Where's Marty Recovery Tour

Fall Hollow, Natchez Trace Pkwy vlomo10 4

2010-11-04T23:11:00.001-07:00

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Falls Hollow is located near Jeff Busby Campground. It is a beautiful waterfall that requires walking or scrambling down a fairly steep hill. At the bottom near the falls if one is patient, one can be alone with the falls. It is really a beautiful and peaceful place which one can savor.

Stepping Stone Falls, Flint MI #vlomo10 2

2010-11-02T20:25:00.001-07:00

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Took the bikes to Stepping Stone Falls; Oct 2010. Stepping Stone Falls were a peaceful and relaxing place to spend an hour or two just listening to the water tumble down the falls.

Sleepy Hollow State Park Vlomo 10 1

2010-11-01T20:50:00.001-07:00

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Motorcycle ride to enjoy the fall colors in Sleepy Hollow State Park Laingsburg, Michigan

Chris Dodd Acceptance Speech

2010-10-13T06:40:00.001-07:00

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NAMI Conference 2010 Chris Dodd Award Acceptance Speech. time limited, no video thumbnail at this time. (Sorry, I need to hit the road.)

People Maps

2010-10-11T11:37:00.001-07:00

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People Maps can help you think through who is in your life when you are trying to make a person-centered plan. This video is about who to put on your people map. ;

People Maps

2010-10-10T20:47:00.001-07:00

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People Maps can help you think through who is in your life when you are trying to make a person-centered plan. This video is about who to put on your people map. ;

Back To The Bricks

2010-09-25T20:54:00.001-07:00

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Back to the Bricks is a weekend for Bikers in Flint Michigan. There is a bike rodeo and awards for bikes. These are some of the bikes I liked and people I met. ;

Sable Falls in Pictured Rocks

2010-08-03T06:53:00.001-07:00

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A day in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We went to the Dancing Crane Coffeehouse, played in Lake Superior, picked up food in Gran Marais and stood in Sable Falls. ;) ;

Upper Peninsula of Michigan

2010-07-04T23:03:00.001-07:00

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Late June two-day trip to the eastern part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Port Iroquois Lighthouse, The Falls, Great food and drinks, the North Country Trail and The Fish Hatchery. ;

Flash Mob MPSS

2010-07-03T15:54:00.001-07:00

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Michigan Certified Peer Support Specialists celebrating life and recovery at the 2nd Annual Peer Support Specialists Conference. There were so many people having a great time. ;

Skyline Drive & the Blue Ridge Parkway 2009

2010-05-10T13:18:00.001-07:00

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The ride started out really nice, then on the last day while returning to Washington, D.C. I hit the thickest fog that I have ever seen or had to deal with. Now that I look back, I wouldn't change the experience. Cold and wet, with my rain gear tied to my bike so others could better see me, at the time all I felt was cold, wet and scared. grin

Solo Motorcycle Trip Natchez Trace

2010-05-03T02:18:00.001-07:00

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This is a video of my Natchez Trace Solo Motorcycle Ride that I did in 2007. Some of what i learned and some of what I saw. I spent three weeks on the Nachez Trace. It was winter and at times it was cold and wet.

A Day In Mexico 2010

2010-04-28T18:37:00.001-07:00

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J & i spent a day on vacation in Mexico during spring break.

Alternatives Opening Keynote

2009-10-30T04:39:00.001-07:00

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Alternatives Opening Keynote

National Memorial at Saint Elizabeths

2009-10-28T22:47:00.001-07:00

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On June 10, 2009 consumers across the nation gathered at St. Elizabeths Hospital to attend the dedication of a national memorial to honor those who have died in a state hospital and been buried & forgotten there. This is a rough draft, a more edited version will be available with the camera stats removed.

Hope That Rocks BlipTV

2009-10-25T21:22:00.001-07:00

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Edited Version of NAMI Metro Presentation September 09 About having hope for recovery, how important it is and some other things helpful to know about it.

Hope That rocks

2009-10-06T18:35:00.001-07:00

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NAMI Metro Presentation

2008-11-12T10:59:00.000-08:00

Test document to help a person learn how they can transfer a document typed on a computer at home that doesn’t have internet to a computer that does have Internet and can then be added to a blog.

NAMI Michigan NAMIWALK

2008-09-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

Today I took the Silverwing to the NAMI Michigan NAMIWALK on Belle Isle. It was a great walk. There were lots of people there. I couldn't walk today as I have broken a bone in my foot so my ability to stand, much less walk is limited.

What I saw was many people walking, talking and having a great time. People with a mental illness, people who had family members who have a mental illness, friends of people who have a mental illness. There are more families involved now, I mean the ones with young kids. For a long, long time it always seemed to me that the people with an illness were around; sometimes they had parents and sometimes they didn't.

But now, there are families with younger kids involved. I am so glad that I have grandkids. (See grandkids to the left; Can't you just feel the love?) They would have been there today, but the truck was broken.

I would love to tell you that my meds changed everything, but what made the biggest change for me was the support that I got from people and for me, many of the people who did the supporting were NAMI members (both family and consumer members; I always get asked.) And yes, I am often a fan of NAMI Michigan. We don't always agree, but they are a major reason I am well. Of course they are also a major reason that I have learned to become a great advocate.

Anyway, back to the NAMIWALK stuff. I liked being able to hear the Recovery Band. There were other great singers, a lot of peer support specialists, USPRA Clubhouse members, JIMHO Drop-In Center members, and great people.

What I didn't like to hear (but did at the same time) was that there was a group there who were standing up and telling people that it is wrong for kids who have a mental illness to be in jail and prison because they are usually taken off their meds and isolated as they are kept away from the general prison population. How many times are family members encouraged to get tough on their ill family member. How many times doesn't that work well? NAMI Basics is coming into state this weekend.

The teams of walkers just keeps growing and growing. This is one of the ways that NAMI Michigan gets it's funding for the year so it can keep doing the education programs, supporting the Connection programs and all that other great stuff.

I'll steer you towards the pics as soon as I hear they are up.

Marty
Recovery That Rocks

Hurricanes, Buttheads and Mental Illness

2008-09-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

Also, check out the ADAPT protest. I'm keeping track on my twitter,(scroll down on the right) but the guy has been arrested and taken to holding so it will be a bit before I can be rowdy again.

I was reading the news on Yahoo a bit ago and they are getting ready to remove people from Galveston Island "For their own good". Just like they lock us up for our own good.

So, these people from Galveston Island shouldn't take things personally, they should be happy that someone wants to come in on their white knight of a horse and "SAVE" them, right? The choice for these chronically normal people is the same one many of us face.

They have the right to be killed because they want to stay in their homes, do the repair themselves.

Some of them will be tazed. "For their own good." Not for the good of the country or the good of their county or the good of the city, but "For their own good."

Whatever happened to the land of the free and the home of the brave? Of course the official making the decisions is where? On Galveston Island.

Interesting point, isn't it?

Here a clip of the article: the top elected official in Galveston County, said the roughly 250 people who defied warnings they would be killed if they rode out the storm in the rural coastal community are a "hardy bunch" and there are some "old timers who aren't going to want to leave."

The Texas attorney general's office is looking into the legal options available to force the remaining residents leave, Yarbrough said. Local authorities are prepared to do whatever it takes to get residents to a safer place.

"I don't want to do it," he said. "I'm doing it because it's in their best interests."

The sliver of land is just too damaged for residents to stay there, and the population must be cleared so that recovery can begin, officials said. With no gas, no power and no running water, there is also concern about spread of disease.

Gas Tank Repair, Football, applying for a job

2008-08-21T21:58:00.000-07:00

Well, today I took some time off and played with the Silverwing. My granddaughter Boo and I took off the gas tank, took apart the petcock cause, well the damn thing is screwed up from when I had the hole in my gas tank. Is the reason the petcock is screwed up my fault? You bet it is. I am learning a lot about the mechanical side of motorcycle riding. Grin

I also did a lot of research on why it is backfiring so badly. I think that due to the petcock and what ended up happening earlier, that I have a vaccuum leak that is killing my ride. I am not sure where the leak is, though. I did pick up some new hose clamps when Boo and I were out dropping Matt off at football practice.

Because of the way the person knocked my tank off my bike when I was working on it, I now have no paint on huge stretches of my gas tank so while we were playing, discover what is wrong with the petcock, we started sanding. I have some primer to put on it as I clear off more of the damage.

The guys on the chopper charles forums have given me some ideas as to how to repair the crack in my faring that keeps coming unfixed when I hit rough patches of pavement. The problem is that the area I have had to drive on has a massive rough pavement stretch, some of the worst that I have ever had to drive on other than when I was dirt biking. It's a bit of washboarding along with some nasty pavement ending abruptly with no warning. If I don't get the faring fixed, I will end up keeping this goofy bungee cord across my turn signal forever.

So, that is where the bike repairs are at.

I was reading a Harley Advertisement today, that reminded me why I don't go into motorcycle shops unless forced. Within the past three years, I have walked into two different bike shops and been relatively ignored as they decided to wait on and talk to the guys who walked in around the same time I did. Once I had the money to buy a new bike burning a hole in my pocket. So unless i really need parts (and I try to get the lawnmower shop to order me the parts before I try the bike shops) then I don't go there.

Here is my experience with bike shops: They will order you a part that is too big, too small, there are no parts that are just right. They will tell you that they are sure it will fit when it won't. I have more control when I order off the internet. Interestingly enough, it is also why I don't fix my motorcycles up more. I don't want to have to talk to a shop.

But back to the Harley Advertisement, (see Kelly, I read) I was looking at the clothes, most Harley clothes that I know of only fit people who are perfect or next to perfect. Like, there's this bitchin' set of riding boots that I really like (instant drool), but when I talked to the clerk, she didn't act like you could have wide feet, you had to be like; perfect. And Iam a large woman. When I go into the local shop that has Harley motorcycle clothes, I only go to buy things for my grandkids. There are a couple of shops that make things that will fit me, but so far, I haven't found a lot that I am looking for.

For those who don't know, I called on a job this week. I am an awesome trainer and in my field I really enjoy doing trainings. I found a job in North Carolina and decided to try to apply for it. My hours got cut here and there is a course that I could write and use there that has been shut off to me here. And I want to move into that field. So I called people to be references and talked with the lady who is in charge of the agency.

I also check to make sure that I knew what section of the state it was in. I wanted to try to section hike parts of the Appalachian Trail in the next five years and this job would put me in the right area to accomplish the southern sections of the Trail.

My daughter is losing her job at the end of next week due to the factory she worked for going into bankruptcy and them not being able to find a buyer. So GM came and pulled molds. Then Chrysler came and pulled molds. Ford is pulling molds next week. The Ford Focus parts were a hard start-up. The factory is working seven days trying to get a buildup of parts in case the turnover doesn't go smoothly.

I fired up the Vulcan today, but decided not to ride it. The kids don't like the seat on it nearly as well as they like the seat on the Honda and well, I have a cab and a half Dodge Dakota. There were four high school football players, my granddaughter who's fourteen and myself all in that truck. I thought that matt was going to need to work the gas pedal for a bit, but then decided I could handle it. grin

Enjoy life, Ride hard and Stay safe. Marty

Deciding on what kind of journey to take

2008-08-17T17:58:00.001-07:00

Well, the Silverwing is going down tomorrow so I can remove the faring and the gas tank. I need to double chek the hoses that go from the tank to the carbs and need to fix the faring. I am going to order a new windshield and some kind of a trunk. I don't have a rack for the trunk, but figure that I can figure out a way to fasten it. That way I will have a built in backrest and a way to keep my sleeping bag out of the elements.

I have to get my shoulder checked out to see that I won't do any major damage. That appointment is later on this month.

I looked at the four corners stuff that the California Club does, but I acutally like to have time to sightsee when I travel. I like to take the time to commune with nature. And people. And savor small towns. Other people can go on a road and say there is nothing to see. I can go on a road and feel history, decline and decay in spite of having every reason to thrive, or the ability of a community to thrive at all odds. LOL

I am seriously giving more thought to going away this winter for the winter. I am really wanting to get into the warm sun and there are plenty of places that I can go to do that. I'm thinking about a storage area so I can have a place to go to get my stuff when I get home. The kids will always welcome me to a spot on the couch.

Big enough so my desk can stay set up. And I can have a heater in there. And my desk chair. I wanted that the last time and well, it didn't really work well.

I would need to take my trailer. The biggest problem with travelling all winter by motorcycle is that one needs such a huge variety of stuff. Well, that and the fact that I take things because I'm a woman and I can. That sounds terrible, but it's true. LOL As a writer, I like paper and a pen, a computer, my wifi card, sometimes I like a stool so I can sit by a campfire. Then I need laundry soap to wash my clothes because they stink after three or four days of being by a fire.

I like to eat better when I am gone for a while. A Jet-Boil stove is great for short trips, but for long trips, well, I like a different answer.

So I am thinking. The way I travel is that I could have the longest perimeter travel ever. Who knows? Where would I need to be when? And how long is winter is the northwest corner of Texas? I could probably hide out at the trailer for a bit after my parents leave also, but by then it is warm.

What am I looking for? Life, love, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Or a chance at a job? Or a book? I wish I knew.

But then that is why I am me. Marty

2008-08-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

To finish catching people up ;). I brought the Silvering home and took it back to the shop. Now they have fixed the brakes better. I haven't screamed at them yet. I may fairly soon.

Anyway, back to thinking about just what I want to do about that gosh darn perimeter tour. First up, do I want to try to take the Silverwing or do I want to take the Vulcan. Neither one is in the shape that I wish they were. It will cost about the same to fix either of them up for a cross-country trek.

I have been out riding off and on for the past three weeks. I took the Wing up to Higgins Lake for the Michigan Peer Support Specialist Training. I took the roads up to Bad Axe and Lexington, but no really long riding. I need to try a longer ride.

The Wing has a backfire that I have to fix. It happened after we got the bike back together from the Hole in the Gas Tank that happened up at Higgins Lake. I was so pissed. I lost a ton of gas all over the parking lot and the ground. For those of you who don't know, I am one of those enviro-geeks, the one's who want to save the resources for our grand kids.

The people at Higgins Lake were great. The loaned me gas cans, assistance getting my bike back together, (thanks Bob and Jeanne) gave me rides to the auto parts store, advice on what kind of goop to use (thanks Ernie) and helped me to not panic.

I am sure that the accident that I had helped the gas leak and I am glad that it didn't start while the bike was in storage when one was around to get to it.

So now I know how to patch a gas tank. Whoohoo. Are my skills improving or what? (You can all stop laughing now.)

I've started a list and started to look at my calendar so I guess that perimeter tour will need to finish before the snow hits the Rockies if I turn left and before the snow hits the Appalachians if I turn right. I am glad that I live in a Border Town. I won't have to travel anywhere to get to the perimeter. LOL.

I am thinking about moving South for the winter. I need to decide before my lease is up. LOL

Marty

A Green Dodge Dakota, Retrieving my Silverwing, Thinking about life

2008-08-15T18:41:00.001-07:00

The guy who helped me tie down the bike asked me about my insurance. he said that he looked at my bike when it came in and he didn't think that the accident caused my brakes to lock up when I described what had happened. It starts to sink in that I could have died because some punk didn't actually fix the brakes like I thought.

I try not to think about it on the ride home.

Anyway, a couple of weeks later, (by the way, did I mention that my computer and my video camera are working well?), I am out riding the Kawasaki as I can't stand to frickin stay home so I am cruising and cruising and cruising around the town as I didn't want to go too far, but couldn't stay home. I turn down a road to head over to Yale, and then I find a green Dodge Dakota sitting by the side of the road with a for sale sign on it. Did I mention that I thought about a price, also?

I go, no, not really. A truck that is what I am looking for in the style I want. It's a cab and a half, forest green, bed liner, runs well, shifts well, brakes are good, wtf? You have got to be kidding me. Maybe I should buy the truck and go get the bike. Most people don't like to travel as much as I do. I love it. Absolutely love to travel.

I decide to buy the truck. I am scared to drive a vehicle all that way that I don't really know. That was part of the problem with the Wing. But I grab the keys, climb in and head off to pick up the bike. I was worried about how it was going to be loaded up, but figured that I could always call a wrecker to hoist it up. I did know that I couldn't help load it and still couldn't climb up in the bed to tie it down very many times.

The trip down gave me a lot of time to think it over. The first thing that I did was to go to the storage area and sit on the bike. Wow, did it feel good to be sitting on it. Wasn't rideable, but I was sitting on it. I wheel it out of the storage room, gather up all my luggage onto a cart and take a deep breath. I had it back. That was important to me.

Sitting outside the storage area, I started talking to guys and there were a couple of bikers who worked there. One even had a ramp in storage there. They loaded my bike into my truck and actually listened to the way that I wanted it to be tied down. The tailgate wouldn't go up so I double-checked that I wasn't going to lose it, and took off. I couldn't go back the way that I went when I had the accident, so I headed across on I-10 and headed up I-75. It was still early in the day when I left Jacksonville.

I was tired because of the stress, so I stopped early. There were four bikers who came in to the hotel later after me and I took the time to talk to them. I ate lunch in the local dive. It reminded me of Nebraska, where the only sit-down restaurant was in the gas station. The food was good, but I didn't really want to go back there for breakfast either. I thought about making it over to two-wheels m/c resort to try out my camping equipment, but didn't think I would be able to sleep on the sleeping pad yet.

I'm sitting back tonight, thinking this stuff through, wondering where I am going and what I am going to do about that damn dream to do a perimeter tour this year. I need to do it. I need to do it for me, for who I am, for who I want to be. Cause if I don't, I won't be who I want to be next year.

So, maybe I need to start planning things out once again. I had hoped to go camping with J.Rock this month, but it's not going to happen. so in a way, I feel like I wasted another month. I'm free the 10th or 12th of September for three weeks, I could do the Northern Section, come back for a couple of days, then go back and finish the rest. I need a calendar, a map and a hitch for my trailer.

Marty

The Trip Home, Getting on a bike again, Buying a Truck

2008-08-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I got my bike out of the impound lot. There were a bunch of guys standing around helping. Or not helping depending upon what you thought they were doing. We had the Grand Am, it was riding low, the bike trailer that we wanted to rent wasn't going to work and Grandma was unhappy.

I have a tendency to spit nails when things don't go my way and it seemed like there had been at least a week of those kinds of days. I look like a wimp as I can't pull on my jeans, so I am wearing these old lady fru, fru clothes. They were about all I could find. For the past week my luggage and the jeans that I could wear were on my bike. In impound. I pick up my leather jacket and look at the shredded mess it had become. I have two, it was my favorite.

My clothes were there, my tent was there, my sleeping bag was there, my hard luggage didn't have any major holes in it--pretty scraped up but no holes, my mess kit was pretty dented, but hey. The key locks in the hard luggage still worked. My reading glasses were still there.

So I am standing there trying to figure out what to do. I already knew that plan A--the one where the Grand Am pulls my bike back to Michigan on a trailer--was down the drain. I decide to get a storage room and put my stuff in it. But we have to get the bike on the trailer.

I still don't feel like moving at all. But the guys that were tying down my bike to the trailer so I could put it into storage were doing it all wrong. And they didn't like to listen to this old fru fru lady. So this guy walks up. And he said, no--don't put the tie down straps there, put them here, on the engine guards. And don't put the tie downs there, put them on the luggage racks that attach to the frame. We're going to tie this bike down like it was a Harley, even though it's not a Harley.

