Motorcycle Tour Day 2

What a day and what luck we seem to have. In the complete rush of life in the week leading up to vacation I never even took the time to check the weather online. Seeing as we were planning to spend two full days on a motorcycle, and we own rain gear, you would have thought I would have planned our packing accordingly. But I didn’t bother. We just left on blind faith that it would be nothing but sunny in Arizona and boy did we luck out. As it turned out it had rained for several days right before we arrived and apparently thunderstorms were surrounding us yesterday, but we never saw a drop. As a matter of fact we almost never where under cloud cover and the day was spectacular.

We left Prescott nice and early and it was nice and cool. We both needed to wear fleece under our motorcycle jackets. We had more mountains to climb and between the unreal scenery and the exhilarating ride you would swear you were on a Disney amusement park ride (that you could control). More hairpin S turns that cut right into the side of the mountains. And just to add more excitement to the ride was the fact that Karlo still has a cold and you never knew when the next sneeze was coming. Yikes.

Our first point of interest was an adorable town on the side of a mountain called Jerome. It’s a very artsy town lined with little shops and galleries. Karlo totally lucked out and avoided me shopping in them due to the fact that we rolled into town before anything opened. Oh well.

The next stop was spectacular Sedona. I’ve been to Sedona in the past, and I knew it was named one of America’s top 10 most beautiful places, but it still blew me away. It is hard to find the words to describe this place. Here, maybe some pictures are in order:





We spent a couple hours exploring here. We drove up to great lookout, visited a chapel built into the side of a cliff by Frank Lloyd Wright, and shopped around a beautiful artists’ colony. I didn’t want to leave and I already have retirement dreams. Too bad Karlo wouldn’t let me pick up a real estate magazine. Or maybe I should say, “Good thing Karlo didn’t . . . “

Half of the ride back South was terrific. The views were great, the temperature was perfect, the roads were made for motorcycles and we were in Heaven. I just wish we had helmet cams.

But our Heaven soon turned to Hell. The further South we drove (and the more elevation we lost) cranked the temps up about 100 degrees. Add to that the fact that the last 100 miles were on a highway (my least favorite place to ride), there was heavy holiday traffic, the windshield on the BMW is terrible compared to our own bike, and did I mention it was 1,000 degrees out? I sat on the back of the bike for the last hour praying to God that we would make it home alive. Karlo drove 80 – 90 mph the entire time, passing everyone on the road and I was nearly in tears (holding onto my helmet -- and my head the entire time). I was never so happy to get off a bike in my life.

Thank goodness we arrived back at our hotel just in time for happy hour. Lord knows I needed a drink!

Wild Wild West

I’ve had that song by Wil Smith stuck in my head all day today . . . and for good reason. We rode out of Scottsdale early this morning and it didn’t take us more than an hour to get to the Wild West. It’s amazing how you can go from so much over-developed congestion to vast barren wasteland. I felt like a spec on the universe as I looked in every direction and saw mountain ranges hundreds of miles away. There is just so much nothing out of the city limits.

Our first stop was a nice lake in the middle of the desert. I think it was called Pleasant Harbor and besides the fact that it was about 100 degrees, it was pretty pleasant. People flocked to ever speck of land around this lake. Whether they had boats or not, they still camped on the banks of the lake just to catch a glimpse of water. I guess that’s a big deal around here. We take for granted the fact that lakes and rivers are everywhere at home. The biggest excitement at the lake was nearly running over the biggest snake I ever saw (out of captivity). It just barely slithered its tail by our front wheel as I squealed on the back seat.

Our next stop was a real abandoned gold mining village. It was a total ghost town and we were allowed to walk around and go inside the dilapidated buildings that looked like they may fall down on us. It was pretty interesting to see how this operation worked in the 1800s. Karlo found the work shop and quickly got to work. I was just trying to keep my feet from bursting into flames as we walked in the sun from one building to the next. I would not recommend hiking in the desert in tall black leather boots!






From there we headed north and it was a wild ride. We had to go up and over these mountains:


And I have to say, it was a bit scary on the back seat. Miles and miles of S turns, each of them had a speed limit of 20 m.p.h. Luckily I trust the driver and held on tight. The air instantly turned cooler, the landscape changed to our more familiar pine trees, and the amount of golf ball-sized bugs lessened. The ride up to Prescott was a great one.

