New Years Resolutions for 2010

Remember last year? I said I could just recycle my resolutions from the previous years. Well, it looks like I'll be able to pretty much do the same thing this year.

My resolutions from last year:

#1. This is the year I'll finally ride my motorcycle cross country. Taking a motorcycle trip across the U.S. is something I've wanted to do since I was a teenager. This year is the year!

Didn't happen. I did take a trip to the bay area and a couple overnighters but no cross country trip this year. Maybe next year.

#2. Play golf. Yes, I know it's been 10 or 15 years since I played but I think it's time to start again. Back when I used to play, the game became a serious addiction that threatened to ruin my life. Now I think I'm old enough to handle it without becoming addicted.

Nope! I never even touched a golf club. They’re still up in the storage area above my shop.


#3. Shoot more. I don't spend nearly enough time at the range. This year I want to compete in some IDPA matches and maybe take up sporting clays.

Don’t I wish!! I never did compete in any IDPA or IPSC matches and haven’t shot a single clay target with my shotgun. I did join a new range down the street from my office so I should actually do more shooting in 2010


#4. Sell a vehicle. I don't know which one, but we have too much stuff and it's time to start getting rid of some of it. I think probably the camper will go, and maybe the boat.

Just as last year, this is really funny. I did sell the camper and the boat but guess what. We bought a 34 foot motorhome and a 27 foot sailboat! Oh well. It's a disease.

#5. Finish the interior of the '57 Chevy.

Nope. I didn't work on the '57 all year. Maybe next year if I don't sell it.

So, just as last year, I'll just recycle my 2009 resolutions for 2010

Xmas 2009

Xmas 2009 has come and gone and Kit still hasn't opened all of her presents !!! Hard to believe, isn't it? Every once in a while she comes over and says "I think I'll open a present now".

This year was fun though. Kit really enjoyed playing with Matt and Terry on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They really had a great time.

Kit's First Gingerbread House

Kid made her first gingerbread house yesterday. Thanks to help from grandma and her older cousin Terry, it came out really great!!!

More baking and decorating is in store over the next few days !! :)

We had quite a cold snap there , didn't we ? I've never seen it so cold for so long since I've been up here. The pics here are of Snoqualmie Falls during the freeze. Seeing the falls like this is extremely rare.

Now the weather is back to normal (that means it's raining) with temps up in the 40s for the forseeable future. Doesn't look like a white Christmas this year.

SDG Reunion

I took a quick trip to the bay area last weekend for a reunion. It was great to see all my old friends from SDG and as a bonuns I got to stay with Dan, Tuk & Kit.

Kit is growing so fast!!!

None of the pics I took at the reunion are any good, but here are a few of Kit :)

Tootsie!!

Well, Jessica was her name. That's what she was named by her breeder. We've changed her name to "Tootsie".
She's 10 months old and her birthday is just a few weeks before Romeo's. Romeo was born on 12/27, Jess was born on 12/18.


She's a real sweetheart, very quiet and calm. The total opposite of Romeo!!

Celtic Knot

It's been 15 years since we sold 'Kelika', our US-27 that we had in the bay area. I guess that was long enough to heal our sailboat wounds because we've gone and done it again.



Currently named 'Glory', this Ericson 27 became ours on Sept 26th. Her new name will be "Celtic Knot". If you don't know what a celtic knot is, here's a link to the wikipedia entry on the topic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_knot .

Here are a few examples of celtic knot artwork.






I really wanted my Irish ancestory to be represented in the name and I came up with a lot of ideas but when I stumbled on "Celtic Knot" while browsing the web for things Celtic, I just kind of liked it. Other names high on the list were "Shamrock", "Asgard", "Leanhaun Shee", "Leannan", "Maeve Erin", "Paladin", and "Tara".

I also like "Goblin" and "Gunslinger" but those were vetoed.


The boat will be kept at the Everett Marina for now. I think I want to eventually get a berth at the Edmonds marina but there's a 12 to 18 month wait for that and I'm not even on the wait list yet. So far, I like Everett. It's an interesting place to sail from and the marina itself is very nice with good restaurants and services.

A new adventure!

Well, we've gone and done it now! I guess we're definately OLD. After selling the boat, the camper and the van, we decided to buy a motorhome. We actually had planned to buy a somewhat smaller rig, something on the order of a 27 foot class C but we found this one at a really good price so we went ahead and bought it.

It's a Bounder 34 foot class A motorhome. It's a one owner coach and is in really excellent condition. Queen bed, dual A/C, two TVs, Microwave oven and a regular

oven. It's call a "basement" model because it has tons of storage in all the compartments underneath the floor.

Speaking of tons, it weighs eight of them. Yep, eight tons, 16,000 pounds. I guess

that's why it only gets around 8-10 mpg.

This is the "living room" The passenger seat swivels to face the couch so there are two recliners in the living area with a table between them.

