Early Spring

Saturday was one of those early spring days that just wink and beckon you to enjoy. Sunshine, temps in the low 80's, and lots of people on the roads enjoying the good weather. Actually lots of motorcycles on the roads -- it was the beginning of Daytona Bike Week. Gayle and I rode out to see some of the hoo-haa and enjoy the day together. We took I-4 east and got in to Daytona around 9:30 AM. I had counted about 50 bikes on the road and when we got in to the city stopped the count. There had to be thousands (tens of thousands?) of motorcycles on the roads, parked along the roads, stopped at restaurants, and gassing up at the corner stations. We guessed that the median age of the crowd was about 50. The good weather surely drew many of the locals out on their bikes, but we saw license plates from all over -- Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Connecticut... You get the idea. There didn't seem to be much of a recession going on yesterday! And most of the bikes use premium gas.

We first stopped for about an hour at the Daytona International Speedway. The north parking lot was filled with displays by the major motorcycle manufacturers and you could take test rides around the Speedway on the latest models...we didn't. We then rode down Main Street, lined solid already at 10:30 AM with parked motorcycles and people walking around savoring the moment. The moment seemed to be heavily flavored with leather, head scarves, and tattoos. Gayle thought briefly about a tat but then decided not. Hah!
After the Main Street excursion we went north on A1A past Ormond Beach and then circled back on the Ormond loop. It's a 20 mile jaunt along the Halifax River that takes you along the Atlantic and then back through a two lane Live Oak canopied road that is simply a joy to ride through. Several state parks are along this route and the land is mostly wild yet.

We then went up US 1 to where the road intersects I-95; there is a huge collection of motorcycle oriented businesses there, anchored by a large Harley Davidson showroom and J & P Cycles merchandise showroom. Plus vendors galore, there especially for the Bike Week crowd. We walked the shops, ate some lunch, did some people watching. I think that for some, the biker thing is sort of an alter ego and the way they dress (or so) shows what altar they are kneeling before. Interesting, very interesting. There did not seem to be a recession on at that place. And they had something for everyone...and everyone's pet.

We took a scenic route home toward Orlando. We did hop on the tollway once into greater Orlando -- it's a much quicker route home, and on a warm day sitting at a traffic light and moving slowly with many other vehicles just didn't appeal to us. About 7 hours and 190 miles, and glad to be safely home again.

Today a front went through -- a tiny bit of rain and the temps dropped from 69 to 51 degrees in about 30 minutes. The sun is shining again but it's the mid-50's, breezy, and will be cold for the next two nights, with temps in the 40 degree range. I know -- that's nothing to you Northerners, and you'd take 40 for a high! I'm not complaining, but I do wish I had bought that neck gaiter I saw on the rack yesterday. The morning ride will be chilly tomorrow!

Cause and Effect

A couple of weeks ago GB and I went for an afternoon ride to the Orange County Convention Center to see the annual home show. We enjoyed a couple of hours walking around and checking out the displays. Lots of green energy conservation approaches to home ownership...and the cooking / food / knives / cookware venues. We did buy some arch supports for GB; she loves 'em! We also got a set of Egyptian cotton 400 thread count sheets (one fitted) with 4 pillow cases for $20. And we have an appointment with the Andersen window folks to see about a replacement slider for our great room. It was a hot afternoon and when we got home GB saw that she had melted the sole of her shoe on the muffler. The foot peg, which is right above the muffler, had been feeling warm for GB but this was too much. I ordered some passenger floorboards and installed them last night. I think they will do the trick, give GB comfort and more freedom of movement on the bike. And they look good! The same week-end I had gone on a 190 mile trip with Verne. He does the scoring for the Florida CMA Bible Quiz meets. The first one was at Dunellon - we rode up the Florida Turnpike to I-75, north 12 miles, and then west for about 20 miles. I had my E-Pass transponder tied to my handlebars but it didn't work. Hope I don't end up with a ticket for running through the toll booth. Turned out that the battery was low, so I got that fixed, but I wanted something that was a bit more convenient than shoestrings on the handlebars. I found a leather windshield bag that was reasonably priced and - amazingly - made in the good ol' USA. I installed that tonight. Both the floorboards and the leather bag were well made and had everything to easily install them. So now I have cooler feet for GB and a nice little place for my transponder, garage door opener, sunglasses, etc. I did have one weird thing while I was installing the floorboards. I had opened the locked door that hides the tool kit and must have done something to the key, because this morning when I was ready to go to school, I couldn't get the key to turn the ignition on. I had to call GB, who had just left, and she turned around, picked me up, and took me to school. I hustled home this afternoon and tried to get a replacement key for the bike, but the locksmith didn't have the proper blank. I asked him to try to straighten the key, which he did. Now it works again. Go figure! I think I will have a second key made however. Just in case...

