Another busy and fun weekend is in the books. Saturday we went to our friends the Butterfields for their annual end of summer party at their house. I had to bring an appetizer and our overnight bag and booze. They invited 16 people. For my appetizers I made Catonese Meatballs. They are made just like Swedish Meatballs only with sweet and sour sauce. They turned out pretty good, not much was left.
We always have a good time when we get together with our friends, this party was bittersweet as Kitty's father passed away on Wednesday in Arizona. We were surprised that she was still having her party, but she didn't want it any other way. She made all of us a Cuba Libre (rum & coke) her dad's favorite drink as we made a toast to him.
Before going to the party, Gary dropped the bike off at the dealership for it's 10,000 mile service, he was actually a bit over but that is how it goes. We left it overnight and they had it ready for his poker run ride on Sunday.
I didn't ride in the poker run, instead I went to the presentation in Hardin. One of my tae kwon do students went to Panama for the summer and she was giving a presentation for people who supported her. We were the only non-church people who gave her money.
The program was a youth ministries that was sponsored through her church. In fact her dad is the pastor of their church. This was a program that both her parents did and she wanted to follow in their footsteps.
She did a good job with her presentation and she had a good time. They were genuinely pleased that I came and I'm glad that I did. I felt out of place in their church but then it wasn't a regular service that day anyway. They did invite me to stay for lunch but I had to get home.
With Gary gone, I was able to get some housework done. He got home around 3:00. He had a good time and all the proceeds on this poker run went to the Montana History Flight for WWII vets. The run was just through Billings.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Dentist & Therapy
Tuesday I had a dentist appointment for a cleaning, Jennifer went with me as she had the day off so we made a shopping day out of it. I do need my therapy.
I had written down that my appointment was at 10:00 am, so we got our lattes and headed to Billings, dropped Jennifer off at the mall. She doesn't like to sit around the dentist office waiting for me. I got to the dentist's office and I was an hour early.
No problem I can just come back. Didn't want to wait for an hour anyways. Sent Jennifer a message, she had to get some banking done, so we took care of that. She had received a sizeable refund back from her credit card and she couldn't figure out why. Didn't want to cash that check to find out that she somehow received a loan. It was a legitimate refund, she somehow paid a bill three times. Not sure how that happened but she did. She was lucky that the credit card company was honest. However it did take them several months to issue her the refund. That was good news.
Time to get back to my dentist appointment, so dropped Jen off at the mall again, this time I had the time right. Found out that the 10:00 never showed so I could have gotten in anyway. Oh well. My teeth are doing great since my accident. It has been 5 years since I fell and I have healed up very nicely. It has helped that I am keeping to my regular dentist appointments. I am not going through all of that again.
My appointment took an hour, so picked up Jennifer. I had some shopping to do at the mall anyway. Back in June I won a $50 gift card to Scheels from work for logging in my walking. I bought a new pair of running shoes. Since I have turned 50 I have decided to become a runner. That is the challenge to myself. Actually the challenge is to run the 2 miles in next year's Montana Women's Run, so I'm getting in my practice now. I have a 3.1 mile loop that I do through town, I walk the first 10 minutes which is about a half mile, then I run the rest. I say run, Gary says jog. Either way it is faster than my walking pace. Got my new shoes, ran into a sale. My shoes were originally priced at $100, but marked down to $80 because of a back to school sale, with my $50 gift card I only paid $30 for the shoes.
We then went to lunch and Jennifer wanted to upgrade her phone. We have her on our plan she just pays her share. Two weeks ago we talked to the cell phone people about upgrading. Right now Jennifer and I have unlimited data plans on our smart phones. I was told that if we bought a new phone outright we could keep the unlimited data plan. Not so easy. We would be able to keep the unlimited if we bought another 3G phone, the only problem they don't make 3G anymore, only the 4G. With a 4G phone we are changing our plan so then we would be limited to 2 GB a month for internet. Most people don't use that much, only if you stream a lot like watching movies or listening to a radio app. They checked our usage and we don't use that much, I come close a couple times. Things to think about.
Jennifer decided she wanted to upgrade, no sense in buying a new phone outright because no matter what we do we are going to be limited. She decided to get the phone she wanted for $50 with a 2 year contract. We went to Best Buy as that is where she found the phone she wanted. The Verizon Store is more pricier for the same phone.
We talked to the salesman, got all the information. The problem we ran into is that I was not authorized to make any updates to our account, only Gary could do this. We went through this about 4 years ago and Gary called Verizon to get me authorized. Well they didn't get me authorized. I was upset, but understood. Told the little salesman that I wasn't mad at him, just made at Verizon because silly me thought this problem was taken care of. Had to wait to get home so that Gary could call.
Jennifer and I finished up our shopping then headed for home. Jennifer took us out for supper then Gary called Verizon to get me authorized. That in itself is quite a process and not an easy one. I don't know how many prompts he had to go through, then he makes progress but had to call from a different phone. He used mine and again went through several prompts. I was getting frustrated and said I just want to talk to a live person. Next thing I knew I had a live person on the line. Handed the phone to Gary so that he could get me authorized, I couldn't do it. This is Verizon's policy to cut down on fraud issues. I can understand that.
