Our Life On Wheels

2012-01-06T06:28:00.000-08:00

2011-02-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

Recent pics of our motorhome for some folks that are interested. 8-24-10

2010-08-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

The very first pic is of the only imperfection of the motorhome that we can find. This is a small dent (there's a quarter beside it so you can see the size of the dent) which is in the moulding cap, not the fiberglass. We are not sure how this happened, perhaps a rock or other object thrown by a mower.

New clothes for my Kindle

2010-03-11T16:36:00.001-08:00

I just bought yet a new Oberon cover for my Kindle and a DecalGirl Skin. The cover is called Tree of Life in Saddle. The skin has butterflies and dragonflies in matte.

She thought it snowed just for her

2010-03-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, we got a good snow here, about 4 to 5 inches. We don't get snow every year so this was nice. This is the first snow my year old Lab Savannah has ever seen and she LOVED it! She thought it snowed just for her enjoyment, and enjoy she did!!

My new Kindle

2010-01-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

I've recently discovered the wonderful e-book reader, the Kindle. I've just bought a skin for it and wanted to show a pic. Also, my new Borsa Bella bag to carry it in.

Savannah today at 11 months

2010-01-02T18:19:00.000-08:00

All 70 pounds of sweet Hershey chocolate!! We love our doggie! You have no idea what we went through to get her still for this pic!

My youngest

2010-01-01T16:13:00.001-08:00

Here's a recent pic of my youngest daughter Kaitlyn (almost 20) the night she went to the ballet The Nutcracker. My..she's not a baby anymore.....

Our Dram Tree Tour of historical areas around Wilmington, NC (this is still under construction.........)

2009-11-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

The next place we went to was nearby to Orton Plantation. The mansion house was built in 1725 by Roger Moore. The Plantation is still privately owned by the Sprunt family and the house itself is not open for tours. However, there are beautiful gardens and grounds that you can walk and gaze upon at your leisure. It was really very beautiful in the fall, but they say in the spring it abounds with color of the many varieties of flowers and flowering trees, so much so, that it “almost hurts your eyes to look at it.”

The plantation was once a leading producer of rice in the Carolinas. This area of NC, around the Cape Fear river was the location of many rice plantations and you can still see wild rice grown in abundance in this area as well as this plantation.

The plantation fell into disrepair after the Civil War, but was brought back to it’s former glory by James Sprunt. The Sprunt family still owns it to this day. Though it is not longer a working plantation, today the plantation takes in proceeds from tours of the grounds, and in timber sales from the many pines on its vast acres.

The pictures you see here are the Orton Chapel house that was built by James Sprunt for his wife. The plantation house itself, isn’t it beautiful? Also, there were old graves from family members dating back to the 1700s. One of was an 11 year old girl that died from yellow fever epidemic. Most of these graves were above ground due to the river so close by.

Yesterday, a Saturday, 10-31-09, my husband and I embarked on a tour that we have been trying to do all summer and fall and finally were able to do it on the very last day of the tour for the season. We are from southeastern North Carolina and we love history. SE NC is filled with history, especially in the Wilmington area. I happen to have been listening to the radio one day at work and an ad for Dram Tree Tours came on. It was an all day tour on a 14 passenger, air conditioned bus touring some of the best historical sites in and around Wilmington. That sounds like the tour for us!! So after weeks and weeks of trying to get the tour, our schedules allowed us to do so.

The tour included Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site, Orton Plantation, on to unch at Surfer’s Restaurant at Southport, Southport and Ft. Johnston, and Fort Fisher.

This late in the season, there was only one other couple that joined us on the tour, but this did not take away from the tour at all. And this was no ordinary tour guide. This was the founder and owner of Dram Tree Tours, Dram Tree books and publications, and the author of 16 books of the area. He does his own tours and we have never in our lives seen someone that even came anywhere close to being as knowledgeable about the history of any area. This was not a memorized spouting off of knowledge, but the telling of many stories about many people and events of the areas from someone who has studied these places, events, and people for many years and knows what he is talking about. The love of history and the love of this area is very apparent from his tour and we were mesmerized by his tales from the moment we started the tour at 9 a.m. until it ended somewhere around 4:30 p.m. He is from the area. His name is Jack E. Fryar, Jr.

We met in front of Thalian Hall in Wilmington, climbed aboard the bus and off we went to our first stop, Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historical Site. Brunswick Town is a ruin of a town that was founded in 1726 by Maurice Moore. It soon became an official port of entry. It became a center of commerce, immigration and government for the Cape Fear Region as ships from all over the world brought goods into and out of the port. The town played an important role in the Stamp Act Defiance in 1765, and you thought the Boston Tea Party was first. It was not! Brunswick was burned by the Redcoats in 1776. During the civil war however, an earthen fort was built there and it played an important role in the civil war. It was called Fort Johnston. The fort fell to Union forces in Feb. 1865.

Above are some pictures of the ruins of Brunswick Town/ Ft. Johnston. Notice the ruins of the church. You can’t see it on the pictures, but it has the holes, and there were many, many of them, of the bullets of two wars….the Revolutionary war and the Civil war. The larger bullet holes are from revolutionary war bullets as they were bigger bullets. The smaller one are from the civil war bullets. A nice little side note is that Jack, the tour guide got married in the center of that church’s ruins in 2005! I think that’s so romantic. The ruins of the houses clearly show how the houses were laid out. The rocks you see to the foundations of the houses (the only things left of them) came from incoming ships. The ships that came into the areas from other countries used these rocks, that originated from their county were used as ballast. Used in the bottoms of ships if they had a light load in coming over. Upon entering the area in Brunswick, they dumped these rocks here and left them because they didn’t need them anymore as their ships were loaded down with all the things they were taking back. So these rocks were then used for many things, including building houses. So none of these rocks originated in this country.

