Wolfboro Regatta

The most fun I've had in a long time was attending this year's Wolfboro Regatta in Wolfboro, New Hampshire. It's a wonderful meeting of antique boat owners and retired race boat drivers at the beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee. And the weather was PERFECT!









Many of these boats were top competitors in their day ... a few were World Record holders. And the current owners still take speed very seriously. The boats are in race-ready condition - some with more horsepower than ever before. And they really FLY around the race course.










It has been many years (40?) since I went to Miami Marine Stadium to watch these old-school hydos run. They are as much fun to watch now as back then. These pictures were taken from a dock in the pit area - right in the apex of a turn. But the water was good and drivers were getting them to skim the water at about 150 mph in the straights.









This Switzer Craft really brought back memories for me ... haven't seen one in a VERY long time. When I was a kid (late 60s), I used to go to our neighborhood bridge over the Intercoastal Waterway and watch these boats run in the Miami Marathon. Running up over 100 mph, they were always first to come through. It was SO EXCITING!!!


















There was some really 'sweet' lake boats there too. These old beauties are a work of design art, and took hundreds of hours to build. There is a club in the Wolfboro area that provides a wonderful resource center for those working to keep these old relics afloat. Some of them are worth $$$$$.

Laconia Bike Week 2011

Getting ready and loaded-up for the trip down to Laconia was REALLY exciting. This year I decided to trailer the bike down - instead of making the ride there and back. IT'S MUCH BETTER THIS WAY!














Each year I get more time away to participate in the activities of Bike Week, and can't wait til the next year. Something about seeing the Weirs Beach sign each season makes my heart run a little faster. Of course, if you've seen the sign during Bike Week you have been stuck in a major traffic jam. Took me almost two hours to get through there on Wednesday afternoon.












A brother from the CMA lives a few miles outside of Weirs Beach and let me camp-out on his property (free) as part of the Christian Motorcyclist's ministry for Bike Week. The picture is a bath-house with hot running water, showers, and refrigerators built specially for his camping guests.












Most of the campers are riding big touring bikes pulling mini travel trailers. I choose the "low-buck" approach by sleeping in the back of the SUV on an air mattress. Not the most comfortable - but very mobile. It rained while I was there and mosquitoes were very active. Not a problem for me.












The Annual Hill-climb was an awesome experience. It was my first time attending this event. There was hundreds of spectators, and about 99% came to the event on a bike. It was a sea of motorcycles ... and a huge audience stood on the hillside for hours watching crazy people defy death.












Best of all, the CMA represented with a highly visible display canopy - giving away free ice-water, a few hundred gospel tracts, and several Bibles. Doing evangelism this way among Hells Angels, Outlaws, and the like makes my adrenaline run. We were there talking about Jesus and praying with people all day, but the time went by in a flash. Our motto is, "Riding For The Son", and that is EXACTLY what CMA-ers do.

April Fools

As we were talking about the end of a long winter and spring finally arriving, the bottom fell out! Visions of those beautiful Mid-coast Maine summer days were dancing in my head. But "April Fools Day" fooled us all! In blew some more of the white stuff, and there was a big surprise in store for those of us living in Northern New England.















My little Toyota does not drive so well on slippery roads. And this day was no exception. I was unexpectedly 'home-bound' for the day as the snow just kept coming! We had about 8 inches of accumulation at our house, and I had to go searching for my snow boots just to get the mail.















I actually got out some lawn equipment the last Saturday in March -preparing it for use again. Previous snows had melted, and the grass was turning green . I even cranked up the motorcycle. But that was all premature, as this spring 'nor-easter' kept pounding away. You just never know ....

New Addition to The Fam

Meet Roxee! This 5 yr. old brindle & white English Bulldog is the latest addition to our family. With her super-broad shoulders and under-shot jaw, she looks like she could be REALLY mean. But she is really mellow and shy. We are having fun welcoming her into our home.













Roxee is the sweetest dog I've ever met. We have owned several dogs over the years, and our first (33 yrs. ago) was a male English Bulldog that looked very similar. We've wanted another for quite some time, but just couldn't spend the bucks to get one. Then we discovered a bulldog rescue group online.













Roxee's previous owners had to move and could not take her to the new location. They obviously did a great job training her. She is well-behaved, obeys commands (pretty well), and has been easy to care for in the transition. She already brought joy to our home - as we get a real 'kick' out of watching her. Let's face it, she "has a face only a mother could love."

Spirit of America Les Paul

For all my friends that enjoy guitars as I do, you gotta check out the Les Paul I saw on display in NYC. If memory serves me well, I think it was in the lobby of the Empire State Building. This has GOT to be one of the coolest custom guitars I have ever seen.




















The display itself was a work of art. I don't remember the details, but parts of the guitar (& display?) came from the rubble of the Twin Towers after the World Trade Center attacks.















I think you can click on this pic to enlarge the shot and read about the guitar ... maybe. It was so inspiring to see what people have done in remembrance of those who lost their lives there in 2001. Can't believe its been ten years already.

Dude, that's a car!

Some people string up popcorn, some beads, and some lights. This guy strings up his car for Christmas. Yup. Today I was driving on a coastal back-road and glanced over to check out some Christmas decoration. I looked back to the road in front of me and shouted, "Dude, that's a car"! I broke out in uncomtrollable laughter and didn't stop until reaching Rockland.
















Later I had to go back the same way, so I took the camera along. I figured nobody would believe me if I told them about it. This HAD to take some good ingenuity and hard work. I think I will drop the guy a 'thank you' note. The sight of that car sailing through the air with Santa driving REALLY made my day.

New York, New York!

Time Square ... What a fun place!
We took four days off (all Jos could get) and headed for "The Big Apple" for some R&R. Life in the city is hardly restful, but we had a really nice hotel retreat over in New Jersey. So we walked around until exhausted, and headed back over the Hudson to rest. NYC is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.















I always wanted to visit Ellis Island where my ancestors were 'processed' when migrating from Germany. From there they only traveled a little distance into up-state New York to settle. It felt very strange walking over this floor knowing there was so much history. If those old tile floors could talk - what stories they could tell.



















We went to BB King's club in Mid-Manhattan and took in a show by a remnant of the band called, Asia. Musically, it was the 'pits', but I liked the venue. I would love to go there and see a good show by a complete band. Its almost like being on stage with the musicians.












It was a very powerful experience walking on the hallowed grounds of the World Trade Center. As you can see, this was a clear blue day - just like 9/11 when the planes hit. As I walked around the grounds of this new structure being built, I could imagine the chaos on the streets that day. I could see the fire trucks parked around the block, firefighters yelling to one another about needed equipment, and hear the constant noise of verbal traffic coming over portable radios. It was surreal and overwhelming. Glad to see they are rebuilding.




















I was very emotional while visiting this firefighter's memorial in the twin towers museum. As a former firefighter, I knew very well the sentiment of those who donated department patches, notes, and special trinkets. The feelings were strong and impact profound ... and they live on today.