Kauai

One week in Kauai is not long enough. :-)

Wild pigs on our tain ride.The baby was one week old and cute as could be.
Miles feeing the birds.

My buddy. I miss my little bird.

A rainbow.

The Hartes.

Since I can’t go to Egypt, this was the next best thing. lol

Queen's Bath.

It was this great pool of water with fish in it. I finally got to swim that day, but my incision still got wet. I was worried.

Relaxing at the Condo.

Hummmmmm........What's going on here?

Jen setting the pace.

Miles wondering what we are all doing.

Go Stevie Go!

My first time in a helicopter.

What a view!

It was so much fun to see everything.

Have you ever seen Jurassic Park? Remember the waterfall they fly over to and land? Yep, that’s the one.

Having a blast.

Everything is so pretty.

What's a morning without sharing breakfast with friends?

Blow hole.

One 5 gallon bucket of this dirt will dye 500 shirts red. "Red Dirt Shirt Company"

Why did the chicken cross the road? So Stevie wont run it over.

Chickens are all over the island. They don't know when to crow. They do it all the time. Good luck sleeping past 6:00AM.

Just us ladies.

A hug of support after limping all over the island.

You should see it in person. It's wonderful!

It was so pretty there.

Oh come on. You can't be suprised. Yes, bikes!

Just one of the many falls that are all over the island. I loved the birds that were flying all around it.

There were rowing races taking place that day.

Dave having some fun.

Wet cave.

I could look at that view all day.

View from the condo.

We are lucky to have such wonderful friends as Dave and Stevie Harte. They own a time share condo in Kauai and asked if we wanted to join them on their trip. How could we pass that up? Kauai and good friends, you bet!

(We met Dave through our riding club. He is an amazingly fast and smooth rider. I think he was born with riding gloves on. I don't know why he even owns a car. Then I met his wife and knew she was one of a kind and would be a good friend. )
I have been to Maui once so this was going to be my second time to the islands and first time to Kauai. I loved it. I loved all the waterfalls. Did you know that Kauai is the wettest place on earth? Well, the top of a mountain is. It rains an average of 340 days a year up there. This makes for a lush jungle and lots of waterfalls. There was only one down side. My foot is not healed yet and I was banded from the water p/doctors orders. He said it could get infected. That’s all I need. I tried water proof band-aids, but they did not work. I did go in Queen’s Bath for a swim. How could I go all that way and not go in the water? I was really sad I could not snorkel. I wanted to, but I struggled with the thought of messing up my foot and delaying the healing process even longer. Dave and Stevie were great about taking that into consideration. They gave us a great tour of the island. It was really nice. Miles thought it would be great to take a helicopter tour as well. I have always wanted to go in a helicopter. I was amazing. The pilot said it was one of the best days all year to fly. We went into a volcano that they never get to go into due to rain and turbulence. I smile just thinking about the flight. I want to do that again.
It was fun to spend time with Dave and Stevie. They are a great couple to go on a trip with. Their daughter Jen was there also. She was nice, and a pleasure to meet. The trip consisted of tours, good food, games, beaches, waterfalls, shopping, feeding birds, a helicopter ride, a train ride, and lots of Mai Ties. There was one day that it rained and rained. We all braved the elements and drove all over. We even got stuck for over 2 hours waiting for a flooded road to open back up so we could get home. I can’t wait to go back so I can snorkel. It looked like a great place. Tunnels Beach is calling my name.

-----------------> More pictures of the trip.

My Thoughts Today.

Italy on my mind.

I put this picture as my desk top for my computer. It's so pretty.
I wish people made things like that still.

Always amazing to look at. Takes my breath away.

