Today I'm spending my time in the beautiful state of West Virginia. I don't say that sarcastically. The leaves are changing and the colorful mountainside is almost enough to make you overlook the crazy people here at TrailFest in the small town of Gilbert. Hillbilly, yes ... good people, most definitely.
I've always found the small economically depressed areas of West Virginia interesting. Gilbert lives and breathes ATVs, and without them there wouldn't be much draw to make a visit here in a town of 375 people. Sure, the hillbillies get a bad wrap, but they mean well. I wouldn't know what it's like to go through a coal boom and watch the entire state fall on its face when the coal mines start to dry up. You can see that throughout the ride down in small towns built on coal and right on the highway. The drive never lacks excitement. And, it quickly reminds you of how good you have it.
Abandoned properties and ghost towns are pretty much the norm. It's hard to believe what it's really like until you see it for yourself. And it's hard to believe towns as financially challenged as found here exist in America. The town of Gilbert has done a nice job of ATV tourism and has many of the basics. The whole foundation of the trail systems were built on abandoned old coal roads.
I'm in the southwest corner of the state near Kentucky. The moonshine was out in full force last night at the camp fire outside our motel. The Moonshine of Kentucky and West Virginia is no movie myth. It really does exist; it can be really good and super potent. Last night we tried cherry and apple pie out of a Kerr jar, just like you see it joked about on TV. I only had a few sips, but a few sips were more than enough. The power of the alcohol content can sneak up on you in a hurry when you're drinking the 'shine.
When you look back on the places you've visited in life, a few stand out for their own reasons. West Virginia stands out. For the most part the people are nice, be it a little strange. I'm sure I'm strange to them. But the landscape is so overwhelming. The forest feels like it is growing right on top of you everywhere here ... almost jungle like. And the abandoned towns and 'shine are impossible to forget.
After this trip, travel is just about done for awhile. It's occupied a lot of my time lately, so I haven't had the ambition to write a lot after a long day at work in front of the computer playing catch-up from traveling. Tracy is doing great. She planned to fly to Oakland to visit her friend Missy over the weekend but that fell through when Missy came down with the flu bug. Thankfully, Southwest Airlines is great with crediting back flights when plans change.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Charlotte, New York Next Weekend
After a season away from the races, I've got a full slate next weekend as I travel for the GNCC race north of Charlotte next Saturday. Immediately after the race, I head to the Charlotte airport for a flight into Newark, NJ for the NEATV (New England ATV) motocross race on Sunday. We are a sponsor of the series and haven't had representation there all season.
I'm looking forward to the weekend, but travel from the West Coast to East eats up a lot of time. Flying from SoCal to NC is like a fat guy at the buffet, gobbling up all my time on Friday. I get in around 9 p.m. after leaving here at noon.
Saturday will be fun. I used to attend about four to five GNCC races a year, and this is my first one this season. We will clinch our second championship in the Women's class, which gets a lot of publicity, so it's good to be there to celebrate.
Sunday is more of a meet and greet to get to know the series promoter and several of our support racers. I'm also on the hunt for some talent to ride Orange next year, so we'll see what turns up.
After the race, I'm off to Albany, NY, 100 miles north of Walden so I can visit a Husaberg dealer early Monday morning before flying back to San Diego. It should be an action filled three days that's for sure.
I'm looking forward to the weekend, but travel from the West Coast to East eats up a lot of time. Flying from SoCal to NC is like a fat guy at the buffet, gobbling up all my time on Friday. I get in around 9 p.m. after leaving here at noon.
Saturday will be fun. I used to attend about four to five GNCC races a year, and this is my first one this season. We will clinch our second championship in the Women's class, which gets a lot of publicity, so it's good to be there to celebrate.
Sunday is more of a meet and greet to get to know the series promoter and several of our support racers. I'm also on the hunt for some talent to ride Orange next year, so we'll see what turns up.
After the race, I'm off to Albany, NY, 100 miles north of Walden so I can visit a Husaberg dealer early Monday morning before flying back to San Diego. It should be an action filled three days that's for sure.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Dan's Season Ticket Seats
Hopefully I'll be able to watch the Gophers at the new TCF Bank stadium in the near future. I figure I'm holding out until they're ready for a Rose Bowl run. Next year? Two years? We'll see. Right now, 2,000 miles separates me from being there in person.
