So much I want to tell about…okay Rally. All year planning we’ve been counting down forever, and I get a new job…I’d been looking for a new job all year…was very unhappy with my current position since February 09 when they cut our pay by 21%…so after that …I came and went as I please pretty much, came in late, took a long lunch and left early, that part wasn’t bad and had paid vacation. So feeling pretty hopeless and trusting everyone telling me there are just no jobs I was accepting that I may have to stay there until the ship finally sinks completely. I get a call from Snelling Staffing, CB&I would like for me to come in for an interview, sure…cool…Executive Admin for the VP of Investor Relations…okay I know nothing about finances but I’ll go for an interview I need the practice. I go, it’s fine…couldn’t really tell if I was what they are looking for or not…oh well…good practice. The next morning Snelling calls again and CB&I wants to see me again…oh dear…okay. Keep in mind Caza is dwindling fast…I hate that place…I’d just been informed that my next assignment would be to sit at the corporate apartment and wait for the packers one day and the utilities the next…oh and just throw their toiletries in a box…no biggie…WHAT? Um no…REALLY? Yeah really…man I need a real job…for a real company…That day I meet Kemper at the elevator with some of my stuff from my office…I was beaten, done, sad and ready to jump out of the window…at the very least, ready to put on my blue smock and welcome people to WalMart…We load my junk in the car and Kemper says you should just quit…screw those guys…I can’t quit…I have to have a plan…all night last night and all day today I have just begged and hoped CBI would call…Kemper and I drive home for lunch and pull into the garage and my phone rings…Snelling…OMG…yeah…oh okay…oh I see…yes that’s fine…thank you for calling…CB&I wants me….OMG!!!! YEAH!!!! Thank you God!! After I quit crying…I come up with my plan.
I get back to the office…tie up a few loose ends…clean my office…and send an email that today is my last day…and that was that. I started at CB&I on Monday, Oct 26…keep in mind Rally is Thursday…CB&I was fine with me taking Thursday and Friday office to do my thing…so…I’ve been a little distracted this year…so forgive me if my writing is minimal and just enjoy the pics.
It’s finally here. Beautiful weekend after beautiful weekend have past…and now…the weather is looking nasty…but it’ll be fine…rain or shine we are going to Rally…wait…did I say rain???
Thursday
The plan was that we’d have the kids on Wednesday and drop them at school on Thursday and drop Penny at the vet…and be ready to pull out at 9 am…Monica and Dusty were pulling out at 9 am as well and we’d meet at the Beltway and 288 at Bass Pro Shop…it’s cloudy…but spotty…no biggie… We’re on the road heading for the beach
…woohoo…I45…RAIN…let’s stop and put on our Frogg Toggs…we may need them ahead, back on I45, all suited up…mine are pink I looked like a giant PEEP…Kemper’s were 9 sizes too large, and when the air caught them he looked like the Big Black Gorilla on top of the Used Car lot.TRAFFIC…BIG TRUCKS…RAIN…even harder rain…we gotta pull over and wait this out some…and waited we did…okay let’s go a little more…nope here it comes again…finally…with no more time to waste we gotta try to go…we’re not even through Houston yet…the rain is not as bad now…but the traffic is…we’re getting through it…finally I can see the Beltway in the distance, yea!! We missed the exit we should have taken and make a U-turn to get back to Monica and Dusty…there they are high and dry. Kemper and I are exhausted, wet and hungry. With only brief greeting and hugs we all take off before we get caught in more rain. We get as far from the rain as we can and stop for gas, bathroom and food.
Feeling better we strike out for the last leg of this already 3 hour tour…Beach House or Bust.
We are here, we are here!!! The wind was blowing like crazy the ocean was gray and angry as we drove in…and the shore was much different than we remembered…Ike did a job last fall and there was still many reminders…but we’ve made it so…
Feeling better we strike out for the last leg of this already 3 hour tour…Beach House or Bust.
We are here, we are here!!! The wind was blowing like crazy the ocean was gray and angry as we drove in…and the shore was much different than we remembered…Ike did a job last fall and there was still many reminders…but we’ve made it so…
Let’s Rally!!! We unload our bags so we can stop at the grocery on our way back home tonight. We ride out headed for the stand the wind is blowing and is getting cooler…while on the sea wall the foam from the ocean is rolling across the road and covering our bike, we’re going to the Strand and get a parking pass, find a place to park and get our shopping done. The freaks beat us there and are in force…and OMG the bikes, tons of them already, and it’s only the first day.
BEER!!!!! Cra
p on a stick; yar
d long Pina Coladas for Monica and Port-a-Potties!!!! Rally Time! 
BEER!!!!! Cra
p on a stick; yar
d long Pina Coladas for Monica and Port-a-Potties!!!! Rally Time! 