I find that my mind wonders back to Italy often. I find that I think not only of my trip, but of all the things that have taken place there in the past. What were the Romans like? How did they build the things they did? Aqueducts alone blow me away. To be able to master building one that is on the slightest slope to send water perfectly to the people and fountains of a great community. It’s staggering. I am making dinner for myself tonight and I thought I would get some basil from my garden to put in my pasta. I understand now why I like to garden. It’s in my blood. I saw garden after garden as I went train to train traveling around Italy. This also got me thinking about the great food of Italy. I liked every meal I had. Why does it taste so much better there? Is it the cooks that prepared it, the water, or the soil the ingredients are grown in? Why on earth do we not have the pastries that they make, here in the US? Why oh why don’t we have gelato. Oh sure, I have been to one here in the LA area, but really, it’s not the same.
I long to go back and see more. Not only what I have yet to see, but the things that I have already seen. I hate that I rushed through Lucca. I would like to stay there a little longer to see more things. I have two memorial cards from family members that are buried in Bagni Di Lucca, Monti Di Villa. I would like to find them and also go back to Riolo to see if I can find my family members. I wish I could find them. I know I have many out there. Maybe one day.
Italy has become part of my soul.

Stitches and Seca (AKA MotoGP)

Let’s start with stitches. I believe it was June 18th that I had a second surgery to try to correct my big toe tendon. It was stuck in scar tissue so my big toe would not move. I was told I needed it done right away so off I went once again for surgery on my foot. I was not happy about it since I had just gone to Italy and walked around all over. I was feeling a little like my old self. I had also waited about a month to get my Aprilia SXV supermoto and it came in two days before surgery. That only gave me one day to try to ride it before I was down and out again. My one day ride was very short, rusty and slow, but nice. Surgery was a little more than I thought. My doctor cut open my foot where one of my original scars were. He also cut open my big toe joint to cut into some capsule. That left me in a cast for a week.
I got my stitches out just in time to go to Laguna Seca for the races. I was going to be able to ride to the track and bike night. I was really happy. That is until I got on the bike and went all of a mile to Cannery Row. The incision on the ball of the big toe is right were you shift. Yep…… I shifted and ripped that one inch incision open to the tendon. There it was moving back and forth. I spent the rest of the weekend riding in and out of the track and walking around all day with my foot open in that area. I tried to cover it, but it was not working. The pain of shifting was less than fun. It would distract with me with the pain. Not a good thing since I have been off a bike for 7 months, on a new bike that feels different and only thinking about how bad my foot must be in my shoe. I will go to my doctors tomorrow to get it looked at. It just finally closed a little today, almost a week after it was split open. Dang foot it really making me unhappy. I hope this is the last of it and I can work on getting better. (To make it that much better I am going to Hawaii in a week and will go nuts if I can’t snorkel)
Seca!
I love going to Monterey. I look forward to it each year. This year even more since I have been so distant from bikes and fun. I love the bike night for all the bikes and people. It’s cool to see so many people on bikes and the plated ones that no one sees on the street. I was also looking forward to riding finally. The open incision was a big bummer but the rest was very nice. Pebble Beach for lunch and 17 mile drive was very nice. Seeing the riders, and the races were fun. I also like the landscape. I saw some hill sides that reminded me of Italy. It was cool. Enjoy the pictures of my trip.

Click here for all my pictures from the trip.

Italy And My Family Village

Let me start by saying thanks for checking out my Blog. Only a small hand full of people have my blog address. I only share it with people that I care deeply about and love. Thanks for being one of those people.
Thank you for shaing this life changing event with me. Enjoy my Blog about my trip to Italy.

Wall of Lucca Italy

You know there was going to be something with bikes in this post. :-)

How can that be carved out of stone? David is perfect.

Italian trees.... it's like they "know".

Florence

Florence. I loved the river. It's so pretty.

Looking up at Riolo. My family's village. Artiemo and Severina Lucchesi.

Riolo

Riolo

You know I just had to take this picture. I know, everyone does it, but it's still funny.

Miles did a gret job of driving, and got us to Riolo.

Could this be the best place on earth?

Don't you just love Venice?

Our first day in Rome.

I have always wanted to see this. I feel lucky to have been right there touching it.

