Rambling thru life

Often times with today's political overtone, I ask myself; was my service in the military worth it? I am a humble and proud man, so it’s hard to accept thanks. It should be a great honor to accept thanks from so many on Veterans Day. But today, its a question of 'why now?' Sadly, the thanks for my service that I have received in the last couple of years, has been more than all the thanks I have gotten since 1981. Think about this: there are some veterans left from 1941 that are asking this same question. Sometimes the thanks is rhetoric. No more than a passing such as 'How do you do', 'Fine thanks' . I saw it on my father’s face. After so many years had passed since he served. He stood proud when they honored vets at a 9/11 remembrance, with a look of 'You are welcome, but are you sincere?'. In addition, there are veterans that have given so much more than I did. They deserve so much more than I. I survived my six years with only bumps, bruises, min

570 miles, all on freeway and we got home. When we left Urbanan Illinois it was 57 degrees. 100 miles up the road we stopped and put more layers on. As we rounded Madison I saw the thermometer hit 64. But then, outside the city, it dropped to 61 and never got higher again. Farther into Wisconsin we stopped for lunch and I put on my rain pants to keep me warm. As a final slap in the face, just a few short miles from home it rained. When I got home I kissed my wife and then jumped into the shower just to warm up. All in all it was a great road trip. It truly took 3 days of travel to get there, and 3 days to get home. We only had a short 3 days to play and those were spent riding. But through the course of the trip I managed to: See a good friend of mine Ride some radically insane roads which included taming the Dragon Swim in the ocean Take the bike to some new states including South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio Take a couple really long ferry boat rides Challenge my se

Started in West VG on route 33 in the rain. More twisties as we changed onto Hwy 47. Crossed into Ohio at Parkersburg and left the twisting roads behind. From here on, the rest of the trip will be on Interstate roads. At Columbus we caught up with Intersate 70. Shortly after that we found the rain again. Crossed into Indiana on 70 and found the rain once again. Rounding Indianapolis on the byway, the rain now drenched us for miles on the otherside of Indianapolis. Just crossing over into Illinois, and the rain found us for the last time. With gloves drenched, pants wet and a trickle down my back we ended in Urbanan. About 560 miles traveled. Back into central time. And really really wanting to get home - this is just travel time.

New motel and again no Internet service Said goodbye to the coast as we headed inland. Traveled through Norfolk. Thought it was odd how this area was my old stomping grounds 32 years ago. Blasted up the freeway to Richmond. Route 33, what a blast. In VG it was a curvey scenic route. Crossed into West VG, and started over the Appalachians. Great twisting route. Great weather, getting warmer. Spent the night in Weston West VG. At this point, we are like horses and we want to get back to the barn. To our own homes, and beds 450 miles traveled

Still no Internet service Traveled to the end of the North Carolina outer banks. Islands were like long sand dunes. Unable to see the ocean. Left riding jackets at home Had to buy a long sleve jersery so we didn't get sun burned Ferry ride to and from the last island Reached the end of the road and dipped my tire in the Atlantic. Steved dipped his tire in the ocean also. Stopped at Hateras Light House - didn't climb it because it was to hot. Rained on us just miles from the Motel Went swimming in the ocean surf . Only 150 miles riden but it was a good day!

OK, I'm not sure if anyone is reading this. I am pretty tired so will try to keep it short. Yeah, if thats possible. We got up early this morning determined to get to the coast today. We feasted (yeah sure) on the provided continental breakfast and then jumped on the bikes. For about two hours we blasted up the HWY 1 and then around Raleigh. Then we got off and headed east on HWY 264. 264 is a strange highway. It had straight stretches that lasted for many miles and then a turn and then another straight stretch (etc..). There was very little traffic going either way. Heavy help us if we had broken down. We went past a spot the Air Force uses for bombing test. And then waited in line for a road construction pilot truck to get back to us. OK, it wasn't that long of a wait, it was just hot. Well we got to Nag's Head about 2PM. We felt there wasn't enough time to head down the outer bank so we decided to stay two nights in Nags Head. Our motel is right on the beach. To clo

