May 1, 2008
He Said
Up and on the road to Palm Springs after a leisurely morning doing some wash and having breakfast. The quads were serviced this morning at W & P Industries of Gilbert, AZ for the final push. W & P Ind. Is the business that provided our Arctic Cat ATVs and did the modifications for the safety equipment. They are a great group of people there so if you're in Gilbert, AZ stop by and see them! Thanks Jerry!
Going out of Phoenix we were stopped by the highway patrol. An officer got behind the bike I was riding and decided to stop me. Dan and Renee were in the truck behind me and pulled off the road stopping behind the cop and me. She didn't like that particularly and wanted me to stay put and when she looked behind at the truck, Dan and Renee were clicking away with their cameras. The officer wanted to know who these people were and I wanted to say, "Well, that's Renee, and that's Dan driving."! Of course I didn't say that but I told her they were with me and she explained that they should have pulled up ahead to wait. By that time another officer pulled off the road (a motor cop) and asked what was going on. I again explained what it was that we were doing and by that time, the lady officer, Brenda, spoke to Renee and Dan and asked them to come over.  The officer was telling me about the street gangs there who ride these type bikes and place their license plates up under that rear fender so they are difficult to read, so she wanted to stop me and tell me I had to change the plate but when she saw we were from California she changed her mind. Well, after a couple of minutes of Renee the cops were all smiles and even posed for some pictures with us! I'm not telling whether or not she actually wrote me a ticket. So that stop was number two no matter what She Says. The Pool Rule(s) is(are) simple: A STOP means that "…when a vehicle is moving on down the road and made to stop by means of a law enforcement car or other legal entity, it constitutes one - and only one - stop." It matters not how many cops show up to look, talk, or provide assistance during the course of that one stop. The vehicles have not progressed on down the road during this one stop and it cannot be said that they have been stopped two, three, or four times counting each officer at the scene (Pool Rule Section 1, paragraph 3, lines 4 - 5).  It also states that this is non-negotiable and not subject to protests - HE SAID.
About 25 miles outside of Phoenix, we see a car with the Arizona Donate Life license plate. We all wave at each other. That was cool! The wind was not as bad as it was yesterday but it still had it's moments. We had a little trouble on the road as we approached Palm Springs and we'll add that at another time because it's a long story. Let's just say that the Lord watches over His children and blesses them and we are so grateful that He does.
One of our previous stops was at a high school in Las Cruces and we talked about motorcycle and ATV safety and about how important it is to make sound decisions and pay attention and it became very obvious today how important that advice is!
We have about 70 miles to go and we are looking forward to seeing everyone again. It's been a long road trip and it's late - about 3:00 am by my clock! 6:00 am comes around pretty fast and I still have some work to do tonight to get ready for tomorrow's return! See you tomorrow!
She Said
May 1st - Leaving Phoenix to head to Palm Springs, CA
My day started out at 4:00 a.m. when my mom called from back home. Little did she know (or care) that there is a 2 hour time difference. I talk to Taylor and mom and wish them both a great day (I think they are getting on each other's nerves already - shocker). Assuming that would be the last "wake up call" I drifted off back to sleep. Once again around 5:30 the phone rings. Hmmm. Well at this point, I'm pretty much up so it's time to get some breakfast at McD's. We are all starving and I'm chit chatting away I accidently knock down a little boy who goes crying to his dad. Ooops. I'm so sorry. Crash chimes up "that's gping in the blog". I bet if I had a beanie baby with me he would have been all smiles!
The mall is right next door to our hotel and I'm having a little bit of withdrawals. I'm needing some therapy. So Dan and I head off to the mall to look for a frame to put the letter to the air force staff commander at March Air Force Base. We do not find what we are looking for but we did find the Chic-Fil-A cow, take a few pictures and head off back to where we started. On our walk back, I found the puppy store. You know me, I have to pet one and take some pictures so we did a u-turn and walked in the store. I was able to play with a bull mastiff and now I smell like a dog! Ha.
On the way to Palm Springs Kevin and I are chit chatting and I start reading my book. The cover says "Season of Life".. Kevin is very impressed that I was reading a book about football, until I showed him what was actually inside the book cover. Girlie book! We won't say what the book was about! But he did chuckle a bit! "Hey Renee, whenever you decide to publish your book "NEXT", send it to me in a Stephen King book cover. No one will ever know."
Well just a little out of Phoenix, Kevin gets pulled over by the cops. I jump out of the truck with the camera only to get fussed at and told to get back in. Mrs. Friendly Cop (Officer Sundquist) walks over to us (not smiling of course) fusses a little and we explain what we are doing. She calms down a bit and helps us get a jab at Kevin by telling him he has to go down to the station. During this time, 2 more cops show up! Wahoo. Does it count as 3 stops if more cops show up at one scene? Officer Sundquist gave in and only acted like she was giving him a ticket. We take pictures and come to find out May is Motorcycle Safety Month. Good to know.
Once on the high way, I'm ready to ride a little! Get me on the Crotch Rocket. We flip for it and heads I win. After about 20 miles I have gotten my fill and enjoyed every minute of it! We are a little closer to Palm Springs when we have a few hours delay time. We all know what happened so no need to put it in the blog. Once back at the hotel around midnight, we all decide it's time for bed.
Good nite,
She said
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