Just read an article in the news that having sisters makes you a better person. The study was done on teens, but I am making it work for me.
I have two sisters, so I guess this makes me doubly a better person. Didn't really say anything about brothers, but the study did say that it is best to have siblings. The study also didn't go into detail about age differences either.
Siblings promote good deeds and foster charitable attitudes. Sibling affection and good deeds is twice as strong at parental affection and good deeds.
The study didn't go into detail about sibling rivalry or what happens when a person is estranged from their siblings. In my case I am fortunate that none of us are estranged from each other.
Thank you Mary and Bonnie for making me a better person. I will also thank Ed after all he is a sibling too.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Idaho California Trip
Last week I spent eight days on the road. This is our annual girls road trip with my mom and daughter. We had a great time.
First stop was in Idaho Falls to visit with Robert. This time I took a different route on the way down because I've never been to Idaho Falls that way before. We went to Whitehall then down to Dillon. Caught I-15 at Dillon on our way to Idaho Falls. I ended up having to take a detour because of the Blue Angels Air Show, so I ended up on the highway I always take. We checked into our hotel and then met Robert at Denny's. After eating Robert drove us around to check out the sites of Idaho Falls.
Robert got tickets for the Sunday performance to the air show. He had called me up before I left to make sure I brought some chairs to sit on as there was no seating in the spectators area. It was a good thing I listened to him. The gates opened at 9:00 am and we were there on time. There were some planes on display that we could check out. We were able to get inside the cargo plane and I was able to sit in the pilot's seat. It was a very enjoyable show and we got alot for our money. Not only did we get to see the Blue Angels, but we also got to see the aerial acrobatics from others. We were there from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. It took a long time to get out of the parking lot. It was announced that there were 50,000 people at the show. Will be getting my photos up soon. Took Robert out for a nice meal, then we just visited. He had to get to him home and get to bed as he had to work the next day bright and early at 4:00 am. Before leaving town, we did stop by his place of work for a short good bye.
We made our way west towards California. Stopped in Reno and stayed at the Boomtown Casino. I gambled for a couple hours and came out even. Mom watched me and Jennifer shopped in the gift shop. On Tuesday we made our way to Napa to meet with Spuddies neighbors and friends for lunch. Mom had to pick up some coins anyway. After lunch we made our way down to San Luis Obispo for the night. Met up with a relative who is doing the geneology of the Carlson family.
This is the day we played tourist. We went through the San Luis Obispo Mission. It was very interesting, we also went through a historical museum about San Luis Obispo. We then found our way to Bubble Gum Alley. This is just a small alley way with chewed bubble gum plastered all over the walls. Not a place to go if you are a germaphobe. I had read about this in some travel news but couldn't remember where it was. We found it. Didn't put any gum on the walls as I don't chew gum anymore. Stopped in Solvang before making our way to Oxnard.
Got checked into our hotel then called Jason. I got directions on how to get to their place and it was real easy. They live on one of the main streets in the city. Jason & Jeni and her aunt just moved into their new place a couple weeks before we arrived. A nice apartment and they are able to have their pets. A good thing. Jason & Jeni have a dog while her aunt has six cats. Not a good place when you have allergies. Good thing I brought some pills with me.
Mary and the little girls met up with us in Oxnard on Thursday afternoon. We spent the morning with Jason & Jeni at the mall, then went to the hotel to get Mary and the girls. We then went back to Jason's apartment to go swimming in their pool. The water was very cold, but we got to warm up in the hot tub. A very enjoyable afternoon. Later we went out to dinner. Jeni's aunt was too tired to go out with us on this night, she just wanted to stay home and relax. We had a great meal and I got to try a pazookie. Very interesting dessert. Basically it's a very large warm cookie with ice cream on top. I took the kids back to their place and got a short visit with Jeni's aunt. She gave me directions on how to get back on I-15. Very straight forward.
Friday morning came and time to start heading back home. The week went by very fast. Got a late start leaving Oxnard, but it was ok missed all the morning traffic. Mary and I had fun passing each other on the highway. Once we got to the I-15 interchange we headed north and she headed south.
Spent two very long days in the car to get home. Did get to stop in Idaho Falls one more time for a quick visit with Robert. I delivered Jason his tv and he had a play station in the box so I took it with me. He gave it to Robert as he already has game systems. I got rid of some of their stuff out of my house and I didn't take any back with me.
