June 27/28, 2008: First a bit of background on my Pa’s riding status…
He’s had a little scooter for the past few years, and when I moved up from my 600 VLX to the 1100 ACE Tourer, I think that just set his mind to thinking. At 72 years of age, he decided to get his first motorcycle! I told him not to rush into it, and to take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Course, watch the Ride Like a Pro DVDs and to read David Hough’s “Proficient Motorcycling” and “More Proficient Motorcycling”. Also, when he decided on a bike, I said to look for an online forum that pertains to his bike. I belong to 3 motorcycle forums, and they’ve not only been a wealth of info, but full of supportive folks. I’ve met over 50 forum members in person, and many have become great friends. Well, Dad passed his MSF course, ordered the RLAP DVD, and also ordered a brand spanking fresh-from-the-crate AERO 750. She’s a beauty!

Dad joined a forum, and their rally was going to be held in Townsend, TN, in June. Dad lives in Wisconsin, but figured he’d take the trip of a lifetime and meet some of his online friends in person. He also figured it’s less than 400 miles from there to our home here in Danville, so he’d go to the rally and then ride to Danville for a visit so he could ride with John and me for the first time.

If you don’t have time to read the whole story below, then just check out the video of our whirlwind weekend with my Dad! Riding the BRP and seeing the sights around Roanoke…

We headed up to Roanoke on Friday to Mill Mountain and the Roanoke Star (where there was BIG lightning and a storm a-brewin’, so we didn’t stay long).

We tried to beat the heavy rain to Dixie Caverns, and we were pretty lucky, ‘cuz it didn’t start to pour until a couple minutes after we arrived. A good time to go underground for the cave tour!

Here’s my hubby, John and me in the cave under the “Wedding Bell” formation.

After our tour of the cave, we headed to Shoney’s for lunch and then a swim in the Quality Inn hotel pool (just what I needed). We hooked up with VTXRob and his lovely gal for a wonderful Mexican dinner and visit at El Rodeo (there was enough food on my plate to feed a family of 5).
On Saturday, we found the squiggly-est road out of Roanoke I’ve ever been on to head toward the Parkway. OMG!!! The road was 25 MPH, and some of the non-stop curves were posted 15 MPH, and even then I felt like I was pushing it! LOLOL WHAT A BLAST! We finally found our way back to the Parkway and were off to enjoy the ride, take pics at overlooks and head towards Tuggles Gap for lunch, then on to Mabry’s Mill (absolutely picturesque and historical).

John snoozes while Dad and I wander around the grounds…

It was a totally relaxing ride on the Parkway until a turkey hopped out into the left lane towards me at the same time a deer appeared on my right…I pumped on the brakes, the turkey hopped into the ditch…Dad never even saw the turkey when he STOPPED RIGHT NEXT TO IT! Then came the FUN part…

Coming out of the mountains on the downhill twistys, we had a storm DUMP onto us, with no place to pull over and a Hummer on my butt (just shush, I know what comments you’re pondering over that choice of words). Dad did fantastic riding on the twistys in the storm, especially considering he’s only ridden in one light rain before. Once we hit the flatlands, we pulled over for a break from the insanity, but of course we had gotten past the storm by then!

Dad had a great time meeting our riding group here in Danville, and of course, it was wonderful to be able to ride with my Pa for the first (and hopefully not last) time.

He packed up and began his long trek home to Menasha, WI, on Tuesday morning, and I heard from him around suppertime yesterday (Thursday) that he’d made it home safely. Pa put on around 3500 miles on this trip, and he’s surely been a trouper, considering he’s riding with a dislocated toe and a torn tendon in the bottom of his foot (from a little incident at his rally) - I’m so glad he’s got floorboards!

I got to take his AERO 750 for a ride last Monday, and it was nice bike to ride, but felt sooo very different than my T. That’s the first time I rode a bike with floorboards, and since I’ve been wanting some for my Tourer, Dad said he’d buy the right one for me if I could afford the left one! LOL! It’ll sure make it easier to use my heel/toe shifter if I’ve got boards.

Till next time, folks, please don’t ride faster than your angels can fly…
EclecticDawn

I love it when the birds start coming “home”! Over the past few weeks, our winged Virginia summer residents have been appearing to settle in for the season. The trees are starting to bloom, and spring flowers are showing us little bursts of much-need color after the grey-scale tones of the winter woods.

I was quite tickled to see a bluebird on my birthday last week, and this morning there were three fluttering around by our fence. The robins have been tweetling in the yard for quite awhile now, too. It’s time to make sure all the birdhouses are in order, and break out the hummingbird sugar-water!

I heard the churring of the woodpecker a few days ago, and sure enough, the Pileated has started to drill on our gutter in the mornings again. Thankfully, he only does this rarely, usually he’s out in the trees drilling for bugs. The smaller woodpeckers have been making the rounds, too.

Of course, in between all the bird activity, the Virginia monkeys are leaping from tree to tree. No monkeys in Virginia, you say? HA! Just watch a gang of squirrels flying through the air to land on tiny twigs and chase each other around, and tell me they don’t look like a bunch of little monkeys! They are all carrying around bundles of dried leaves and rebuilding their tree-top nests, and it is fun to watch them scurrying up and down with their building materials.

John and I were out on the deck at around 10:30 PM last night, and the Great Horned Owl and I were hoo-hoo-hooing back and forth for about 20 minutes. He is a year-round resident, but I usually only hear him in the spring, and occasionally in the summer. One of these days I will actually see him instead of just having a conversation through the trees with him! Last year, we heard the beak “clack” that he makes, too. I never knew they did this until I saw this YouTube video:

Spring certainly perks up my mood. Life just seems dismal when it gets cold and everything turns grey in November. John has installed full spectrum lighting in my studio to help keep my serotonin/melatonin levels functioning at their optimum and chase away the winter “blues”. I seriously think they should change that misnomer to “winter greys”, as the color blue, my favorite color, is a happy color, and reminds me of the ocean and summer skies.

We’ve been able to go outside in t-shirts some days, and then the temp dips again, but at least there’s a light at the end of the winter tunnel now…and the end of the tunnel is filled with chirping birds and spring flowers!

Happy Easter, everyone…and until next time, Peaceful Journeys!
EclecticDawn