A girl has to be pretty....

2009-09-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm pretty obsessed with my doggie since I got her. We have to work with her alot.

Anyway, I bought her this beautiful Lupine collar which is guaranteed from falling apart or being chewed or any kind of destruction. If it's destroyed they will replace it for free. Doesn't she look beautiful in it? :o)

Oh, and proof too that my husband loves this dog....the dog he didn't really want to get. Now he's totally in love with her as I am.

I'm a beautiful dog.....

2009-07-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

Just look at me. I'm 6 months old and getting adult features. I'm sleek and beautiful. :)

Some cropped photos

2009-05-17T14:55:00.001-07:00

Savannah is growing and coming along

2009-05-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

We took our Lab Savannah to her first obedience class at Petsmart an hour away yesterday on Saturday. The minute we got out of the car she was so anxious to get inside the store. I think she smelled the other animals. We all met up inside and there were 5 other pups and their owners in our class and they were adorable. Best of all, all of them let her lick them and smell their noses and none of them bit her. She made friends and she was so happy. The class was mostly informational the first day and we are to go for 7 more sessions. Her biting is already getting so much better, thanks to my youngest daughter's boyfriend who gave me some really good pointers and a good, humane method of getting her to stop and we are being very consistent. I have learned you really have to become dedicated to your Lab once you have one. Dogs are not like cats, who always just know. Dogs have to be taught so many things. But I knew this. She has become a huge part of my life and my husband loves her too.

Here are some pics of her in our yard today. It's really hard to get a good pic of her as she is always moving. lol!

Bringing up baby pup sure is tough!

2009-04-09T17:45:00.001-07:00

Well, let me first start off by saying I love my little chocolate covered Lab baby. However, she is rather a tough one to train. First of all, she play bites. Yeah, it's called play biting but it hurts like heck and makes me bleed. I have to wear band aides on my hands when I go to work so people won't thing I have leprosy or am a self mutilator. 2nd of all, I'm having a tough time house training her for potty. You really have to watch them like a hawk in order to get an idea of when they have to poop or pee or they will poop and pee all over your floor and rug. I just simply get exhausted trying to drag her out a million times a night, so I fall short of catching her signals all the time. However yesterday was the first time we went all day without the first accident. Yeah!!! You have no idea of what an accomplishment this is. I could not even start to count how many times I've cleaned poop and pee up off my floor. When she goes and does her business outside, I praise her and give her a treat. They say I got her too young and is why I'm having problems with the biting, she was 6 weeks. They say it's best to wait at least until they are 8 weeks so they can learn bite inhibition from their mother. But I didn't know. The owner said they were all "ready to go."

Anyway, I love her and I'm sure all of this will be worth it. I won't even go into all the crate training we've been doing but she's done wonderful with that. We put her in her crate at night at 9 and she sleeps all night til 5:30 a.m. and she has not wet or pooed.

Oh the things a dog owner will talk about!! haha!

Here are some new pics. If you look closely, you will see on my carpet some stains of cleaned poop and pee (does not always come up well) and some leaves that were brought in by the constant going in and out. Thankfully, we will be getting new carpet when she's trained. (we had planned this even before getting her). I've also included some pics of my hands, you ought to see under the bandages and on my arms that are covered up. They never said puppy-hood with a Lab would be this rough. But I'm betting it will be worth it. I hope so anyway.

More cute pics of my chocolate covered sweetie

2009-03-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

How could you NOT love me?????

My new Lab Puppy!!!

2009-03-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after months of reading, researching, and yesterday and the day before buying all the supplies I would need, I picked up my new 7 week old Lab puppy! She was in a big pen with her mother and she picked me out and I couldn't resist her! But she smelled SO bad!! I put her in the pet carrier and she cried and yelped all the way home, 45 minutes, except for the time we stopped at my parents' to show her to them. My pup immediately fell in love with my mother, as all animals do. Then it was on the way back home again and she immediately started the crying again. She came from a litter of 7 pups, so this is all new to her.

I got her home and gave her a good bath and now she smells good. She's so sweet. However, when I put her in her crate last night, she cried 45 minutes before going to sleep, then slept about an hour and a half, cried again so I took her to potty, which she did. This whole thing lasted all night long.(the crying, potty, sleeping, crying, potty). We have a long way to go in our training but it will be worth it.

Her name is Savannah. She is a chocolate lab. It's hard to get a good pic of her because she rarely stays still. She looks a little sad because she misses her mama I guess.

My first ride on back of our Ultra

2009-03-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

Today and yesterday were 2 beautiful days in the 70s and 80s here. My husband felt like he had practiced enough on his own on our Ultra Classic that he felt comfortable with me on back and we had a great time! Yesterday we rode through the countryside and wound up in Myrtle Beach. I was surprised because I thought he was just going in the country down some simple roads with little traffic, but no, he hit the big time and he did very well. We had an absolute wonderful time and it was like a dose of good medicine for both of us. We stopped at Krispy Kreme and sinned greatly and then it was on the way home. We also stopped at the Harley dealership in Myrtle beach. We had no trouble from the police with the new laws since we always wear helmets anyway and our exhaust is still stock and sound very quiet now anyway. We rode for about 5 hours.

