why not start with a beer now that the coffee is done. I was happy when my phone went off and that me girl remembered to call me.(she is a good kid after all) We chated for a bit and she filled me in on hert trip down south so far and all that she had seen. She also had a quick talk with Suzie and Bee before saying goodbyes. I also got messages from my mom and grandmothers. Of course Happy Bdays were announced all morning. We did want to go for a short ride and find a swimming hole to cool down some but we also wanted to be back in time to see the games and stunt crew. Len wanted to go go go but I was lollygagging. While sitting around Mountain and Erika wandered over and dragged me out of my chair to go decide on a bday present. Heck a tshirt would have been great but they had picked out 2 different leather halter tops and wanted me to decide. Guess this just HTBD cause of all the conversation bout the boots and then also the bootie shorts that Len got for me. So why not finish off the outfit. I picked the tamer of the 2, which was black halter style with cream flames along the bottom. Not as flashy and also the cream would match my bike. Big hugs and thanks guys and back to the camp to get the boys wound up some more. Poor Bry, wasnt sure if he could get his imagination to stop. He wanted me to put the ensemble on but in this heat there was no way I was going to be getting into it all. Hard enuf to get into jeans at this point. Well I was now up and moving around I did get ready to ride, as Len was getting hot and impatient with me and off we went in search of a lake.
We were about to head out and got stuck waiting for the poker run to pull out. Finally off we went towards Salmon arm. Well not positive on how to find a public access to the lake we followed along the waterfront and eventually came to a great beach. Not as good or private as the day before but nice anyways. We hit the lake and cooled off then prompty went and laid in the sun. Yep we dozed off for a bit and as the sun shifted in the sky so did our little patch of shade. I got a bit of a burn on my legs and Len got some on his back. Knew he was going to be itching in a day or so. My legs actually werent to bad, surprisingly enuf. It was nice having the little nap in the considerable quiet compared to the grounds and would have liked to stay longer but we did want to get back for the festivities and so that I could start drinking a bit heavier after the bike is parked. We stopped at a pub and had a quick bite and a cold beer, restocked our supplies to head back and of course got waylaid by the poker run again. Oh well finish our drinks and let them leave then we will head back. Of course it is a little later then anticipated but so be it, we are on no schedule.
Heading back and almost at the grounds we get momentarily stopped by the police again but this time they just wave us thru. Seems they have their hands full with a bike and truck full of the"boyz" We arrive at the grounds and as I had told Len it is going to be packed, worse then Friday nite and weaving our way over to our camp was going to be a challenge. Thankfully, I was kinda looking a a possible spot to weasle my way thru when a guy stopped and talked to me bout my bike and how he loved the colour. Thankfully he said park here but I said I wanted thru to the other side so he was helpful enuf to move the garbage can and emptie cage for me so I could squeeze my way thru to the other side. It was definately close trying to get thru the bikes on either side of me but once that done it was just a tight couple turns thru the vendors and over to our spot which the gang had manged to block with garbage cans again so that we could back our bikes in, out of the way of the games.
Well now parked it was time to get in to the shorts and tanks and kick back for the games and start imbibing!!!! Who me, neber! LMAO Our camp spot gave us all perfect view of the games and besides a bit of musical chairs all got situated and enjoyed the next couple hours. I proceeded to start with beer but then again I had some Sex on the Beach as well. No we werent playing around at the lake, they were shooters that we picked up in SA to celebrate a little more and damn were they good. Wish I could remember what the heck is in them cause I would make them at home. Well I got into the shooters, Bee had to take a little tongue in cheek video of my sex on the beach but for some reason she had issues getting it started and we had to redo it 3 times before we got it. Watching the games was fun as usual and Suzie tried her damndest to get us signed up for the potato hunt but to no avail. We kept teasing Mir that she should be out there showing her stuff and putting some of the guys to shame! She just watching, grinning and determined to stay sober next year so that she could try them out but in the same time paying close attention to what all they had to do. I can definately see her in there next year. Im trying to talk on the phone and brush the knots out of my hair, well I gave up when the brush got stuck and proceeded to just chat away with the brush hanging from the side of my head. Deb was right in the middle of the fire as she was heading home and was giving me first hand description of what she was seeing. Pretty scary to say the least.
After the games they had the burnout pit. Well Len and his new camera he had to get right into the thick of it and take a video. Mind you alot of the vid was just smoke, but you could catch glimpses of the tire and brake lite and such as well as hear the pop when the tire finally blew. Now remember this that Len was right in the thick of things cause it makes the morning pretty friggin funny!
Well games over it was time to enjoy the music, company and beer. Of course at this point the guys are all waiting for the wet t shirt contest and well the girls wanted the hot buns! Well I tried my hardest to stay awake for it but just before it was to get started I decided I had sufficiently finished all my beer plus some and it was time to lay down instead of finding more! Damn, I guess thats the old saying with age comes wisdom and to not put myself in rough shape for the morning, packing up and heading out to parts unknown. Well glad that I did drink enuf to put me into a bit of a sleep cause the music was almost unbearable! We had it in stereo the band to one side and da boyz on the other with their stereo system jacked to deafining proportions. And off I sleep kinda til the next day.
Thanks for sharing my day and helping me have a great birthday!