According to Verizon I am now authorized to make changes to our account, I called Verizon this afternoon and was told that I am good to go. We will find out tomorrow when Jennifer and I go back up to upgrade her phone. We are going when I get off work.
I told Verizon that it sure is funny that I am authorized to make a payment, but can't upgrade. What would have happened if Gary died. Verizon told me that we would have to go through court.
I had written down that my appointment was at 10:00 am, so we got our lattes and headed to Billings, dropped Jennifer off at the mall. She doesn't like to sit around the dentist office waiting for me. I got to the dentist's office and I was an hour early.
No problem I can just come back. Didn't want to wait for an hour anyways. Sent Jennifer a message, she had to get some banking done, so we took care of that. She had received a sizeable refund back from her credit card and she couldn't figure out why. Didn't want to cash that check to find out that she somehow received a loan. It was a legitimate refund, she somehow paid a bill three times. Not sure how that happened but she did. She was lucky that the credit card company was honest. However it did take them several months to issue her the refund. That was good news.
Time to get back to my dentist appointment, so dropped Jen off at the mall again, this time I had the time right. Found out that the 10:00 never showed so I could have gotten in anyway. Oh well. My teeth are doing great since my accident. It has been 5 years since I fell and I have healed up very nicely. It has helped that I am keeping to my regular dentist appointments. I am not going through all of that again.
My appointment took an hour, so picked up Jennifer. I had some shopping to do at the mall anyway. Back in June I won a $50 gift card to Scheels from work for logging in my walking. I bought a new pair of running shoes. Since I have turned 50 I have decided to become a runner. That is the challenge to myself. Actually the challenge is to run the 2 miles in next year's Montana Women's Run, so I'm getting in my practice now. I have a 3.1 mile loop that I do through town, I walk the first 10 minutes which is about a half mile, then I run the rest. I say run, Gary says jog. Either way it is faster than my walking pace. Got my new shoes, ran into a sale. My shoes were originally priced at $100, but marked down to $80 because of a back to school sale, with my $50 gift card I only paid $30 for the shoes.
We then went to lunch and Jennifer wanted to upgrade her phone. We have her on our plan she just pays her share. Two weeks ago we talked to the cell phone people about upgrading. Right now Jennifer and I have unlimited data plans on our smart phones. I was told that if we bought a new phone outright we could keep the unlimited data plan. Not so easy. We would be able to keep the unlimited if we bought another 3G phone, the only problem they don't make 3G anymore, only the 4G. With a 4G phone we are changing our plan so then we would be limited to 2 GB a month for internet. Most people don't use that much, only if you stream a lot like watching movies or listening to a radio app. They checked our usage and we don't use that much, I come close a couple times. Things to think about.
Jennifer decided she wanted to upgrade, no sense in buying a new phone outright because no matter what we do we are going to be limited. She decided to get the phone she wanted for $50 with a 2 year contract. We went to Best Buy as that is where she found the phone she wanted. The Verizon Store is more pricier for the same phone.
We talked to the salesman, got all the information. The problem we ran into is that I was not authorized to make any updates to our account, only Gary could do this. We went through this about 4 years ago and Gary called Verizon to get me authorized. Well they didn't get me authorized. I was upset, but understood. Told the little salesman that I wasn't mad at him, just made at Verizon because silly me thought this problem was taken care of. Had to wait to get home so that Gary could call.
Jennifer and I finished up our shopping then headed for home. Jennifer took us out for supper then Gary called Verizon to get me authorized. That in itself is quite a process and not an easy one. I don't know how many prompts he had to go through, then he makes progress but had to call from a different phone. He used mine and again went through several prompts. I was getting frustrated and said I just want to talk to a live person. Next thing I knew I had a live person on the line. Handed the phone to Gary so that he could get me authorized, I couldn't do it. This is Verizon's policy to cut down on fraud issues. I can understand that.
According to Verizon I am now authorized to make changes to our account, I called Verizon this afternoon and was told that I am good to go. We will find out tomorrow when Jennifer and I go back up to upgrade her phone. We are going when I get off work.
I told Verizon that it sure is funny that I am authorized to make a payment, but can't upgrade. What would have happened if Gary died. Verizon told me that we would have to go through court.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Dean Montana
Yesterday we had a chapter meeting in Dean Montana. When I saw this on our ride cards I had to look up where Dean was. It is not on the map. I did the next best thing and asked if anyone knew where Dean Montana was. Found out that it is between Fishtail and Nye on Highway 419. Highway 419 is a tiny gray road on the map and depending on which one you look at Fishtail is not listed.
We had to be at the dealership by 10:00 am, we left Hardin a little after 8:00 am. This gave us time to wander through the dealership, look at stuff and visit.
We had quite a group going to Dean, at least 20 bikes and 30 people. Our route took us on the back roads, went through Laurel then on to Park City and Columbus. A nice day for a ride.
