The Wacky Adventures of Patrick

[Patrick]

The other night me and TC went to Texas Road house for a bite so I just had to take a picture.



Only in this case he was riding the new bike.

PJ

[Patrick]

Friday night ride 032108

Well it all started out with me going to the Chiropractor at 4PM. I decided to ride the bike and head that way. As I was finishing up Jim called and started asking questions about tomorrow ride. I asked him what he was doing tonight and he said heading back home on his scooter. So I said ‘Heck you in a hurry to get home or do you want to stop?” Not much arm twisting so we ended up at Flips Patio Grill for a cold one. We then talked to the wives and Val was like all over it to go for a ride and Tammy told Jim she would meet us at Dukes. So Jim and I head to my house to pick up Val and when we get to Dukes Tammy starts driving the parking lot. It was fairly busy so it took her awhile and I actually got the first round before she found a spot. So here we are.

Here is a shot of Jim, Tammy, and Val.


Well while there I call Paul, and then after the normal I will be there in 10 minutes it turns out to be nearly an hour and we have had dinner by this time he shows up.

So here is the 4 of them, left to right Val, Tammy, Jim, and Paul.



Well for my family who complained that my blog and other postings do not have enough shots of me in them. Val takes the camera and takes a shot. Left to right is me, Tammy, Jim, and Paul.



Well after a couple more phone calls Philip and Dennis show up. So now we are getting a group. Left to right is Phillip, Val, Tammy, Jim, Dennis, and Paul.



So we finish up and decide to take a ride to Grapevine to a little place down town called the “TAP-IN”. A nice little place. But anyway on the way there Philip pulls us all over as he wants a shot of the moon. It was low on the horizon and was orange. So here is my feeble attempt at catching it. This is one of better shots out of many I tried with different settings. I wish Blue Cruise was here to take her normally very good shots.



So from there we decide to continue our journey towards “TAP-IN”, again a very friendly place right down from Whillhouts (spelling) right on main street. So here we are in the TAP-IN.



Here is a shot in side the place in general.



They had a fair band in their playing 60’s and 70’s which we really enjoyed so here is a shot of the band.



So it is early but we do not over consume and ride bikes so time to head back home. Philip, I, and Paul decide to go over to Paul’s house for a fire, see prior postings for pictures and we talk about our trip to Arkansas in June. The day ends on a good note and it was a fun night and great riding.

[Patrick]

Ride 032208

Well where does one begin to describe such a day as today? Lets see, Val started off with a bit of a sour stomach so that delayed us by 15 minutes. We planned to leave the house to be at the Post by 1230-1245 so we could leave there at 1PM to meet TC down at the Marina on Joe Pool Lake. Well she got to where she felt ok with going so we start up the bikes, (plural as Paul was at my house) and up comes a couple of guys from TXU offering me a better price at a fixed rate for the rest of the year and this time of gas costs this should help and I can break the deal at anytime so we spent another 15 minutes with those two guys. Just as we are about to restart the bikes up comes a neighbor who is like an Uncle to us and he is also in his mid 80’s so I cannot be rude so we talk for a few more minutes. So not we are started and sure enough they are doing some road work on the way the Post at Harwood and 157 so I decide to take some back roads. We come up to a road that has a hill with a stop light at the top of the hill meeting 157. Well we make it up the hill just fine, stop no problem, start and over goes the bike dumping me and my wife Val. Breaks the mirror and the front turn signal lamp and cover. The cover goes back on as a temporary fix and all I need to do is get the Wife calmed down as she is a bit shook up as she has not gone over in over 30 years. So I get her all together, Paul helps me get the bike back up and we grab all of the broken parts and head to the Legion. And you know what makes me the maddest, is normally especially when I have her on the back I have a beer and ½ to just kind of take the edge off and this time we did not have time for me to do that. She is never ready in the morning so I know what you thinking or asking your self so the answer is no I do not have a beer at 6AM or any time you would consider early if she is riding because that is just not going to happen. So I was stoned sober and that makes me totally crazy. I was going to take pictures but heck who wants to remember the bad stuff. So we go the Post and I ask her if she is up to continuing the ride. Much to my surprise and one Mamosa later she says yes. Man she is no poser. So off we go trying to make time to get to the planned destination a fund raiser for a Fireman down in Blooming Grove. So we take off to meet with TC at the marina on Joe Pool and sure enough we get there at about 230PM 30 minutes behind schedule but no TC. Here is a shot in the parking lot with (left to right) Gail, Val, Paul, and Jim.




