How come I don't have anything to complain about

It's Friday night, it's 10:45 pm, I found out a few hours ago that my girlfriends, (GF)sisters husband was run down while riding his bicycle and is hanging on in the hospital with broken ribs, a broken back (not Paralyzed), brain swelling, lots of fractures and cuts, scraps bruises... but he's still alive and they think he's going to make it... scary@! I just returned from my trip and we didn't have any problems... I think about all the things that could have gone wrong and none did. Here he is, just riding to work and he's run down by a person not paying attention.

Now, my GF's, brothers, wife is VERY religious. She's got all her friends praying for Jeff. They're talking about it all... God is great, God is going to save him, God has a plan for life... How come GOD didn't smack that driver on the back of the head when he was looking down trying to figure out where he was going and say " look you dumb FUCK, You're about to Run down a really good guy!! LOOK UP!! " If there was a God, don't you think he would pay attention and protect the good people! It's like the war zone on the other side of the Bay, They're killing people for 10 bucks!! They're killing people because they're walking down the street!! I'm trying to figure out what Gods plan is for that!

Anyway, what I started to say was that with all this "stuff" going on. I'm sitting here.. feeling OK. You see, I thought my Mother was going to die this week. While I was gone on my Vacation, my sister was watching her. Well, I wasn't here, but she fell out of bed and hit her head and was pretty messed up. They didn't tell me until I returned from my trip. Over the last week, I've been noticing that she wasn't acting like herself, she seemed Doped up. She wasn't walking right, she wasn't responding correctly. I just couldn't figure it out. I thought maybe it was her brain, or the pain but I knew something wasn't right... then, last night, my sister was talking about medicines and said how much she was giving mom, it was DOUBLE what she should have been getting~! No wonder she was like a zombie! ( she has Dementia ) The shit hit the fan, Nurse sister came over, Doctors were called, Poison control was called, it turned out that she's going to be fine but what a scare...
And yet, I have nothing bothering me... I just don't get it. I'm calm. I guess some of that time staring at a wall, sitting in that uncomfortable position, thinking about not thinking is paying off... I came home from my trip and had work already set up. I worked all week, everything came together just as it should and I was able to complete everything on time... I guess someone out there has a plan... or maybe if I just stop trying to control EVERYTHING and just let things happen as they will it will be OK.

I hope Jeff has a speedy recovery. I'll do what I can to help out.

I think Mom is going to be OK and I'll do what I can to keep her comfortable in the time she has left.

I'm going to just stay out of my self and things will happen as they do...

Have a wonderful weekend!

Have you ever just let go of everything and found out that you never had control anyway?

Have you ever felt peace even thou all around you there was Chaos?

What do you do to keep yourself from reacting to outside pressure?

My Journey North

What a great experience! I had the BEST time this past 8 days. It couldn't have worked out better. The bike handled everything perfectly. No problems, which seems to NEVER happens when going on a long ride. My girlfriend and I got along perfectly. We talked, we laughed and we saw some of the prettiest places. I wish I could show you all of my pictures that we took. Many of them taken by my girlfriend as we rode along the roads and highways. She was a TROOPER to be sure. If you've ever sat on the back of a Motorcycle, you're putting a lot of faith in the person up front. She did a really great job keeping track of road signs, taking pictures and just being a part of the journey. The only time she complained was after 6 or 7 hours on the bike, her ass was starting to hurt and she needed to rest. We only had 2 days like that but it wasn't a problem, I needed to rest too. My ass was hurting as well!

We started off heading to Klamath Falls for a gathering of friends. Spent two days in Klamath Falls, meeting new people, hanging out with old friends, dancing, laughing and just having a great time. Our room had a Jacuzzi in it.. no, not in the bathroom, I mean right next to the bed. Lots of fun in there as well! We left Klamath Falls and headed to Bend OR. Pretty little town... looked around Bend a bit and then headed to our next place to stay, Sisters OR. This town is beautiful! We stayed with some friends of my girlfriends. They have a beautiful 5 acre place, a little pond out back that they dug and lined and acts as a pond and pool for their two children. We had a great night visiting with them and hanging out with their children. The next morning we said our goodbyes and headed up to Spokane WA.