This morning began with another trip down the dragon. It was a totally different trip this morning because the bikes were fully loaded. There was also nobody on it. At the crossroads we headed sourth on Hwy 28 to the border of North Carolina. As you leave the crossroads on Hwy 28, its a pretty good road with a bunch of nice corners, and great scenary. Farther down Hwy 28, there is another great set of corners on this same road. And still farther down it, another set. At the town of Highland, we turned east on Hwy 64 for about 60 miles. Now this road was decent, but it wasn't anything like Hwy 28 and it was extremely busy. Then we turned south on Hwy 158 into South Carolina. What a road. Its not famous like the dragon but it has a lot of the same ride to give you. If you travel down this road, watch our for the semi trucks. We noticed that they like to take up both lanes. At this point of the ride we had only traveled about 180 mike in 5 hours. The corners tend to slow us down, but

Sorry there wasn't a post last night. Saturday morning we left Decateur Il , and headed down two lane roads on our way to Tennessee. But first we had to make up for lost ground. It took us more than three hours of two lane roads just to get to Evansville In. Nothing much spectaculer about these miles. As we we leaving Indiania into Kentucky we traveled along the Ohio river for 30 miles and then turned south and crossed over. We traveled over some pretty decent roads, but the small towns and single red light districts impacted our progress. We crossed through Mamoth Park, a favorite of ours from the last time we came this way. Within the park the road ends at the edge of a river. Awaiting to take you to the other side is a little three car ferry boat. We blasted South East into Tennessess to my friend "Joe's" home. Along the way were some great two lane twistie road and some more rain in Kentucky. Other than getting lost in the dark 30 miles from Joe's, the t

We are on our way. There is no network at our motel so I am publishing this from my blackberry. This morning we got a late start. But hit road running. We saw lots of evidence of our recovery dollars at work. Yep, road construction cones were everwhere. Not quite suure how much construction there was. There was some minor rain until we left Madison. Then the skies opened up on us. Over four hours of heavy rain slowed us down. We got routed in the wrong direction in Madison because of road construction, and then made a decision to get off the freeway of awile. Tonight we are in Decateur ill. The bikes are running well. The communication devices got water logged. Hopefully they'll dry out by morning. We have clothes all over the room trying to get them dry. Tommorrow we have got to get to Joe's in Tennessee. For me, it was 548 miles. Goodnight.

And yet, here I sit blogging; goodness! Yesterday, LoriAnn and I took Megan up to Moorhead, MN to start college. After months of working with her to get ready, packed and such: it was bitter sweet to say good bye. She's a great kid and I think she's ready to begin her next phase of life. We miss her at home already. But thats not todays main blog. I want to write about the motorcycle trip. Its about to begin and I am not ready. Oh, the bike is pretty set. But there are so many things on my to do list that I WANT to get done. Not that I need to get them done, still. I have to pick up my perscription and I have to find some kind of brace for my damaged wrist. In addition, I have to check the air in the tires and the oil level. I have to pack. I have to fill out my time card at work (on line). I have to make sure bills are paid. And most of all I have to say good bye to my wife. Those are my have to do's. But then there are my want to do's: I ordered a new helmet for the

We got word from Moorhead that Megan's award letter will be coming any time. Its been a long arduous journey getting the FAFSA done. Thanks to Megan's mom and step dad for solving all the missing paperwork puzzles. Tonight we started the application for the loans. Its a bit late in the game, but the school says we will be fine. While applying, the banks online application timed out on us. We think Megan has to electronically sign it but the system won't let her. We think I put in the Cosigner work, but we are not sure. Egads... I design better web applications than that.

