Saturday night we had a small adventure at Bally's Casino. We had both played some on the machines but since we had such a busy day sightseeing we were both tired and by 8pm were ready to head back to our room. Rudee suggested we stop in a little deli type restaurant they have at the main entrance and get a sweet treat to take back and share before turning in. We decided a piece of cheesecake looked pretty good. As the girl behind the counter was dishing it up I wandered into the seating area and came face to face (or foot to face LOL) with a copperhead snake. YIKES! This thing was about 18" long and didn't seem too happy to be out in the open in the middle of a restaurant. There was an employee standing there trying to decide what to do. He asked one of the waitress' to get him a broom and when she saw the snake, well that's the last we saw of her :-). Someone, maybe the waitress who had fled into the kitchen, threw out a large metal serving bowl and he was able to drop it over the snake trapping it.
I'm not sure how they handled it after that, we took our cheesecake and got the heck out of there.
Sunday morning we checked out of the motel and rode north through Memphis and turned west into Arkansas. We took the interstate through the busy metro areas but finally exited onto the more scenic state roads after getting away from all the population. We headed North towards Missouri as the temperatures started rising. Looked like another 90 degree day. We passed by a lot of cotton fields that appeared ready to harvest. They reminded us the snow that is sure to come soon (how depressing is that).
We arrived in Sikeston Missouri and decided to spend the night there and go to Lambert's for dinner. After checking into the Holiday Inn Express we headed for the pool to cool off. Unfortunately the pool was a little too cool ....... brrrr, we didn't stay long.
Monday morning we were back on the bike and heading towards home. We took US 60 into Kentucky which is a nice winding road that angles toward our next destination Evansville Indiana. We crossed over several rivers including the Mississippi, Tennessee and the Ohio before arriving in Evansville. Another great day on the bike.
Tuesday we turned the bike towards home. The weather today was calling for scattered showers and we could see the clouds building in the distance. The rain chased us all the way to within 3 miles of Rudee's parents house in Plainfield when it caught up with us and we got a good soaking. Lucky for us we were close to their house and the rain only lasted for a 10 minutes before moving on.
We unloaded our luggage into the Dakota and Rudee followed me over to the Harley dealership where we left the bike for it's service appointment Wednesday.
We both enjoyed our trip and were a little sad that it was coming to an end. We will pick up the bike Wednesday evening after work and then try to get settled back into the groove of things here at the KOA. I'll keep you posted.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Southbound
We locked up the 5th wheel and hopped on the bike as soon as work ended Thursday. Rudee followed me to Plainfield in the Dakota which we are leaving at her Mom and Dad's until we get back.
Wednesday we have the bike scheduled into the shop for it's 10,000 mile service so we will be dropping it off Tuesday on our way back through and needed the truck to drive back home. Wow, that first 10k went fast. We have only had the bike for 15 weeks. We sure have been doing a lot of riding but I sure do miss it when the temperatures are in the teens and the snow is flying.
We dropped the truck off and Rudee's parents followed us to a local restaurant for dinner and then we pointed the bike south.
Our goal was to make it to Evansville. Once we were away from the Indy suburbs we made good time. We just missed seeing an accident south of Mooresville In. I noticed people hitting the brakes ahead of me about 1/4 of mile and saw a big dust cloud just over a small hill. When we topped the hill there were two cars smashed and one of them had been knocked into the dirt median (hence the dust cloud). The people were just climbing out of the wrecked cars and others were stopping to help. There was no safe place to pull the bike into so I continued on while Rudee called 911 and reported the crash.
We didn't make it to Evansville before it got dark like I had hoped but we arrived safe and sound shortly after 9pm. We checked into the Baymont Inn and called it a night.
Friday we left early since this was going to be a big travel day. The weather was perfect and we stayed on the state roads winding our way toward S.W. Tennessee. I really can't remember our exact route, I set the GPS and just followed it. we did skirt the northern edge of the land Between the Lakes. I'm sure this area would be getting busy for this holiday weekend.
We eventually ended up on US 51 and followed it into Memphis where we found US 61 and continued south into Robinsonville Ms.
We had reservations at Bally's Hotel and arrived there with enough time to cool down and freshen up before finding a place for dinner.
Saturday we left the motel shortly after 10am and headed into Memphis. Our first stop was the Peabody motel where we saw the ducks in the fountain. The motel has had ducks in their fountain since the 1930's. They live on the top floor and twice a day the "duck master" leads them onto the elevator and they ride either to or from the fountain. Not a bad life for a duck huh :-).
