Donna's Run

Troops on the ground

out riding....

hooters poker run.....

Just pictures, I said one day I was going to update the blog with nothing but the pictures....so here goes...maybe I can keep things in order, but probably not....at least you can see what we have been up too!

Spirit of the Road

Getting ready to leave Deland heading home from Trader Jacks we found ourselves able to ride alone with no route or schedule set. We have been so busy riding with other friends,meeting up with people at a particular time that we havent had alot of time to just stop and smell the roses.

We headed straight up Hwy 17 through alot of small towns, open road and wetlands that were new territory to Christy and places I have never seen without being in a cage of some type and needing to get where I was going.We left Deland about 10:30 and didnt finish our 130 mile trip until 5:30. We stopped at some small flea markets, not the kind where they sell new junk cheap but the places where people look for items of interest.Found a spot on Cresent Lake where some people were fishing and the lake was alive with the creatures that depend on the lake.

Many times the Cheyenne saloon in E. Palatka has come up in our ride plans and for one reason or another we just never seem to get there.As we passed it we made a U-turn and stopped in for a few minutes.It seems funny to me how you can ride alone and still run into people you know.We were deciding whether to stay or go when our friend Scott steps up beside me to get a beer.He tells us he was riding with Scott and Kathy and Robert and Lynn.We spend a few minutes with them and we notice Debbie from the Steel Pony sitting at the bar. Debbie is the kind of lady that if you know her you just have to say hello. They were headed to Daytona but after hearing about the party at Trader Jacks they said they might go there,they couldnt find a Dixie Biker and she asked if she could have ours so they could find the place. Both groups asked us if we wanted to ride with them we were having so much fun together we declined both to share the rest of our day alone.

We made our last stop at Michelles for a fantastic burger before heading home.Spending time on the road alone or with one person who cares about the same simple things as you is to often forgotten and makes for such a memorable experience.We love riding with our friends but are gonna have to make time for ourselves a little more

Dang I missed Sturgis Party

A group of 8 of us left Michelles Saturday morning headed for Trader Jacks in Deland Florida. They were having a party for everyone who couldnt make Sturgis. We left about 11 and were already thinking of stopping for lunch. Our route was U.S 1 south, we passed up the rooster thinking we could get something to eat at Arnolds in St. Augustine, apparentlly they stopped serving food due to smoking ordinances so we just had a little break to rethink our plan. Scott took the lead knowing a place with good food in Bunnel and he was right on track. When we finished eating we took hwy 11 to hwy40 caught 17 south and were quickly at Trader Jacks.

Some of us were there for the party and some just came for the ride, the weather wasnt looking good so those who werent staying the night made a quick exit. We decided since the weather wasnt looking great we might need to find a room and get settled in for the night, there was a place right down the street and it was biker owned.So back to Trader Jacks we went.

We met the owners Jim and Lisa they are nice people and made us feel right at home.There were alot of people mingling around and having a good time and some festivities planned in the evening. The best was the bikini contest. The girls were wearing t shirts which they took off and threw out to the crowd. I was lucky enough to catch one. We met Monk and Boots from Dixie Biker magazine and spent a little while shooting the bull with them.Lisa rode down on her own late and caught up to us. I held the door for a lady pushing her husband in a wheelchair, had a short conversation with them only to find out thay he was Billy"Ace" Myers a beach racer up until the 60's. I didnt know who he was but talking to some other people and doing a little research I found that he was quite the racer in his time. All good things must come to an end so we headed back to our rooms to get some rest for our trip home.

When we woke up everyone was hungry.Trader Jacks serves breakfast so we decided to give them a try. The cook was late but they had coffe to get us started promising a cook would be there soon. Larry and Lisa couldnt wait so they decided to take off,Matt was anxious to get going and decided to go with them. It gave Christy and I some time to spend together, while we ride alone alot it usually isnt very far where we can stop and see things together without worrying about what everyone else wants so we had a nice ride home together. Once the cook got there we were quickly served and the food was awsome. Trader Jacks gets an A+ from us.

boobs

Whats a biker event without a flash or 2? Most of the ladies here can be found somewhere else in our stories. Can you guess who.

Mom and daughter action for this lucky guy

You will poke your eye out kid

biker friendly

Along our highways and byways there are alot of places that are happy to have bikers as clientel and others who aren't. We have put together places we have been that are bike friendly.

