Three Times is a Charm

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Monday, October 11, 2010

We joined our friends Brad and Kandie Vaughn Saturday for a trip through northeast Iowa. Leaving from Cedar Falls, we traveled east/northeast. We met Kirk and Wendy in Independence and they joined us for the day. What a gorgeous weekend for riding motorcycles!

We wiggled our way up to Lansing and crossed the river there over a steel bridge to Wisconsin. We road south to Prairie du Chien via the river road. Beautiful views of the river and the bluffs along the Mississippi. The colors were wonderful although the reds hadn't popped yet. With temperatures in the higher end (80s this weekend), the leaves are slow to turn.

We stayed in Prairie, ate dinner at The Angus (after an hour and a half wait, we were HUNGRY!), and sat front and center for a band that played there about 10pm. The Back Home Boys were really rockin' out the country songs. Three guys from Iowa and 3 from Wisconsin. We were too stuffed after dinner to dance, but we really enjoyed the folks that did get up and two-step. We went back to the hotel and sat around talking for a few more hours, getting to bed around 2am!!

We all were a bit slow going in the morning but took off for Clayton, Iowa where Bill's Landing is a great place to eat. "The best Bloody Mary's on the river!" We all wanted breakfast but they were out of eggs and hash-browns. We still had a great meal, stuffing us once again. The roads were good and twisty/curvy all the way until we got to the flat-lands, closer to home.

What a great time we all had. Great friends, great weather, and a great ride!

Sunday was Kandie's birthday. Kyle, the bartender/waiter was very sweet and brought Kandie a birthday basket of Broccoli Poppers and put a candle on one for her.

"Happy Birthday Broccoli Popper"

Dave & Brad

Look what just drove up to Bill's!

No comment.

Dave & Lois

Brad & Kandie Vaughn

Happy Birthday Kandie!! 10-10-10 Whoop Whoop!!!

In Harper's Ferry at Travis's grandpa's cabin. A small memorial to Travis
His grandpa rings the bell whenever he is there.

Brad & Kandie's son Travis.

Harper's Ferry with our Wild Hog friends

Wendy and Dave, Independence, Iowa

Kirk, Brad, Kandie, Independence

Carrie & Mike celebrated their 4th anniversary on Thursday, October 6th and their tradition is going to orchards in Wisconsin for apples. Friday, they took Mikey with them. I am sharing several pictures of their fun with Mikey.

Mikey says apples are "mmmmmmm"

Playing with corn!!

Happy boy!

Big Mikey and Little Mikey

Sunday, October 3, 2010

What the Morses have been up to lately.......

I believe the last post was finishing up vacation. Not long afterward (less than 2 weeks), Dave had his "episode" and subsequent bypass surgery on August 21st. About 2 weeks later, the weekend after Labor Day we had our first visitors, my brother Dave and sis-in-law Elaine. They were in New Hampton that weekend for the Davis Rally, a yearly event for Honda motorcycles like their Goldwing. It was good to see them and visit since we hadn't see them since June.

This is a 2009 picture but this is Elaine on her Yamaha V-Star. Vroom!!

Dave & Dave looking over the map. Dave's Goldwing in foreground.

Us Bikers. Lois's Heritage Softail in foreground.

The guys.

The following weekend, Larry Ugland, Dave's cousin, came to visit from Montrose, Colorado. If you read previous blogs, we visited Larry and Suzie on our vacation this summer. He was here for a class reunion in New Hampton and stayed with us one night. We had a great time but missed Suzie!

This past week, we were blessed with some more visitors! Dave's cousins Wayne & Linda Borlaug and Sharon Maher were visiting in Cedar Falls. We were able to enjoy a family dinner with all of the Morses and Lofstuens.
One thing, when you have company for 3 weeks in a row, your house gets cleaner and cleaner and stays that way! LOL

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010
AMVETS RIDERS
POKER RUN FOR IAN RALSTON

Ian's Story

Our son, SGT Ian Ralston, was critically injured on May 29th, 2010, while on a mission in Iraq. Ian's Stryker vehicle encountered an IED and Ian sustained a spinal cord injury. One of his best friends, David, saved Ian's life. Ian is a Combat Medic in the U.S. Army and is loved by many and we know that by now there are thousands of people around the world praying for his recovery. Because of Ian being in the Military, we would ask that any comments you make not include unit names, locations or any other vital information about our Soldiers and other Military Personnel.