So we go inside as we are hungry and a beer sure would not hurt at this point as my bones sure do. Left to right is Jim, Paul, Paul, Gail, and Val. I call TC and ask where is he and he said I was supposed to call him when we left the Post and with all that happened he was right I forgot. He shows up before we finish eating but he orders something he did not like so the delay was some but not that much.


Well when we got to the Marina I was on fumes for gas so I was real concerned about getting much further. Oh I forgot to mention that I kind of got us lost on the way to the Marina so with all of the time we made up we lost. When I say kind of lost I must say the MapQuest helped a bit with that, and I did remember that we should have got off at Camp Wisdom road so I did find that road through the back door (side streets) and when we got to a light there was this lady with the right side window down so I asked her about the Marina and she gave me the name of the right road to turn towards the Marina. Anyway while we were talking about our planned route to Waxahachie TC mentions he as a better way and I tell him that I have maybe 10 miles left on my tank of gas. He said no problem so off we go down Lake Ridge Parkway to Cedar Hill. Well as we ride I am getting more and more nervous about my gas situation and sure enough we finally get to a gas station after 11 miles. Man I bet I was lucky to make it. Here is a shot of TC, Gail, Paul, and Jim.



Well while here I notice a stadium across the way saying Long Horns and TC tells me that Cedar Hills is the home of the Cedar Hills Long Horns with a lot of pride in his voice.



Well while at the gas station we start talking about time. We notice it is 4:10 PM we have about an hour of driving in front of us at best and with Val’s back feeling quite bad at this point I know we need to make at least one more stop and Paul needs to head back anyway we decide to head north with a stop at Post 624 in Mansfield. So we drive down 67 to 287 and it meets in Midiothian and from there we head back north. Here is a shot of Val next to the Post sign. We really wanted to make the trip as some folks or at least one (Panhead) from Rally Up Texas was supposed to meet us there.



Here is a shot of the front of the Post with Gail and TC getting un geared.



Here is a shot inside the post, it was really kind of big and roomy. Left to right is Gail, Val, Jim, TC, and Paul.


Gail remembers me saying my family wants more shots of me so she crabs the camera and takes a shot of me and Val. Aching bones and all we are having fun.


We all head off and everyone except Jim peels off on their own way home. So Jim, Val, and I take off and head East towards to get to 360 again. Just as we are about to get on the actual freeway Val asks if we can pull over so she can put her windbreaker on so I do. As we, Jim and us, stop at a Home Depot Jim mentions something hitting him from our bike. Val accidentally lost her sucker wrapper and was laughing saying no it could not have. Well he meant my right turn indicator lens cover. And sure enough it had fallen off so I ask where did it fall off. He said just before we turned into this parking lot. So off I go to see if I can find it, I walk back to the street and up aways and sure enough it is in the traffic lane and cars and trucks are just missing it. I thought for sure that walked all this way just to see it get crushed under a tire as I was surprised it was still in one peace now. Oh and this is the lens that was damaged in the fall over. Well finally traffic clears and it did not get smashed so I dash out in the road on 360 a grab the dang thing. As I am walking back Val takes a shot and this should give you an idea of how far I had to walk.

If you look to the right of me you can see a car top going down 360 then I had to hike further up the road. Now do not forget that I am 52 years old and sore from a prior dump so maybe the walk was not all that far but it felt like forever.



Well much to my surprise Jim and Val start talking about going to Dukes and we come up with a signaling system to let one another know if we will stop or just go home. Well we pull off 360 at Trinity and Val asks if Jim and I want to stop at the upper deck. To my surprise we all agree go inside have a beer and head home. It was a good day, we are still well, a little sore and just too bad we could not make our destination as I was looking forward to meet Panhead and take the 55 south. I have sent myself the map as I plan to ride that over the next few weeks.

[Patrick]

Most of the bike repairs are now complete, I have my mirror back on, all of Val's bruises are mostly healed, I have a new Shoei Helmet, but my right front turn indicator lens is still jerry rigged with black electrical tape to keep it on. I will fix that when I get the parts. We all plan to ride tomorrow for a meet and greet sponsored by a local site RUP (Rally Up Texas). If the weather holds I will post the trip. Have a great weekend everyone!

