"tossin rolls"

We were up and out the door early last Saturday morning. This was the week end of our ride to Sikestom Missouri. We have organized this ride for several years and really enjoy the trip there and back.

Our meeting spot was the Forum Restaurant here in Crawfordsville and we wanted to arrive early enough to have breakfast before our scheduled 7:30 "kickstands up" leave time.

There were a total of 8 bikes (15 people) taking the trip with us and we pulled out of the parking lot right on time.

The weather started out great but they were predicting rain and storms for later in the day. My hope was to be safely at the motel before the storms kicked up :-)

We ran into a little construction on I-70 but the traffic was pretty light and we made good time. Our first stop was in Effingham Illinois where we took our first "butt break".

Rudee and I used to be able to ride 150 miles or more and just stopping when we needed gas. Now days we have to stop every 70-80 miles, guess we are getting old :-)

We left Effingham and the dark clouds started rolling in. The plan was to stop at Mt. Vernon Il. for lunch and it sure looked like we would be getting wet long before we got there :-)

The farther we rode the darker the skies became but about the time I thought the monsoon would start I saw the sign for the exit at Mt Vernon .... whew, we made!

I checked the radar on my Droid phone while we were eating lunch and it didn't look good. The entire 1/2 of Illinois was covered in shades of green, yellow and even some red! Oh-Oh, guess we better plan on getting the rain suits out.

We finished lunch and got everybody fueled up and back on the bikes. Still no rain, so out on the highway we went. "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" :-)

As we rode south we could see the skies clearing on the horizon. I kept thinking that if we could just get there we would stay dry!

Somehow, someway we managed to do just that. I guess the rain that was on the radar just "fell apart" . Hows that for being lucky?

We arrived in Sikeston around 3pm after riding a little over 320 miles.

The reason for our trip was to eat at Lambert's, "home of the throwed rolls". http://www.throwedrolls.com/

Our group got checked into our motel. Some of us went to the pool and others took a nap. I did both :-)

We all met in the lobby at 5pm and rode to the restaurant to put our name in for a table.

Lamberts do not take reservations and they are usually busy every night. In past years we have had to wait up to two hours for our group to get a table.

This year the wait wasn't as bad, even though the parking lot was pretty full we all got seated in neighboring tables in about 20 minutes.

Lamberts serves up "country style" food and lots of it! Besides your meal with sides they have what they call "pass arounds". These are big pots of fried okra, tomatoes and macaroni, fried potatoes and black eyed peas that are carried around the restaurant and spooned onto your plate at your table. The big draw though is the hot yeast rolls! They come out piping hot and when you hear the guy yell "hot rolls" just raise your hand and he will zing one to you! Better be ready because they come "hot and fast". The rolls are followed by a waiter with sorghum to drizzle on your fresh hot buttered roll ........... ummmmmmmm, makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Needless to say, you don't leave this place hungry!

Rudee and I shared a combo plate of fried chicken livers and gizzards. She chose mashed potatoes for her side and I got cucumbers and onions. Our meal was great as well as the service and the company! We had a great time.

Sunday morning we had a quick breakfast at the motel and lined up for the ride back to Indiana. Today was going to be a longer trip since we stay on the two lane roads coming home.

We wound our way through the countryside through Missouri, over the Mississippi River into Illinois for a few miles and then over the Ohio river and into Kentucky. We rode through several small towns and the larger city of Paducah. In Marion Kentucky we turned North and caught a ride on a ferry back across the Ohio and into Illinois at Cave-in-Rock where we stopped for lunch.

The afternoon ride took us North through the corn fields of Illinois before finally crossing the Wabash river back into Indiana. We made a quick stop for ice cream in Vincennes before riding the last leg of our trip.

We made it back to Crawfordsville at 7pm and were both worn out. We had a great time riding with our friends. I had reset my trip odometer before we left and it showed we had ridden just over 700 miles in the two days of our trip.

We were both pretty tired from being on the bike for the last two days and I sure wish I had an extra day to recover but Monday morning it was back to work :-(

My work week was a busy one and went by pretty fast, almost as fast as a week of vacation but not quite :-)

Looking forward to a lazy week end so we can recover :-), I'll keep you posted!

change in plans

Friday evening I came home from work (ewwwww, four letter word!) to a great smelling 5th wheel. Rudee was busy baking fresh salmon for dinner. She did a great job and we both enjoyed our fish dinner.

