Yesterday was just plain hot and miserable: 109F with heat index bringing it to 119F. Thank goodness the cooler temps have arrived - only about 95F today. It's tough to have a bad day on a motorcycle, but everyone was just miserable on the ride. We knew it would be hot, so instead of the ride to the state line - which had little or no places worth stopping - the ride commander changed the course so we didn't stray that far from home. I think it was about 200 miles round trip; we just traveled in a big circle, stopping for pizza at lunch and then stopping for ice cream. If the ride had been the climax of the day, I would have called it a bummer. But the brats, burgers and all the pot luck buffet at the church was great. But the big event of the day was the auction. I played the annoying one who drove up the bids when things got slow; in the process, we ended up buying quite a bit we didn't need, but it was all for a good cause: partly to wine and dine WWII veterans, fly them to Washington, DC to visit all the memorials and to show them how much their service to their country was appreciated. They almost always return from these things all teary-eyed and such. It's worth it just to see how they react when the country shows them how much they are appreciated.
Sorry, Ryan, this may take a minute or so. They had a new 32 inch flat screen TV up for auction that was donated by one of the local businesses. In order to win it, you had to have the winning bid for at least one of the 10 Patriot Ride tee shirts being auctioned off. Your name would be put in a hat, and the winner would be drawn at the end of the auction. Tee shirts were going between $60 and $80 each. We were all driving up the price for the cause. I paid $80.00 for mine. Guess what! We won the TV! Yay! My wife had just said, "We never win any of those things." Hahaha, she can't say that anymore. We go to only a couple of auctions every year, and we don't expect anything in return. Heck, sometimes a dozen bagels goes for $150.00 - and there's nothing special about the bagels - it's just for a good cause. But, sometimes you get a pretty good deal yourself.
As a belated anniversary present for the folks I was mowing the lawn for, I made them up a couple of pens. The pictures don't really do them justice; they really sparkle. I think they'll enjoy them.
Well, toodles everyone. Hope you're having a great weekend!