Well being my bday and all, I was in no rush to do much of anything. So why not start with a beer now that the coffee is done. I was happy when my phone went off and that me girl remembered to call me.(she is a good kid after all) We chated for a bit and she filled me in on hert trip down south so far and all that she had seen. She also had a quick talk with Suzie and Bee before saying goodbyes. I also got messages from my mom and grandmothers. Of course Happy Bdays were announced all morning. We did want to go for a short ride and find a swimming hole to cool down some but we also wanted to be back in time to see the games and stunt crew. Len wanted to go go go but I was lollygagging. While sitting around Mountain and Erika wandered over and dragged me out of my chair to go decide on a bday present. Heck a tshirt would have been great but they had picked out 2 different leather halter tops and wanted me to decide. Guess this just HTBD cause of all the conversation bout the boots and then also the bootie shorts that Len got for me. So why not finish off the outfit. I picked the tamer of the 2, which was black halter style with cream flames along the bottom. Not as flashy and also the cream would match my bike. Big hugs and thanks guys and back to the camp to get the boys wound up some more. Poor Bry, wasnt sure if he could get his imagination to stop. He wanted me to put the ensemble on but in this heat there was no way I was going to be getting into it all. Hard enuf to get into jeans at this point. Well I was now up and moving around I did get ready to ride, as Len was getting hot and impatient with me and off we went in search of a lake.
We were about to head out and got stuck waiting for the poker run to pull out. Finally off we went towards Salmon arm. Well not positive on how to find a public access to the lake we followed along the waterfront and eventually came to a great beach. Not as good or private as the day before but nice anyways. We hit the lake and cooled off then prompty went and laid in the sun. Yep we dozed off for a bit and as the sun shifted in the sky so did our little patch of shade. I got a bit of a burn on my legs and Len got some on his back. Knew he was going to be itching in a day or so. My legs actually werent to bad, surprisingly enuf. It was nice having the little nap in the considerable quiet compared to the grounds and would have liked to stay longer but we did want to get back for the festivities and so that I could start drinking a bit heavier after the bike is parked. We stopped at a pub and had a quick bite and a cold beer, restocked our supplies to head back and of course got waylaid by the poker run again. Oh well finish our drinks and let them leave then we will head back. Of course it is a little later then anticipated but so be it, we are on no schedule.
Heading back and almost at the grounds we get momentarily stopped by the police again but this time they just wave us thru. Seems they have their hands full with a bike and truck full of the"boyz" We arrive at the grounds and as I had told Len it is going to be packed, worse then Friday nite and weaving our way over to our camp was going to be a challenge. Thankfully, I was kinda looking a a possible spot to weasle my way thru when a guy stopped and talked to me bout my bike and how he loved the colour. Thankfully he said park here but I said I wanted thru to the other side so he was helpful enuf to move the garbage can and emptie cage for me so I could squeeze my way thru to the other side. It was definately close trying to get thru the bikes on either side of me but once that done it was just a tight couple turns thru the vendors and over to our spot which the gang had manged to block with garbage cans again so that we could back our bikes in, out of the way of the games.
Well now parked it was time to get in to the shorts and tanks and kick back for the games and start imbibing!!!! Who me, neber! LMAO Our camp spot gave us all perfect view of the games and besides a bit of musical chairs all got situated and enjoyed the next couple hours. I proceeded to start with beer but then again I had some Sex on the Beach as well. No we werent playing around at the lake, they were shooters that we picked up in SA to celebrate a little more and damn were they good. Wish I could remember what the heck is in them cause I would make them at home. Well I got into the shooters, Bee had to take a little tongue in cheek video of my sex on the beach but for some reason she had issues getting it started and we had to redo it 3 times before we got it. Watching the games was fun as usual and Suzie tried her damndest to get us signed up for the potato hunt but to no avail. We kept teasing Mir that she should be out there showing her stuff and putting some of the guys to shame! She just watching, grinning and determined to stay sober next year so that she could try them out but in the same time paying close attention to what all they had to do. I can definately see her in there next year. Im trying to talk on the phone and brush the knots out of my hair, well I gave up when the brush got stuck and proceeded to just chat away with the brush hanging from the side of my head. Deb was right in the middle of the fire as she was heading home and was giving me first hand description of what she was seeing. Pretty scary to say the least.
After the games they had the burnout pit. Well Len and his new camera he had to get right into the thick of it and take a video. Mind you alot of the vid was just smoke, but you could catch glimpses of the tire and brake lite and such as well as hear the pop when the tire finally blew. Now remember this that Len was right in the thick of things cause it makes the morning pretty friggin funny!
Well games over it was time to enjoy the music, company and beer. Of course at this point the guys are all waiting for the wet t shirt contest and well the girls wanted the hot buns! Well I tried my hardest to stay awake for it but just before it was to get started I decided I had sufficiently finished all my beer plus some and it was time to lay down instead of finding more! Damn, I guess thats the old saying with age comes wisdom and to not put myself in rough shape for the morning, packing up and heading out to parts unknown. Well glad that I did drink enuf to put me into a bit of a sleep cause the music was almost unbearable! We had it in stereo the band to one side and da boyz on the other with their stereo system jacked to deafining proportions. And off I sleep kinda til the next day.
Thanks for sharing my day and helping me have a great birthday!
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