Had a great time visiting with my boys. Don't get to see them very often, it was two years since I visited with them last.
First stop was in Idaho Falls to visit with Robert. This time I took a different route on the way down because I've never been to Idaho Falls that way before. We went to Whitehall then down to Dillon. Caught I-15 at Dillon on our way to Idaho Falls. I ended up having to take a detour because of the Blue Angels Air Show, so I ended up on the highway I always take. We checked into our hotel and then met Robert at Denny's. After eating Robert drove us around to check out the sites of Idaho Falls.
Robert got tickets for the Sunday performance to the air show. He had called me up before I left to make sure I brought some chairs to sit on as there was no seating in the spectators area. It was a good thing I listened to him. The gates opened at 9:00 am and we were there on time. There were some planes on display that we could check out. We were able to get inside the cargo plane and I was able to sit in the pilot's seat. It was a very enjoyable show and we got alot for our money. Not only did we get to see the Blue Angels, but we also got to see the aerial acrobatics from others. We were there from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. It took a long time to get out of the parking lot. It was announced that there were 50,000 people at the show. Will be getting my photos up soon. Took Robert out for a nice meal, then we just visited. He had to get to him home and get to bed as he had to work the next day bright and early at 4:00 am. Before leaving town, we did stop by his place of work for a short good bye.
We made our way west towards California. Stopped in Reno and stayed at the Boomtown Casino. I gambled for a couple hours and came out even. Mom watched me and Jennifer shopped in the gift shop. On Tuesday we made our way to Napa to meet with Spuddies neighbors and friends for lunch. Mom had to pick up some coins anyway. After lunch we made our way down to San Luis Obispo for the night. Met up with a relative who is doing the geneology of the Carlson family.
This is the day we played tourist. We went through the San Luis Obispo Mission. It was very interesting, we also went through a historical museum about San Luis Obispo. We then found our way to Bubble Gum Alley. This is just a small alley way with chewed bubble gum plastered all over the walls. Not a place to go if you are a germaphobe. I had read about this in some travel news but couldn't remember where it was. We found it. Didn't put any gum on the walls as I don't chew gum anymore. Stopped in Solvang before making our way to Oxnard.
Got checked into our hotel then called Jason. I got directions on how to get to their place and it was real easy. They live on one of the main streets in the city. Jason & Jeni and her aunt just moved into their new place a couple weeks before we arrived. A nice apartment and they are able to have their pets. A good thing. Jason & Jeni have a dog while her aunt has six cats. Not a good place when you have allergies. Good thing I brought some pills with me.
Mary and the little girls met up with us in Oxnard on Thursday afternoon. We spent the morning with Jason & Jeni at the mall, then went to the hotel to get Mary and the girls. We then went back to Jason's apartment to go swimming in their pool. The water was very cold, but we got to warm up in the hot tub. A very enjoyable afternoon. Later we went out to dinner. Jeni's aunt was too tired to go out with us on this night, she just wanted to stay home and relax. We had a great meal and I got to try a pazookie. Very interesting dessert. Basically it's a very large warm cookie with ice cream on top. I took the kids back to their place and got a short visit with Jeni's aunt. She gave me directions on how to get back on I-15. Very straight forward.
Friday morning came and time to start heading back home. The week went by very fast. Got a late start leaving Oxnard, but it was ok missed all the morning traffic. Mary and I had fun passing each other on the highway. Once we got to the I-15 interchange we headed north and she headed south.
Spent two very long days in the car to get home. Did get to stop in Idaho Falls one more time for a quick visit with Robert. I delivered Jason his tv and he had a play station in the box so I took it with me. He gave it to Robert as he already has game systems. I got rid of some of their stuff out of my house and I didn't take any back with me.
Had a great time visiting with my boys. Don't get to see them very often, it was two years since I visited with them last.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Harley Olympics
Last Sunday was the HOG Chapter Harley Olympics and Picnic. We met in the Huntley city park at noon. The picnic was catered so didn't have to bring anything, which was nice. We had burgers, brats, salads, chips and for dessert had our choice of apple or cherry pie with ice cream. The pies were originally for the pie eating contest, but no one wanted to do that game.
