Best laid plans meet Gremlin.

**EDIT**  I played with it somewhat this afternoon thinking it's the fuses.  In playing around with it I noticed one of the battery cables was rubbing against the plastic case the battery sits in.  It started right up with full power when that plastic piece was off....put it on, nothing.  So, I think I just may need a new battery cable...or a better way to hold the battery in place.

I had plans this weekend.

Kimmie was running fine all this week, and we zipped back and forth on my daily commute without issue, she never gave me an indication of what was to come.  Well, that is not true.  Friday night on the way home I could of swore I heard a "popping" noise but with the traffic and speed I could not be 100% sure if it was my bike.

Technically I had to work my second job this weekend, delivering papers to various stores in and around the Plant City area, however I was able to work it out where the lovely Susan would do that for me.  She knows I enjoy riding and I don't get the chance to do a group ride often.

Photo by the Tampa Tribune

Off I would go to explore the work of Frank Lloyd Wright at Florida Southern College.  After that, perhaps I would follow the route originally suggested by Go for a Ride magazine.  After checking out the walking tour at the college, it was on to the futuristic Florida Polytechnic University building.  Which raises like a metallic Portuguese Man o' War out of the flatland's

Next stop Legoland!  While not really geared towards the rough, tough scooterist it's still part of tour.  How many of us remember playing with Lego's and building fanatic things with them.  I've often wanted to go just to see some of the things that are possible with Lego's.  I would not be stopping at the park, but riding past it.

Finally Bok Towers.  I've been here before but never by bike.

Generally speaking this was all within 150 miles of me and could be done in a day.  I would be riding with a group of people I rode with before and although nothing was confirmed, I had a good feeling.

Then the rain chance built...and built....and built.  It got as high as 70%, and the ride was cancelled.  I worked the route that I normally work....dry.  The 70% chance of rain never did amount to much, more like 7%.

So my plans are put off....I can still ride, except.......

Kimmie won't turn over.  No power, nothing.   The battery is new, the rectifier was replaced.  Short?  Loose wire?  Alternator?  Spark plug?  Starter (although I should be getting at least a "clicking" noise if it was the starter)?

My mechanic would not be in till Tuesday.   I was not in a good mood.  Not in a good mood at all.  I'm hoping it's a simple fix.

Festivities of the Orange Kind

Not everything works out as planned.

I was originally planning on riding Saturday, hopefully with a group heading somewhere but by Friday afternoon I sort of gave up on that idea.  I was feeling guilty.  Guilty because there was work that needed to be done, I had yard work to do that I kept putting off because of the summer heat and humidity.  Now that the heat and humidity are gone, there is no excuses.  Today, for example, was a pleasant 84 F (28.9 C)...still warm but without the humidity it is a pleasure to work in.

My mom and dad asked me to clean the gutters of their winter home...I still needed to do that.  

Truth be told, well I enjoy riding and exploring other parts of the local world, I really didn't feel like crossing the Howard Franklin bridge into St Petersburg to meet a group of strangers to ride back into Tampa and spend all day exploring the parks of my adopted city.  Or I could meet the other group and ride out to Lake Wales on various back roads and spend all day in the saddle.

Both options appealed to me but frankly I was not looking forward to either like I originally thought I would.  .  

So when the lovely Sue mentioned the Hunsadar Farms Pumpkin Festival was having their final weekend to me this Saturday, it just seemed right.  Plus they had an air cannon you could shoot a pumpkin out of.  An AIR CANNON!  Okay, the geek was me was excited.  Maybe they let me fire it...just once PLEASE!  PRETTY PLEASE!

So Sue and I jumped into our "Great Pumpkin" and hit the road.  Hunsadar Farms is about 75 minutes south of us in Brandenton, Florida.  The Pumpkin Festival was a combination of things, merchants, musicians, a petting zoo, food stalls, entertainment and Americana.

It's not that far from the Rosa Fiorelli vineyards, which just happen to be my favorite local wine maker, so you know we had to stop there too!  Trust me, follow the link and order a bottle or three, it's worth it.  

Scarecrows provided a distraction

We walked hand in hand taking in the crowd, the event was geared to the little ones to some extent as petting zoo's and jumping frog competitions were part of the day's events.  Two girls, maybe 5 and 6, tried their hands at frog wrangling to the amusement of the crowd, the and horror of their mother.

We got to see the air cannon fire a pumpkin into a strand of trees some 300 plus yards away.  There were some monster trucks, a hay ride, corn maze.  All the normal stuff that you would expect, but a zip line?  No, that we didn't expect.

There were a few shows and demonstrations as well.  Dirt bikes going off of jumps (missed that show) and a Monster truck flattening some old car (missed that too), but we did see the "Wall of Death" where, in addition to motorcycles, they used an old go-kart and a pedal bicycle.

Overall it was a good day, and sometimes you need to do something different to get out of the rut.  I think I was in a rut, so getting out helped.

Well the bank is safe, I think

Sheriff didn't look that tough however.

Other scarecrows provided useful info.

A really old fashioned Merry-Go-Round

More photo's can be found on my Facebook page.  

