Our day started like most other normal days, but the ending was anything but normal. We drove into Ocean Shores, and stopped at the south end of the peninsula, where we last year discovered our 2nd baby seal on the beach. No babies this year, but it was a nice sunny day, with temps in the mid, to upper 60's.
For over 20 years, this is what the locals call the "Harley Weekend", but officially, it's called the Sun & Surf Run to Ocean Shores. The convention center is the hub of activities, including quite a few vendors. One of the weekend retailers was a Boss Hoss motorcycle dealer, that had several of their V-8 motorcycles on display. When I saw this V-8 powered bar stool, I couldn't resist the temptation to take a picture. I would imagine that with the pedal to the metal, this could be quite a spectacular ride.
When a few of my friends and I started the Bridgeport, CA Motorcycle Jamboree in 1990, this event was a few years old, and we kind of used it as model for a gathering of motorcyclists in a small town. It's good to see this event still going, and kind of sad that the Bridgeport Rally only made it for about 10 years, ceasing to exist long after I had stepped aside.
One of the activities that I had not seen before, was a drive through bike blessing, sponsored by the Christian Motorcycle Ass'n. What the heck, we have drive thu's for just about everything else, why not a ride through blessing of the bikes.
When we got back to the motor home, this is where normal went out the door. Actually, it was Gracie who went out the door, due to my inattention. This gravest of errors almost cost us the loss of our cat, and certainly taught me a lesson I won't soon forget. When she got out, under the motor home she went, then almost immediately into the jungle behind where we are parked. I'm sure the neighbors barking dogs frightened her even more, and initially, I thought there's no way I'm going to find her. Rather than plow through the dense growth, which was almost impossible, I decided to go around to the adjacent property, and try and work my way back toward the motor home. With Patty calling her from the RV side, and me calling from the other side, we continued to hear a deafening silence. Without complete panic, I began to think that this was a literal needle in the haystack situation. Enough time had gone by, that she could have traveled hundreds of feet, and I had no way of knowing how far away she might be. As I inched my way through the dense growth, I heard a faint meow. My spirits picked up tremendously, as I slowly worked my way toward a continuing call for help from our cat, who was probably frightened beyond belief. When I was within about 5 feet, I finally saw her, crouched under a downed tree limb. Hoping she wouldn't run again, I finally was able to grab her, and in doing so, I let out a huge sigh of relief. Now, the challenge was to get out of the jungle, without falling and losing her once again. Fortunately, I was able to get back to the motor home, with Gracie in my arms, and to a very happy mother of this cat that we have both grown to love. The ordeal ended with my promise to never let that happen again. At that point, we were thankfully back to normal.
Our day started like most other normal days, but the ending was anything but normal. We drove into Ocean Shores, and stopped at the south end of the peninsula, where we last year discovered our 2nd baby seal on the beach. No babies this year, but it was a nice sunny day, with temps in the mid, to upper 60's.
For over 20 years, this is what the locals call the "Harley Weekend", but officially, it's called the Sun & Surf Run to Ocean Shores. The convention center is the hub of activities, including quite a few vendors. One of the weekend retailers was a Boss Hoss motorcycle dealer, that had several of their V-8 motorcycles on display. When I saw this V-8 powered bar stool, I couldn't resist the temptation to take a picture. I would imagine that with the pedal to the metal, this could be quite a spectacular ride.
When a few of my friends and I started the Bridgeport, CA Motorcycle Jamboree in 1990, this event was a few years old, and we kind of used it as model for a gathering of motorcyclists in a small town. It's good to see this event still going, and kind of sad that the Bridgeport Rally only made it for about 10 years, ceasing to exist long after I had stepped aside. 
One of the activities that I had not seen before, was a drive through bike blessing, sponsored by the Christian Motorcycle Ass'n. What the heck, we have drive thu's for just about everything else, why not a ride through blessing of the bikes.
When we got back to the motor home, this is where normal went out the door. Actually, it was Gracie who went out the door, due to my inattention. This gravest of errors almost cost us the loss of our cat, and certainly taught me a lesson I won't soon forget. When she got out, under the motor home she went, then almost immediately into the jungle behind where we are parked. I'm sure the neighbors barking dogs frightened her even more, and initially, I thought there's no way I'm going to find her. Rather than plow through the dense growth, which was almost impossible, I decided to go around to the adjacent property, and try and work my way back toward the motor home. With Patty calling her from the RV side, and me calling from the other side, we continued to hear a deafening silence. Without complete panic, I began to think that this was a literal needle in the haystack situation. Enough time had gone by, that she could have traveled hundreds of feet, and I had no way of knowing how far away she might be. As I inched my way through the dense growth, I heard a faint meow. My spirits picked up tremendously, as I slowly worked my way toward a continuing call for help from our cat, who was probably frightened beyond belief. When I was within about 5 feet, I finally saw her, crouched under a downed tree limb. Hoping she wouldn't run again, I finally was able to grab her, and in doing so, I let out a huge sigh of relief. Now, the challenge was to get out of the jungle, without falling and losing her once again. Fortunately, I was able to get back to the motor home, with Gracie in my arms, and to a very happy mother of this cat that we have both grown to love. The ordeal ended with my promise to never let that happen again. At that point, we were thankfully back to normal.
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