Gary wanted to go after our 2300 mile trip because they had set up some games special for trikes. He figured if they went to the trouble then we should show up. We ended up being the only trike there, so not too sure what games they had in mind for us.
Gary and I did play in some of the games. We did the balloon toss, we made it to the final round, but our balloon broke. We did the bike wash. Your passenger throws a water balloon over a rope and it goes higher each time. We didn't make it the first pass, I tossed our balloon too far, couldn't catch it. It hit the windshield and bounced into the grass. We also did the buffalo shoot. You shoot paint balls at the target. Our target is a painted buffalo with a target on him. We got two tries to shoot 8 rounds each in the target. Not too sure what our total score was, but I did hit a couple in the bull's eye and I only three three shots. It was fun. The next game I did was the plank walk. You get into teams of 4 and you loop your feet onto the plank. My team didn't win our heat, but we did make it to the end without falling. It was all in good fun.
Before the games and eating we had a short meeting. Gary and I didn't win any of the door prizes this time, but I did win the 50-50 drawing. Walked away with $31. A little extra spending for my trip.
So far this year we have been lucky with the drawings. I won the 50-50 back in January, but donated all of that money back to the chapter. In April Gary won a bottle opener and in May I won a t-shirt. Some of our friends started to rub my shoulders so that my good luck will rub off onto them.
We had a good time. An enjoyable day, we got home around 4:00.
Gary wanted to go after our 2300 mile trip because they had set up some games special for trikes. He figured if they went to the trouble then we should show up. We ended up being the only trike there, so not too sure what games they had in mind for us.
Gary and I did play in some of the games. We did the balloon toss, we made it to the final round, but our balloon broke. We did the bike wash. Your passenger throws a water balloon over a rope and it goes higher each time. We didn't make it the first pass, I tossed our balloon too far, couldn't catch it. It hit the windshield and bounced into the grass. We also did the buffalo shoot. You shoot paint balls at the target. Our target is a painted buffalo with a target on him. We got two tries to shoot 8 rounds each in the target. Not too sure what our total score was, but I did hit a couple in the bull's eye and I only three three shots. It was fun. The next game I did was the plank walk. You get into teams of 4 and you loop your feet onto the plank. My team didn't win our heat, but we did make it to the end without falling. It was all in good fun.
Before the games and eating we had a short meeting. Gary and I didn't win any of the door prizes this time, but I did win the 50-50 drawing. Walked away with $31. A little extra spending for my trip.
So far this year we have been lucky with the drawings. I won the 50-50 back in January, but donated all of that money back to the chapter. In April Gary won a bottle opener and in May I won a t-shirt. Some of our friends started to rub my shoulders so that my good luck will rub off onto them.
We had a good time. An enjoyable day, we got home around 4:00.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
La Barge Wyoming
On our trip we made a stop in La Barge so that we could eat lunch at the diner. I had told our friends the story about the diner and I have wanted to go here to eat lunch, but have not made it yet.
A couple years ago there was an article in the Billings paper about this couple buying a diner in New York and bringing it to small town Wyoming. It was all very interesting and I wanted to go and check it out. Never did make it until now.
I will recommend this diner to anyone. The food was delicious. We had a burger with home made fries. The shakes are very good, just perfect. They need to work on their parking lot some more, nothing but rocks. Not the best for motorcycles but we managed.
The couple managed to keep everything original as best they could. Reading the history about it and diners across America was interesting. Too bad I couldn't bring a menu home with me.
There is a map of the United States on one wall with pins from guests. To my surprise there is a pin representing Meeteetse and Hardin. Makes me wonder if two certain women made a road trip. Would not surprise me in the least. Our friends enjoyed the diner too. It was worth the stop.
A couple years ago there was an article in the Billings paper about this couple buying a diner in New York and bringing it to small town Wyoming. It was all very interesting and I wanted to go and check it out. Never did make it until now.
I will recommend this diner to anyone. The food was delicious. We had a burger with home made fries. The shakes are very good, just perfect. They need to work on their parking lot some more, nothing but rocks. Not the best for motorcycles but we managed.
The couple managed to keep everything original as best they could. Reading the history about it and diners across America was interesting. Too bad I couldn't bring a menu home with me.