If it was a Harley, it wouldn't have gone down with locked up brakes. I think, "Cute, very cute", but decide to take the cut because, frankly, i don't know if I could climb up on the trailer to retie down the bike even though I knew the tie downs weren't on right.

We get the bike back to the storage room; my daughter and Matt manage to muscle it into the storage room after I take most of the food out of the bags. The kids are happy, i have granola bars, chips and munchies for the ride home. I leave the clothes and the rest of the stuff on the bike, not sure just how I want to do what. There's a bike shop just down the road, do I want to try that one?

We pile in the car, a crowded mass of wall to wall people and we all settle in for a long ride home. Grandma buys the food since everyone is crowded because I am hitching a ride.

My daughter doesn't stop for the night. She just keeps driving. And driving. I take more pain medicine and try to block out the remaining pain by sleeping. It was way more than I could handle--riding home that way. Did I mention that I would have been happy to pay for a hotel room as well? Hell, I would have payed for a couple of them.

We get home and I try to figure out how to sleep. It takes a week or so before I want to think about lying down to sleep.

The Saturday after I got home, I got out the Vulcan to ride. It did hurt like hell. At the same time I have found that if I don't get back on, fear rules. I don't mind being afraid, but I absolutely refuse to stop going for my dreams because I am afraid. If at some point in the future I decide to not ride because there is too much of a chance of my dying, that is one thing. If I decide to change my dreams because I have thought things through. What isn't OK, at least for me is for me to stop riding because I am afraid to get back on.

So, I got on and rode up the road for about twenty miles to the roadside park up north of Lexington. At the roadside park I didn't really feel like talking to anyone, just chose a rock to sit on and looked out at the water.

After I got back, I thought about how I was going to get my Honda back to Michigan from Florida. One week down, three to go before the storage room rent was going to be due. I wanted my bike back by then.

I start thinking about buying a truck. I envision a Green Dodge Dakota, falling into my lap at a price I can afford, in a couple of weeks. At least it gives me something to think about besides worrying about what my Honda will look like. LOL

Marty

Ambulance Rides, Wet and Cold in the hospital, greyhound and cab rides. Oh, MY

2008-07-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

So, to continue.

I'm sitting on the cement dividers that surround the construction area when the men who work on that construction come up and ask if they can move my motorcycle. I told them again that the brakes were locked up and that we hadn't been able to figure out how to move it earlier. As I look back I now know what shock looks like. I carry a full tool kit when I travel out of state.

I'm so wet that my pants are almost steaming from the Jacksonville heat. There's blood running down my arm, and the pain from trying to breathe is starting to sink into my brain. I decide to go to the hospital to get checked out, but I don't feel well enough to get back to my backpack and video camcorder off the bike. The police person asks me if I want an ambulance after I have been there for about 45 minutes. Maybe I looked like I was decompensating. I ask the guys from the fire and rescue service to bring them to me. They say they can't. I say, well then, I can't take this ride to the hospital. Guess you'll have to come back.

Someone pours peroxide on my arm after asking me if I would like to put it on myself as it might sting. Even with them pouring peroxide down my arm, I can't really feel my elbow cause my ribs hurt so badly. I also didn't like the idea that I might look and/or sound like a wimp. I am pissed when it takes the color out of my Sturgis shirt.

I decide to beg once again for my computer and video camcorder.

Now, I know that the guys think that my stuff is probably broken. I know that my stuff might be broken, but if it isn't I don't want the stuff sitting in the rain in an impound lot until someone can come and get it. It'll be a week before I can get back to it. I decide to try to call and find out if there is anyone from NAMI in the general area that might come and get some of my stuff. I can't get anyone who knows me. Shit.

Finally the guys see that I am damn serious about getting my computer and video camcorder and a guy goes out to my motorcycle and unstraps the computer. He just lays my camera in my fanny pack up on top. (Heck no, I don't even think so. I am so not leaving my camcorder to become electronic road kill on I-95.)

He comes back to the ambulance with the computer and I ask him to please bring me the fanny pack off the bike as well. He looks at his boss and goes back out to grab the camcorder.

They tell me to lie down on the stretcher. I refuse. They tell me that they have to strap me down to transport me. I refuse again. I can't imagine how much pain I will be in if I have to lie down. It already hurts when I breathe. Someone makes a command decision that I don't have to lie down, ambulance doors are slammed and we then proceed to drive over every bump and pothole on the way to the hospital. The guy says, "I know it's bumpy, but it's the shortest way." Now maybe it's me, but I wasn't in cardiac arrest. There must have been a choice.

As we are bouncing along, I am reminded more than once that it is a short trip. I think, so is going crazy a short trip. then I think that the guy is probably thinking, damn I could have taken another street. No, I rule out that he has any sense whatsoever.

When I get to the hospital they decide that I get to bypass intake and go straight to a room. They ambulance personnel help me move from their stretcher to the uncomfortable ER bed. They leave me kind of perched on the side because I can't lay down nor can I manage to scoot back. They really wanted me to scoot back. I think they were afraid that I would fall. After all, didn't I just prove that I wasn't able to ride a motorcycle? Actually I think to myself, that is probably a good thing. If I scooted back, my legs would be dangling and then after a few minutes, my knees wouldn't work. I stay uncomfortably perched.

Someone breezes in to take my vitals, and while quickly breezing back out tells me that someone will be by in a few minutes before I can think to tell them that I am freezing and need to either get out of my wet clothes or get a blanket. The next person comes in. My brain refuses to work. She did hand me the remote to the TV as she tells me that she doesn't think it works. I forget to tell her that I am freezing. I am however grateful for the remote as I hate cartoons.

I repeat to myself the words, "Remember to tell them you need a blanket."

The next person who walks in tells me that she needs me to lie down so she can strap me to the stretcher so she can move me to x-ray. I say, "I need a blanket." ----"Please." She says, that all I will need is a sheet in the x-ray room and my reply is, “well, I am very wet very cold.” She touches me and says, “yes you are, you really do need a blanket and mercifully goes to find one. As she puts the blanket across my shoulders, I try to reach up and move it. It was the first time I realized that My shoulders hurt a lot.

Most of the x-rays were taken as standing x-rays so I wouldn't have to lay down. One of the guys who came in who was a biker helped me lay down and get up from the one x-ray I had to lay down for. A technician tells me I can get dressed. They put my boots in a bag to stop them from dripping on the floor. My socks ooze out water when I walk to the wheelchair.

As I am waiting for the results of the x-rays I decide that I might was well go to the NAMI Conference. The kids are due in for the conference. There are people who generally like me and support me at the conference. There is a bed and probably some furniture at the conference. (My apartment doesn't really have furniture; there is a desk chair, a table and an old futon mattress that lays on the floor. Given a choice I would rather buy and ride a motorcycle than buy furniture.) Not that I feel like laying down anyway.

A doctor comes in to tell me that I have broken ribs.

A nurse comes in and tells me that I am being discharged and there is nothing wrong with me. I add, "Except the broken ribs." She says, "Oh, do you have broken ribs? It doesn't say that here." She goes off to check and when she comes back she says, "Well, you're right, you have broken ribs."

There is no phone book, my cell phone won't work in the hospital, but might outside and it is against their policy to give out any medications. At the moment I can't even get up to get my boots. Did I need a Jacksonville Transit Coupon to get home on the bus with? I really must have looked like a frickin refugee.

I said, “I need some pain medication, I need to get over to Orlando where my friends are, can I have a phone book?” She brings me back a phone book, but since my cell phone won't operate, I can't put the number in anyway. I think about ripping out the page, but regretfully, over all, I am a nice person that doesn't do those things. I memorize the number and ask someone for the area code.

I get a pill for the journey and to help me get through the night. It takes me at least five minutes to put on my boots and the nurse still has to tie them for me.

Outside I was at least no longer freezing. I try to call the cab but the number I memorized won't work. I am guessing that I have the wrong area code so I start to walk around towards people to ask them the number. I must look like hell because people are avoiding me like I have the plague. They tell me they don't know their area code.

I walk up to the man in the guard shack and ask him for the number to a cab. He's nice but tells me that I have to go back inside. When I looked over at the door, I decide it's too far and sit down on the edge of the cart that is outside the door. I ask him if he can at least tell me the area code. It's different than the one I had been given. I call again and get the cab company.

Thirty minutes later I'm staring at the steps of a greyhound bus trying to figure out how I'm going to climb up them let alone get my stuff on board since I really can't pick up any weight. Guys caught behind me help. The bus is really full. I think they help because otherwise, they can't get on. I try to doze off to make it easier to ignore the jostles, bumps and potholes in the road. It's at least better than the ambulance ride. A person could die while trying to get to the hospital in one of those things.

The guys also help get my luggage off the bus. (Probably because they wanted to get home.) It's after midnight. I call a cab, ask how much the fare will be and try to get the guy to not turn corners on two wheels. We reach the hotel. The doorman gets my bags. I tell the cab driver that I usually tip really well, but didn't appreciate his driving enough to tip him and walk away.

My New Scorpion Helmet Slides Across I-95

2008-07-29T03:21:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I talked about the new toy that I bought. As I rode it home, I experimented. I checked out this and I tried that. I looked at the oil, the brake fluid, listened to the roar of then engine, etc. I liked the riding position more than I thought that I would. I found out that the bike was/is a growler. That means that he seems to be happiest around 4,600 rpms.

Not knowing Honda Motorcycles at all, I decide to put the bike in my local Honda Shop (Grace Performance out in Wadhams). There are a couple of reasons that I chose to do this. The first is that, even though I am a decent mechanic, I don't have any manuals yet for this motorcycle (a Honda GL 500 Interstate). The second is that, I need to get down to Jacksonville, Florida.

So I walk into the Local Honda shop and they accept my motorcycle into the shop. I say, could you please check it over, change the fluids and check the brakes. It hasn't been ridden for over five years. (It has 5,500 actual miles, so I didn't doubt the truth of that statement.) In this model the calipers have o rings that can crack or rot out.

I call back and ask about the brakes. When I went in to pick it up, it wasn't ready but the man who takes the orders at the service desk said, “He checked out your brakes and they are OK.”

Trusting idiot that I am, I assume that he really checked out my brakes. That meant that I thought he literally took care of them. Hindsight being 20/20 or better, what I now know is that mean that he might have squeezed the handle, and maybe checked out or changed the fluid. Maybe.

Because the bike wasn't ready and I have a meeting on the what I remember to be the 12^th or 13^th of June, I end up leaving late which I really hate to do. I am a casual rider. I like to ride for a bit, go read in a bookstore for a bit, write a bit, ride some more, etc. Stop, look around. That's just the way I like to travel. Can I do 500 or 600 miles in a day? Sure, but why not take the time to enjoy the journey. I am past the point of having to hurry to get to some place else. I have already been in the lower 48 states. Most of them I have been in on a motorcycle. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I'm just out to enjoy my life.

I decide that even though I have left later than I wish I had due to a combination of things (bike broken, weather, etc) I still need/want to take a little time and ride across Ohio on I-80 and then drop down as I love to ride the mountains of West Virgina and North Carolina. It makes more sense to just ride down I-75. It's close and a really straight shot. It is also a totally boring road that I have learned to hate. I love the toll road in West Virginia, the tunnels, the atmosphere in South Carolina.

The Ride down towards the NAMI conference in Orlando was probably the most wonderful time I've had in a long time. As I was cruising along, I thought about why I liked to ride so very much. It wasn't just to escape the cares of the world, although that is one reason that I love to ride. It wasn't just to get away from the chaos (chaos seems to equal, Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) in my apartment, as I had previously thought.

What I realized as I was riding through North Carolina was that when I ride, I am well. It is probably the only time that I am totally well. Not a little well, a lot of well. The looking forwards to life, enjoying the sites, kind of well. In fact, I felt total excitement about what life has to offer me. I even felt happy. And I felt really, really satisfied with my life and where it was headed.

This day, for me was going to be a high mileage day. I don't like this bike and the rain. It is a pain in the assets, but as I thought about it, I don't really like any bike in the rain. But I do have full rain gear and have often ridden the Kawasaki Vulcan (2753 miles worth last year) in the rain. I don't like the windshield I have on this new bike when it rains. I've ordered another, but it didn't make it in.

Just about as soon as I hit Florida, it starts to rain. It was raining badly enough that I am drenched before I can even begin to think about grabbing my rain gear. Since I can 't see, I decide to pull off to the side of I-95 and wait the storm out. It stops quickly.

I wait a bit for the road to dry off (roads dry quickly in the Florida heat) and then hop back on to finish my ride. I am still on schedule to arrive at the meeting on time.

In Jacksonville, it starts to rain again, there is a ton of construction and no where to get off I-95 unless it is onto I-10 when it starts to rain again. I know that those cement dividers probably save the lives of people in cages, but most of the time, I hate them. I do now.

All I remember thinking is "I really don't want to be here." and bam, I was sliding, ripping tearing across the middle of the interstate. I was berating myself for being such a poor rider in rain as I was sliding across the lanes of I-95 and I-10. It was a hard fall. I lay there for a minute then started moving to see if I could. Car horns honking, people trying to drive by on either side of me, I sighed. Some people blocked the road off so people couldn't do that. As I tried to sit up there was a nurse who had stopped when she saw me fall, pushing me back down, telling me to lay back down. I have really bad knees. I don't lie on my back in a hotel bed, much less on a highway. She tells me to lay back and there are guys coming that will get the bike off of my leg. I kick the bike off of my left leg, yell an unprintable word, and get up.

People who don't ride, don't really think about the exhaust pipe factor or the bad knee factor when they are telling you to lay back and someone else will get the bike off of you. I'm not burned, but my boot is steaming. And we all know that I hate to give up the frickin control to anyone else. Thank goodness I don't ride in flip flops. The brakes on my bike are locked up due to the fall, no one has a wrench so we can't pop the calipers open (why I didn't remember mine were on the front of the bike, i can't tell you) and I can't move the bike off the interstate. The police come, but aren't on the interstate, there is no one behind my bike, there is no one to protect me. The police person stays on the nice, safe side of the divider which is a residential neighborhood and we wait for a tow truck; she in her police car because it's still raining ( she was nice enough to share that she had just gotten her hair done) and me on this side of the interstate with cars passing by closely.

Bought a New Toy

2008-05-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Well, I just finished purchasing a new toy. It's a 1981 Honda GL500I. Here are the pics of the bike. Hmm, where do I think that my tent, stove, sleeping pad, sleeping bag and mess kit are going to go? (I know, we'll have Berta pack it up, she can do it.)

Well, we all knew that I was going to be looking
for something, right? So this is it. grin

As you can see, it's missing a side cover on the left side and it doesn't have a trunk on the back. Yet.

So I am packing my things and getting ready to cruise down to Orlando. We all knew that I couldn't stay home for too long, right?

This bike is taller than my vulcan was. And the horn button is exactly where my turn signals were on my vulcan which can make things really annoying for other people as I head on down the road. The test drive was like, really hilarious. Honk, honk, everytime I tried to turn my signals on.

And the freaking pedals are in different places. I will have to actually go out and ride the damn thing for a while before I can go on the road. What a freaking rip. Aaauuuggghhh. I tried to wreck the damn thing earlier today on the test drive. Luckily the car behind me on the right gave me some room. It was a tight spot in an area that I didn't know.

The Honda is high mileage compared to my vulcan. It has 6100 miles (yes really) and the vulcan had 2,250 when I started out last year. They have close to the same size engine. The load will be higher riding which makes me a bit nervous as the seat height is so much higher.

One of my cousins died today from cancer. Peg wasn't old. It makes me realize just how much we need to make sure that we enjoy life while we can. She was neat. I really liked her. It's been a rough year this year, one suicide and one death from cancer.

Live long and prosper,

Marty

Megabus Trip Itinerary

2008-04-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

People are going there is no way you can do all that for $56 (Price went down megabus posted new fares it's cost is now down to $37) so here ya go. Ya need to understand that I don't like to travel on planes, get stuck in airports for hours on end and really appreciate the oddities in life. This is one of the oddities.

The overall view. Please understand that I will do this just because I can. There is no other reason.

Kansas City--One day of sight seeing
Cleveland--One day of sight seeing
Memphis--Two days of sight seeing, (sorry I really have to see the Peabody Ducks and Graceland.)
Minneapolis--One day of sight seeing
Chicago--multiple days of sight seeing.

There is an option for one day in St. Louis which would add a day in Chicago.

I have us starting in Chicago and time along with days of the week is an importance essence, along with the all important advance purchase. The fares were valid as of today.

August 19--Arrive in Chicago--I didn't count this fare as it will be different for me & the person I want to travel with. For me it will be somewhere around $15-$20. It will be more for the other person. Look around Chicago for the day

August 19 Chicago to Kansas City Leave 11:55 PM arrive 10 AM Look around KC Fare $1
August 20 Kansas City to Chicago Leave 8:45 PM arrive 6:50 AM clean up some, drink some coffee and look around Chicago some more. Fare $1
August 21 Chicago to Cleveland Leave 11:59 PM Arrive 7:30 AM Savor Cleveland Fare $8
Glitch, tried to find a hostel in Cleveland, didn't find one handy enough for me.
August 22 Cleveland to Chicago 11:59 Arrive 5:15 Enjoy Chicago Fare $8
August 23 Chicago to Memphis 10:00PM Arrive 7:45 AM Fare $1
August 24 Memphis hostel $15 for room in dorm
August 25 Memphis to Chicago 11:00 PM Arrive 8:45 AM Chicago Fare$1
August 26 Chicago to Minneapolis Fare $1
August 27 Minneapolis to Chicago 10:30 Arrive 6:30 AM Fare $1

So that is the bare bones itinerary, although I really do like Saint Louis and I am thinking aobut adding a day there but because it is on a weekend, it would be expensive. The trip would be $16 to go there and $15 to return. I tried to look up a hostel, but that won't work as it is $20 a night.

At the moment I am looking at $100 per person for the time period I am gone and would need the rest of the $100 for fees to get into various sites. For $100 total, I now have $63 for fees to get into places and the city bus systems. Should I decide to spend more, say $150 or $200 for the two week trip I will let you know and update the blog, but it seem unnecessarily spendthrift to me. The idea is for a frugal trip.

Food is a tough one for me. I am not one that has to eat in a fancy eatery, but on a trip of this type at times food costs will rise as one needs a place to park one's assets, (their butt) or your assets get worn out. Local gas and sips don't really work well for this type of a trip.

I gotta decide for sure by the first and get my ticket should I decide that I really want to do this; cause the price goes away if the ride starts to fill.

Any sightseeing ideas that are awesome and cheap? grin

Live long and prosper. Ride safe.

Marty

So Anyway

2008-04-23T21:55:00.000-07:00

My bike is down for a tire, but that of course should never stop life. Anyway. I get myself in a situation where I decide to try the megabus. It was fun. A really different experience.

After I managed to backtrack to get to Union Station in Chicago, I purchased my ticket via my pda to STL. When I went to look around for the place to catch the bus I saw a sign that said:

Megabus does not have a cooperating agreement with AMTRAK. Unless you are using the services and businesses inside the terminal, please wait outside. Outside there are many people awaiting the megabus service. I laugh and go find a place to sit inside. There are a lot of spaces inside, I have never seen the Chicago Union Great Hall filled and well, it is quite a while before I am to leave. Besides, I need to charge my cell phone and play on the puter.

