Bessie and Me: Shifting Gears

June 29, 2012 The #1 Highway from Calgary takes you up through the Canadian Rockies; they loom ahead of the vehicle for about an hour, then it becomes clear that you have ENTERED Banff National Park where the Canadian Rockies dominate the landscape. It has been my goal for the last three summers to ride Bessie across this majestic outcropping of mountainous terrain; I think the Camaro will be an acceptable substitute! Banff is the Aspen of the Canadian Rockies; as we roll through the outskirts of town, I immediately feel out of place in my boots, jeans, and Harley Davidson T-shirt (yes, even off the bikes we still wear the gear)....oh, and my jacket, since I find the below 70 degree weather 'chilly.' Seems most of these folks shop at Athleta, Columbia, and Teva.....they all look like they fell off the pages of Columbia Sportwear's most recent catalog. After a cursory drive through the town - it is apparent from the reaction of most everyone, especially males, on the s...

June 28, 2012  My friend Vern and I on the North shore of Lake Superior 2011  The trip was originally planned on the bikes; alas, destiny had other plans for Bessie and Me. I was to connect with my friend Vern (who I met last year on the North shore of Lake Superior in Ontario Canada....that in itself is a whole 'nuther story...) in Milwaukee this summer, after my Midwest visit. It has been my goal for the past three summers to ride across the Canadian Rockies and out to Vancouver British Columbia. When my friend heard of the accident and that Bessie was totaled, he suggested we go ahead with the trip, only on four wheels. I've never in my life turned down a Road Trip - via any mode of transportation - so I wholeheartedly agreed. Only a little apprehensive since I have never had a partner - other than my two daughters - for an extensive road trip, I booked a flight to Calgary, Alberta Canada and packed my bags. Ironically, I find packing for a car trip more challengi...

Saturday, June 23, 2012 I have spent the last three summers tooling around Northern Ohio; beautiful backroads, wonderful weather, and Lake Erie offers a plethora of water activities. My time spent with 'My Daisies' this summer was a ton of fun...alas it comes to an end at oh-dark-thirty in the morning when we set out for a car trip back to Florida with my Daisy Ann and the Little Sprout (her great-granddaughter) Kyah. My Daisies are the glue that has held my life together all too often, they are the ballast when I have felt like keeling over, and they are the incentive I have for staying active and engaged so as to enjoy my golden years. My Daisies have mentored me through the single motherhood years, helped rear my children, helped me survive the teenage years, and have taught me how to embrace life - wringing every last drop of joy from each day. I've enjoyed the summer weather, cruising along the backroads in Ann's big Mercury....floating is more like it. Floating o...

Wednesday, June 20th My niece is a Nanny; her charge is a incredibly cute, precocious little boy who just turned two. My last day in the city, the kids had to return to their respective jobs so I spent the day with the 'Nanny Brigade' of urban Chicago. Mind you, I haven't spent the day with small children in a very long time and I forgot how exhausting, not to mention challenging, keeping toddlers engaged can be. To the parents credit, one of the 'rules' for most of these kids is 'no TV.' Being a reading teacher in high school and I can tell you - first hand - the detrimental effects of TV on children (and computers\computer games). My children grew up with limited TV and to this day, I do not have TV at home. So each morning, the Mommy leaves the Nanny a detailed 'agenda' for the two-year-old. My niece is a college educated, elementary ed teacher trained Nanny....the parents are very lucky to have her, she is wonderful with kids and she is young eno...

A fairly short train ride seemed like a great idea and certainly an adventure on this road trip; my Grandmother used to take me to Texas every year to see my Uncle and we traveled by train...three days from Indianapolis to Ft. Worth Texas. I was six months old when I took my first train trip cross country; I credit my Grandmother for establishing my wanderlust at such a tender age. I decided to take the train from Chicago, where I spent time with my Niece and her husband, to Elyria Ohio where I have spent the last three summers with 'My Daisies.' The only connection that would get me to my destination boarded in Chicago at 930p and arrived in Elyria at 530am....and allnighter on the train. I gave into the adventure. The kids dropped me off downtown at the old Union Station building. It is a monument to the glory days of train travel...When women in hats and gloves carried 'Jackie-O' kinda round luggage that matched the six pieces being toted by a red-capped porter who ...