Michelles Watering Hole. Bike night wednesday and friday. Biker appreciation day on sunday with free food the 3rd sunday of every month. Located in Jacksonville Fl on Beach Blvd. right at the Pottsburg creek.

HJ's missBhaven. Located on Main street in Jacksonville Fl just north of Hwy 9A. This place hostd or participates in alot of poker runs.

just going to get a beer

Friday was a nice day for a ride.We had nothing to do and all day to do it so we took off with no plans. We checked out an accessory store we found and just wandered aimlessly for a little while. We stopped to have lunch and come up with a game plan.It seemed like the only thing to do was go somewhere and have a beer.U.S.1 south was the plan. St. Augustine was a little congested and we just kept going south. Heading to biketoberfest in 2006 I saw a little place that was packed with bikes and we decided to check it out. As we got into Bunnell, Fl. we turned east on Hwy 100 for about a mile or so to a place called the Dog Pound saloon.They had bike parking at the front door and the place was bigger than it looked from the outside. The staff is friendly and the locals are eager to give directions , recommend riding routes and share stories. It was time to think about heading home so we continued east on 100 into Flagler beach, turned north on A1A taking a scenic ride along the ocean.

As we came back into St. Augustine the bridge was going up to let boats pass that couldn't fit under it.Call me lucky but there was another biker friendly place right where we had to stop. The Barnone saloon. The beer is cold and they have a full liquor bar. They had free sloppy joes for patrons and they were pretty good.

It was really time to get back to town now so we crossed the bridge and took U.S1 back into Jacksonville. Time to feed the kids and head to Michelles watering hole for bike night.

Next week is the Starke Bikefest, we cant wait.

Palatka ride

We meet alot of new people going to different bike nights and events.C met a lady named Pam through the Chrome Divas and she asked if our group wanted to ride with her group down to Palatka to have lunch at Gator landing. Sheila couldn't go but C, Ben,Wayne and I met up and rode over to S.R.13 to meet them.There were many different bikes hondas, bmws and even a spyder a neat little 3 wheeler but not really a trike.

We all broke the golden rule and everyone was a little bit late but every was a little late.We were standing around chatting and waiting and Clay let everyone swing a leg over the spyder for fun.

S.R. 13 is a really nice winding road that runs along the St. Johns river toward St. Augustine.Instead of going thier we went west to Palatka to have lunch at Gator Landing. It sits right on the river with dining indoors and out.

C and I had to go to St Augustine so we left them from there.Ben and Wayne headed to the Steel Pony for a survivors party, and the others headed off south from Palatka. This was our last ride with Wayne. We had a good time,miss our friend and wish the best for him. The ride goes on make it a good one.

"coach" Steve Shinn poker run

Sometimes things work out perfectly when they seem to start out bad, This poker run was one of those days. C had to work late so she was going to meet us at HJ's MisBhaven a little late so we left early to get everyone registered.Ben showed up right on time and we were debating the weather. Since we are fer from fair weather bikers and we made plans to meet Buddy my friend from high school we headed out. Buddy was right on time in fact we pulled into the gas station we were meeting at in the same change of the traffic light.We headed toward the starting point and got caught in an awful rain storm. I was leading and couldnt see so I made my way to the first exit ramp not realizing it was the exit before where we are going.We stopped at a store to try to wait out the rain and decided it wasn't going to stop so we would cancel on the ride. We called C and told her it was way to dangerous to ride alone and we would be back soon. While we were waiting we noticed the sun coming out directly over the place we were going so we took this as a sign and rode to HJ's sure enough it was wet but not raining.We called C again and told her if it was clear enough at home to ride to come on and we would wait for her.

Wayne was there when we got there and Sheila was picking up some rain gear and on her way.C rolled in after catching some more rain on the way but she met up with some other riders headed for the ride and blended in with them for the sake of saftey.Finally we were all there and the sky was looking better

The ride consisted of 7 stops where you draw a card and try to get the best or worst hand possible.The stops were HJ's, Snookers, Eastport tavern, the shorehouse, Barz Bar, Hammerheads, Highway 17 tavern and returning to HJ's for food, drawings and hand tallying.This was a good time for socializing and soaking in the day.