We shop and shop, walk and walk and drink and drink…oh yeah…it’s fun
…As always…we meet new and interesting friends and learn new
lessons to live by… 
Friday is cold…I mean really cold…the
ocean is again gray and even more violent than yesterday…we just hang at the house and eat breakfast drink coffee, the boys wash the bikes and get them ready to head back into Galveston. That day was a good time more shopping and drinking and people watching…today Nancy and Dennis were coming in so Monica kept close
tabs on their ETA.
Finally they are here and we need to eat so we met them at a restaurant for some dinner?...lunch??? I forget… 
Oh which reminds me in addition to eating crap on a stick…turkey legs…nachos…you know I told you that we’d emptied the bags on our bike to make room for groceries…huge mistake to go grocery shopping when everyone is starving…how many frozen pizzas can someone cook in a 3 day weekend??? 10…that’s how many and 2 dozen taquitos, 2 cans of Pringles, gold fish crackers, cinnam
on rolls, 2 dozen eggs, several pounds of bacon and a 12 pack of beer…yep…it all fit on 2 bikes AND 
we ate all of it.
So anyway…Nancy and Dennis arrived and they were a lot of fun…glad they made it.
ocean is again gray and even more violent than yesterday…we just hang at the house and eat breakfast drink coffee, the boys wash the bikes and get them ready to head back into Galveston. That day was a good time more shopping and drinking and people watching…today Nancy and Dennis were coming in so Monica kept close
tabs on their ETA.
Finally they are here and we need to eat so we met them at a restaurant for some dinner?...lunch??? I forget… 
Oh which reminds me in addition to eating crap on a stick…turkey legs…nachos…you know I told you that we’d emptied the bags on our bike to make room for groceries…huge mistake to go grocery shopping when everyone is starving…how many frozen pizzas can someone cook in a 3 day weekend??? 10…that’s how many and 2 dozen taquitos, 2 cans of Pringles, gold fish crackers, cinnam
on rolls, 2 dozen eggs, several pounds of bacon and a 12 pack of beer…yep…it all fit on 2 bikes AND 
we ate all of it.
So anyway…Nancy and Dennis arrived and they were a lot of fun…glad they made it. Saturday--Today our friends Pam, Duncan and Todd arrived and we will go on a ride with them and several others…it was a beautiful day still 
chilly but the wind was calm and the sun was out.
chilly but the wind was calm and the sun was out.We rode out near Surfside and through the wildlife refuge it was a great ride and good company…no one was really sure what the plan was 
for Saturday night if we really wanted to risk the Rally on Halloween night…some of the riders were going to dress in costume and wanted to 
get back in time to rest up and dress up to go 
back to the Strand. So we all split up not sure if we’d hook up again or not.
Nancy was really tired…’cause she NEE
DS a back rest Dennis!!! We sat around the house watched some TV and drank some beer trying to entertain ourselves while Monica took a nap. We really wanted to go back to the Strand…Monica was tired and not feeling well but eventually after much begging and bugging she caved and agreed to go…WOOHOO so we’re off back to the rally…not as many creative costumes as I’d have expected but still really fun time and lots to look at…
The three of us girls bought matching hats…had the poor shop girl crawling on the floor looking for them…but we have them…Rally Hats!!!
Sunday…we washed the sheets, cleaned the house and loaded our bikes…wow we have more going out than we did when we got here…Nancy and Dennis went back to the Strand while Dusty, Monica, Kemper and I had to head home.
We ride on and before I knew it we were at our split…as Dusty and Monica took their exit we wave and blow kisses…and I of course I tear up…I can’t help it…I just hate to see another wonderful moment in time be over and another year go by.
But anyway…till next year…We’ll be another year older and wiser…nah, probably not wiser…but older for sure and ready to Rally…until then…keep the rubber on the road and your hope high!
for Saturday night if we really wanted to risk the Rally on Halloween night…some of the riders were going to dress in costume and wanted to 
get back in time to rest up and dress up to go 
back to the Strand. So we all split up not sure if we’d hook up again or not.Nancy was really tired…’cause she NEE
DS a back rest Dennis!!! We sat around the house watched some TV and drank some beer trying to entertain ourselves while Monica took a nap. We really wanted to go back to the Strand…Monica was tired and not feeling well but eventually after much begging and bugging she caved and agreed to go…WOOHOO so we’re off back to the rally…not as many creative costumes as I’d have expected but still really fun time and lots to look at…
The three of us girls bought matching hats…had the poor shop girl crawling on the floor looking for them…but we have them…Rally Hats!!!Sunday…we washed the sheets, cleaned the house and loaded our bikes…wow we have more going out than we did when we got here…Nancy and Dennis went back to the Strand while Dusty, Monica, Kemper and I had to head home.
We ride on and before I knew it we were at our split…as Dusty and Monica took their exit we wave and blow kisses…and I of course I tear up…I can’t help it…I just hate to see another wonderful moment in time be over and another year go by.
But anyway…till next year…We’ll be another year older and wiser…nah, probably not wiser…but older for sure and ready to Rally…until then…keep the rubber on the road and your hope high!