The megabus came on time, was clean, non-smelly and I was so happy to not be on a greyhound that life seemed really good. Up on the top deck there is a place where one can sit in the window and look out at the traffic. I really enjoy watching the traffic as we rolled down the road even though it took a bit of adjusting to see how close the bottom of the bridges were to the top of our bus. I am quite sure my eyes got big at that one.

I took a couple of tylenol pm as I was a little achy from all the stuff that I had done earlier in the day. Shouldn't have. The bus was thirty minutes early and dumped us out on a street corner in Downtown STL at 5 AM while I was still pretty much asleep.

I didn't feel unsafe, but it felt really strange to be sitting on a piece of concrete at 5AM not really knowing where I was. My first thought was to scream, find out a number for a cab to the Hilton and get the fuck out of there. I tried to berate myself a couple of times for what I had done, but decided to just breathe and assess my surroundings. I relaxed and waited while things got lighter as the sun slowly started to rise. I saw a bus stop and some buses. That was a good sign. The bus stop didn't have gang symbols printed on it. Another good sign. Snicker. Like it mattered as I was already there with no transportation.

They unlocked union station around 5:30 and I went inside to find a restroom and look for some transportation information. I found a place to go to pick up the metralink and bought a ticket. The first thing I did was to get on the damn thing going the wrong direction, then realized in another stop I would be under the arch and decided to ride by it. It is a great sight. In case you didn't know it the dimensions are 630' by 630'. Way cool.

I then got off, walked around a bit, but my luggage bummed me out, so I headed out to the airport so I could catch the shuttle for the Hilton.

We are now in meetings for the trainings.

BTW I did figure out a ten day travel and lodging included five city tour by megabus that will cost a total of $111.50 for two or $56 if i end up doing it by myself. Whoohoo, life can be a RIDE. We are looking at August. I am trying to keep lodging and sightseeing fees under $200 for the ten days. They should pay me to advertise for megabus. LOL

Actually, the best part about megabus is that the drivers don't mistreat you about the tickets. You just need to take reserv number. Way cool.

Happy trails, Marty

Great Riding until it rained hard, sigh

2008-04-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

Got home last night. We made it. Whoohoo. We tied the trailer to the top of the Grand Am, shoulda got a pic. I streaked across Michigan and part of Illinois.I got to where I just wanted out of the car. LOL Matt told me that we are really getto because I had the guts to tie the trailer on the top of the car. We thought about telling Berta that we had done it, but decided that we didn't want her to worry. big grin. She figured it out when we got home and she said, "If you had broken the glass out of teh back window I would have been pissed. Hmm, she had a point. I'm more broke than usual. LOL

Here's a pic of me & the best grandbabies in the world.

Here I am with my nephew and niece. Cute little buggers aren't they?

Here is mom & dad with the gk's.

And here are Steve and Mandy with the kids.

We try really hard to be a conventional family and take only nice pics. Usually we can get one good pic if we promise to take a fun one later.

Today was a good day. I went to a luncheon with ladies from the church. While I was gone the people who hand out the Watchtower left a note on my door. See, I told ya it was a good day, I was gone. LOL

Then after the luncheon, I went by to return the car to Berta, got my luggage from the trip yesterday, and then retrieved the motorcycle. Whoohoo. It was a great day. What a ride. I didn't really go anywhere, but I rode around. And Around. And Around. What joy.

Then at 9Pm I went to the kids to pick up my m/c cover and got caught in a torrential downpour. It was one hard ass rain. It was raining so hard it hurt. I wished I had grabbed my full face helmet. It stopped pretty quick but I was drenched. Ya know, I can't move from here. All the little old ladies and little old men wouldn't have anything to do. There would be no amusement for them.

There's a workshop at church that I would like to do tomorrow, but the weather doesn't look good. That darn storm that is coming across the midwest is heading this way and they are predicting snow. I don't like to ride in snow, even if it won't stick around for very long.

Gotta go, have a delightful night.

Happy trails, Marty

I also worked on a workshop and a plenary that I am presenting on Sunday, Hope that Rocks and Things you put in a recovery toolbox. I need to work on them some more, but I got started.

Another perfect riding day

2008-04-06T17:26:00.000-07:00

I wasn't able to come home and get my bike, the weather pretty much stayed crappy through Friday. The blessing in that was that I got to ride home with Heather McDonald from Connecticut. She was headed home on the thruway; I know that some of you think that life ends at the edge of the country, but it doesn't. You just drive through and pick things up again at Niagra Falls.

While we were riding home, we found out that Heather got a grant that she really wanted to get. That is so awesome. It will just about if not double the size of For-U which is awesome, isn't it? It's a good Consumer Driven Program. How do I know that it is good? I spent the week with Heather, got to know who she was as a person and really liked what I found. Also, their website, when you read the about me section has the right vision and values. I would give you a direct link to their vision and values, but they don't have their website set up so I can do that.

So I have been home for two days and why haven't I written? Cause I was riding--whooo. Yesterday Boo and I rode up to Lexington and had A&W Rootbeer in frosty mugs while sitting outside. It wasn't very warm, but it was warm enough. Marty does happy dance.

I can handle life now. I have ridden out of town. LOL

I have to bring my website down later this week, it won't be tonight. I have to put it into another program so I can co-host websites. What I have isn't working and I am getting more visitors than I was before so I need to fix it now so I can not get a massive interruption later.

I have adjusted to the ebay download situation. It did take a while, even if I understood why they chose to do it. It just makes it harder and more expensive for people who wanted to get a copy of Views From the Trail or Recovery that Rocks as a download. I hate that it did that. I can't say that sales were booming, but they were picking up slowly.

Earlier today as I was out cruising along, I was thinking about the situation and realized that the intense irritation that I felt isn't here any more.

I also thought about how, when I get an idea, I need to do it right then. If I don't then I don't have time to do it later as I have another idea, and then another idea. What a joy to have so many ideas, what I need is a heck of a lot more discipline than I have. grin

I am still awaiting a turn signal assembly and a front tire so I haven't had the opportunity to do as much riding as I wish I had. I did get enough to take the edge off. Now I can go back and plan a route 66 trip so I can jam it in somewhere.

Happy trails, ride safe.

Marty

The weathers been crappy, f'in hey

2008-04-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

This week, I have been in Grand Rapids and then in Lansing. Did I mention that the weather has been absolutely crappy? I mean it has rained and spit snow off and on for over four days now. I didn't take the Vulcan, but damn, I am close enough that I could go home to get it if the weather would just clear up.

It's April, I am so ready to ride, even if I am still buying bike parts to replace the cracked and broken ones from the January slide.

I bought new bags, new sissy bar, and I am working on getting some new turn signals, new relays, and I think the repair will stop there. I could use a new tank, but I think I will bide my time and find one used later on this year.

I am thinking about buying a new bike, but haven't done so yet.

I really hope that it clears as I need to go home next week for my father's 80th birthday celebration. I would love to ride there. I so need to ride. I so, so need to ride.

Am I ever going to be able to cruise again? Am I ever going to be able to tour again? If not, am I just in love with the idea of touring? Personally, I think that would make me a freaking wimp and I hate to be thought of as a wimp.

I so need to get the heck away. All the way away. Miles and miles away. Far, far away.

I don't think I am courageous, just filled with wanderlust. Lots and lots of wanderlust. I don't have an atlas with me so I can't futher plan out either the perimeter tour or the route 66 trip. I always get cabin fever in April and this month because of the weather, my attitude is worse than usual.

My friends who are going to sail on Georgian Bay this summer are closing the house in a couple of weeks and then will set sail before May 31st. Right now, I think that sounds cold, at least to me.

Have a happy day, my battery is dying. Marty

Riding in Michigan

2008-03-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the weather was beautiful here. It was fifty degrees, so I didn't even need to put on a pair of longjohns. I went out and got on my bike and it started right up. I have a tiny battery and since the apartment I live in is on the fourth floor, it is not possible for me to run a trickle charger.

What I end up doing instead is to carry a car charger strapped to my sissy bar. It's not a great answer, but I enjoy riding in cold weather and don't enjoy being stranded since I ride solo so much.

I didn't get very far out of town, but really enjoyed just leaning back and cruising. The sun was warm and I enjoyed just the feeling of the sun on my face.

The day before had ended up sucking royally and I didn't feel well enough to roll out of bed sooner. Boy did I regret that as soon as I walked outside.

Five hours south, that is all I have to get is five hours south and I can ride and ride and ride without it being cold. It's warm enough down in Cinci to ride today. Hmm, maybe I should work my way down right after next Friday when I can enjoy being free for a week or so.

Happy trails, Marty

Riders On Adventure: Women on Motorcycles

2008-03-25T05:02:00.000-07:00

Riders On Adventure: Women on Motorcycles

I enjoyed this post. It is a good one. There are many serious riders who ride their own, but sometimes they are not so easy to find, at least when I am looking for someone to ride with.

I'll comment more tonight, but right now, I am going to go to breakfast, then to wally world to buy a seat pad, LOL

I spent some more time reading the Riders On Adventure Blog;

KW shoots some awesome pics, wish I had that kind of talent LOL, but what I like the best is that she really rides. I talk to a lot of people who have bikes but don't ride a whole lot. I would like to meet her. She sounds like fun, so KW, if you make it to Michigan this year or next look me up. If I start to read that we are in the same area, maybe there will be a drink waiting for you.

There are a lot of people who read my blog that like to live vicariously through me, well--if you want a bigger adventure, read KW's blog Riders on Adventure also.

Happy Trails,

Marty

Motorcycle Camping

2008-03-25T04:18:00.000-07:00

I went over to this website today Her Motorcycle. I googled motorcycle camping and it came up. I have after all devoured all of the stuff on froggi donnas site, which is Women Who Ride made the backrest and the electric vest and now the neck cooler (thank you so much donna). To find how to do that stuff go here and scroll down past the list of campgrounds.

First, let me say that I really enjoy the her motorcycle book list of books by and for women bikers. I will read all of them in say, the next couple of weeks. Love to read, love to bike. This is the book that I have lined up to read, American Borders right after I read the book by Cindy Soldotna Life is Like a Line. met Cindy last night, it was just awesome.

Back to the her motorcycle camping page. Frankly the camping page scares me. I would have frozen a couple of times with this advice. It can turn cold unexpectedly. Almost everywhere it can turn cold unexpectedly and I travel SOLO which means that the cold is compounded.

There is nothing about how to choose a tent, except by links of descriptions, no warnings that sleeping bags often don't warm you at the minimum degrees that it's supposed to work at, and it seems that women sleep colder than men and there for will freeze more. And more often.

There's nothing about how using a good pad under a sleeping bag isn't always about comfort, but about preserving body warmth, etc.

And the camping cooking gear is mostly car stuff.

Having put those 18,000 miles on my bike camping last year, I would have never made it more than a weekend or two with that equipment. I would have been darn uncomfortable.

Take a pad to sleep on, they are lightweight, but improve the quality of one's trip immensely.

And I may buy a volcano stove, but it would mean carrying along a bag of charcoal or wood so I would probably have to take my trailer.

If you want to cook, and be gone longer than a weekend, consider a backpacking stove and lightweight utensils. They don't have to be expensive, they do need to be compact. When traveling one-up, I often forego the niceties and eat out of my cook kit. I don't want to pack a lot of plates, bowls and mugs, although the new eating stuff that folds flat, well maybe it straightens flat seems to wear well. I have been personally conducting a test since I first saw it in Cheyenne, Wyoming last year. (insert sheepish girly, gotta have gear, grin, here)

I will say that another site by a woman biker, way cool. I choose to spend my design time elsewhere, like on my website for my first passion, but plan on enjoying my life fully this summer and may ask Boo to do a website for women bikers. She's a really great grandaughter and is old enough to run a website.

Enjoy her website, it has some good stuff, especially for beginners.

Marty

So, I went to BN to order the Book EZ66 and the map set

2008-03-23T19:10:00.001-07:00

It's Easter Sunday here in Michigan. Easter came early this year so it's still cold as a witch's tit-I did tell you that while I was in Germany i got to go see the mountain that saying came from, right? So it's OK if I use it.

Matt came over and helped me put the bag racks and the new Sissy Bars on my Vulcan. It didn't take too long, but was much easier with four hands. He's just turned 14 and instruction has begun. Why don't you start it up, let it warm up and then back it out for me. I'd like to get a couple of rides in with him. He needs to take a MSF Course first, if Berta doesn't throw a fit. Hopefully she isn't following my blog, LOL.

Then I went to BN to order the damn book and they said, we can't order it for you, you need to get it yourself. Grrr. Here I am trying to hand them money and they say no. What's up with that?

I need to transfer money and order parts either later on today or tomorrow. I have decided to order different turn signals and to replace many of the parts that were damaged in the slide. Trying to decide just what I want to do is tough. It's going to get another 18,000 miles this year and that will bring it up to around 36,000 total, so I need to think about whether I want to keep it for 2009. First I make one decision and then I make another decision.

I plan on doing the ALCAN in 2009 and was thinking of getting a dual sport to do that. My 500 rides a little low. And it may be a little tired by then, since I am not the best at doing all the maintenance that it should get. I keep hoping that a knight or knightess in shining armour will show up and do all that shit.

OTOH, it's hell on people here right now and there will be some good deals on bikes. The unemployment rate doesn't show all of the people who are still looking and people need to sell. Many are priced more than I will pay, but some may come down. If I had a huge chunk of change, I would be more than happy to pay more, but right now, I don't have all that hanging together.

I am looking at an 800 or a 900, but do really like the 500. My oldest grandbaby is now taller than I am though and such a small bike is tough on him leg wise and butt wise. What will I do when he grows another foot this year, offer to cut out a couple of inches?

Today I cut material into six inch squares. It felt good to be able to do that. I hadn't been able to get connected with myself enough to get into crafting, at all. I am going to cut three or four pairs of jeans up to make gym/laundry bags. When I get back on the 5th or 6th of April, I want to make six or seven shopping bags and boot that material out of the door.

I am actually trying to cut down on the craft stuff in my house, but decided that part of the problem was that I just couldn't get started, so today I started. When I get back, I am going to put some stuff up for sale on Ebay and then upgrade some of my camping equipment. I need another decent pad to go under the sleeping bags, a fold flat bowl, some better helmets and a couple of pairs of new bike gloves. The kids seem to eat the goggles and the gloves, LOL.

I need to figure out how many miles are in the perimeter ride so I can start to jockey the time.

Love to ride.

Tomorrow I am staying home during the day and cleaning up the rest of the way. Then tomorrow night I am going to buy a desk that will be a good fit for me work wise. Sometime I should probably consider buying some furniture other than that, like a couch or chair to sit in and a mattress or bed might be nice, but so far, I am happy, just want a better desk to go in the living room. I am going to fire up the Toshiba and buy a big screen for it to hook up to so I can enjoy my work and have dual documents on the screen at the same time.

Then tomorrow I am going to meet a new friend at BN.

Happy Trails; Ride Safe,

Marty

Two Thousand Four Hundred and Forty Eight Miles

2008-03-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning and went to breakfast at McDonalds. After reading for an hour or two ( a book about biking across the United States, well the pedal kind of a bike, LOL), I hopped on the bus and cruised on over to Wally World to pick up a new atlas.

Yep, now I really feel a road trip coming on. I tried not to feel it this strongly, but well, I failed. Roadtrips R Me.

It's actually a pretty short road trip from beginning to end. A couple of weeks, plus the time to return. Oh, and to hop up to Santa Barbara and sit on a mountainside for a day or two. So what I need will be three weeks of downtime.

Another interesting option would be to take the perimeter route home from there if I had enough time to hang things together. It's not like a perimeter ride is out of my way. I mean the Upper Peninsula isn't really out of the way, it's just a little bit north of here. I keep thinking about the perimeter ride. It's going to happen, I can feel both rides in my bones. And I'd love to visit both Washington and Oregon again.

I now have acquired the turn by turn directions for Route 66 and am trying to work out what my needs might be. I had thought seriously about not taking any cooking gear, but have decided to look at that twice. When one uses food as medication to treat any kind of an illness, one doesn't want to just decide to stop eating in a way that will help one feel well. Maybe if I gave up all my responsibilities.

Since I have gotten home and had a couple of days to recoup, I have gotten back to my eating and I feel much, much better. Of course that visit to my therapist helped a lot too. I came back home that day feeling well physically and mentally. So much so that I started cleaning my house up. It will be where I can write in a couple of days.

After I buy a desk. LOL I have no table and no place comfortable for me to write at. There is one that I like at Staples. I was shopping the other day.

Two hundred miles a day means that I could be finished with the route and the mountainside in two weeks. Then three or four days home; if I don't do the perimeter thing.

Guess I need to try to nail down the days to see if 200 mile days are going to give me the time to enjoy the trip like I want.

Yaaahoooo. gotta get a move on. Now all I have to do is figure out when to start the ride.

marty

My Schedule and Biking

2008-03-22T05:36:00.000-07:00

I am trying to figure out how to do two things:

1. A lot of riding and

2. A lot of training

It's never had to be a choice before. For years I couldn't ride due to my medications setting my center of balance off, but having to choose now is really different.

I am thinking of two major rides, well, major in terms of miles to other people. I read a lot of blogs/miles that sound like, 14,000 miles in two years. That is about six months worth of riding if I am not working.

So, I have to be in St. Louis at the end of April and am thinking about doing a Route 66 ride off of that, either before or after. It would take me far enough South that I could camp. I can decide whether or not to take the trailer, but it should be an easy three week trip and would just need to throw on my tent and camping/ sleeping gear. And my cooking gear so I can wake up to hot tea in the mornings. Or I could do bottled iced and just get up and enjoy breakfast in some of the funky diners along the route.

There are a couple of hotels along the route that I want to use, but not a lot. I am just an outdoors camping type of person. I think it has become a lifestyle choice.

I started reading up on Route 66 last week again, read up on it last year and it looks like there are some better choices guidebook wise. There are some who consider it a Route 66 trip if you ride the interstate where it used to be. That is not me as I like the funky places that are still in use/have been restored.

The other thing I am thinking about is a perimeter tour off of the Orlando trip that I have to make in June. I have a NAMI Convention in Orlando that I need to attend, and would like to try a perimeter trip off of it, even if it would have to be in segments due to trainings. I have done mileage planning between Port Huron and Orlando (gosh, it really is handy being from a perimeter town, LOL).

Either or both would work out well and I have to decide what I want to do and get moving on it.

I have some bike repairs that need to happen since I got rear-ended in Battle Creek in January.

Today I am going to put the new sissy bar, bag rails and bags on my bike today. It's going to be a little over freezing around 2 this afternoon, so the weather is cooperating, yea! I ride anyway, but haven't gone outside yet today.

gotta go eat breakfast,

Enjoy life, it's for living, Marty

Wanderlust

2008-03-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

Wanderlust is filling my soul today. I really want to be out on the road traveling on my bike. So today, I started looking at just how long it would take to do a perimeter trip. I also started looking at how much it would cost.

I was doing OK until mom got out an atlas the other day. There could be great books in the room and I would prefer to read an atlas. And plan a trip. And so, what is life if one isn't planning a grand adventure?

So here are the first three days:

Day One: Port Huron to Algonac (36)to Port Clinton (146)to Cleveland (77)and on through to Geneva State Park(53) which is 312 miles.

