Independence Day, Columbus, Ohio, 4th of July

Columbus has the "Red, White and Boom" festival which actually begins on July 3.

With some new found friends, I went downtown (against my fears and better judgement) to watch the parade and later that night, the fireworks.

Waiting patiently for the parade to begin, attendees lined the sidewalks along with side men selling noise makers and favors.

Some watched from a window above at the downtown YMCA.

Eventually, it all began

Floats were pretty scarce and saw several cleaned up 18 wheelers
from different firms such as Pepsi, Walmart and a few others.
Unions and politicians even paraded, some with their supporters
marching.

Even Jesus (pretty sure that wasn't really Him) was there.

After the parade, we went down to the river to await the fireworks
display at 10:00 PM.  The walkways were a parade within them-
selves.

At 10:00, the fireworks began along with a light rain.

On the real 4th of July, I rode around in the rain, electing to stay
away from the crowds.  Call me "hyper-vigilant"  if you like but
given events in Boston some weeks back, I wanted to not be a
target for terrorism so I chose more serene places for contemplation.

Maui 2013

Day 13, Aloha, Maui

Day 12, June 22, 2013 Maui east side and Hana

Lush vegetation

Trail Ride O'heo Gulch, Haleakela National Park, Hana, Maui 

Seven Pools, Haleakela National Park, Hana, Maui

Olu and Kaili

 Oheo Gulch, Haleakela, Hana, Maui

Day 11, June 21, 2013, Olawalu, Maui, HI

Day 10, June 20, 2013 10:30 AM HST Ho o kipa, Maui, HI

 
 10:47 AM  Ho o kipa, northshore, Maui

2:18 PM  Ho o kipa, northshore, Maui, HI

 Day 9, June 19, 2013 2:59 PM HST, Kite Beach, Kahului, HI

3:17 PM HST, Kite Beach, Kahului, HI

Day 8, June 18, 2013 7:30 AM HST, Kihei, HI

6:00 PM  South Kihei

6:55 PM HST Mokapu Beach, Kihei, HI

Day 7, June 17, 2013 7:06 PM HST, Ulua Beach, Kihei, HI

Ulua Beach/Wailea

Day 6, June 16, 2013 4:40 PM HST, Kalepolepo Beach, Kihei, HI
Wind and Sand

Day 5, June 15, 2013 5:34 PM HST, Ahihi-Kinau Reserve La Perouse Bay,

Day 4, June 14, 2013 1:22 PM HST, Kamaole Beach, Kihei, HI

Day 3, June 13, 2013 7:07 PM HST, Kamaole Beach, Kihei, HI

Day 2, June 12, 2013 7:39 PM HST Maui Film Festival, Wailea, HI

Day 1..June 11, 2013,  6:06 AM HST Kamole Beach Park, Kihei, HI

Some miscellaneous photos

I need to be out of here!

Not that Iowa (it was my 50th state) or Nebraska is all that bad, weather wise, it's been a really weird 30 days since I've arrived.  It seems as if there's an electrical storm every other day.

As I mentioned before, I flew in on the night of May 1 and was presented with a 3-4 inch snow storm that left even the most seasoned midwesterner baffled.  Driving to work the next morning, I encountered several vehicles off in the ditch or neutral ground mired in snow and mud and passed through small towns and saw people shoveling snow.  Aside from a VERY brief warm spell, it has been unseasonably cool and wet, to the dismay of farmers here.

This weekend is no exception.  I put on a pair of shorts and t-shirt to head into downtown Omaha, only to turn around within seconds of leaving the hotel.  It was 57° at 11:00 AM with a brisk wind blowing.  It's been part of the spring systems that have caused deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma and Missouri.

Anyway, if I can manage another week, I'll be catching a flight out of here for my mother's family reunion next weekend then grabbing a flight the following Monday for a 2 week vacation on Maui.  While I need the vacation, I think Darlene has been looking forward to it with greater anticipation than I.
 

 It will be good to see my old friend, Mr. Green Sea Turtle again offshore from Ulua Beach near Kihei.

Meet Boudreaux II

The old 2005 Harley Softail was Boudreaux and I thought about just keeping the same name like B B King named every guitar Lucille but a motorcycle eventually develops it's own personality.  Eventually, it may get a new name, but for right now, it's still Boudreaux.  It's basically the same as Old Boudreaux but with a 103 cubic inch engine instead of the 88 ci and a six speed transmission instead of the five.

Old Boudreaux was getting to be a high mileage bike and made me nervous about any long distant run over a few hundred miles. 

A 2012 model with only 2,844 actual miles on it, it's  not even broken in yet.  I'm not too sure about the white sidewalls either.  Oh well, we shall see.

Outrageous

The first of May, I blew into Omaha along with a late season snowstorm.  I think they have not seen a snow in May for 50 or 60 years but I managed to be here for it.
 
On my way up to Logan, Iowa, I counted a half dozen cars that had slid off the highway and were waiting on wreckers to pull them out.  On that day, our high in Logan was a brisk 33° with a light wind.  I'm sure the residents sighed a groan when they had to break out the snow shovels but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Ironically, two weeks later, it hit 103° with another light wind.  That's a 70° change in two weeks.

Incidentally, Iowa was my last state on my bucket list.  I now have visited all 50 states.  How about that?