Motorcycle Safety Course
This weekend I retook the MSF Basic RiderCourse in order to regain my motorcycle license endorsement here in California. As usual the class was good.
However, I found two things amusing:
1.) On day two, an instructor came roaring up on his bike cursing. Turns out he was struck in the face by a rock on his way there. Guess that half helmet didn't offer much protection – safety first.
2.) The other instructor was unable to successfully demonstrate the two u-turns in a box exercise without crossing the box boundaries – good way to set everyone up for failure.
Kevin Skinner: Mediocre Talent at Best
Kevin Skinner sings Garth Brooks's songs better than Garth Brooks. I think not. On my commute home a local radio D.J. made this assertion about America’s Got Talent winner Kevin Skinner. Nobody, I repeat, nobody, sings Garth Brooks better than Garth Brooks. Period. And, I will bet my Yukon, OK, acquired cowboy boots on this.
Virginia to Oklahoma
After carefully packing the ReloCube for its cross-country trip, Kevin and I departed Radford, VA, destined for Charleston, SC, with the Jeep Wrangler packed to the roof.
As expected, Charleston proved to be hot and humid. We stayed with Kevin's friend Alaina and her roommate Erin, and of course Brutus; Brutus is a dog, a shih-poo to be exact.
We ate dinner at Bambu, where Kevin got the live entertainment to play Garth Brooks, and I had a great vodka infused sweet tea cocktail. The food and service were great.
Pickles enjoyed both the company and dinner as well.
Next stop, Savannah, GA, for a quick tour. After feeding a parking meter an hour's worth of change, we walked around for a solid 10 minutes before deciding the car's air conditioning was more desirable. We did manage to fit in a quick walk along the river where Kevin embraced the pub.
Next stop:
In Carrollton, GA, we visited Kevin's friend from graduate school, Joe. Joe works -- and lives -- at The University of West Georgia as a residential life person, so we got to stay in a deserted dorm. Carrollton is a very nice small town with a wonderful, updated, central downtown with shops and restaurants. We decided to share a bottle of wine at a wine bar while three frats guys picked a fight with a drunk guy. We watched with ho-hom interest.
Since we were only 4 hours from my grandmother's house, we decided to alter our route and head to Chipley, FL. Granny was excited by the surprise visit and posed with Pickles for a picture.
We stopped at a rest area somewhere in Florida that had an old Blue Angels plane on display.
This same rest area had a sweet drive-thru, motion activated windshield washer station. There should have been a stern warning, however, about backing up and pulling forward several times because I nearly collided with the guardrail due to my enthusiasm.
The next stop on our journey was New Orleans, LA, to visit Kevin's friend Julia. Upon arrival I was immediately intimidated by the scary neighborhood and refused to leave the car. The shopping cart in the middle of the road didn't help ease my fears, but it did warn of a huge hole big enough to swallow a car.
Since we have both been to New Orleans several times, we decided to mix it up and go on a plantation tour. Word to the wise: research your plantation tour prior to setting off; the GPS is not always the best source of information.
Plantation tour FAIL #1:
Plantation tour FAIL #2:
After the failed plantation tour, I decided to feed elephants.
And then I rode a horse.
Finally, a gunshow before dinner.
For dinner, we got all gussied up and headed to Arnaud's. Before leaving Julia's house we got a nice drug dealer in a motorized wheelchair named Charles to take our picture. Sadly, it wasn't taken on my camera so all I can offer is an after dinner photo.
Next stop Norman, OK, to visit Kevin's parents. The trip from New Orleans to Norman took 13 hours, and is mainly a big blur. But we did pick up an alligator head somewhere in Louisiana.
When in Oklahoma dress like an Oklahoman. Seems logical to me, so we headed to the western store in Yukon, OK, located on Garth Brooks Blvd. to pickup some boots.
My boots:
Kevin's boots, along with his mother, Molly, and Pickles:
The next day we had lunch at Toby Keith's restaurant in Oklahoma City. I believe everyone at the table got some form of chicken fried steak.
