Shine On...
Hot Tub Johnny and this humble sojourner departed Mandeville astride our Fat Ladies with The Lonestar Republic prominent in our thinking... weather permitting, of course. The only ‘shine’ on this day was the glow from those intrepid riders and their amazing steeds… That special solar orb must have taken a few days off, it seemed...
The forecast had been its usual 'iffy', but our hopes had been their usual optimistic. Only time would tell what would reveal itself... We tooted our horns and waved back at our dear friends as we smiled broadly... while still maintaining a hopeful but concerned weather eye towards the west.
My good friend and master Valk wrench seated next to his partner and newest Valk carburetor expert...
Yes sir, the typical forecast for this time of year had included warnings of imminent falling moisture… More than just the varying percentages of random spotty showers this time, though, as yet another frontal system was making its way in our direction. The question was not ‘if’ we’d encounter it, but just when and where. Ideally, we could time our riding stretches so that rain would pass over us during the night. Ummmm, close, but no cigar this time…
We’d set the usual stretch objective, but we’d also agreed upon several fallback locations should we find the rain sooner than we’d hoped. A must for us, however, was to get west of the Mississippi River bridge in Baton Rouge. We made our ‘must’ objective but not much more… Sprinkles hit us along the Atchafalaya Basin Causeway, and drizzle annoyed us until our stop (capitulation) for the evening in Lafayette, LA... the first of our fallback locations.
This would be OK with us, as it also meant we’d cleared the biggest traffic obstacle anticipated on our entire outing… however far that might ultimately be. We left open all possibilities, but a scoot down to Big Bend NP would likely be an almost sure bet. Anything beyond that would be gravy and subject to happenstance.
I’d hoped things would work out for a ride over into Arizona, where we might meet-up with the Naked Emperor for a few Crevasses, grins, and yucks, while also taking a gaze at the London Bridge while we were in the hood. HTJ seemed to like that non-plan, but I also thought I detected just a tiny hint of hesitation... He'd never made such a lengthy trek on a scooter, so the enormity of the idea seemed to... well, give him a wee bit of pause...
The 'Emperor' ’n 'Emperess' and very good friends in Arizona... (All photos from my archives)
With still a chance of light moisturfication (nothing new there!), we decided to roll the dice. As we were just beginning to load our girls, a few drops hit us! Was that an Omen or warning? Maybe only a tease to test our resolve…? HTJ and I looked at each other… I said it was his call, ‘fish or cut bait’…? He responded with “Let’s ride!” We did…
The temp had dropped during the night, so I had chaps and Gerbings’ liner on, and more than a little bit of anxiety about what might lie ahead; however… Off we rode anyway with stout hearts, strong wills, and the naivety of the innocent (or ignorant!). Cloudy and cool to later cloudy and cold all day, but we encountered no more rain as we arrived in Winnie, TX… on schedule and well-positioned for the remainder of our trek. Moisture free, but still no sunshine at all.
I took the precaution of ensuring we could stay a couple of nights should that become necessary, as the forecast had indicated the rain was not yet through with us. Al-T’s just across the road from my usual motel has changed hands since my last visit… It’s now Tia Juanita’s, and the formerly separated bar/lounge arrangement has been changed during a remodel, with a large new bar now within the dining portion. Still a reasonably nice place, though, and guess what? (Drum roll here…) They had lots of Shiner Bocks in their cooler!!!
At the time we were also thinking of perhaps swinging through Shiner, TX, possibly even touring the brewery of my favorite Texas beverage there… HTJ walked across the street that evening and reconnoitered, but I chose to settle in and dine on half an Italian sub I had left over (and naturally refrigerated during the day in the saddlebag). A good night’s sleep followed all cozy and snuggled in the ample covers…
The next morning it was raining! A no-brainer there, so… We walked to the Waffle House two doors up from our motel and had a major breakfast event! No worries about carbohydrate intake that morning, as there would be no riding for this tenderfoot!
Any subsequent celebrations would be impacted by the news HTJ had received during that morning's call home. His wife, Pam, had taken ill and was ailing something fierce! She'd administered a 'Home COVID Test' and that had been 'inconclusive'. John's daughter (an RN) had dropped by to investigate. A subsequent home test revealed she did not have the Chinese Cooties after all, so that was a relief. She did contact her doctor and got some prescribed drugs to combat her symptoms. We all crossed our fingers...
The drizzle finally ended that afternoon, and… it was now time for this caged relic of a former party animal to have a looksee at the remodeled eatery/beverage dispenser just over yonder so enthusiastically described by the 'Tub man'... And a good time was had by all… Yep, while the sky might have been overcast, we let the party lamp shine brightly for sure anyway!!! We also discussed options for our ride including possible alteration/abbreviation/abandonment aspects...
Among his many features that make HTJ a good traveling companion is his ability to compartmentalize issues. His concern for his spouse and the possible impact upon our ride did not have any negative effects on our party activities that evening! He's not easily flustered, rattled, or distracted, so the good times were especially good, as this post-surgery weakling shot for a new recent era record regarding beverage consumption!
E Plurbus Unum...
HTJ had lived in that area before for several years, so he knew some of the same folks the locals did, therefore... Not that much icebreaker stuff is necessary to carry on with real Texans, but it sure didn't hurt as we very easily slid right into the flow of banter, storytelling, and laughter that quickly reached impressive levels! It was almost like a reunion of old friends! Texans ain't shy at all about partying even with strangers, ya know...
I lost count, but HTJ assured me that in addition to the one and a half orders of fried green tomatoes and three boudin balls I devoured, I also managed to drain eight longnecks of my favorite libation in those parts! A new personal post-surgery best for sure with only barely noticeable repercussions! Nope, Texans ain't shy about partying at all... and neither were we! A shining (12) few hours for certain...
DDT (12)
