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...So my account may
be a little rough, remember I was sober for 99% of it!
I arrived in Memphis on Thursday morning after an all night flight
and took a taxi to the campground that was directly across the
street from Graceland. What a site, you could see Elvis’s
airplane the Lisa Marie from our campsite.
The gang greeted me with open arms, or could you say recycled
white plates with "Lisa Jesus loves you" written on them.
What a warm welcome. I knew the trip was going to be memorable
after that.
Soon after my arrival we were off for a day of driving. I think
we must have gone 700 miles that day. We camped that night in
Cleveland TN. From out campsite we could see the lights or illuminated
building that was the Fireworks Superstore!!!
No worries though, Susan did not slow down enough for us to jump
out if we wanted too.
This is a very blurry
pix of a Tennessee Fireworks Emporium. The two buildings that
are lit up (neon) are the actual store. Not a bad pix for the
middle of the night 80mph!
The next morning we were headed to Suches.
This will be my first visit to the grits and I could hardly wait…
When we were making
the descent into Suches, (those of you who have driven this understand
what I mean by descent), we were passed by several YSR’s
out for a Friday ride.
We headed straight to the lodge where we met Britt and GT.
So far the trip was playing out exactly as it was described to
me.
We headed to the airport to get the best spot possible and one
of two electrical hookups at the site. Once the motor home stopped
and the doors opened we were greeted by riders and friends some
old and some new. Every person I met was thrilled to see the
Team Calamari gang again and to meet me for the first time. We
got all set up and decided to ride over to the lodge for dinner.
What a meal! The gang at TWO really knows how to take care of
you.
Day two in Suches:
We woke up that morning and decided to take a ride and check
out the bikes. We were off! I have never done much traveling,
so I had no idea what to expect of Georgia. I must say the roads
are unlike any I have ridden on before.
They were fantastic,
smooth and constantly changing direction.
Dinner
on Saturday was definitely an event. The lodge was packed and
everyone was having a great time. Did I mention that Suches
is a DRY county? Dinner consisted of Chili and lots of water.
Man that chili was hot! The band arrived soon after dinner
was over and the evening was just perfect.
We had kept a pretty close tab on the weather channel due to
rain in the forecast, but on Saturday evening we were convinced
we would make it through the Race on Sunday before the rain hit…..
Day three in Suches: (Man were we wrong)
There is a good reason none of us are meteorologists…….
About 3 am we woke up to the sound of rain hitting the top of
the motor home and the wind gently rocking us. Needless to say
this was not comforting at all. By the time the coffee started
brewing at 6am it was really coming down and there did not look
to be an end in site. We briefly entertained the idea of pulling
out of the race but we all decided we were not traveling this
far to not race. Heck what was wrong with a little rain????
We all lined up on main street in front of the
lodge and the race got underway. Did I mention it was raining?
Before the first checkpoint we had some hail and definitely
some more rain. We decided at that first checkpoint that we
were all going to go for it. No way were we turning back now!
Off we went! Susan took off to really show us she is still
#1 or should we say the Galaxy Champion? The rest of us stayed
together to make sure we were all safe and everyone finished
the race. We had a little break in the weather after the second
check point which was nice to open the bikes up and take off
a bit. It did not last for long and before we knew it the rain
had started again. After 60 miles in the rain we were all getting
pretty cold and tired so we split up and just headed for the
finish line.
Man was I happy to see the Suches
sign when I was entering town!!!! When we got our last signature
on our time sheets we parked the bikes and headed inside to try
and warm up. Susan looked like she had been there all day….
Dry, drinking a cup of hot coffee and thoroughly enjoying herself!!!
Whatever! Did I mention Suches is a DRY county? Hot chocolate
or coffee for everyone, trophy’s and we were off to load
up and head out.
Memphis:
Margaret and I took the tour of Graceland and thanks to AAA we
even got a discount.
The tour was great
I really do not remember that much about Elvis but I felt like
I needed to go get one of his cd’s when we were finished.
I cannot remember ever seeing that much shag carpet in one location!
Beale Street was next on our list of places to
visit. (Finally BEER) Dinner at the Blues city café
was awesome those were some of the best ribs ever.
Of course after dinner
there was plenty of time for shopping and we were even able to
take a river front tour. I was sorry to leave Memphis but we
had to get on the road first thing in the morning.
Okalahoma City
Since I was not with the gang for the stop on the way to GA I
did not get to se Beau, but we were able to stop on the way home
and walk through the OKC Memorial.
I am still at a loss
for words to describe how I felt when I walked thought the arches
and was standing in front of all of the chairs for the first
time. None of us really spoke we just walked around and took
it all in. The gang was nice enough to let me take the tour
which was about an hour.
I was not really sure
what to expect but without dragging this portion of my story
out I will just say it was put together beautifully and I was
extremely happy that I took the time and walked through it.
You do not have any idea other than what you see on TV or what
you read in the paper what actually happened on that day and
how many lives were affected. I smiled, cried but most of all
I thought about the people who had lost their lives, parents,
and children on that day. I will never forget our time there.
Texas
Amarillo Texas…….. MMMM what can I say other than if
you are ever there you have to stop at the Big Texan for a delicate
72oz steak…..
Make sure you order
it rare!!!
Margaret and I decided
we would try to eat the steak, potato, salad, roll and shrimp
cocktail.
The deal is if you can
finish all the food mentioned in less than an hour it is free.
I was sure we would
both make it happen. At the half way point we were well on our
way but the meat was like leather at this point and I could not
chew anymore.
We both accepted defeat
but after finishing 59oz and 47oz respectively I did not think
we did to bad after all that is a lot of food.
Arizona
More BEER!!!! After the drive into AZ and the wind, I can only
say how thankful I was that the camp office had Newcastle for
sale in the large bottles!
Home
We made the final haul on Halloween and arrived in Salinas by
9pm on Friday night. We were all quite happy to be home and
thankful to Susan and Rose for all the driving and only having
one casualty on the entire trip. (Poor birdie)
I am happy to say that my first trip to the grits left me planning
for next year! I cannot wait to make the journey in "04.
Thanks again to Susan and Rose for everything!
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