Pj

[Patrick]

Pj’s (Patrick) Ride Report of the March 30th Great Meet and Greet!!

First of all I meant GREAT Meet and Greet, what a fun and friendly bunch of folks. It further adds to my belief that 90% of the bikers out there are a great bunch of folks. The day started off with the roads wet and a bit of fog so I did not feel real comfortable with the idea of riding Val until it was almost time to leave and by that time she was not ready for Phase I of the trip, though as you will see she did join for Phase II.

Since there is no way in heck I can remember all of the names what I plan to do is list no names and let folks edit my entry as they need to. Not sure if BA on RUT (Rally Up Texas) can allow edit by anyone but if he can, I would ask that he let it happen as this report is everyone’s and everyone will have a different take on the events. As for Total Motor Cycle web site no need to allow full edit. I do hope and expect that some of you create your own report as well. Funny and sometimes not so funny things happen, like someone on the trip (Fill your name in the someone space) had the belt drive go out just when he got to Strokers. They could fix it, but it was about $400+ buckaroors to do so. I think he might have said a few colorful metaphors. The good thing was that we where at a place on a Sunday that could and would fix it.

Ok so all starts out fairly well as planned. I leave the house at about 1110 AM to get air and gas, I only got gas as the place that has free air is closed so I will work on that tomorrow. So I go to another gas station get my gas and there is this oriental woman lost and she asks if I can help. Well after about 15 minutes trying to figure out what she is looking for I tell her based on her maps and what I can understand she is saying her destination must be within 1 mile of where we are. I told her to ask the gas station attendant to see if he could help pin point the exact location as the streets she was giving me, I never heard of. As I head toward the post I realize I do not have my sun visor on my helmet and I am very tempted to turn around but it is now about 1132 and I was very pointed to our group that we must leave the Post at 1145 so I ride on.

I get to the post and Paul, Gail, Philip, and Jim are there and shortly there after Courtney and her friend Cindy show up. So we head on down the road to Little Pete’s. The ride is un-eventful and the going goes well.

We get to Little Pete’s and out come the camera. Here is Paul and Gail, I tell them to pretend they like each other so they give me the bad faces, and the joke is on the camera man once again. I have one of those lower mid range digital cameras so people can give me posses that often I do not catch right off, like the finger and such.



Here is left to right, Cindy, Courtney, Jim, and Philip at Pete’s.



I notice the lake is still high from all the rain we got last week, and man I mean high.


Now here is a shot of the temporary bridge to get us to the Restaurant. Now the funny part is that I am walking behind I think is Bobby but my memory is short that is why I right up these reports the same day if I can. Anyway, the bridge is very unstable and I thought for a second we might go over the side.


Ok we are now in Little Pete’s and I start shooting some shots. Here is where I leave the names off until folks either edit this or send me an email saying hey I am x from the left.



As you can tell we had a fantastic turn out. There are two more tables to the left I have not yet shot. But I did. Here is one of the larger tables.



Here is one of those tables I was talking about.



Here is a side table shot. It is hard to get folks to stop a conversation for pictures and I do not like to be rude so sometimes I just start shooting.



Another side shot opposite direction.



Here is another add hoc shot.



Here is yet another table; I did get most of their attention.


Here is another general shot.



Here is a shot of our host in the back ground BA the owner and administrator of the RUT web site. When I find a better shot of him I will talk more if not tonight on this posting but later for sure. Folks that where here today that know him well spoke very highly of him and his accomplishments over his life and I can now see why RUT (Rally Up Texas) has taken off so well. BA is in the yellow shirt standing up in the back ground.



Well with all good adventures it is time to move to the next. So here are some parking lot shots of different folks.



Another…



Another..



One more of the parking lot gang.



Well I take off down the road to try to get some shots of the folks and their bikes going by. I must say in the future I will try to announce to everyone that I plan to do that so everyone could have got a shot of them on their bike. Here is the parade.











I see we own the whole road here. 







Well the plan was for me to go home pick up Val and Kelly and then head to Srokers. Kelly was supposed to be at my house about 15 minutes before I showed up but he was not there. I did a few things to the bike to make it ready for Val and then waited a bit more and still no Kelly so Val and I headed off to Strokers. It was a fairly nice ride down 183. I would not say that if it was during the week. Anyway we get to Strokers and man is it packed. The bikes go all the way down the road from the place and of course the parking lot is what looks like totally full but upon walking into the lot I see a few spots but too late. We take a bit of a risk in parking a little illegal but not totally on the road next to a parking lot on the street right next to Strokers. Here is a shot of the bikes going down the street.