My oldest niece and her husband live in downtown Chicago; they love it - they are young. I have always loved Chicago, such a diversity of activites, very cosmopolitan....but exhausting! I had a few things on my list to see (or see again, since I've made this trip many times) but mostly I appreciate being invited to spend a few days with my niece and her husband...and their two Great Danes:-) After renting a car and driving from Muncie (I miss my motorcycle), and getting behind every semi truck and farm implement that was on the road that day, I arrived in the Windy City early afternoon. We immediately hopped on the train which runs directly underneath their floor to ceiling windows in the new condo, to downtown. Everyone is busy in Chicago, head bent to the task of getting from here to there. I don't think I want to be in that big of a hurry all my life, especially after the accident I had on the bike. Some things just don't seem that important any more, especially how fas...

Sunday, June 17, 2012 It wasn't planned, but it worked out perfectly, that I would be with my Dad this summer on Father's Day. Serendipity. Never knew my bio Dad, but that never mattered...the Dad I know has always been my Dad. I suggested church ( he is a faithful, I am not. I prefer the Church of Harley Davidson on Sunday) and brunch. I dragged myself out of bed after the Warehousians reunion didn't wrap up until 1am Sunday morning...but thats okay, because withouth the alcohol and illegal substances, partying is not nearly as debilitating as it used to be. Christ Community Church is nestled in between the cornfields in Grant County;cornfields that are parched and thirsty due to the lack of rainfall this year. My Dad has many friends at the church and it was almost embarrasing as he proudly introduced me to everyone of them, making the rounds of the growing Sunday crowd in the sanctuary. I met Frances, Dorothy, Sue, Bill.....and on and on. Each one making sure they remind...

June 16, 2012 In the summer of 1969, when everyone old enough and hip enough was flocking to Yasgar's Farm in upstate New York for a music festival called Woodstock, I and most of my friends were looking forward to starting high school. The tidal wave of rock n roll, free love, tye-dye, psychedelics, and peace was just beginning to roll across the country from the west coast; it would find willing participants in the sleepy little mid-western town I grew up in. It was music that brought us together in the early '70's at a seemingly abandoned building in downtown Marion Indiana (righteously name The 7th Street Warehouse), and it was music that brought us together Saturday night in a building once occupied by Freel and Mason drugstore in downtown Marion some 40 years later for a first attempt at a 'reunion' of sorts. Our 'Prophet,' Duke, started a Facebook Page about a year ago, called the '7th Street Warehouse People,' which mushroomed (no pun intend...

I know, the blog indicates 'Bessie and Me: My Travels on Two Wheels,' and I just don't have the heart to change the name. The accident may have taken Bessie's life, but it didn't take mine, and my wonderlust wasn't affected at all!I changed my travel plans and with the same amount of anticipation, but a longing for my two wheels, I embarked on my Summer Road Trip of 2012 with an itenerary that includes trains, planes,rental cars, a car trip with my Daisy and the Little Sprout, and there's even talk of a boat trip up the Alaskan Coast....I gave myself over to the journey.Waiting in the Orlando airport is always a treat; thousands of tourists (was someone selling stupid hats on the 13th??), joyful children sporting Mickey ears or'Thing One/Thing Two' T-shirts skitter about, yelping and jumping around their exhausted parents' who stuggle to schlep luggage through the terminal. I sat patiently for my flight to Indianapolis; thinking how many times in...

'Ahhhhh.....Florida" Winter in Florida is perfect regardless of how you enjoy it; this year has been exceptionally mild and the thermometer hit upper 80's today! Bessie and I love our rides through the orange groves and strawberry fields of Central Florida; today was no exception. The fragrance from the orange trees and strawberry plants is intoxicating; the back roads through the groves and fields are narrow and you are surrounded by the smell! I travel real slow, stopping frequently on the almost-deserted roads (except for the workers picking the fruit on certain days) and just sit there, Bessie idling, and me inhaling deeply....ahhhhhhhhh. After a couple hours of back roads and fruit smells, I decided it was time for lunch, and I headed back to Polk County. Since Sunday is my 'cheat day,' on my new food plan, I decide a burger and fries are in order - ok, ok, I didn't stop for strawberry shortcake even though I wanted to - so a little burger won't hur...