Kitchen and dinette area.

This is the "living room" with the passenger seat facing forward as it would be when we're on the road.

The kitchen area. Dual sink, stove, oven, etc.

The bedroom. Queen bed with a small nightstand on each side.

Harleys and Guns

Now it just doesn't get much better than this. Maybe it's time to trade in the geezer glide and get a new bike!!!


Jul 28, 2009 6:06pm

Eastside Harley and Wades Guns in Bellevue will be starting a promo via the internet. When a customer purchases a new 2009 big twin Harley from now through the end of July (could go into August), they will get a $500 voucher towards a purchase of a firearm or merchandise at Wades Guns. This offer is internet-only promotion, share and pass this audio file along. We are also posting a video to www.eastsideharley.com

Goodguys Rod & Custom Show

Last weekend was the 22nd Pacific Northwest Nationals at the Puyallup fairgrounds. I took Friday off so I could enjoy the day there and go to the Nostalgia drags up at Pacific Raceways Friday evening.

To say it was hot would be an understatement. For the pacific northwest it was positively scorching!!! As hot as it was, it beats rain on the weekend of a hot rod show.

Saturday I slept in a bit and Carole went back to the show with me for a few hours of browsing the vendors and cars. After an all too expensive hot dog and rootbeer float we relaxed in the shade for awhile then headed home.









Here's a slideshow of some of the photos I took over the weekend

545 PEOPLE

545 vs 300,000,000



EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS scriptED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE.




The author of this piece, Charley Reese, has been a journalist for 49 years.

545 PEOPLE

By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.


Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?


Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?


You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.


You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.. The House of Representatives does.


You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.


You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does..


You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.


One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.

The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes..

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.


What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is also the leader of the majority party.


She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want.. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red .

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way..

There are no insolvable government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We must vote ALL of them out of office and clean up their mess! Whatever you do,....next election,
DO NOT RE-ELECT ANY OF THESE INDIVIDUALS!!!!!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it.......... Is up to you.

Quick update.

Wow, I haven't posted since I got back from vacation!!!

Been pretty busy trying to get rid of stuff. The van got sold last weekend so that's one down.

I finally got the camper advertised on craigslist and have a bunch of responses on it. Several people are scheduled to come by tonight and a few more tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get that sold and out of the driveway.

The boat is for sale (or trade) again too. Not as much activity on that though. I've been trying to get it cleaned up to be a bit more presentable. I got some indoor/outdoor carpteing to put in the cabin and installed all the upholstery that had been stored in the garage. It's beginning to look decent enought that I can take some new photos for the ad. It sure would be nice to get that out of the driveway too.

I'm still debating whether or not I want to sell the pickup. I really hate to let that go, it just seems like it's worth it to just keep it around.

That's about it. This weekend is the Legends car show in downtown Kirkland and depending on what's going on with the boat and camper I hope to make that show.

Back to Work

Back to work today :(

Romeo got to go to work with me today too. Actuall, he just stayed in the car all day. I went down every hour or two to check on him or take him for a short walk. At lunch time he got a long walk after getting lunch.

He was so good I took him upstairs to my office for a little while so he could visit my co-workers. He does like to visit people!!!! Unfortunately it's against company policy to have dogs in the workplace so I had to take him back to the car. :(

When we got home I gave him his big bone that I brought back from California for him. He really loves that bone !! While he chewed on his bone I relaxed in the hot tub for a while. It's nice to have the hot tub working again since I'm still sore from the two day ride back from CA.

American Metal Bike & Car show.

Carole and Terry left for San Jose this morning. They went as far as Crescent City today and will finish the trip tomorrow stopping at some interesting tourist attractions along the way.

Romeo and I went to Eastide Harley this morning for the third annual American Metal bike & car show. Nice day and a nice turnout of cars this year.

The highlight for me was the "Sixpack Rat". A rat rod built out of a 1944 WC-62 troop carrier from WWII and a 1935 Dodge pickup. This thing is the coolest rat rod I think I've ever seen!

It's even powered by an old straight six out of a 1966 Chevelle instead of the usual small block chevy. I don't have anything against a small block chevy, I have one in my '57 and my corvette, but it seems like that's what powers most hot rods these days because of it's low cost and high reliabilty. It's really nice to see other engines in homebuilt rods.

This "Ace Five" is a really interesting car. I guess it's a car. It's actually a three wheeled vehicle. Powered by a Harley V-Twin, it has one wheel in the back and four speed transmission. The interior is very much like an old british sports car from the forties or early fifties.

Last Day: Ashland to Duvall

I left Ashland around 9:00 AM and headed north. There was an interesting historical site I saw on the way down that I wanted to make sure I visited on the way back. The reason I wanted to stop was because I happen to like covered bridges but this particular covered bridge was on the what's known as the Grave Creek Ranch which was on the Applegate trail.

