Happy birthday to me :)

It was SUCH an awesome weekend.  I wish I had 2 more days ... then 2 more days after that ... then 2 more ... you get the point.  Yesterday was raining and miserable, so we drug the teenager to the range and he FINALLY got to shoot for the first time.  Now ... my son has been into/out of a lot of things, and guns is one of them.  He has watched videos of how to clean them, load them, shoot them, what brands/models are for what ... he's definitely a Youtube expert on such things.  We rented a 9 mm Beretta cop issue.  He shot the first round beautifully, then the 2nd bullet jammed.  Instantly, I felt a small panic rise up inside me, but oh so calmly he ejected the bullet, lined up his next shot, and pulled the trigger.  That round fired off fine, but then the next bullet jammed.  Again, he super calmly ejected it, then shot again.  His entire "turn" went like that; fire, jam, fire, jam.  I took the gun for my turn, and same thing happened to me.  Head scratch, the range officer had no problem, and David had no problem, so I think the issue w/ Kody and I was that our wrists were moving too much.  We traded that one in for a "civillian" issue of the same gun, and had no more jamming issues.  I am so proud of Kody; he shot like he'd been doing it his whole life.  He loved it, thanked us profusely for taking him.

3 Muskateers

Today, we sent the baby with his grandparents for "their week" down in GA, and we headed off to Cherokee, NC!  We were eating at the Casino to celebrate all the fun February things; Valentine's Day, the 20 year anniversary of our engagement, and my birthday (which is next week) and the 1 year anniversary of owning Mufasa.   It just so happened that today was the first warm and non rainy day in a week, so of course we hopped on the bikes!  Khaleesi was purring like a kitten and rode as smooth as a baby's bottom.  Last week she got an oil change and a new front tire, both of which were sorely needed.

We hit 321 and rode through the National Park up and over the mountain to Cherokee.  It was a slower and uneventful ride as there really was a LOT of traffic out and about today.  We barely saw any bikes, it was 98% automobile traffic.  I swear all I have to do is look where I want to go, and Khaleesi takes me there.  Every curve felt like it was on rails, and the slower pace meant much of the ride I actually rode with one hand, b/c when I'm like that I can sit up straighter and relieve some of the pressure on my back.  All too soon we arrived at the casino and parked in the garage.  We locked our helmets and jackets to the bikes and went in to stuff our faces.

After rolling ourselves out of the casino, we decided to head back through Bryson City and down 129 to go home.  This way was a bit higher speed, as there was hardly any traffic!  I practiced holding different lines as we swept through turns at 60+ mph; it was exhilarating!  Once we got into Deal's Gap, both the resort and Killboy were closed off completely until next month; we took a super quick break, and David let me lead down the Dragon.  He was wearing his Go Pro for the first time, and he filmed me as we drove down it!  As per usual, my arms and upper back got a little tight.  I ALWAYS respect the Tail; I know there's plenty of highly experienced riders that have accidents on that road, and I never want my confidence to put me in a dangerous situation.  Thankful to God as usual, all was well and I SLAYED those 11 miles!  Despite consciously pulling my heels up in some of the steeper banked turns, I still dragged one on the ground, and as usual, that gave me a quick little scare!  It was cool watching myself drive it!  I'll post the video once we get it uploaded to Youtube.

Upon arriving home, found out my birthday present had arrived!  David bought me a Daymaker headlight for Khaleesi.  The Daymakers are the fancy LED type lights instead of the more yellowish halogen lights.  Took all of 10 minutes to install it!  Yipee!  I'm happy b/c the white light shows up a little better in the day light, and ANYTHING to make myself more visible makes me happy.  

Tuesday is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL.  It's also my later day at work.  I may just head on up and over Foothills Parkway on my way to work :D  So excited, it'll be my first day of the new year riding to work.  It's beginning to look a lot like riding season!!!

Ridin' all our cares away!

Our entire family on Thanksgiving day!

We had 2 short 60 mile rides after our KY jaunt.  They both were pretty fun!  We picked the better of the 2 weekend days (ahem, the WARMEST day) and went out once the baby went down for a nap (which put us around early afternoon).