Today, we rode down to Southport, a very nice ride which took us through miles of the Green Swamp, a refuge for wildlife and lots of trees and swamp area. Southport is a very old Port town and very historic. We ate at a nice restaurant there and we both had stuffed flounder that was delicious. The restaurant sits right in front of the ocean and we had seats right there with a great view watching the boats and seagulls. Then we rode to Wilmington to that Harley dealership and then out into the country. We rode about 6 hours.

The air was filled with the promise spring. The air was fresh, and smelled good, things were starting to bloom, and many fields had been plowed in preparation for planting time. I cannot tell you what healing this did to my soul.

And the Ultra, Oh WOW, we just LOVE it!!! It was so comfortable and my butt or legs did not hurt once during any part of the rides. And the music!!! Guess what the first song on the radio was" "You shook me all night long." And that really got us going. Then lo and behold "Born to be Wild" came on. And the music continued to be that good the whole time. I give the Ultra AAAAAAAA all the way and we should have bought one years ago.

Can't wait to be go on some really long trips!! My gosh we had a great time!!!!!!

His first ride

2009-02-01T14:59:00.000-08:00

Today Allyn was able to ride our new Ultra for the very first time! Why has it taken so long to ride? He's been working 60 hours a week lately and has not had time to ride. He took it out today and said he loves it. Still a little on the tall side, but he's going to have someone do some work on the seat to get it a little lower. I'm waiting for when he feels comfortable on the bike before I get on the back. Hopefully not long from now......

Our new 2009 Ultra Classic!!

2009-01-17T11:06:00.001-08:00

My husband and I are the proud new owners of this beautiful 2009 Ultra Classic!!!!! Vivid Black. Now ain’t she a beauty to behold!!!!!

Yesterday, I woke up at 12 pm after only sleeping about 3 hours since I worked the night shift the night before. It was tough getting up since I don’t regularly work night shift, much less not sleeping much after, but no way in heck was I going to miss out on going to pick up our Ultra!!

So I got ready and we took off for the 2 and a half hour drive to Rocky Mount, North Carolina to Rocky Mount Harley-Davidson. We got there about 3:30pm. We talked ALL the way down there SO excited to be picking up our dream bike. All the places we will go with it, all the extras we wanted to put on it, just dreaming away.

Once we got there, we were met by the salesman that he had been talking with over the phone the past 2 weeks. He was a very pleasant man. He introduced us to the parts manager, who my husband has also been talking with over the phone. He was great also. We were also met by the guy who gave us instructions about the bike and they all took us back there to meet our new Ultra. Also, they introduced us to the sales girl, but all she did was give us our 2 free t-shirts as we didn’t have any apparel we needed since we’ve been riding since 2001, we had everything we needed there, but she was great.

Then once the numbers were gone over we went to the parts section and had a little spending spree. The one thing that we liked about the deal was they gave us “Harley bucks” where they would match what we would spend at the dealership dollar for dollar up to one thousand bucks. So there we went, through the parts dept just like it was Christmas day and we were wild people saying “we want this, and this….!!!”” It was wonderful. (we had planned what we wanted and how much to spend beforehand though, but it was great!). We bought a rider’s backrest, headset for me, chrome plate for the instrumentation panel, chrome rings for the back speakers, chrome cover for the passenger foot rest, I think there’s more but I forgot the rest. We had also had some things added to the bike before we picked it up….we had it lowered and had chrome forks added. After at least 700 miles we will have the Rush Slip ons and Power Commander added.

I just want to say that Rocky Mount Harley-Davidson made us feel more welcome than at any place we have ever purchased anything, and we felt just like a King and Queen. These folks went above and beyond the call of duty and waited on us hand and foot making us feel very special. We will not hesitate to make the 2 and a half hour drive again for anything we need for the bike, or clothes or anything. What a truly wonderful experience!!! The folks we dealt with were Jay the salesman, Jamie the parts manager, Chris the Service manager, and Eric the business manager. Every single one a class act!!!

Once we got done, we loaded up the bike in our trailer and we left there and it was dark outside and COLD!!! Luckily right next door was this really new looking, old fashioned like drive in diner and we had a fantastic meal in celebration! I even toped it off with a big fat piece of cake!

After our meal, we started the drive home and we talked all the way home, about taking our beautiful black beauty on rides to the mountains of NC, VA, TN, GA, the Blue Ridge Parkway, to Sturgis. We dreamed all the way home. What a wonderful feeling to know we have this beautiful motorcycle and the places it will take us to. I only lost consciousness from my exhaustion for about 20 minutes on the ride home. Then when I woke up, we started talking about it all over again!!

Story to follow soon!!

Last pics of our Heritage

2009-01-03T09:41:00.000-08:00

Well, as we wait for the man who bought our Heritage to come pic it up, we decided to take some more pics of it in all her glory. My, my, my what a beautiful bike!! We are really going to miss it!

The story? Well, I've not been riding my own bike that much and we have been wanting an Ultra Classic for quite some time. So we decided to take advantage of the current Harley-Davidson incentive where you can trade in your 07, 08, or 09 Sportster and get full MSRP for trade in on a big twin. Could NOT have sold my Sportster for anywhere near that with this economy, so this is a really good deal. We sold our Heritage on ebay.

With a bit of sadness we say goodbye to our Heritage because we've had so many good times on her, but we are looking forward to the new adventures on our new 2009 Ultra Classic!! I'll post pics as soon as we get it!!