Dan's seats look pretty decent. The Gophers played a gritty game today and actually managed to keep me entertained for 3 1/2 quarters. Kudos to Brewster, I think the team is on the right track.
Dan's seats look pretty decent. The Gophers played a gritty game today and actually managed to keep me entertained for 3 1/2 quarters. Kudos to Brewster, I think the team is on the right track.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
State Fair 2009
A little photostream of the happenings of late. Again, it's a pain but you need to click show info to read the captions. I'm looking for something that's a better solution for photostreaming.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Making It Rain
Tracy and I are doing our collective best to keep the economy rumbling forward. On Saturday, we were throwing money around making it rain in Murrieta. After running my tires for four years, I finally decided to put new meats on the Ford. Compared to the California standard of running 'em to 
the belts, my tires weren't completely useless. People literally run slicks here in SoCal. It adds up to entertainment when it finally does rain.
$975 later, my truck has new tires from American Tire, sister store of Discount Tire. Truck tires aren't cheap in SoCal, where everything involving cars is a surcharge compared to the Midwest. I went with the new Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors. So far, I'm really pleased. Hardly no lug noise on the highway and my truck is riding and tracking smooth.
For Tracy, we brought the Jetta that will eclipse 170k this week to the dealer to check out some dummy lights. The ABS speed sensor has gone bad, her large cooling fan is no longer working and her catalytic converter is bad, causing a check engine emission light. I'll take care of the ABS sensor and large cooling fan, saving her about $300 there. The catalytic converter estimate was $1,075 from Volkswagen. They are on crack. Sure, we'll spend a grand on a 2003 car that will hit 200k in a year. Sounds like another job for me.
Autozone catalytic converter: $325. Not sure how an exhaust system job can cost $700 more than that at the dealership. Unfortunately, in California you have to pass an emissions test every 2 years. Tracy is good for another 18 months, so we won't be tackling that one anytime soon.
Speaking of that timeframe, I'd be shocked if we lasted another 18 months here. Both our J-O-Bs are becoming a major P-I-T-A. I guess that's why they call it work. But when work egregiously takes advantage of you, it's when you start looking for other work. Our values are upping here in CA, and that means it's harder to be taken advantage of. 50 hour weeks at 40 hour pay can only last so long.
On a good note, we've been very happy outside of work at the beach and spending time with friends. We have slated another trip to the San Diego Zoo with Tracy's friends from Pasadena, so that should be fun. And, while I'm out of town in October for a work trip, Tracy heads up to San Fran / Oakland to see her friend Missy who is from Minnesota / Ehlert!
the belts, my tires weren't completely useless. People literally run slicks here in SoCal. It adds up to entertainment when it finally does rain.$975 later, my truck has new tires from American Tire, sister store of Discount Tire. Truck tires aren't cheap in SoCal, where everything involving cars is a surcharge compared to the Midwest. I went with the new Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors. So far, I'm really pleased. Hardly no lug noise on the highway and my truck is riding and tracking smooth.
For Tracy, we brought the Jetta that will eclipse 170k this week to the dealer to check out some dummy lights. The ABS speed sensor has gone bad, her large cooling fan is no longer working and her catalytic converter is bad, causing a check engine emission light. I'll take care of the ABS sensor and large cooling fan, saving her about $300 there. The catalytic converter estimate was $1,075 from Volkswagen. They are on crack. Sure, we'll spend a grand on a 2003 car that will hit 200k in a year. Sounds like another job for me.
Autozone catalytic converter: $325. Not sure how an exhaust system job can cost $700 more than that at the dealership. Unfortunately, in California you have to pass an emissions test every 2 years. Tracy is good for another 18 months, so we won't be tackling that one anytime soon.
Speaking of that timeframe, I'd be shocked if we lasted another 18 months here. Both our J-O-Bs are becoming a major P-I-T-A. I guess that's why they call it work. But when work egregiously takes advantage of you, it's when you start looking for other work. Our values are upping here in CA, and that means it's harder to be taken advantage of. 50 hour weeks at 40 hour pay can only last so long.
On a good note, we've been very happy outside of work at the beach and spending time with friends. We have slated another trip to the San Diego Zoo with Tracy's friends from Pasadena, so that should be fun. And, while I'm out of town in October for a work trip, Tracy heads up to San Fran / Oakland to see her friend Missy who is from Minnesota / Ehlert!
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