Living the Dream in the Great Southeast U.S.

Spring is just about Here!!!!!

2011-03-14T23:09:00.000-04:00

Trees and shrubs are budding.....grass is greening up....and I have a new Lawn Boy....that makes 2......and he and his brother do a pretty good job!

Spring is also bringing many fun activities like backpack camping with Diego's Boy Scout Troop.

Antonio's First Lacrosse Game

2011-03-14T22:50:00.000-04:00

Antonio decided to play Lacrosse for the first time this spring. He has seen how much fun Diego was having so he decided to give it a try. In short, he loves it. In fact, he says he may skip football in the fall to play Lax again.

12 Volt Power for the KLR

2011-03-14T22:48:00.000-04:00

I recently installed a 12 Volt Power source on the KLR. This will be handy for mounting my new Magellan Roadmate GPS.....my RAM Motorcycle Mount system is "in the mail" and should be here in a few days. This is going to be a slick set up. The outlet will also come in handy for charging my cell phone while out on trips.

The install was pretty easy - I ran the wires along the frame with the others in a nice tidy package.....installed a 30 amp fuse on the positive wire back at the battery - done! I haven't permanently mounted the outlet - going to wait until I mount the GPS to make sure it's in the right place. I am getting pretty good at removing the gas tank LOL. Next time is going to be a pain - I think I stripped one of the bolts....aaaaarrrrrgh.

Wake up Sleepy Heads

2011-03-14T22:42:00.000-04:00

I found these pictures in the camera......I guess Belinda took them......

Father Daughter Dance 2011

2011-03-14T22:40:00.000-04:00

Had a great night out with my daughter, and her friends and some dad's in the neighborhood at her school's annual Father Daughter Dance just before Valentines Day.

Brianna's New Glasses

2011-02-09T17:29:00.000-05:00

We learned a couple weeks ago that Brianna has a mild far sighted condition requiring her to get glasses for reading. She is actually pretty excited to get the glasses as she feels it's really going to help her in school. She is my princess!

Diego and my new ride

2011-02-09T17:21:00.000-05:00

I got my new company car last week - 2011 Ford Explorer Limited - Tuxedo Black. I am VERY happy with this vehicle - it's everything that Ford promised in this all new designed vehicle. The Explorer is now on a car platform and is officially a "Crossover" utility instead of a "traditional" sport utility. So, bottom line, it rides and handles much better than the old and it's technologically advanced 290HP V-6 get's much better fuel economy. Belinda also got a new Explorer limited - hers is Beaurdoux Red. She loves it.

Love the Ford Motor Company and thankful to have such a great job with great benefits!

Lacrosse Spring 2011 has Begun!

2011-02-09T09:58:00.000-05:00

The boys Lacrosse started this past weekend with first practices and a clinic held by the league featuring Liam Banks, a former All Star standout with the University of Syracuse LAX team back around 2005. Liam is a great teacher and player - at the end of the clinic, he did a shooting "show off" demo displaying trick shots - it was fun and had the boys stoked. This will be Diego's 3rd season and Antonio's first.

The new ICE arena

2011-02-09T09:55:00.000-05:00

ICE - a new skating complex opened up in our town of Cumming, GA a few months ago. It's a fantastic facility - our family has been a few times and we held Antonio's birthday party there back in December. We went on this past Saturday night as a family and it was a great evening. The kids are really picking it up - mom and dad are "afraid" to fall so we go very slow (unlike the good ole days).

Another Prize Winning Plane Project for Dad

2011-02-09T09:52:00.002-05:00

My dad recently finished this scale replica RC Model of an AT-6 Texan. He does fantastic work and won "Project of the month" at his local RC Club.

Christmas 2010 - New year 2011

2011-02-09T09:50:00.000-05:00

Well it's been some time since I have blogged. It's hard to keep up with this since Facebook is so much easier and most of my family and friends that pay any attention to this blog are on FB. Anyway, Christmas was awesome, and we are off to a quick start in 2011. January is already behind us and the boys started practice for Spring Lacrosse already. Over the past holiday, we spent Christmas at our Georgia home, then drove up to Indiana to see my side of the family for a couple days, then over to Ohio to see Belinda's side of the family. Here are a few photos - it was a great trip - we are so happy that we went.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

2010-12-05T20:58:00.001-05:00

Interesting sermon at church today discussing the preperation for Christmas. How most people get so busy with the process of getting ready for Christmas (shopping, endless parties, stress, etc.) that they forget the real meaning of the holiday. Our pastor suggested that maybe we forget about all the fuss and rush and just let Christmas "happen" for us. I liked the thought of that. We have many decorations up in the house and a bunch more in boxes. I think it's time to stop "preparing" and start "reflecting" on the true meaning of Christmas. Where is that Veggie Tales DVD when I need it.

Making New Riding Friends

2010-12-05T20:50:00.001-05:00

I am fortunate to live in one of the greatest motorcycling spots in the country. We are very close to some of the best twisty roads in the country, and for off roading, there are endless trails and forest service roads.

http://www.klr650.net/
I found a great resource in the KLR650.net website. It's a great forum for getting model specific information on technical matters as well as finding great motorcycle products. It's also a great place to meet people who enjoy the Kawasaki KLR 650 and dual sport motorcycling.

SOUTHEAST REGIONAL FORUM
There are regional pages on KLR 650.net. Here, you can find people in your local area who have KLR's. I have been able to make some new friends who have shown me around the North Georgia Mountains and introduced me to some great trails and FS Roads. They have also helped me with tech advice.

A DOCTOR, A UPS MAN, and a MARBLE MINER
I have always found the kind of people you meet who play around with motorcycles a very eclectic and interesting bunch. You never know who you are riding with. One day in Florida, I had breakfast with our church's "Praise Leader" on one side of me, and an Attorney for the "Adult Entertainment" industry on the other side of me (he said at first that he represented people in "first ammendment rights cases" - the truth eventually came out through conversation)

Recently, I have met 3 guys who ride bikes like mine. Les is a UPS guy, Kerry is a Gastroenterologist, and Jeff is a Marble Miner. Each with a different "story". I look forward to getting together with them and riding again soon.

Marco's 4th Birthday

2010-12-05T20:27:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-05T20:19:00.000-05:00

We decided that it would be good for our family to spend the Thanksgiving week at home this year. We really enjoyed the week. Turkey day was great - we decorated the Christmas tree, Belinda went shopping on Black Friday (in the middle of the night), Diego did some volunteer work, and Belinda and I celebrated 16 years of marriage. It was a nice and relaxing week.

Ford Championship Weeked 2010

2010-12-05T20:15:00.001-05:00

I made my annual trip down to Miami for Ford Championship Weekend - NASCAR's last race weekend of the year. I worked in the Ford Display all weekend but did get to celebrate Carl Edwards win in Victory lane. It was really fun - Carl is a great guy - it was nice to see the joy he and his team had after that win.