We ran into some other friends Phyllis and Chris who we havent seen in a long time.Chris sang karaoke while we talked about the bold color of her eyes, yes they are real not contacts.They had been riding with another couple and the guy half said I look familiar. With Buddy with us from running into the week before C is thinking I cant take you anywhere.Would you believe this was ANOTHER guy from high school. 20 years later we had class of 85, 86 and 87 in the same place for the same cause.

In true biker fashion there was plenty of boobs, clothes coming off and give aways.What a great day to remember and support the family of a good man.Sheila is still a prude.

honor respect integrity trust

All to often in today's life people take things for granted. Almost everyone I know has been divorced. A lot of people I know have been divorced several times. It is so hard to find that special person that you will spend the rest of your life with. Once you find that person it is even harder to have your friends like that person too. What about finding that friend, then having another friend and all of you get along and enjoy everyone's company.

Christy and I have been married for a long time by most peoples standards. I have had friends,she has had friends and because we didn't get along as well as would be hoped the friends sort of dwindled to a casual acquaintance.

A few years ago we met Ben. We ride together, spend time at each others homes and share our families together. I trust him with everything I have he is a man of integrity and doesn't do anything if it might hurt someones feelings or offend someone.

Sheila is the manager at one of my stores. We talked of bikes and she really got the itch so she went and got one of her own. I offered to have her join us on a ride and we had a good time although our professional relationship prevented us from being ourselves and Christy and Ben weren't sure if she was there because she was my friend or I just wanted her to get out and ride so they just accepted her. Before that day was over Sheila and Christy had made plans to take the riders saftey course together, Ben decided she was just good people and she and I decided our professional relationship was for Monday through Friday, and Friday's are questionable.

The 4 of us ride together in any combination every chance we get lately EVERY weekend but i am just to damn old for that, so we are working on every other.My least favorite is when they ride on Sunday and come out and buy me lunch while i am working but i will take it.

Our friendship is based on:

1. The TRUST we all have in each other

2. The INTEGRITY Ben carries in his everyday life

3. The RESPECT Sheila has for my wife and marriage.

4. The HONOR I feel when I ride with these 3 people.

Toys for Tots ride

The holiday season always has a way of bringing people together for the less fortunate and this year was no exception. We participated in the Legacy Vets/Vietnam vets M/C toys for tots ride. Last year this ride helped to give a Christmas for over 2000 local children, this years turn out was even better than last year.

The registration fee for this ride was 10 dollars or you could bring a toy for a child. Chik fil a had a deal where you could buy a sandwich for a child and get one for you.

C,Ben and I headed out, payed our entry and got ready to ride

The longer we waited the more people showed up.We could tell this was going to be a huge turnout. Since this was C's first ride since she started riding solo we would sandwich her between us where we could look out for her.

Mrs. Clause told santa she was tired of making toys to help kids and wanted to make some money for them so they tagged along too.

There was a blessing of the bikes and riders and we were off on our ride.We headed south on hwy 17 heading west on some back roads turning north and ending up at the Legacy vets clubhouse. We rode through small communities on the outskirts of Jacksonville and saw some places that living here all my life I didnt know existed. We went through one area where what could be considered the rolling hills of Florida were and it was really cool we could see bikes in front of us and in back of us for as far as we could see.

Parking at the clubhouse was interesting. Bikes were everywhere on both sides of the road.The police stopped traffic so everyone could park and cross the road safley. This is when the party started.

We were all treated to food and a live band. T shirts were given away and the beer was cold. While a biker friendly watering hole usually is a part of our rides none of us are advocates of hardcore partying and riding afterward so we ate and listened to the band and prepared to go

AND THEN............

Mrs. Clause decided when in Rome...... she said its so cold in the North Pole that she never gets to wear any of her sexy stuff, so why not try it out in sunny Florida. WHOS BEEN NAUGHTY NOW SANTA?

All good days must come to an end and we finished this one at the Steel Pony on 103rd street and Jammes rd. on the westside of town.Some of Santas helpers were there helping out as well. When we were leaving there a guy stopped me saying I looked familiar. It turns out that we were friends from high school and havent seen eachother since. He told us he works for Dixie Biker magazine and was always looking for people to ride with and help add personality to his stories. Buddy we are glad to have bumped into you again.

Wow its been a long time since this ride so I lost count on the miles

Bike Night at Michelles Southern home cooking

We have been there 2 fridays in a row and it has proven to be a good time both weeks. They have live bands, raffles, cheap beer and good food. Michelles is located on Beach Blvd right at pottsburg creek. This is the place for a fun bike night with a local pub atmosphere.

