Harley Davidson Tour

 

 
The folks have been wanting to tour the Harley Davidson factory for a long time.  Unfortunately, the tours are during the week.  A few Saturdays out of the year, they let people in for tours.  This past Saturday was one of those days.  Most of the factory was shutdown, but there were some workers making fenders and testing bikes.

When you arrive at the factory, you are asked to fill out an information sheet and are given a tour time.  You are then free to look at and sit on bikes that are on display.

The tour begins with a video about the history of Harley Davidson.  Guests are then given protective glasses to wear and an audio pack so that they can hear the tour guide.  Two employees are on the tour.  One is the guide and the other is making sure all the guests follow the rules.  No cameras are allowed and you must stay in the yellow lines while walking on the tour.  Mom said she has never seen a place that is so strict on following the rules.  Even though there was not much going on, the employee made sure that everyone stayed within the yellow lines.  They were told that if they were caught taking photos, they would be removed immediately.  Mom says she is sure they would follow through on that.

The tour was pretty interesting.  A bike can be made in three hours.  That does not include the time it takes to paint it though.  The painting is done ahead of time and the assembly takes three hours.

They ate lunch at Aroogas. 

Lots of TVs at Arroogas.

Mom had a hot dog wrapped in a pretzel and onion rings.

Dad had a mac and cheeseburger and fries.

After the folks got home, we sat outside.  There was a truck and tractor show across from our site.

Hayride

Old tractor.  It made lots of noise.

The mechanical bull was busy bucking people off of him.

I am a cute as ever.  BOL!

On Father's Day, Dad's Dad was in town.  The folks were gone all day!  I don't know what they did, but I got some chicken from their day out.  It was good.  Mom knows better than to come home empty handed after being gone all day.

Mom has been busy making a little pocket change taking surveys and doing other small jobs on the Internet.  She said it is fun to do.  She had another job posting on forums, but the most she could make was $1.40 a day and she had a boss and commitments.  She said that wasn't worth it for the low pay.  She likes what she is doing better now.  She just does it when she wants to which seems to be a lot.  She is not bothering me, so I am happy.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Likes Broasted Chicken

A Day Trip To Annapolis, MD

This past weekend was pretty busy.  Mom got her haircut and she finally bought new lawn chairs.  She has been looking for over a year.  You see, she has had a folding chaise lounge chair for eight years or so.  She loved it, but it is a pain to put away in the RV basement.  It is not the kind that can just set out in the rain, so she had to put it away all the time.  She bought a cover for it but that was a pain and every time she uncovered it, she would find bugs.  She came up with the idea that they could get chairs that are hard plastic and they could leave those out.  The problem was storage.  She decided the chairs could go in the back of the Jeep on travel days.  They looked at adirondack chairs but they felt flimsy.  They ended up buying these:

They even have cup holders.  I think that is what sold Dad.

Mom also bought a new printer.  She needed ink for her old printer, but it was $38.  The new printer was on clearance for $20.  She has been wanting a new printer since the day we set out on our "huge adventure" and the printer fell about 20 minutes into travels and part of it broke.  We could still use it, but it had issues. The new printer is wireless, but Mom doesn't know how much she will really use that feature. 

On Sunday, the folks took a day trip to Annapolis, MD.  They toured the Naval Academy.   It is huge!  Students attend for four years and then, Mom thinks, they commit to six years of service.  Mom said it looks really hard and it really is a big achievement when they graduate.  They are officers when they graduate.

Mom was surprised by how crowded Annapolis is.  It wasn't full of people as much as the streets are narrow with parking on both sides.  They took a trolley tour and the driver had problems in some areas.

The trolley

The Naval Academy is across the water.

 Not sure if you can see it in the above picture, but all flag poles with the Maryland flag are supposed to have a cross at the top.  The tour guide pointed out one across from the one in the photo that doesn't have it and he said it is illegal.

This is the WWII memorial.

This was across from where they parked.  The capitol is in the background.

Ego Alley - it is supposed to be full of expensive yachts, but not on Sunday.

Another view of the city.

 The trolley tour was okay.  It was mainly driving by old houses.  Mom didn't take any photos.  The trolley was really hot even though it had AC.  They stopped at one point to take photos at the WWII memorial and people complained to the driver about how hot it was and it turned the AC down and then it was better.

After the tour, the folks ate at Middleton Tavern.  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin were regular patrons It was established in 1750.

Inside Middleton Tavern

Sliced Rib Sandwich

It sounds like Dad wants to make another trip to Annapolis to tour a view houses.  Annapolis is about an hour and 15 minutes from us.

