PhotoStory Friday-Haunted

The curvy, twisting, winding, hilly roads of my past now haunt me. Not because of the memories that lie along the way...not because of the cemeteries we visited...but because the hills, curves, twists and turns of the Ozark Hills in Missouri and Arkansas now make me CAR SICK!!! I NEVER suffered from car sickness in all the years of long road trips along those curves and Ozark Mountains as a child or teenager or since....until the last two trips to Missouri. Now when we are on our way to Missouri, before we even get as far as Batesville, Arkansas enroute my husband takes over driving and says "you may as well go to sleep or you're going to be sick!" So that's what I do and I wake up just before we arrive at my mama's house. How miserable! I have always enjoyed the scenic drive through the Ozark hills and can't even enjoy it the way I once did.


This time when we visited, I found a way to travel my favorite roads and enjoy them once more! We hauled my husband's motorcyle to Missouri with us so we could enjoy riding it while on vacation. We took it all over the country roads along the rivers and guess what!? No headache, no queasiness, nothing! I so enjoyed that cruise from the back of the bike!

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Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

More Photography Misadventures????

Depending on how you look at it, maybe this isn't a good week for me to be out and about taking pictures. Mishaps seem to abound. However, depsite the obstacles I have some photos from both outings I'm happy with!

Most of you will recall the other time this week I went out taking photos I fell. Tonight Marty had agreed we'd take the motorcycle for a ride and I could go take photos then. When we got home we were both very tempted to just stay home and laze in the pool. But it's been a while since we both went riding so we opted to stick to our original plan.

Waiting for my ride.

We headed toward Gruene, TX and along the way I took some sunset pictures from the back of the moving bike.









Just before we reached New Braunfels I convinced Marty to turn around so I could stop and get some photos of the sunset behind a windmill I'd seen.

When I'm less tired I'll be removing some power lines from this photo!

I got my photos, but the bike died. While Marty worked on it I found a nearby field with purple flowers growing in it I'd never seen before. Check those photos out over on my other blog.

Marty ended up having to roll start the bike and was able to get it going again. Instead of going on to Gruene we took a detour he knew of along the river. Before we reached our destination, the bike died again. We've never had problems with his bike and it was sure making up for it tonight! He got it going again and we opted to head back toward home, with one more stop in mind...the coffee shop. He knew he could roll start it again from there if need be. However, we never made it to the coffee shop. The bike died again just as we got back into town and had to be pushed through a busy intersection. He decided to forgo the busy roads with so many traffic lights in case the bike decided to die again, and took a detour. The bike died once more and that was it. We were stranded and although we weren't too far from the shop where he works he knew it was past his boss' bedtime and he wouldn't be able to rouse Frank for help. He debated pushing the bike all the way to the shop and borrowing a truck to get home. He pushed it a little while and decided that was going to be too much. He sat down on the bike racking his brain for which of our friends, if any, might have a trailer.





I think this is my favorite photo of the whole night. If you click on it you should be able to better see the fence line.





He remembered Jim has a trailer and called him. Jim came to our rescue!!! (You can't ask for better friends than those willing to come to your rescue late at night!)





We are home safe and sound and the bike is outside in the shop. Thank you, Jim!!!




Might all this have been worth it for the shots I got? You decide.



As you can tell, it's NEVER a dull moment around here!


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On another note, say a prayer for my cousin Carmen. She's having a mole removed Friday morning that is melanoma.
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Celebrating warm days and birthdays

It was such a beautiful, warm day that when Marty finished the tasks he was working on this morning he came home, washed the bike and we went for a motorcycle ride. I am strictly a fair weather rider and have been waiting for a nice, warm day for a ride. Marty on the other hand has ridden his bike all winter long, except on extreme cold or rainy days. Then he takes my Suburban to work!

It turned out to be the perfect afternoon for a ride. While we were out and about we discovered many who had the same idea we had. There were motorcycles and convertibles with tops down everywhere we went. Meanwhile my family back in Missouri is still covered in ice and very cold. And yes, I rubbed it in how warm we are here...especially to my sister Lacey. :0)

You can just see green starting to peek through the brown here and there.

One of our stops was at Landa Park in New Braunfels. I took my mom here last summer for a day but Marty had never been.

I've never seen a squirrel pose quite like this before. The poor guy was confused. Marty was on one side of the tree and I on the other. He danced around a bit before finally darting straight up the tree.

I was just playing with shutter speeds with the water rushing over the rocks.







We arrived home from our ride in time to celebrate our friend Denise's 35th birthday. Happy Birthday Denise!!!

Katie

Our friends Bill and Denise have 3 daughters: Bethany, Maggie and Katie. Katie was in the nursery at church when I worked in there from the time she was a newborn. I've mentioned before that Katie and I have always shared a special bond, one that probably formed in part due to the amount of time our families spent together when she was a baby, and the fact that she was in my nursery. We all have grown very attached to Katie, and she to us. She cried a lot when she was tiny and we'd all take turns trying to soothe her.