Day Two: Geneva State Park to Dunkirk(109) to Youngstown(81) to Hamlin Beach State Park(60) which is 250 miles.

Day Three: Hamlin Beach State Park to Sacketts Harbor(151) to Massena (101) which is 252 miles. It will probably be a little bit shorter as the park is just before Massena. I will probably camp in Coles Creek State Park.

I double checked to see if there are any two wheels only campgrounds along this section of the route and it doesn't look like it. Story of my life. LOL

Three years ago here, there was a lady who had a map that had the states they had traveled to in different colors. I asked the lady where she got it and she told me "Camping World". I said, those are cool, I should get one of those. She asked me if I had traveled much and I said yes, I have been in all of the lower 48. The woman got snooty with me and said if I hadn't slept in them, it didn't count. When I told her that I had slept in all of them except maybe Rhode Island because it was so little it didn't count (sorry Jim and Kathryn) she turned around and walked away from me. Guess it's a good thing that I didn't tell her that I had been to most of the lower 48 at least twice.

For a while, it got to where I didn't want to go on vacations. I didn't like cars, wanted my family to get the camper back so I could ride back there, etc. But then, I am one of the people who require alone time. Have to have it or I get depressed. I have to be able to get out and about.

Oh the things we will do---

Happy Trails, marty

Adventures

2008-03-10T23:09:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about life and adventures. I like having my life be an adventure or filled with adventure. Gretchen's right, I am so not a minivan person.

Being here makes me think about having life be an adventure.

I used to be on the outside of life. I would stand around and watch life happen. I would let it happen to me or around me and never enter into life or embrace life.

When I came to Texas this time, I started to try to view my relationship with my parents in a slightly different way. Instead of just having been born to them and all the baggage that seems to bring, decided to look at it from the direction that Louise Hay looks at it, that I chose my parents for what they could teach me.

It has caused a radical shift in our relationship for me. And once I have changed, the relationship has changed. It is better for me now. And it causes me to notice many things.

My parents often have life pass them by. Like they are not always involved or able to be involved. I watch people now, not just to watch life, but to see behaviours that I want to acquire or want to migrate more towards. It's very different for me.

My behaviours, watching life happen in many ways seem to come from my parents. And yet, I remember them being more fully involved than they are now, but then again, much of the involvement that I saw came from watching them in relation to my aunts, uncles and cousins. That is not the same thing.

They have friends from high school, which I don't have. They have friends from college or the army, which I don't have. Most of my friends have been acquired lately. I don't have friends from teh early years of my life.

At the same time, as I truly know, appearances can be deceiving. I have accomplished quite a few things, but I didn't feel a part of things. I still felt like I was watching from the outside, a little kid looking through the window of a candy store, or feeling that I wasn't engaged, that it wasn't really me.

Today, I sat in the sun and worked on my tan.

But it's time. It's time to pick up the mantle of leadership and be strong. Always an adventure. LOL

It's also time for my life to become an adventure again. I am planning a perimeter ride later this year. Hey, I gotta do what I gotta do. I'm going to meet people, find a riding partner and go for my dreams.

Happy trails,

Marty

Four More Sleeps

2008-03-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

Four more sleeps and I will be on my way to DC, then back to Michigan to see what I can do to get my bike back on the road.

I'm tired, just totally exhausted. Being without my own transportation does that to me. Just the thought of their being someone around 24/7 or the thought of my wanting to go somewhere just to eat a hot dog and relax. Or shop for two hours to buy a pair of sandals.

Or to go to an outdoor gear store just to drool all over the new equipment.

My shoulders still ache from being rear ended. Or, it could be from the stress. I miss my regimented eating out. A hot dog and sauerkraut from Sam's Club. Tea from Barnes and Noble.

There is a Hastings Bookstore here and I won't be able to go to it and savor it. I might be able to go to it, but not to just sit and enjoy it. It's more like a--what do you want to pick up? I don't shop to spend all kinds of money. I enjoy that hot dog and sauerkraut just as much as others enjoy five star dining.

And I don't have to clean my plate. I think that and what I like to eat is what I miss the most. It's kind of like being with my daughter at her house and she says, well, you can cook, make me chicken stir fry. But there is no wok. there is no sesame oil. So if I try to cook chicken stir fry I end up with greasy, off tasting chicken and vegetables.

Or it it's like, you can do this--just use the microwave. At home I seldom use the microwave anymore. I don't think microwaved food is healthy.

Tonight we went to IHOP. It's a great place to take someone who is addicted to wheat. It is kind of like taking an alcoholic on a tour of the wine country. I did at least make sure that i had some protein to help me not have the intense reaction that I have when I eat sugar and wheat in combination, but I have been here long enough that the addiction has kicked back in.

While I am in DC, I will start to get my life back under control. Stop eating breads for breakfast and eat eggs and meat, hopefully with some veggies. And I'll drink a lot of water to try to wash the stuff out of my system.

The heck of it is that I would love to live down here, but need some different space. OK, LOA that living space. grin.

Yes, that is what I am working on. LOL

Marty

Parents and Eating LOL

2008-03-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

I am still in Texas with my parents. We went to Jason's Deli for lunch. I ordered on of the broccoli spuds that I like so much. The potatoes are huge, absolutely massive, but unbelievable delicious. It's kind of hard on me when we go to Jason's Deli.

To give you an idea, at home I try to avoid eating much corn, wheat or dairy. Here, I end up eating things like cereal for breakfast. They like corn flakes, I really try to not do much corn. There are a lot of cereals I could eat, but I don't much enjoy rice or oat cereals so I choose to eat shredded wheat.

This means that I start my day off with two of the foods I try most to avoid. The reason that I avoid them is that I seem to move much slower and have less energy when I eat them. I actually like having protein for breakfast.

I like having a big breakfast, a big lunch and then a little supper. That works well for me. I am able to at the very least maintain the weight loss that I achieved a couple of years ago. I feel best eating a high protein, lots of vegies and some fruits diet.

It is totally opposite here. There are different desserts that are available at both lunch and dinner. I generally don't turn them down. If I did I would feel better. Vegies are seldom accompanied by enough protein for me to feel good enough to want to move much.

They want me to move more. I am eating foods that aren't good for me, it is a generally escalating situation. But this noon ticked me off.

My dad complained that I didn't clean my plate. He didn't care if I didn't need the food that was left on my plate. He didn't care if it would put more weight on me, he told me "if I ordered something, then I needed to eat it."

I am still quite overweight and this man wants me to eat myself into oblivion. It really pisses me off. It's just what I don't need to have happen.

Gotta go, they just came home.

I'm leaving on Thursday,
Happy Trails,

Marty

Windy but hot

2008-03-03T21:36:00.000-08:00

Today the wind gusts were up to 44 mph, but it was so warm I didn't really care.

I got up, ate breakfast, picked teh rest of the grapefruit off the tree to eat for the rest of the time that I am here and then spent some time with my dad.

I fixed lunch. Why that is important is that I need more protein at lunch than I usually get when I eat with my parents. And now, hours later I am still feeling good enough to work on my website some more later.

Since I am on vacation, I am not doing much. I am doing some reading, a little writing, a little learning, and a lot of puzzling.

When I was getting ready to come here, I was relaxing by reading a couple of books by Louise Hay. She talked about how she feels that we pick our parents according to what we need to experience in our lives to fulfill the reason we became a physical being. That really seemed to adjust my attitude towards them. It is/was no longer something that happened to me, but something that I chose. For some people that wouldn't work, but for me it works well.

It's been an interesting adjustment for me. I'm more respectful now as I realize that I have gotten a lot from my relationship with them. At times to me it was unwanted things that I got, but this new way of thinking helps me to see that all things do work together when we are working to create the life that we want.

Tomorrow I am going to go over to the swimming pool to lay around. I want to meet more and different people and that is one way I feel would be a good way to do it. Because of the heat here, I don't always go out and about in the sun.

But as Denni kept reminding me for a year or two, if we keep doing what we always have, we'll keep getting what we've already gotten. Interestingly enough, that is really true regarding recovery, but seldom was it helpful to me when those words were being used.

DeColores, Marty

Sub Domains

2008-03-02T23:07:00.001-08:00

Today I was working on migrating my financial website into my regular website. What I need to learn about seems to be subdomains.

I am one of those self-taught non-geeks. What I guess that I need to be is one of those self-taught geeks. How does one make the transition from being a non-geek to a geek? Is it even possible? At this time I am one person that has serious doubts.

It's never a really good day when I can't make the websites happen well. I wish my dad was more comfortable with my using a computer. Then I could work on things during the day. My dad is slightly computer-phobic. grin, grin, grin

Overall, today was a good day. I slept as it was around 90* in my parents trailer. My parents don't believe in comfort. There is no place to stretch out and be comfortable, imho. Because of knee pain, I like to actually use something that means that I can keep my knees up. I find that it really helps.

Well, when I visit my parents in Texas, you either sit up or you can lay on a bunk. The bunk area is hot. At night, I sleep on what can best be described as a shelf. It's actually a bench seat and well, this year I am wider than it is. I have to sit up to turn over, so I don't get a lot of great quality sleep. The padding is, well, at home I often sleep on the floor so its about the same. LOL

But somehow the same is less comfortable? I really don't understand how that can be, but it seems to be true.

Anyway, today seems to be a wasted day. The website isn't working out well. The brains are fried. I hate it when I have unproductive days. Today seems like one of those. Maybe that is why I don't do vacations well?

We did eat out at Olive Garden though. I enjoy Tuscan food.

Gotta go, Mom will be up in four hours and I sleep in the living room. LOl

So, What happened to February?

2008-03-01T22:00:00.000-08:00

It seems like it was just yesterday. LOL

I am currently in the Rio Grande Valley area in the Southern part of Texas. I decided to ride the train down here. It was a little cold and wet and well, being rear-ended just sort of took the starch out of me. I remember laying on the pavement thinking, damn, maybe it is time to buy a mini-van and I am so not a mini-van type of person.

The train was nice, except that the last leg was by bus. I didn't really mind that except the bus had no heat, absolutely none. It was 44* out and the driver kept going faster which of course made the wind chill even worse. Just in case you want to know what the bus company was that froze me out it's Valley Transit. I am sure that none of you will want to ride them either.

I see on their site that they are looking for both mechanics and drivers. Now I can drive a bus, but there is no way I want to drive one that doesn't work any better than the one I rode in did.

There's a hatha yoga class on Wednesdays here, but it is for an hour and a half. There's no way I would be able to move for the next three or four days. I really wanted to try the yoga, but that time length just scares the crap out of me. All these people here can out exercise me. That is so sad.

I was looking for tours that might have an opening when I got the list of classes also. It doesn't look like there is a tour that I will be able to go on, that I want to go on. There is a tour of a ranch that includes how things work and an actual branding. Wow, I can pay money to smell the flesh of calves burn. How exciting and how, how, ya know the exact words are just escaping me right now.

I have been teaching my mom a little about how to operate her computer. She could turn it off and on, but not much more other than email. Today we were working on drag and drop. The way I help people learn that is to first get them on the game of solitare and then to try to move them on to freecell. My mom is intelligent. She was not only picking up what to do with a mouse, but also the concepts of freecell.

Gotta go get some sleep. I want to get up and listen to Renaissance Unity via the web tomorrow and I have to be up and out of mom and dads way so they can get to church.

Enjoy your day, Marty

Jan 08

2008-02-29T23:17:00.001-08:00

People have started complaining and commenting that they want my blog up even though I am not traveling. I have decided to do that. It will take me a couple of days to get situated to where that is achievable, but then I will do it. At least now I know what I am letting myself in for. LOL Marty

dec07

2008-02-29T23:16:00.006-08:00

hold

nov 07

2008-02-29T23:16:00.005-08:00

hold

oct 07

2008-02-29T23:16:00.003-08:00

hold

sept 07

2008-02-29T23:16:00.001-08:00

hold

aug07

2008-02-29T23:15:00.005-08:00

hold

july 07

2008-02-29T23:15:00.003-08:00

hold

June 07

2008-02-29T23:15:00.001-08:00

hold

end of may

2008-02-29T23:14:00.000-08:00

hold

May 14 2007 Kearney to North Platte

2007-05-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

May 14 2007

Around six I get up and think about breakfast. There is a continental breakfast over by the lobby. I pack up some of the clothes that I washed out and start to pack up my bike.

For some reason, I seem to be worn out. Things are taking me a long time because I seem to be moving slowly. There isn’t really a reason for me to be worn out. I find it frustrating. I almost seem to think I am losing time, but I don’t feel ill. Losing time, not knowing where it goes is often an early symptom that means that I need to take it easy, to rest.

I’ll try to do that later in the week.

This morning, my body still seems to be dehydrated as I am craving water. I try to drink as much as I can, but don’t seem to have much caffeine available that will sit well on my stomach.

An hour later I am still packing up my bike and once again, like yesterday, things are not going well. The weight is off, but it is time to go. I carefully ride off after asking directions.

The people at the front desk could only tell me where the campus is and I am unable to mapquest the Drake Theatre. It is not in the telephone book, at least not where I am looking. I just have UNK Drake theatre.

I drive around on the campus and ask a couple of people where Drake theatre is and they don’t know. Ahh, I see a sign for student services.

When I ask, they tell me that I am very close. To walk across the parking lot and go in the fine arts building. (Actually, that was kind of what I was looking for, but managed to drive by it and not see the huge words on the side of the building so near to me.)

I go in and ask about a projector. I am more than able to give the presentation without a projector, but when people can follow along and read supporting documentation, it is easier for those people to remember the main points.

The presentation goes well, but my tongue trips a couple of times like my brain isn’t as closely connected or as sharp as I desire. Not unusual when I haven’t had enough caffeine, but I decide to relax as soon as I get to the hotel later today in North Platte as a preventative measure.

I eat lunch with Cheryl, Linda and Tammy. Cheryl mentions eating outside, but I am trying to avoid extra outdoor exposure when I have no sunscreen or lotion on. I am catching the beginning of a lot of sunburns that my body doesn’t seem to be adjusting to. It isn’t like my tan is helping me with a base layer, I guess is the way to describe what is happening. We eat inside.

As I am readjusting the load on my bike a man from Australia conducting a survey on the way mid America views god or God, however you believe it. He asks me,

“What one question would you ask God if you could ask him one question?”

Ahh, that fundamental Christian background. I try to tell him that I don’t believe that way, that the question doesn’t work well with my spiritual beliefs, but he doesn’t understand. I tell him again that I don’t really have any questions.

He really doesn’t understand and feels that with my belief system that I could go out and kill people if I changed my mind. So not true.

If I believe that my true job on earth is to

Find great happiness, peace and joy and then to
Help others find happiness, peace and joy

Then somehow I don’t think that I could just change my mind about what I believe and go out and kill people. How does that respect someone’s inner spirit?

People once again tell me that there is nothing much to see on route 30, but I find things to look at. There is the place where the persons house has decayed so much that they can’t live in it anymore so he has placed a tiny trailer next to it and is living in there.

There is the town that has nothing but huge tanks next to the railroad tracks that look to be filled with fertilizer. And all the stores across the road are boarded up, no one lives there on the main drag. And I have to wonder why there is no one. Is it because of fumes, of people who can’t afford to survive, or do people have what is called cancer clusters here?

There is lots to see.

I really enjoy the ride. The wind is reasonable, enough to keep me cool and keep the bugs off, but not enough to make me ride on the outside of my tires.

When I check in to the Holiday Inn Express, I find out there are the standard free beer and hors from 5-7, there are cookies and milk from eight until nine and that the swimming pool and hot tub are open 24 hours a day. I tell them that “I love you guys.” And I get two nights here, how cool is that?

Because of the chronic pain that seems to accompany me, the hot tub right before I get to sleep really helps me sleep better and longer. At the same time, going in before 11 doesn’t always work. If I don’t get to sleep right away the effect wears off. I am often unable to get to sleep before midnight and the tightness and pain have often returned by then.

I go upstairs, fall asleep for a few hours and then go downstairs. I don’t avail myself of the free beer, but enjoy the food.

Happy Trails, marty

May 13, 2007 on the road to kearney

2007-05-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

May 13 2007

Today I got up and tried to get moving. Why is that almost always next to impossible?

Ginny drops by as she has a check for the hotel and needs the bill before she can pay it. She is much more of a morning person than I am so she is there way before I am ready to leave.

I had hoped to go to church, but instead end up missing it. The hotel had put me on the side of the building that was in the sun and my brains seemed somewhat scrambled as I tried to load up my bike. When I went to back out of the parking space, I realized that my load wasn’t as balanced as I like so I drove around the building to find some shade.

Then I pulled the front bag off my bike, repacked it and tried a slight test drive. I had missed church, but was still near Barnes and Noble. I thought about heading on over, but realized that the whole day might pass if I started another book.

Instead, I drop by J. Rocks house to give her the t-shirt and some CDs. We sit and talk for a while, then I climb on my bike and head over to Kearney which is pronounced Car.Knee. Nebraska is an interesting state in that there are many places where the name of the town isn’t spelled the way that you say it.

The ride was nice except for the wind. I don’t think that I had much wear on anything except the sides and edge of my tires. I decided to take the back roads, Routes 34 and 30 into Kearney.

When I check in there is a gift basket waiting for me to help me feel welcome. I dig in as it is mother’s day and I want to return to Skeeter Barnes to eat dinner. Wanting to avoid the crowd, I call to find out what hours they are open.

The Ramada Inn has a laundry machine, but it is not in my building and I seem to be exhausted. I wash out some of my clothes so I will look decent tomorrow; put them in front of the heater and head on out to eat.

The food was great, but as I ate it, all I could think about was about how food is harvested in our country. I keep getting told that there is nothing to see when you take the back roads, but there is; rural America is out there. If you look, riding on almost any rural highway will really show the decaying of America.

Towns where the local gas station is also the local restaurant. The stores where many shop are in the bigger towns and even when there is a small store, it is filled with junk food; very little of the food available has any nutritional value. There are the requisite Little Debbie’s, Hostess, Hershey, etc, but little more. The cleaning supplies are targeted to those driving through. It can even be tough to pick up a staple like Duct Tape.

Denni and I once talked about a town in our community where the only sit down restaurant available was a McDonalds and how it impacted the community. If you wanted to eat out, you had to drive to another town to get food with any “food value” whatsoever.

I get to bed as early as I can get to sleep as I need to get up and pack up before I can head over to the college. Sometimes I can negotiate a late check out that doesn’t cost the sponsoring organization any money, but this hotel had a big sign that stated, anyone staying over for a late check out would be charged $20, but anyone who was still in their room after 1 would be charged the full room rate.

I debate about picking up the $20 charge so I won’t get sweaty, but decide that I can’t make it back before one, so I give up on the idea and decide to go to bed.

Happy trails, Marty

May 12, 2007 Lincoln, Numbness when writing

2007-05-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight is my last night in Lincoln. I am going to be sorry to leave here.

But first, I am to present at a biker breakfast. To be honest, I am not sure what to expect.

The biker breakfast is scheduled to start at 8AM. I am having a terrible time waking up and getting moving. I got up early and started my routine of what I need to do to wake up, but it is not working. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get my head to work the way I want it to.

One thing I am having trouble with is that when I make notes, or write, my hands and arms fall asleep. It doesn’t happen when I keyboard and I try not to make notes very often, but this morning I know that I am presenting without a projector or computer. And my morning started out at five, with my trying to make notes, figure out how to best do the presentation in an outdoor setting, thinking through my options and my trying to wake myself up.