I have always wanted to go to Italy and I was not going to let my injured foot get in my way. I booked the flights and our apartment and off we went. We landed in Rome after the longest flight I have ever been on. I have also never been to Europe. I was excited and nervous. We took the train into Rome and found our little hotel room. It was very nice and the owners were very sweet. We had dinner right away and walked around a little.
The next day, Sunday, we explored Rome. We took the double-decker bus tour. It was really nice. Since walking was going to be a problem it was nice to be dropped off at most of the major sights in Rome. We also explored as the say went on. We saw the Colosseo. We went to the Vatican. We went to the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps. The bus tour was enjoyable and explained a good deal. Later that day we were off to Florence to check into our apartment that I rented. It was really nice. We used it as a home base as we did day adventures all over Italy.
Monday we took the train to Venice. It was a long ride, but worth it. We just got lost in Venice. We walked for about 5 hours with no agenda and no place to be. It was wonderful. Each night we would return to Florence and would walk around Florence as much as we could. My goal was to eat Galato each night as we walked and enjoyed the people of Italy all around us. It was great.
On Tuesday we took a very long train ride to Cinque Terre. It was beautiful. It reminds me of Catalina in a way. I loved the coast town we visited. It was too bad that we did not stay there to enjoy the rest of the towns. Just not enough time in a day or days in our trip. Of course I had to get Galato there.
On Wednesday we had plans for the Lucca area. When going through my family history I copied an old letter than my great grandfather Artiemo Lucchesi sent to his bride to be Severina Lucchesi. It was a letter telling her how to meet him in America to start their lives together. It was sent from his statuary shop in Denver Colorado. This letter was stamped 1910. Just shy of 100 years later I had that copy of the letter and the will to find this town on m y trip to Italy. My plan was to rent a car in Italy and find this town somehow. There was no clear map on how to get there, but we were going to figure it out. Miles and I read in a book that we needed some papers that we did not have to drive. Also that there was very poor insurance coverage on a rental car and that it was going to cost way too much. We decided to take a train to Lucca from Florence for the day and see what would come of it. I hated to be so close yet so far away. Who knows when I will come back. We made it to Lucca which was wonderful. After a day of walking around Lucca we went across the street and rented a car. We had a poor map, but thought we would give it a try. The letter we had said, “ Severina Lucchesi. Bagni Di Lucca, Monti Di Villa, Riolo. Off we went. We found Bagni Di Lucca and kept going. It was beautiful. A wonderful river and trees were a sight to see. Then onto the small town of Monti Di Villa. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. Then we saw the sign pointing to Riolo! We were almost there. Then we noticed the road was blocked. There were no other signs. There happened to be a little lady in her yard watering flowers. I jumped out of the car and tried my very limited Italian. I said in Italian,” Mi scusi. Riolo?” She pointed and I said with excitement,” Grazie, grazie!!” Off we went. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We climb our way up the mountain side on this tiny little sharp twisty road. There it was, Riolo. We parked in the church parking lot where my Great grandmother said she met my great grandfather. I started to get teary eyed. I did not think we were going to be able to make the drive out to the village. Then I did not think we would find it with the poor map we had. I was wrong. There we were in a small village that seemed to be sitting with the Gods up upon the hill side. I feel so blessed to have had this life changing experience. A 100 year old letter that was written in Italian that was passed down from one generation to another led me here. The sounds, smells, and the view were amazing. Two little old ladies walked down to the bench in front of the church and talked for a while. I did not want to leave. I felt at peace. I can’t describe it. It was truly amazing. I will never forget it. I hope to go back there again.