Riders gathered at the Amvets in Cedar Falls on that rainy morning between 9-10am. People were breaking out the rain suits right and left. Those who didn't ride, followed in cars or trucks.

Dave in his rain suit. They really do keep you dry!

First stop: Denver (see Dave)

Second stop was in Shell Rock. I didn't get any pictures there.
Third stop: New Hartford, where they park in the middle of the street.

The lovely lady who is smiling at the camera is our dear Kandie. She has done so much to make all of this happen for Ian. She is a spitfire and when it comes to our soldiers and their families, she (and God) can move mountains.
We love you Kandie!!

We all took a long break in New Hartford. Leathers were soaked, you could wring out your socks and gloves. They had some great burgers for us too!
The fourth stop was Reinbeck at Jack & Arnie's Steakhouse. No pictures there either.
The fifth stop was at the Federal Pub in Hudson. Sorry, no pics!
The final stop was back at the Amvets, where we bought lots of tickets to win prizes and ate a wonderful steak dinner. Poor Dave was soooo tired after that day. Everyone was amazed he was able to ride since it was only 4 weeks post-surgery!!
Below, lots of leather and suits drying out.

OCTOBER 2, 2010
A day and night with Grammy & Gampa.

Right from the beginning, Mikey and Gampa were fast friends.

Helping Auntie LaLa with her laundry!

At the park, Mikey was ready to climb and slide!

He climbs up stairs and slides down slides with so much confidence!

He went down every slide there at least twice. Including the corkscrew slide. He climbed right up the stairs to the top, turned around and slid down backwards on his tummy! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

He saw some big boys (4 year old twins) climbing up on this thing and just had to try himself! He got a little stuck on this one. lol

After the park, we went for a treat at Dairy Queen! Mikey got a small dish of ice cream with sprinkles and Gampa got a chocolate malt. It wasn't long before Mikey took over Gampa's malt and wouldn't let him have any! It was so funny how he teased Gampa with it!

Gampa and Mikey, all ready for bed!

So, Dave and I are exhausted after playing with Mikey yesterday and today. Neither of us can think of anything we would love any better!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

The Homestretch & "Bringing Home the Morses"

ONCE AGAIN I have uploaded the pictures in the wrong order. I get so confused! So this time, go to the bottom picture and work your way up if you would like to get the story in pictures in the proper order. :o)

The Story: The last day of our vacation was Saturday, August 7th. We started our ride home in Central City, Nebraska at 9:00am. It's funny how the closer you get to Iowa, the more excited you get. At least we did. We rode the secondary roads all the way home from New Mexico. That means we saw the country, the farms, and the scenery instead of blowing through going 80+ mph. That's the way we like to ride. We saw parts of Iowa we had never seen before: Loess Hills for example. Not your typical Iowa farm country. Beautiful rolling hills and curvy roads. Of course, the closer we get to home, the countryside levels out a bit.

When we got within throwing distance, we gave Brad Vaughn a call and he said they had a gang to ride us home. We met at The Boondocks, a truck stop off of Hwy 20 & 35. We got there first...and then, here they come! Brad & Kandie on the Ultra Classic , Randy & Tammy on the Heritage Softail, Rich on his older, classic Goldwing, Kirk on the Road Glide, and Julie on her Honda.

Now, you may not think that after 8 hours on the bikes, Dave and I would want to ride some more. However, it was so good to see our friends and to ride with them again! We took the long way home, through more small towns and country roads, stopping every once in a while for a beverage and some stories. As it was getting darker and later, Dave and I decided to take the last stretch home and arrived at about 9:30pm.

HOME! No matter how much fun we have wherever we go, it's ALWAYS great to be HOME.