The ride to Spokane was an EVENT! As soon as we got clear of the trees and started crossing the open fields and desert areas the winds picked up. Not straight on winds, these came from the West and were hitting us broadside. 45 to 50 MPH winds! Talk about an experience! 6 hours of riding in crosswinds... the bike was being tossed around like a tumble weed. Strong winds and big trucks... don't go well together! We made it to the Columbia Gorge and we were resting at a truck stop when a couple of truckers came up to us and asked us how we liked riding in those winds! They said they could barely keep their trucks on the road. All along the way, there were fires and dust storms. Amazing stuff, if you were watching it from a TV... but to be in it was a little scary!

We pulled into Spokane and found a place to stay. Most of the hotels we stayed in were not your 5 star hotels, we just needed a place that was quiet, safe and where we could sleep for a few hours. We didn't do any swimming at the hotels... not this trip! Anyway, my son is going to Gonzaga as a Freshman this fall so I wanted to go up and see where he was going to be staying. Just in case I needed to go up and get him one day... Pretty little town Spokane, reminded me of Chico except with Bigger trees! We toured the school and took pictures. Nice Place!! I'm sure he's going to fit in just fine up there.

We gathered our gear and headed out to our next location. Coeur D' Alena, Idaho. Talk about a gorgeous place! We enjoyed a leisure ride East to Coeur D' Alena, only about a half hour ride from Spokane but we couldn't pass it up since we were so close. Reminded me of Lake Tahoe except prettier, newer looking and without the Casinos. I think if I was going to live up that way, Sisters, Bend or Coeur D' Alena would be my choices.

The ride from Idaho to Seattle was a long one! Not a lot to see between those two places. Lots of high desert rest areas... We got into Seattle about 10:00 that night, we were staying at my sisters house in Tacoma so we just headed to Tacoma and slept. The next morning, we headed back up to Seattle to see the city. The weather was great! Sunny, warm and without wind. Something we really enjoyed! My sister drives a double decker bus in Seattle around the tourist areas so we hitched a ride with her to see most of the downtown areas. It was the first time I'd gone up to see her in 25 years so we were able to talk and visit with her between stop and at her house at night. We rode the bike all over Seattle, the water front, the college areas, the older parts of Seattle as well as the newer areas. Seattle's a pretty city, I had no idea it was as nice as it was. I'm really glad I was able to make the journey up there!

We left Seattle and headed down HW 5. We rode up to the viewing site of Mt. St. Helens! That was worth the ride! Amazing view of the crater. No clouds Sunny, warm and the mountain looked SO BIG being so close to it. I'd seen everything in pictures and on TV but to see it up close and personal, really gives you a different perspective of how massive it really is! Amazing!

The last couple of days we spent traveling back down to CA. We took our time returning, just stopping along the way to look at sites and take pictures. We ended up traveling 2600 miles on this journey. That's a long way in a car... but on a bike it seems like 5000 miles!

This was one of the most adventurist trips I've been on and my GF was nothing short of being GREAT so I'm looking forward to taking her on the next journey... this time I think we'll fly down to Costa Rica and spend some time sitting on a beach... soaking up the rays and relaxing... she deserves a well earned relaxing trip... I'm already working on it!

Back from my trip!

Just got back from my Motorcycle road trip! Covered a lot of ground. 2600 miles or so. Haven't figured it all out yet. Went from The Bay Area to Klamath Falls, then up to a town called The Sisters, then up to Spokane, over to Idaho, then across Washington to Seattle, down to Tacoma, Portland, Back into California and then home. I'll tell you all about it but first I have to relax a bit !