A disturbing trend

2008-11-19T20:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, I just couldn't resist:

Animals that were formerly self-sufficient are now showing signs of belonging
to the Democratic Party... as they have apparently learned to just sit and wait
for the government to step in and provide for their care and sustenance. This
photo is of a Democrat black bear in Montana nicknamed 'Bearack Obama'

I stimulated the economy

2008-11-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the election is over and I did not actually die from what the majority of Americans voted for. I have issues with our president elect, but since he is our president now, I will pray for the best. I have to admit, I admire Sarah Palin, though I am one of the few now that still do. But I won't go there on my blog...it seems to be dangerous territory.

Soooo....I will say that yesterday, my husband and I went to visit my youngest daughter and take her out to eat. Before getting there, we stopped at the Ray Price Harley-Davidson in Raleigh. Always a dangerous thing for us. Here's the story: Back in August, we took our youngest for her first year in college. Being a very traumatic time for me, we decided to try and drown the thought of that out by going to visit 2 Harley shops on the way home. One being Ray Price. When I walked in, there it was....a beautiful green (but a pretty green) leather jacket. My mouth watered. It was in the front and was just in the new arrivals. There were about 4 or 5 of them in different sizes. I wanted it. But my husband said it would just have to be my Christmas present and I could get it then. I told him, no way in heck even a single one of them will be left by then. So, seeing as how I really shouldn't get it anyway, I dismissed it and we left after awhile. But the jacket never left my mind. So, yesterday, we found ourselves at Ray Price again. I immediately went to see if the jacket was still there. I looked and looked and could not find it...then there it was!!! Only ONE left and guess what...it was in MY size!!! I tried it on and it was beautiful. 3 women walked past me saying what I already knew...it was beautiful. So my husband bought it for me for an early Christmas present. He did say though that it SHOULD be on sale, but I didn't see a sale price on it or markdown. When we got to the counter though, the lady said everything in the store was 15 percent off!! They were having a HUGE VA shindig there and there were hundreds of people there, vendors and cooking and they had everything on sale. What luck!!

Anyway, here it is!!

Also, here's pics of my cat Mythie who has decided to be camera shy and not sit still for anything.

Taking a movie of the bikes....

2008-10-02T13:01:00.001-07:00

Wow, here's me taking a movie of our bikes!! Haha! I have to find more subject matter....really!

Haunted Wilmington

2008-10-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, we went to Wilmington, NC and celebrated my oldest daughter's 23 birthday. We went to an old historical part of Wilmington next to the river called The Cotton Exchange. It's a very vibrant part of old Wilmington filled with historical homes, brick roads, and old buildings that have pubs, restaurants, and business. It is alive and so much fun! There's a river walk, a pier type walkway along this area next to the river. You can ride a river boat, go on a ghost tour, ride horse and buggy around the area, tour old mansions such as the Bellamy Mansion or just a vast array of things. We decided to eat at an Irish Pub. I had smothered chicken breast covered with mushrooms, onions, and peppers. After eating, we went on a ghost tour of Wilmington. We love to do stuff like that. We had done one in Gettysburg when we visited there and thought it was a hoot, and this tour was too. Our group leader was so funny! After the tour we went to a nice Ice cream shop. I ate butter pecan, my fav, and the pecans were in huge pieces. Yummy!

It was a fun night and I'd like to go back to the area again soon. We had a blast. Pictured are eldest Stephanie and her husband Steve, my youngest Kaitlyn, and my husband and I.

Our motorhome

2008-09-23T09:57:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to show a few pics of our motorhome. We started camping in a tent in 2001, then bought a few toyhaulers and ultimately ended up with a 2003 Newmar Mountain Aire 38 ft motorhome. It has 2 slides. It's really nice and better than we ever hoped for. It's a gasser, has a fold out bed/couch, dining table w/4 chairs, queen sized bedroom, generator, convection oven, washer/dryer, nice shower and plenty of storage space inside and out. It has full body paint. Here are some pics:

Our trip to western NC mountains

2008-09-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

Last year Allyn and I took the most wonderful trip. We decided we would go to an area of the NC mountains we had never been to before, the area near where Tail of the Dragon is. We had stayed in Asheville, rode the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive before and all the other areas near there, and that was great, but we wanted to do something different. Besides, we had never slain that dragon before!!

We decided we would stay at a nice Motorcycle Campground we heard of called Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge in Stecoah, NC which is right in the heart of everything we wanted to see.

This motorcycle campground was WAY better than we had even hoped for!! It's tucked away in the beautiful western mountains of NC. It has tent sites on the softest grass you ever felt (yes, I felt it). You can bring your own tent, or they will rent one to you. They also have a lot of the needed camping items for rent also. Or you can rent one of their cabins. They also have a few RV sites with hookups. They have electrical hookup, but no sewer hookup, but there is a dump site right on the premisis. We took our motorhome and got a really nice spot. A wonderful little creek runs right through the campground.

The campground has a main building where you can watch this huge flat screened TV with surround sound, or listen to music or play pool. They also have dining areas where you can sit and enjoy one of the wonderful dinners they have. They also serve great deserts. We had hot apple pie and ice cream!! They also serve a nice country breakfast. They have a nice sheltered area in front of this building so you can park your bike. In the back, they have a porch with rocking chairs where you can just sit and relax and eat that desert you just bought, or there is an area where you can sit in a circle around this big fire pit and talk to others about the days ride...or just sit and listen. It is a wonderful campground and I would recommend it to anyone.