The numbness that I get when writing is starting to scare me a lot. When I write presentations, I first like to do things in longhand, and then transfer them to computer. I also try to draft other things by hand. It helps me slow my brain down to where I can think things through.

The numbness doesn’t happen when I ride my motorcycle either. We know what it isn’t, but don’t know what it is. The feeling takes longer to leave than it has before and once again I am late.

The presentation goes well. The breakfast is great, it is all consumers and they feel free to get up, wander around and smoke if they need to while still being able to listen. I miss those days.

J. Rock and I ran around the rest of the day, we went shopping in a thrift store, and checked out the state capitol until it was time for the party to start. I trade in my boots for sandals, grab my backpack and we head out for the party with our driver, Robert.

The party was awesome. There were a lot of really neat people. I wish that I hadn’t had to get up at five so that I could have gotten to get to know more of them. I really enjoyed myself. I even sat, listened to more great live music and thought about just how much my social skills have improved.

I hope that some time in the future, I can meet some of them again. There were people that I would have loved to talk to away from the music. I took my hearing aids, but with the background music happening the way it was, I couldn’t use them.

The party was held in a house that used to be a barn. It was such a wonderfully awesome house. It was unique, the materials used were recycled, it was all natural wood, the view of the Nebraska Capitol from one of their windows was amazing. There were conversation nooks everywhere, a great kitchen, lofts, that overlooked all the floors and the view.

Holy cow, what a great place. We moved from person to person, conversation to conversation. It was a good time, good conversation, great music and people that I wish I had the opportunity to talk to more. I don’t think that life can get any better than that.

Tomorrow I am off to enjoy the ride to Kearney.

May 11, 2007 Lincoln Day 2 and really great falafel

2007-05-16T01:17:00.000-07:00

I get up around 6 and start trying to wake up. It is a tough job this morning. I am not as coherent as usual and in the mornings things are bad anyway. I drink some water and then drink some caffeine. I take some meds and eat some organic veggies.

Ginny is coming to pick me up at nine so around eight, I head over to the restaurant. The continental breakfast is too continental for me. There is too much white bread and sugary stuff for a morning that I need to have accurate lucidity, so I order breakfast.

I order eggs over easy, sausage and hash browns. It comes with a choice of whole wheat or white toast. When it came I realized that I should have asked more questions. The hash browns came out of a bag straight from the freezer, and the whole-wheat toast wasn’t anything like what I think whole-wheat toast should be like. To me it was pretty gross. I ate it, I needed the protein for my brain.

I leave the restaurant, find a bench outside and sit down to wait for Ginny to come by. The air is fresh and the day is beautiful.

We head over to the capitol so I can talk to the senators. I really enjoyed the presentation. It wasn’t working well, the way we thought about doing it, so I changed it up, asked for questions and just worked my way through the time by answering questions using examples from my life’s experiences. I think that it worked well.

One person brought up how excited they were that there is new imaging that proves that we need treatments that will target that part of the brain. This always makes me incredibly nervous as I immediately think of the fact that this was the purpose of lobotomies. They also bill ECT that way.

I had some better tasting fruit salad and we moved over to the Region 5 where I had the wonderful opportunity to present again. A wonderful woman helped me set up the projector. There were a lot of family members, professionals and a few consumers. I think that things went well.

The food was alternative, tuna in tomatoes, cheeses, bottled water from Frontier Harley Davidson, and some chips.

I started to feel better, so my presentation skills kicked up a notch. Then I sat and talked to the man who does housing about different options and the way that housing worked there. After the presentation and the conversation, I asked to go back to my room to rest for a bit as I needed some downtime.

I was expecting J. Rock to call, but she didn’t. Mixed signals. The nap was awesome, I really needed it. I woke up late, called and then we went out to eat. It was hard for me to get moving. No matter how hard I tried, I felt like my brain was sifting through oatmeal.

The restaurant was called Holyland something or other and had the best falafel that I have ever had. I wish I could go back and get the recipe. It was so awesome. I could eat it four or five times a week and be extremely happy.

Then we headed over to the dance that was scheduled. The live music was so incredibly awesome. I wanted to stay over and attend the Sunday Afternoon Recital that the pianist was giving. His music just so much touched my heart.

To me the music was a pocketful of happiness. The drummer sang “Georgia On My Mind” and it was wonderful. So were the trumpet and the sax player. And a stand up bass player. Mmmm, mmmmm. Mmmmmm.

I gave J. Rock a ride back to her place and told her that I would pick her up in the morning. She told me about a party that we could attend tomorrow night. Hey, cool. Works for me.

May 10, 2007 Lincoln and a different bookstore

2007-05-16T01:13:00.000-07:00

I get up around nine and head down to breakfast. This Holiday Inn Express in Norfolk has one of the best breakfasts around in this hotel chain. At least that is true in my humble opinion. The people who staff the breakfast (and the person who staffs the nightly snacks) are absolutely awesome.

I finish reading the novel that I have started and pack my bike. It is around eleven before I am ready to leave. I am so ready to have a great ride. I try packing my bike different and I like it a little bit better, but the load still needs to be back farther.

I like to pack the tent, the back duffle, which is full of my camping equipment; (stove, propane, food, sleeping bag, and lantern), then the side bags which right now are full of books and then the front duffle. The front duffle has a lot of what I need in the mornings (clothes, shampoo, my computer) which means that it is heavy and needs to ride square on the back seat.

I think about dropping by Hastings one more time, but decide against it. I really miss J. Rock and want to drop by and see her.

The ride is perfect. Beautiful weather, back roads, etc. I kick back and enjoy it all. When I get to the hotel, I see that it is next to a Barnes and Noble. What a joy. How cool is that? I call J. Rock and find out that she doesn’t have a car.

I ask her if she knows someone that she can borrow a helmet from. She thinks so and starts to call around. After a bit she calls back and tells me that she can borrow a helmet, but it will be tomorrow before she can get it. I tell her that we need to do dinner tomorrow, but that I can handle going to spend some time at Barnes and Noble.

I get a sandwich as it has been hours since I eat, find the book that I was in the middle of reading at Hastings and read some more. Let’s face it, even though I could afford another book money wise, I couldn’t afford it space and weight wise. So I read and devour as much as possible. I am looking at natural healing, pesticide and growth hormone use, and other toxic chemicals and how they might affect our bodies, both mentally and physically. I am in Lincoln for four nights, and I hope to make it back. I don’t, but have a great time doing other things.

I get to bed as early as I can as I have to present to a senator, or two, (or more) in the morning.

Happy Trails, Marty

May 9, 2007 Norfolk and I am next to a bookstore--whoohoo

2007-05-16T01:09:00.000-07:00

Nebraska’s Mental Health seems to be divided into six regions. Yesterday’s presentation was in Region 6.

Today’s presentation is in Region 4. This region has a lot of rural areas that I have to wonder how people manage to get services. They have to drive a county away from what I understand and their counties sound like they are pretty large.

I understand the problems that distance from a provider can cause. My VA Healthcare Facility was about 70 miles away from me. They offered me groups and more, but I was so not able to drive 140 miles once or twice a week to get therapy.

I chose to pay a therapist in my community. There was a jackass of a community mental health system in my community and from what I understand, if you sell your soul to them, they will teach you about recovery and if you don’t sell your soul to them you are still screwed, blued and tattooed. They just don’t believe in getting you into a solid recovery—they only care about their money.

I don’t get that feeling here, but then, I don’t see services in some of the counties, either.
Anyway, today’s presentation is in Region 4. And I am enjoying it. People seemed to enjoy the presentation and I love interacting with the people who chose to attend. I wish there could have been more, but it is a rural region. I really enjoyed getting to meet other people who happen to have a mental illness who are working on their recovery.

On my way to the presentation, I see that the hotel is next to a Hastings Bookstore. I am so in heaven. I go and sit and read for about three hours and buy three books. (I am traveling by motorcycle, what am I thinking? I just picked up four books yesterday at Goodwill Thrift Store.) Then I go back and read for another couple of hours.

There is a bookstore here. I don’t even need the hors deovers and the free beer. I don’t need to eat supper. I am ready to read, and read, and read. I read two of the books that I bought before I go to bed. I have my priorities straight. LOL

I really like the Hastings bookstore. They have used books. They buy used books at good prices. It is great.

For a long time, when I was ill, I couldn’t read. I felt like my soul had betrayed me, as I have always loved to read. I used to listen to audio books when I couldn’t read, but would often need to listen to them three or four times if it was a book that I was trying to learn from.

Tomorrow I need to get up and head to Lincoln, Nebraska. It looks like it will be a great day for a ride on my motorcycle. I am so looking forwards to it.

Happy Trails, Marty

May 8, 2007 Omaha, Packing Problems due to mornings

2007-05-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

May 8 07

Today I am going to present at the Allegant Hospital in Omaha. I get up nervous and uptight. It is hard to get up, pack my stuff on the bike, strap it all down, save out what I need for a presentation and then get to the place thirty minutes ahead of time to set up.

I was supposed to meet people for breakfast, I really, really wanted to go, but wasn’t able to get moving.

It is hard, really hard for me to pack and move before ten in the morning. For most of my life, I have been the person who only wakes up around 10AM. I am fully functioning around 10:20.

Here, the presentation is supposed to start at 10AM.

I find the hospital around 9:30, which makes me uptight. The setup is making me nervous. I find the education wing and walk in. I don’t see anyone or anything familiar. I do see other people seeking the same place I am.

I ask a lady for directions, a house phone, a receptionist. She asks me where I need to go. I told her that I didn’t know. She was a total asshole. She said, if you don’t know where you are to go, then I can’t help you (yep, you know the voice and tone) and ignored me when I asked where a receptionist or a house phone might be.

I walk back outside and think about my surroundings and feel the minutes ticking away. I don’t feel good about the part that they can’t start without me.

I see a sign for valet service and realize that would mean a main entrance. I head over to it and ask the receptionist. She says that she doesn’t know where the meeting is being held. As I am breathing deep and trying to call Ken again, another lady says, “I know where you need to get to” and points out the way when she realizes that the name of the building means nothing to me. It is across the road.

I see a trail of people starting over walking, but I decide to hop back on my bike and take it over. When I do head over with my bike, people realize that I am the speaker and that I have been following their van for quite a while.

I am relieved to find the room and get set up. The people seemed to enjoy my presentation. I have started telling part of my story that often doesn’t get told and use it as examples when I present. The presentation is working its way out. I like it and agree to send handouts to people at the end of the Nebraska presentations.

Some NAMI people and I share lunch together. It is a beautiful day to ride my Vulcan. I kick back, enjoying the ride to Norfolk, which is said Norfork. (Long sad story about a government clerk that thought the people who sent in the application had to be mistaken)

I find the hotel around 6:15. It is a Holiday Inn Express. The desk clerk says “We have free beer and free hors derves until 7PM. It’s amazing. Unpacking my Vulcan suddenly got a whole lot easier. LOL

There’s a washing machine near my room. Good, I can present the next day with no bug guts on my clothes. Grin.

Happy Trails, Marty

May 7, 2007 Omaha, dinner, shopping for black jeans

2007-05-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

May 7, 2007

Today, I try to get up and find a new pair of black jeans. All the clothes that I started out with have gotten a lot of hard wear and some weren’t in the best shape to begin with. And some are still soaked. My options for today are pretty limited.

I can’t find the place that I am looking for. Since I have started out early, I enjoy the unscheduled detour ;) and check out the area around where I am headed. It is full of small enterprise. It is another town where all the big business has moved out. Is big business all that this country lives for?

I think some about this concept as I call Ken. I find that I am across the street from the building and have written the address down wrong. Thank God there are cell phones. I attend the meeting with the Nebraska Consumer Regional Leaders in my old jeans, looking scruffy. I think about finding jeans for the presentation tomorrow.

It was great to attend the meeting. I don’t always have the chance to network with other consumers who are in leadership positions. They talk about how they are implementing WRAP across the state. It is definitely a move in the right direction. I still find myself wishing that there was more. Way, way more.

I enjoy everyone that I met in the meeting. They are a great group of people who’s hearts are in the right place. Many are new in their jobs. One person has been in her job about two weeks. That is new.

Later on the regional specialists who live too far away to make it home, Ken and I all go out to dinner at Applebees. I find out that we were all in the same hotel last night. Darn, I wish that I would have known. I would have been thrilled to have been able to spend more time with them.

Later after dinner, I ask them if they would mind shopping. We head over to a mall that is close. (Way easier to find things with them, LOL) I find a pair of black jeans in JC Penney, a place that I seldom shop. I like them but check all over the mall to see if there are any jeans that I might like better. I end up shopping in JC Penney. ;)

People ask me why black. It just doesn’t show the dirt as easily as many of the other options. Anything goes well with black. It always looks good. It makes me look slimmer. Grin

On the other hand, what it does show is bug guts. Yuck. If I have to pack up and leave the hotel in the morning before I present, I can’t get to my clothes to change them and I end up wearing the clothes that I present in as I ride down the road. It does seem to make people think twice, though. A lady in a dusty rose ruffled shirt with a fancy vest riding down the road with full packs. I like it. I like the shirt. I like the vest. I like feeling I have when I wear pink and black.

Happy Trails, Marty

May 6, 2007 Drenched trip into Omaha

2007-05-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

May 6, 2007

Today I lay around when I woke up and listened to the rain. And listened to the rain. And listened to the rain. Tomorrow I have to be in Omaha.

The bad thing about packing up a tent in the rain when one is riding a motorcycle is that there is no place to put stuff to keep it dry. I pack everything in waterproof bags, but the tent, my sleeping bag and a few other things including the seat on my motorcycle get totally soaked. It is hard to keep my clothes dry.

I get up, start to pack while it is still sprinkling. Then, it starts to pour. I pull on the pants to my rain gear but the rain still pours in whenever I have to bend over to reach down to stuff my tent in the bag or pull out the tent stakes. I think about putting on the jacket to my rain gear, but rain gear is a mixed blessing. I can smolder inside the rain gear, get overheated and become drenched by my sweat, or I can become drenched by the rain.

I decide to be drenched by the rain, pull out a dry shirt and jacket to travel in, put them in a plastic shopping bag and keep on packing up.

About the time I finish packing up, the rain starts to slow down. By the time that I get on my dry shirt and my rain jacket, it is pouring once again. I have to wait a bit to start as it is raining too hard for me to ride and be able to see.

The rains coming across Kansas last night were vicious and I am going to end up catching some of them. As I head out to St. Josephs, Missouri, it is hard to see. The rain is stinging my cheeks as I slowly head down the road. Even the cars are going slowly. I stop and get some gas in St. Joseph and continue to head up towards Omaha.

A little north of St. Josephs, the rain slows some but the sky still looks alarming and while my body is not totally soaked, the rain is still running out of my boots and drenches the floor around me as I sit in McDonalds and grab a burger. I call a friend in Lincoln, NE and ask her if it is raining. She says yes. I decide to stop and relax and drip some more. After all, it sounds like rain all the way. I might as well take my time.

Instead, as I am leaving the restaurant in Mound City, Missouri, it looks like I am going to be able to catch a break. The rain is abating and judging by the cloud cover, if I travel fast, I will be able to beat some of the rain. I flex my shoulders and get ready to hurtle down the road, once I hit some dry pavement.

A little south of Omaha, I pull off my rain jacket and put it under the cargo nets that hold some of the loose gear to my bike. How absolutely awesome. I pull out the directions to the first hotel and find out about some camping areas for later on in the month.
I check in the hotel and spread out my gear to dry. The newer Holiday Inn Expresses have washers and dryers. The older more formal Holiday Inn’s often don’t have this feature. I can’t find a washer and dryer at this Holiday Inn. The parking is really crowded here, there definitely isn’t enough. I think about parking on the sidewalk, but find a parking space and decide to take it as I can see my bike from my room.

I fall into bed for a couple of hours, riding in the rain, trying to see is harder than regular riding. Later I get up and go eat in the restaurant.

Happy Trails, Marty

May 5, 2007

2007-05-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

I got up late. I seem to need to sleep in a lot these days. It has a lot to do with stress.

After looking at the maps last night and running the weather to check for rain and storms I decided to move over to the Missouri Lewis and Clark State Park. There were a lot of sites vacant, probably due to the rains that are due in tonight.

There is no way that I am going to be able to entirely miss the rain, but by planning my moves, I can try to minimize it. Here’s to hoping that I can outsmart or outrun the weather. Running the weather on the Internet helps, but a lot depends upon how savvy I am about reading how the clouds work and where the road heads into the clouds. Fogg Toggs rain gear is great.

The ride over to Lewis and Clark was short and kind of funny. I tried to follow my map. I got off at the exit that it showed would lead to an access road that would lead to my destination. No, really, I do know how to read a map.

When I first got off, there was a restaurant that had a couple of nice ass Harleys sitting right by the door. I hoped to meet them and talk as it looked like a couple. They happened to come out just as I was going in. We started to talk and I found out that they didn’t do much traveling but hoped to do more in the future.

There are a lot of people who buy a Harley and do some weekend riding. Right now I am glad that I have decided to travel even if it means being on a cheaper bike. I like my Vulcan. It rides and moves out great. It is easy to handle. I do wish that I had a bit more room on it. <grin>

I went in the restaurant to eat, came out, strapped on my helmet, eyed the road, thought about asking for directions--then said to myself, the map shows a road that goes through.

Well, the road did go through, but not to where (and how) it said. The pavement ended and I ended up on gravel. The scenery was spectacular, but I don’t really like to ride on gravel. I have had a couple of bad experiences with it while doing bicycle riding. Gravel is how I broke my teeth in the third grade. LOL

I carefully rode through the gravel (beautiful day isn't it?)for a mile or two, found another blacktop road, looked around and thought, well this does head in the general direction that I wish to go, put the bike in first and took off.

Went through the town that the park is supposed to be near and didn’t find anything. Now, in a small, rural town, I can easily be the thrill of the day. It is spitting a bit of rain, but not enough that I want to don my rain gear so I get my fair share of allotted, she must be totally nuts looks.

I grab my map, head in the wrong direction and have to turn around and head back again. (Why didn’t I buy that gosh darn bulky WalMart atlas?) I find the sign and the road. Pull in and pick the site.

After I put up my tent and sign in to the campsite I smile and head on over to (front shot of the Lewis and Clark garden by the Museum)

the Museum in Atchison, Kansas. Amelia Earhart grew up in Atchison. Somehow I think that Amelia and I would enjoy each other. She seems to be a really neat person. I don’t get over to her birthplace, but hope to do so in the morning.

In the museum was a great printing press. I would like to have a printing press at some point in my life, one kind of like this one.

There was a neat post about the stuffing of a ballot box in one of the elections. I tried to take a pic of the post, but the exposure in the museum was really terrible. There was a glare from every angle. The post said something that something like over half of the votes cast were illegal votes. That is a lot.

The other thing to do in Atchison has to do with trains, as in the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe railroad,

I love trains. I enjoy riding them and watching them. My dad had Lionel Trains when I was growing up. We often had a track that we could run them on. In fact, when I left home, the family home gained a train room.

At five, I headed back to the campground, and tried to light a campfire, the wood was damp and it took forever and every skill that I had to start the darn fire. Now smelling like smoke and stinking to high heaven, I cooked some meat on a stick, had some salad and stretched out by the fire.

