Girls day out!

A rare thing happened this weekend. . . I was in town both days and had an empty house!! Saturday, I finished up shoveling rocks from the area where Dave and I will put the purgola next weekend. What a job! It was a huge help to have Philip here and take out the bulk of the rocks, but it took me just as many hours yesterday to finish shoveling the rocks from all the uneven areas. I can't believe anybody ever thought that tons of rocks and some railroad tires would make a good looking backyard. Bad taste is a lot of work to undo!

Today I took the day off and did a 100-mile ride with my friends Sonny and Suzanne. We met for coffee at a cafe about 8:00 a.m., then headed out for Canon City. It was really hot today (mid-90s), but it felt great on the bikes. We had breakfast at Big Daddy's Diner, then headed back to the Springs. It's great riding with Suzanne and Sonny, because we're all still learning and really enjoy each others' company. Plus, it's fun to see peoples' expressions when they realize that it's women on the three Harley's they're looking at!

Today it dawned on me why riding my motorcycle feels so right; so familiar. As we were cruising south on Hwy 115, the scorching sun and the hot air rushing past me and twisting my hair around felt just like Louisiana boat riding in the summer! Granted, the air was a lot drier and I miss the feel and sound of the boat bouncing on the water and seeing rainbows in the mist coming off the wake, but the feel of the sun and the rushing air was comfortably familiar. So, as I try to adjust to this arid, mountainous geography, my motorcycle is helping to bridge the gap between the home in my heart and the home of my body. Now, if I could just catch some speckled trout and Gulf shrimp to take up the road to my parents' house for dinner. . .

Stay tuned for construction progress pictures when Dave gets here next weekend!