Katie recently graduated from the nursery when she turned 4 in August. I left the nursery to work full time in the church office last January. Recently I began working in the nursery again, only on Wednesday nights, temporarily. When Katie saw me in the nursery again she cried and cried to come back to the nursery, saying "I'm not a big girl yet, I'm still little and I need to be in the nursery."





Katie also adores Mr. Marty. And she has always loved his "martycycle." She has been fascinated with motorcycles since she was very little. A couple of years ago when we watched the 4th of July parade with Katie she was most impressed with the motorcycle cops!

I've posted before about a motorcycle I bought, then sold soon after. When I first bought the motorcycle, Bill and Denise and the girls were over so we took Katie out to see the bike.





Katie on Mr. Marty's bike. The only cute female I'll let sit on Marty's bike!

Katie on my bike.

"Where's the key Mr. Marty?"

"Turn it on."

View from the Motorcycle

These are just more pictures taken during Friday night's ride to San Antonio.

Another Great Night for Riding

Marty worked all day and planned to work until dark on a friend's barn. I tried to talk him into knocking off early but he said he had to get it done and not to count on seeing him until after dark. He agreed we'd go riding again when he did get home. I had a full day so was so busy I didn't have time to dwell on his long day. I picked up my friend Paula so we could go shopping for some supplies for our Sunday School class. Later in the afternoon I dropped her back off at home and headed to the bowling alley to wish Mathew a Happy 16th Birthday. Afterward I came home and took a quick nap before getting ready to go out with Marty for dinner. When I woke he was already home! He did knock off early! We decided even though we were tired we still wanted to go for another ride while the evenings are still so nice. We got a later start than yesterday so we missed any spectacular sky that may have been visible. However, apparently we also missed some rain for as we headed toward town we splashed through some wet pavement. I was a little nervous about my camera in case it rained more. But I needn't have worried because we saw no rain.

This weekend made me realize how much I'd missed riding with Marty. We just seldom take the bike when we go anywhere anymore. He rides every single day, as the bike is his mode of tranpsortation to and from work. When we go places, it's typically all three of us so we take my suburban. I guess Marty and I just don't go by ourselves much!

As we were cruising around tonight I began to remember when we were dating and would ride together all the time in and around Phoenix, Arizona. Back then he had a 1985 Kawasaki Vulcan 750 (or 700???). He bought it in 1990, a few weeks before he bought my engagement ring. After he bought it he used to pick me up at the mall where I worked every day so I wouldn't have to ride the bus. There were many late night rides like we've taken this weekend, just out enjoying the ride and enjoying the nice weather. I remember one occasion we were on that bike off and on all day, for a total of 11 hours. We rode from Phoenix up to Mt. Pleasant to the lake and then back again and headed to Metro Center to play at Golf & Stuff. Then we cruised up Central Ave. to South Mountain to look at the stars and the city lights from above the city. From there is the most beautiful view of "the Valley of the Sun." I don't have any pictures I've taken from up there at night, but it is awesome! The ride up was a little hair-raising with the twists and turns up the mountain with cars tailgating right behind us. We didn't have that bike long before it was stolen, never to be found again. He was without a motorcylce from then until 2002 when he bought the Vulcan he now drives. When Heather graduates and we get out of debt he wants to buy a cruiser like a Goldwing. Someday....

PERFECT Night for a Ride

There was no football game tonight, Heather was babysitting and Marty had planned to work on a friend's barn. I had only an evening to myself to look forward to, and wasn't too excited about it. I called Marty when I got home from work to see if he was still planning to work. He said no, he was headed to the car wash to clean up the motorcycle then coming home to shower and change and take me for a ride! My evening was looking up!



















It was the perfect night for a ride. It was not too hot, but not cold at all. The sky was BEAUTIFUL as the sun set! We took our time and headed to San Antonio via backroads to dine on shrimp at our favorite shrimp house, Sea Island. On the way, Marty stopped frequently so I could take a few pictures of the setting sun without the blurriness caused from the bumpy road. I can't remember having ever enjoyed a bike ride more than this!

Taken as we first headed out.

Zoom in on that one and I have an unplanned self-portrait! Look Ma...No hands!!!

Normally I am more comfortable having something to hold on to when riding and normally it's Marty's belt loops I thread my fingers through. But, I couldn't very well take pictures as we cruised along if I was holding on. So, I let go with my hands so I could operate the camera. Marty was wondering what passengers in passing cars thought of this goofball riding along on the back of a bike, aiming a camera at everything in site!

The sky really was spectacular!

We pulled off to the side of the road near McQueeney to just watch the sun set and take pictures as it did.

As we waited at the restaurant for a table I spotted our pastor's wife Reva inside. We ended up joining she and Mitch at their table and chatting with them through dinner. Afterward Marty and I cruised over to Starbucks for coffee and sat in the parking lot enjoying the nice evening air. As we sat, our friends Bill and Denise drove up and never even saw us. They were also on a date and are who Heather was babysitting for. I called them and gave them a hard time for being stuck up as they drove right by us. They came out and chatted with us for a little while and we finished our coffee and decided to cruise around some more and then headed home.

So, my Friday night without football turned out to be a very enjoyable evening! When can I go riding again???