Mom hasn't been feeling well this week.  She woke up with a stiff shoulder on Monday but then she started having spasms in her back.  She has a history of back problems. When she was 12, she was in a car accident where she hit and broke the windshield.  She figures that is why she has issues.  Monday, we took it easy.  Yesterday, she started using her walking stick on our walks because her legs were really hurting when she walked.  She has never had that happen before.  The walking stick helped quite a bit.  She was really tired yesterday and took a few naps.  Today, she is feeling much better which is good, except now she feels good enough to vacuum.

It is a rainy day today, but we sat out under the awning after our chores were done.  They are cutting the grass in the rain because this weekend is the Truck and Tractor Show and they have to be ready for it.  It will be across from us, but the folks will be gone doing other things this weekend.  I will have to keep an eye on things, I guess.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Having A Quiet Week

Car Show, Hurt Foot and Power Outage

Car Show

We were pretty excited about the car and motorcycle show that was in our campground last Saturday.  Our site is right across from where it was held, so we had a good view.  The folks decided to stay home so that they could attend. Unfortunately, not many cars or motorcycles came.  It was an overcast morning, so maybe people didn't want to bring their cars out. Mom thought about showing off Buddy, but she didn't.  She might have won the contest since not many bikes were entered.  The campground only allows motorcycles to be ridden in the park the weekend of the car and motorcycle show.  Mom didn't see anyone riding around, so she didn't ride Buddy.

The poster said there would be lots of vendors.  One vendor showed up. She sold jewelry, we think.  We didn't even look.

A view of the car show from our site.

Setting up the Redneck Games

They said it was going to be a mechanical bull, but it was this.  People had to try and stay standing while that arm tried to hit them.

Not many cars.

Did people obey the sign? Nope, we saw a few dogs beyond this sign. I followed the rules.

They are really big about not allowing dogs at any of the public gatherings.  Last year, I was laying in the field listening to Elvis.  We were told I had to leave.  :-P   This year, I can sit in my own site and watch him as he will be performing right across the street from us.  I have even "attended" church here because they hold the service across from our site on Sundays.

We were disappointed in the car show. They were supposed to have several redneck games such as throwing toilet seats and toilet paper, but that didn't happen.

Saturday night, the folk ate dinner at El Rodeo.  The food was really good according to Mom.

Hurt Foot

On Sunday, I hurt my foot while coming down the RV steps.  I came down too fast and stubbed my foot.  It was my bad foot, so it wasn't that terrible. I am good not using that one. Later in the morning, Mom tried to put my boot on me and I did the GSOD "greyhound scream of death" which scared her, of course.  I was allowed to be bootless for the next two days, but I am back to wearing my boot when we go for long walks.

The folks ate lunch at Glen Rock Mill Inn.  It used to be a mill. It was built in 1837.

That is not a fireplace, it is a fountain.  The water comes from the spring that runs underneath the restaurant.

 Mom likes eating at places like this because of the history. She said that it smelled though.  It smelled because it is old. 

Appetizer: Southwest Rolls - The folks really liked these.

Cheese burger with onion tangles and fried.  Mom said it was good.  She did not bring me any home.

Dad had a crab omelet.  He said he couldn't taste the crab.  The waitress was friendly, but it took a very long time to get the food. The folks were the only ones there when they placed their order and it took a very long time. 

Storm

After they got home, we had a quick moving storm.  The wind blew really hard. Our electric went out. Mom decided to go out and pick up dinner.  When she left, the security gate was up.  She scanned her gate card, but it didn't beep.  When she came back with the food, the gates were down and her gate card wouldn't work.  The office closed two hours early, so she had to park the car and walk home.  The gate cards are really touchy.  If you don't do everything just right, you are locked in or out.  The next morning, Dad had to walk to the car and then leave work early to get the card fixed. It is working again.

Several trees came down during the storm.

 Other Stuff

See the chipmunk at the top of the sign?

Mom has been watching the DC eagles online.  Freedom fledged on Sunday.  Liberty hasn't yet, but he is flying from limb to limb.  He dropped past the camera once and Mom screamed.  He is okay though.  I think watching them is boring.

I am more interesting to watch than an eagle.

 
Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Cuter Than An Eagle

And Then There Was One

There was a "tragedy" at our campground this weekend.  Dale, the Chipmunk, has been a resident of the park for nearly 45 years.  Thousands of children have played with him.  Something went terribly wrong on Saturday and Dale is no longer with us.

The cone marks the spot where Dale lived. Unfortunately, Mom was too late to get the actual picture of Dale's remains.

Dale's friend Chip will carry on.

Chip

Dad says it may be possible for Dale to return if a new spring can be found for him. Since the cone is covering the reminder of his spring, we are hopeful that he will return. It was really sad seeing him laying on his side in the sand.  He was removed on Monday.  We will keep you updated.  BOL!

The folks like mozzarella sticks.  They really like the mozzarella triangles because those are usually handmade.  They tried mozzarella sticks rolled in a spring roll this weekend.  Mom said they were good, but not as good as the triangles.

