MORE FROM FLORIDA

 Even though temps here in the Florida panhandle have been below average in January, we have still been able to rack up a little over 600 miles on the trike.  Aside from the riding, we have attended a GWRRA chapter meeting in Dothan, Al, and a supper get-together with the chapter in Ft. Walton.  I have only played golf twice, but I have burned up a considerable amount of pistol ammo at the new range here in Panama City Beach.

I have been able to explore quite a new number of new county back roads, since like Wisconsin, most of the county roads are paved, and down here they seem to be in excellent condition.

A really enjoyable ride I took last week (Julie was attending a quilting session) was to Ft. Rucker, an army aviation training post near Ozark, AL. that has a US Army air museum.  Ft. Rucker is located about 100 miles north of PCB, making for a scenic trip through the hills and valleys of southern Alabama.  I had tried two previous trips up to Ft. Rucker, but when I got there the first time, Obama was cutting back on military funding (imagine that!) and the gate was closed.  The second time, the base was put on alert and no one was admitted.  This time after making sure I was following the rules for motorcycles (helmet, eye protection, gloves, long pants, boots, vehicle registration, proof of insurance, and valid drivers' license), I was admitted onto the base, and made my way to the museum.

The museum is a well-managed facility that has on public display one of the world's foremost aeronautical collections.  Its exhibits encompass U.S. Army Aviation history from the Wright Model "B", the first flying machine in Army inventory, to the AH-64 advanced attack helicopter.  I did take quite a number of photos and some videos of the exhibits, and I will try to share some of those below.  Sometime I plan to get back there and spend more time examining the displays.  It's like a lot of other military museums I have visited, I could have spent the whole day there.

And on the way back, a couple of "hitchhiking cluckers" checked me out near Vernon, FL!

In other news...

IS THERE GOING TO BE A NEW INDIAN JOINING OUR RANKS?!

And also...

This is what the folks down south here think!