The Applegate trail was the southern route for wagon trains coming to the Oregon territory and it allowed the pioneers to avoid the hazardous crossing of the Columbia River.

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Really interesting stuff, and I got it from a direct descendant of one of the pioneers who came on the wagon trains! The folks there at the Applegate Trail Interpretive Center take their role seriously and even do reenactments.

After leaving Grave Creek the ride north was pretty boring. At that point it's just stopping for gas, fast food and bio-breaks. I really hate to admit it, but during this trip I seriously thought that it might be time to trade the Harley for Goldwing. I'm sure I'll get over it, but I did think about it.

Heading Home

I took off this morning from Livermore for the first leg of my trip home. I rode Vasco road out to Brentwood to scope out the area a bit then crossed the Antioch bridge and rode the delta levy roads to Sacramento

The photo is of one of the many drawbridges throughout the delta. Riding this route was far superior to taking 580 out to I-5 and then north to Sacto.

After I passed Sacramento, I stopped in Woodland for gas and took the opportunity to visit the Agricultural museum there. Fascinating place full of old tractors and trucks. I have lots of photos but here are a few from the truck section of the museum for now. This notebook is tough to edit photos on ! :( I'll put the rest into a slide show when I get home.

Entrance to the museum

A 1936 Chevy Pickup

This is a full size wooden model of a 1957 GMC pickup. It's
made entirely of wood, not one piece of metal was used. I
Have more photos of this very cool truck!!!

A 1932 Pierce Arrow Truck

From there it was a pretty boring ride north on I-5 until I passed Redding. After that the ride is more enjoyable. It's a bit cooler because you start gaining altitude and the road has a lot more curves to enjoy. The scenery is also better.

Anyway, I rode as far as Ashland, OR today so I should make it all the way home tomorrow, albeit, a bit late in the day.

St. Johns !!!!

Slept in this morning. I really love that part of a vacation!!! Lunch today was at my favorite burger joint in the whole world and that's not an exaggeration, I really mean the whole world. At least the part that I've travelled, anyway.

Below is the Blue Bacon Burger. The absolute best!!! They do have some new items on the menu that I was tempted to try but I stuck with my favorite. The Philly Cheesesteak made with brie was a real temptation though.

After lunch we went to a park so Kit could play. She really likes driving things.

Day 3: Santa Rosa to Santa Clara

Slept in this morning, no point in getting up early just to get caught in rush hour traffic going into the city. I crossed the golden gate bridge about 11:00 AM or so. It was sunny and warm when I left Santa Rosa but it was freezing when I got to the bridge.

From there I took 19th ave through the city to highway one and continued down into Pacifica.

I stopped at the bakery there for a creme horn but GASP!!, they were out! The bakery there has the best Italian creme horns and I was really looking forward to one. Oh well. On to the old homestead. The house and neighborhood looks the same as it did when we left in 1987. For that matter, most of Pacifica is the same. There were a few minor things, the theatre is gone, the Central market is gone and converted into a group of smaller shops.

From Pacifica I headed down toward Half Moon Bay. I thought they had bypassed devils slide but the work isn't anywhere near done yet. In fact, they haven't even started boring the tunnel. From the looks of things, it will be ten more years before the slide area is bypassed.

After a lunch stop in Half Moon Bay I headed east on Highway 92 then turned south onto skyline blvd. Skyline is a really nice twisty road that runs the hilltops all the way down to the santa clara valley. Beautiful ride.

I met up with Dick & Sheila (and Fritz) for a visit and quick bite. Nice to see them and meet Fritz. From there I took the quick trip into Santa Clara and landed and Dan & Tuks house around 7:00 or so. I plan to stay parked here until at least Sunday.

Day 2: Sparkplugs to Santa Rosa

I left Sparkplugs around 8:00 AM and headed for Crescent City, CA. Unlike the day before, the weather didn't cooperate today. Drizzly rain off and on from the start. I had breakfast in Crescent City and headed south. Except for the showers, this ride is what it's all about.

I've often said that riding a motorcycle is an assault on your senses. Today was really the definition of that. The scenery in this part of the state is really awe inspiring With the Pacific Ocean on one side and thick towering redwoods on the other. The scent of sea air mixed with the smell of redwoods and evergreen, tarnished occasionally by the odor of a dead skunk or an ill maintained diesel truck spewing partially burned fuel. All of this accompanied by the rhythmic rumble of a harley davidson motor tooling down the road. Yep, this is why I ride.

But, By the time I reached Leggit I had had enough of the rain. I get plenty of that at home and didn't need it this week so I took 101 and headed inland to warmer and sunnier weather. heading south from leggit still offers plenty of beautiful redwood groves before opening up to vineyards that start to dot the landscape as you approach marin county.