Mozzarella cheese in a spring roll.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Resting Up For The Weekend

Fun Holiday Weekend

I knew something was different about this weekend.  I could sense the excitement in the air on Friday.  During the week, we basically are alone in the campground, but people usually start coming in on Thursday. Fridays are always a busy day here.  This weekend was really busy since it was a three day weekend.  Campers kept coming past us and we were wondering where they were going to park. Everyone found a spot.

Lots of activity.

On Friday, Mom looked out the window and noticed a motor home going the wrong way on the street.

He sat there for a while deciding what to do.  His rig was too big to make this turn. There were trees on both side of him.

 

We walked down to get a closer look.  He has a golf cart and a car on a carrier.  The part where the golf cart is riding is wider than the car.

 

It got the tree.

The guy is either inexperienced or just didn't plan ahead to make his exit.  We always plan out our exit whether it is from a gas station, rest area or campground.  After the guy finally got going, he stopped in the middle of the road to empty his trash.  He could have pulled over to do that, but he didn't and caused a traffic jam.  Some people just don't care I guess.

Friday night was a late night.  We were up until 1 a.m.  Dad had some work issues, so he was up, which meant I was up.  Mom took me out at 1 a.m. and we slept in until 6:30 a.m.  When we got up, people were already up and doing things.  Mom did some shopping in the a.m. and then the folks went out in the afternoon.  They brought me some chicken.  Yum!

Sunday was a fun day.  I stayed outside for four hours and watched everyone.  The folks went out in the afternoon.  They stopped at Ollie's Bargain Outlet which Mom decided was a fun place to shop. They have just about everything there.  She bought a cookbook for $3, Lost Ocean coloring book for $5, normally $15.95, an oriole feeder for $5 (it was $10 at Walmart) and a few other things.  They ate at another Chinese buffet, but were disappointed.  They have not found a buffet here that they like. We grilled some chicken for dinner.

Yesterday, we drove to a park and walked.  I almost walked to Pennsylvania  I could have made it, but Mom wanted to turn around.  We were so close.  We walked on a trail that used to be where the railroad traveled.  We had to share it with bike riders.  It was okay, but not a lot to see.

This guy was on the road.

Me and my Dad.

Just some rocks.

I think Mom was trying to get the creek in the picture.

After our walk, we came home and cooled off.  Most of the campers were already gone.  It goes from crazy to silent in just a matter of hours.   The folks went to lunch and brought me back some fries.  We chilled the rest of the day and had BBQ for dinner.  It was a good weekend.

This morning, Mom and I sat outside until the bees came and then we came in and cleaned.  I hate cleaning.  It is chilling time again.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Really Good At Chilling

30 Years!

 

Mom and Dad celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary on May 24th.  Mom made a Tres Leches cake aka a three milk cake.  I tasted it, it was good.  Here is the recipe, if you are interested.

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
3. Cream butter or margarine and the 1 cup sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; beat well.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 2 tablespoons at a time; mix until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Pierce cake several times with a fork.
6. Combine the whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.
7. Whip whipping cream, the remaining 1 cup of the sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla together until thick. Spread over the top of cake. Be sure and keep cake refrigerated, enjoy!

This and That

The sun has been out the past few days. It has been in the 80's which is quite a warm up from the 50's. We turned our AC on yesterday.  Mom and I sat outside for a little while, but the bugs got me, so we came inside.

The swimming pool is now full.  Five trucks came with water for it.  They then filled the rest of it up with a hose and rain water.

The folks went to a movie on Saturday.  Mom had not been for eight years.  She knew the prices on snacks would be high, but was still surprised that they charged $5 for a bottle of water.  They bought a large buttered popcorn, too.  I think the total price was $15.

We found out some good news. We are going to Escapade this year!  We didn't think it would happen, but Dad has been extended just long enough for us to do it.  Escapade is an RV rally put on by Escapees.   We attended our first one two years ago in Indiana.  We were supposed to go last year, but we had to miss it due to the delays in buying our RV.  It was held in AZ.  This one is taking place in Vermont.  We have never been to Vermont.  Ben and Jerry's is in Vermont.  The folks hope to take a tour.  Anyway, Dad is taking three weeks off and we are going to have a real vacation without doctor visits.

It will be a busy camping weekend here.  They are holding softball and volleyball tournaments.  There will be lots of things for me to watch for sure.  I am not sure what the folks are planning on doing.  I hope they take me somewhere.

We have a squirrel who has decided the hummingbird feeder is his. Mom is not happy with him.  She is thinking of putting an oriole feeder out, but you know the same thing will happen.

We hope everyone has a nice and safe holiday weekend!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Enjoying The Sunshine