A motorcycle ride

Cliff took today off so he could have a longer weekend. We watched the weather this morning, and learned that although it was going to be cloudy all day, there was no rain in the forecast. We headed out on the open road, thinking perhaps to go to Hermann, Missouri and spend the night there, returning tomorrow before the forecast rain started. Today was supposedly rain-free; the next four days had rain indicated. Are you with me here?

Not a half-hour from home, sprinkles started, and continued sporadically for the next couple of hours. We didn't get wet; our leathers were sufficient to protect us, and the tall windshield on our fairing kept it off Cliff's face. Missouri's rolling countryside is beautiful even on cloudy days, and we enjoyed ourselves. However, somewhere along the line, Cliff suggested we simply ride to Versailles and then home.

Lunchtime approached, and we couldn't find a suitable place to eat. The rain finally let up, so we decided to have lunch at the first city or roadside park. I carry a large freezer-bag with emergency rations in the Honda, consisting of at least a couple cans of sardines, a roll of crackers, some 100-calorie packs of cookies, and single-serving cans of fruit.

Not far out of Boonville, we came to this park (click to view pictures larger).

It was cloudy, but we had ourselves a satisfying lunch. All we lacked was our after-lunch coffee; we prefer McDonalds for coffee, but couldn't find one. so we stopped at a Breaktime station, where I took the following shot of us:

When I take these self-portraits, I always seem to be giving the world a shot of the inside of my nose. But YOU try holding a camera at arms length, aiming it at yourself, and shooting with the camera backwards. Not an easy task, I assure you. I was quite proud, by the way, that I accidentally got the Gold Wing in the picture.

We stopped by Cliff's Aunt Gertrude's in Versailles. Her son, Darryl, is living with her right now; he and Cliff had a great visit. As we were getting ready to leave, these Clydesdales came past. I have no idea what they were doing on a city street, but it was a pretty neat thing to see.

So we've started our weekend with a bang. If the rest goes as well, I will have no complaints at all.

Oh, about the forecast of rain for the rest of the weekend? That's all changed. No rain is forecast now until Tuesday.