Asbury Picnic 07.31.2009

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She Missed Me

As soon as I rolled my old butt out of the Black Granny, I looked up to see Bree running through the yard at me. She was splashing the whole way. (Yard was wet from all the rain)

Now that's excitement to see me.
I can't blame her. I'd be as excited to see me too.
Today we:

-Grew three more buggers from her kit

-Wrote "Frank The Bugger Bee" together

-Played with princess toys (not really my favorite thing to do)

-Built mansions with legos
-Watched some whacky game shows on tv

***

It's Always Rough On The Course For Me

The look on my face says it all.

***

Snow Blowers

In preparation for the upcoming winter, Wildman forwarded me a link to a dude that was selling a couple of snow blowers.
$25.00 each. Not bad. It sure was interesting to go down the road with them both hanging out of the back of the Black Granny.

I also have a line on a nice one that I can get supposedly for free from Bruce (great golfer and coworker). I'm hoping I am prepared. Last winter sucked with all the times I had to shovel.

***

Soaked

Dudick asked on Friday if I could gather some people for the weekend. He had a hankerin' for some golf.

So Wildman, Dudick, and I were all going to do 9 holes at Gospel Hill.
It was raining pretty hard when we got there, so we sat in the clubhouse and had a beer until the rain passed.

Well. We tried to golf. But the rain just wouldn't stop. Only made it two holes.
Cool thing was that they gave us rain checks for 9 holes some other time. Pretty nice of them.
While sitting in the clubhouse totally soaked, and having another beer...Dudick said that it was a pretty stupid idea.
I hope he remembers that he is the one who came up with the idea.

{REFERENCE HERE for another totally wet day}

Kayaking At The Isle

Out in Misery Bay.
Tree & Bree got into their own kayak. They were two kayaking party chicks.
...Oh, and I was there looking like a dork. Confused with the paddles.

But I have decided that my new thing for this year is kayaking.

Theresa inspired me!
(2004 was motorcycling and building a shed, 2005 was finishing the shed and buying the new Trumper, 2006 was hiking, 2007 was looking for a new job, 2008 was golf, and 2009 will be kayaking.)

A Day To Remember

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Z Park

Bree and I hung out at the park. It was one we hadn't been to before, and I was excited to see what it was like. The had an awesome vintage-looking curly slide that she was seriously into. (She's a hardcore slider.)
There is also a sweet wooden jungle gym thingie with a slide. She seemed to split her sliding time evenly between the curly slide and this one. Even I went down this one, and almost shot off onto my butt in the dirt.

The swings are a must at any park.
She was blazing-fast as this picture depicts.

There are a lot of felled trees, and new baby ones planted. She wanted a picture next to one of the trees that had been taken down.
The roots were all covered with buggers, and she started talking about Frank The Bugger Bee.
(I'll have to fill people in sometime soon about Frank The Bugger Bee.)

***

RAOTM

I spent the day in Pittsburgh today, at the Rockwell Automation On The Move event.

I think it would have been more productive to stay at work.
The only thing worth anything was the free lunch.
Oh well....

Asbury Park

Tree treated her little girl and I to some Chinese eats at the park.

A lovely idea!
We made our picnic at the gazebo in the park.
In our haste to beat the rain, we rushed to the park, without any utensils.
So I watched Bree alternately play and eat (we had one spoon somehow) while Tree went to get utensils.
I didn't want to wait, and ate 90 percent of my Chinese food with my fingers.
(I'm a man..and men don't need trivial things like eating utensils and showers.)

While the eating and playing was going on, some odd tribe of yokals came and brought their accordion and drum. They started jamming out with their accordion, banging this odd bongo-thing, and yelling at each other about what type of pizzas they were going to order.
Hmmm. They went to a gazebo to have a bongo-accordion-pizza party.
Them party animals.
Later, we walked a trail for a bit. I acted like a monster and chased Bree, only to have her turn around and chase me. Total badass indeed!
A very nice picnic.

2nd Par On Hole 7

I had another par on hole 7, and almost a par on hole 9 again.

I know, almost means I didn't make it. But one over is close enough to be proud.
Afterwards, I took a coworker,  home to Avonia.
I got lost and drove around the lake for close to an hour before some dude with a light bar (par ranger or something?) finally pointed out the way home.
Then I picked up Bree from daycare and slept on Tree's couch.
I went upstairs later and slept.
Sometime around 2(?) she came home and I woke up next to her.
That was nice.
***

John Amato Is King

His talent is legendary. His hard work and determination is probably unmatched.

This is the newest shirt I purchased from http://jupmode.com/.

Thanks, John.

Don't be jealous, people. You all can look this good. But you need to buy some shirts to do it.

Head on over to the site and go crazy with it.
***

Roar 2009

Roar '09

Well, it was an awesome weekend!Completely filled with motorcycles and time spent with my girls. An awesome combo!
Roar started on Thursday with a big bang. A huge parade that was filled with over 1000 motorcycles. The ground shook when they went by, and some people were plugging their ears.
The grand Marshall of the parade was Brett Michaels, of 'Rock Of Love' fame. Women were going crazy over that guy, for some reason.
After the parade, Theresa and Bree showed up and later on so did Wildman. We all hung out and scoped some cool bikes. Thousands of them. It was like a biker's wet dream.
Friday, the weather kind of stunk, and almost nobody brought their bikes. Even I am guilty of that, but I am not ashamed. Two thunderstorms rolled through while Wildman and I walked about. (Prior to that, Tree and Bree hung out for a bit.)
Saturday, the weather was awesome again, and another parade filled the streets, this time with Arlen Ness leading the way. Once again there were thousands of bikes. Bree was hanging with her grandma, so it was just Theresa and I during the day. We scoped out bikes, and then went for a ride around Presque Isle on the trusty Bonnie. It made her butt hurt.
After she went off to work, I went back down with Wildman, and we basked in the glory of the bikes.
Today Theresa and I drove downtown to see if anything was left from the event. A few booths were still there, and so was the sign that draped across State Street. A few bikes. But that was it, except for a lot of trash blowing around the downtown square. Cleanup crews should be busy for quite some time.
So knowing that nothing was happening downtown now that the event was over, we went to Presque Isle and walked. I got to see the Perry Monument for the first time. (I have been the Isle a bunch of times and never saw it.)
Overall, it was an incredible event. My little review here isn't going to do it enough justice, as I am trying to be brief about it. But it was something I will recall for many years.
Below are pictures from the weekend that are not in any order.