Destination Daytona

We found out that a friend of ours was in town from Kansas and another friend just bought a new sportster. C was ready for a long ride and Ben wanted to "just ride". We were all coming from different places so we met at Reni's Rooster.We took U.S.1 south through St. Augustine and into Bunnell where we stopped for a break.

We continued south for another 20 miles to Destination Daytona.There is always alot going on there and this weekend was no exception. Daytona hosts the turkey rod run the weekend after thanksgiving and alot of the cars were gathered in the parking lot. Hot Rods and Harleys seem to go together like peas and carrots.

We decided to get a drink and something to eat before wandering around to much. They have the saints and sinners pub and some food vendors right in the lot.

After we ate we walked around. There are alot of bike/bike stuff shops everywhere. We looked at clothes, custom parts, leather and custom bikes. There was a really cool truck for sale but it was a little small for my taste.

The girls were talking about all the flashing that goes on in daytona.

C almost did it.

Sheila said "no way"

Dawn had no fears.

Sheila wanted to go to check out a leather shop that Steve said he knew right where it was. Well....... he didnt. We rode all over town and ended up back where we started, hopping on I95 to head north for home. 95 is pretty busy so we got off in St Augustine and took US1 back into Jax. It started getting a little cold so we stopped off at Renis rooster again

Total trip. 267 miles. Great riding C

Ready for the Road

We decided to take a short trip to see Ben and ride with him for awhile, get C used to riding with traffic and just spend some quality time with the open road. We were thinking about taking back roads to his house allowing her to stop if she needed to. We had to stop by the HD shop to take some parts back(something about a broken turn signal) and the short way there from our house is getting on the highway for 1 exit.When we got there she told me she thought she would rather take the highway to his house so thats what we did. There is another HD shop near his house so we rode over there and went to get something to eat. Ben wanted us to see Renee since we havent seen her in awhile and since we were close to her house he called. She was at the mall on the same road we were on so she came outside and met us so she could see my new bike.

Renee hasnt been riding with us as she has other projects in the works. wont be long before she finishes this one and starts her new one.

Renee knows I have a soft spot for a pregnant woman so she hopped on my bike and decided to flash me.

Might not do it for everyone but I couldnt miss the photo opportunity.

It was getting time to head for home so we left them and took the highway back home. C did really good on her first time out and we are looking forward to many more trips.

Trip Distance: 67 miles

Buell Blast?????????????

I was convinced that C needed a Buell Blast to learn to ride on. She really didnt think she would like them but was willing to look. I saw some used ones at a really good price so I picked her up took her to try one on. She said it wasnt the sport bike lean that she thought it was but still wasnt sure. We explained to the sales guy that what we wanted to do was get her something cheap to learn on, move her to my sportster and get me a v-twin down the road. He said "WELL LET ME SAVE YOU A STEP". He showed us a 2005 Dyna SuperGlide that had been under a cover while the owner was in Iraq. It had alot of oxidation but no rust or pitting. We have looked at Superglides for quite awhile and when he told us what they wanted for it we knew this was the bike I was supposed to own.I am spending alot of time polishing all the oxidation off but its a great bike so far

The Maidens Voyage

C has been wanting to take my bike and get me another one but first she needed to learn to ride. I took her to a vacant lot near our house and taught her the basics. First comes learning to stop. She kept stalling the bike and once she finally figured out the proper release on the clutch she was so excited she forgot to stop in time. ummmmmmm........ Bike fell down.

Fortunatley she was fine and the bike only had a broken turn signal.Nothing our friends at the local shop couldnt fix us up with. Just a few more tries and she was shifting gears, making turns and ready for the next level.



She rode he bike home and had no problems. I sent her out in the morning for a ride in the neighborhood. Told her to make lots of turns and do 10 or 12 miles before she came back. She got gutsy, left the neighborhood and tested herself. She did just fine so she was ready for a short trip.

2nd annual Starke Bikefest

Starke, Florida started having a weekend bikefest last year and this year we decided to go see what it was all about. We called Ben to see if he was interested in going with us and we made plans to head down about 10:30. Starke is about half way between Jacksonville and Ocala on highway 301 if you blink to fast you will miss it but as I previously posted if you try to get there to fast from either direction you will get an opportunity to get a long look at either Waldo or Lawtey while you wait on your ticket from either towns local athorities.