Thursday Miles had book a reservation to take a tour of the Ducati factory. We headed to the factory for an hour and a half tour. It was really nice. Our tour guide was very nice and we exchanged info with her in case she wants to come out to California again and visit. The rest of the day we spent walking around Florence were we met this young leather shop owner. We sat and talked to him, Lucca, and his co-worker, Ana for hours. It was so much fun. We had wine and talked to them and the English speaking customers that would come it. It was like a little party. We finally left the shop and walked around Florence some more. I liked just walking around looking at everything. It’s so much fun. I even found a farmers market that was wonderful.
Friday was our reservations for the museums in Florence. We spent half the day going to the Galleria Dell’ Accademia and Uffizi. The rest of the day we walked and ate. We also took the double-decker bus tour in Florence. I liked that tour since it was good for 24 hours and it had two different bus lines to take. We went up the hill side to a small town. Wonderful views of homes and the hill side. The second line took us on the other side of Florence to the Michaelangelo Plaza for a wonderful view of Florence. Another nice dinner and more time spent walking around Florence ended our day.
Saturday we took the bus tour again since our tickets were still good and it was such a pretty drive. We shopped for our family members and walked all over Florence. We tried to soak in every last little bit we could. I did not want to leave. I loved that it was so easy to come back from a long day, get cleaned up and go out again. No one really sit at home. Everyone is just out and about. I really enjoyed that. Being my last day there I made sure to have two gelatos. I had to get my fix before coming home. I am not much for ice cream here in the US, so the gelato was a treat. Sunday was the long trip home. I hated to come back. I miss it.
The best parts of the trip…
I loved seeing things that were so old. How did they build that stuff? I know I always watch TV shows on how Rome was built and so on, but when you see it in person, I just don’t know how. I loved the food. I am a picky eater, but it was all good. I liked how everyone was nice. The people made the trip that much better. I liked that the trains can take you to so many great places. I loved the Colosseo. Amazing. I always know I am in a new place when I hear the birds sing. I liked the sounds of the birds there. I loved the smell of the pastries in the morning. I just had to get them for breakfast. I don’t drink coffee, but I did have two cappuccinos when I was there. I liked the smell of water in Venice. No, it did not stink. It reminded me of being on the dock at Bass Lake. I liked how Florence, Lucca, and Venice were all towns with narrow streets with one shop after another. I liked looking in the windows and see what’s going on inside. I liked that it looked like everyone in the restaurants were having a good time. I love how amazing the jewelry there is. All the wine I had taste better than I have had here. I loved hearing the bells of the churches ringing in the morning. Oh, how could I not mention the fact that I loved seeing so many people on scooters. I also liked all the little cars. I want one. I liked going out each night sitting on steps in a plaza enjoying everything around me. I can’t find words to say how wonderful it was to find my family village. The views were breath taking, with tons of trees and a giant river. Just wonderful. The gelato was great. Trying to speak Italian was fun, and makes me want to keep working on learning it. I just loved the whole trip. I am sure I will think of more things, but I will end for now. Enjoy some of the pictures from my trip.
For more pictures click here. Part two of my pictures added 7/7/09

