Day Eleven by Dave Schultheis
Thursday, May 29, 2003 - Franklin, Tennessee
I slept well and was up at 7:00 a.m. Central Time. I knew that several folks were scheduled to arrive at Casa de Carroll for tonight's barbeque, so I needed to be out of the nice bedroom today.
So I put my stuff away, shlepped everything downstairs and stowed it in a corner of the living room. This evening would be my first real-life trial of the Therm-A-Rest and I was kind of looking forward to it.
Bob and I spent some time lounging in the family room watching the news, and some time clearing space in the garage for more motorcycles. Bob was in a fair amount of pain and couldn't lift anything, so he pointed at boxes and tools while I moved them around.
Willa and I helped Bob into the car and she took him to the doctor's office for a check of his tenderness. Meanwhile, I staffed the cordless phone (in case someone called for directions), played with the animals, watched the television, and rolled out the Therm-A-Rest and my sleeping bag on the living room floor for the evening.
I also took the opportunity to check my voice mail and return a few calls, including a call to my brother; we agreed that I would try to see him again on my next trip.
Willa and Bob returned from the doctor's office; we helped him back to his place on the couch and she refilled his ice pack.
The first motorcycle to arrive was Ulises P. and Madelin from Florida on his beautiful purple bike. They thought it was kinda cold in Tennessee, as it was below 80 degrees. Sometime afterwards we were joined by Taz (on Gozer) and Nikki (in her Explorer full of gear).
Willa needed to make a grocery run, and I volunteered to go along and help carry stuff, because I'm not much good for anything else. We went to a nice grocery store in Franklin, and got all kinds of things that biker net scum would enjoy for dinner.
Sometime after we got back, Tim (SC53) rolled in from South Carolina. Tim and I had ridden together for several hundred miles enroute from TN to CO in 2002.
One by one we moved motorcycles into place in the garage, so that everyone's bike would be inside when the garage door went down.
Nashville Jeff rode in after work, and everyone gravitated toward the deck and back yard area. Burgers and beans were cooked, potato salad was created, and I'm pretty sure some beer was consumed.
We had a most excellent dinner and conversation. As darkness fell, arrangements were made for the crowd to leave Casa de Carroll in the morning and meet up with Nashville Jeff and another crowd of folks at a gas station for the ride over to Roger & Karen's home near Martin TN, about 3 hours away.
I took a shower and went to bed around 9:30 p.m., then settled in on the floor in the living room. Jeff rode home and the remainder bedded down in various places around the house.
Miles for the day = 0. Miles for the trip = 4201.
Tomorrow: a group ride, a group repair, and a return visit to Gardner TN.