There is a map of the United States on one wall with pins from guests. To my surprise there is a pin representing Meeteetse and Hardin. Makes me wonder if two certain women made a road trip. Would not surprise me in the least. Our friends enjoyed the diner too. It was worth the stop.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Colorado Trip
Gary and I had a wonderful time on our motorcycle vacation to Colorado. We went through four states and six national parks.
We spent a week with our good friends Pat & Sandi Breckenridge and Dale & Kitty Butterfield. These couples live in Billings and we met them in Hardin bright and early just after 6:00 am on Saturday morning. Made our way to Loveland Colorado through Wyoming. Got pretty warm after we left Buffalo and hit the famous Wyoming wind from Wheatland to the state line.
We lucked out with motels, we were able to stay in the Comfort Inn, Quality Inn and Best Westerns. We did stay in two mom & pop motels in Moab Utah and Jackson Wyoming. All the motels were under $100 except Jackson, there we paid $150. Every night we went out and drank beer. The first night I drank margarita's, they were very tasty after a hot day of riding. After that I stayed with beer. I broadened my horizons with beer, tried different kinds, but Gary stayed with his Coors.
The National Parks we traveled through were Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, Black Canyon, Arches, Teton and Yellowstone. Went over alot of mountain passes, the highest elevation was 12,000 feet at Independence Pass. Going over the Red Mountain from Durango to Ouray was a scary one. Very narrow mountain road with no shoulder and no guardrails or berms and a 9,000 foot drop to the bottom. Naturally we were on the cliff side of the road. This road also had many hair pin turns. I was so glad when we got to the bottom, seemed like it took forever.
Got caught in a hail storm near Kremmling Colorado, that was not fun, good thing the hail was pea sized. No place to pull over and nothing to hide under. We managed to find a place to turn off the highway, at a private driveway. Rode out the storm, lasted about 10 minutes. Otherwise the weather was nice. Cool in the mountains and very hot in the desert.
In Rocky Mountain NP we were able to see a moose with two calves. She stayed in the trees so getting pics was hard, but I managed. In Yellowstone we saw a sow grizzly with two cubs at Mt. Washburn. Got a bunch of good pics there. Otherwise we saw elk, buffalo and deer.
I got all my photos downloaded and uploaded onto Picasa. Now I just have to get them edited in photoshop. Will be making cd's for my friends. They are going to do the same with their pics.
Now I get ready for road trip number two to Idaho and California with Mom and Jen.
Here are some photos of us on our trip, the rest are on my picasa site.
pea sized hail stones, my lap
Rocky Mountain NP
I impressed people by getting on this thing
Lizard Head Pass
Lizard Head Pass
Pat & Sandi; Kitty & Dale; Patty & Gary
Black Canyon NP
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Photo Contest
Beartooth Harley is having a photo contest during the summer. It just started this week. Every week on Sunday we will be given a list of items to photograph. All we have to do is get out and take photos. We have until Saturday to get the photos submitted. Voting will start the following week. The winner of the week will win a $25 gift card at the dealership. I have entered.
The top three vote getters for the weeks will then be entered for the grand prize. Grand prize winner will get a $100 gift card, second place $50 gift card and third place $25 gift card.
This week the items are deer, tree, flower, mountain, river. You can vote for me. I'm listed at pat. All you have to do is register at the Harley dealer website. http://www.beartoothonline.com/. Click on the Harley-Davidson sign. This will take you to a different page, from here click on the photo contest sign. It will list all the entrants and starting on July 11th, you can vote. If you want to register, there is a register link in the upper right hand corner.
Here are the photos that I have submitted for the week. The flower was taken at Shell Canyon last year. The deer was taken at Grandma's house a couple years ago. The mountains are the Tetons. The tree was taken at Craters of the Moon National Park in Idaho, it's called witch's broom. The river is the Yellowstone River taken at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone National Park.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Independence Day Weekend
To celebrate Independence Day, hubby and I jumped on the Harley and took a quick trip to Meeteetse Wyoming. The main goal was to visit my youngest sister and her family. We left town early in the morning and stopped in Rockvale for breakfast.
We got caught in Cody with the parade, so we got to watch the end of the parade. We were delayed for about a half hour, not bad at all. Made our way to Meeteetse. Got to the house and my brother in law made a trip to the Cody ER with my Mom. That ended up taking them all afternoon. Ken is fine, got some medicine for his abdominal pains. Got some good visiting in with my sister and nephews.