Plants and Fun

We had another one of those "long/short" weeks...stuffing a great deal of activity into the days God gives us. Tuesday evening we had our annual Open House for parents at The Christ School, so GB and I commuted together, had supper on campus, and got home after the open house program around 9 PM. We gave two 25 minute presentations about what we do during the day to parents and used our technology. TCS is gradually converting all classrooms to high tech -- Audio Enhancement and Smart Boards. Parents are impressed; it's fun stuff and meets the kids where they are technologically. These are not silver bullets, but do bring the internet, PowerPoint presentations, and electronic versions of their texts to the front of the room via a digital projector. Our school head, Dr. Powell, highlighted these things at the whole group meeting that began our open house and noted that because of the cost per classroom ($4,250) we were gradually incorporating the technology. He invited casually invited parents who wanted this for their child's classroom to write a check and then moved on. Three parents did just that! So now, three more classrooms can get the new stuff. We have amazingly generous parents!
Friday evening we were treated to dinner by our friends Steve and Pat. We went to the Hawk's Nest at the Marriott down by Disney. We got there at 7:45 and didn't leave until 10:30! One of those relaxing, enjoy the courses as they come, talk all the time meals. The down side was I didn't eat again until 1:30 Saturday afternoon! Saturday evening we had my co-fifth grade teacher, Kathy, and her mom over for supper. Fun as usual with them; they are both good friends.
We are helping with the TCS golf tournament on Monday -- have to be at the Orange National Golf Center by 6 AM. GB and I will hand out goody bags to the golfers and then I get to use the school's new Nikon D40 (with a 55-200 mm lens!) to take picture of the golfers. I ride around in a golf cart all morning and shoot 'em up! We had to do the usual lesson plans for subs, but it is fun to be able to help the school.

We had a surprise yesterday; our Angel Trumpet has a flower! It is starting to set it's roots and grow. Our pampas grass is in full flower also; it looks rather jungle-like with the Rangoon Creeper in the foreground and one of our fishtail palms on the left. The plants are doing what I had hoped -- creating a green barrier between our back yard and busy Michigan Street. By the way, the water in the retention pond behind our house is going down nicely; just a foot or so of water left for the frogs and water bugs. I've also included a picture of the spectacular influorescence of one of our bromeliads -- it an aechmea blanchetiana. This is one of the few bromeliads that does well in full sun and is at the corner of the house by the deck in the back yard.
Just before Labor Day I traded in my Suzuki for a Kawasaki. I had been looking for something a bit larger and found a 2007 bike at the Harley-Davidson store. They like getting rid of the metric trade-in bikes so the price was right, and it only had 827 miles on it! It is about 125 pounds heavier than the old bike and a 1600 cc engine, so it has enough power to get down the road with both of us on it. It is very quiet--I do not like loud bikes!We've gone out together several times and enjoyed the ride, and I've been commuting to school on it just like I've done for the past year. It came ready equipped for touring with a windshield, passenger back rest, and saddlebags. We hope to take some longer day trips when the weather cools a little. Yes, we always wear our helmets!