On our first day we headed out to the Deal's Gap, aka Tail of the Dragon. Have you heard of this infamous road? Well, it's 318 curves in 11 miles. I was so nervous at first, but to tell you the truth, though it was fun, we got on some roads that were even curvier than that on our trip. The scariest thing is when croch rockets would fly past you at a million miles an hour and take the most outrageous chances on their bikes. But the ride was fun and we bought the T-shirt!

Leaving the campground, we took a road that took us past Fontana Dam. We stopped by the little gift shop where we talked with a nice lady and bought a book. It was neat. The lake at the dam was beautiful. On the ride to Deal's Gap, there was a river running to the right of us with moutains next to it and it was a thing of beauty. It made me think of how the Native Americans must have enjoyed living off this land many years ago.

There was also Natahala National Forest, Cherohala Skyway and all the rides in between to get to these places and it was fantastic. We went through many little towns and ate at some nice places and we just had the time of our lives.

We hope to go back again soon.

Just some pics

2008-09-13T14:13:00.001-07:00

My Life Has Changed......

2008-09-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

My heart was pounding as I pulled my riding boots on. My fingers were sweating and I donned my HD vest. I went to the key rack and went through all the keys that we have had hanging for so many years, some keys we long since forgotten what they were for. I saw the HD key first and ran my trembling fingers across those black HD letters….the key to my new life. I then fumbled through the many keys to find the one to our shop across the yard. No not this one, not this one either, gosh…what is THIS one for? Ah ha!! There is the key. I swallowed hard, knowing that my next steps would be out the door to the shop which housed my 2008 Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 Low Anniversary Edition. I bought this bike back in November and have put 415 miles on it. Well ok, so my husband put on about half of those…ok I said it. I had been waiting for the times my husband would come home from work to ride with him on his Heritage Softail Classic. Only thing is, my husband works out of town and does not come home but every other weekend. This made for some long times between riding as on some of those weekends we had other commitments and could not ride. It has just dawned on me that if I’m ever going to be a serious rider and get experience, then I’m going to have to ride it by myself much of the time. Besides, the thought of riding on my own without having to worry about someone watching me, or trying to keep up with their speed, going down roads that I choose to ride on, sounded very appealing.

I stuffed my drivers license, my credit card, my cell phone and my house keys in my pocket. Dang, I’m going to have to find another way to tote these things, I thought to myself. Then out the house I went.

With each step toward the shop, my heart beat faster and faster until I thought it would jump from my chest. Oh gosh, I can’t do this! What am I thinking of? What if something happens? Ok, well I’ll just at least go crank it up and see how that feels.

There she sat, all beautiful 1200 ccs of her black and copper glory. Sitting there as if to say, “What the heck you waiting for? This is why you bought me, isn’t it?” How could I argue?

So, I unhooked the battery tender, nice thing to remember don’t you think? I put the key in and unlocked the forks then put it in the ignition. Then I sat down. Yeah, it still feels good just like all the other times I sat on her. Ok, I’ll crank it up. Varroooommmm babooomm babooooommmmmmm, oh yeah, she still sounds good with slash cut mufflers and the Power commander I had installed. I put it in neutral and pondered how I would make the sharp turn and hump over the exit of the shop to get the heck outta there. Hmmmmm. I sat there……and sat there….and sat there, my heart pounding again and the smell of gas fumes getting the best of me. So I cut her off. I tried to walk it out of there, but the hump was too big so I cut it on, swallowed hard, eased the throttle and eased out the clutch and I was outta there! Stopped and got off and put the garage door back down.

Now you might wonder, what is all that special about all this? Well, I’m ashamed to say that every time I rode with my husband, he got it out of the shop and brought it to our driveway all ready to ride. And I let him spoil me this way. Only thing was, I was doing myself a great disservice by this. So now I’ve already reached a milestone before even getting out of my drive!

I eased up to the edge of the road and off I went! Hey, so far so good. I rode down a road that has very little traffic. Oh man, here I am alone on the highway with my bike!!! The feeling of exhilaration that overcame me is indescribable! I’m free….blasting off on my bike all alone….shifting gears ever so smoothly and feeling the power beneath me. (I’m good at gears, I have a stick shift car, ha!!) Then onto the main highway I went. I felt sooo comfortable pulling up to stop signs and taking off, so much more as I was on my own. I don’t know, I just felt like no one was watching me and I was free.

I rode on the two lane road, turned off, went down many, many back roads, then my gas light came on. Ohhhh….I’ve never gotten gas by myself before with my bike. Went into our little bitty town and drove up to the gas pump. A very busy store. I got lots of smiles, surprised looks and so on. I’d never pumped the gas in my bike myself and of course I overflowed it getting gas on my tank. I walked to the other pumps trying to find a paper towel dispenser with no luck. A man said “what are you looking for?” I told him and he tried unsuccessfully to find one for me. So I said that was ok, I’ll just smell like gas! Thanked him anyway. I cranked her up again, realizing I had not cut the bike off completely and the lights had been on the whole time. Oh well, a lesson for the future. A car was in front of me and I didn’t want to back out, so I waited….and waited. Seeing that it might be awhile, I decided I would go around to the other side, which was a small space. But I did it and did it well I thought and I was off again! I rode down some more back roads and got onto the busy 4 lane, which I have ridden many times before. After awhile I got bored with the straight ahead driving and turned down a county road and made the way with lots of turns back to my home.

