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Monday, September 19, 2011

Meandering with 10,000 Negative Ions :)

9-16-11 We are heading to Dallas for the weekend and Diana & Chris are going with us.  We get out of town about 4:30pm, and have to say it is a bit cool and overcast.  We have had a cold front come through, and the temp. is quite different than what we have been having.  It is in the 60's.  Not sure what to take cause it is supposed to get warmer, but we have chance of rain too.  So we take our coats, and rain suits.  I have only one light jacket on, and about a mile from the house, I can tell it isn't going to be enough.  I go ahead and tough it out until we get to our first stop.  Was glad to put on the sweat shirt in Ardmore.  I was putting on more clothes, and some of us, and I will not mention names, are taking some clothes off.  We decide to go ahead and try to make as much time during the daylight and get as far as we can, before we stop and eat.  Really is a very nice ride.  The temp. starts warming up as soon as we hit the red river.  We are getting some mist, but nothing that is bad, so we continue.  We go ahead and pull off at Sanger and decide it is time to get some food, and hope that the rain that is now falling pretty good, will pass on by.  We go to a Mexican food place we have always seen, but never tried.  They are pretty busy, but we get in quickly.  Had the nicest waiter take care of us.  Food and Margarita's were really good.  We head out to get our rain suits on, as the rain has just seemed to stall from Sanger to Dallas.  It's not a heavy rain, but the roads are pretty messy.  Chuck has gotten us rooms somewhere, and I have tried to guess where they are at, but he won't tell....so I guess we will just have to get there to find out.  We are close to 10pm by the time we get to the Las Colinas area.  It is raining pretty good, and Lupy takes us to what we think is our hotel, and the guy can't find our reservation and informs us that we are about 2-1/2 miles south of the one we have reservations in.  Oh well, it is only rain...back out in it.  We find our hotel, and they say we can leave the bikes under their portico for the night.  Really appreciate that as it is still raining lightly.  I know we all need rain really bad, but you know it is a bit trying when you are on a bike.  Have to say, Chuck navigated us there like a pro.  We are here, and we are safe, and now we can get out of these rain suits and chill for awhile.  The rooms are awesome, and can I say "cheap".  He really did good.  Time to get some sleep, so we can do some shopping tomorrow.

9-17-11...Breakfast at the hotel.  It was really good.  Indoor swimming pool and hot tub look very inviting...Maybe tonight!!!  Our day starts out looking for the "spyder" dealer in the Dallas area.  Didn't think that would be that hard, but Lupy is really trying us.  She directs us to the street right across from the Dallas Trade Market.  No spyder dealers here.  We put another address in for Richardson Motor Sports.  We plug in the address and take off.  The day is really nice.  Cloud cover and temperature is perfect.  Traffic is not bad either.  We find the dealership and when we drive up there is a red can am outside on display.  We go in, and they have several of them to check out.  Very nice sales people, and Chris and Diana find some great gloves.  Diana even finds Chris a cool shirt.  As they are looking around, one of the sales guys comes from out of the back, and gives her some spyder bandannas.  They make their purchases, and we head out.  As we are getting back to the bikes, Chris says he should have ask them about the mud flap that he needs to replace....(that is another story all together) so he goes back in.  As we are standing outside waiting, the one sales guy comes out with a new mud flap, and takes his broken one off, and puts the new one on.  WOW!!!  Service even....amazing.  Chris says he was paying for it and they were going to order him one and ship to him, and the one sales guy comes with one in his hands, and tells them to take the shipping off the ticket, that he just took one off a bike they had on display.  WOW again.  Nice bunch.  Think Chris will be back to this one for service in the future.  There is a Harley store fairly close, so we head there to check it out.  We pull in and there is quite a bit going on.  They are cooking dogs so we have to have one.  We do our shopping and all I come out with is a bandanna.  It was on sale and I thought I needed it.  Diana saw a Chihuahua Rescue just across the road, so we drive back over there, and pull in.  We go in and play with the little guys for awhile.  Sure was a cute little guy name Barley.  He is a long hair, and less than a year old.  Cutest little guy.  I don't think the ladies were very interested in me, when I said we had 3 heelers.  Guess they thought I wanted their dogs for "food" for the girls.  Failed to tell them that they love cats.  You just don't say the world "squirrel" around them.  LOL