New raceway and funny story

I heard on a supermoto forum that there was going to be a supermoto track built in Pala. That’s about an hour and a half away I believe. Not too bad considering there are no tracks around. The track is really set up for dirt riders, but they are considering other sports as well. Supermoto, karts, and BMX just to name a few. I was looking at their web site and saw that they were open to people emailing them and giving some advice on the track. I wrote asking if they were going to allow small displacement bikes on the kart track. They said yes. I also said that they might want to look into some shade structures and maybe putting in metal loops in the ground for people to hook their EZ-Ups to so they don’t blow away. They said they are already looking into shade structures, but they had not thought of the loops. They liked the idea and will look into it. How cool was that? They were not only nice, but really did want input into make the place the best it could be. So if you see loops there and tie your canopy to it, you can think of me. Hahahahaha
I hope that there will be some supermoto races there. I would also like to see some small bike races on the kart track. It’s nice to see a place for people to go. You could make a long weekend out of it. The hotel/casino is really nice. They have good food, and Palamar is not far away. You can hit some really tight mountain roads, and a track the same weekend. Not bad at all. Video on a test day at the track.

I do have a funny story about Pala.
I went there once not too long ago. My dad was in a blackjack tournament there. I was still on crutches and just gotten my cast off but was unable to walk yet. My foot was still fragile. My mom thought it would be nice to get me out of the house and head to Temecula for the day. We tried to check out the old town area, but I was really tired from using crutches. We did not make it too far. We then joined my dad for an early dinner. I was wiped out from crutching all over town. My dad said the fastest way to the buffet was to cut through the restroom. I needed to wash my hands before eating anyways so that was perfect. As I went into the restroom I noticed that the floor was wet from everyone washing their hand and dripping on the floor to get a towel. This makes for a bad situation on crutches. Smooth wet tile is no good. After washing my hands I was carefully trying to get to the exit when a lady came from the stall area, and about knocked me down as she cut in front of me to wash her hands. I was shocked that she did that. I almost lost my balance and fell. My mom was right behind me and had to react fast so she did not run into me. I stumbled a bit. I was soooooooooooo mad at that women that I wacked her in the leg with my crutch. Nice and hard. I of course acted like I stumbled and could not help it. I said,” Oh, I am so sorry” and kept crutching out towards the exit. The lady started to say,” Oh that’s………..”. You could almost hear the wheels turning her head. You could tell that she was slowly figuring out that I hit her on purpose. What could she say to me? As I was almost out of the restroom I looked back at my mom. She had a big smile on her face with a look that said “good for you”. You have to know me. I don’t do things like that. I just get upset and try to be the better person. That lady was way out of line and needed a lesson. Being a teacher, I was happy to teacher her a lesson in manners and to have respect for people that have a limitation they you do not. I only hope that left a lasting impression……………. on her leg. (Wink, Wink)

Speedway Races Are Back!

(Pictures take with phone so they are not the best.)
Short phone video of the sidecars.Click HERE

Only a few miles away there is a facility that hosts speedway races. It’s a very nice facility and it gets a pretty good crowds. It’s the City of Industry Speedway Races. This last Wed. was opening night. Not only that, but they were for sure going to have sidecar racing that night. I love the sidecars. Everyone thinks I am nuts that I want to do that. I could totally be the monkey. There are a lot of women monkeys out there. I might like it or I might hate it. It looks fun and like something I could do. I just need a bike. My best buddy and racing friend Mike said he rode them before. He could ride and I could be on the back. Now all we need is a bike. LOL I like the idea of a 69 year old driver with a broken foot women monkey. Talk about breaking out of the mold.
The races were great and I had a good time. My well wishes go out the one rider that ended up doing a 12 0’clock wheelie hanging on and smashed into the wood wall. You know he is hurting and something is broken. Well wishes to you.
I think the best part of the races are my parents coming out to watch them also. It’s only minutes from their house. The show up with water and peanuts. I show up with seat cushions and ear plugs. It’s a perfect blend. Miles and I end up running into some friends and we end up with a small section of people we know. The dirt is flying, the beer is spilling, and the crazy booby girls are a plenty. It’s so funny to watch some of these women strutting their stuff. Others strutted their lack of stuff or over the hill stuff. One lady had on short shorts, a top with boobs falling out, a beer in one hand and a child dragging behind in the other. She was surprisingly plus size considering all the walking around she was doing in front of the stands.
Over all it was a blast. A motor blew, a guy crashed hard, and others crashed and got up. The exhaust was thick in the air, and the sound of the motors left your ears ringing. Good times on a Wed night.