Fall Fun

2010-12-05T20:11:00.000-05:00

Kids will be kids. Unfortunately, they didn't dispose of the leaves after the play time...oh well, I needed the exercise.

Finding Dual Sport Riding Buddy's

2010-12-05T20:06:00.000-05:00

I am fortunate enough to live in one of the best motorcycling locations in the country. We have great riding weather for most of the year, have many mountain twisty roads, and if you are into it, there are Forest Service Roads and trails all over the place - just up the road from my house.

FINDING FRIENDS
When I lived in Forida, I had a small group of people to ride with - several of which lived in my neighborhood. Unfortunately, there are only a couple of riders besides me in my neighborhood and none of them are dual sport riders. Fortunately though, I have gotten to know some riders on the KLR.Net forum. It's a fantastic website forum that has "regional" pages. On the Southeast KLR Forum, there is a thread for North GA Mountain riding that guys use to find people to ride with. I recently met up with 2 really great guys who live in Chatsworth GA and know the GA mountains very well in the area from Dahlonega up to Ellijay and north to Tennessee. This area is part of the Chattahoochee National Forest.

A MARBLEMINER AND UPS GUY
Les is Kentucky native who works for UPS and Jeff works for the local Marble Mine in Ellijay. They both ride KLR 650's like mine. Great guys - I really like the way they ride too - they like to ride a little, stop, and putz around, talk, etc. During one of our stops, Jeff was talking about his oldest son. He is a Marine and is assigned to the Presdential Detail. In fact, if you have ever seen the picture of President Bush getting on the Marine One helicopter for the last time when he left office, Jeff's son in the Marine on the left that closed the door for him. Pretty cool - I guess he just got back from a tour in Afghanistan and is on detail for President Obama. Pretty cool pretty cool. I look forward to getting together with them in the near future.

Brianna's 7th Birthday Party

2010-10-25T21:35:00.000-04:00

Brianna turned 7 last Monday. We had her birthday party yesterday at a place at the Mall of Georgia called "Alter Ego Kids". Basically, it's dress up, make up, hair, nails, and dancing on the big stage. Girly Girly stuff - the kids loved it and we had a blast watching them. It was a really fun party.

Riding the "Dragon" with Friends

2010-10-25T21:21:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, I had 6 friends come visit for a long weekend of riding. Curt Owens, Steve Landes, and his wife Tina arrived on Thursday, and Andrew Steadman, Chris Galardi, and Bob Lowe arrived on Friday. The weekend started early on Friday morning as Curt, Steve, Tina and myself went up to the Suches, GA area and did some off roading. Then, on Saturday morning, the entire group departed for 2 days of riding in North GA, Easter North Carolina, and Southeast Tennessee. Our route took us from my home up through Dahlonega, GA where we stopped at Riders Hill - a really cool Moto Guzzi dealer and motorcycle cafe. From there we traveled further up into the mountains and stopped at Mountain Crossings Hiking store at Walasi Yi - this is where the Appalachian trail crosses Highway 129 about 15 miles south of Blairsville, GA. It's a historic building that is actually the only hike store "on" the Appalachian Trail (so they claim). From there, we headed on north until we reached Murphy North Carolina where we stopped for fuel. Then on to Andrews, NC for a snack stop, then we checked into our hotel, the Two Wheel Only Inn. What a cool place - it's a motor lodge designed for motorcyclists - each room comes with it's own garage. Very nice.

TAIL OF THE DRAGON
After dropping our gear, we fired up the iron horses again and headed for Deals Gap and the "Tail of the Dragon". 318 Curves in just 11 miles - cool road - fun people watching!

MOONSHINER 28
After we rode the section of US 129 called the "Dragon", we picked up US 28 and road a section called "Moonshiner 28". This piece of road is actually less stressfull riding than the Dragon - more sweeping curves and less blind corners - less hooligans.

CHEROHALA SKYWAY

For me, I think the highlight of the trip was the morning journey across US 143/165 which is the Cherohala Scenic Skyway. This is one of the nicest roads I have ever ridden on a motorcycle. Big sweeping curves, beautifull wide open scenic views - and the weather was just perfect with the leaves near their peak. It was really cool to see that part of the country on a sunny fall day. We stopped in Tellico Plain's TN for a break, then rode on down to my house taking Highway 60 through Suches, GA - another great motorcycle road.

In all, it was a fantastic trip and we were very thankful to have all stayed safe on the journe

Carey Chastain Benefit Poker Tourney

2010-10-23T23:42:00.000-04:00

Our neighbor and good friend Carey Chastain is fighting Leukemia. Belinda organized a benefit poker tourney in his honor last weekend. It was a great event - we have awesome neighbors.

Bert's Farm Pumpkin Patch Field Trip with Marco

2010-10-23T23:34:00.000-04:00

What could be better than a day out with Marco on a field trip to a pumpkn patch? We had a blast. His teacher is such a nice lady for organizing this trip.

Bey Blades Tournament at the Johnstons

2010-09-26T10:44:00.000-04:00

Belinda signed up and won a free Bey Blades Tournament package - she always finds the good deals. Kids had a good time.

Tough Loss to a VERY GOOD Sawnee Mountain Bulldogs Team

2010-09-26T10:40:00.000-04:00

The Midway Central Wolverines lost a tough game Saturday - 6-0 against a very good Sawnee Mountain Bulldogs team. It was a battle of the defenses and they broke 1 50YD run to win the game. Tough way to lose but the coach said this was probably the toughest team we have to play this year and he was very proud of how hard the boys worked. They have really come together as a team. Antonio had a few good tackles and also recovered a fumble.

Just a little tuning - one more video!

2010-09-26T10:19:00.000-04:00

Waking up the neighbors.

Just a little tuning!

2010-09-26T10:17:00.000-04:00

So I have now completely "farkled" this KLR. First, I got rid of the factory carburation settings (which are set way too lean in order to meet emissions standards) by shimming the needle and increasing the mixture. Then, I removed a silly rubber piece from the airbox called a snorkle to improve air flow, and replaced the factory air filter with an Uni performance filter, and modified the exhaust system. The bike ran fine from the factory but by doing the items mentioned above, it has "come alive". I did loose about 4 MPG of fuel mileage, but the bike still gets 44MPG and I have a 6.1 gallon tank (5.6 useable - don't ask me why - it's one of the quirks about KLR's) so I have a nearly 250 mile range - plenty for my butt's comfort.