The noise in the background wasn’t a train, around nine it started to pour, thunder and lightning crashed, and I started to hope that I would stay dry. Let me put it this way- it was a heck of a lot better experience than the one that I had on the Trace. I got some sleep and read a book when it was too loud for me to sleep. I didn’t get soaked, but a lot of my stuff got damp.

Happy Trails, Marty

May 4, 07

2007-05-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have posted. I have lots of reflections.

On the trip to DC that I posted about, I stayed at a Marriott Hotel. I had some luggage that was going with me over to the office and asked for them to call a taxi. Instead, since the limo was sitting empty, they sent me over in it.

I didn't get a long enough ride, LOL, but it was longer than it was supposed to be as the driver got hopelessly lost, had to backtrack and I sat back listening to the music.

Since I posted last, I used my parents house as a home base, went home, home to see my grandkids for a couple of weeks. Is this the right thing to be doing at this point in their lives? I'm not sure.

The trailer that I bought (My Blue Heaven) is still at my parents house. I have had problems with both a hitch and a liscense plate. Both can be straightened out, but I decided to back off and take a look at the problem from a distance.

Dropped by my brothers house and we had a wonderful chance to talk. We really don't know each other. I left home when he was seven, made my parents upset, was handed several precious antiques to haul around the world with me and toted them to Germany, Oklahoma, Michigan, etc. Now they are in storage. I have been back a couple of times, but because of htings that have happened, haven't had the best relationship.

We talked about our parents. Our lives. That kind of thing.

I started back on the road yesterday. It was sprinkling rain when I left, but by the time I got to Macon, Missouri, it was nothing but sunshine and blue skies. It was a beautiful day to just cruise and that is what I chose to do, riding first through the rocky bluff areas that surround the Mississippi River near where I spent the last six years I was at home, through some flat prairie lands, then on to rolling hills dotted with cows, some sheep, and a few hogs.

I was headed over to Saint Jo, but decided to stop in Cameron. I stopped for gas and decided that it looked like it was a nice little town to stop in. I rode around it for a bit and found a place to stay.

My body is a little stiff this morning as I it has been a while since I rode with a load and I have to get back in shape.

Today is looking like I can't pack my raingear away. Bummer. LOL

I don't mind riding in the rain, but decided to not go with a full face helmet for the summer as it was just too hot. That means that the rain can batter my face a bit if it is falling hard. I can always slow down to lessen the force and sometimes choose to.

I am headed over to Lewis and Clark state park to camp tonight. I will enjoy it greatly.

Happy Trails, Marty

Monday March something or other LOL

2007-04-05T06:39:00.000-07:00

I am going to DC if they can find me a place to stay. Sounds good to me. I need some time around people I know, and those people need me to do stuff. A mutually satisfying relationship if things work out. LOL

It's 11AM and I am waiting to hear about the place to stay. I told them that I am going by greyhound and that I am going to do it so I can read a book or two. I have the book by Nora Roberts "Carolina Moon" and I have tried to read it a couple of times, but haven't had the chance to finish it. In fact, I have ended up rereading the same chapter a couple of times so I can remember the nuances. I haven't read any of Nora Roberts Mysteries that she writes under the name of JD Robb, but I think I will enjoy them. Just haven't found the time. Carolina Moon is a mystery/romance at the same time.

I didn't sleep much last night, so I am really going to enjoy the nap on the bus as well. A lot of people like to judge things like whether one thing or one way is better than the other, but I htink that life full of differences that are always interesting and help us grow our lives in different directions. When we avoid experiences and when we judge experiences, we have a tendency to not absorb the nuances. The culture.

Many things/activities have their own cultures. And when we choose to lose out on a cultural experience we lose out on some of the nuances of life.

On busses, you meet interesting people. Many consider it something you do only as a last resort. But on the busses I have met immigrants from Poland, Czech, and learned about their countries, the trouble that they had becoming a professor, even though they had lots of education in thier own countries and how the education systems compare.

I have shared their homemade boxed dinners of native foods (love kolaches, could sell my soul for great apricot kolaches) and I have shared what I have had with them in return. We talk of thier countrys, where are good places to stay that are cheap and place me safely in the culture of a country or neighborhood.

I never really meet people like that in airports. Now, I do when I ride on the trains. On the trains, fewer people have foods that are native to their community's. The more people have money (trains cost more), the farther away they get from (what I can best describe as their roots, I guess). They become americanized, eating the interesting junk food one can purchase on a train. Train food is the type of food that you would find in a vending machine. LOL

But I digress, I am going to DC, on the bus and am going to read a book or two to relax. Who knew a perpetual vacation could be so stressful? grin.

Happy trails, Marty

Sunday March

2007-04-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

I am having a problem getting out of Saint Louis. LOL Is that not a familiar problem with me. I am going to end up leaving on Monday. I am going to ride up to my parents house and see about the trailer.

Well, if I don't go to DC first. I need to set up some stuff regarding the volunteer stuff that I do. I have the how to get there, but not the where to stay. LOL I have to call them in the morning.

Sometimes it's hard being the volunteer. LOL

I would enjoy going to DC and making sure that the staff that support the council and I are actually thinking in the same direction.

I have to leave the bike here in STL to go to DC. To do this, I have to find a safe parking place for it. Now, there is a back lot that is for long term parking, but I like where my bike is. It is right by the front door in a front lot in a parking space that isn't (gotta love how small the bike is) where people walk by it daily.

I am not sure when I will be back. I would like to lock up my bags and go out on the town for a night then leave. I miss the night life --well, not really the night life, but the community, the people to talk to.

The hot tub is free once again. LOL On weekends the swimming area is almost always overrun by kids. Especially here. It would be great if they had an hour for adults only. It can be hard to relax in a hot tub when the kids are running in and out and up and down continually jumping in the middle, etc grin.

On the other hand, if my grand kids were here, I would probably be a bit more tolerant.

Happy trails, Marty

Friday March 22, 2007

2007-04-05T06:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I got up this early this morning and decided to hit the hot tub. I sat and soaked and thought about just how interesting my life is. From a resort in Texas with two thirty person hot tubs, a full craft area, (ceramics, sewing, woodworking) to Laredo where I hear back about a motorcycle trailer htat I really think I would like, to a couple of dive hotels to a training in a Hilton.

What a wonderful opportunity for contrast. My motorcycle is outside in the lot and I am thinking about going for a ride around the rainshowers.

People ask me if I miss my apartment, my home. Not really. I really, really miss my grandkids. Matt, Boo and Jenny are awesome kids and I can hardly wait until summer when I will have a chance to have them travel with me.

I am really enjoying having another training to do. Some people don't understand how I can like to do trainings so much. I really have no idea. It is something that is ingrained in my soul. I guess.

I like meeting new people and getting the chance to know them better. I like learning about them and then thinking about the impact that people have. Everyone we meet. has an impact on how our life goes on, if we let them have an impact.

I met some more of the new staff supporting the support group program. They are all really neat people. I look forwards to being a part of this movement.

I am trying to get a call set up for Tracy to talk with Michigan. Life's a challenge ;)

Happy trails, Marty

Thursday March 21, 2007

2007-03-30T03:12:00.000-07:00

Today I got up and started to pack my back when I got a call. I do get to go to Saint Louis to do the training. Whoohoo. I can't help it. I just like to train.

So I am riding the rest of the way to Saint Louis today. Once again the forcast is for thunderstorms, but by the time I am up and out the door, it doesn't look like that will happen. It is beautiful weather, just beautiful. Perfect riding weather, great temps, etc.

The ride was just great, but when I gassed up at the Flyin J, I saw storm clouds starting to move in. I decided to move on more quickly rather than taking a break that was longer.

I have been asked to post my mileage each day and for the trip. You guys have got to be kidding. I am the one person who does all breaks during a training by saying. "OK, be back when the big hand is on the 10." At first people feel that I am trying to demean them. I always tell them no, really, just because I can read and write doesn't mean that I can tell time. After they are done rolling their eyes and really watch me try to do such a demanding ridiculous task, they begin to realize that it's just not them at all--it truly is me.

Happy Trails, Marty

Wednesday March 20, 2007

2007-03-30T02:55:00.000-07:00

Holy cow. It is nearing the end of March already. HOw time flies when I am having fun cruising down the backroads and interstates.

I called Rob to see if we could get together for supper. (For once I checked the mileage first. LOL) It's not that far.

The weather people keep threatening rain, but I am not seeing any. Each day, it is supposed to be pouring and thunderstormy and it hasn't been.

I work some more, laying the groundwork in Michigan for this new initiative. Inching our way. LOL

Today was a great day for riding. Just a kick back and cruise kind of a day. I do look at what type of clouds I am driving into, but no damp weather has happened as of yet. Instead, the weather has been totally perfect. Rob's not free for dinner (he wants to do the Jack-in-the-Box thing. I have a hard time doing the Box thing as --never mind, I know that they all aren't like that one. but eewwww. I just can't get over it. I was worse than the ants crawling all over the salads in the salad bar at Ryans in Hammond, LA.

Since I am now in Missouri, there are no more Whatburgers. What's up with that? I do so like Whataburgers. Their iced tea doesn't taste like coffee. That can make me a fan for life. LOL

Have any of the rest of you noticed that the ice tea that many of these restaurants serve seem to taste like coffee? Now if that doesn't gross you out taste wise, think about why the tea tastes like coffee. I always see it as a not clean enough kind of thing.

When I call Rob, and find out he isn't free for dindin anyway, I decide to stop in Springfield. That way, maybe Tom will either be at home or at work when I pass through Lebanon, MO.

I like to ride through Missouri. Its a state that is green and has hills.

This afternoon, I had a heart attack when a motorhome almost moved into me while I was cruising down the road. I sped up and made contact with the driver to make sure than he knew that I was there. (Yes, it was polite contact-no fingers were flying.)

Happy trails, Marty

Tuesday March 20, 2007

2007-03-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

I get to OKC before noon, and set myself up to look at backpacking equipment. There are three or four stores in OKC that handle overruns, etc. And there is always Backwoods. I check the phone book to see if it is still there. It is, but has changed locations.

I grab a map, and head out to find the stores.

There is a Sam's Club just down the road. I head out for a hot dog and pop.

I spend an hour or so in Backwoods. I look at a new cooking system that is better on energy, not too expensive and is well rated in the backpackers equipment guide.

Next I head to the clearance stores. There isn't anything that I really want at this time, but there is quite a bit that I might be able to use later after I pick up the trailer.

I am heading out tomorrow and looking forwards to seeing some friends. Maybe over that bottle of wine. Then maybe I can figure out where my wires became so crossed.

Other people are waiting on a call from me so I can tell them what is happening or not happening. Maybe i should look at how I am asking for this confusion to come into my life.

It's interesting about all the LOA stuff being on TV. I like the stuff that comes out of abraham better, but the LOA being all over is really strange to me. I felt like I was the only one for so very long. LOL

Happy Trails, Marty

Monday, March 19, 2007

2007-03-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

I didn't make OKC, but I am close. I am getting in a better cruise mode, which is different than puddle jumping. LOL When one is in a cruise mode, anything is close and all rides are just that, rides, with no particular destination in mind. You have a general idea where you want to end up, but not just when.

Just when is always at the mercy of the weather, somewhat anyway.

I am enjoying the riding and am happy that things are happening the way that they are, but the weather front is going to cause me some problems. I can't move over the way that I would like. There is a line of thunderstorms ahead of me if I don't hole up for a day. I decide to move on into OKC and try to catch up on some of the business that I need to conduct.

I am always meeting some neat people on the road. There is a guy who asks to sit on my bike as he just bought one and is uncomfortable when riding it. It has a lot better set-up than mine does. My bike however, is set up to be more comfortable. I have a bag that sits on the seat that I can lean back against and it has taken me more than a couple of days to learn just where to set the bag to optimize my comfort and it's effectiveness.

The guy makes me grin. Bikers are such a diverse, interesting group of people.

I plan to head out early tomorrow to see how the weather is in OKC.

Sunday March 18, 2007

2007-03-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

Today I took off for Laredo, planning to stay there for a few days. I almost got to Laredo when I got in contact with the man who is selling me a motorcycle trailer and decided to head up to where the trailer is located.

It feels really good to just be riding, riding, riding. I lean back, relax and decide to see just what I am made off. I end up stopping in Cotulla. I lean back and smile and run the weather. Hmm. Not great weather, but I think I can work with it.

Working with the weather while riding on a bike is a lot easier than it used to be. If you have a computer with you, you can log onto weather.com and get an hourly forcast for towns that you are planning on riding through. This can help you plan when to leave, when the weather will be the best, etc.

I find that I love to kick back and ride, just cruise along the road. You can't really let your mind wander off of the road, but you can relax and let your mind just kind of roll along while you concentrate on the road. I choose to do this.

There is a pretty neat site for women who ride their own bikes. http://www.ridemyown.com/

And off of that site I found a motorcycle forum that is for ladies who tour. I thought that it would be women who soso tour, but it seems that most tour either with other women from their motorcycle groups or, tour with their husbands. That's OK of course, but I was hoping for a couple of women who were doing some lengthy solo tours. Here's the link if you are interested. http://forums.delphiforums.com/ladycruiser/messages

tomorrow I am moving on toward Oklahoma City. I am confused about our training schedule. I have tried to call about it, but it seems that there is a huge miscommunication going on and I have no idea what it is. I smile and think about buying a bottle of wine out of respect for the other person who is way overwhelmed right now and sitting down for a few moments while I am on the way home. It's pretty much on the way, LOL.

Happy Trails, Marty

Sunday March 11, Arlington to McAllen

2007-03-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

I can't sleep, the time change has made me nervous so I decide to get up and go down to breakfast. I was hoping for French Toast like they had yesterday, but they have the pancakes once again today. The lady told me that people like variety. I like variety with everything else, but think the pancakes look anemic. Other people like them. LOL

I go upstairs and pack up and head to the airport.

The movie playing is Casino Real or something like that. I get some headphones and let the kid sitting beside me out a few million times. ;)

The flights were pretty uneventful. During my layover in Houston, my mom calls and says that she might be a bit late picking me up as she and dad want to go to the annual choir concert held in the park. I say great, call my friend Leslie to find out just what happened in Michigan and call Jim to ask a question.

I catch my plane and get in around 4:15. It was a good trip. I slept much of the way.

It's raining cats and dogs as I wait, but has stopped by the time my parents get there. And what is the reward for me waiting? Dinner at Tony Roma's. Now that is some reward.

Afterwards, I work the puzzle for a while and then call Steve. I am hoping ot take much of tomorrow off. I think about Rob for a minute as I called him and he hadn't recontacted me as of yet.

About 9PM, I call Berta and get the chance to talk to Matt. He is so thrilled about turning 13. I tell him that if he moves to Mississippi he can drive in two years instead of three. I ask him if his mom is feeling old as this is her first child to become a teenager. He laughs and says that he is ready to move. Also, his grades are up. Only one bad grade with is a lot of improvement. He tells me that he has to learn about Ethiopia. Why couldn't it have been England? I would have changed my ininerary to go to England once again. Some of us were talking at supper last night about how hard it is to learn to shift when the shifter is on the wrong side of the road. The steering wheel and sitting on the opposite side is the easiest. The shifter being on the wrong side, now that is hard. LOL

Happy trails, Marty

Saturday, a day of meetings

2007-03-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

Today, my day was filled with mind numbing meetings. Yesterday the day officially went from eight AM until nine PM. I had added three hours onto that. Then had to get my room broken into twice on top of it.

Somehow that made my day seem much longer, LOL. One thing good is that part of teh crunch time regarding the strategic plan is over. I like the new plan, but the time that one takes is incredible. What an experience it can be.

We had dinner and I was thrilled to be sitting by Anand. He is just so awesome and I seldom seem to have the opportunity, (or time) to get to talk with him.

Then later, I got to spend time with Suzanne, Kathryn and Harriett. Absolutely awesome.

A lot of people are flying out tonight, but I didn't have the opportunity to do that. My mom is picking me up at the airport and she goes to bed much earlier than I could have made it in.

About midnight I go to my room and start to read a manual that I wanted to check over. I am too tired to finish it all up tonight, but get quite a lot of it done.

Happy trails, Marty

Friday March 9 Arlington Virginia

2007-03-10T06:14:00.000-08:00

The hotel that I am in is really nice. They are in the middle of a $14 mil upgrade. My room has a couple of large beds, a great kitchenette, a huge refrigerator in that kitchenette (that has ice cube trays; ice cubes in my iced tea has become a luxury since my travels have started) and a good bathroom.

I have to wake up early to get a letter out for the consumer council and have some iced tea. Then I head down to a great breakfast that is part of the room package. There are pancakes, cereal, sausage, scrambled eggs, cereals, fruit, and the opportunity to choose between toast, bagels, assorted muffins and more. The company at breakfast was great.

Happily I head back up to my room to grab my back pack to head over to the board meeting.

The door won't open. I swear a couple of times and head back downstairs and tell the front desk staff--my door won't open. When I put my room key in, both the yellow and the green lights, light up. (Now I do a lot of hotel rooms in any given year. When a door shows up yellow and green lights at the same time when you put in a room key, that means that someone has pushed or activated a privacy lock--and a new key won't do it.)

The front desk clerks say, "Oh, your key won't work, we'll give you another key." I sigh as I have been through this kind of before but head back upstairs to good old room 505 to see if by some miracle the new key will work.

It doesn't and I head back downstairs. I tell them that this key won't work either and there happens to be a maintenance guy standing there. He gets out his macho attitude and tells me that he will go up and use his master key to get me into my room. Seven minutes later, after he has put his key in and tried to manhandle the door into opening (scarey how easy it is to break into these electronic locks) he realizes that his key won't work either. Doah.

His wonderful statement was that I will have to open it from the inside. I sat down outside the door to wait. He comes back a few minutes later with what is essentially a slim jim. Now that makes me feel really secure about staying in a hotel room.

It takes Bertolo about eight minutes to successfully open my hotel room door with the slim jim. It's much less noisy to use a slim jim than to try to get the lock to work with a room key or am master key.

Bertolo tells me that he will fix the lock while I am gone during the day.

Fast forward through the meetings. Well, except for Carmen. She got a mailing out today. What awesome staff support she is.

It's 5:30, I'm back at the hotel, I have another meeting starting at 6:30. I'd like to change my clothes before that meeting. My door once again, won't work. I think about Bertolo and decide that either he didn't get back to fix my room (my hunch) or he tried to fix it and it didn't work.

I go back down to the desk and explain the problem to them and once again the desk clerks say, "Oh, your key won't work? I'll make you another key." What part of stupid desk clerks have I allowed into my presence?

Interestingly enough, a maintenance man was once again standing beside the desk. (Maybe that is why my lock won't work, the maintenance men are always standing at the front desk.)

He puts on his macho attitude and goes forth to try his master key and beat up my door. After a few minutes he calls Bertolo and Bertolo tells him that he will have to break the lock off my door. It is now 5:50 and I am trying to keep my stress level down. I sit down in the hall to wait on the maintenance man.

At 6:12 I walk downstairs and there is the maintenance man once again standing by the front desk. I go from slightly upset to irate in .02 seconds.

The maintenance guy sees me coming. He says "I am just on my way back up to your room." yeah right, does he think I was born yesterday?