Once we got to Prescott we found a big outdoor art show on the town green. We strolled around looking at beautiful art and strange people. I got inspired by art, fell in love with another dog, had some ice cream, and just relaxed. We rolled into our hotel with just enough time to swim in the indoor pool, sit in the hot tub, and go to sleep. ZZZZZZ

Sleepless in Scottsdale

This always happens when I travel West. It takes me at least 5 or 6 days to adjust to the time zone. And speaking of time zone, I haven’t quite figured out why AZ is in the Mountain Zone, but yet we are on Pacific time. So this means that I will be wide awake before 3 PM for most of this week. Sigh.

Yesterday was a pretty easy travel day. Once we got over the shock of awaking at 3:30 am to get to the incredibly crowded airport by 5:00 the rest of the day was smooth sailing. It was nice to sit on the plane and do nothing for several hours. Lord knows I needed that decompression time before the start of vacation. Karlo and I are both having trouble erasing work from our minds, but hopefully that will get fixed soon.

We had all afternoon to just chill (if that is possible in the desert at the end of May) at the hotel yesterday. We hung by the pool, in the sun, and tried to catch up on some rest. Poor Karlo came down with a cold. What amazingly bad timing! So he was happy to just lay there and snooze. I, on the other hand, read every brochure and magazine I could get my hands on, and then I studied all the maps. When I ran out of reading material I found it to be torture to just lay there. I can’t believe how impossible that was for me. The afternoon seemed endless.

Finally it was time to pick up our bike and that was a fun adventure. We left the motorcycle place around 6 PM and took a short cruise around Old Town Scottsdale. All I can say is, “It was HOT!” The bike throws off more heat than we are used to because of the silly BMW boxer engine design. I never liked the look of it, and now knowing the heat displacement, makes it even worst. Of course, with that said, it would be handy in the winter. Luckily we didn’t ride in the city traffic too long. We stopped and had dinner at an outdoor Mexican cantina. The exhaustion was starting to catch up to me by that point. Between the fact that I’ve been up for 20 hours, the incredible heat on the bike, and the heavy helmet I’m not sure how I stayed on the back.

Sadly, I didn’t take one single picture yet. So far my theory about having a DSLR on a vacation is turning into a reality. It will be very interesting to see how many times I have it in my hand this trip. Hopefully I’ll do better today. We are preparing to check out of the hotel and head up to Sedona on the bike. The sun is already up and it looks to be another perfect day in the desert. Stay tuned.

Telegram from Paula

Karlo's home . . . end of the peace and quiet . . . his jetlag taking it's toll–on me! . . . so tired . . . extremely busy work week . . . 10 hour work day yesterday . . . off to OCC for a photo shoot today . . . next two days working a trade show at the Big E . . . plans every night . . . no time to pack . . . vacation starts Saturday . . . so much to do and no time to do it . . . I am so ready for a break . . . Delta, take me a way . . .

The Night Did Not Go As Planned

I was planning to relax while Karlo is away, but it's not happening. Tonight was my first day since he left where I didn't have social plans. Instead of just going straight home (like I planned) I got lured to the stores to satisfy my shopping itch. An upcoming vacation always makes me crave new clothes that I don't need.

I started off at Kohls where I found 3 tops and was just heading over to the shoe department to shop for sandals. For some strange reason I decided to double-check my 20% off coupon and good thing I did because it wasn't good until tomorrow. Uuuuugh! What a waste of time. I only bought one top and hid the others where I'm hoping I can find them tomorrow night.

Then I went to TJMaxx where I got completely and utterly frustrated by the fact that there was not ONE pair of capris, pants, or shorts in the entire store (OK, not counting the juniors department) that fit me. You can not believe how aggravated this makes me. So it was off to the shoe department because the only thing that upsets me more than no pants that fit is, of course, no sandals that fit. I was just setting myself up for more disappointment. But it never even got that far. In the changing room at Kohls, and then again at TJMaxx, I got incredibly bad toe cramps. That was nothing compared to what happened when I tried a couple of sandals on. I had to abort my shoe shopping and hobble out of the store with nothing more than a new yoga mat and a purse. Luckily I didn't need to try those on.

Mostly a waste of time and gas, but I sped home to salvage what was left of the night. When I got here I found my new Tamron lens that I've been eagerly waiting for. And there went the rest of the evening. I HAD to play with it immediately. I ran outside and snapped about 30 pictures. Then I ran back in and downloaded them. More than half were terrible and my heart sank. I bought this lens used and was convinced that it was not functioning properly. My blood started to boil and then I ran out for another test run. This time the results were better. What the . . .? I don't know what to make of this. Here's some of the better results. I'm not going to bother boring you with the blurry pics.