Nerf Bar Bags

2010-09-26T10:10:00.000-04:00

Another useful modification I found on KLR.net - nerf bar bags. You can buy custom fit ones for $100 through Wolfman products, or, you can go to Walmart's Automotive section and do some shopping. They have a few ATV products and carry $17 gas tank throwover bags made for ATV's. Take the bags apart and you have matching nerf bar bags - one for each side of the bike. This allows me to move more stuff that I hopefully will never have to use, my spare tire tubes, out of my top box and into an out of the way place. Useful - very useful!

$10 Tool Tube

2010-09-26T10:03:00.000-04:00

So my friend Chris shared an idea for external motorcycle storage tubes made out of a tractor manual holder from Agri Supply the other day. I was intrigued by this idea, so I started surfing the KLR.net forums, I found a similar idea to turn a $10 welding rod holder sold at Home Depot into a tool storage tube. I installed it Friday night in about 5 minutes - very simple - very handy. This external tool storage now allows me to move all my tools I have been carrying in my top box to an out of the way place, freeing up storage in my top box so that now I have the option of leaving my saddlebags at home on day trips. The welding rod holder came in red - almost the same shade as my bike - just a little off. It's got a screw on cap with rubber washer to keep water out. Pretty neat idea.

South Carolina Run

2010-09-26T09:56:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, I got up to a beautiful day, and a "yard pass" to ride all day - sweet. I decided to head out in search of more twisty mountain roads that I haven't been on before. I set off up to South Carolina - the northwest corner. I rode through the Sumter National Forest, over to Clayton GA, then down to Lake Burton - what a spectacular lake. The road around the lake was newly paved, lots of curves, and very little traffic. I then motored down to Helen GA - they are gearing up for Octoberfest - lots of traffic there. Then I went south to Dawsonville, GA, then home. In total, about 250 miles. It was a good day.

Tellico Plains / Cherohala Skyway Ride

2010-09-06T10:53:00.000-04:00

Took off Sunday on my motorcycle and rode up to Tellico Plains and the Cherohala Parkway and then back. What a spectacular day for riding. The weather couldn't be any better! I logged right at 300 miles in total. In October, myself and some friends are doing a group weekend ride in this area and also up to the Deals Gap area - the views will be spectacular - I hope we hit the fall colors right!

It's Football Time!!!

2010-08-30T23:11:00.000-04:00

Midway Central Wolverines Football is in full swing. Antonio is having an absolute blast. We are very proud of him. He wanted to play defense really bad this fall and we told him that he needed to "earn" his spot on the squad - and that he did. He worked his butt off during the first 2 weeks of practice and impressed the coaches. They are still working to figure out where he will be most affective. They have had him at defensive end and also cornerback. Antonio is not the biggest kid for his age so he really has to work at it - he can't just rely on his size. He is fairly aggressive and effective at getting away from blockers, but hasn't perfected his tackling technique yet - the bigger kids still run over him occasionally when he tries to take them down above the waist. The coaches are teaching him to "wrap them up" - he'll get it. He got 3 helmet stickers for his hard work during their first pre-season game last Saturday. Antonio loves the game - and is having a blast. He loves to practice, loves to play, and loves to watch football on TV. Like Diego with Lacrosse, Antonio has found his sport.

Lacrosse Season Underway for Diego

2010-08-30T22:59:00.000-04:00

Diego started his 2nd season of Lacrosse about 3 weeks ago. He has tried many different sports, but I think he has found "his sport" with Lacrosse - he absolutely loves it. It's got the right mix between the fast pace, aggressive nature of the sport along with the fact that it's a very technical sport that requires good team skills to be able to get in position and score (kind of like ice hockey). Last weekend, they held their first games - it was actually a charity tournament for a local family (he was a Lacrosse coach in our league last year) who were struck by lightning while loading dirt bikes up during a sudden rain storm. The coach, his 13 year old boy and 15 year old boy where all struck as the truck/trailer was near a tree that was hit. The 15 year old got the worst of it - he actually was in full cardia arrest for a short period of time. Their medical bills to rehabilitate him are enormous so the league put together an invitational tourney. It was a lot of fun. We played 5 times over 2 days. It was great "pre season" experience for the boys.

3 Day Weekend in Indiana

2010-07-30T22:07:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, I drove up to Indiana Friday (my parents house) to meet Belinda and the kids who were finishing up a 2 week Midwest road trip visiting friends and family. We had a very nice - but short trip. While there, we visited mostly family, but I did get to stop at the Copper Bar in Terre Haute for a quick beer with my good friend Curt Owens. I look forward to a longer visit in November around Thanksgiving.

Lake Lanier - out for a Sunday boat ride with my boss

2010-07-30T21:50:00.000-04:00

A couple of Sunday's ago, I went for a boat ride with my boss Don Conroy. He is a super great guy. His family was out of town visiting relatives like mine so it was just the two of us wasting time riding around the lake on his 24' Sea Ray Weekender. I must say, His boat is almost exactly the same configuration as the Wellcraft 236 Eclipse that Belinda and I owned for 8 years. It made me remember the good times we had on that boat and really miss it. There are times I wish we had never gotten rid of it.

Lake Lanier is a very large U.S. Corps of Engineers Lake that supplies all of the water to Atlanta, South GA, and many parts of North FL. It's a beautiful recreational lake too. Check out some of the homes in my pics - not too shabby. We stopped at a little dive bar - actually, it's more of a biker bar that has a path through the woods and a rickety dock on the lake - just my kind of place. We had a 1/2 pound "tavern" burger - man was that thing good. Storms rolled in and we had to cut our sightseeing short, but it was still a very fun afternoon on the boat.

Bike Night in Buford, GA

2010-07-30T21:39:00.000-04:00

There are a few bike nights around my local area. I have only actually made it to 1. It's usually pretty hard for me to find the time to ride during the week. I did make it to Bike Night at the Pizza Pub in downtown Historic Buford, GA - a Neat little "old" town nestled in suburbia close to the Gwinnett and the Mall of Georgia about 25 minutes from my house. I didn't stay long - just took a few pics, grabbed a cold one, then left as I had some shopping to do. Notice in the picture that it's almost all Harley's, which is typical of most Bike Nights I have attended. I love being "different" and I usually draw some "looks" and "questions" from those riding the heavy iron. All good of course - I have found that bikers don't discriminate. The questions are usually "how heavy is that", "how is it down in the woods", many are surprised at how "pavement worthy" this bike is. I am really happy with it after 1 year of ownership. This one is going to be a long term "keeper" I think.

New Tires - North GA Mountain Run

2010-07-17T23:18:00.000-04:00

Belinda went up to Ohio from VA with the kids to visit family after our vacation. I went back to work. I have been pretty busy with work. However, I have tried to get out and ride every day. On Wednesday, I worked on my deck re-sealing project, then took off to Gainesville, GA at sunset. Somewhere around Oakwood, GA I took a very large screw to the back tire. Thanks Geico roadside assistance for getting me home. I got new tires on the bike on Friday. I went with 80% pavement / 20% off road tires as I have been spending most of my time on road. I went for a ride this afternoon up in the mountains and I am very pleased with the new tires - except for the failure of my speedometer!

