Travels With Norm

Friday, October 25, 2013

Damn Dam!

I seem to have been a bit tied up recently and not had time to update the BLOG.
As I near the dreaded 65 I have been very busy applying for stuff.
First there was my Old Age Pension from the UK, then there was my heating allowance, quickly followed by my bus pass. So once all that was taken care of, I had to apply for Medi-Care part A, even though I don't need it or will use it until I retire, if you don't file the SSA ding you with a penalty.
Ain't our government wonderful!

Back to the plot.

Our last ride out from Laughlin was to the Hoover Dam and bridge.

The bridge was designed and built following 9/11, it is an absolute wonder of civil engineering as is the Hoover Dam.

It's amazing the pictures you can take from a Harley!

We walked across from:

To:

The view from the bridge has to be seen to be believed, the deck is about 900 feet above the Colorado river below.
For those of you who use those French measurements that's about 275 meters.

What a handsome crew!!!!!!!!

This is a tribute statue of one of the High Scalers who worked on the construction of the Hoover Dam back in the 30s.

The dam site was chosen and work began, but chipping and blasting away loose rock was of prime importance. It was essential to get back to bedrock to allow a good tie of constructed material.

This picture is not from the dam but is worth seeing.

Two Hairy Bikers on Old Route 66.

The picture was taken by a very non-hairy biker;

our good friend Jeff.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Getting Our Kicks!

On Route 66.

We rode out to Oatman from Laughlin, we found that the old Oatman road was closed as it had been washed out when the area was flooded. No problem, we just detoured around using Boundary Cone Road instead.

Here we are in Oatman, as you can see, Leon has an ice cream, pity it wasn't a 99.

A real old gold mining town, the gold mine is still active but I think that they make more money from mining the tourists these days.

Then it was back on the scooters and off to Lake Havasu.

This gives you an idea of the terrain in the area.

Here was a guy on his lunch break, just dropped in to have a sandwich and a cup of coffee.

Here we are a London Bridge in Havasu City, just like the Three Amigos, with one spare.

It was back on the scooters and heading for Laughlin.
I was hoping to revisit some of my money in Laughlin, but it wasn't happening.

Oh! well, El was waiting with a cold one when I got back to the room.

On Saturday we are heading for the Hoover Dam.

Look out for more dam pictures from there.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Friday, October 11, 2013

Riding up to Laughlin

On Thursday we rode up to Laughlin.
It was cool when we set out but that's OK for riding.
Richard got his introduction to SOCAL freeways, the 605 was bumper to bumper. Just as well we can use the carpool lane.
When we got to the Cajon pass it went from cool to cold and it stayed cold all the way to Peggy Sue's in Yermo.

We gassed up in Yermo where I helped two young German girls at the gas station and fell in love again.
From Peggy Sue's we rode on to Goffs Road so that we could pay $5.50 a gallon for gas. That made Richard feel quite at home! It made Jeff and me feel hot under the collar. Well it would have if we had been wearing collars.

This just next to the gas station at Goffs Road, a part of Old Route 66, the road is so rough that it shakes bits off your bike.
There was a motor home with some bicyclists who were doing some kind of Route 66 challenge, note the flag.

We rode on from here to Laughlin using the NV 163 route over Christmas Tree Pass, now that is a really fun road for riding.
Finally we made it to Laughlin.

The winning money plan did not work as designed!
Today we will meet up with Barb and Leon and then take a ride over to Oatman.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Preparing For The Ride

The weather did not cooperate today at all.
We planned a barbecue for this evening so that Richard could meet a few people and kind of check out the So-Cal life style.
Well it is tough to barbecue when it is raining cats and prairie dogs!
So Madame regrouped and we had and English roast beef and Yorkshire Pud style dinner inside the house instead.

Our friend James came around to discuss motorcycles, what else?
Anne complained about all of the engine oil she had to clean up after we had finished talking.

The bikes are gassed up and ready to go tomorrow. We will meet Jeff at the 605 freeway and Firestone Blvd at 8:00 AM and off we go to the first stop at Peggy Sue's.

Jeff shown above.

From Peggy Sue's we will head east on I 40 towards Goffs Road (Route 66) and then on to Laughlin where we will meet up with our buddy Leon, shown below. In this picture we were talking about religion, and Leon was showing how much you need to go a long way.

Richard has his Scoot in the yard covered from the elements!

He still cannot figure out that tractor tire on the front wheel.

Keep checking the blog for updates on how much money we have won in Laughlin!!!!!!

Laughlin Here We Come

Looks like we are in for "A Devil of a Good Time"

More soon.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

NAWLINS

Madame and Cheri are in Nawlins to celebrate Cheri's birthday, 21 again!

So first off they are drinking beer in Pat O Brian's.

Then it's off to Café Du Monde for coffee and beignets.

Followed by a trip to Emeril's for fillet of Pompano with his world famous pie for dessert.

Today they had a trip to two plantations, Laura and Oak Valley.