GOOD TURN OUT FOR PMS

Twenty-five hungry and "hard up for entertainment" folks showed up at the Rossville Store for the 11th annual Wednesday Night Riders PMS (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome) meeting.  After a long winter, it was great to see everyone again.

  After a delicious meal and some lively conversation, Bob R presented a video reflecting on our year in 2018.  The video was proof that there is no group that has more fun than the Wednesday Night Riders!

CHUCKLES' NEW RIDE

60 YEARS!

50 YEARS

40 YEARS!

GLAD HE WORE HIS GLASSES!

FUNNY ROAD SIGN

HARD TO FIND GOOD HELP!

BRING ON THE COLD!

We are now anxiously waiting for the first warm and sunny Wednesday night to relieve the PMS!

WE'RE BAAACK!!

We arrived back in Waukon from the south on Tuesday evening.  Whoever made the sign "Welcome Back, Fools!" was right.  Good travel conditions until we reached good ole' northeast Iowa, and then we had to fight wind blowing snow across the roads causing near blinding conditions at times.  Thanks to Dennis, the trike is now safely tucked away in his shed since getting to my shed in the backyard won't be until July!

On our way back we had a couple of interesting stops; one tourist attraction and two unique dining experiences.  The first dining experience was at the Old Country Store in Lorman, Mississippi, on our way from Vicksburg north to Jackson, TN.  We were following one of the routes that General Grant and his troops used to gain access to Vicksburg when we came across this little "gem".  They have shelves full of old items that I'm not sure anyone would want to buy, and it is certainly set up like the old country stores.  As you will see they even still have the old sliding ladders to reach items on the top shelves.  However, it's not the merchandise that makes this place famous, it's the food, particularly the fried chicken.  It's the best I've ever eaten (sorry Josh and Dave)!  The other unique feature about this place, as you will notice in the photos, is that one entire wall, the back room and bathroom walls are all covered with business cards.  There are literally thousands of them placed there by patrons who ate there at some time or another.  I looked some of them over, and they are from all over the U.S.  It was raining, so this trip was made in the truck.

ROLLING LADDER AND BUSINESS CARDS

After leaving Loran, we ventured north to Jackson, TN.  We pass through Jackson on our way down and back from Florida.  Jackson is the home town of Casey Jones and there is a museum (actually a small village) named after him.  We've always been curious but never stopped there before.  This year, with no hurry to get back, and me being somewhat of a rail head, we decided to pay Casey a visit.  Here's some photos from that venture.

A MODEL OF CASEY'S ENGINE

WNR  "CASEY" ROTACH RINGING THE ENGINE BELL

After leaving Jackson, our final stop was Sikeston, MO., a town about 140 miles south of St. Louis.  We spent the night there before trekking on into Waukon.  But before we left, we ate supper at Lambert's Cafe.  This place was recommended to me by one of my Gold Wing contacts and it did not disappoint.  The food was plentiful and delicious, but what the cafe is actually famous for is it's "throwed rolls".  Yes, as you will see, there is a waiter who comes around with a tray of freshly baked rolls and actually tosses (throws) them to waiting patrons.  You can have as many as you want.  I caught three for our table.  They also have what they call "pass arounds".  Waiters pass through the restaurant and offer customers fried okra, macaroni and tomatoes, apple butter or sorghum, black-eyed peas, and fried potatoes and onions.  They will just put the "pass arounds" on your plate with no charge.  At Lambert's instead of business cards, their walls are covered with license plates from all over the country.

ANOTHER FAMOUS IOWAN WAS THERE TOO

ALONG WITH THIS OTHER FAMOUS IOWAN

We are "home" now and it seems like it's going to be a long time before we can break out the bikes and convertibles, so keep the evening  of March 27th open for our MPS get-together.  If you're important enough, you'll get an invitation in the mail.  If you don't, come anyway!

FLORIDA UPDATE--FINAL RIDES

We were able to rack up 2,120 miles on the trike before we checked out of the condo on March 1st.  I have already requested the months of January AND February for the condo next year.  Before we left, we got a "sending off" lunch from our GWRRA friends here and in Alabama.  It was held at the Mission Barbecue in Panama City.  It's quite a place!  At exactly noon, they request everyone to stand and the national anthem is played.  I thought it was great, and I didn't see anybody kneeling.  We are really going to miss our "southern" friends until next winter.

Since we wanted to take our time getting back to the frozen tundra, we took Jim & Cathy's suggestion and headed over to Vicksburg, Mississippi, to see the National Civil War Park over there that commemorates the battle of Vicksburg.  This was a siege won by the Union under General Grant that let the north gain control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy.  This park is set up much like the one some of us guys visited in Chattanooga.  You can drive (we took the trike) through the park and see where the various skirmishes took place and see the various monuments that have been erected by the states that sent men to fight here.  We also got to see a cannon demonstration and see the Cairo (an iron clad ship built by the Union that was sunk by Confederate torpedoes (mines).
Here are some photos of our park visit.

WILLIAM HALL-COMMANDER OF AN IOWA BRIGADE

AN IOWA MONUMENT

GENERAL GRANT-UNION

GENERAL FORREST-CONFEDERATE

WNR NEXT TO IRON CLAD TRIKE AND IRON CLAD SHIP

THE CAIRO--PULLED UP FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE BAY

EACH OF THE CANNONS SHOWN HERE WERE USED IN THE BATTLE AT VICKSBURG

After our ride in the park, we returned to the motel in Jackson just before it started to rain.  The next morning the rain was continuing and there was a big cool down (all the way down to 50 degrees), so we reluctantly started our homeward trek.  On the way back we had two of the most unique dining experiences we have ever experienced along with a visit with Casey Jones.  I'll save those for the first post when we get back to tropical Iowa on Tuesday.