Here is where we are parked. The picture does not do the risk justice but then again it means that it was not too risky as the cops did not give us a hard time and the bike was in one piece when we got back. Speaking of one piece however, Paul has a Horn Toad front bumper thing on the bike and it was gone when he went back to his bike. That is too bad I have never had bikers mess with my stuff but it was very crowed there so I am sure not all folks there were normal bikers.



As you can see they closed off the road to cagers. But there was a bunch parked along Harry Hines.



Here is a shot of the normal parking lot.


Now back to the group. Left to right (and man I am sorry dude I never got your name remembered) the guy who’s belt busted on his bike, then Cindy, Courtney, and BA.


Here is again sorry about the name loss but both the guy to the left and right I cannot remember your names and Roadrunner is in the middle, I think your name is Rod *yes – no*…



Here is a shot of BA and a long time friend who’s name I again messed up on so please let me know your name so I can update this report. It is here again I was told of BA’s achievements and it sounds like organizing events and people is his natural attribute. I must admit that this turn out shows it. BA good job and thanks for your work man!.



Ok, so I do not remember any (its late, I had a lot of food including Paul’s fantastic Brisket and more then a couple of beers) names here, and for that I again am sorry. But I was walking around taking shots and I thought this was a good one.



They decide to ham it up a bit so I shoot a couple more and finally get this one which we agreed was worthy.



Here is a shot of the back area in general.



Here is another shot into the crowd of us in general, please let me know your name so I can edit this report (or maybe BA can give you direct access).



Here is one of Val (I better know her name) Philip and Courtney. Do you get the sense that something was said?



Here is a shot of Paul.


Well it is time for Phase III of the journey so it is time to hit the road towards Dukes. Philip, Paul, Courtney, Cindy, Val, and I head on down the road. Philip and Paul “shag” ahead to get going faster, then Courtney nearly gets run over by a guy entering the hwy and she shags on. Jim, Val, and I take a leisurely ride back and still beat them to Duke’s. Oh and buy the way we did ask everyone around us if they wanted to go, but they were all headed East not back West. Courtney dropped off Cindy so we end up at Dukes and I take some shots. Of the bikes in the parking lot first.




Here we are at Dukes, right to left, Jim, Val, Courtney, Philip, and Paul.



So the journey is over, we head home, Paul later shows up at my house with some of the brisket he was smoking while he was with us, and man it is tender and tasty. I know what I am going to have for lunch tomorrow. I will be updating this report as I remember more and am told more. For example I hear Paul had to lock up the breaks on his bike at one point. I will need to get the details around that later.

Great job RUT and BA it was fun and your all a great bunch of folks. Look forward to our next ride!!!!!

Pj

[Patrick]

Ride With Anna April 5th 2008

Got a late start today even for me. I really wanted to ride this weekend and I am looking forward to the ride tomorrow. Anyway as it turned out that while I was on the roof trying to align our satellite disk for better reception Anna called. I was on the phone with Val who was in the house letting me know the signal strength numbers as I moved the dish. So Anna then calls Val while I am very disgruntled with the news that Val was sending me as it seems to me I made very little or no positive changes in the signal strength. After further monkeying around with wires and such I decide to call Anna and take a break. She says she wants to ride and man so do I so she says she will meet me at the Post in about 30 minutes. Val over hears me ask if Anna was hungry so we decide as part of the ride to also get some late lunch. Val has a joking hissy about me going to lunch with another women and my only reply was “it will even be better if she pays for it.” With that I go back on the roof to get my tools and try a few more adjustments, I did make a little progress but not significant enough so time to call Direct TV for some help.

So off I go to the Post, Anna and I decide on Little Pete’s for lunch so here we are. This is my bike in the parking lot which is still partly flooded due to all of the rain. You cannot tell that here.



Here is a shot of her, on the make shift walk way to the marina and Little Pete’s.


Well we go in and we both had their French Dip which was fair and Rick the bar tender told us that it was going to be pulled from the menu, just as well. I had one before that was very good, and this one the meet was good, but the cheese was not melted. It was still fair to good. On the Paul or Philip rector scale it would have rated much higher I am sure. Any way we are nearly done so I go to the litter box and come back and ask for the tabs and Rick says it is taken care of. I said what and by whom. Well Anna bought it, whala, I get to have lunch with a fine lady and she buys to boot. I look forward to telling Val that when I get home, which I did. More joking hissyness ensues.