 It is after noon now, and we are going to head to Grapevine Mill to let Diana and I do some much needed shopping therapy.  They are working on the roads as they usually are, but out by Grapevine they have a lot going on.  One of these days it really is going to be a nice road.  Again, I have to say, it is really nice to have someone (Chuck) that knows where the hell he is going.  I feel like we just go in circles, but I see places and things that I know I have seen before, so I kinda have an idea where we are at....Just don't drop me off anywhere, cause I would be totally lost.  Lots of people here, but also a lot of parking spots, so we find a good one, and head inside.  I am amazed that Chuck is actually going into a shopping mall.


He keeps telling us that we have a limit of time and we are burning up our time, as Diana and I are popping in and out of stores like crazy.  We go into  a Clair's Boutique, and hit the jackpot for Diana.  She is finding all kinds of cool spyder jewelry.  Got some much needed bling  :)
Rainforest Grapvine Mills 
A girl can never have too much bling!!!  We pass the food court and there is this guy selling these balls that when you throw them in the air, the hit the tile and splat...then they return to a ball in a few seconds.  We think we need some of these for the kids.  Not sure if they are really for the kids or ourselves, but we have to make a purchase.  We don't have a whole lot of spare room on the bikes, so this is really limiting our purchases.  LOL  Diana and I are really trying to pace ourselves.  There is a Spencer's there and we duck into it, and she finds some more really cool jewelry.  We had been in a luggage store, and I ask the guy there if the Rainforest Restaurant was still here, and he says yes.  Getting a little hungry as it is almost 2 and we have been doing a lot of power shopping.  So we make our way to the restaurant, and thinking the line is going to be really long, we go to see how long, and the guy informs us if we want to sit at the bar, we can go right on in.  Perfect...we will do that.  Sit where there is even a TV, so the guys can watch the Texas game.  Have to say the burger I got was absolutely great.  Too big, but really good.  I think we all gave it a thumbs up.  Of course the $80 bill for the 4 of us to eat was a bit surprising, but hey we are being entertained in the rainforest.  As we come out of the restaurant there is a kiosk that catches the guys eyes.  I run back to a store to check out something, and by the time I get back, the guys have both bought this "negative ion" bracelet.  Not just a negative ion bracelet, but a 10,000 negative ion bracelet.  They are going to have so much energy, and all their aches and pains are going to be gone. You should hear all the things these bracelets are going to do.. Chris keeps talking about how limber he is going to be.  Hmmmm, well, we will have to see how this plays out.
Finished shopping and time to head towards Strokers and see if anything is going on there.  Amazed to find a band playing and quite a few people there.  We go inside to get a drink and Diana wants to get a t-shirt from the store, so we go inside and check them out.  She finds a tie-died one.  Really cute.  Decide it is time to find a Walmart and get some stuff to munch on and go back to the rooms and chill.  We have to about 6 miles away in Irving.  We find it, and get some stuff for munching.  Think we might need some kind of liquor for tonight and we drive a complete circle trying to find a liquor store.  I have come to the conclusion that we are in a dry county.  None to be found in Irving or Las Colinas area.  The main road we have traveled to get to  Las Colinas has rows and rows of strip clubs, and liquor stores.  Think I understand the liquor store part, still not sure about the strip clubs.  :)  The bionic duo keep talking about going and visiting one, but as usual, they are all blow and no go...LOL    We find a liquor store and get some of the honey whiskey.  The same stuff that made Chris sick.  One glass and he was done.  We sit and watch the OU game.  Getting pretty close to 10pm, and we decide we need to eat something.  There is a Bennigans within walking distance, so we walk over.  I had checked on Urbanspoon and doesn't get too high of ratings.  Well, we can add our two bits on that now.  It really wasn't that good, and now understand the low ratings.  The pool and hot tub is supposed to close at 11, but we go ahead and try it out.  We were the only ones in there.  Chuck failed to bring his swimsuit, and kept talking about going commando, but that didn't happen.  Was a really nice and relaxing area.  The indoor pool and hot tub was great.  Time to call it a day.  Has been a very full and fun one.  Weather was great, but there is talk about storms in Dallas area sometime tomorrow, so we decide to be out of the hotel by 10am.  No one will have to rock me to sleep tonight!!! Think it's time to recharge the negative ions.
9-18-11
Negative ions are recharged, and Chuck has been able to stop the elevator door from closing, by using his ionic arm.  Wow these things are great.  The guys are just bouncing with all the energy they have from them.  We eat breakfast at the hotel again.  Really not a bad place.  Have to say it has been a very nice place to stay.  We figure out where to put everything on the bike, and we are heading back towards home.  Chuck ask if we want to take the direct route, or meander.  We vote for meandering.  We went thru Rhome, and Pleasant Texas.  Saw a sign for Wizard Wells, and of course we had to drive thru it.  Wasn't much of a town...but a very interesting name.  Weather is really nice, and actually starting to warm up quite a bit.  By the time we stop for lunch, it was really pretty warm.  We stop and get gas in Bowie, and ask the lady at the station where she recommends to eat, and she suggested Longhorn.  Well, guess we have to try it.  Very busy, and the marquis says that everything is cooked with love, so looks like  we better try it out.  The food was very good.  Nice variety, and plenty of it.  Even got ice cream for dessert.  What a deal.  I laughed as the guys were talking about their negative ions again, and man the stories are getting really large.  If anyone would overhear our conversations they would think we were totally crazy.  Never laughed so much about these negative ions.  The stories are totally amazing.  Think the guys need to be spokesperson for them.
Back on the road, we are reloaded with food in our stomachs, and as we cross the red river back into Oklahoma, the cool front has made it a little cooler and a very nice ride continues.  We stop at Chickasha for gas, and Chris no more gets stopped, and he has 2 guys around him asking about the spyder.  This is a common thing with them.  The guy at the Richardson dealership actually gave them some information cards for them to hand out.  LOL....I think Chris should tour the country and promote Spyders...Of course we would have to tour with him and Diana...LOL...just another one of those "stories".  Since there is a DQ in Chickasha we make our final stop there, and have some good ole DQ ice cream.  It was good, as usual.  We pull into Chukadi Acre about 5pm to some barking and howling dogs.  Think they were glad to see us.  Great weekend...lots of fun. Great rooms, and some good food....and some really great friends with 2 guys and their negative ion bracelets= lots of fun.  Mileage 638