On Saturday my brother and I left home for what was to be my first full day in the saddle. It started out a bit rough. Steve got to my home at about 7:45; this was just a bit after the rain began. The weather map showed that our planned route north west to Ely MN would be wet for most of the morning, and then the afternoon would be iffy. So, we changed directions and headed south east into Wisconsin. As I said, the rain just began as Steve showed up. But as we discussed our planned direction, the rain got heavier. We left just as the rain was letting up, but no more than a half a mile away, the clouds opened up again. As we traveled around Lino Lakes to go east, we road alongside a Bicycle race. Those poor competitors. They were drenched in their spandex. I later found our that my step sister was riding in the race. Way to go Sue! Outside of White Bear, we left the rain behind. We crossed over the St Croix river at Stillwater, traveled south through Hudson Wisconsin; down to Prescot an

Wow, its been awhile since I last posted. Lets see if I remember how to type. Megans been really sick and trying to recover from Mono. For over a week she barely ate or drank. Last friday she spent the evening at the emergency room getting fluids and drugs. Today, she ate a bunch and drank a bunch and I actually heard her voice. Yeah. Work is the pits. I'm behind schedule for the current project and currently on the critical path. Part of the fault is the customers constantly changing scope. Part is attention drift from Megan's crisis. I made some progress today, but a lot more is needed tomarrow. LA has been wonderful. Shes so good to me and Megan. I thank God daily for her in my life. We are worried about getting Megan to school in a couple of weeks. This illness has set her back and then there are numerous issues with her FAFSA. We have to rely on Megan's mom and step-dad to get the paperwork straight. We have to rely on God to get Megan's illness in ch

Work is progressing... More plastic was hung today. A seal coating was then applied. The humidity in the house is high. The fumes can be a bit much.... Its kind of like being in a submarine again. But we are surviving. We went out for dinner tonight with our neighbor friends. They treated us. What a great couple they are. Is anyone out there following this enduring adventure? Here are some more pictures:

The contractor (James) arrived today, just a little later than expected. He jumped right to work and started hanging plastic onto everything. LoriAnn wanted new wall coverings, but I don't think this is what she expected. It looks kind of surrealistic. It appears that James hung plastic in all area's that he could reach. I know he plans on bringing in scaffolding for the dining area tomarrow. Once he finishes covering that area, he should begin scrapping the ceiling. Thats about it for today. Tomarrow should be a dirty day. I'll try to get pictures of our living space posted tomarrow. You all come back....

In an effort to help the economy get better, LoriAnn and I have hired an independent contractor to come to our home and install a new ceiling throughout half of our house. Ok, we really aren’t that progressive. The fact that the ceiling needs repair is the real reason for the effort. We plan to have the Kitchen, Dining Room, Living Room, Upper Bedroom, and office ceilings worked on. To facilitate this, we moved all of the furniture, boxes, TVs, and other stuff – either to the basement or the garage. Its hard to believe that all of our worldly belongings have fit either into our basement or into the Garage. We are so thankful for the help that we got from my daughter Megan, brother Steve and a good friend Tom. We plan to live in the basement while upstairs is being work on. It'll be a tight fit but we should be able to get a good night sleep or relax and watch TV. LoriAnn will try to work while the contractor is here. If it gets to loud or noisy, she has a neighbor willing to let h

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Okay, we are a bit late with our Christmas letter this year. But don’t we need to keep Christmas in our hearts all year long? And since the New Year is less than a month old, isn’t it still new? Well, at the end of 2008 our family was busier than normal. So this letter is later than normal. So how are we? Well, Todd maintained a relatively stable health with minimal back, and sinus problems. Megan developed a hyper-active thyroid which was radioactively treated; talk about serious isolation during treatment. Well, She is now on medicine (most likely the rest of her life) for her thyroid but she is doing okay. LoriAnn battled her bad back all year long and then this December was found to have breast cancer. After 3 lumpectomy surgeries in 13 days, the Doctor believes he has removed the invasive cancer. LoriAnn meets with the Oncologists in January to determine what course of treatment she’ll need. Both of the companies that Todd and LoriAnn work for h