I turned into the drive, got off, opened the garage and drove that puppy in there over the hump and all without any problem. I cut her off, and backed her back into the space beside our Heritage where I got her from. I put the battery tender back on, patted her and made my way back into my house. Only the person that walked backed to the house is not the same person that walked out of the house to the shop where my bike is. She’s changed. She’s a woman that knows she can ride her own ride, live her own life, dream her own dreams with or without someone riding right beside her. I am liberated.

This is such a significant milestone for me, especially as my life is taking on a new frontier as I sent my youngest girl off to college 2 weeks ago.

Now riding with my husband will be so much more comfortable now that I had some alone time with my bike. I can’t explain the reason I feel this way, but I do. I do know one thing though, I will never hesitate to go it alone again and plan on doing much riding alone and with my husband.

On my journey with my bike, I got so many smiles and waves from so many people. Men mowing their yards, in front of me, women in the cars with their men, just so many and I was so proud of myself.

I rode 58 miles alone today. The most important 58 miles of my life…….

(I wrote this this past Friday)

The story of how our love of motorcycles began

2008-09-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

I wrote this story after we got back from a tent camping trip back in 2001.

The Blue Ridge Parkway....The Beginning Of A Dream

May of 2001 marked the beginning of a dream for me and Allyn, my husband of 20 years. That spring we took our daughters, age 15 and 11, on a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. We had been there many times before, since we live about 6 hours away in southeastern North Carolina, and have always loved it. But this year something was different. We noticed there was so many people on motorcycles there, riding throughout those mountain roads and about 90 percent of them were Harley-Davidsons. We saw how beautiful they were, all the many different styles of the bikes, and especially the absolute joy the riders had on their faces as they rode. We had seen motorcycles there before, but there was just SOMETHING that clicked inside of both of us on that trip. We were captivated. At one point, when we saw this big group of Harley riders parked at a scenic parkway, Allyn said, “Just look at that Rhonda, we could be doing that same thing....right here in these mountains! Wouldn’t that be great?” I agreed, and at that moment, a dream began.

A week after we got home, we went to our local Harley-Davidson dealer, Carolina Coast Harley-Davidson in Wilmington, NC. We looked at all the models on the showroom floor and we were helped by a very friendly salesman named Don. He listened to what our wants and needs were and helped us decide on a model. We got a catalog and within the week we put an order in for a brand new 2002 black Heritage Softail Classic. We were told it would take 6 months until it arrived, so needless to say, our excitement grew with every passing day!

As we waited, we thought back to the time when we first got married. We had rode motorcycles (a friend’s Honda) back then some, and Allyn had even owned a Harley-Davidson for a time before we met, but it had been at least 19 years since we had rode. Our lives got so busy, our children came and there was just hardly any time to ride anymore, so we didn’t. Now, our girls were getting older and more independent. We wanted something to do together that was special, and the thought of the adventures that this motorcycle would bring was special indeed!

On October 12, the long awaited call came (2 months ahead of schedule!) Saying our bike was IN! The next day we were down there to get it! We hauled it home on a trailer since Allyn was not used to riding any longer and he didn’t want to start off riding right in the middle of a large town, so on the trailer she went. As Allyn tied her down onto the trailer, the look on his face said it all. The joy of finally getting this beautiful bike, the thrills that awaited us, they were all evident on his face. There she sat, in all her shiny chromed beauty. All the adventures of the road seemed to await us then and there.

We thoroughly enjoyed the mild NC fall and winter that allowed us to ride frequently. We spent our free time riding and enjoying ourselves. Then we went to the Myrtle Beach Bike Week in South Carolina in the spring. We rode to the local lake, beaches, country sides, and quickly added on the miles to the bike. He became proficient and comfortable with driving, and the joy that we had at the start began to grow even more. But, even during all of our rides, there was one thing that remained foremost in our minds, and THAT was the trip we planned to the Great Smoky Mountains on our bike, where our dream was born in the first place.

Allyn’s work schedule began to get tough, and time off became few and far between. So we opted to take the trip during the time off we finally did have and that was July 4,5,6,7, 2002. We decided to stay in Asheville, NC as it is at the center of where we wanted to go. The ultimate goal? The Blue Ridge Parkway! This parkway is a very scenic drive in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It starts in the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina and ends in Virginia. It is filled with the most beautiful mountain scenery that one can imagine and is a biker’s dream! There are motorcyclists that come here to ride the Parkway from all over the country. NO commercial vehicles are allowed and there are no advertising billboards littering the view. It has continuous smooth winding roads.