We got there about 11:30 and were really pleased with what we found. It was an on site festival, the parking was free ( didn't know anything was FREE in the biker community), admission was only 10 dollars, you can camp there for free and beers were 1 dollar during the day and when the price went up they were a whopping 2 dollars. It wasn't the biggest event we have been to but without a doubt the best bang for the buck we have seen anywhere.

There were 3 bands there, no big names even big local names but still good music. There were alot of vendors, mostly food and souveniers with some bike parts, pinstriping, neons and tattoos mixed in. We saw a lady selling t-shirts that said show you my what?

When she saw someone looking she would lift her shirt and give them a flash. The picture turned out terrible but you will get the idea. The detail is actually very good.

There is a tag on the shirt with all the information to buy one.

The website is http://www.alloutadvertising.com/ (561)-687-0365

There we some really cool bikes and a few machines built to resemble bikes.

For the true good ole boy in us all they had some hard core cage match rasslin'. For the small group of people who actually believe proffesional wrestling is real this was a deal breaker. The slaps were heard before any contact was made and you could see the guys break the blood packets. The most humorus part of all was seeing 2 of the guys who seemed ready to kill eachother cleaned up and walking around together joking and having a good time. Personally I enjoyed this more than a stand up comedian.

Ben is a real picture taking fool so I had to get a pic of him doing his thing.( wait does that make me a picture taking fool too?)

In true bike event fashion there were plenty of ladies in great outfits. all were willing to have pics taken for everyone to remember them.

On the way home I thought with all the girl watching I got to do I would flash someone myself

We had a great time and hope this event stays around for many years. Next year come on out and join us.

2007 Ride For Smiles

I have been slacking on my updates so I am going to fill it in now.
The local HD dealer helped organize a ride for smiles on FEB.10th. I dont usually do these kind of rides just because someone once told me there was so much stop and go that it was more srop and go than riding.

Ben called me on Friday afternoon and told me he had a rider/passenger ticket and was stuck working.He didnt want to see it go to waste and wanted me to ride.The ticket was for him and Renee so I asked him if she wanted to ride with me instead but she had to work along with him. C was working so I called Dale she jumped at the chance.

The ride started at Adamecs new Baymeadows location, snaked around the east side of the city, along the ocean and returning to the HD dealer. There were several hundred bikes and Dale had never experienced an organized ride so she was in awe of all the bikes riding together.

When we got back there was food catered by applebees, live music and a frisbee dog show using rescued dogs rather than dogs raised to perform.We had a great time but unfortunatley camera batteries died early on so we didnt get as many pics as we would have liked. I hope you enjoy the ones we have.

Special thanks to Ben for thinking of me and not letting his ticket sit on a shelf.

There were alot of other photo ops but the batteries died to early

Peanuts first long ride

Our 6 year old has been riding almost since we got the bike. He started out just around the block, then he moved to short rides to the store or whatever. Today he was going on his first long ride.



We made plans with Ben, gassed up and off we went. We were meeting at the HD dealer in Orange Park which involved some highway and interstate travel. He normally does a good job of holding on and balancing but today he did neither. I had to keep pushing his hands into me and putting my arm around him to keep him straight in the seat.When we stopped he told me the wind was blowing him to hard to hold on right. We decided to meet up with Ben and call mom to come get him




We met Ben at Adamecs and called C to come get him.While we waited for her we looked at bikes, clothes, parts etc. He asked a lot of questions and really learned a lot about motorcycles and HD history. THEN HE MET A GIRL.

The sales clerk in the clothing dept. talked to him and told him he looked really sharp in his jacket. He snatched it open and showed her that he had a Harley shirt too. They chatted about bikes and football and exchanged names. Finally I told him if he was going to flirt all day I was going to walk around and look at stuff. Since he isn't old enough to know that girls are better than friends he decided to tag along with us. One of the bike salesmen came and asked him if he was out riding with dad and he said yep I'm biker trash. We all got a good laugh and everyone knew that one day he would be standing in a place just like that with his own kid looking at shiny Harleys dreaming of things to come.