We engage in the following discussion. "I don't want you to break my lock off now. I have to go to a meeting right now, it starts in about 10 minutes and I still have to get there." The desk clerks offer to loan me their restroom to change my clothes in.

Now, my stuff has been locked in my room for about nine hours. It flits through my head to scream "what %$#@*&^ clothes? I can't get to my clothes."

But instead negotiate to have the maintenance guy to open my door when I return and negotiate a ride on the hotel van to the other hotel.

I attend a three hour meeting. Then I go back.

I ask the hotel clerk if she has my new room key. She says, go up to your room, call me and I will have your new room number.

The maintenance guy comes up to my door (states to me that he hopes he doesn't wake up other people) and then unlocks the door. It only takes about twenty minutes.

I call downstairs, the desk clerk says she will have to call me back. If people would quit calling she would be glad to assign me a new room. I sit around and watch TV and wait for her to call back.

She calls back and says, " I have assigned you a new room. I have given you the room right next door to your current one. You can come down and pick up your room keys."

Why would it matter if the room is next door. I have to pick up all my stuff, take it back down to the front desk, grab my new room keys and tote it all back to a room that isn't near the elevators which might have been helpful.

I unlock the door and am in a room that hasn't been cleaned. It was disgusting.

I call the front desk and the procedure repeats. "Oh, it hasn't been cleaned. I will have to find you another room."

I turn on the TV as I know the desk clerk will take forever to change my room.

After about 10 minutes I start down to the front desk. At the door to the elevator I meet the maintenance man and he hands me the keys to a new room.

Finally I settle down. The room isn't a large or quite as nice, but I am grateful for the new room.

Happy trails, Marty

Thursday March 8

2007-03-10T06:13:00.002-08:00

It's eight AM and I am at the airport in McAllen. This flight is seriously oversold. They start at $200. They move up to $250. It's an hour later. We load onto the plane. They are still asking for people to give up their seats.

They raise it to $300. And an upgrade to first class. Hmm. A travel voucher and I can drink my way across the country. Well, hello continental. I'm up for that. (Sue had scheduled me with a long layover, and continental agrees to make sure I make the plane connection.)

If I had the time, I could have sat here all day and collected vouchers. The next flight was overbooked even more. So were the rest of of the flights.

I end up taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel. Ohhhh, I have stayed here before. It used to be a something else. The food used to be decent, but the rooms were the pits.

I walk in to a beautifully upgraded lobby. When I get on the elevator, I laugh at the construction dust all over the floor. Up on the fifth floor things are nice, but a number of the rooms weren't yet finished.

My room has a stove top, glasses, a dishwasher, a large refrigerator, a nice table and chairs and a couple of easy chairs. It is a nice room. I head downstairs to a meeting and enjoy some dinner.

Back in my room, I enjoy the temp of my room being a tad on the cool side. My dad has MS and he is continually cold. The temp in the trailer that I share with them when I visit in Texas is somewhere between 80 and 90. I kick back and look at some TV and read the board notebook I was handed. I finish it around 2AM.

I wish I had a car so I could pick up a bottle of wine or a six pack of sam adams or two, but I don't so I satisfy myself with iced tea. I've gotta get up in the morning. I am happy about the travel voucher. I will be able to use it as I try to fly the kids to me so they can travel with me this sumer.

I think about going home to see my therapist. I need to think some stuff through. I also have the money to pay her. grin Now, if I get the train in San Antonio I can pretty much get a straight shot through to Chicago and then head on east.

Happy Trails, Marty

Wednesday March 7

2007-03-10T06:13:00.001-08:00

Holding Space

Tuesday March 6

2007-03-10T06:12:00.002-08:00

holding space

Monday March 5

2007-03-10T06:12:00.001-08:00

Holding Space

Sunday March 4

2007-03-10T06:11:00.004-08:00

Holding Space

Saturday March 3

2007-03-10T06:11:00.003-08:00

Holding Space

Friday March 2

2007-03-10T06:11:00.001-08:00

holding space

Thursday March 1st

2007-03-06T14:57:00.000-08:00

For a while, I thought that I had lost a day. It really bothered me, but then I realized that I was just kind of brain dead the first day I was here. Gee, I wonder why. I remember that we went out to eat yesterday at a pancake house and I remember that mom and I went to a place called Glicks.

Glicks is an interesting place. On one side is a canvas and salvage shop and the other side is probably best described as a clearance store, but it is targeted at hunting and camping. I looked at bags and a tent and t-shirts. I really liked the t-shirts that were $2.50 each and were in designs I liked. Now how often does that happen? LOL

The tent is needed because I broke a tent pole. It didn't shatter and is working somewhat well, but the problem is--what do I do when a storm brews up and it's raining cats and dogs--and the darn pole decides to stop working then. The one thing one can't do on a bike is ride when soaked and it is a trifle chilly. I learned that in Mississippi and had the wonderful chance to relearn it once again in Houston the other night.

Ahh, Houston, another stupid learning opportunity. LOL Note to self, make sure that you put your rain gear on the first instant you notice heavy fog.

I cut a pair of pants off into shorts and try to decide what to do about the rest of my clothes. Since I am heading back n0rth before the end of March, I can't just get rid of them, but then again--I don't have a lot of room.

Yesterday and today, I decided to sit back and relax. Try to figure out what the tempest is about and just how I got annialated by it. and it is a tempest in a teapot.

People email that they want the messages to stop and well in neither situation did I start sending the messages, so I can't stop them. KWIM? What does upset me is that I am being considered spam, which I go to great lengths to not do in my regular life, so being considered spam is extremely offensive.

I am going over to Corpus Christy this weekend and am going to enjoy looking around and speaking on Monday. I am so getting out of practice and I really can't afford that.

Happy Trails, Marty

Tuesday February 27, 2007

2007-03-05T04:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's a night nasty with fog and the hotels are a tad crowded especially for a Sunday night. I stand around and think for a bit about what to do. My cash flow is Ok at this time, but not as healthy as I want it to be.

There has been an explosion of communication regarding the non-profit that I volunteer with and it gets even later as I sit in the airport for an extra hour and try to pour some oil on churning waters as I sit and try to decern just what is going right and wrong.

I get to my bike around 2AM. I don't see things getting much better. LOL.

It takes me over half an hour to pack my bike and get on the road. Two AM, the night is foggy and I decide to move on.

About an hour later, I realize just what a really bad decision that was. I smile as I think--ahh, a learning opportunity about life. I pull off and my jeans and jacket are soaking wet from the fog. The fairing and my helmet visor keep ending up drenching wet. I decide to pull over as my load needs to be adjusted and I need gas. I see a sign up ahead for hotels, but after I pull off there is no gas station. There are security guards in the hotel parking lots which means that
1. I can't really use the hotel parking lot to rearrange my load
2. The area isn't particularly safe
3. When I pull into a parking lot to turn around, I end up dumping the bike because I was stupid.

I sigh as I pull the load entirely off the bike and grin--well, I needed to reload it anyway-- and ahh, another learning opportunity about life.

It fleetingly goes through my head that I am going to wish that I had practiced finding the best way to pick up my bike. (I am often slow to move, so doing this voluntarily isn't likely.)

It takes two tries, but I find the balance point and get the bike back up. I fleetingly wonder what it would be like to pick it up if I had a set of good knees and take a couple of Ibuprofen for my bike. I glance up as I get into my backpack and realize that the security from the Holiday Inn is watching me. That can be seen as good or bad. There is a good chance that if something goes wrong the guy will at least call 911. I hope he knows the number. The bad part is that I don't really enjoy other people watching me recover from stupidity.

So, I am soaking wet, no place to change clothes, my load is on the parking lot at my feet, my actions are being watched (and probably greatly enjoyed), and I have to tear apart my duffle bag to get to my rain gear.

I don the gear, repack the load and go to move on. I find a gas station, buy a paper, read it and fall asleep on my bike until 6AM when the gas station McDonalds opens. I eat some breakfast and think about taking it as easy as I can for a six hour ride that will require a lot of breaks.

The ride from Huston to Pharr is long and boring. I end up getting to the park around 6:30 that night as I had pulled off a couple of times in rest areas to take a nap on the benches.

I unpack my bike and wait for my parents to show up. I must be the amusement for the Banana Street or at least I feel that way. I dump my stuff next to teh storage shed and as it grows later, I realize that they are probably at a dinner for hosts tutors.

I walk over to the library and sit and read a book. I call the trailer about every 15 minutes to see if they have gotten home yet. Even with the sleep, I am still tired.

Happy trails, Marty

Monday February 26, 2007

2007-03-05T04:39:00.000-08:00

Today started out fairly well, but I didn't sleep well last night. I'm not sure why, but it seemed as if I was up and down all night. Usually when I can't sleep well and I am at home, I put on a movie that I know really well to try to help my mind become occupied in a different way. There aren't any movies on here that will do that.

I end up getting up fairly early and surfing the Internet for fun. I try to decide what to do tonight. There really isn't a great decision as I see it right now. I think a lot about my bike and whether it is OK.

I envision me flying down the road. After all, that is why I own a bike. The freedom of flying down a road.

I see Rob for a couple of minutes at breakfast, drink some tea and at noon I get a call wanting to know when I am going to vacate my room. So much for the clerk putting down that I wanted a late check-out, but they really were great about it when I told them that I would be out on the dot of two.

At two, I get over to the airport and sit there for another three hours. This time the plane loads. I was a little uptight as many of the flights for Philly weren't flying on time.

I sit on the plane and find a place to surf the Internet at the Charlotte airport. Then we fly on into Houston. It is well after midnight when I get my luggage and decide to repack and move on tonight. I want to go on over to Galveston, but find out hat the park is full. I don't know where to find the parks near Huston in the dark and the night is nasty with fog. Really nasty with fog.

Happy Trails, Marty

Sunday February 24, 2007

2007-03-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

Well, my day started out with my friend Rob making hotel arrangements because he can't fly out today due to the ice storm. Jim checked on my flight and it was on time.

The training ended pretty well, right around noon. We gave out the certificates and enjoyed the people. They held up cell phones to honor the water under Kathy, grin. They soaped Tracey's windows. The soaped Chichi's windows.

There was a bit of an ugly surprise of a boxed lunch. I am not saying that the boxed lunch wasn't good, it was. I just wasn't ready and it will be around 11 at night before I can possibly get back to Houston. Then finding a 24 hour restaurant in a town I don't know well, could easily prove to be a problem.

We finish taking things down and head back to Hartford so they can drop me off at the airport. I gather up my stuff, get my ticket and head on down to the gate watching the mile long line at the United Counter as people get to the airport and then find out that they are going nowhere fast, tomorrow is probably already booked by people who found out earlier.

It makes me nervous as I wait for my USAIRLINES flight. Flights are being cancelled all around me. It's pretty ugly, but as of now my plane is slated in an on-time slot. I know that miracles happen and all that tommyrot, but there actually isn't a lot of chance that I will be able to make it out of the transfer point, but can't reschedule until they cancel my flight.

So I sit in the airport and wait for hours and hours.

Up until 30 minutes before my flight, they were saying it was on-time; then they said there would be a 45 minute delay, which switched to an over 3 hour delay which meant that everyone would miss their connections, except--I had a flight with a stopover. Is that a connection or not> I have to ask and therefore ended up in the end of the line when I had to be rescheduled. I didn't want to be rescheduled, (it's that hours in line after waiting hours at the airport, thing) but have to make do.

I call Rob and ask if I can bunk on his couch. He says yes, but calls Katheryn and she gets me a room at the hotel Rob is staying at. Rob asks if I want to go to dinner and suggests Ruby Tuesdays. I am still in line and we chat about how we could kill for some good beef. Rob and I are both from the mid-west and being in a retreat center that served chicken and fish was hard on both of us. The retreat center did serve some pork, but well-- I wasn't sure---well, you know what I mean. It was a great retreat center, the chicken and fish were outstanding.

When I get to the hotel, I must have looked bad. grin I got upgraded and got a late checkout. Both of which I needed. Rob and I talked until midnight. He's such a great guy to talk with. He is funny, enjoyable and interesting, just an awesome guy to be with.

I made a pot or two or three of iced tea, sit back and enjoy the time. The rooms at the retreat center and at the Homewood Inn and Suites were great, especially compared to my tent. LOL

Happy trails, marty

Saturday February 23, 2007

2007-03-04T16:42:00.000-08:00

The place here is really great. The training is going well.

My cell phone is operating on an extended network setting which means that I pay extra for every minute and my Verizon Wireless Card is operable, but intermittent at times. I have to periodically hang up and then dial back in. And posting to the blog is fairly impossible so this will end up happening later than I like it to. Playing catchup when one is trying to make a daily blog is a bear.

I keep thinking about how it seems as if most of Texas is angry at/with me. It's frustrating as I don't really have the connections I need, but have hope that on March 5, I will be able to meet someone who can get some of them to me. I know that it is a misunderstanding, but can't figure out how to fix it.

And after I fix it, will I be able to recover from it? Maybe, maybe not. As I am tired, frustrated and discouraged, I think that I might head on down to Pharr and try to figure out how I can best recover. I can always go to Corpus as it is under 200 miles away. That's just a short toodle.

I really need to hit a church that is compatible with what I believe. In Mississippi there were none near me and in Louisiana, I didn't have the money or way to travel until I had replaced some of the parts I ended up missing. It's hard to have that spiritual side of me run down. It doesn't usually happen, but it has been a long time.

I am thrilled to be here with everyone, that does help, but I miss having like minded people around that I can discuss why things are going wrong at this time. There is a church in Pharr, and one in Corpus that might meet my needs. I so hate feeing needy. I am going to have to purchase the books again to help me move along in the way that I need to. I don't have access to enough of the tools that I need to maintain on my own.

Anyone else here want to play "Wouldn't it be nice......? Being lonesome in a crowd is strange. LOL

Happy Trails, Marty

Friday February 22

2007-03-02T23:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, it's 6 AM and I am up and in the shower. The fog doesn't seem to be lifting, but I really don't do cold water on any given morning. I get up and start to unpack. I realize that I should have done that last night as my bag must have sat out in the open on the tarmac somewhere as my bag is totally soaked along with about 4 inches of wet clothes.

I spread the wet clothes around the room and put the clothes on that I wore yesterday. At least I have my toothbrush and toothpaste. Steve's suitcase went missing yesterday and he doesn't have much at all. I hope the breakfast is going to be good.

Wow, it was. Eggs and sausage. Potatoes, fruit, smoothies, juices, etc. How awesome is that? What a change from yesterday mornings toast breakfast.

We start to set up and I start to get nervous. I love to train, but this is not a training that I have done a lot and I love to nail trainings with no mistakes or problems. My part of the trainings, not anyone elses. Each and every training, I plan on going in, being at my best, being what trainees need me to be that will help them relax and learn, etc. I know that this one will be a great training, my intuition tells me so (as Rob about that intuition think I try to use, more about it on Sunday) but I am still nervous as I haven't turned one of this type of training that is up to my normal standards yet.

Steve and I are paired up for training groups and then we break down still farther into smaller groups for practice.

Things go well and my group is absolutely full of the most awesome people that I could ever hope to meet. We have a lot of fun with the role playing and take our time as I beat them up making them run a group for the first three exercises instead of just letting them do the part of the exercise they are supposed to be practicing on. It means that others finish ahead of me, but the importance of sticking to the agenda and focusing on the priniciples can't be stressed enough, at least in my book.

I am really enjoying this training. It is going well.

I keep hearing about this Kathy Flaherty. What's up with that? She must really walk on water. Or two inches above it. grin

Happy trails, Marty

Thursday February 22

2007-03-02T23:08:00.000-08:00

I got up early, (not early enough, never early enough as I only love to sleep in the mornings. LOL).

I pack things up and pray that I won't dump my bike on my way over to "The Parking Spot" which is a covered parking strucure. This meant that I wouldn't need to go find a room to rent to store my bike in, but it also meant that I would need to get a move on because the bus would be there shortly after I parked.

So about 7:30 I go out to my bike with everything except my shaving cream, some shampoo and well, you get the picture. I want to shower after I load up my bike.

After I get everything loaded up, I run back inside--ready to take the shortest shower on record when I realize that the clerk/owner has checked me out of my room. And I can't find them. Immediately I become enraged. The night was crappy enough, no internet access, no refrigerator, no working remote in the room (actually this seems to happen to me a lot, maybe there's a message) . When I finally run down the clerk, I realize that if I say much, I will be late for the plane and I have to take luggage.

After I get to the parking spot, I finally calm down and start to relax. My bike is safe, I am safe, the plane is safe (what is the crash rate for US Air, anyway--I didn't look it up) and in a few hours I will get to meet some of my other friends who are trainers. They are a great group of people, Kathryn, Jim, Rob and Steve. It's a great balance of personalities.

I was told to hold a number of weekends, and hope that I will get to do more, but this situation has made me a little anxious as there was no intinerary and no mention of where we are to stay. I hope the place is a great place and that the weather holds as I don't travel with a winter coat.

Right after I pick up my luggage, I see Steve and give him a hug. It is so good to see him. Next I see Rob and try to draw his attention, but he is ignoring me. It fleetingly runs through my mind that he is probably trying to do that, but I think it through and laugh. When he turns around, I manage to grab his attention and tease him some.

Jim and Kathryn pick us up at the airport and we get to fully enjoy the country scenes. The scenery is truly gorgeous, (what we can see of it after dark) and the light snow fallling makes the world look clean and fresh.

We make it up to West Cornwall and then decide to slide back down the last hill. We try again and slide again. Hmm, do we call AAA or the Retreat Center that we are going to? Someone smarter than I makes the decision to call the Retreat Center and here come a couple of people. One I later find out is a waiter and the other is identified by his white coat as the cook. Talk about multi-tasking. grin

As we check in they mention that the dining room is now closed but they made us up some plates. We go, find our rooms and return back to the dining area. There is a key to the bar for which I am grateful. We chat about this and that, then go to turn in as we want to get up and meet early in the morning.

Well, maybe we don't want to do so, but we were late getting in and don't want to deal with it anymore tonight. I keep hearing about this kathy Flaherty person. Wow, she must walk on water or something.

There are a few others there but not too many. Some haven't been able to make it in due to the snow and some are coming in the morning.

I go up to my room and crash as nothing feels comfortable to me or feels that it is going right.

Happy trails, Marty

Leaving for Connecticut Training

2007-02-26T09:13:00.000-08:00

Wednesday February 21, 2007

I kind of regret having to leave Galveston today, although I am excited about being able to help facilitate a recovery support group training.

Today I am slowly packing up my campsite. People always watch to see just how I manage to pile up the stuff onto my motorcycle. I really, really need to get a trailer. It would make me feel a bit less like an oddity.

It is right around noon when I finish packing. I take the time to be on a conference call before I leave. While I am talking on the phone, I put my hand into my pocket, pull it out and realize that my mother’s ring has slipped off of my finger. I look and look, but never find it. It means a lot. I am not sure where it is hiding in the grass, but I don’t see it.

I look at some coupons for hotel rooms in Houston, but can’t find any that I like where I think I am going to park so I am making sure to go in early.

I cruise around and find a parking spot parking area. I have used them in the past and had good luck. I decide to leave my bike in one. Then I start to look for a hotel room. I find nothing that I like that I can afford, but need to stay in one as I am not ready to part with my bike. I need to re-pack. My computer usually travels in my large duffle bag to keep weight load down low. Before I can hop on a plane, I have to make the big bag lighter and the backpack which usually travels on top as it is very light, loaded with stuff like my rain gear, heavy with my computer.