Here is the range of the lens: 28mm - 300mm. And by the way, the windows are now installed in the "Love Shack."


The lens is also a macro and I still can't figure out how that works. It's not like the Nikon that I currently have on loan; it doesn't include a little switch to put it in and out of macro. So does that mean I'm shooting macro when I'm zoomed to 300mm? Very confusing. But here are some close-ups I took outside:



This lens is notorious for being slow and bad indoors in low lighting so I tried that to:


Despite the blurry pictures, I'm happy with some of these results. Or maybe I just think my rooster and moose are so darn cute that the pictures look good because of the subject matter and not the image quality. I'm so confused! Maybe I better spend a few more days with it before I jump the gun and demand my money back. One thing is for sure. I'm not letting my Nikon 55-200mm VR go. I don't think this one can compare. I'll have one week to make the decision if I'm keeping it and risking my vacation pics with it. I wish I knew more about this stuff.

A Delicious Day at Work

Boy is Karlo going to be sad to know he missed this . . . Today was our first charity bake sale here at the office. Starting at 9 am they had an assortment of deliciously tempting sweets, followed by an assortment of lunch-type treats this afternoon. Our entire shipping room smells like a bakery today. Sorry Karlo. This will teach you to go away! I think it’s time for me to be even more ‘charitable.’ I keep telling myself that it’s for a good cause and that is why I need another cookie.

I Need a Nap

And I think I just might write this short blog post and go take one . . .

I need to catch up on some lost hours of sleep from last night. I went out for a big exciting night on the town last night. Yeah, me. I did that. Can you believe it? On a Monday night? I promised my friends Jill & Dan that I would tag along to some real line dancing the next time Karlo was out of town. Since I was skipping out on our Swing class anyway, I figured I may as well get some dancing in. And it was a hoot. I couldn't stop thinking about Tina all night. She would have loved it. And watching all the youngin's putting on a show at center dance floor flashed me right back to 'the day' when that was Tina and I putting on the dancing show. Ahhhh, those were the days. The best thing that I learned last night wasn't any pattern of steps. It was the fact that the higher level dances are NOT danced to country music at all. They were danced to upbeat, sort of hip hopish music. I was much more in my element and it killed me that I didn't know the steps to participate. I'm going to have to work on that. But for now, I need to work on taking a nap before my company arrives. Such busy times when Karlo is away.

The One That Got Away

I still haven't recovered from this yet and talking about it will be difficult. Yesterday Karlo and I snuck in a quick kayak ride before he had to leave for the airport. The weather was kind of crappy at the house and we even packed our rain jackets. Bringing a camera was not even a consideration. But when we arrived at the lake the sun was out and it turned out to be really nice. We launched the boat and expected a quick paddle (just for exercise) and no great shakes.

Well, I guess when you have no expectations of great things is the best time for great things to happen. While we are floating in the middle of the lake an enormous bald eagle dove right by the boat. He aborted his dive into the water and instead flew over to a nearby tiny island and perked in a tree. We paddled over and parked right beneath him. He could not have been in a better spot for viewing him. He was sitting on a branch with very little leaves (or probably pine neddles). There was a big gap in the needles just where he was sitting so he was completely unobstructed. The pretty blue sky was in the background and I literally sat in the boat and cried. I simply could not believe we were this close to the best view of a bald eagle and I had no camera. It didn't help that Karlo lectured me the entire time . . . "All these fancy lens you want and are buying are worthless if you never take your camera with you!" Uuugh, it was a good thing he was far behind me 'cause I wanted to smack him. I was so depressed. We sat there a good long time waiting for the massive bird to fly away and eventually he did. Imagine the shots I could have had of him perched and then of him in flight (as a single tear drips down my face).

To make up for this disaster I had my camera with me most of today. After the dog show, my neighbor Sharon and I went for a little walk and here's just a few shots . . .

My Day at the Dog Show

This morning I went to a dog show out here in Woodstock. What a hoot to see all the different breeds looking their best. I still don't really get this whole concept of people dressed up (looking silly) running around in circles with their dogs. I mean, how on Earth can anybody judge which dog is 'the best' by this short little prancing? I think all the dogs should win a reward just for putting up with this scene. But as a spectator, I really enjoyed it. I got a kick out of watching the long-haired breeds get primped and brushed. Boy, it must really suck to be one of those dogs. I especially liked checking out the unique breeds that I am drawn to. So far I want:

• a Dobbie
• a Scottish Deerhound
• an Irish Wolfhound (horse)
• a Russian hound (can't remember the proper name)

Can you tell I'm a hound lover? I just can't get enough of those 'greyhounds with hair' dogs. I wish somebody would invent a long-haired-non-shedding greyhound. Now that would be ideal. All this talk about hounds makes me want to go and hug the hounds I already have. I think I'll go and do just that . . .