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Sunday 9-11-11

Can't believe it has been 10 yrs. since the planes flew into the Twin Towers in New York City.  The Pentagon, and then the ill fated flight 91.  We are so very lucky to live in a country that is free, but sometimes, we are challenged to keep it that way.

I have an appointment tomorrow to go to Clinton and Thomas, OK, to measure for blinds, and Chuck suggested we ride to the one in Clinton.  I put my measuring tape, and book on the bike and we took off.  We left the house a little after 3pm.  It is getting warmer today, and riding into the sun, I have to say, it was getting HOT.  Was glad to make it to Clinton, and get some water and cool off a little.  Got that one measured, and I thought we should get some ice cream from the Dairy Queen in Clinton.  Was a really nice and very clean DQ. Chuck's medium dip cone was huge.  It was about 5:30, and we decide to go ahead and head towards Thomas and find the next place that I need to measure.  I am looking for a gas station.  Shouldn't be too hard to find.  The road was really nice.  I don't think I have ever been down either of the roads we traveled today.  Hwy 183 north, and then we took 33 East into Thomas.  Mission accomplished, so now we can head towards home.  Really nice riding with the sun to our back.  We continue down 33 thru Watonga, and then on to Kingfisher, and then on in to Okarche, and then home.  I took a couple of pics of a train as we were coming out of Kingfisher and heading towards Okarche.  Nice day for a ride, and we logged 193 miles.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The Rode to Hokum. Labor Day 2011