Gary and I went to the Cowboy for a quick bite to eat, just a snack to hold us over until supper. That's when we found out that the bar was going to have a live band that night.
Made all the arrangements for supper. Gary and I shared a pizza, we passed on the ribs. My sister and her hubby had the ribs though. We didn't get to eat in the bar as they were getting it ready for the band, so we sat in the cafe. With the little ones, not allowed in the bar.
After supper Gary gave Harley rides to my sister and nephews. The boys had to see their Mom ride first. Kevin was all excited. The boys had to wear a helmet. Gary took Kevin out twice, they went to town and back. Sam wasn't too sure about it, so he only went to the end of the check station and back. Sam didn't like wearing the helmet, said it made him feel like a bobblehead. I know what he means. Those helmets do get heavy. The boys wore Gary's helmet as it is smaller than mine and the helmet didn't fit Sam quite right.
We visited some more, then made our way back to the Cowboy for some drinking, dancing and listening to music. We were able to get a table for all of us. The bar was full, but not crowded, just right. The band is a local band and they played classical rock & roll.
At one point the band decided that the women needed to show off their stuff. Most of them were youngsters, so Bonnie and I decided to show them how it is done. We didn't win. The prize was a camping chair. Big Jim was the judge and the top three finalists were his granddaugher, wife of a band member and daughter of another band member with Big Jim's granddaughter winning it. Later he told me and Bonnie that he tried to keep it fair. We told him that they had youth on their side. It was all in fun. The dancing was after the shots of Pucker. Bonnie and I each had two shots each, made the dancing easier.
We also got patriotic hats, each one was different. I ended up trading mine for the cowboy looking hat, which I liked better. Ken sure had fun with his hat.
We didn't quite close the bar down, didn't get home until after midnight. Said my goodbyes to Bonnie and Ken as I wouldn't see them in the morning. Will be posting my photos on picasa later tonight. Mmom has her up.
We got caught in Cody with the parade, so we got to watch the end of the parade. We were delayed for about a half hour, not bad at all. Made our way to Meeteetse. Got to the house and my brother in law made a trip to the Cody ER with my Mom. That ended up taking them all afternoon. Ken is fine, got some medicine for his abdominal pains. Got some good visiting in with my sister and nephews.
Gary and I went to the Cowboy for a quick bite to eat, just a snack to hold us over until supper. That's when we found out that the bar was going to have a live band that night.
Made all the arrangements for supper. Gary and I shared a pizza, we passed on the ribs. My sister and her hubby had the ribs though. We didn't get to eat in the bar as they were getting it ready for the band, so we sat in the cafe. With the little ones, not allowed in the bar.
After supper Gary gave Harley rides to my sister and nephews. The boys had to see their Mom ride first. Kevin was all excited. The boys had to wear a helmet. Gary took Kevin out twice, they went to town and back. Sam wasn't too sure about it, so he only went to the end of the check station and back. Sam didn't like wearing the helmet, said it made him feel like a bobblehead. I know what he means. Those helmets do get heavy. The boys wore Gary's helmet as it is smaller than mine and the helmet didn't fit Sam quite right.
We visited some more, then made our way back to the Cowboy for some drinking, dancing and listening to music. We were able to get a table for all of us. The bar was full, but not crowded, just right. The band is a local band and they played classical rock & roll.
At one point the band decided that the women needed to show off their stuff. Most of them were youngsters, so Bonnie and I decided to show them how it is done. We didn't win. The prize was a camping chair. Big Jim was the judge and the top three finalists were his granddaugher, wife of a band member and daughter of another band member with Big Jim's granddaughter winning it. Later he told me and Bonnie that he tried to keep it fair. We told him that they had youth on their side. It was all in fun. The dancing was after the shots of Pucker. Bonnie and I each had two shots each, made the dancing easier.
We also got patriotic hats, each one was different. I ended up trading mine for the cowboy looking hat, which I liked better. Ken sure had fun with his hat.
We didn't quite close the bar down, didn't get home until after midnight. Said my goodbyes to Bonnie and Ken as I wouldn't see them in the morning. Will be posting my photos on picasa later tonight. Mmom has her up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)