Well it is about 4:30 and we start discussing where next. Anna asks about the River Bottoms area so off we go. On the way there we stop over the Trinity to see how deep it and green it is. Well the vegetation is getting greener and it is up but not high.



Here is the other side of the bridge. In one of my prior posts you would have seen tires and such down below, the water is either too high for you to see them or they have been washed away.


While I am on the other side of the bridge I shot a shoot of Anna on her bike.


And now one with less zoom to get my bike in.


We then decide we are thirsty so we head on down to the River Bottom Pub and have a beer and check our cell phones. While she is on her phone I take a walk around the back of the Pub and see what there is to see. I see this strange indent in the ground from a distance and decide to check it out. I cannot tell if this is just a natural low standing water hole, as since we are at the bottoms there is water everywhere or the water is just standing on cement that may have been pored a long time ago and is grown over. There was evidence of that but as to not bore everyone I did not take pictures of the evidence.

Well I did take a shot of the free standing water.



I continued my walk along the back fence and decide to take a shot of Anna on her cell phone next to the main outside “kitchen – grilling” area.



After a bit of chat with a middle age guy who walks up to the big round wire spool made into a standup table we decide it is time to start heading back home. Of course we decide to stop at the Flame and have a cold one there before we head our separate ways home. We have a nice quiet beer and talk about what a great day it was and hope to see each other tomorrow, hugs ensue and it is time to go. Here we (or at least she in the picture) are getting ready to leave.



We take off and she hangs a left at Raider and I continue down Hwy 10. I then decide to go to Paul’s house to see if he will still talk to me after the razing we gave him Thursday night about the problem with his bike and sure enough he was working on it, and Philip was wrong about the battery being the problem. I get a full description of the problem while being shown the true broken parts that caused the starting problem. I feel sorry for Philip when Paul sees him again. Talk about razing, this should be good. Anyway another great day for the ride and I hope I can meet up with the RUT guys tomorrow in Hico, but I have not made any promises, yet.

Pj - Patrick

[Patrick]

Ride April 6th 2008

Well as usual we start off at least one hour later then planned. But hey it is the journey not the destination. We (Jim and I) were to meet at the post at 1130 after Paul said he would be between 1130 and noon. So I head towards to the Post to find it closed (this is Sunday) and Jim outside. Well since the bike Paul is going to ride is at my house in the drive way, I tell Jim heck lets go to my house and wait for him as no one else said they would be ready by noon. So here is Jim in front of his, my and, Val’s bike, that since she does not like it, Paul is going to buy it.



Well Paul finally shows up at 1155 I guess we could call that 5 minutes early. As we (Jim and I) were going to wait until high noon for Paul. So we take off and at one of the first lights we get stopped by Paul says he is thirsty. Well I am a bit hungry and I have been wanting some clam chowder soup for awhile so I suggest Joe’s crab shack. We converse while the light is still red and agree. We go there. So while there the ladies (waitresses) give us a show.



Well my boss and her family are there (Christa and her husband Keith and their kids), I say hello and then the leave and then we finish our beers and get ready to head off.



Well we are headed for Pilot Point and are having a great ride. As I stated above we started too late to meet the Rut folks down in Hico so we went north. On the way to Pilot Point I wanted to tour 720 around Little Elm so we were about to come to that intersection when we were about two intersections away the traffic was stopped. So I saw that I needed to hit the break hard so I signaled back that I was stopping quick and the next thing I know Paul is skidding up on my rear, tires screeching, smoke coming out from the tires, so I move over more towards where Jim is now trying to make a third lane on the one lane that we have. Paul runs into the grass but hangs on and gets it all under control. Of course I just have to have fun with that and give him a line of stuff (I think his new nick name coined by Jim is “Slider” as this is not the first time he has slid up to or threw an intersection on the bike he is buying). Well at the next light he mentions that he needs to take a trip to the cat litter and he is now thirsty again. So I say look for a bar or a park. We are now headed down 720 and I see a sign that says marina, heck pay dirt. So we head that way to find that the park is closed but there is a parking lot. Earth is man’s bathroom as I have always heard. Now do not get me wrong that is more of a joke as Val and I recycle everything, but I think you know what I mean. So we stop and pop a beer while we find a place in the woods to see a man about a horse. Here is Jim and Paul at their bikes.




