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Saturday, August 31, 2013

Labor Day Weekend and a trip to Hot Springs, AR. (Sunday Aug. 31st)

Higdon Ferry Road
Breakfast was pretty good yesterday, so we decide to do it again.  We had a very spunky little lady as a waitress.  I would think she was in her very late 70's or early 80's and she didn't miss a beat.  She was funny, and could dish out anything the guys would pull on her.  Think this wasn't her first time to deal with a group like this  :)

Chuck wore his " I pooped today" shirt, and there were actually employees of the hotel walking by our table to see his shirt.  Our waitress said her boss told her about it but she wasn't going to make a big deal out of it.....But she really did want to see it!!!!

Ignore the 106 degrees.  App. gone wild!  




















Our plans today are to get on the bike before it get too darn hot and ride around a bit.  We head out and drive by Oaklawn Horse Racing building.  At that corner is where we turned and rode down Higdon Ferry Road.  Wasn't a very long road but hey, it is our name sake.  Never have I been on a road with the name Higdon in it!!!





Beautiful  area and lots of lakes.  The ride was really nice, and we got to see some of the local flavors of the town.




Ha Ha Made you look!!!  






As we head out of town towards Arkadelphia, we top a hill and what we see on the side of the road makes us do a double take.  Looks like a motorcycle cop standing by his bike.  Very life like, and really did make us take a second look.










Cool inside=chillin 



We get to Arkadelphia around 11:30 and decide we need to turn around and head back to the hotel before it gets too hot.  We had seen a Tattoo/ Head Shop as we came out of Hot Springs, so it is discussed, and we turn in when we get back to it.

Relaxin at the Tattoo/Head Shop  :) 







 The guy at the desk tells Steve that one of the tattoo artist will be coming in about 30 minutes if we want to hang around.  The place is very cold!!!  I can truly say, I think it is the only place Hot Springs that actually has a working air conditioner.  We hang around till the dude shows up and Steve starts talking about what he wants.  Again, the guy says what he is wanting will take a couple of sittings...He and Jennifer decide to look at some other ideas, and get a tattoo.  Since this is going to be a long afternoon of tattooing, we tell them we will meet up with them after they get finished.






Back on the bikes, we head back downtown with Diana and Chris.  Seems that Chuck's new shoes have started squeaking, so he is going to run them back to the shoe guy and see what we can do about it.  Too expensive to already be broken.  
We find a good parking spot and park.  Have to say we do a little more retail therapy.  Chuck leaves his shoes with the shoe guy, and will have a new pair shipped to the house.  He and Chris have to revisit the knife shop.  Diana & I check out a couple more shops.

We are hungry, and there is a lady sitting right outside the shoe store, directing people upstairs to eat at this Cajun restaurant.  Heck why not!!!  We go up the stairs to the second floor.  We again sit in a restaurant that was really in need of some cold air....but at least we have some water and tea to drink.  The owner comes by and assures us we are going to "love" his food.  Heck, Chris orders a hamburger, how can he go wrong.  Chuck orders the shrimp po boy, and Diana & I order salads.  But I have to say the best part of the whole meal was the ketchup....Yep, the ketchup....jalapeno ketchup to be exact!!!!!  Never knew it existed.  Going to find some of that when we get back home.  Made those hand cut fries the guys had, really tasty!



























Heading back towards the bike we duck into several stores.  One place had all these wild colored wigs, so of course Diana & I had to try some on.  It was fun!  I think I will stay with blonde myself, but hey, Diana really rocked that purple hair!




















It's hot and by the time we get back to the hotel, we decide it is time to take a dip in the pool.  We weren't able to get any of the spa treatments this trip, as we didn't make a reservation in time.  Chuck told us we needed to plan on that, but we just didn't believe him.  Guess we will listen to him next time!!!

When we entered the pool area, thinking it would be full of kids like yesterday, but much to our surprise there were only two other people in it!  They were from Mississippi and they rode bikes as well.  We got to sit in the pool and drink some cocktails and cool down quite nicely.  Enjoyed talking with them and sharing some stories.

Time to grab some dinner as we have a date with a duck...not just any duck, but an Amphibious Duck!
We eat at the Mexican food restaurant on the way.  Would love to say it was awesome, but we didn' t really like it that much.  At least it was pretty quick, and after they moved us to a cooler area in the restaurant, we ate our food.

