Retired and Trippin

Our good friends, Mel & Trisha, had been gone for most of a week to the deep south visiting plantations, doing swamp tours, and touring civil war battlegrounds.  Chris and I were finally able to join them as they were on their way home. Day 1; Friday; June 28, 2013 We left home at 9:00 am under blue clear skies with a temperature of 75.  BUENO weather!  Branson was our destination for the day and we took the most direct route.  We had lunch at one of our most favorite restaurants near Boliver, MO and then booked it on to Branson. As we pulled into the parking lot of the Lynina Inn ( http://www.lyninainn.com/ ) at 1:40 we found Mel & Trisha unloading their beast.  We’d ridden 225 miles with a high temp of 89.  Mel & Trisha rode in from Hot Springs, AR.  We all took a refreshing dip in the motel pool and then went out for a murder mystery dinner theater at Ozark Murder Mysteries.  There were funny parts to the play but I would not recommend it for future viewing.  After

Our friends, Dal & Pat, own some farm land east of Laredo, MO.  They put up a Morton building for a large garage and then they finished the west end of it where they have a nice living space, kitchen, full bath and a bedroom upstairs.  We’d heard about it for a long time and since we got an invite to go see it, today we rode up for a visit. We left just before 9:00 and rode through Kansas City and north on I-35.  It was a cool comfortable 68 degrees  At exit 40 we rode east through Polo and Braymer, MO before turning north and eventually stopping in Chillicothe for a break. We rode north from Chillicothe on Hwy 65 and then took back roads through Chula and Laredo to Dale & Pats property located just east of Laredo. Dale and Pat provided us with an excellent lunch, a good visit and then a tour of the area.  Dale and I got in a little pond fishing where we had a great time catching and releasing small bass. We said our good-byes around 6:30 and rode to Trenton, MO.  Chris

My Aunt Dorothy passed away in Colorado Springs, Colorado on January 28, 2013.  Her memorial service was scheduled for May 31.  Dorothy and my mother were very close sisters and I knew some cousins would be there.  My brother, Carl, and I decided to ride our motorcycles out for the service. Day 1 Thursday, May 30th When we departed at 2:00 it had been raining most all day long.  It rained lightly on us as we rode to Olathe but south and west on I-35 it stopped and the skies cleared.  We blasted down to Emporia and stopped on the west side of town for gas and a break. From Emporia we rode west through Strong City, and Hillsboro . . . . . on our way to McPherson, KS. From McPherson to Ellinwood on Hwy 56 we skirted the south side of some thunderstorms moving across the state.  We felt fortunate to stay dry. At Ness City we stopped for gas and a butt break before we rode on to our evening’s destination, the Best Western motel in Scott City, KS.  We rode 380 miles today and, exc