Just so you do not think we were peeing in a very public area I shot this next one through some trees at the marina. But some how this ole boy in a pickup and boat saw the three of us using the cat litter so he walks over (I did not see him at first and I thought at first maybe he was a Ranger or something) and says so this is the place, and he finds some sand. Ok so we got beers in a park, and we are now seeing a man about a horse, and he is not a cop or Ranger and rather friendly to boot so all is well.

Here is the shot though the trees.



Here is a shot of the marina.



It was about his time that Val & John called and sure enough John and Anna showed up at the house. The unconfirmed plan was for Val to ride on the back of John’s bike to ride pinion up to where we were if he felt so inclined. Now remember it was just yesterday I had lunch with his girl friend Anna. We were not sure how far we were from Pilot Point so we said head north and we will tell you where we are when we get to our next stop. It is now that I really wish I did not leave the 8 or so pages (could be off on that number) of the MapQuest maps I printed and now left at Joe’s Crab Shack. But then again I often love just putting the front wheel on the road and let the course direct itself.

Val takes some shots of John and Anna at our house loading up.




A couple of things about these two pictures. One is that John is talking to me at this time on the cell phone, and two the traffic stopped so Val could shoot these pictures. Normally they would just as soon run you over but there are still good cagers out there.




Anyway we take off from the Marina and kind of from memory of the maps and kind of just enjoying the risk start to head north to find Pilot Point. Just when I was thinking we were lost on 377 up came Pilot Point. I decided to take the 377 Truck Route through town and I am glad I did. I must have an eye for old hole in the walls as I see this bike parked out in front of what looks like an abandoned building and I notice some type of Wine and Beer sign. So I pull into the main square of town and park. Jim and Paul are looking at me like I went crazy and I said let’s get a beer. They look at me again like I am crazy so I point to the hole in the wall. Here is a shot of us in the main town square with gazebo in the back ground.


We go in and man this place was cool. Since there was one shovel head outside I figure it cannot be too bad. The folks were all great.
Here is a shot after we first walk in to get a feeling for the atmosphere.


Paul notices the door jam, this place is older then we are, the bar tender said it was about 120 years old. For those of you familiar with history notice the old Fort Worth Iron jam.



Paul and I take a little walk about out side and find that they even have a little rustic patio out back.



Here is Paul standing next to a “Premium” cooler. No telling if it works or not. Their idea of air-conditioning is the bar tender grabs a drill and start unscrewing some screws next to the window and lifts the window pane out of place and now you have air-conditioning.



The Bar, not sure if you can notice in this picture but look up the upper left hand side, you might be able to see an old Vine that grew on in.



For you Piano lovers, here is an oldie.



A couple of the band. Just as we were getting used to the place incomes a bunch of old timers and they start pulling out a bunch of banjo’s and what not, and then they are joined by some younger folks and they start playing some old, and I mean old, Blue Grass. This was getting better and better by the moment. I feel like I was transported back in time.




Speaking of the way back machine, how many of you remember nickel coke. Not sure if I want to admit it or not.



Here is a shot of the bar from across the street my back to the Coke sign and there in the door way is Jay, that is J A Y he tells me. He owns a little coffee shop kind of place at the other end of the square.



Here is a shot of the old Kick Start Shovel Head I mentioned earlier. The own is Steve and later on the bike behind him pulls up with a couple from out of town and his name is Steve so that stirred some conversation.



The next shot is that of a banner saying Pilot Point was established in 1854. Other then concrete roads and no horses it looks like it has not changed much. We did find some horse Posts.



Here is a shot of the town square, they are flying the USA, Texas, and POW MIA flags. Now dig that!!!



Now this good ole boy says that with out one of these you cannot play real Blue Grass.


These two good ole boys are talking instruments and such.



Well of course we did link up via phone with John, Anna, and Val and they declare they were hungry and tell us of a Steak joint they know about out on 377. So we share that with the locals at the bar, and they declare that if you want good food go on down 377 to 455 and go across the railroad tracks and on the right is a good Mexican place. So I call John back and let him know what we have learned so he says ok. So here we are out in front.
Left to right is John, Anna, Jim, and Val. Paul had to book on home so he did before we got here.