Road Trip

God I hate getting ready to go on vacation... I mean, really dislike having to get all of the ducks in a row, so to speak... I had a good 4th of July weekend. Spent it with family and friends. Went and saw The Temptations, man did that bring back some memories... Also saw a band called Little Feat. I can remember having a CD by them so many years ago... it really amazes me how these bands keep touring... I mean seriously, If I had a Top 10 single and made a few million... the last thing I would be doing is going to little county fairs and playing... I'm sorry, but I would rather be sitting on an island in the Caribbean or hanging out in Costa Rica or somewhere, anywhere.... On Friday night, The Wailers played. Now, they're a fun band, the lead singer sounds just like Bob Marley. The fans, most of them in their 40's to 50's are getting high and thinking they are back in high school and the other fans are the kids that have discovered Reggae Music.. my point... they made 29K for that gig. They had to travel from wherever it is they ALL live, bring their road crew, hall all of they're instruments and amps, play 1 set and then go home. Now, that sounds pretty good! 29 THOUSAND DOLLARS for 3 hours work. But then you have to figure in the road crew, shipping, handling, taxes, the 15 members of the band... the drugs, alcohol... it ain't much!

Anyway, it was fun, we met up with a few old high school friends which made it fun. I introduced my girlfriend to them. She instantly wanted to know which ones I slept with... some things never change. Even when you're open with them from the very start, that possession, control thing always seems to slide in there... and here we are planning a 10 day Motorcycle trip and all she wants to know is "which ones did you sleep with".... Do any of you ever run into that same thing? If you pay your Significant Other (SO) too much attention, then something must be wrong, if you're feeling comfortable and laughing and enjoying others company, you must be up to something. What is the "proper" way to be around old friends and a newer girlfriend and not have to have these One on One talks later. "How would you like it if I started talking to my old friends" I love that question.... "I would love it! GO TALK TO THEM"!

All and all, it was a good weekend and now, I'm getting ready to spend 10 days with the woman that I've been with for almost 2 years... 10 days and 10 nights... together.. just the two of us, no kids, no dogs, no family, no other friends, and I'm not talking about just sitting by the pool either! No, I'm talking about being on a Motorcycle, heading up to Oregon, Then Washington and then back down the coast to good old California. We're going to cover 2100 miles in that short period of time. Not listening to music, not chatting.. although we will be able to talk back and forth. Talk about a Make or Break thing, I can't think of a worst scenario, being on a motorcycle and not getting along.. It's almost like going alone except you have a companion there with you. Smelling the different smells, seeing things you probably would miss if you were sitting in a car, or for that matter, sleeping while you made those twisty, windy turns up High Way 5...(smiles)

I'm going to make this the best trip I've ever been on.. and if anyone that is riding with me wants to make it any other way... there are MANY airports along the way where that other person can hitch a ride back home.. ! lol..
It's kind of sad really. I've enjoyed this relationship. I've been the most open I've ever been with a woman and yet, it always seems to come down to the bottom line... I think the best song to describe it is "Living by the Dashboard Lights" by Meatloaf.. I think that's the name of the song, I never was very good at remembering song names but I never forget a band...

So, to get back to where I started with my little blog post, I'm getting ready for a road trip. There are so many things I still need to do and yet, no matter how hard I try, ALL of them won't get done... I'll do what I can, and I'm sure, the rest will be there for me when I return.. along with a few more surprises I haven't even thought of yet!

10 days, 2 people, 2 saddle bags, 2 small carry ons. 1 Community big bag strapped to the sissy bar, a tent, blow up mattress, electric pump, 2 sleeping bags that CAN be zipped together, but also can NOT be zipped together. Money, plastic and all the leathers... I think that's about it! Now I just have to figure out how to get it all on the BIKE! Ah, but don't worry yourselves... the tent and the sleeping bags are only for the nights we won't be sleeping at friends houses along the way, or the nights when we stay in hotels... they are the "Just in case" sleeping bags that you pull out when you're just too tired to go on... I hope we don't run into too many of those!

I hope all of you have a wonderful July and when you see that overloaded motorcycle with the handsome guy on front and the long haired blonde on the back... be sure to give them plenty of room and be nice because they just might be me trying to get to my next gas station fill up to stretch my legs !