Thursday, June 24, 2010

Anticipation

So as I mentioned at the end of my previous post Algona is fast approaching. If none of you have ever been to the ABATE of Iowa Freedom Rally in Algona I highly recommend it. When I was younger and before I met my wife I used to frequent as many rallies as I could fit in. Over the years with age and responsibility the number has fallen considerably. Algona is one that I will never let go of though. The rally grounds are nice and well cared for. The people (for the most part) are respectful. The nudity and lewd behavior is the perfect amount. It's there if you want it but if your not into that sort of thing you can find places to get away from it.
There tends to be enough people to make the rally interesting and have the big rally feel while keeping everyone spread out enough to not make you feel like your camping on top of one another. There was however a group camping near us last year that was doing some interesting things after a few cocktails and none of us cared that they were camping close. We didn't even have to go to the main stage area for entertainment!
That's about all I have for an endorsement at this time. So in closing if you're looking for something to do over the fourth of July weekend and you want to have some adult biker fun head to the Freedom Rally in Algona. I've never had a bad time there!
If you go drop me line and let me know if you're going and what you think of it. LATER!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

RUN!!!!!!

Last November my wife decided that she wanted to run a marathon. It was an item on her bucket list. Some friends of ours that happen to own the gym that we go to go to Duluth every year for the Grandmas Marathon. Janele runs it and Troy is there for support and whatever else she needs. Leesa asked me if I thought that it was something that she could/should do. I told her that it was so she started to train. She did amazing. She trained hard, dropped 20 pounds and got into great shape. It all came together last weekend when it was finally time for the run. The hotel that we stayed at was a stopping point for the shuttle that takes the runners up to Two Harbors for the beginning of the race which was nice because we could sleep in that much longer. We still had to be up at 4:45 a.m. so she could be on the bus at 5:30 a.m.
Troy and I brought our bicycles along and rode the course from Duluth up to mile 20 so we could meet our wives and give them their needed supplements and whatever else they desired. After Leesa stopped and I gave her her necessities I had to take off back to the hotel to drop off my bike in order to get to the finish line to see here cross. Which she did at approximately the 5hr and 30min mark. In the grand scheme of things some people may not think that that is a great time but I for one think it is fantastic. She did a phenomenal job. In my opinion anyone that can run for 26 miles gets my utmost respect and admiration.
Also, I generally tend to stay away from people and I despise crowds but I was very impressed with how organised things were there and how entertained I was by just watching people run. There are alot of things to and alot of things to see. I would be tempted to go even if my wife wasn't running in it. So next year if you're trying to think of something to do for Fathers Day weekend check out the Grandmas Marathon in Duluth. It's a pretty good time.
Oh, I almost forgot. Check out "The Duluth Grill" too. They have some amazing food that is actually good for you. I can't remember the address but it is right off of 35 and I think that it is by a Motel 6.
The Iowa ABATE Freedom Rally in Algona Iowa is coming up in a few weeks for all of you Midwestern bikers out there. If you've never been to it check that out too. I'll be there just like every year.
Enjoy the day!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Vegas and a Round Oak

Ok, so it's been a while since I've been here but I've been busy. I'll start with our trip to Vegas. My wife and I went out to Vegas for Memorial weekend for a friends wedding. I've been to Vegas before and I love it. Nevermind the fact that I hate crowds and am not a fan of people. Something about that town makes me happy. I think that it's the big ornate buildings and the fact that I can walk down the sidewalk with a beer and don't get hassled by the fuzz. My friend Scott got married to his lovely fiancé Ammber. I suppose now she would be his wife but at the time she was still his fiancé. I did learn a valuable lesson though. Never go on memorial weekend when there is a UFC pay per view fight as well as a UFC Fan Expo in town. It was like the perfect storm. Too many people and too many drunken college idiots trying to be tough for all of the little girls walking around trying to catch a glimpse of the juiced up meat-head with the Ed Hardy shirt. There I got that out of my system. A good time was had though, and I will go back. Just not on a holiday weekend.

Now lets move on to our next adventure. Every now and then my wife works for an auction service and this past weekend was one of those times. She told me that there was a Hoosier hutch there that she might want to buy and she wanted me to come and look at it with her to know how I felt about it. Now, I love antiques and this cabinet was no exception. It was in great shape and I gave her my stamp of approval. Needless to say we ended up buying it and we both couldn't be happier. Not to mention how excited we both are to restore it.
Before I left the auction to go work on the farm she asked me if there was anything else that I might be interested in. I noticed an old cast iron pot belly stove. I said that I liked the stove but knew that they usually go for quite a price so I joked and said "If it goes for 10 dollars or less I would take it". Well to my surprise about 3 hours later I got a call and was told that I just bought a stove...for 5 dollars! I was ecstatic! Apparently since it was raining there were very few people at the auction so no one was there to bid on it. Either that or no one wanted to move it. So now I get to restore this stove as well. It's looking like between the hutch and the stove my wife and I have our free time in the summer spoken for now. I'll just have to take some motorcycle trips to wherever they have parts that I can buy for our purchases. Here are a few pics of the doors on my stove.

Enjoy the day!