On our first full day, we road the Parkway from Asheville to Cherokee, NC. I just want to say that the trip to these mountains was NOT the dream we had hoped for...It SURPASSED it!! I cannot begin to tell you what joy that riding through those mountains on “our baby” brought to us. We became one with the open winding roads, the hills, the mountans, the valleys, the meadows, and trees. The freshness of the mountain air filled our senses. The purr of the engine, the feel of the bike as you ride of it was unimaginable. If the ride, and the scenery, was not enough, what was even more amazing was the friendliness of each and every person we met along the way. This Parkway is filled with many points f inters and scenic views can stop at. You can stop to see the view, rest, and to talk, etc. Each time we stopped, we talked with many different people, all age ranges, men, women, couples, lone riders, and groups. I have NEVER met nicer people and from all over the country! It’s as if we immediately all had something in common. The comradery was unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before. Not only were our fellow motcyclists friendly, but even the people we met along the way that were not on a bike were friendly and genuinely curious and interested in us, our bike, and our journey. For example, there was the well dressed lady that sate beside us at breakfast at the IHOP in Asheville, just before me and Allyn got onto the Parkway. I noticed she kept looking over at us and smiling. We had our jeans, boots, and Harley0-Davidson T-shirts on. Allyn had his doo rag on and it was obvious what we were doing that day. After awhile, she finally said, “are you both on a special trip?” I told her yes, and told here of our trip. She went on to say that she couldn’t help noticing our shirts and thought we were riding a Harley. She relayed to us that a child in her neighborhood was a spokesperson for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the child thought the Harley-Davidson company and all the people that rode them were wonderful. This lady made it very well know to us just how highly she thought of Harley-Davidson and its’ riders, especially due to the charitable sponsorship it gives to MDA. She made us feel great! I was almost moved to tears of pride. Then there was the elder couple from Florida we met. No,, they didn’t’ have a motorcycle, but they talked to us n one of our rest stops overlooking the mountains. The were so nice and interested in us. There was the guy from Michigan, who stopped beside us during a rest beak wanting to know if we were enjoying ourselves. He said he had a brother with a Harley that had thought of riding the Parkway and wanted to know what we thought of it so he could tell him. Of course, we told him it was heaven! And then there were the waitresses at the restaurant and coffee shops we stopped at...wanting to knowhow our ride was. And there were the many fellow motorcyclists we met. Oh man...the instant friendship, the instant “knowing” that one shares with another motorcyclist. The compliments to their bikes, and the glowing with pride from the compliments made about ours, the stories of where they came from the miles they traveled, what got them started riding....all was included in the special experience of meeting them all. We met on e couple that rode from Detroit , Michigan. She on her Heritage Softail Classic, he on his Ultra Classic. They, like many we met, were a couple very similar to us.....taking an adventure together. This is only a small sample of the many nice people we met.

On the second full day, we left Asheville and took the Parkway north. As we rode, we passed lush, green forests, which soon unfolded to scenes of the open mountains and valleys. The mornings were crisp and cool and then warmed into the 90s. However, the mountains and valleys hold onto cooler air which made the ride very comfortable. The weather was beautiful! There were many areas of mountains that revealed why they are called “The Great Smoky Mountains.” And that is due to the “smoky look.” There were many, many miles where it seemed that it was as wild and untamed, and untouched by man as it was 100s of years ago. The only thing to remind us of anything different was the pavement we were traveling on and the occasional tunnels that ran through a mountain. Then there were the beautiful rolling green pastures, complete with split rail fences and horses grazing. An occasional cozy, rustic Inn or two would also come into view. We rode to Mt. Mitchell (the highest mountain east of the Mississippi) as high as we could, then parked in the parking lot there, then walked to the top. We continued to a sweet little mountain town called Blowing Rock, where US flags were waving all over celebrating the fourth of July weekend. How wonderful it was to roll into town and watch all the folks celebrating the 4th!! Then we headed back to Asheville on the Parkway. Stopping many times to talk with fellow motorcyclist, looking at the glorious land around us and enjoying its gifts. And then, our journey was over and it was time to go home, leaving the rest of the Blue Ridge Parkway further north and into Virginia to be explored on our next trip.

Yes, we have been to these mountains before, and even drove some on the Blue Ridge Parkway by car, but nothing could compare to what we experienced on our Harley-Davidson. It was nothing short of magic. And our marriage, though it has always been strong, was strengthened even more by our experience. Two people, riding this adventure together, never knowing what lies next, one enjoying it as much as the other.....was truly magic. There are many more dreams and adventures yet to explore for me and Allyn on our Harley....but this will always be a treasure in our memories...on the Blue Ridge Parkway....the beginning of a dream.

I love a busy campground

2008-09-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here's something I wrote after we got back from Walnut Hills Campground in VA a few years ago.

I Admit, I Love A Busy Campground

Now donʼt get me wrong, I love the peacefulness of a nice quiet campground. The serenity I feel when I am somewhat at one with nature, with only the sounds of a bird, a babbling brook,or the wind blowing through the trees. My soul needs this regeneration. Itʼs as if I am renewed once again. As if nature somehow recharges all that I have used up during my busy, hectic life.

However, though my soul needs this peacefulness, I also find that there is much for the soul to be had during very busy campground times such as the 4th of July, Labor Day, and some of the busier camping times. Oh I know, lots of folks think that those busy times are a true RVers nightmare. A time when all the novices are about going around bumping into each other like wild people trying to get that one vacation in for the summer. Oh, but I find it to be so much more!

My husband and I also RV during these busy times of the season. We frequently have only the luxury of a holiday long weekend, or the middle of busy summer season to camp. So we find ourselves, many times, in the midst of this mad rush. But just like the quiet campground offers peacefulness, a busy campground, to me, offers such a treat.

My heart thrills to the sight of children frolicking about as we enter a campground, bicycles & tricycles being ridden, floats and towels being held by folks on their way to the pool, ice cream cones being held, the sound of children laughing and playing as I wait in the truck while my husband checks in. As we roll away from the camp store in search of our site, seeing all the activity around. Yes, I do kinda like it when we are trying to get into our site that our neighbors try to help (even though we donʼt really need it) and a fellow bicyclist stops by to chat as my husband is still in the drive getting ready to back in. I think itʼs great that folks find our setup so interesting that they canʼt wait til we park. I know this may be annoying to some, but we like it. What a wonderful part of human nature to want to help.

