The Misfit Chronicles continue....... 02/22/09
Hello to all the Misfits!!
Many of you said it!! We couldn't have asked for a better riding day! And ride we did, covering around 180 miles as we ventured south into Osceola County's hinterlands. It was so good to have Marty Dixon back riding with us as well as Joe and Michelle Halasz. Joey Bruno joined us on his Road King and a hearty welcome to our group, Joey! Irene was back riding on one of her rare escapes from her job @SCHD. I think God smiled and said, "Welcome back, Irene, and I'm going to bless you with a perfect riding day with the Misfits! Check out Bob in the pic. He is wearing a Jacksonville HD tie dye shirt that was really cool. You all know how I love tie dye. Way to go, Bob! We rode south and west from VFW after breakfast. We cruised along S.R. 192 just drinking up the scenery and enjoying being in the wind together once again. As I constantly check my mirrors to make sure everyone is okay, I could see Bonnie near the back of the pack on her big red trike, Lucy. I think Danny was behind me a lot of the time, and he seemed to be grinning as much as I was! Man what a day. When we got to Holopaw, we didn't stop at the gas station there but continued south on Armadillo Alley to Kenansville. The proprietors of the Red Gator Lounge, Greg & Patricia Murch, were expecting us as I had called on Saturday to let them know we were coming. We lined up our Misfit bikes out front and partook of their hospitality. As I hope you can tell from the picture, we enjoyed our stop at the Red Gator and hope to go back again on another run in the not too distant future. Then we took a trip up Canoe Creek Road and into the past of the 1950s. We pulled into the parking lot of the Heartbreak Hotel (pic to follow) and back in time. Most of the Misfits are old enough to remember the iconic Elvis Presley song, "Heartbreak Hotel" from the mid 1950s. I can remember watching Elvis sing "Hound Dog" on the Ed Sullivan Show when I was a kid. I can still remember the look on my parents' faces! Time for kickstands up and another side trip to the beautiful Lake Marian a couple miles down the road. We rolled into the quiet lakeside community and were greeted by some jaw dropping stares by some of the locals as we rode right up to the lake's edge at the end of the park. A bald eagle landed in a tree nearby-a special welcome to the Misfits! With the day moving by much too quickly, the Misfits were back in the saddle and headed for Earl's Hideaway via Yeehaw Junction and Fellsmere. Earl's wasn't quite as crowded as the last couple of times that we dropped in, but it was still definitely jammin'! We missed all of you that didn't go with us; you sure missed a good ride.
A couple of notes....Rick sold his beautiful Heritage Softail. I'm just glad that I got to see it on a couple of our rides before he did. Now he's on his Road King that is also one sharp bike. I heard from Ray, and he is without a bike right now. He didn't say what happened to his HD Deuce, but we hope he gets another mount so he can ride with us. We miss you, Ray, stay in touch. Trish also brought the biker magazine from the 1980s that had a really nice article about her in it. We're trying to get a copy so Danny can put it on the web site so all of you can read it. She first showed it to me after we did the Viet Nam moving wall run a few years back. Please keep Marty's wife Nikki in your prayers as she continues to recover from her surgery. Best wishes, Nikki.
This Sunday will be the first Sunday of the 68th Daytona Bike Week. Most
of you that want to go as a group picked the Ormond Strip as the destination.
That includes Iron Horse, Broken Spoke, Wild Bill's, Deadwood Saloon, vendors
out the yazoo, and plenty of biker goings on. Let's ride! For those who want to
go, meet at the HESS gas station @ the corner of U.S. 1 & Canaveral Groves
Boulevard at 9:00 AM (our usual spot). We'll leave at 9:15 and ride north to a
breakfast spot TBA later this week. I'll find something on the east side of U.S.
1 so we won't have to cross lanes on the way up. There'll likely be way too much
traffic for that. I'll also have some parking info later this week after I check
with Deadwood Saloon. Have a smooth week, everybody!
Pat