C got stuck in some traffic but finally made it over to us. They headed for home and Ben and I headed for Whiteys fish camp. This is a cool little place right on the St. Johns river. They are stops on many poker runs and sponsor some from time to time. The view of the river is great here and the water is as calm as anywhere i have seen on a river of this size. They have an area reserved for bike parking and the path leading from the bike parking area to the building is home to the fallen riders memorial. Thankfully there are not to many names carved into stones here but its kind of nice to see someone cares enough to mark the names forever



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Total miles with peanut in tow 25
Total trip milage 58

C on the road again

Finally C was feeling a bit better. At least enough to get out for a ride. Ben and hundred mile an hour grandma joined us and we headed north toward the Georgia line. I am the bud man so we were headed to one of the stops on my route.




















We picked up grandma and put our knees in the breeze. It was much warmer today than yesterday but it was pretty windy. Our route was hwy 9A to hwy 17 north.

















When we got on 17 we were joined by some other Harley riders for a short time.C took this as a perfect photo opportunity and snapped this pic over her shoulder.















I guess our sporty's were just to much for them and they slipped off into HB's Miss B Haven. We always threaten to stop there but it just doesn't seem to draw us in like some places do.C took this pic en route but its a pretty friendly looking place.


















Our 1st stop was Casey's hideaway right on the Georgia state line. Allot of people stop here after crossing into Florida to stretch their legs, grab a drink and strip off helmets which are required in Ga. but not in Fla. I deliver the beer to this place so we went in to make sure at least some of it was gone when i came back.



















My favorite bartender Rita was working and we stayed and visited for an hour or so. Rita loves bikes and bikers, Bikers are always welcome at Casey's but when she is working she makes sure to tell them how welcome they are.

















Rita was good enough to take a picture of all of us.



















We headed back south making our way to "the stop" and got this pic as we crossed the St. Johns river. This is one of the few rivers that flows north. Right here we are at the highest point within the city limits that isn't part of a skyscraper and if you look in the distance you can make out the skyline of the city.



















We had to make a quick stop on our way and Ben decided maybe it was time he call it a day. Since C still wasn't 100% herself she thought she might be done too. We were pretty close to our house so she jumped on with him to go home and 100 mph and I continued to the rooster.

















Today this place was a whole different place. Bikes were everywhere, people were everywhere and still there was no band. There were a wide variety of people there from all walks of life including at least 1 school teacher. We hung out for a little while and I took her home.
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This trip wasn't as interesting as some of our recent trips but it was just as much fun.Trip mileage 104.

cold weather trip with dale

The high on Saturday was 57. I know allot of people are saying " I wish it was 57 so i could get my bike out" add 65 mph and an ocean breeze and it made gloves and leather a welcomed addition. The sun was shining and really it was a perfect day for riding. C still wasn't up for riding and our friend Dale had been after me to take her so we made plans to ride to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States.




Dale was at another friend Dayan's house. Dayan has a slight interest in riding but also knows the dangers and makes her apprehensive about getting on a bike.She did take a short ride a few blocks in her neighborhood just to get a feel for it.










Dale and I were off down US1. In Bayard we cut over to A1A to take the beach route to St. Augustine. People throughout this country look at this blog and some have never been to Florida or even seen the ocean so we stopped to snap a few pics. We took pictures of the Atlantic ocean and then walked 150 yards across the road to get pictures of the Atlantic intercoastal waterway. This is a calmer channel referred to by commercial fisherman as "the ditch", it provides easy travel up and down the state to boaters who don't have ocean going boats but still want to travel by boat.


Dale once went to the beach with our family and when we went in the water we found ourselves in a rip current. Being raised in Florida we have all been told if you ever find yourself in a rip current don't fight it but let the current take you and try to swim parallel to the shore while angling in toward the shore. Dale got a little panicked and i tried to help her but she couldn't calm herself enough to do what I told her and I couldn't pull her in the direction we needed to be going so finally I called a surfer over and he took her in on the surfboard and i was able to come in the proper way. While it wasn't funny at the time she has earned a lifetime of ribbing because of it and I took this picture as a constant reminder to her as well as a little information to anyone who might find themselves caught in a rip current on a visit without knowing what to do. BUT MOSTLY TO RIB DALE.















Next stop "St Augustine". There is a street there called Magnolia street that is on the list of the prettiest streets in the US. It is only 1 block off the main street and worth the trip just to look down it. The trees are hundreds of years old and the view is unforgettable.