My Blood is Boiling

And to THINK I was looking forward to this night at home with no plans. It has been non-stop frustration. My work day was easier for heaven's sake. I came home thinking that my biggest hurdle would be making dinner. That is always a hurdle for me, but I managed to do a magic trick and make something from nothing. Lisa would have been proud of me.

Next it was on to my YogaDudes digital newsletter, which is always a challenge, but tonight was severely more challenging than usual. I get to the point where it's "good enough" and I just don't care anymore. Whatever!

So that's done and next it was on to paying my bills, which always puts me in a good mood, not. Luckily I spent one more second than I normally would and happened to notice that I got overcharged on a purchase I made last Friday at REI. When Karlo and I stepped foot in that store we thought we were in heaven, but as the time passed my feelings of love faded quickly. First it took me nearly 20 minutes of hunting for an available salesperson to help me get the shoes I wanted. Once I finally tracked somebody down I had to suffer through his ever-so-painful hard sell on their 'membership' program. I told him right off the bat that we live far from the store and have no desire to join this program. But that didn't stop him from torturing me. All I could think was LLBean nor EMS ever put me through this nonsense. But I endured because my favorite pair of bike shoes were on sale and I'll do what it takes in the name of getting the sale price. But come to find out those rotten buggers charged me DOUBLE for the purchase. So I had to talk to three different people on the phone tonight to get my credit. They have lost me for good. I will remain a very loyal fan of LLBean and EMS and REI can take a hike!

One more pesky task off my plate, maybe it's time to relax. But no, my cell phone rang for the second time tonight (third time today). Sure, that may not sound like a big deal to most normal people, but anybody that knows me knows that I get completely annoyed by my phone ringing, especially my cell phone. And for the second time it was that spam call regarding the non-existent warranty on my vehicle. Instantly my blood pressure went through the roof. I mean my heart was pounding through my chest and this time I went ahead and stayed on the line to talk to the rep. And when they got on the phone, I went OFF on them. I literally screamed and demanded they never, EVER, call me again. We will see what happens. I can't think of many things that upset me more than these bastards interrupting my life with their BS. Oh my word, if I could shoot them through the phone line they would be so gone . . .

Now I will try to calm myself down to save what is left of my blissful night at home. American Idol and Fringe are still ahead so things are looking up. I'm turning my phone off and shutting my computer down.

I Blinked and the Weekend Disappeared

Can I have a weekend do-over? I could really use one right about now. It was a blur. We started the weekend with big Friday night plans. First we took Dad out to celebrate his 81st birthday. I worried about taking him out for an Italian dinner the night after my brother cooked him a spectacular lasagna dinner. I thought maybe he didn't want Italian two nights in a row, but Karlo laughed and said, "Is there any other type of food in your father's life?" and I knew he was right. Dad didn't complain one bit. As a matter of fact he quite enjoyed himself.


From there Karlo and I headed to West Hartford to check out Blueback Square. Holy cow that was cool. I had grand plans of shopping all the new stores, but we got sucked into REI where we stayed until closing. The only establishment we ever 'stayed til closing.' REI is way dangerous and it's a good thing it's so far away. Next it was off to a dance and we got a chance to practice some of our newly learned moves. But we had to call it a short night due to the fact that I killed my feet in bad shoes and we were running a 5K the next morning.

And boy did that suck. Why do I run when I don't enjoy running? It was torture. I had sore feet and was completely dehydrated. I cramped up the minute my feet started to move. Couldn't wait for that to end, but it may have been the easiest part of my day. After the race I had another hour of the joyful painting project, followed by some very tough gardening. Finally it was time to shower, get dressed, and go have some fun and relax. We headed to a party and it took about 20 minutes for me to get the worst stomach ache ever. I mean, I couldn't walk. It was dreadful. We had to leave and get me home. So much for having fun.

We did manage to have a little bit of fun today and a very nice visit with Luke & Lisa. Of course there was a bit of stress involved as my waffle breakfast was a bust. Stupid waffle maker let me down. But that party ended all too soon and it was back to work. More shed building, more gardening, but luckily a little more visiting with friends. It all went way too fast and I feel like I didn't even see Karlo on our one and only weekend at home together this month. sigh.