Feeling Guilty...........um....almost

With all the horrid weather in sweeping across much of the country, I feel just a little guilty as I find myself wintering in northern California's Sonoma County,  Well....some...yeah, some.


I'm hearing stories about -27 °F in Oklahoma, waist deep snow in New York and hard freezes in Louisiana.  That's just terrible!

So, with all the weather friends and family are experiencing let me apologize for enjoying myself and let me feel dirty for having to drive through miles of vineyards and rolling hills on the way to work each day.

However, I feel like I've paid my dues.  It hasn't been that long that I've flown into blizzards in Detroit and let sleet bounce off my head in Grand Rapids but for the sake of those still fighting it, I'm sorry.

Yeah, that's it.  I'm sorry.  Can we all feel better now?

Me, the motorcyle "wrench"

In the motorcycle world, there are those who are fair weather riders.  Some won't ride when it's too hot, too cold, raining or the wind is blowing from the wrong direction.  Of these, I am not counted.  I ride, simply because I have the bike and do not want to be one of those people who have a Harley sitting in the garage gathering dust.  There are people out there who can tear down a motorcycle, put it back together then get on and ride it.  They're called Wrenches. 

I've rebuilt and replaced starters, fluid changes and way back in the day, replaced tires.  So when Boudreaux's rear tire had become pretty slick, I decided to do it myself.  I've done it before and shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? Heh!

Previously, I had bought a Metzeler rear tire and tube online and it had been sitting next in a corner since before Christmas.  Saturday morning I decided it was high time I mounted it, so I enlisted the aid of my brother-in-law, Gary, to oversee my project.  While he was on the way over, I jacked the bike up, removed the side bags and had almost removed the wheel before he got there.  With a little effort, we completely release the wheel from the frame and went about the task of taking the tire off the rim.  We were so proud of ourselves for having the old tire off the rim within 20 minutes and no skinned knuckles.

Now for mounting the new one.  I unpacked the tube to discover it was the wrong type and just would not work.  Rats!  It is a mail order tube I needed one right then so a trip into town to the Harley shop for a much more expensive one.

Once home, we went about the chore of mounting the new tire and tube.  Between the two of us, we fought that spoked rim all over the garage floor, the driveway and back again. We got the tire half way on and tried to stuff the tube in but it sounds much easier than done.  We even went inside to watch a YouTube video on the art and process of tire changing.  Somewhere in the process, I got the bright idea of lubricating the tire so it would slip in easier.  Well, it slipped in alright. Somehow we slipped the whole rim into the tire completely with both sides inside the tire lips.  Darlene encouraged us by asking how much I had saved by buying the tire online and doing it myself.

By now, we're both tired and disgusted.  It's now 4:30 PM and we've wasted four hours and not any closer to having it completed than we did just after taking it off the bike.  Completely dejected, we decided the best thing to do would be to take it to a shop, admit defeat and pay someone with the right equipment to do it for us.  Gary will undoubtedly take it to a shop for me, explain it's not his and belongs to his idiot brother-in-law and some time in the future Darlene will remind me about the incident when I decide to make my own repairs again.

Sometimes, you just need a professional to do things and not be a Renaissance man.  Admitted, I'm not much of a wrench.

Great Weekend in Central California

While I've spent quite a bit of time in the Los Angeles area and extreme northern California, my visits to the central part of the state has been sparse.  I've had a couple of brief weekends in San Francisco but never have had a chance to explore from the bay area.

With that in mind, I made plans to leave early Saturday morning in the direction of Yosemite National Park.  I've always wanted to go there since I was a barefoot kid reading about it from the pages lent from the bookmobile that would come by weekly in the summers in a very rural Louisiana.  Most people I knew had little if any knowledge of places like this and for years pronounced the name phonetically "Yose-Might" until I eventually heard it pronounced on TV.  Arggghh.......what a goober.

When I finally arrived, it was all that I thought it would be and more, although many of the areas were closed for the winter but I had a chance to see many of the sights I had seen pictures of.  Hopefully, I will be able to revisit in a warmer season when the leaves are bright and more wildlife shows itself.  Even though the bears were hibernating, I did manage to see several deer and a Red Wolf or a large Coyote.

When I arrived into the Yosemite valley, I could see the Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Fall and El Capitan to name a few.

By noon, the sun had changed the lighting, eliminating much of the dramatic shadows and lured more visitors into the park.  That was my cue to head back to the Sonoma Valley.

Sunday morning, my rear was sore from a lot of riding from the day before so I stayed in to watch church online and eventually get out to turn in my car and get another....hey...it was dirty.  Well, that's not the real reason.  The rental agency gives free rentals for a certain amount of rentals and not days rented.  Anyway, after exchanging my car, I putted around Half Moon Bay and checked out the coast before heading back to the hotel.