On the water in the Duck






Jennifer and Steve are still at the tattoo parlor, so they will miss the Duck Ride.  Our duck leaves at 7:30 and we learn a few things about the town as the guy drives us to the water.  The guy was kinda funny and he would make a quacking sound as he announced things over the intercom.  He even quacked at people in cars when they drove up.  
Riding the duck











Met back up with Alveys around 9.     They showed off their new "ink".  Looks really good.  Think it was worth the wait!!!   Off to pack to head home, for tomorrow we ride home.










Jennifer's New Ink

Steve's New Ink


Labor Day Weekend and a trip to Hot Springs AR. (Saturday 2013)

We meet downstairs and eat breakfast at the Hotel.  They have a nice restaurant and they have a breakfast buffet, so might as well eat here.

Steve & Jennifer





We are ready to walk around and see what is going on in this town.  We head towards the Bath Houses.  Seems to be a lot of people roaming around.  We walk into the Quapah Bath House, and check out their prices.  Find out we have to have flip flops or crocks to get in the public area.  We will check this out later.

Water coming out of the ground.  HOT!!!!













There are places you can bring your own jugs and fill them with the Spring water.  I have to say, the water is very good.  This town has so much history about he Springs.  Seems the Indians were here as well as the mobsters in the day.  In both cases, Hot Springs was a neutral meeting area.






We walk to the Arlington Hotel, and it was really interesting seeing the old elevators and how they had preserved the look of the ages.  Seems that the Arlington Hotel had been across the street to where it now sits, but burned and they rebuilt it on the corner where it now sits.

They have a spigot where you can get water as well.  It was good until it poured out hot.  I am talking scalding hot.  We had stuck our hands in a stream earlier and according to the information we read, it was saying it is over 145 degrees by the time it gets to the surface.  WOW!!!

Chuck & I  




Chris & Diana 



We cross the street after we leave the Arlington, and I notice a place that you can dress up and have your pictures taken in character.  I convince everyone that we need to check it out.  It's pretty hot by now, and a little cool store is ok'ed by all.  Now if I can just talk this group into taking a group pic.  I must have caught them all at a weak moment, because they said YES!!!!





 I truly think we all had fun.  With 6 of us, it made the picture taking a lot of fun.  It was getting warm in the small building by the time we finished, but I think it was worth it.  Just look at this group!
The Moles Take Hot Springs!




We get back out in the heat, and by now it is time to think about food again.  The guys find a knife shop to check out, and there is a burger joint next door, so we plan our next stop.







We had no idea when we entered BubbaLu's Bodacious Burgers that we would be there for quite a while.  Not only did it take forever to get our food, but it wasn't the coolest place in the world.  Looks like some of us were tired.....Steve!!!
The burger was worth the wait, but really wasn't overly good.  Guess if you wait long enough, anything taste good!!!










We exit the burger place and do some more retail therapy.  We pop in and out of several stores.  Find some popcorn for Diana....then we all stop in at Jiggling Georges....

Seems that Diana & I are always on a quest to find a more comfortable shoe.  The guys have found another knife store to shop, so Diana & I start checking out the shoes at Jigglin Georges.

The guy has a machine that you stop on this pad and it shows your foot, so he can put the right orthodox in the shoes.  I put on a pair, and loved them.  Diana tries on a pair and I think she is even sold!!!  By now the guys have shown up and Chuck tries on a pair.....then Chris....and then even Steve joined in.  Jennifer is the only one that didn't walk out of that store with new shoes.  We are really high steppin now!!!!


The temperature is extremely warm, and it is about 3:30 in the afternoon and we still want to make it to the Harley Store.  We make our way back to the hotel, and meet up to ride there.  When we make it to the dealership we are surprised to see that it is no longer there.  In fact, there is no Harley store in Hot Springs any longer.  They moved out.  Oh well, we tried.

We go back towards the hotel and decide to go to the pool.  It is time to cool down.  There are quite a few kids in the pool, but at this point it was just time to cool down.  The pool has an indoor and outdoor area.  We stayed in the indoor part, and the water felt wonderful!

We talked about where we would eat, and I called a steak house and got reservations for 7pm.  So glad I called, because with all the people in town we probably wouldn't have gotten in.

The waiter was really good, and the food...well, I just never had grilled steak with brown gravy over it. It was a pepper steak, and wow, they really used the pepper on it.  It was OK, but not what I was expecting.  Diana said her catfish was pretty good, and Chris said his prime rib was over cooked.  I think Jennifer & Steve's was OK...never heard otherwise.

After dinner we walk back out to the downtown area.  Steve is talking about a tattoo, and there is a tattoo parlor just down the street.  Strange thing, they close at 11pm.  The lady tells Steve the tattoo he is wanting would take a couple of sittings, so we go ahead and leave.  Never heard of a tattoo parlor closing so early.....but this is a different little town.