We also took a walk down the famous Beale Street. The street is lined with clubs and restaurants and this is the self proclaimed "birthplace of rock and roll". 
We had some lunch at one of the Bar-B-Que joints before heading out again.
We took a short ride a few blocks to Sun Studio where Elvis, Jerry Lee, Carl (as in Perkins) and Johnny Cash all got their starts. The studio conducts a tour and we were going to take it until 2 busloads of people pulled up and piled in. The place was so packed with people that we had to leave or we were going to freak out with claustrophobia.
Our next stop was the National Civil Rights Museum which is housed in the Loraine Motel near downtown Memphis. The Loraine is the location of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was shot while standing on the 2nd floor outside walkway.
We then did a drive by of Graceland which is Elvis' home (in case you are under 40 or have lived in a cave for the last 40 years LOL).
We visited and toured Graceland a few years ago so decided to pass this time and headed back towards the motel.
Rudee wanted a nice meal and US 61 is lined with bill boards advertising all the meals available at the casinos so we headed towards the Hollywood Casino. On the way we made a detour into the Fitzgerald to check it out. They have a parking garage so we were able to park the bike out of the sun. Toasted buns are nice on cheeseburgers but I don't like mine toasted on a motorcycle seat :-),
Fitzgeralds was a nice place and we saw a sign for a sale on a T-bone steak dinner in their steak house so we decided to stay there and have dinner.
The steak was pretty good and we played some of the slots while we were there and had some decent luck with those and walked out a few $$ ahead of the game :-).
Sunday we are checking out and heading north once again. Our plan is to follow the Mississippi River into Missouri and maybe even catch a roll in Sikeston. I'll keep you posted.
Wednesday we have the bike scheduled into the shop for it's 10,000 mile service so we will be dropping it off Tuesday on our way back through and needed the truck to drive back home. Wow, that first 10k went fast. We have only had the bike for 15 weeks. We sure have been doing a lot of riding but I sure do miss it when the temperatures are in the teens and the snow is flying.
We dropped the truck off and Rudee's parents followed us to a local restaurant for dinner and then we pointed the bike south.
Our goal was to make it to Evansville. Once we were away from the Indy suburbs we made good time. We just missed seeing an accident south of Mooresville In. I noticed people hitting the brakes ahead of me about 1/4 of mile and saw a big dust cloud just over a small hill. When we topped the hill there were two cars smashed and one of them had been knocked into the dirt median (hence the dust cloud). The people were just climbing out of the wrecked cars and others were stopping to help. There was no safe place to pull the bike into so I continued on while Rudee called 911 and reported the crash.
We didn't make it to Evansville before it got dark like I had hoped but we arrived safe and sound shortly after 9pm. We checked into the Baymont Inn and called it a night.
Friday we left early since this was going to be a big travel day. The weather was perfect and we stayed on the state roads winding our way toward S.W. Tennessee. I really can't remember our exact route, I set the GPS and just followed it. we did skirt the northern edge of the land Between the Lakes. I'm sure this area would be getting busy for this holiday weekend.
We eventually ended up on US 51 and followed it into Memphis where we found US 61 and continued south into Robinsonville Ms.
We had reservations at Bally's Hotel and arrived there with enough time to cool down and freshen up before finding a place for dinner.
Saturday we left the motel shortly after 10am and headed into Memphis. Our first stop was the Peabody motel where we saw the ducks in the fountain. The motel has had ducks in their fountain since the 1930's. They live on the top floor and twice a day the "duck master" leads them onto the elevator and they ride either to or from the fountain. Not a bad life for a duck huh :-).
We also took a walk down the famous Beale Street. The street is lined with clubs and restaurants and this is the self proclaimed "birthplace of rock and roll".
We had some lunch at one of the Bar-B-Que joints before heading out again.
We took a short ride a few blocks to Sun Studio where Elvis, Jerry Lee, Carl (as in Perkins) and Johnny Cash all got their starts. The studio conducts a tour and we were going to take it until 2 busloads of people pulled up and piled in. The place was so packed with people that we had to leave or we were going to freak out with claustrophobia.
Our next stop was the National Civil Rights Museum which is housed in the Loraine Motel near downtown Memphis. The Loraine is the location of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was shot while standing on the 2nd floor outside walkway.
