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
Showing posts with label Omaha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Omaha. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
May 6, 2007 Drenched trip into Omaha
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
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
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