There was a snake on the highway between Park City and Columbus that was alive, Gary ran over it and killed it I hope, we could see that it was coiled and ready to strike. Think it was run over by the bike in front of us, we just made sure. I asked Gary if the snake flew up in the air and landed in the lap of the biker behind us. It didn't. That happened on the first year we went to Jackson, Gary ran over a rabbit and it flipped in the air and almost hit our friend Marty who was behind us.
We arrived in Dean around noon time. All that is in Dean is a bar and a couple houses. The people in the bar were ready for us, had a special limited menu for us and they had some musicians performing. Our choices on the menu were a buffalo cheeseburger, biscuits and gravy or a BLT. Gary and I shared a buffalo burger. It was pretty good. Our table was the first one served so we got our food pretty fast.
After we ate, we went outside and had a short meeting. Gary won a hat as a ride prize which was good because he forgot to pack his when we left the house. He will keep this one in the bike.
Right after the meeting we left for home. It was nice and cool in the mountains but as we got closer to Billings it sure got hot. We stopped at the dealership so that Gary could make an appointment to get the bike scheduled for it's 10,000 mile service on Saturday.
It was a very nice day and I would like to take a drive back someday and go all the way to Nye. I was told that there is a campground called Woodbine at the end of the road which is pretty. You take a little hike and there is a beautiful waterfall up there.
We had to be at the dealership by 10:00 am, we left Hardin a little after 8:00 am. This gave us time to wander through the dealership, look at stuff and visit.
We had quite a group going to Dean, at least 20 bikes and 30 people. Our route took us on the back roads, went through Laurel then on to Park City and Columbus. A nice day for a ride.
There was a snake on the highway between Park City and Columbus that was alive, Gary ran over it and killed it I hope, we could see that it was coiled and ready to strike. Think it was run over by the bike in front of us, we just made sure. I asked Gary if the snake flew up in the air and landed in the lap of the biker behind us. It didn't. That happened on the first year we went to Jackson, Gary ran over a rabbit and it flipped in the air and almost hit our friend Marty who was behind us.
We arrived in Dean around noon time. All that is in Dean is a bar and a couple houses. The people in the bar were ready for us, had a special limited menu for us and they had some musicians performing. Our choices on the menu were a buffalo cheeseburger, biscuits and gravy or a BLT. Gary and I shared a buffalo burger. It was pretty good. Our table was the first one served so we got our food pretty fast.
After we ate, we went outside and had a short meeting. Gary won a hat as a ride prize which was good because he forgot to pack his when we left the house. He will keep this one in the bike.
Right after the meeting we left for home. It was nice and cool in the mountains but as we got closer to Billings it sure got hot. We stopped at the dealership so that Gary could make an appointment to get the bike scheduled for it's 10,000 mile service on Saturday.
It was a very nice day and I would like to take a drive back someday and go all the way to Nye. I was told that there is a campground called Woodbine at the end of the road which is pretty. You take a little hike and there is a beautiful waterfall up there.
Monday, August 12, 2013
2013 Nation of Patriots
We didn't plan on going on this ride this year as we were planning a 4 day trip to Canada over Labor Day but that trip didn't pan out. We decided to go on this ride this year. I enjoy the ride but it is an expensive one. We stay the night at the Rawhide Motel in Jackson at $150 per night (a discount) not to mention meals and gas.
Friday we went to Billings and we stay the night at the Butterfields house since we have to be at the dealership by 8:00 am and on the road. Dale & Kitty just have us spend the night. Secretly they have adopted us.
We met at the dealership in Billings at 7:30 am. The dealership opened early for us so that we were able to get coffee and they had donuts out. Normally the dealership doesn't open un 9:00 am. We took a group picture in Billings and another one in Cody.
There were 11 people who left Billings for the Cody leg, we got into Cody around 10:00. We made our way to the dealership, usually this time of year the shops in Cody will have their sidewalk sales but not this year. After we did our little ceremony three people left to head back to Billings, while eight of us made our way to Jackson.
This leg had us, Dale & Kitty Butterfield, Marty & Vickie Davis, Wes & Denise Lambert. We ate lunch at Pahaska Teepee, which is always a nice stop. We arrived in Jackson around 4:00 pm, got checked in to the motel. The Butterfields, Davis's and us are the originals for this event. We are the only ones who have done this all four years.
This year the man who we pass the flag to wanted to do the exchange on Saturday night, which was perfect for us. We met him at 6:00 at the dealership in Jackson and did the exchange. This gave us an earlier time to get on the road home. In the past we did the exchange on Sunday morning at 9:00.
Kitty had received some very sad news about her dad on this trip. Her dad had been admitted to the hospital in Arizona and was not expected to make it through the night.
Sunday we ate breakfast at Bubba's and then made our way home. Dale & Kitty needed to get home as soon as possible so that Kitty could make arrangements to get to Arizona, so it was a quick trip home. We went our usual route, over Teton Pass into Driggs Idaho, made our way to West Yellowstone then Bozeman then home.
The weather was beautiful this year, we didn't get rained on. This might be the last year for this event, we heard that the flag is being retired this year. Besides, Dale is looking for someone to take over the reins on these two legs.
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