DC Vacation - relo to Keptopeke State Park Outer Banks VA

2010-07-17T23:03:00.001-04:00

On Wednesday, we relocated down to the outer banks of Virginia and set up camp at Keptopeke State Park. We really liked this park. It was very clean, and the beach was awesome. We spent a day at Busch Gardens Williamsburgh, then stayed at the park on Friday.

DC Vacation Part IV

2010-07-17T22:52:00.000-04:00

After we toured the capitol, we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space, then the Smithsonian Natural History.

DC Vacation Part III

2010-07-17T22:45:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, we had a special treat. Belinda arranged a tour of the Nations Capitol through our US Representative. It was the highlight of our DC tour.

DC Vacation Part II

2010-07-17T22:40:00.000-04:00

On Monday, we went down to the National Mall and walked the White House, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, got a little dehydrated, hit a McDonalds, then back to the campgrounds.

DC Family Vacation Part 1

2010-07-17T22:36:00.000-04:00

We took off on July 3rd on our way to DC. We had camping reservations at Prince William National Forest just outside of DC. We made ok time with many stops. It was HOT. On day 1, went to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum - Udvar Hazey Center at Dulles Airport. Then, we had a nice dinner, then went downtown to the National Mall for the fireworks. We loved the display at Dulles. Then we found a parking spot in front of the Greece's Embassy building on Embassy row. We then took the subway downtown. The fireworks were very good but very short. When we got back to the subway to get back to the car, it was a ZOO. Crazy.

Diego's First Summer Camp

2010-06-08T20:56:00.000-04:00

Diego left Sunday for his first Boy Scout Summer Camp. 7 days at Camp Rainey Mountain up near Clayton GA in the northeast corner of the state. He is going to have a blast. Here are a few pictures we took of his troops facility which is actually property of the local VFW who is the sponsor. It's a really cool place for Scouts.

Fun in the Pool Early Summer 2010

2010-06-08T20:45:00.001-04:00

Very thankful to live in a beautiful place with a really nice swim/tennis facility. We love our house in Georgia!

Peachtree Dekalb Airshow 2010

2010-06-08T20:38:00.000-04:00

Peachtree Dekalb Airport on the north east side of Atlanta holds an annual "Free Air Show and Open House" every spring. I have been to many airshows that were much larger, but, this was pretty darn good for "free". The kids had a good time. It was Marco's first airshow. I have been taking Diego and Antonio to airshows since they were in diapers. In fact, they both have attended the big one up in Oshkosh WI and even camped on the airport grounds with me.

There were lots of nice planes flying and on display. My only major complaint was that they warbirds that were on display (and in flyable condition) did not perform. I always love hearing the sound of an old radial engine or a Rolls Royce V-12 Merlin singing. Oh well. There will be others.

Brianna's Dance Recital 2010

2010-06-08T20:26:00.000-04:00

She is a princess - I think pictures say it all!

Tail of the Dragon - US 129 Deals Gap, NC

2010-06-08T20:19:00.000-04:00

Back at the end of May, I squeezed in a trip I have been wanting to do for a long time. I rode up to Robbinsville, NC and rode "The Dragon". This is an 11 mile stretch of US Highway 129 at the northwestern corner of North Carolina that has 318 turns. It's a "magnet" for bikers, sports car enthusiasts, and hooligans of all sorts. It's one of those places that you kind of have to ride at least one time to say you have done it. However, I found it fairly stressful trying to ensure I didn't get run over but some idiot who couldn't say in their lane. Nevertheless, it was a blast. I went up on Saturday AM, checked in and set up camp and a really cool campground called the Ironhorse. Then I set off for an afternoon of riding. I got back to camp around dinner, took a shower, and met some of the many bikers staying at this campground. It was a very clean and friendly place. Not a rowdy place at all - I would call it the "over 40 crowd" - so I guess since I am 40 I sort of fit in. At sunset, they lit up the firepit, and 2 guys that worked at the lodge came out to sing songs on their guitars. It was pretty cool.

I got up early Sunday and made it home in a flash as Antonio had his final football game later in the day. In all, it was a short 24 hour "mental health" break that I really needed and enjoyed.

Memorial Day 2010

2010-06-08T20:04:00.000-04:00

We had a very nice Memorial Day weekend. There was an end of school year party at the pool to kick things off on Friday. On Saturday, Belinda's dad, sister, husband and nephew arrived for a short visit. I cooked ribs for our BBQ, and then on Sunday we headed up to one of our favorite places, Amicalola falls for a hike.

5th Grade Graduation

2010-06-08T19:59:00.000-04:00

Diego graduated 5th grade this year and is headed to Middle School in the fall. We are so proud of him. He is growing into a very responsible and mature young man.

5th Grade Trip

2010-06-08T19:55:00.000-04:00

Diego's 5th grade class went to downtown Atlanta for their 5th grade trip. They had a really good time visiting the CNN Center and a few other stops. They had lunch at the Varsity - an Atlanta tradition
(seriously greasy overprice dive - love it).

Cub Scouts Pack 8307 End of Year Picnic

2010-06-08T19:51:00.000-04:00

I am a little behind on blogging. This was from the 3rd weekend in May. We held the Pack 8307 end of year picnic at the Sawnee Mountain Preserve. It was really nice - almost 100% attendance. We received new pack flags from the American Legion post that sponsors us, had a nice dinner, and went on a hike. We have a very nice group of people!

Experimenting with Camera Features

2010-05-09T15:31:00.000-04:00

The nice thing about our new camera is that it's very easy to do basic photography. However, it's also loaded with features to allow you to be a little more creative. Here are a few styles I have tried.....not too bad for a novice!

Scout Camping - Rainey Mountain Scout Reserve

2010-05-09T15:24:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was "family campout" at Rainey Mountain which is up near Clayton, GA in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Very fun place - great set up for kids. We just camped 1 night - too busy with other activities to stay 2. This was Marco's first time "tent" camping. He loved it.

West Forsyth Lacrosse U 11 Blue - Season Finale

2010-05-09T15:17:00.000-04:00

Diego's Lacrosse team played in the Roswell invitational tourney this weekend. They had a very good season. We were very proud of the boys. Diego has "found his sport". He loves Lacrosse and is already talking about playing in the fall season. Diego managed to score a few goals this season, and even took home a couple of "game balls". Here are some pictures from the past 2 weeks games.

Talladega Spring 2010

2010-05-09T15:05:00.000-04:00

I took Brianna, Diego, and Marco to the Spring Race at Talladega recently. It was a really fun time. That complex is HUGE - lots of walking. I estimate probably 3.5 miles round trip from car to seats and back to car. Somehow, Marco made it without any fuss. We actually stayed through the end of the race (Brianna usually gets bored but she requested to stay to the end).