The decor of the restaurant was decidedly country music themed, and even included a sparkly saddle, which served as a disco ball.
On the way back to Norman we stopped at Toby Keith's residence for a picture. Admittedly we couldn't get too close -- given the guard dogs and all.
Yee-haw ya'll!
That makes 8 days and 2,300 miles, and we are only half way to San Diego, CA.
Relocation Road Trip!
Next Saturday, August 1st, Kevin and I are departing good ol' Southwest Virginia for San Diego, CA. The selected route is somewhat indirect at nearly 3,500 miles, but it should prove to be a great road trip.
- Radford, VA to Charleston, SC (370 miles)
- Charleston, SC to Savannah, GA (107 miles)
- Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA (249 miles)
- Atlanta, GA to New Orleans, LA (470 miles)
- New Orleans, LA to Norman, OK (707 miles)
- Norman, OK to Santa Fe, NM (555 miles)
- Santa Fe, NM to Grand Canyon, AZ (470 miles)
- Grand Canyon, AZ to San Diego, CA (553 miles)
Miracle Diet: Small Spoons
A recent trip to Sam’s Club got me thinking. Most diets require you to change your eating habits. Instead, what if the utensils were all that changed?
Sheetz Worker Backtalk
The following conversation took place while attempting to purchase a large coffee with my debit card.
Worker: Card unknown. Let me try another way.
Me: Yeah, it’s starting to wear out.
Worker: Either that or you are so far in debt it can’t keep up.
Me: It’s debit.
Worker: OK, there it goes.
There’s nothing like being insulted by an incompetent Sheetz worker -- with dripping, infected piercing wounds -- that can’t even properly swipe a card before your morning coffee.
Letters to the Editor of Oklahoma Today
While in San Diego I picked up a copy of Oklahoma Today and was humored by the letters to the editor regarding the previous issue’s coverage of Oklahoma’s contributions to rock and roll.
Between whipper-snappers and rock and roll, Oklahoma is setting itself up for an epic FAIL.
Runnin’ With the Devil
I received the “State of Rock” edition of the magazine Friday, and it’s already in the bottom of my trash can.
I know money and green and power is what rules the lives of some people now. But couldn’t you just think of the damage it’s doing to our young people? It’s people and shows with the filth and degrading dress and tattoos and atmosphere that seem to have more of Satan’s influence than God’s righteousness and decency. Satan already has this bunch in your mag – if they don’t change. But please encourage things that are good, for all of us!
Mary Jane Ross
Dewey, OK
Please Recycle
I can’t believe you wasted a whole issue of Oklahoma Today on rock and roll (May/June 2009). For the first time, I would not want to pass it on to my grandchildren to see. I threw it away. Not all of us think rock music is an asset to our society or our state.
Joan Naylor
Edmond, OK
Fourth of July: red, white, blue, and glitter
Kevin had a small get together at his place to celebrate our independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. To brighten up the place, we prepared a few festive decorations.
Here, I sum up what Uncle Bob told me 2 years ago after having a few too many.
Kevin went with a more traditional message.
Being eco-conscience, we decided to reuse this St. Patrick's day hat by applying cleverly placed glitter.
Here, we used common blue balloons to let our guests know where the party was located. After all, ambiguity can kill the mood.
What do you do with a few left over balloons and fringe? Well, you fashion up an active art installation.
However, just remember common household items such as trash bags can be used as balloons in a pinch (glitter is not required, but desired).
To maximize space for the guests, Kevin decided to reduce the width of the easel using a common household saw.
To complete the theme, a red, white and blue cake was whipped together.
The evening was a success and ended with a lovely display of fireworks.
Flickr photostream
Twitter Feed
- Lovely: "Too many table names in the query. The maximum allowable is 50."
- Great run through @balboapark with @runwithgreg. Now time for some steak!
- Just ordered an Apple TV. It's the cheapest thing I've ever purchased from Apple. #fb
- Having a personality like a potted cactus is not a good thing.