A Sevierville back road

One of our rides was my "work loop" out to Foothills, down to 129, then back home.  Always a good ride.  On 129, we FINALLY stopped in at "The Dragon's Pit Stop" and went inside.  Usually when we go by there it's closed, so it was nice to finally get to go inside.

The following weekend, we took a route I picked out; the back roads of Sevierville!  I knew it was going to be peak color, and I didn't want to head out towards the National Park b/c I KNEW there was going to be a ton of traffic.  So we went the opposite direction, in the general direction of my work.  We headed out 321 towards Gatlinburg, then turned off up the back roads.  LOVE them so much; one road is more like a driveway than an actual road.  There was practically zero traffic, which I was THRILLED about.  On the down side, we were at the tail end of a stomach virus in our house, so David had to cut the ride a little shorter than he wanted b/c he was starting to get a "rumble in the tummy".  

Happiest when I'm out riding with my baby!

We cut through Wears Valley, which has some BEAUTIFUL sights, and turned into a neighborhood of gorgeous log cabins.  We climbed up ... and up ... and UP to the top of the neighborhood.  Breathtaking views up there!  Snapped a pic, then back down to home.

Could you imagine this view every day??

Our longer ride was 2 weekends ago; drove down 411 S towards Ocoee; had PLANNED to go all the way to a curvy river road down there, but we left later due to warmer weather, and David underestimated how quickly the sun is starting to go down now!  So we turned a little earlier than intended, actually touching the Cherohala Skyway for about a half a mile, then hit Hwy 68, which we had never been on before.  FABULOUS road, lots of curves; Khaleesi was SUPER happy with the route ;)

Last week, I rode to work on Wednesday.  Yes, you read that correctly!  It was 33 degrees in the morning, and I MADE IT.  I was sufficiently layered up to the point that the ONLY place that was cold was my finger tips.  So my gloves are too hot for 55+, and too cold for 40-.  My chin got a little cold because the way I had my jackets layered, I tunneled the wind directly up into my chin.  Slogged through work, then reaped my reward afterwards!  It was a sunny 63 degrees and I hit my usual track of FHP to 129 solo.  David thought I was crazy, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat;)

The weekend was a bust b/c it was raining on Saturday and COLD on Sunday, but this Thanksgiving week has been lovely.  We layered up and headed out yesterday around noon.  After a brunch at the Cracker Barrel with half of Maryville, we walked out to the bikes to see Mufasa's BRAND NEW rear tire sitting on the rim :(  I felt soooooo deflated, lol.  However, with a save from my amazing sister in law and then the fantastic father in law, we were able to not let that tiny roofing nail get the best of us!  11:30 this morning, we again layered up and headed out.  David's patch job seemed to be holding, so we headed into Knoxville, then north up to Big Ridge State Park.  Not going to lie ... that state park is a lot of nothing!  It sits on Norris Lake, and it must have been dammed up because there was no water to speak of.  There were hiking trails, but I have no idea if there were any waterfalls or any other "grand finale" there.  Made our way out of the park down this GREAT little country mountain road.  The road leading to the state park was like Holy 10 mph right hand corkscrews Batman!  I KNOW I said those weren't a problem anymore, but they DO still suck, lol.  I had ONE bad turn where I just didn't set up right, and I swung way wide into oncoming traffic, but luckily there was no traffic.  We ended up not far from the IMOK dealership and went down a SUPER fun curvy road that we had test ridden a Chieftan from the dealership down ... ever since, I've been dying to take Khaleesi down it!  It was just as fun as I knew it would be, and we worked our way back home, hitting I-140 for 11 miles.  But again, I was layered up perfectly, so didn't even catch a chill.  My gloves were perfect for this ride; it was between 50 and 55 degrees today; no chilly fingertips at all :)

David adjusted my handlebars a little; made them lower and closer.

Thankful for an amazing husband that always finds a fun track to suit our desires!  No long rides for a bit until the weather warms back up and the days get a little longer.  We went just about 105 miles today, and that was pretty perfect for the weather.  Gone about 5 hours, and that was with an hour lunch stop.  Not sure what next weekend will bring; we just take things one day at the time!  Blessed to have the time and the ability to do this together! <3 nbsp="" p="">

My favorite sign!  Curves ahead!! :)

Our thwarted ride!

TN backroads heading to state parks!

Today!  Yay!