Surgery Again

A visit to my surgeon this week brought less than exciting news. Seems that I have to have surgery again on my foot. They are going to try to free my big toe’s tendon. (50/50 chance it will help in any way)That way I can move my big toe. He wants to do it as soon as possible, but I am going to Italy from June 5-14. There is no way I am going to have it before that. I am already going to have a hard time walking around, but that would make it so much worse. I will have the surgery June 18th. I hope I can get the stitches out before Laguna Seca. I wanted to ride to the bike night. Also, I only have motorcycle parking since I always ride into the track. Can you shift with stitches? Will my foot be too swollen to get a shoe one? I am getting sick of this. I still have not ridden a bike since November 30, the day of the crash. This got me thinking. My birthday is November 24th. I have only had 5 good days of my 36th year of my life. 5 days into it, I had a crash, surgery, my dog passed, surgery again and more….. What the heck? I am looking forward to turning 37. I am washing my hands of this year of my life. Hahahaha
I have to remind myself of the good things. ITALY! I can’t wait. Too bad my foot is holding me back, but I don’t care. I know it will be great. I can’t wait to see all there is. I have been trying to work out every week day so I can get ready for the trip. Look out Italy, a long lost Lucchesi is on her way!
Time to kick my Rosetta Stone Italiano into full gear. All I know how to say is, dog, cat, yellow, red, pants, hello, goodbye, and eat. Maybe I know a little more, but what good does saying,” black cat sleeping” do me?

My Sweet Bailey R.I.P.

To my dear sweet Bailey,
Thank you for keeping me safe at night. Thank you for being my best friend. Thank you for just “knowing” what to do and when. Thank you for being the most amazing dog I have ever seen. Your kindness, intelligence, and love were more than I could have ever asked of you. You made each day a little brighter, and the bad days much better. I will never forget dancing around the living room with you in my arms as the music played. I never told anyone about our little dances. I will never forget how each night you would jump on the bed, sniff my face, and lay at my feet. You would always check on me. I will never forget a hard time that left me crying and you came to me, curled up with me and let me cry as I held you. How did you know? I will never forget seeing you lay in the sun. I will never forget you lying in the cool flowers. I will never forget the never ending amount of love you showed me. I will never forget. My heart is broken, but the thoughts of you will help it heal in time.
I love you.

Love,
Mommy

That’s my good girl.

2/14/96 - 5/08/09

Fun and Games

Take me out to the ball game……

We went to a baseball game the other night with some friends. I was glad it was an Angels game. If I had to pick a team as my favorite, they would be it. The stadium is clean and the people are nice. As I was sitting there I kept seeing outdoor vendor after outdoor vendor walk by selling things. From what I remember as a kid, they would sell peanuts and hot dogs. Now they sell peanuts, hot dogs, California Pizza Kitchen pizzas, beer, sodas, ice cream, popcorn, cotton candy, red vines, pretzels, a big foam finger or a rally monkey. That’s just to name a few. You never have to get out of your seat. There happened to be a family behind me that wanted to buy everything that they had to sell. I quickly figured out that a baseball game is probably one of the only places in the USA that people pass their money to strangers. It moves along person to person as it goes down the row. Then with amazement you get your food and your change back. No wonder its America’s pastime.

One of many vendors selling things. I think I could eat just about everything that went by. There is nothing like a baseball games and a lap full of food.

Mako and Alin.

Angles won!

****************************************

Miles and I had never been to a soccer game before. He was able to get some tickets for a game through work and thought it would be a good idea for us to go. It was really fun. I was a little worried about how the crowd would be. I have been to Dogger games and it is less than enjoyable with drunken guys yelling and cussing. A soccer game in this area had the potential to be the same. I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone was nice, knew the players and was totally into the game. I don’t know the fine details about soccer, but it was still really fun. I have always said that I believe there are three sports that most people are exposed to that rank high above the rest. They are soccer, cross country, and water polo.

Watching the players move their feet around the soccer ball was amazing. Seeing them kick a ball all the way across the length of the field was inspiring. Watching a ball go flying through the air and a player bounces it off his head in the direction of his team mate was astonishing. I would be out cold on the ground if that ball had hit me in the head. LOL The best part was how into the game people were. That made the game worth it. They even had little kids playing soccer out on the field during half time. It was so cute. It was a fun night and I would like to do that again sometime. Now I know I need to bring a drum or a horn or something.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF A GOAL.

Fun at the game.

Ouch.

I want to sit in that section next time! :-)

A fun way to spend a night.