Jennifer isn't feeling well, so we walk almost back to the hotel, and decide to go ahead and walk to the Blue's festival area.  We leave Steve and Jennifer and have plans on meeting up with Steve a little later.

By now it is almost 9 I think, and the band that is setting up is going to be the last one for the night....Really!!!! It's 9 pm...Like I said, this town is a little different.  Rolls up early for sure!!!

We go back to the room and Diana & Chris and Steve come down to ours and we sit and talk and watch football for a little bit.

Time to get some rest, so we say our good nights....Steve, Diana & Chris no more leave the room and Jennifer is knocking on the door.  Well, she didn't get the memo that the party was over.  LOL...she is feeling much better thank goodness.  We send her back to her room.  Get some rest...Goodnight world.



Friday, August 30, 2013

Labor Day Weekend and a trip to Hot Springs AR. (Friday Aug. 30th)

Trip to Hot Springs

Since we have been so lucky this year with the weather,  why not start this trip on one if the hottest days we have had this summer

It's around 95 as we head out around 2 pm to meet up with The Alveys. The Biggs meet at our house and we head east.  





It's hot, and I am not going to say it isn't.  I for one was glad when we pulled off for a break and we were able to get some water and cool down a bit.  It is now 99, and it feels every bit of it.  Feeling a lot better, we get back on the bikes and head towards Ft. Smith.  






















We stop at a Mexican food restaurant we have eaten at before.  The seating was perfect.  We sat with a ceiling fan running at full speed right above our table. We are re hydrated and ready to hit the road.  We have a few miles to make before this day is over.
















The rest of the trip was pretty much perfect.  We are getting into trees and very nice winding roads, and the temperature even though it shows is 90 is really bearable. 












We make only 2 left turns as we ride, and the second turn was too funny.  As we turn, I hear what I think is a siren, like a police, or ambulance, or something.  I hear Diana start laughing and say to Chris, " I felt you jump"....well, so did I ....where was that noise coming from...There wasn't a car in sight!!!!   Come to find out, Steve in the last bike has his radio blaring, and what we heard was a song that was playing.  Oh lord, scared me to death....We all got a big laugh out of that one.  Hey Steve, think we can hear your radio loud and clear!!!!! 

We have a car in front of us, as we enter what I like to call, "critter country"...and since it is now dusk, you get the idea.  Well, we had not gone more than 10 miles I don't think, and I hear Chuck and Chris call out...Deer!!!!  Thank goodness that car was in front of us.  The deer all made it across the road without getting hit, but Chuck said he was really thinking one was a goner. 

After a scare like that, I go on "critter watch"....and I am glad to report, we had no more incident!!!  Great ride into Hot Springs. 

We ride to our hotel (The Austin) that we will call home for the next few days.  It is an older hotel, and it buzzing as we pull in.  Seems there is a Blue's Festival in the town this weekend.  Lots of people, and looks like there are a few Family Reunions here as well. 

We unload, and check in without a hitch.  The guys drive the bikes about a 1/2 block from the hotel to a covered parking garage that is owned by the Austin.  It is well lit, and I think the bikes are going to be fine there.

Unpacked, and ready to get out and see what this town is all about, we walk over to one of the local restaurants, and have a much needed cocktail.  Steve is worn out, so they decide to just hang out at their room. 

Time to get some rest, so we have all the energy to check out Hot Springs.  Looks like we are in for a hot couple of days.  Hey mother nature, don't you realize it is almost September!!!! 





Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Summer 2013 and the Big Chalkboard

This summer has been a real blessing.  The weather has been very cooperative.  We have had so much rain....and we have the mosquito's to prove it.  But that is another story!  

The summer has gone pretty fast, and we have been able to ride the bike quite a bit.  I have written about most of the rides and the fun we have had along the way.

Now, as a grandma, the grand kids are growing by leaps and bounds.  They have been to some fun places this summer as well.  Great Wolf was one trip, and then San Antonio was another one. 

We had 2 birthdays over the summer as well.  Cooper turns 5 and my son...well, I won't tell you his age.  :)  Oh heck, why not....he is 31!!!! 

Cash has sported a cast for a few weeks due to a mishaps at their local Target store.  Seems a lady didn't see the little guy, and backed her cart over his foot.  He cried an awful lot, and Heather took him to the Urgent Care to have it looked at.  They assured her it wasn't broken. 
After a few days of Cash still not putting weight on it, she takes him to his pediatrician.  She does another set of xrays, and she and another Dr. read them and assure my daughter in law that the foot is not broken.  But, says to call her if he isn't better in a few days.  Well, he wasn't and she did.  The Dr. referred them to an Orthopedic Dr. at Children's Hospital. 