Another shot. Of out in front. We then eat a fair meal, I was not over impressed and I do not think everyone else was either. This is a picture with the name of the place.


We take 455 to 35 and then in Denton take 35E south and then go to Dukes our end of day stop. It was late as you can see and the sun set was fantastic but hard on the eyes heading West on 455. But what a day and what an adventure. Here we are at Dukes and even I get in this one, someone offers to take the shot.



Have a good ride and enjoy the journey.

Pj - Patrick

[Patrick]

Philip’s Birthday 4/7/08

We decided to take Philip out for his birthday for dinner so first it started out with of course Philip, Val, me, Jim, and his wife Tammy, Paul, Stephen (Paul’s son) and Angelia. Val and Angelia road in Val’s convertible while the rest of us took the bikes. Here we are in front of the Texas Road House, not to be confused with Duke’s Road House.


Now we are in the restaurant, Left to right is Val, Angelia, Paul, Philip, Stephen, Tammy, and Jim.



Well we could not go with out given Philip a warm heart felt happy Birthday yea ha. So we told the staff about his birthday so they and we made him ride the big bad wooden pony.




Here is one with Bret in the picture along with the rest of the staff.



After a short while John, Anna and Bret showed up so from there we went to Dukes for our normal night cap. Left to right is me, Jim, Tammy, John, Anna, Stephen, Paul, Bret, and Philp.

[Patrick]

April 10th 2008 Storm

Well as predicted we got hit fairly hard this morning as our power was out for several hours. When the power came on, I am guessing at about 7:30 AM, I was woke up by our alarm system going off. I was supposed to go to Jury Duty today in Fort Worth but since I got up so late I knew I better call them. Well before I could, my next door neighbor called all concerned about what was going on so I cleared the cob webs and decided to head to his house. That is when I noticed my front yard. Here are some shots of a couple of small tree limbs that came down. I did call Tarrant County Jury Duty Folks and they rescheduled it. My DSL came back online around 845 AM, and I was able to go on the roof and some what get my Direct TV Disk re-aliened.









Some times the pictures do not even really do the scene justice, but here is one of the street with a bunch of trash. Today is garbage day and some of the neighbors put their garbage out last night which was a mistake. I had to get Earl’s garbage can from down the street.



A couple more of the limb and where it came from.





I hope everyone else is ok and had little or no damage.

Pj - Patrick

[Patrick]

Storm Damage and clean up report 4/10/08

Well Chuck pictured below is an old friend who I talked to off and on yesterday about his power and tree limb situation. When I went over there I found him getting ready to fire up the Barbie since he cannot use the power in his house. He as untold appliance damage as after the limb fell they would turn on a light and the bulb would pop. So something is crossed. Since he already called the electrician and Oncor since I am not a certified electrician I decided to leave well enough alone for now. I did volunteer to round up some younger buddies (To some of you out there I bet you’re happy I did not need to) but he said he already arranged for some tree folks to come out.

Here’s Chuckie!



Here are some shots of the limb that went down.





Here in lies part of the problem, see how the meat of the limb is on his power lines. I bet it put internal pressure on the lines in the house and pulled or stretched something beyond its limits but did not pull it away complete enough to stop a low grade cross over.





Decided to get creative, he has a sign on his deck with his last name and his population. But can you see the birdie? I did not notice it until I looked at the shots on my computer.



After talking with Chuck and Betty Sue for awhile it was time to move on to the next adventure. Val was over at the Texas Golf Course in Euless for a benefit for a fallen GI who died in Iraq. I went over there to visit but it was over and Val came out just as I parked. So it was time for the next mission of getting my generator over to Paul’s house, Chuck did not need it since his neighbors ran extension cords to his house for the fridge and TV. So I was headed over to Paul’s house but Philip’s is on the way (you need to pass Philip’s to get to Paul’s) and I notice Paul is there. As it turns out Philip has a generator and a smaller easier to handle one then mine so we load it and off to Paul’s we go. Once that is all set up we meet at my house to clean up my limbs.

I really want to thank those guys for coming over. TC who saw my report came over knowing we would most likely work on it tonight to help out. That is what friends are for.

Here is Paul, Philip, and Philip nephew who have already got most of the heavy work done by the time I get the camera out.



I just had to get a shot with the bikes.



Here is one with TC and Paul.



And then the last shot with Paul.



MAJOR THANKS GUYS