Chuck and I enjoyed our visit at the Hub so much a couple of weeks ago, we decided to go back and visit again.  Since it was the Labor Day weekend, we took off on Saturday morning, and Jennifer & Steve Alvey are going with us.  We have plans to get to The Hub and drop off our stuff, and go to Mystic Caverns.  The Caverns are just down the road from The Hub.  Very un-eventful ride.  Was pretty hot, but I don't even think that is anything new this year.  It got up to 95 in Harrison Saturday, but we have a cold front coming in, so we are really hoping it will live up to its name, and actually be a COLD front.
We pull into the Hub, and our rooms are waiting for us.  We are lucky to even have rooms there, as they are booked solid, but Debbie assured me there would be some cancellations.  She had called me Friday to let me know she has 2 rooms with King size beds in them.  We unpack and head to eat some lunch.  We are going to check out the Daisy Queen that is down the road.  Have to say it didn't disappoint us.  3 of us had cheeseburgers, and Chuck tried out the beans and cornbread.  Food was really good, and Jennifer and I had to have an ice cream cone. :)  OK, now we can head to the cavers and check them out.
Mystic Caverns....we are becoming spelunkers.  Steve says I just like to say the word.  :)  They have a cute little rock shop while you wait for the tour. I actually get a few little animals that are made from alabaster.  Find a whale for my friend Dee.  It is really cool.   Quite a few people are here to go check out the caves.  There are 2 in this area.  The tour guide gets all of us together and we are off to the first cave...The Crystal Dome.  There is a lot of interesting stories about this cave, and find out that it as well as the Mystic Cave were once owned by Dogpatch USA.  Also found out that the Mystic Cavern had at one time a working still, and that is one reason there is suet all over the cave.  Also a lot of damage to the Mystic Cave as during the depression, people would harvest the columns and sell them as souvenirs from the caves.  Actually very sad to see all the damage that had been done.  Not a very big cave,  but still had some interesting facts about it.  One man popped up and said something about buying the cave, and our tour guide told him it was for sale.  Was funny to hear him getting out of that one.  The Crystal Dome would have been interesting but we couldn't hear much of what the guide was saying cause we had a little girl that cried and screamed the whole tour.  She actually started to do the same thing on the second one, but fell asleep, so it ended up being a nice and quiet tour.  :)  It is close to 5 and we decide to head back to the Hub and chill for awhile.  Guess we will have dinner at their restaurant tonight.  We have steaks and have to say, they were really good.  I am amazed at the steaks, cause you can never get one this good at home.  I know why people, including the locals, come out and eat here.  After we eat, Jennifer and I take a hike to the Ski Chalet, and I am able to get some pictures.  We make our way back down the hill, and we make our way back to our rooms.  There is a band setting up for tonight.  This should be interesting...LOL..  They finally get started about 9 or 10....Not that bad, but if they go very long tonight, I can see that we won't be getting a lot of sleep.  Time to hit the hay, and we try to sleep.  I think it was a little after 2 when they finally stopped playing.  It really wasn't that bad, but sure was glad they were finished.  Getting some rest, cause we are going to ride some of the area tomorrow. 