After dinner we hopped on the bike and took a nice evening ride. I even stopped at a small ice cream shop and we treated ourselves to desert!

Saturday the weatherman was warning us of stormy weather but the skies were clear and the temperatures quickly warmed up. We decided to go out for breakfast and take another short ride while we could.

Once back at the 5th wheel we got some chores done and then headed for my brother and sister in laws home in Amo Indiana. Jon is a career Firefighter/Paramedic and has recently completed his RN degree. They are seriously considering full time RVing when he retires from the firehouse in a few years. That RN degree will come in real handy if they need to make a few $$ on the road.

Jon and Cheri's youngest, Ben, just graduated from High School and has enlisted in the Navy. They were having the family over for a cook out so we had a chance to send him off "in style". He reports for basic training next week, eventually he will be a Yeoman on a submarine. Needless to say we are all very proud of him. I would post a picture but forgot my camera :-(

Jon had slow cooked some pork for barbecue and it turned out great. Everyone brought a covered dish and, as usual, we had a lot more food then we could ever eat!

Around 8pm the storm clouds started building and we could hear thunder in the distance so decided it was time to leave.

We had to drive through the storm to get home and it packed a pretty good punch with some gusty winds and heavy rain.

We were relieved to find that all was well back at the 5th wheel once we got back. We had left the awning out and I kind of expected it to be ripped to shreds but it looked just like we had left it.

Our plan was to get up Sunday morning and head to Indianapolis and spend the day at the Indiana State Fair. The storm changed those plans though, seems like the same storm we drove through on our way home had hit the fairgrounds. The news was reporting that the wind had toppled the stage rigging at the band "Sugarland" concert. There were people trapped under the rigging and 5 people died in the accident.

We decided that even if the fair was open the next day we would not be able to enjoy an outing there knowing that people had been killed there the night before. Turns out they did close down for Sunday which was the right thing to do in my mind.

With nothing to do on Sunday and the weather being cool and overcast we decided to just be lazy. We spent the whole day just watching TV and relaxing. It's been a long time since we have done that and it felt pretty good just to relax for a day.

Monday is back to work for another week. We are leading a group of motorcycles to Sikeston Missouri this week weekend to have dinner at Lambert's Restaurant, "home of the throwed rolls". We are both looking forward to our trip. I'll keep you posted!

Now we're talkin!

The heat wave seems to have ended! The last several days have been perfect! Highs in the low 80's and dipping down into upper 50's at night. We have opened the windows up and slept like babies!

I guess everyone can thank us for the break in the heat. When we need rain all I have to do is wash my car and BINGO the skies open up. We buy an air conditioner to battle the heat and it cools down! Oh well, guess we are ready for the next heat wave. :-)

Tuesday evening I started hearing some thunder in the distance. I checked the radar and there was a nasty looking storm coming at us! Rudee helped me get the awning rolled up and we put away our chairs and anything else that would blow away.

Sure enough about 15 minutes later the winds picked up and we had a huge downpour for about 5 minutes then it quit and the sun came back out. I guess the worst part of the storm was just North of us.

Amanda and Ryan were not as lucky. They live 20 miles south west of us and got the worst of the storm. The winds knocked down several power poles in front of their house leaving the wires strewn all over the highway. What a mess!

They were without power the entire night and most of Wednesday. They did come and spend the night with us because they are on a well and without power to operate the pump they have no water.

Let me tell you our little 400 square foot home was plenty crowded with 7 us sleeping in here!

Looks like we may try to visit the Indiana State Fair this week end. We have both lived in the area all our lives and have only been to the fair a couple of times. Seems like when we were younger raising our family we were always broke this time of year. In August we had to buy school clothes, pay book rental fees as well as renew our license plates on all of our vehicles. This was on top of all of our "normal" bills that were due. This didn't leave any extra $$ for any "fun" things.

They are calling for more storms this week end but hopefully the weather will cooperate. I'll keep you posted