The Dr. takes a look at the 2nd xrays, and says the foot is broken....to be exact, it has a fold in it.  His suggestion is to put Cash in a cast for 2 weeks.  The cast didn't stop this 2-1/2 yr. old.  He was off and running as usual....and no pain.  Fast forward 2 weeks, and the cast is removed.  The bone has healed, and now the x ray shows the break, as there is new bone growth in the area.  So glad our daughter in law and son were so insistent on having this looked at.  Cash is doing well, and is happy to have 2 shoes back on his feet. 

Cooper started kindergarten this year.  Oh my, I think I missed something...she couldn't be that big.  Due to the starting day of Norman schools, she was able to spend a couple of nights with Pops and I.  She was even able to come up to the store and work with me for one day.  She is a joy to have around.  She is so polite, and loves to entertain herself with coloring, and playing with her My Little Ponies.  We really had a wonderful time.  We also had a fun Monday, and my mother went with us and shopped.  You see, Cooper is wanting a slap watch.  We had no luck in finding that watch, but she found a very cute regular watch at Naartjie.  I am not sure if you have ever been in one of the stores, but they are wonderful.  The name is an African word for "a small citrus fruit" found in South Africa.  They have such cute clothes for boys and girls.  Prices are very good as well.  You might be interested in checking it out  www.naartjiekids.com.

Coopers first day of Kindergarten went without a hitch.  She is such an independent little girl.  I swear she has an old sole, as she is so grown up in all her actions.  Here is a picture of her that her mom and daddy took. 

You see that large chalkboard?  Well, Heather our daughter in law had said she would like to have a large chalkboard to use when the kids go to school to take pictures each year.  I had told my son it was going to be heavy and pretty costly to make one, and just had put it in the back of my mind. 
One day while shopping the local Goodwill, I was about to walk out, and I spotted it.  A 4'x6' chalk board.  Oh my gosh...Call the son....call the Army!!!  I have found something grand....and guess what...it was $24.99....Oh yes it was!!!!  I took a pic and text it to Heather...She said to buy it.  I did....so excited but how the heck was I going to get this thing to my store, and even more than that how was I going to transport it to Norman.  Well, this is where Phil, my friend and sometime installer comes in to play.  He comes over and picks up the chalkboard, and as luck has it, he is going to within 10 miles of our sons house...today....Man, can you believe it.  I love it when a plan comes together.  So the chalkboard finds its way to our kids house via Phil.  

The chalkboard has found a home on the wall in the garage where the grand kids can write on it when they are out there.  It is a perfect solution to storing it when it is not being used for a back drop for photos...Win Win, I say!!! 

So summer is winding down...the kids are back at school...people are finished buying all the school supplies, and business is busy!!!!  Hope everyone has had a great summer, and lets hope the fall is as beautiful as this season has been. 

















Friday, August 16, 2013

FNDR 8-16-13. Vamos a comer algo de comida mexicana

Judging by the number of friends that say they are coming to our Friday Night Dinner Ride I would say here is a real fondness for Mexican Food!  By the way, I used my "translate" app from my phone to make the title tonight.  :)

We ride to La Fiesta in Chickasha, OK. I call La Fiesta on Friday afternoon to tell Warn them that
there would be 20 people showing up at 7pm to eat at their establishment. They inform me they don't take reservations on Fridays or Saturday's. Well darn, we will just have to wing it, and hope they can handle us.

We meet Diana, Chris, Terri and Mike at the Braums in Yukon.  This is the first time we had ridden with Terri and Mike.  We met them at the local Goldwing Chapter several months ago.
By this time of day I had a text from Tom and he and Seda wouldn't be joining us after all.  We are down to 18 people now.

We arrive at 6:45 and are right behind Allen, Doreen and the boys.  They are inside securing us a spot!  Steve and Jennifer are the next ones to pull in.  They rode their bike tonight. This is a first.  We had a decided they didn't have their bike any longer since it has been over a year since they rode it to any dinner rides.  Lynn and Keith pull in and they are by themselves. They were supposed to bring Carla and Larry with them, but it seems Carla wasn't feeling well and they opted out.