Flag Football - VERY proud of Antonio

2010-04-23T22:29:00.001-04:00

I asked Antonio a few months ago what spring sport he wanted to play. He said "Flag Football". I said "why". He said, "I want to work on my skills for fall tackle". Cool. So, he is playing flag in I-9 Sports leagues spring season. I am so proud of him - he is leading the team in defense (pulled flags). He also has a couple of touchdowns. It's really building his confidence.

Powder Puff Derby

2010-04-18T12:01:00.000-04:00

Brianna's Girl Scout Daisy troop had their "Powder Puff" Derby races yesterday. She didn't win, but faired pretty well for her first time. She and I had fun building the car and decorating it - that's all that really matters!

Lacrosse - West Forsyth VS Cherokee

2010-04-18T11:57:00.001-04:00

Another great day to watch a Lacrosse match. Diego played well - he is getting more aggressive on defense which is good.

Cub Scout Photography Belt Loop

2010-04-18T11:46:00.001-04:00

We broke our pocket camera over spring break. We decided it was time to upgrade to a D-SLR Camera with extra zoom lens. We got the Nikon D-5000. It's a great camera. I taught Antonio how to use it and we worked on the Cub Scout Photography belt loop this morning. He took all these pictures - not bad huh?

5 Mile Hike

2010-04-18T11:38:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday of Spring Break, we took everyone up to Anna Ruby Falls National Recreation area for a picnic and some hiking. Rob, Roberta, Paul, Diego, and Antonio hiked the 5 mile trail from Anna Ruby to Unicoi State Park and Belinda, Gwen, Marco, and Brianna drove the cars down and met us 3 hours later. It was a challenging hike, but lots of fun and very pretty.

Spring Break 2010 Part II

2010-04-18T11:33:00.000-04:00

The 2nd visitors for the week were Rob's sister Roberta, her husband Paul, and their 3 kids Gwen, Madison, and Nathan. They arrived on Monday and stayed through Friday. The weeks activities included a visit to Anna Ruby Falls and Unicoi State Park, Helen GA, a Braves Game, the World of Coke museum, couple of tennis matches, and some fishing in the backyard. The weather cooperated - it was beautiful most of the week.

Spring Break 2010 Part 1

2010-04-18T11:26:00.000-04:00

Spring break was awesome this year. Rob took the whole week off, and we had visitors from "up north". The Taylors were the first to arrive - it was a stopover visit for them as they were on their way to Florida. We took them to one of our favorite places - Amicalola Falls and hiked. We did the complete loop - up and down the stairs from top to bottom and them through the woods back to the car. It was fun!

Backyard Makeover - FINISHED!

2010-03-29T22:20:00.000-04:00

Turned out really well. We hope to have grass in about 4 weeks. The kids were really surprised with the fishing deck we had built. I don't think they really knew what we were doing. It's basic, but it's going to really make using the lake much easier and more pleasant.

Backyard Makeover Part II

2010-03-26T21:52:00.000-04:00

The workers completed the stairs next to the house and started the fishing deck and steps today. Very happy so far.

Alanta Auto Show

2010-03-26T21:27:00.000-04:00

Well, in a word, dissapointment. Ford's display was HUGE. But, as a car enthusiast, I really wanted to see all the "stuff" from the other manufacturers. Nissan, BMW, Infiniti, Porsche,and several others were not even there. Very dissapointing. I guess it's the economy. Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep - shut it down. I stood in their display for about 5 minutes and I was the only person there besides the workers. Mercedes - your stuff is pretty nice - may I test drive your next generations SLR? Very nice. 2011 Acura TL - nice. Buick Regal concept - well, it looks nice, but, it's a friggin Buick. Who's going to buy that thing. Mini - your still cool. Toyota - please. Honda Crosstour - that thing "ain't" innovative - it's a hack of an Accord. Audi - your A8 is really nice. Chevy Silvarado, and GMC Super Duty - you will never be an F-Series. There is a reason we are the #1 selling truck - and VEHICLE in the world. Sorry. Try again next year.

Ford, Lincoln, Mercury. I love our products. I love our strategy. I love our Quality. One Ford. Bring it.

Backyard Makeover Part I

2010-03-24T21:52:00.007-04:00

When we purchased our house last summer, I knew we would eventually need to invest some money in the backyard landscaping. Well, the heavy rains we received this winter have forced that project ahead a little. Thanks to some great negotiating skills by Belinda, we are doing several things over the next week. First piece of the project is to extend the stairs down the left side of our house into the yard. What yard was there, has washed down the hill. Very dangerous to walk on and it's erroding pretty bad around the retaining wall. The workers got a bunch done today, and Belinda was able to also negotiate a "clean up" of all our shrubs and landscape beds in front of the house too. They did a great job.

After they get done with the stairs next to the house, we are having them install stairs down in the woods that will lead to a fishing platform. Then, they will till up the back yard, and completely re-seed the whole thing. It's going to look great!

Here's the pictures in progress and what the mess looked like just before they started.

Best Buy Rules! Gotta have the Extended Warranty!

2010-03-24T21:42:00.000-04:00

We are big fans of Best Buy. They have taken really good care of us. We have purchased the extended warranty they offer on the last few items we got from there. Our last TV, well, it was in for repair 4 times in the past 6 months, so,that meant we were able to get replacement value for it. We took advantage of this opportunity and upgraded to a Sony 55"Flat Panel LCD and had it mounted on the wall. So, no more entertainment center!

With the Sony surround system I already have, this TV rocks. I am currently watching episode II of the Pacific - love it!

Visit from Mom and Dad

2010-03-24T21:30:00.001-04:00

Grandma Joy and Grandpa Jack stopped by for a visit last week. We had a really nice time. They got to see several of the kids activities including Dance practice, Pinewood Derby, Lacrosse, and Flag football. They are coming back in June for Brianna's Dance recital.

More Lacrosse pics

2010-02-28T13:57:00.000-05:00

One of the parents with a more capable camera took some great photos and posted them to Shutterfly - great stuff!

First Lacrosse match....a learning experience

2010-02-28T12:48:00.000-05:00

West Forsyth Gold's first Lacrosse match was yesterday morning VS Lassiter in Marietta, GA. The coach was very impressed with the effort our goys made. The final score did no really show that unfortunately. The coach is doing a great job with these boys - half of them have never played the game before including Diego so he is very patient with them. Diego did a great job - and the coach has been very complimentary of his attitude - saying he is a "natural" athlete and is surprised how quickly he has picked up the game.

We learned that Lacrosse is a really fun, face paced and intense sport to watch. In fact, Diego and I have been watching it on ESPN U the past couple of weeks. It's really an exciting sport.

