Motorcycle Trip

My Dad and I had an awesome motorcycle trip last weekend!  We rented bikes near Allentown, PA and rode back roads North to Route 6.  Then we drove West across PA zig zagging from the New York border and back down the Route 6.  We continued to the PA Grand Canyon, and down through a couple state parks.  At the end of our full loop, we started playing follow the leader and drove all kinds of crazy back roads that sometimes led us in the right direction, and sometimes turned into a dirt road and eventually hit a dead end.  The cost really isn't too bad to rent a Harley for a day, and the experience was just amazing.  The leaves are turning in Northern PA making mountain we climbed even more beautiful.  This is absolutely going to become an annual event.

I rented a Harley Fat Boy and my dad got a Harley V Rod Muscle.  These bikes have completely different riding styles, sounds, speeds, and overall experience.  It was great to switch back and forth every couple hours.  Here is a picture of the 2 bikes at the top of the Grand Canyon.

This is my dad on the fat boy.

Here is my awesome "strike a pose" moment on the fat boy.

We stayed in Covington, PA with a close relative on Friday night and greatly enjoyed lounging in a hot tub after a full day of riding.  I planned on us riding about 175 miles each day for a total of 350.  We ended up riding 540 miles because we were having so much fun and kept taking side trips on random roads.

We rode a really nice ridge in between Allentown and Bloomsberg with a long series of wind mills.  Up and down the mountain had some great switchback turns and climbs.  It was funny to look forward to the speed advisory signs for turns.  35mph was ok, but the best turns were 10-20 mph.  We could cruise through all of them about 15mph over the advisory speed leaning from the outside of the turn to the inside, and back out.

This trip was absolutely fantastic.  Maybe we'll get a couple more people to jump in next year and we'll go explore Western PA.

It's Late

For the first time in a very, very long time, I have found myself unable to sleep.  It is most likely due to sleeping in until 10:00 this morning which hasn't happened in quite a while, or a little bit of anticipation for the week ahead of me.  Either way, it seemed like a good time to sit by myself in the night and share my thoughts.  I still have the lovely ambiance of an occasional beep from the hidden smoke detector.

Tomorrow I am off to Mobile, AL for a 3 day business trip.  No need to get too excited there, it's primarily for a few insurance meetings.  I'm also getting more involved with out 2011 budget, which is fun.  I've been doing a good job of getting my name around the company as someone looking to advance and get more involved, so I am a little interested to see if any conversations pop up while I'm down there.  There is a good chance that nothing will come up, but we'll see.  I finally have a game plan to wait things out another 2 weeks for a possible transfer, and if nothing comes up, time to take action.  I think I'm going to pass at the possibility of being the assistant treasurer, which leaves me with my choice for my next title.  What sounds best to you?  Risk and Finance Manger OR Director of Risk and Finance.  I can't quite make up my mind, but apparently it is my decision.  

Aside from the above thoughts running through my head, I think the main reason I'm not sleeping right now is the excitement of next week's motorcycle trip.  After a year of dreaming of renting some Harley's and cruising some winding roads, the trip is finally going to happen.  My dad and I are heading out this Friday for what I hope to be an awesome time.  Lord willing, the weather will be nice, and everything else is all set.

That's right, the week ahead of me consists of 3 days in Mobile, a day at home, and 2 days on a Harley.  I really need to get some sleep now to be ready for all of this.

Thanks for reading.

All is Lost

Somewhere in or around our kitchen is a fire detector with a dieing battery.  It beeps every couple minutes to let us know the battery needs changed, but Liz and I can't find it.  It only beeps once, so it is really hard to tune in on the exact location.  Maybe it is in one of the cupboards, or tapped to the bottom side of our hutch.  All I know, is that it beeps, and beeps, and beeps.  I think Liz and I have been a little more on edge this last week.  Careful if you visit, because one false move could land you in a world of pain. On the other hand, if you happen to find it, we will most likely raise you upon our shoulders and shout acclamations to your name.

I think there is a 50-50 chance that the previous resident hid a fire detector in the wall just to play this cruel cruel joke.  If that is the case, you win.

I also have one more announcement that will surely bring great sadness and anger to all of the western world.  They have discontinued Wal-Mart Chicken!  We could hardly begin to imagine the ramifications of such an event.  The downfall of our society has begun, the end is near.  Soon McDonalds will decide to no longer sell burgers, and switch to all fish sandwiches instead.  Pizza Hut will become a wing place.  And Pepsi will reduce its product line to only Crystal Pepsi.  

Perhaps you don't know what I mean by Wal-Mart Chicken.  I'm talking about those amazing little boneless BBQ chicken pieces thought brought such delight to my pallet.  They are sold in the deli area, and you paid by the pound. Often in college, my roommates would venture over to get a pound each for dinner. I kid you not, there were many a time that I would waste 40 minutes of my lunch break just to drive to a Wal-Mart and back.  And people caught on in my area, because there were many days I would drive all the way over to find an empty container where the chicken once resided.  I had to start taking an earlier lunch break to beat the crowd  I would even pass by a chic-fil-a on my way, they were that good.

But now they are gone, and I am left empty.  All is lost.  

I'm Beat

This morning, before work, I ran a little over 8.5 miles.  That's a third of a marathon baby!!  Now if you'll excuse me, I need to collapse on the floor and cry.