Sunday....We get up and around about 8:30-9, and go to the restaurant to eat some breakfast.  The guys are figuring out the ride for today.  There are so many roads to explore and there is a book that shows some really nice rides, so Chuck mixes a couple of the rides together and we have a plan.  We do a mix of the Jasper Disaster, and the Mountain View Run.  The booklet boast that the Mountain View Run has 602 curves.  I ask Jennifer if she is going to be counting, and she says NO!!!  I know I will not be counting.  As we head towards Jasper, we actually go past a good part of Dogpatch USA.  It is really funny to look at all the abandoned rides and props.  This area is really interesting.  Jasper is really a cool little town.  There are lots of bikes in this town.  We pull in to gas up, and notice there are a lot of motels in this town.   I have said it before and I will say it again.  I have no clue what direction we are going.  These mountains really have me totally confused.  If you want directions from me, forget it.  The ride is wonderful.  Love the scenery....and the small towns that are all but blowing away.  The population of some of them are pretty much gone.  Got a big kick out of the names of some of the towns.  We make it to Mountain View, and stop to eat some lunch.  We find a Mexican food place, so decide that is the flavor for lunch.  Really a cute town, and seems like there is a lot of people buzzing around.  Stores are open, and of course I spot an antique store, and in the window there is some Jadeite, so I will have to go back and check this out after lunch.  :) 
We eat lunch, and it was pretty good.  Sat and watched all the bikes and people that are milling around.  Nice relaxing lunch.  Was great weather, as the cold front was working on coming through, and the light cloud cover and cooler temperature was really nice.  We finish, and I make it back over to the antique store.  I just have to go ahead and buy the Jadeite pitcher.  It was really cute.  I am so excited!!!  Love my find.  We get back on the bikes and head to the next destination.  Not sure why we are so lucky, but seems like we always seem to get behind some idiot that seems to think he has to break around every corner, and go about 20 mph.  Really gets to be annoying.  Chuck finds a cut off and it says Blanchard Caverns, and he turns.  We ride into the area, and we take a really nice road down to the Cavern entrance.  We go in and check out the times for the tours. We won't be able to make this one, as the next tour is 5pm, and it takes about 2 hrs. to go thru the caverns.  Well, looks like another road trip.  Will have to do this next year, as the ladies tell us that the caverns close today, and will re-open Memorial Weekend next year.  So glad we found it, and hope we get to come back and see this place.  
Back on the road, and I got to laughing at the names of the towns we were going through.  We went to Fifty Six, and then Big Flat, and even made it to Yellville.  I have failed to say, during this trip, Ginger is using some oil, and sounds like she is rattling quite a bit.  Chuck had brought a 1/2 quart of oil and used it this morning.  Well, it is Sunday in the Ozarks, and of course we can't find a Harley store, or anything that would have oil, so he checks to see where there is a Walmart, and there was one in Flippin....Yes, Flippin....so we leave Yellville, to go to Flippin.  Sure enough, we find it.  He gets some heavy duty oil and we are off and running again.  We get back to The Hub around 5 or so.  Debbie said the restaurant would be closed tonight, but they would pick up pizza to eat.  Sure enough, they had lots of pizza to eat.  We sit and chill for awhile and enjoy the quiet.  The wind is pretty brisk and actually getting a little cooler.  Time to put the hoodies on.  Thinking that the ride home, will be a little different than the ride we had on Saturday.  Jennifer and I start googling about Dogwood, and we learn a lot about it.  Has really been a nice relaxing weekend.  Would like to have a week or so to explore this area.  May have to work on that for next year.  We will be pulling out early in the morning, as we have to be back at the house by 3 to meet a guy about our mattress.  I think we have had a really nice get away.  Jennifer and I got to see a beautiful sunset from the 3rd floor.  Sure didn't look like it was west, but I know.....It was!!!  
Monday....We are on the road about 7:30....Steve is going to lead home.  We have on quite a few clothes this morning, as it is in the 50's.  What a wonderful morning.  The north wind is up quite a bit, but it really was just about perfect riding weather.  We are making our way towards Springdale, and we get behind some bikes that are totally scared to death to ride.  Steve tells Chuck, when he gets a chance he is going to pass them.  I told Chuck, we will scare them to death.  Sure enough, when we get the chance to go around them, this one dude was totally white.  I think we actually scared them.  Finally we have some open road.  Nice riding.  We pull in for gas, and there is a little diner next door, so we go ahead and grab some breakfast there.  We are almost finished eating, and Steve sees those bikes we passed so very long ago, go by.  LOL.....Hope we don't meet up with them again.  (we never did)  Seems to be quite a few police and patrols out today.  They are working on their quotas for the month I guess.  We make another stop in Tulsa, and fill up and say our goodbyes.  Our next stop will be home.  We had a great ride, and enjoyed our friends.  Good times were had by all.  We logged 868 miles.  Ginger will be at Harley World first thing in the morning.  Poor Ginger.  Got to love her!!!