Diego's Cub Scout Awards

2010-02-28T12:41:00.000-05:00

In preperation for Diego's first Boy Scout meeting tomorrow, I had to remove all the patches and awards that he had earned from his uniform. The only awards that you are allowed to carry forward on the uniform to Boy Scouts is the Faith Knot patch and the Arrow of Light. I hated to put all these things in a box for them never to bee seen again, so I went to Michaels crafts and bought a shadow box (40% off sale - nice) to display them in. I think it turned out pretty good!

Big Day on the Lake

2010-02-28T12:37:00.000-05:00

We had fun last Sunday enjoying a beautiful winter day floating around Lake Castleberry. It was Marco's first time to try out the boat - he really enjoyed it. Antonio wasn't having too much luck fishing, while Diego struggled to figure out how to row a flat bottom boat in the wind. We are really enjoying our Georgia home! Today, we are trying our luck fishing again with Antonio's Cub Scout Den.....I hope Den Leader Steve can give us some good tips - we need to change our luck!

Cub Scouts Blue and Gold

2010-02-28T12:32:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday was a very special day. Diego and Antonio had their Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banuets. Antonio received his wolf badge, and Diego earned the highest award in Cub Scouting - the Arrow of Light. Diego officially crossed over to Boy Scouts. We are very proud of him! He will be joining troop 39 tomorrow night and is very excited about the move.

For Antonio, this marked the first Blue and Gold Ceremony for the new Pack 8307, our startup pack at the new Whitlow Elementary School. We had a very nice ceremony, dinner, and had a magician for entertainment.

Snow in the South - a Rare Treat

2010-02-12T20:56:00.001-05:00

What a treat to get some snow in the south. This afternoon, we received abou 3 inches of heavy, wet snow that stuck to everything making for a really pretty scene. Belinda is down in Florida with the kids (they had a 5 day break from school) and they really missed out as it's 45 and raining there - well, they are visiting our old friends so that's cool. I had a fun time with the neighbors making snowmen.

Father Daughter Dance 2010

2010-02-12T20:29:00.000-05:00

On Friday night, Brianna and I attended the Whitlow Elementary School Father Daughter dance. We went to Brian and Karen Mcpherson's house before the event for some pizza, brownies, and punch. It was a great evening - one of the best I have had in a long time. By the nature of being a Dad to 3 boys, I end up spending a lot of time with my boys. The opportunity to have a night with just me and her was just priceless.

Daisy Girl Scout

2010-01-31T10:52:00.000-05:00

Brianna is our latest official Scout. She completed all the requirements to become a Daisy Girl Scout. We are so proud of her! Belinda is one of the co-leaders and they held a very nice awards ceremony for the girls.

Dining Room Furniture Fix Up

2010-01-31T10:45:00.000-05:00

Light colored seat cushions on dining room chairs just don't work. We (the kids) pretty much trashed ours. Rather than try to have them steam cleaned, we decided to just re-cover them with something that works a little better with our dining rooms color scheme. Belinda bought some material at a very reasonable price a couple of weeks ago. We finally got around to completing the project. I think the before and after pictures speak for themselves. We even had enough material left to re-cover the piano bench seat - not sure it matches the room but it looks better than what it was.

Lacrosse Spring Warm Up Camp

2010-01-24T16:17:00.000-05:00

Diego is playing Lacrosse for the first time this spring. He attended a warm up camp yesterday - and did a fantastic job. I was very impressed with how well he handled the stick and adapted to this new sport. He even scored 3 goals during a scrimmage at the end of the day. Diego is a good athlete - but hasn't seemed to gravitate to one particular sport - maybe this is the one?

MLK Day at the lake

2010-01-24T16:12:00.000-05:00

We all had MLK day off. It was very nice here - nearly 60 degrees and sunny. We decided to go out to Lake Lanier and hike/have a picnic. Beautiful day.

Diego has earned the Highest Award in Cub Scouts

2010-01-14T20:54:00.000-05:00

I took Diego to his Cub Scout meeting tonight at the local Fire Station to complete the Readyman Pin. this particular pin is designed to teach the boys first aid, "knowledge" of CPR, and other life saving skills. Diego actually volunteered to play the part of victim as the EMT's pretended he had just fallen out of a tree (something that wouldn't actually surprise me if it happens one day).

I am very proud of Diego. The Cub Scout program begins when boys are in the first grade as "Tiger Cubs" they then advance along the path until they are in the 5th grade as Webelo II Cubs. They transfer to Boy Scouts after they turn 11, graduate 5th grade, or earn the "Arrow of Light" award, which is the highest award you can earn as a Cub Scout. I am very proud as Diego has now achieved all of the requirements to receive this prestigious award. He will officially cross over to Boy Scouts next month.

Cub Scouts - Roller Skating

2010-01-14T20:45:00.000-05:00

Antonio's Cub Scout den went to the local skate rink Sunday afternoon for open Skate. It's changed a bunch from when I was a kid. Lots of neon lights replace the disco ball, and the kids use fancy in-line skates. Well, there was one old dude rocking a pair of old school skates tearing it up. Reminded me of going to the Wigwam Skating rink in North Terre Haute as a kid. Good times.

MONSTER JAM - Georgia Dome!!!

2010-01-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Ford's partnership with Monster Jam, I received 6 complimentary tickets to their first ever live broadcasted show at the Georgia Dome this past Saturday night. I took our 4 kids and a neighbor's son Jacob (Belinda cancelled last minute to do some much needed shopping and Jacob was the lucky kid standing in my kitchen so he got the nod).

We had passes to the "pre race pit party". I thought we were going to be special - yeah, us and 10,000 other people who bought a $15 ticket. MAN was it crowded.

In all, the kids were very well behaved, I didn't loose anyone in the mass of humanity walking to the parking lot, and the show was once again fantastic. Hat's off to Monster Jam - really good night of family entertainment.

Finished Product

2010-01-14T20:35:00.000-05:00

OK - the brisket was good. Not great, but good. The kids loved it - probably because I set the table real nice and let them drink orange juice out of wine glasses again. It was just a little on the dry side in the middle, and didn't have the deep smoke ring (the red ring you see on a well smoked product) that I was hoping for. But alas - I know what I did wrong. I cut corners on the marinade recipe to start with. Also, right in the middle of the cooking, when you are supposed to mop the meat every hour, we took off for 2.5 hours to a Cub Scout event. The recipe called for hickory or cherry wood, and I used the only thing I had, mesquite and I actually didn't have enough so the thick smoke only lasted for the first 90 minutes of cooking. We'll do better next time.