So if you are counting we have 16 for dinner.  We all move closer together and sit around a big round table out on their patio area.  It could have been a bit cooler out side but it was OK.  The weather has been so unusual the whole summer. This evening just happens to be a warm calm night...Where is the wind when you need it.  :)







Our food and waiters were great!  The company was even better. Love our little group of peeps!  It's wonderful to know when Friday rolls around we have a group of fun loving people to hang out with.

As we are walking out Doreen tells me she was a bit surprised we chose this place. I asked her why and she informs me they had been closed down for a week in June due to health code violation!,,,  what!!!!!!  I had no idea...but I guess now was a good time to be here. Everything was probably the cleanest it had been in a long time.








This Friday was no exception.  As far as I am concerned tonight was as good as it gets.  Hope that Terri and Mike enjoyed it as well.














We all say our goodbyes and Lynn and Keith head back to Duncan, OK, and we lead 3 bikes back towards Oklahoma City.  As we ride the dark two lane road back home (hwy37) the area is lit by red lights on the west side of the road. As far as an eye can see these blinking red lights.....yep, they are the wind turbines warning airplanes that they are everywhere.






 Just like an orchestrated maneuver, at their designated spots each bike peals off to their final destination for the evening.  But wait....where are we going, no home...heck no....it's Friday night in the big town and it's time to drink a margarita at Mole Nation.  Diana and Chris accompany us....I mean that's what Friday nights are for, right?!!!

Goodnight world.



Friday, August 2, 2013

FNDR 8-3-13 HOT!!!! Ginger is having a really bad Hot Flash!

Our dinner ride tonight was hot!!!  The weather was 100 today, and the humidity is even  higher...Not really, just kidding, but it was high as well. We are riding Ginger the Harley to Norman to eat at Rudy's with our friends.    We had a good group there tonight, and enjoyed the great BBQ that Rudy's offers. 

It is about 9:00pm when we headed back to Oklahoma City.  We hop on to I-35 and was amazed at the sign as we entered the highway saying there were no delays on the highway.  The bridges are being worked on in Norman, and they have really had traffic tie up due to this. 

Well, I spoke too soon.  We no more got past Main street in Norman, and the traffic really started slowing down.  Then we come to the crawl....then we stop.  It is still shows to be 91 degrees, and we are sitting with millions of other people that are attempting to go North on I-35....

One thing about it, the people going South weren't having any luck either.  The road on their side is down to 1 lane and it is packing up fast. 

We are on the far inside lane, and we are baking.  If you have ever sat in a line on a Harley, you know exactly what I am talking about.  The bike would go into what I call "limp mode"....you know what that is...It cuts out one part of the cylinders, and it sounds like it is barely running.  Harley's answer to overheating.  Hmmm, Harley, ever thought maybe your air cooled motors should be a thing of the past.  Oh but I know, they just wouldn't sound right.  Oh well, at least you might be able to ride the damn thing!!!!  The longer we sit, the louder and more clattering is coming from the engine. 



I have to laugh at the picture showing the wind speed of 0....if you look to the right it gives the temperate...Shows 196 degrees....We all know that is not correct...but wait, maybe it is...at least it is to Ginger (the Harley) and myself.  I know I am to my boiling point.  :)


We are literally about to burn the engine up, so we start edging over to the outside lane.  Chuck says we are going to drive down the edge of the road and try to get out of this mess.  Chris & Diana are behind us, but they don't follow us.  (they are on the Goldwing and not having heating issues)

I know we probably got a lot of dirty looks as we rode by the extremely long line of cars.  Sorry to anyone that we might have upset by our move, but we were forced to do it.  It was that, or let the damn thing burn up...(insert frustration sound in my voice)

The traffic opens up at the Indian Hills Road exit, and Chuck attempts to accelerate the bike...It is pinging and sputtering like crazy...Sounds like it is going to blow a head gasket.  Poor Ginger...feel so bad, but at this point, we have to get some air circulating on her. 

We ride to Taco Cabana and pull off to get something cold to drink.  I have been in contact via text messaging with Diana...They finally tried our maneuver with a few cars, and I guess by that time, those people we passed earlier were really not happy.  She says they were honking and then a big truck actually blocked the shoulder where no one could cut ahead. 

I totally understand the frustration with the people waiting, but hey, we were having a crisis here!!!!

Diana said it took 1and 1/2 hours to go 8 miles.  It was a blistering 90 degrees...with millions of cars, and no one going anywhere fast on the main artery in and out of Oklahoma City.  Something is wrong with this picture. 

I guess it makes for an interesting evening, but at the expense of burning up a bike....not a really fun one!  Ginger is home and she is bathing in ice....LOL...not really, but she has cooled down...Looks like no harm was done to her.