Monday morning, I started out early in the direction of Carmel By The Sea.  I admit it was a gracious little spot on the shore and is a popular destination but it compared nothing to Hawaii and Maui in particular.

It was a great weekend but that many hours riding eats up a lot of gas.  Even though it was a company rental, the excursion fuel costs always goes on my ticket and in California, it isn't exactly cheap.  Maybe walking would be better, anyway.

Sonoma County

Having the week off between Christmas and New Years was one thing but the fact that the company had no place to send me for another week was wonderful but when they finally did call telling me to head out to Sonoma, California.........that was just plain icing on the cake.

While Sonoma rests in a valley and there are vineyards everywhere, the rolling hills are beautiful as well and never fail to impress.

I haven't had a chance to explore Northern California much but there's a three day weekend coming up and I plan to exhaust it to the complete end.

The birds sang, "Keawakapu, Keawakapu."

A light breeze blew across the parking lot and birds chirped as I stepped out at the grocery store here at home. The air was thick, humid and the skies were loaded with intermittent dark clouds contrasting the spots of blue and somehow, just for a brief moment, I could believe the birds were now singing, "Keawakapu, Keawakapu." (It would help to have spent some time in or near Kihei, Maui, HI)

Somewhere south of me the same sweet smell like that of the Puunene Sugar Mill on Maui filled the air but instead of the waves crashing on the south shore with Haleakela peaking through the clouds my world was substituted with the busy Airline Highway and Spanish Moss hanging from the Live Oak trees.

Soon, maybe soon my friends.

Frosty Morning In Dutchtown

It was 27°F and freezing here in south Louisiana this morning and thought I'd ride just for the heck of it. I'm on vacation this week and have few plans so I left Darlene and Devin (grandson) all huddled up under their covers. 27°F on a Harley with 50 mph winds makes the chill factor rather formidable.

Partially as a personal statement to the neighborhood, partially to the guy with the garage queen Harley a few doors down but mostly to give the 12 year old grandson some stories to tell his kids about me when I'm dead and gone, I fired Boudreaux up this morning for a run into town to the do-nut shop and just a few sights along one of the bayous.

I have to admit it was brisk for people like us who do not see a lot of cold weather but it was not overwhelming. It took a while before the tires stopped accentuating every crack in the road and the engine warmed enough that the choke wasn't necessary.

It really was pretty seeing the glistening grass and trees trying to shake off the very heavy frost while the crisp air made the heavy humid sky look like smoke. Egrets along the way were not quick to take flight as I and a few commuters passed and it seemed as if the world was at peace.

It was a nice ride but the family at home was expecting the cinnamon rolls and the folks along the bayous had been sufficiently disturbed.

Merry Christmas

Just another waterfall

Taken at Wallace Falls State Park, Goldbar, Washington. I wish I could add sound.


Nikon D60, f/22, 20 sec., ISO 100, 46mm on a Nikkor 18-55 AF-S, Manual Exposure

Mustang Sally

A while back there was a discussion about top motorcycle and car songs. Someone threw out Born To Be Wild (Steppenwolf), I Feel Good (James Brown) and a few more. Growing up in the 50s & 60s, I got my fill of them all on KNOE AM radio 540 out of Monroe, Louisiana and loved them all. I still love Otis Redding's Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay.

Anyway, back to the tale. The question got me thinking back to 1999, when I had some modicum of success and was completely pumped with excitement I was on my way back into Baton Rouge and had cut through St Gabriel on highway 30. Still excited over a personal victory, I slipped in a disc of oldies but goodies and had Wilson Pickett cranked to the max, singing Mustang Sally. With the windows down, a long straight road ahead of me and the pedal to the metal (I was driving a 4 door Honda), my mind was violently jerked back into reality when I looked up to see an Iberville Parish deputy lighting up my rear view mirrors with the blue light specials. Officer Friendly noted that I was doing 77 in a 55 mph zone.

That experience cost me 125 dollars that I didn't need to spend nor could really afford. So, I guess I can say that success and rock & roll combined can be expensive if you're not careful. Also, I'm ever grateful that my wife didn't give me excessive grief for the experience.

Too many cars, too many people

...and not enough daylight.

Here it is in mid December with another 3 months to go before we see spring in most places. I can see how people in über urban areas could become depressed and go postal. It seems like the sun rarely shines and day after day, it's traffic congestion in Biblical proportions. Psychiatrists should flourish in these days. It's not even officially winter yet and I'm already wanting springtime.

I'm so ready for a weekend home with lots of family around, eating gumbo, cornbread and potato salad.

Today could be a good day. The frozen scrambled eggs for breakfast in the hotel were almost believable this morning. It's a sign.