Sunday's Feast - Smoked Brisket

2010-01-10T01:54:00.000-05:00

Smoker recipe # 4 - Braggin Right's Brisket. Belinda surprised me tonight by picking up a brisket while at the store. I just finished preparing the mop that will be used for marinade and making the rub. 6 hours in the marinade, then dry, apply the dry rub, fire up the smoker to 300 - I am going to use Hickory, the recipie calls for cherry but I don't have any of that. The book says Hickory will do. Then smoke 3 hours, then make another batch of mop and apply hourly for another 6 or until 165 degrees. Then remove, wrap in aluminum foil, and place back in the smoker until it reaches 195 degrees internal temp which should be another hour. Should be ready by dinner time if I can get my butt out of bed early enough -it's 2AM as I am typing this.

Snow Days

2010-01-10T01:45:00.000-05:00

The kids wish came true. North Georgia got an inch of snow and enough ice on the roads to close school for a day. They had a great time enjoying it. Marco has never seen snow so he was pretty fascinated with it. The kids had a great time sledding with the neighbors.

New Years Day Motorcycle Ride to Lake Lanier

2010-01-02T13:21:00.000-05:00

I took off mid-afternoon for a motorcycle ride on New Years day. Went over to western Gwinnett County area, then over to Lake Lanier and rode the western bank - Buford Dam Road. Stopped at a couple of parks and took a few pictures. It was a cold day, but my foul weather gear took care of me.

Lake Lanier is a beautiful Corps of Engineers built lake that provides water for the City of Atlanta, South Georgia, and even Northern Florida. I am not sure how any acres it is, but it's huge. I was surpised to see a few boats out on the Lake - it was a pretty cold day - low 40's - and it's been below freezing at night. I guess people in this area don't winterize boats since it doesn't stay cold for very long. I winterized my RV, but then again, I do't plan on using it for a couple more months.

I am really enjoying my KLR. It's been a really good bike for the kind of riding I do. I have been a little concerned this week about the temps - the engine doesn't seem to want to stay at operating temperature while riding at speed. This is a common concern with the bike - most people who ride in cold weather do the "Thermo Bob" modification, which simply replaces the factory thermostat with an aftermarket one that works more effectively. Anyway, I have been very pleased with my cold weather gear. I have no problem riding in temps between 30 and 50 and being perfectly comfortable. I haven't tried riding in anything colder than that. Maybe today - it's mid-20's right now.

"Blue Moon" New Years Eve Party at the Johnston's

2010-01-02T12:35:00.003-05:00

We hosted a party at our house on New Years Eve - we had 7 families over for a fun get together.
The "boys" went over to a neighbors with a babysitter and Marco and the "girls" stayed at or house. They were all so cute running around in a pack wearing their PJ's.

Food and drink were plentiful. We had a variety of beers for sampling - my favorite beer name "Arrogant Bastard Ale"....Wayne reported that it was pretty good. There were also martini's, red wine, and champagne being enjoyed.

The highlight of the evening was playing a fun dice game called left center right. You can pick it up at any party store. It's a pretty simple game that brings lots of laughs and trash talking.

The "Blue Moon" was finally present once the clouds cleared about 11PM.

It was a really fun night. We are so blessed to have found a great neighborhood and to have made good friends so quickly. We love our new Georgia home!!!

Everyone crowded around the TV waiting for the ball to drop in the Big Apple.

3rd Hike of the week

2010-01-02T12:24:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday, we took a drive over to Red Top Mountain State Park over in Cartersville, GA on Lake Allatoona. We took a hike around the lake, checked out the lodge, then got a little wet when the rain started. The kids had a good time with their walking sticks, throwing pine cones, and running through the "scrub".

Holiday Hike

2009-12-28T12:09:00.000-05:00

OK - couple of days inside the house was enough - time to get out and exercise and enjoy this beautiful weather - 54 and sunny - can't beat that for North GA in December!

We went up to Amicalola Falls - did some hiking and bought our 2010 park passes. We plan to be frequent park visitors this year and are planning a week camping trip this summer. Love the state parks, love to hike, love the outdoors - especially with the family.

Christmas Day - FOOD FOOD and MORE FOOD - Grandad's China

2009-12-28T12:02:00.000-05:00

We like to eat. I like to eat. The day started out with opening the gifts, and about 11AM, I fired up he smoker and put on the Turkey. At the same time, Belinda cooked up a homestyle breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and cinnamon rolls that the neighbors gave us the night before. YUMMY.

My Grandfather (we called him Grandad) was a wonderful man. I have so many fond memories of him. He live a healthy life into his early 90's before passing away about several years ago. Belinda and I were given his complete set of China. We only use it on special occastions - Christmas Day being one of them. We had a great meal and reflected on memories of Grandad while eating turkey, all the trimmings, a glass of wine for mom and dad and some sparkling grape juice for the kids. Great meal, great day.

Christmas Day 2009 - opening the gifts

2009-12-28T11:51:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Jesus! What a great day at the Johnston household. It began at 3:45 AM with dad discovering the kids sorting their presents out from under the tree. Excuse me, but, that's just too early. I got them back to bed, and crashed out on the couch to "keep watch" over the situation. Well, that didn't last long - they spent the next couple of hours giggling in their rooms. We finally got up around 7AM and started the festivities.

Trains, Boats, Bikes, nerf guns and video games - that was the deal for the kids this year. Belinda got some really nice jewelry and a few other items - I got a meat smoker that I opened a few days early. I also got a really cool motorcycle made out of various interesting bits of metal that will look great on my desk in the office and new Indiana State U. hat and some cash.

I believe I will let the pictures tell the story!

Antonio's Christmas Present - Fish Hunter 360 Fishing Boat

2009-12-26T23:03:00.000-05:00

We live on a little lake (it's a pond where I come from, but the locals call it a lake) and it's stocked with Bass, panfish, and supposedly a few catfish, although we have never caught any of them. Antonio loves to fish. We made a path down through the very thick brushy woods this past summer and made a little clearing where we fish from behind the house. There is also a gazebo at the other end of the lake that is a pretty nice place to fish from. Antonio asked for a fishing boat for Christmas. I looked at several types - canoes, scanoes, jon boats, and inflatables. I came to the conclusion that the Jon boats were to heavy, canoes too easy to tip over, and scanoes just too darn expensive. I ended up with a Sevylor Fish Hunter 360 inflatable. It's 12' long, very stable, and has built in rod holders. It can also be fitted with an electric trolling motor, although we opted to get Antonio oars to start out with.

The weather was pretty decent today, so we decided to test out the boat. The first thing we learned was that blowing up a heavy duty inflatable boat that's been sitting in a 40 degree garage is not the best idea. We quickly moved the boat from outside to the warmth of the kitchen table to loosen up the rubber. After it sat for an hour, the $20 coleman pump I bought was "good enough". Time to head for the open water.

