Vagabond Granny here.  I am settled in now at Silex,Mo. with my son's family which includes the grand kids.  At  ages 19,17,3 and 1,  especially the young ones keep you busy..

It does seem good to be able to chill out again, has been a very busy time since the first of June.  The Motor Maid convention in Columbus,IN was awesome. We had a 210 bike parade through the city(12 miles)and did it without a stop.Motor Maids do an excellant job when it comes to parades.  They are asked to act as color guards often as well. I belive they are the only womens group who wear uniforms and it is impressive.  Although not connected to any law enforcement group, they do adhere to strict rules of the road in groups or in parades. The hotel in  Columbus, In. had been flooded  this year so our group was the only one not cancelled.. the first floor of the hotel was flooded, tiles had been taken up from some of the floors, so a couple of our meetings were held in the sticky floor rooms.. It really was a big hotel, of course the first floor had housed the handicapped rooms so that was an added feature that made it a bit rough on the legs having to climb steps a few times a day... My legs are definitely feeling the effecfts of no ex. bike for over 3 mos!

  While here is MO. I will visit some old friends(I did live in St.Louis for 35 years)do some grandma sitting to give my daughter in laws mother some time off, go to another rally, this one for trikes in So. Mo. next weekend and have some minor maintenance done on the trike.  Well, mostly minor, but a carburator boot change is also needed as they do deteriorate and the bike now has close to  57k on it.. Rubber does not last forever and when they deteriorate too badly, air leaks into the carbs and the bike wont run at all, so that does need to be done. Luckily, my son is an aircraft mechanic so labor will not be a problem.  Of course it is time for an oil change etc..  At any rate, that will be taken care of asap.

   My daughter in laws' family is having a reunion this weekend, well it starts this Wed. at a hotel in downtown St.Louis where we will play cards, go on a trolley ride around the city to take in points of interest, like the arch,brewery, museums etc. I think a water park is on the Sat. schedule and a baseball game, so it will be a busy week for sure.  Then, the rally in Sikeston is next weekend, then the major bike work can take place as I will be here for the whole month.  I am enjoying being with family for this time as I usually only get to see this side of the family once a year.

   I think this brings me up to date, seems hard to believe I have been here 3 days already. My 17 yr old grandson is a computer person and that has helped out tremendously, lots of tips, repairs, ideas, etc. so that is good.  I will be sending a video blog in the next few days, I am enjoying DSL connections for sure.. My home in FL is so  rural that I wonder if we will ever have dsl down there.. I hope you all are having a great summer and I really appreciate you checking on my blogs. It is a good feeling to know so many are checking up on my progress. I am also anxious to see how many people I have met along the way are able to contact United Breast Cancer Foudation for help in their endeavors for early screening or help with their problems. I am delighted to think that someone who I have come in contact with through this tour is able to find and cure a cancer due to early screening...That makes the whole trip worth while, few people have that opportunity to help others and for that I am very grateful

 Well, I need to sign off now,, sorry I rambled on so..will keep you posted though,,from Silex for the next 6 weeks, with rallies in the mix... thanks again,, Vagabond Granny signing off.... love and hugs,  Martha