It's after lunchtime now so we stop to get a burger. This guy comes up to us and tells us he has a sportster with an enclosed trailer for sale. It needs a transmission and its a 78 but it's 800 bucks and that's negotiable. C wants her own ride so I become really interested. The guy tells me that the guy who owns it is in New York in the VA hospital and lost the titles, doesn't have family blah, blah,blah. That's the way things go for me, if i bump into a steal it is either gone or has some kind of issue.

We head into the town to walk historic St. George street where all the oldest sights are. Being raised here there aren't to many things I haven't seen but the candy shops and old bakeries are always a treat for the belly. We grabbed some candy for the walk. St. George street is the kind of place you can walk down with 1000 dollars in your pocket, come home broke and have a blast or walk down with empty pockets and have just as much fun.

St. Augustine has a fort that was used to defend the city from French invasion.It has been rebuilt as closely as possible to its original condition being made entirely from coquina a stone like material made from seashells and ocean sediment. When cannonballs would hit the fort the coquina would close the hole and return to a similar state to what it was before it was shot.

When we passed the fort I saw something in the road. I told Dale that looks like someones slip ons in the road, sure enough a guy with a helmet runs out in the road and grabs it. We went to check on him and he said it was the 3rd time it had happened today, he had ridden down from Georgia and was trying to make do until he got back home to fix it properly.

We took off north on US1 again making a stop that Ben and I refer to "the stop". No matter where we go south of Jacksonville this is where we usually stop at the end of the day as Ben splits off from me close to there. I had told Dale many times about the best 10 dollar steak you can buy being served there on Friday nights. This is a pic of Reni's Rooster Saloon on a slow Saturday afternoon, on a Friday night there is hardly enough room to squeeze a bike in. They have great local bands on Sunday afternoons and worth a stop in to visit.















I took Dale back to Dayan's and headed home. C is feeling a lite better and I am gonna drag her out in the saddle today. Ben is coming over and maybe we will introduce you to some other friends too.

Total trip mileage 102

hundred mile an hour grandma

We have a very interesting relationship with T's son's maternal grandmother. We go to holidays at her house, tailgate together, and have just made a friendship that most people don't have with their ex's mother. One day the discussion of Harley's came up she swore she would never get on a bike but you could already see the lust in her eyes. One day after a game we decided to take a ride with a friend and he asked her if she wanted to go, and she again declined. At a football party one day she finally agreed to go. We grabbed her up early in the morning and rode about 40 miles, stopped to give her an experience with a biker bar and she has been hooked ever since.

One day Ben was trying to catch us with her on the back, and got the speed up to 100 before he caught us. He has been calling her 100 mile grandma ever since.

We have been out on several rides, sometimes with T, and sometimes with Ben and every time her smile is so big she has to floss the bugs out of her teeth. Today T took her to get her first piece of Harley apparel. She is very conservative but slowly coming out of that shell. She wanted something sexy but not slutty, warm but not hot and here is what she got.

We are so proud of her for being who she wants to be after being wife, mom, grandma, babysitter, problem solver, teacher and so many other important roles for so much of her life.

Ocala National Forest 1-13-07

Out for a ride....We all decided to meet at Chopper City Cafe on Atlantic which was closed. So over to Denny's to eat some breakfast before the ride. From left to right, Tim, Renee, James, and Ben.












This is Renee she is a new rider and a friend to Ben.




James is our new friend riding his wide glide.

We started our trip hopping on hwy 9A and following 295 into orange park. A quick stop there for gas took us down 17 towards Palatka. We picked up 19 down into the Ocala national forest. We crossed the fl barge canal, which is a series of locks that let barges cross the state from the Atlantic into the gulf of Mexico without having to cross into Cuban waters and back up just to get over to the west coast or into TX and LA. We picked up hwy 314 and made a quick stop at catus jacks, a biker friendly place in the center of the ocala national forest.



We headed into Ocala turning on hwy 40 making our way past Silver Springs, and downtown Ocala. North on 441 we found ourselves at Ocala Harley Davidson to look around and stretch our legs. 301 north headed us towards home through a little town called Citra where we found another biker friendly place and the bar magnets installed in every Harley pulled us right in to the Top of the Hill saloon. Leaving there we went through Waldo Fl, once # 1 on the AAA speed trap list, not one of us got a ticket so we were all really happy. We stopped at Whataburger in Starke for our last stop on our way home. We headed 228 into Jacksonville and split off to our respective homes. Total trip 224 miles.