We then did a drive by of Graceland which is Elvis' home (in case you are under 40 or have lived in a cave for the last 40 years LOL).
We visited and toured Graceland a few years ago so decided to pass this time and headed back towards the motel.
Rudee wanted a nice meal and US 61 is lined with bill boards advertising all the meals available at the casinos so we headed towards the Hollywood Casino. On the way we made a detour into the Fitzgerald to check it out. They have a parking garage so we were able to park the bike out of the sun. Toasted buns are nice on cheeseburgers but I don't like mine toasted on a motorcycle seat :-),
Fitzgeralds was a nice place and we saw a sign for a sale on a T-bone steak dinner in their steak house so we decided to stay there and have dinner.
The steak was pretty good and we played some of the slots while we were there and had some decent luck with those and walked out a few $$ ahead of the game :-).
Sunday we are checking out and heading north once again. Our plan is to follow the Mississippi River into Missouri and maybe even catch a roll in Sikeston. I'll keep you posted.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
dodged a bullet?
We had a nice time at the picnic on Saturday. The weather was perfect and there was food galore. We enjoyed our meal and visiting with everyone.
Sunday we met Steve and Trish Suter in Lebanon and took a nice motorcycle ride with them. The weather had warmed back up though and by 3:00 we decided being back at the 5th wheel sitting in the a.c. sounded pretty good :-).
Our son Matthew and his fiance' Mandie came by Sunday evening and we spent some quality time with them.
We have had some changes in recent weeks at work. The first one was when I reported back to work from vacation I found out my immediate supervisor had been demoted.
This really didn't surprise me too much because they seemed to have at least one too many supervisors and since she was from the "old" company it just seemed logical.
So that leaves 4 of us from the "old" company that do the same job being integrated into the bigger company that bought us out.
Today my new boss called me and told me they had made some more cuts and I thought "OK, here I go".
Instead he told me that they had given walking papers to my old supervisor and one of the other guys. So I guess I dodged a bullet for now. My boss seems to think things will settle down some from here though. I sure hope so because working with a dark cloud over your head for the last 2 years has been a real pain and pretty much effects every aspect of your life. I guess the only thing I can do is keep up on my work and continue to do my best from day to day.
We are still doing training for the "new to us" computer system and I will be going for a week long training in a few weeks.
Rudee and I did make a decision on our destination for our long Labor Day Week End. We are going to try and get within 6' of Elvis :-).
Yep we are heading to Memphis Tn. We took a short trip there several years ago and toured Graceland. This time I want to see some of the other sites and hope to get down to Beale Street, The National Civil Rights Museum and maybe even see the ducks march at the Peabody Hotel.
We are leaving right after work tomorrow and will spend the night somewhere on the way down.
We plan on staying off the interstate as much as possible and just taking our time and enjoy the ride. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday we met Steve and Trish Suter in Lebanon and took a nice motorcycle ride with them. The weather had warmed back up though and by 3:00 we decided being back at the 5th wheel sitting in the a.c. sounded pretty good :-).
Our son Matthew and his fiance' Mandie came by Sunday evening and we spent some quality time with them.
We have had some changes in recent weeks at work. The first one was when I reported back to work from vacation I found out my immediate supervisor had been demoted.
This really didn't surprise me too much because they seemed to have at least one too many supervisors and since she was from the "old" company it just seemed logical.
So that leaves 4 of us from the "old" company that do the same job being integrated into the bigger company that bought us out.
Today my new boss called me and told me they had made some more cuts and I thought "OK, here I go".
Instead he told me that they had given walking papers to my old supervisor and one of the other guys. So I guess I dodged a bullet for now. My boss seems to think things will settle down some from here though. I sure hope so because working with a dark cloud over your head for the last 2 years has been a real pain and pretty much effects every aspect of your life. I guess the only thing I can do is keep up on my work and continue to do my best from day to day.
We are still doing training for the "new to us" computer system and I will be going for a week long training in a few weeks.
Rudee and I did make a decision on our destination for our long Labor Day Week End. We are going to try and get within 6' of Elvis :-).
Yep we are heading to Memphis Tn. We took a short trip there several years ago and toured Graceland. This time I want to see some of the other sites and hope to get down to Beale Street, The National Civil Rights Museum and maybe even see the ducks march at the Peabody Hotel.
We are leaving right after work tomorrow and will spend the night somewhere on the way down.
We plan on staying off the interstate as much as possible and just taking our time and enjoy the ride. I'll keep you posted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)