We rode the Bonnie for the first time!
Made her tookis hurt, but I hope she enjoyed it before that.

The girls on the Bonnie on the first night of the event.
Bree had sticky hands and touched all over the tank. It took a half hour to get those sticky palm prints off of it the next day.

Rock Of Love, Baby!
Here is Brett taking the stage at the casino in Erie. This is prior to the parade.
I wasn't there for this, but Theresa was. She snapped pics, of course.

Me standing next to a billboard of Brett. Not sure why I wanted to have my picture taken next to this.

Brett's signature on the tank of the bike he rode in the parade.
I think the other signatures are from his 'people'.

2009 Yamaha Vmax!
The KING of muscle bikes in its modern iteration.

A second generation Vmax with only a little over 2,000 miles on it. This is very similar to mine, although it is in much nicer shape. Mine would be too, if it had never been ridden either. But mine has been used for FUN, and this guy obviously never rides.

A chopper modeled after Tony Montana from the 80's movie Scarface. Notice that the exhaust is actually a machine gun. Pretty sweet.

Beautiful Bonneville 750. This one came out some time after the 650, which is probably the most legendary of all Triumph motorcycles. This is one awesome specimen, though. Pretty lines on this machine!

I'm not sure what model of bike this is, but it sure was original.

I bet it sure gets a few stares when going down the road.
Is it legal to ride this in all fifty states?

A Can Am three wheeled motorcycle. The two wheels are in the front, which makes this trike pretty sweet.
***
I'm so happy I was able to make it to this event, and even more excited that I made it to all three days. Each day had its own feeling, and memories made from it.
I simply can't wait until next year.

Grumpy

This morning I asked Dudick how he was doing.
His reply was that he didn't understand the question.
He then asked if I meant his state of mind, or his health.
When I started to answer, he walked away.
An example of classic Dudick.

i took a nice ride today, but i was a bit shaky.
not sure why.
therefore, i kept it to about 20 miles.
tomorrow is bike cleaning day. you know why? because i need to prep it for the roar on the shore!
reference: http://www.roarontheshore.com/

Happy birthday, Bryanna!
It's the big three!
***

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a few from the 4th

yes, we all wore the same shirt.

we are cheesy.

Motorcycle Chronicles: Girard and Edinboro, PA

I rode into Girard on Monday.
It cleared my thoughts to an extent.
However, riding has failed lately to relieve me like it once did.
It took a lot of effort to get on the bike.
It was a beautiful ride, though, and afterwards I got the chance to stop by Tree's and have Bree sit on my bike. She put foot prints on the tank, but I haven't wiped them off yet. I kind of like them there.
And today, I rode out into Edinboro. Talk about a dead town. The college is as dinky as Kent's Trumbull Campus, and everyone appears to wander around aimlessly.
I rode around after reaching that town, and doubled back to get home. Today's ride was long and chilly...over 100 miles.
My butt hurts a bit. I'm just not used to riding anymore.
***
Bree's grandmother is still in town. Not the best feeling, but hey...the facts need faced so it's good it is happening now and not years down the road.
I found out as I was leaving work that Tree was going to hang with her. So I went for the ride, and was only home for....I don't know...ten minutes maybe...and she randomly shows up at my place for hairspray.

Weird.
We'll see where this grandma and daddy thing goes. It seems like grandma must not have a job or something, because she obviously is not in a rush to get back home.
*****

Another Par

Par 3 on hole 7.
The rest of the game stunk, but the par made up for it.
***
After golf, I took Bree for a bike ride around the block. A dude on a purple ladies' bike with a car seat. Extra nice.

salty but good

bree dug "mustache pizza" as she calls it.

though it made me thirsty for hours, it is now my favie in buffalo.

merely because of bree's name for it.

***

p.s.: bree's grandmother from her dad's side came up from my favorite state of texas to see her.

it was a random, and unpleasant surprise for me. i stayed completely out of it, because i thought that would be best.

but the fact remains that i am only paul, and never any more.

***

p.s. #2: tree is on third shift starting the 10th. i'm the number one stand-in for bree. i'm nervous, but excited. it's a love/hate relationship that we have....but i truly love her.

in case people hadn't figured that out yet.

The Falls

The three of us went to the Canadian side of the falls, and it was awesome.
Tree brought her 20-Million zoom lens, and clicked several excellent shots of the infamous horseshoe.
Downtown wasn't quite what I expected. In some ways it was less, but in others it was more.
It has all the hustle and bustle that is hallmark of tourist cities, with the addition of the nicest people. Everyone, with exception of many tourists, was incredibly polite.

Bree enjoyed herself immensely. She came with a truckload of smiles, a ton of attitude, and some stored up shaking of her "bootie butt" that she unleashed on Canada throughout the day.

Aside from being a chicken of the heights, I was able to enjoy the view. We even walked across the falls to the American side to check out that view too. Then we walked right on back.
I can say I straddled an international boundary, for the split second my legs crossed over it at least!

We enjoyed ourselves!
(Even with wind-blown hair and the sun in our eyes we make a great looking family.)