The place I decided to use was a budget hotel that really sucks. There is no promised refrigerator. There is no wireless internet as promised. The rooms are new, but the two promised amenities that aren’t suck. I think about leaving, but realize that I would have to repack my bike. I regretfully decide to stay due to the location and the hassle, but decide to complain about the hotel. (both in the blog and to the corporation.) ;)

I can’t sleep as I am nervous about the upcoming training. I am going with a group of people who are absolutely awesome. These are people who I dream of being able to spend more time with and enjoy more on a regular basis. My heroes, (everybody grab their cell phones and wave them in the air. Grin)

I ride over to Sonic and after I place my order and receive it, remember-- . Oh, yeah, I remember now, I hate the buns on the Sonic. I eat it anyway as breakfast was a long time ago, pick up some gas, go back to the hotel and log in some expenses. Sometime after 4, I fall asleep.

I am both nervous and excited with no surf. Sigh.

Happy trails, Marty

Tuesday February 20

2007-02-26T07:02:00.000-08:00

Tuesday February 20, 2007

It is so unbelievably relaxing to lay down to sleep at night and to be able to relax with the sound of the surf in my ears. In the past, I tried listening to CDs that had the sound of the surf in the background. They didn’t work for me at all. It sounded like a CD or Cassette playing the surf. This is so different to me. I am not sure if it is/was the quality of the sound or if it is/was the massive difference in atmosphere.

When I was at home and trying to listen, there were all the cares of the world there. When I am here, although I am being followed by the council cares, it is still easier to put them aside for a while. I am also trying to follow some of the dreams of my heart. That could be the difference.

Today I got up long enough to watch the surf at dawn and allowed myself to be lulled back to sleep as I listened to the surf. That is so relaxing. My quality of rest is amazingly high when I allow that to happen. I feel truly rested and less stressed.

I went back into Galveston today. I checked my bank account and it said that my check had been deposited. I decide to try a Golden Corral to eat a salad and see what they are all about. I decide that although the food is good, they are merely another place where I can go and pay to eat in an unhealthy manner. I still have many of my old food addictions hanging on. The overeating when the food is available or eating foods that are unhealthy because when I order there are things that I don’t really expect put in front of me is still continuing.

Today I went cruised around the downtown area. It is a neat area that I need to come back and visit. It feeds my soul.

There are some pics that I will post of the downtown area.

There is a used bookstore in town that I won’t have time to visit. I love used bookstores. It might explain why there aren’t many used books at the GoodWill. I was looking for a helmet and to see if there was some bike stuff, but things weren’t working out well. There was nothing there I could have used.

I cruise into the WalMart and look at things like compression bags, a helmet and chain lube. The compression bags that I am looking at are water resistant. They will really help in packing. I grab them up. Then I go look at a helmet. The full face helmet that I have is way too hot to use when the temp is over 80* as it is today. I look for gloves that have gel padding and a few other things.

I am thinking about things like how to pack better, how to figure out a way to support my bags better, if the next move needs to be a trailer, etc.

Then when I go to checkout, even though my bank account says I have money, the amount won’t clear. I hate it when that happens. I realize that the bank only cleared part of the amount, but that the whole amount showed up. My heart sinks into my boots. I immediately try to decide just how to handle coming back tomorrow, getting the stuff, and wondering if it would be restocked in the same place.

Then I start to think about the stuff I read in the book while I was in Hammond and decide to take some time to look at a budget and to try to figure out which end was up and how my finances might need to be looked at if I want to stop operating as hand to mouth as I am doing.

My thinking starts to shift from getting spending to look at what I am doing. That is really a large shift for me. I am not sure if it will last, but it is a huge shift. Change comes in stages and as I look more at the situation, I realize that any change is better than none.

When I go back to the tent, I plug in and start to figure out a spending plan. After I do it, I realize there are a lot of parts that I left out and that the spending plan won’t work, but the huge drive to spend money indiscriminately without really looking at where it is going or if there will be enough for later is gone, at least for now. It may possibly be gone for good, but the level of struggle has shifted, which is great progress.

Thinking stuff through has kept me up through midnight. Tomorrow I have to go into Houston to find a place to store my bike while I go to Connecticut. I am thrilled to be able to help roll out the recovery support group training. I do see the dream of having one available on every corner.

Galveston Island Monday February 19

2007-02-26T06:59:00.000-08:00

Monday February 19, 2007

Wow, what a refreshing way to go to sleep and to then wake-up, listening to the sound of a pounding surf. It lulled me to sleep much earlier than I planned on going to bed. When I woke up early in the morning, I thought about going to walk on the beach to watch the sun rise. When I leave the tent, I see a piece of paper sticking to my tire, reminding me that I have to go pay the fee to stay in this wonderful state park. I grab my gloves and jacket and cruise up to the office without a helmet. It feels so awesome.

When I get back to the campsite, I think about staying up-that I should probably get some stuff done. Instead, I go back to sleep, drowsily listening to the surf again and feeling the peace permeate my soul. My heart feels so restful here. The restful feeling jangles with the needs of the non-profit I do things with/for.

I have no propane and not much more money, until a check that I received can be put in the bank. I have a few dollars, and relax, knowing that the check will be able to be put in the bank tomorrow. The campground is way more expensive than any of the books (or even the brochures I picked up at the Texas Information Area) say that it will be. The difference in price is ten dollars a night, which is a large amount to me right now. I relax and breathe the salt air into my lungs. What a great way to enjoy life.

I also notice that my knees are getting a little worse. Much of the way that I feel is due to the dampness that goes along with being on the ocean.

At the beginning of the afternoon, I check the amount of gas in my tank, and ride off to the other end of the island. I really like the houses that are built here. They are unique and have unexpected corners; decks that face the road and extend all the way around the house, stilts that give the house personality and funky colors. At home when one drives along the lake, the houses are mushed together and irritating in the sameness of color and brick. The Island of Galveston is not like that. Here the whimsy of the houses make me smile with delight.

After crusing to the end of the island and finding a toll bridge, I execute a U-turn and head back towards town. The thought of a toll bridge makes me laugh. The ferry, that costs money to run each and every trip is free, while the bridge that is stationary and doesn’t use up fossil fuels costs money. I like Texas. It is an interesting place to be.

It is a chilly day and I decide to go to the Wendy’s to enjoy the surf from inside.I see a guy riding a bicycle down the street. He has a surfboard under one arm and it looks a little funny. A few minutes later, I see him and a friend out trying to catch a wave that is good. As I try to catch a few good pics, things (and the actions of the surfers) all seem to conspire against me. I sit and contemplate my seeming inability to get one.

As it grows darker, I start to get ready to go back out to the campground. I stop by a Kroger’s Grocery Store and pick up some great wheat bread along with a few other staples. I think about my motorcycle and try to hurry.

As I ride back to the campground, I relax and just melt into the ride. When I see the sign to the campground, I realize that the campground is a lot closer than I thought that it was. Driving in the dark last night, made the distance be deceiving. It seemed to be much longer.

There are three other motorcyclists camping here in the state park. I am the only person, traveling by themselves and tenting without motorhome support. What’s up with that?

Happy trails, Marty

2007-02-20T21:53:00.000-08:00

Sunday February 18, 2007

Well, I once again major in not getting up. Or I get up and just don’t get out the door.

Check-out time is 11AM so right around 10:58, I put my stuff outside of the door and start to haul it down stairs. The guys who live in the hotel, start to appear, moving their chairs outside onto the deck to watch me pack. I could get up earlier, but to be honest, it doesn’t really seem to help.

I load everything up that I am leaving with. I left a bunch of paper behind. Not like I probably won’t replace it very quickly. I give the lady the key and remote to the room. As I ride off, the guys are still watching.

But, hey, it’s only noon and well, I am in the mood to eat before I hit the road. LOL. So I head down the road to McD’s. I pick up the paper on their wireless service and it says that they charge for it. I put the paper back down and make some really bad food choices, and wait for my order to be filled.

Now the Jennings McDonald’s might not run this way all the time, but don’t expect to get your order right. And the people know that. As soon as they get their food, they pull up a bit and start counting, checking etc. And they have people pull forwards and, well, let’s just say that a couple of these cars have been sitting there forever. This McD’s definitely doesn’t mean fast food.

I laugh and try to get into a book, but can’t.

I climb back on my Vulcan and head off down the road. The time goes by fast and it seems to be a good day for riding. The winds aren’t blowing me all over and the sun feels warm.

I come into Texas pretty quickly. They have a nice rest area and I kick back and sit in the sun watching people come and go. I chat with a couple of them then climb back on my bike.

As I get off on the exit onto the highway that I want to follow down to Bolivar, I find myself in a nice little town called Orange. The place has some really neat qualities. Here is a pic of the park. There aren’t many communities that care enough about the kids to give them this kind of a play area. People look at me weird as I pull up to take the pics, but I figure that they don’t know the bike, they also see that it is loaded.

As I cruise on down the road I get a little mixed up and take an unscheduled detour or two. I come upon a town named Bridge City and try to hurry on towards Galveston. I am a little worried about getting a campsite on a three day weekend, with Mardi Gras still going on.
When I get to Bolivar Peninsula, I just have to slow down. I like the way the houses look. They are different from the Lake homes at home. They are different. They have decks outside all around the house. At home, people are cheap. They don’t want to look out at the traffic, they only want to be outside if they can see they lake. It’s not like that here.

I stop for some gas and exchange some conversation with one of the lady’s that works there.

As I motor towards the ferry landing, I wish that I had taken a comfort break. I wish this as soon as I see the sign that says there is going to be an extended wait. LOL

When I get there, it’s only a two ferry wait and the ride is a quick one.

As I am one of the last vehicles loaded, I am in the rear. There are bunches of people feeding the gulls off the back. The little kids don’t make the toss clear the deck and there are birds everywhere. I sigh and think to myself, I hope they haven’t had a lot to eat today. (I really don’t want bird dodo on my bike and belongings.)

As I cruise through Galveston I notice that their Wendy’s faces the seawall. What a neat thing to have. Cheap food with a great view.

I follow along the seawall to head to the Galveston Island State Park. The office is closed, but there is a sign saying that there are a few campsites available. The sign also says that the sites are ten dollars a night more expensive than the most expensive price list I have which is dated January of this year. I reevaluate my finances and am glad that I put some funds into an account. I just wish I had more funds and hadn’t stopped to eat as much.

I have to get the campground host to show me where the numbers are for the sites. They are on the cabanas. Not visible from the road unless you climb off the bike and then use a flashlight. Doah, what’s up with that? LOL

I find a site, set my tent up in the dark. It’s not hard, I do it a lot as I always seem to leave late (sigh). I climb in my tent and fall asleep listening to the surf pound the shore. I’m gonna really enjoy my short stay here.

Happy Trails, Marty

2007-02-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

Saturday February 17, 2007

Yes, indeedy I do love the invasion of the car runners, but tonight, I got home a little too early and there was this awful generator running. It was not one of those nice quiet Honda Generators, but one that clacks and eeewwww. It really hurt my ears. So last night, I went up to the restroom to escape the noise and read a book for a while.

I went outside at 9 to see if they had shut it off and no, they hadn’t. I went to the laundry room to surf the Internet for a bit. The connection is slow, but better than nothing. I realize after I get all set up that I have a ton of laundry to do, but don’t want to shut everything down to go back out to grab the laundry.

I surf the Internet looking for things on Recovery and find some good reading. Not anything that is very helpful though.

Then I download some ebooks that I want to read and chill out.

So it is now the next morning and I am once again sitting in the laundry room surfing the Internet while I wait for my clothes to dry. After a bit, I realize that the time is slipping rapidly away and I am not anywhere close to being packed up and ready to go. The clothes are ready, the dryer that I am hearing is the neighbors, mine stopped a long time ago. LOL oops.

I go down and start to pack up, trying to decide where to head. The Louisiana State Parks are cheaper than most, but they keep saying the words “feels like 29*”. These are not happy words for me. I calculate the distance to Galveston in my head.

And I try to pack. It is hard for me to pack up when I have been in one place for 15 days. My stuff seems to explode and won’t fit on my bike anymore. I try harder. I didn’t buy that much stuff. Just some books. And some more books. And some clothes. Oh, and some food. Nothing that I didn’t need.

But now the stuff won’t fit in a way that makes me happy. I call my daughter and have a chat with her about the snowsuit. It won’t fit me next winter, but it is hard for me to leave it behind when I just bought it less than two months ago. But lets face it, I am headed to Texas and losing weight fairly quickly, what’s the point in keeping it? I decide to let it go along with some food that has hung around for too long. It’s still good, but if I brought it from Michigan and haven’t yet eaten it, I would say that there is a good chance that I won’t.

It’s now after 1PM and I should have left already. They keep driving by to clean up the campsite. All I can do is wave. LOL

Finally I get everything I want loaded up and hit the road. I make it all the way to Baton Rouge and then pull off to eat breakfast. I am hungry and the wind is terrible. It’s blowing me all over the road. It is a struggle to stay in my lane at times.

And it is late. I have wasted too much time today. I pull off the road in Jennings and decide to find a dive to stay in as my funds are limited. Yep, it’s a dive. But the atmosphere is one of people who work hard for a living, but can’t afford a better place to live, so they stay at this hotel.

I get a room key and a remote. The remote is the wrong one for the TV, but it’s an upstairs room and I just don’t feel like negotiating the stairs again. I sit on the end of the bed and start to sort through papers and things to lighten the load.

I write some notes on some of the stuff from the book that the clubhouse gave me and throw it away. It smells pretty bad as it got wet more than once. I really enjoyed the book, but it’s not salvageable.

I throw away some papers, make some more notes and condense others. It’s hard to believe, but I still have a paper problem on the road. That is so sad.

I decide to head on over to Galveston to camp tomorrow. I want to be on the Gulf. It is pretty and I love the water. I decide to stay away from the Interstates as much as possible and take the run down the Bolivar Peninsula. There is a free ferry from the Bolivar Peninsula to Galveston that I want to take.

My lips are sunburned, and my cheeks feel really dry like they might be sunburned also. I dig out some lip junk, Carmex, and put it on my lips. They burn for quite a while.

I watch movies on TV. Ritchie Rich is on, and Miss Congeniality is on. I enjoy the light comedy as the day was stressful and being buffeted all over the road was more than I could handle at times.
And I have to pack up again tomorrow. Grr.

Friday February 16

2007-02-18T07:51:00.001-08:00

I get into town. I finish reading all the financial books. I return stuff that hasn't worked out.

I have to get ready to leave tomorrow. OH CRAP!!!

And tonight is the invasion of the car runners. The massive amounts of people who run their cars to stay warm at night. And thereby keep me awake.

It is hard to pack up when you don't get to sleep much.

Happy trails, Marty

Friday February 16

2007-02-18T07:51:00.000-08:00

2007-02-18T07:33:00.000-08:00

February 15, 2007

So, what a day for a day dream. Grin.

I got part of the stuff for my bike. Yeah. I didn’t get part of the stuff for my bike. Boo, hiss.

So anyway, I have been searching for a way to handle my finances that made sense to me and would help me not overspend. I overspend because I always feel that I have more money than I have because I look at a total amount and guesstimate what I have left to spend money on. And I always spend too much and end up with too much month left at the end of my money.

Also, I don’t do credit. I do owe some money, but I don’t pull out a Visa Card or American Express Card to do my car repairs. That means that I need to be able to save up money to do my motorcycle repairs and save up money for other things. That is the stuff that I really want to get a handle on.

So I do research. I read this book and I read that book. I surf to this site and I surf to that site. And I have found few answers that fit. But today I ran into a book by “The Cheapest Family in America” (hey they called themselves that in the book) and the way they tell you to look at the monies is a little bit different that it may work for me. Let me tell you what hasn’t worked.

Putting money away in a different envelope. (which actually has gone electronic). If there was money in the clothes fund and I wanted to eat out-hey, did I really care if I had new jeans? Or any clothers at all. grin We all know that I never really was into clothes. Now I am not saying that this isn't a great system for lots of people, it just didn't work for me.

Dave Ramsey. I didn’t have debt, he figures that everyone must have debt and well, he didn’t work for me. If he does for you-that’s great. I know a lot of people who worship the ground that he walks on and pay him accordingly. There are forums available on his site where you can chat with some of the worshippers. Now, I am not saying he isn't good, he's just not for me.

There are a few more, I am drawing a blank right now. What is important is that I at least tried to put my finger in the dyke so to speak and tried something. Not looking for a way to grab some control of your money when it's out of control is like burying your head in the sand. Hmm, sand, dykes, I need to head to water.

Anyway, I read this book by the people who run the website http://www.americascheapestfamily.com and the plan actually made sense to me, (Ok, ok, I know that I am no good at finances, but no really, this plan I could actually understand, that’s probably a good starting point) and what’s even better it doesn’t tell me to keep all my money laying around in my house easily accessible to my fingers.

So I go to surf to my bank to find out a couple of things, like do I have any money left and how much do I get in a month (hey, I warned you that I’m no good at finances), all that really complicated stuff. And the Internet goes out, but I pull out the notes that I made and realize that it still makes sense to me, even without the gosh darn book.

That sounds great to me. I think I will try this plan. Most of the rest of them I just sit back and laugh at. (Kind of like the other book that I read tonight.)

I am the person who read the book about running a lemonade stand and couldn’t figure it out enough to use. And I was told that book made finances really simple.

Ok, just go online enough to go to the website. Hmm. No, I don't like this result. Just go read the book, it will work out much better than trying to go use the website. The website is pretty much a bunch of ads and little boxes selling themselves to you, by telling you where they will be. ;) Gotta love it.

Oh, what’s the name of the book? Geez, now I have to go back to the website to find out. Just a minute.

America'sCheapest FamilyGets YouRight on the MoneyYour Guide to Living Better,Spending Less andCashing In On Your Dreams! Buy it online and save some bucks. You can get it for $8.01 used.

This is a book we wish existed when we were first married. It's easy to read and full of hundreds of simple money saving ideas. Plus it explains how to get out of debt and set up a household budget that really works. Read more about it.

While here I also read The Six Day Financial Makeover by Robert Pagliarini. It has some redeeming points also.

Well, go read it, I might buy it if I wasn’t already so short on space. LOL

Gotta go, happy trails Marty

February 14, 2007

2007-02-18T07:23:00.000-08:00

It's Valentines Day. I don't have a better (or worse) half, so I find myself at loose ends. I decide to stay at the campsite and read a couple of Nora Roberts Romances.

Actually, I have sat around and done a lot of reading. It is what I feel like doing right now.

I have thought a lot about celebrating Mardi Gras this year and decide that I would like to wait and do it either with friends or when I have a partner. Usually, I don't feel that way, I will go anywhere at any time and do just what I want to do.

Tomorrow I am going to go into Hammond and see if any of my bike parts are in. Then I am going to go see about making some kind of a rack. There is a Lowe's here. They should have something that I can use. (Or not. LOL)

I thought that I was leaving on Sunday, but instead after reading my receipt, realize that I have to leave on Saturday morning. That will really put me in a rush as there is a book at the Books a Million that I want to finish reading.

this is nothing new, the time thing. I have a terrible time, gauging time, dates, places to drive, etc. It is just incredibly frustrating, never knowing how to gauge time, especially when I am travelling.

Happy Trails, Marty