Day 1: Duvall to Sparkplugs

Day one was really a pretty boring day. I left Duvall around 9:00 AM and headed for I-5. Flew down the slab stopping for gas and fast food.

I got to Sparkplugs motorcycle camp around 8:00 PM and was greeted by Brian, aka "Sparkplug". Brian is really quite a character. He and his wife Tracy run the camp that provides campsites for motorcyclists only. No cars allowed. Nice setup they have, a real throw back to the old days.

The Tee Pees were all taken by the time I got there but Sparkplug provided me with this tent with a real bed inside!! Worked quite well, except I had a dream that I got snowed on!!!

Qualicum Beach, BC

We went up to Qualicum Beach, BC for our 27th anniversery. Qualicum Beach is on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island about 100 miles north of Victoria.

The weather was absoutely perfect so it was a really nice trip going up there. Plenty of "top down" time! We took I-5 up to the border and crossed at the peace arch the went to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal to catch the ferry to Nanaimo, BC. From Nanaimo it's just a short 30 miles up to Qualicum.

We stayed at the "Old Dutch Inn", a place we've stayed before that's right across from the beach. The price is right and they accept pets. We discovered the place five years ago when we took a motorcycle trip up the sunsine coast and down Vancouver Island.

We spent Saturday on Salt Spring Island. Salt Spring is one of the Gulf Islands and I had heard that it's one of the most visited. It's a really nice place but next time I'll take a good map of the island. The brochures all had interesting places to visit but no maps. I figured that it's an island, how hard can it be? Pretty hard, it turns out. A lot of the roads just turn into dead ends and many don't even have road signs to tell you the name of the road. Still, it was a nice adventure and we got to see new things. It was quite an adventure for Romeo too. There was a craft fair in the park and Romeo got to meet a lot of new people and a few new canine friends as well. It was a good socialization event for him. He was quite popular, I couldn't take three steps without someone wanting to pet him and ask about him.

On the way home Sunday we decided to take a little side trip to Lummi Island. Lummi is one of the San Juan Islands in the US. Sunset Magazine had an article about it some time ago that praised it as an excellent destination. Very nice place with spectacular views of Mt. Baker and the other islands. We had a nice dinner at the Beach Store Cafe then cruised around the island before heading home.

Here's a slide show with some of the photos I took.

Qualicum Beach 2009

First haircut

Romeo got his first haircut yesterday. He was really getting bushy and Carole was reluctant to take him to a groomer. Ever since she first took Buster to the groomer and got back a completely different dog than she took in she's been a little gunshy of groomers.

Personally, I'd have had her trim Romeo a little more than she did, but he looks quite cute. before the grooming he was beginning to look like one of those things you keep by the door to clean your shoes before coming in the house!

His ears are taking on an interesting look now. His right ear is always up and his left ear is always down. It's more pronounced now that he's had a haircut. It's really cute so I hope it stays that way permanently.

R.I.P. Rosie

We lost our beloved Rosie last night.  She died of congested heart failure at the very young age of seven.  We knew Thursday night that she wasn't feeling well so Carole took her to the vet Friday.  He told us then that she probably had no more than six months.  Obviously, he didn't know what he was talking about because she died less than twelve hours later.

I know that I've never loved a dog as much as I loved Rosie.  She was the sweetest thing in the whole world and the perfect lap dog.  She loved everyone and everything.  I remember when we got her, the breeder told us that she would probably go up to a mountain lion with her tail wagging.  

 

Needless to say, I'm having the worst day I've had in a very long time.  I'm really going to miss that little girl for a long time.  Romeo is a wonderful, sweet little dog and I'm very glad we have him right now.   To me, a house without a pet is a very empty place and while our house is very much emptier than it was yesterday, Romeo keeps it from being totally empty.  He's not at all like Rosie, but then there aren't many like her.  Someday I hope I find another Shih Tzu as sweet as she was.

Romeo is getting big. Well, relatively speaking. I think he's over four pounds now, maybe even five pounds. Big for him. Rosie is still twice his weight but side by side they look about the same size. That's because Romeo is all fur. Time for a grooming but Carole is hesitating. She's not sure she wants to see what he looks like without all the cute, soft, fur. I've seen him soaking wet and he looks like a chihuahua!!!

He started school last week and so far he's doing quite well. He almost always comes when called, sits politely to wait for his treat, and is getting close to being housebroken. He is still rather aggressive where Rosie is concerned though. He just won't let her be most of the time. You would think he'd learn because he gets his ass whooped every time. Rosie doesn't take any crap from him but he still keeps trying to give it.

He's four months old now and is in need of a great deal of socialization. It's difficult because he still needs to be kept away from most dogs until he's had all of his puppy shots. We need to get him around people a lot more, especially new people that he's never met before. Since we're taking Rosie and Romeo with us up to Qualicum Beach next month I figured he'll get to meet a lot of new people on that trip.