As is our custom, we usually walk the entire campground more than once in the late afternoon. This is one of our favorite things to do, and a busy 4th of July weekend or the like is so exciting. Walking around you get glimpses of folkʼs lives. Here you have the couple with the neat campsite, complete with wooden sign, sitting together watching the passersby. Next you have the couple with the 3 children, and other members of the family, perhaps grandma & grandpa are along. . It looks as though they have brought every toy from their house to the campground and sprawled it ever so messily about their campsite. They just wanted to make sure nothing was left at home that could possibly be played with at camp. Thereʼs your vintage travel trailer. It looks like it was made in 1960, but the owner has put out USA flags and tiki lights and a welcome mat as proudly as it were made in 2005. And he very well should be proud. We see people walking their dogs. The family dog, brought along because how in the world can they leave a part of the family behind? Walking by we smell the hamburgers cooking, we see the vast amount of cooking pots, campfires, and every kind of cooking contraption known to man, at folkʼs sites. The corn on the cob is being eaten, the watermelon cut. Then thereʼs the tenting areas. Those are really interesting too. Mostly young families with small children. Big, giant tents with a big screened in area next to it with all kinds of things in it. And little bitty tents that you wonder how in the world two people can fit in. Walking by each one.....tent, 5th wheel, TT, Class A, Class C, we glance into just a brief moment in peoples lives. I feel the excitement that each family feels. Itʼs special.

At the end of the holiday and our last day, we pull out of camp, as do many others.. We see the couple folding up their tent, folks looking around and picking up their belongings, packing up all the memories that they have made on this one special trip, all tucked safely away in their hearts and minds, each family with their own experience. This is to be remembered for a lifetime. As we pull out, I am comforted in the fact that yes, there are families in this world that care enough about their children to take them camping, couples that care about each other enough to go somewhere this special, to celebrate the 4th of July, or Labor Day, or Memorial day, here all together. I am fortunate enough to experience it myself, and watch others do the same. .

So yes, I do like busy campgrounds. I get to see so many families have the time of their lives. It gives me peace in such trouble times of the world.

How it all began.....

2008-09-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

I just want to tell you a little about me and my husband Allyn so you can kind of see where we came from and how we got started on the life we have now. We were married May 15, 1981 and so far have had 27 wonderful years together. We had our first daughter, Stephanie in 1985, she's now married and lives in Wilmington, NC. We had our second daughter Kaitlyn in 1990 and we just sent her off for her first year in college two weeks ago. We are so proud that she graduated valedictorian of her high school class. We are now empty nesters. I'm 48 and Allyn is 54.

Anyway, we were busy working, paying bills and raising our girls. We never really took vacations until 1990 when we started going on yearly vacations to Disney World. There were some wonderful times had with our family at this Happiest Place On Earth!

Then our girls got bigger and on one fateful day on Memorial Day 2001 weekend I finally talked my husband into taking us all tent camping. We bought a tent (which leaked) and headed up to the mountains to Cherokee, NC. My oldest girl who was 15 by then was unimpressed, our youngest did enjoy herself but by FAR the most impressed persons were me and my husband. We saw motorcycles and RVs and our taste for both was born. This was in 2001 and we ordered our first Harley immedidately when we got back home. This lead to wonderful times on it. Then we started dreaming of toyhaulers to haul it with and to camp. We bought our first toyhauler in 2002 and we have upgraded several times since then and now have a nice 2003 Newmar Mountain Aire motorhome.

I now have my own bike, a 2008 Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 Low Anniversary editiion, and my husband has a 2005 HD Heritage Softail Classic.

So...that's how it started.

My ride to HB Spokes

2008-08-31T10:44:00.001-07:00

Just a quick ride report today. My husband is home today, so feeling good about myself since my 58 mile ride alone on my Sporty Friday, I thought it might be nice to ride on down to HB Spokes. I don't know if you all know of the place, but it's a really nice and popular biker bar and grill in Longs, SC near Myrtle Beach. We only live about an hour away. http://www.hbspokes.com/

We took the back roads all the way there and it was SO nice! He went on his Heritage, me on my Sportster. I kept up with him, went around curves fine, turns fine and just had a really great time. (drove an average of 50 to 58 mph).

We got to HB spokes about 1100 a.m. but we and another couple were the first ones there. We went in, I beat my husband in a game of pool (I swear it was the first time I ever beat anyone in pool!) and we had a nice lunch. (him--BBQ sandwich and fries, me a nice grilled chicken house salad with tea). Then I bought a T-shirt, lol! Gotta commemorate the occasion, right?

Then we headed on back home and I had just as much fun on the way back.

I'm not overly confident, but my confidence has grown 100 fold and I'm just LOVIN' it!! We rode 100 miles exactly!! Here's some pics!

Sportster pics

2008-07-21T10:05:00.001-07:00

Here's some pics of my Harley-Davidson 2008 Sportster 1200 Low 105th Anniversary edition. I bought it November 2007. I had installed at the dealership Rush Slip on mufflers, Stage One Power commander. After getting it home, Allyn put on a quick detatch windshield, lay back license plate holder, and engine guards. It sounds really good and I think she's the prettiest thing around!!

My daughter...Valedictorian 2008

2008-06-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

This is my daughter Kaitlyn who graduated from high school 6-10-08 as valedictorian. I am so proud of her!! This is also her best friend Ian, who graduated salutatorian.