#pumpkinfest  #blogger  #blog  #pumpkinfestival  #hudsadar  #hudsadarfarms

"one is the loneliest number"

On Tuesday, I decided I wanted to go on a group ride the question was where?

So I contacted a few groups I know on Facebook, the St Petersburg Scooter Trash Group and a few others. One group had two riders going to Lake Wales. A town about 53 miles southeast of me and home of Bok Tower Gardens and Spook Hill, two attractions that I've visited before but never rode the bike to.

I also understand that the town had a lot of 1920's style buildings in the historic downtown that I may want to check out as well as the international renowned Chalet Suzanne restaurant and inn which was closing after a long and distinguished 83 years.  My brother, Gary, is a professional Chef and my Susan was a restaurant manager and chef for nearly 25 years.  My ex-wife was a fantastic cook in her own right and I've often said she could put many Iron Chef's to shame.  Yes, I love to eat and just recently learned of the Chalet.  I would have liked to have eaten there at least once, but I understand it closed on or around the forth of August.

Another group out of St Pete's was planning a ride to some of the local Tampa parks, which appealed to me for other reasons.

Frankly I am tired of riding by myself and want to get it, meet other scooterists and enjoy a day out.  One is a lonely number at times.

I'm also tired of the commute.  While I enjoy taking the bike out whenever I can, you also need a change of scenery now and again.  A ride out to Lake Wales, or into the parks of Tampa might be just what this old soul needs to feel renewed.  Even if it means riding with a bunch of strangers and being on my seat for 2 or 3 hours.

"What happens if I can't find a group to ride with this weekend?"  Honestly I don't know...but I've been meaning to explore Ybor (Ee-bor) city a bit.  The city of Lakeland is also nearby.  Getting out is the important thing...and that is what matters.

Creating a Roman Holiday

Today is Valentine's day.   For me, it's not really about getting a crappy overpriced card or a box of sweets for the sweetie.   It's about taking a moment and thanking her for everything she does for me.  I was very surprised when she found this little thing for me.

Imagine my surprise when you press the button and it starts to shake and rumble and plays "Born to be Wild."  Which I suppose anyone who has ever wandered the highways and byways of America has belted out at least once at the top of their lungs.

For a few reasons I won't go into here the lovely Sue will not go 2-up with me.  Which is fine, I don't feel ready for her to ride behind me.

But we do try to keep the romance alive.  William-Sonoma blog has a couple of ideas about creating your own Roman Holiday.    Here the intrepid couple jumps aboard an iconic Vespa to explore the city of San Francisco spending the whole day eating, riding and enjoying each other's company.   I'm sure other's have done something similar as well.  That's one of the things I love about Susan...we explore.  Bok Tower Gardens, Solomon's castle, a rebuilt piece of local history.  All these things we have explored as a couple.

So on this Valentine's day I am going to be thankful for all the woman in my life, past and present, who have made me into the man that I am today.  I do love and appreciate ALL the woman in my life each and everyday.  Well V-day may be more about selling sappy cards and overpriced flowers, it's still a good day to remember to not take those special to you for granted.  :) 

Now hopefully your loved one just might slide up behind you and whisper in your ear "OK Baby, let's go."  I am looking forward to that day when Sue and I both feel ready to ride together 

Just please don't drive like that.

Spook Hill and Bok Tower Gardens - a adventure to be had

I can think of no better day than today to post about my adventures in the "other realm".  Not the realm of spooks and ghosties but the realm of the automobile.  OH SCARY!


We, my long time girlfriend and I, had not been out on a date night for a while and with a rare Saturday off, we decided to go on an adventure.  Spook Hill and Bok Tower Gardens are about an hour away, and I thought it might be an interesting adventure on the bike.  Sadly my lovely GF does not want to ride 2-up with me yet, fearing that I don't have the experience to handle it.  I fear that she may be right, so we made a picnic lunch and off we went in our jeep!

I got to be honest, I was not expecting much out of Spook Hill and frankly I was surprised by the effect.  It left me grinning like a idiot.  Florida is a state full of optical illusions, going down the road it's common to see mirages that disappear as quickly as it appears due to the heat and curves of the land.  The below photo gives you an idea of what the hill actually looks like.

I pulled up to the line and put the car in neutral.  I was expecting to sit for a bit and then feel the car move slowly at first.  It didn't happen that way.  We started to roll. Quickly. Uphill! The girl friend and I looked at each other and smiled.  Just to give you an idea of how quickly there is a video here.  The hill is much steeper than you would think as well.

When traveling somewhere however you should always double check on things.  Sadly we were turned around from Bok Tower due to a private event.  I was disappointed but not to much as we learned that the town of Lake Wales was having its Pioneer Days.

A free event featuring displays, a parade, reenactors and the lot.  We spent the day dancing to country music, wandering from craft table to craft table and eating the usual fair food that has no redeemable qualities. Bluegrass and country music filling the air as a bright sun shone down.

While I would have preferred to have ridden the Burgi over, it was obvious that Spook Hill is best experienced in a car.  With the holidays coming up the lovely Susan and I may yet ride over to Bok Tower and see the sites.  Maybe by December she will trust my experiences enough to climb on back.  Or maybe I'll invest in a sidecar....