The trek down the hill was all me. The kids carried the equipment and I carried the boat. There are plenty of pokey things to pop a hole in this boat on the way down the hill so I am going to have to be the one to carry it to ensure it stays intact. Once at the bottom of the hill, I noticed the lake was terribly muddy. We had a pretty hard rain on Christmas even and all the run off really mucked up the water. It didn't really matter though, Antonio only brought one pole and a tackle box that was half empty. I didn't really expect to catch anything today - just wanted to get out and enjoy some fresh air and time with my boys. Surprisingly, Diego, who hadn't really expressed much interest in the boat, was really getting into it. Antonio just sees it a a means to possibly catch more fish. Diego is ready to go out on Lake Lanier. He was having a blast paddling.

In all, I would say it was a great Christmas present, one that we all will enjoy for a long time I am sure.

Merry Christmas to ME - More Outdoor Cooking Gear to Enjoy!

2009-12-21T20:01:00.000-05:00

I love to be outside. So, cooking outside is a favorite of mine. I can often be found on Saturday or Sunday evening, cold beer in hand, standing over the grill on the deck. I have been wanting to add a Smoker to my outdoor cooking equipment for sometime. Merry Christmas to me. I finally pulled the trigger and bought a Brinkman gas smoker. OK - if you are a traditionalist, I apologize for buying a gas smoker as I realize a proper southern boy only smokes food with a wood or charcoal smoker. However, my research found that gas is one of the easiest to use and operate, is fairly portable in case you want to take the smoker tailgating or camping, and fell right into my price range. Gas fueled smokers are also recommended by a couple people who have "authored" books about BBQ techniques.

GOOD RESOURCES
One of my co-workers, Ray Parrish, who is a fabulous cook, gave me a great book to read titled "Backyard BBQ - The Art of Smokology". The author is an award winning, professionally trained chef who specializes in BBQ, and has won several contests and awards over the past 20 years. Also, my neighbors the Fortangs gave me a book for Christmas titled "Smoke & Spice" by Cheryl and Bill Jamison. Tons or recipes for outdoor cooking.

TEST RUN
I "seasoned" the smoker Friday night - basically, all this consists of is using the smoker as if you were cooking something, but not cooking something. It puts a nice coat of smokey residue all over the inside of the smoker and burns off any leftover oils from the assembly process. We then bought 3 racks of ribs Sunday, and used the "Kansas City Sloppy Rib's" recipe as a trial run with the smoker. They turned out really good. I wouldn't say they are better than my Dr. Pepper Ribs, just different with the smoked flavor. My next smoking adventure will be on Christmas Day when we will prepare a 13 lb Turkey in the Smoker. The prep work will start with the Brine process on Christmas eve followed by 5 hours in the smoker on Christmas Day.....stay tuned!

Our Christmas Eve Baby's 8th Birthday

2009-12-21T19:31:00.001-05:00

Antonio was born on Christmas Eve, so we always celebrate it a couple weeks early. He had some of his pals over for pizza and some bowling and bumper cars at the local "Stars and Strikes". Pretty cool place.

Thanksgiving in the Midwest Part 7 - what a great week

2009-12-02T23:52:00.000-05:00

Back from the trip, Monday was a day of unpacking, cleaning, and reflection on a super trip to the Midwest. 15 years of marriage to my lovely wife Belinda as of last week, and I honestly can't think of a better way to have spent our anniversary than together with family and friends giving thanks for all the many blessings we have.

Merry Christmas.

Thanksgiving in the Midwest Part 6

2009-12-02T23:48:00.000-05:00

Finally, here are some random pics of family from a luncheon we had. Everyone is doing just fine!

Thanksgiving in the Midwest Part 5

2009-12-02T23:44:00.000-05:00

On the final day of our trip, we met up with several friends at the Copper Bar in downtown Terre Haute. I was pretty excited that they had Stella Artois and Smittwicks both for $2.50 a bottle - that's like free where I live. Anyway, Belinda and I really enjoyed seeing several old friends Heather, Billie, Marcie, Laticia and her husband Chuck, our new friend Doc (Jayne's fiance), my cousin Eric....well, I think that is it. We both agreed that on future trips, we must make it a point to see our friends in addition to family. It's very important and made the trip very memorable. I wish I would have taken more pictures of the group.

Thanksgiving in the Midwest Part 4

2009-12-02T23:39:00.000-05:00

Friday started off a little concerning. Thursday, while traveling over to Indiana, the motorhome began running a little rough and the check engine light came on. So, dad and I took it up to see our friends up at Clinton Ford, Tom and Gus Wilson. Turned out to be a clogged fuel filter. I am actually glad it happened because dad and I had some great bonding time and I always enjoy shooting the shit with the boys at Clinton Ford.

Later in the day, we got together with some old friends and their kids for some bowling fun. A highlight of the evening was meeting Jayne's fiance Doc. We really like him - very nice guy. We also saw Cindy - haven't seen her in years! After bowling, I left the company of my family and David took me out to deer camp to see the Fontanet boys....lots of camo clothing, beer drinking, fire pit watching, and card playing. No deer hunting. Funny, I have seen this scene before.....several times.....no pictures though - photos strictly prohibited at deer camp.

Thanksgiving in the Midwest Part 3

2009-12-02T23:32:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Day - off early AM to Indiana. We made it to my sisters house by early afternoon - just in time for a very nice feast. We also got to meet Paul's parents - they are very nice people and we enjoyed everyone's company. Once again - I ate too much....the homeade ice cream was over the top good.

Thanksgiving in the Midwest Part 2

2009-12-02T23:28:00.000-05:00

Day 3 and we headed for Bowling Green Ohio (actually, McClure OH - small farm town outside of BG) for an early Thanksgiving dinner with Belinda's family. WAY TOO MUCH FOOD - I ate mostly junk food. Belinda stayed up all night gabbing with her sisters and then went to Meijer for the 6AM shopping spree - she bought me a TV for our patio - it was a doorbuster special - love that woman!

Thanksgiving in the Midwest Part 1

2009-12-02T23:24:00.000-05:00

Last Monday, we loaded up the motorhome (with way to much stuff) and headed north for Stow, OH for the first stop on our journey to see relatives over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Stow is where Kent State University is located, and were Belinda's older brother David is Associate Vice President of Admissions....he has done very well for himself!

Along the way, we stopped in Kentucky at a Wal-Mart for a couple hours sleep in the parking lot, then on to Mansfield Ohio to visit a good friend, Christine Ball. She met us at this really neat restauruant called the Buckeye Express. Picture an old steam locomotive, turned into diner, on the edge of a golf course, decorated by the owner who is an Ohio State Buckeye fan....yes, a bit unusual but really cool.

We then made our way to Stow - really nice little college town on the outskirts of Akron/Cleveland area. Dave took us out for dinner in his new Mercedes (did I mention he is doing well for himself) and actually bought us dinner - good deal!