SOME LATE FALL THOUGHTS

With the seemingly upcoming rapid drop in temps this past week, I was able to squeeze in a short ride on Wednesday.  I thought about trying it again on Thursday, but got spooked out by the rain showers.  So instead I finished winterizing the two-wheeler and the trike.

A SAD DAY!

 Friday rolled around, and it was time to honor our veterans.  I did attend a "Quilts of Valor" presentation at the library where Julie and her quilting group passed out quilts they had made to deserving veterans.  I also attended a get-together at the new veterans museum here in Waukon on Saturday.  An interview with Sherrie White, a nurse who served in Viet Nam was presented, and several of our Allamakee County Viet Nam veterans also were invited to tell about some of their experiences.  If you have not made it yet to visit this museum located in the old Vet's Club, I highly recommend it!

Just to let everyone know, I made a contribution to Camp Courageous in honor of Meryle Honn.  He always enjoyed our trip down to Monticello for the pancakes and omelets.  I found out that the contribution went to help with the veterans' monument that is located there.  Since Meryle was a Korean War veteran, I thought this was very appropriate.  Here's a photo of the tribute to veterans that is now located at Camp Courageous.

And finally here's my own thoughts concerning our deserving veterans.

Now it's time for some drivel.

Does this look like our departure from Casey's on Wednesday nights?  Highlight the link and then click on it.

https://www.facebook.com/1168086355/videos/530649631749826/

Terry sent me this one.  Just in case you want to ride this winter!

Julie sent me this for all you pet lovers like Jim D.  Can he teach Honey to lean?

Julie and I also had birthdays this month.

Julie and I will be leaving on this coming Saturday for a cruise that will include the Panama Canal.  So we will be spending Thanksgiving aboard a cruise ship with a group of our motorcycling friends from all over the country.  We will return from that trip in early December, and I may have some observations to share with you then.  Near the end of December we will be making our journey down to Panama City Beach, FL, to spend January and February with some of our biker friends from Florida and Alabama.

ChucK and Dee have mentioned that they would like to see our group have an end-of-the-year get-together sometime at the Uptown Waukon Grill (formerly Vet's Club).  This would not take the place of our PMS get-together we have in April.  Since I am pretty well "bagged out" from the organizing I've done this year, I'm going to leave it up to them to make the call.  I'll keep you posted if this is something that's going to happen.

In the meantime--HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

LAST RIDE, BUT NEW EATS!

 Our last Wednesday night ride for the year came on a great night for riding.  Sunny skies and temps in the low 70's greeted seven riders.  We had Chuckles, Lois, and Dee on bikes, while Irv, Darrel, Roger, and Bob sported three-wheelers.

IRV & ROGER UNDER SUNNY SKIES

PROBABLY OUR MOST DEDICATED RIDER IS DARREL

LOIS DRAGS CHUCKLES ALONG

DEE READIES FOR OUR FINAL WEDNESDAY

However, I think Irv expressed it the best with this photo and comment from Facebook.

How many times can you go riding in Iowa on November 2nd (without gloves)?

With the promise of being able to eat at the newly opened Uptown Grill (formerly City Club), after a short ride, we departed Casey's by passing through Waukon on Main St. and after a short jog on 9th St., we turned onto newly paved Prairie Avenue.  At the end of Prairie, we turned south onto West Ridge Road and over to HWY 9 heading west.

HWY 9 took us to Frankville Road, and we followed it through its namesake and onto HWY 51 and then cruised on into Postville.  Things got interesting in Postville because of some never-ending street closings, but we were able to find our way over to Cherry Valley Drive.  This stretch of smooth concrete took us over to Forest Mills Road, and we turned north passing by the Gelo plantation and on to HWY 76.  We motored into Waukon and gathered for eats at the very busy Uptown Grill. Terry joined us there. This was to be their "soft" opening, but judging by the crowd, you'd thought it was their grand opening.  Despite the many patrons there, the service was good and the food was excellent!  I had exactly 50 miles on the trike when I parked her, so that made it an official ride!

I was sorry to see the Wednesday night rides come to an end for the year, but looking back, I think we would all agree that we had an excellent riding year.  We missed very few Wednesdays and the special rides turned out great, so here's looking to 2023.  At least for now, plan on a PMS get-together in April, and hopefully I will be able to keep you informed about Julie and my trip to the Panama Canal with our motorcycle friends and our cycle adventures in Florida this winter.

Also, I always enjoy riding through Waukon on Halloween and looking at some of the decorations that folks put out.  This year I took some photos to share.  Here's some of the best ones I saw on the trike.

IS THAT CHUCKLES ON THE BIKE?!

AND FINALLY, DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ON TUESDAY, AND BE SURE TO VOTE "YES" ON THE HOSPITAL OWNERSHIP CHANGE!

OUR LAST WEDNESDAY NIGHT

 Tonight will be our last Wednesday night ride for this season.  The "assinine" daylight savings time (spring forward, fall backwards) kicks in this weekend, so it will be dark and probably cold on Wednesday nights now until spring.

The ride tonight will be a short one (maybe a little over an hour), and I plan on stopping at the new Uptown Bar (City Club) afterwards if they are able to open and are not too crowded.

If you can't or don't want to ride tonight (still leaving Casey's at 5) then you are welcome to meet us afterwards, probably a little after 6, and hopefully at Uptown.

Remember how I told most of you how easy a Gold Wing is to ride, check this out.  Thanks to Terry!

https://facebook.com/MotorcycleSports/posts/pfbid0gWvbRiedXk5k71VczdTtF4MUb8enoJfj7UBgsSUhQTAdE4FbdVTLq7K4cRCQjRzxl