Dad's Farewell (July 18-July 27, 2010)

Sad phone call on July 18 from my brother in Southern Indiana...Dad passed away that day. A great man, and a wonderful father he lived a fun and interesting 73 years. Patty drove from Carolina in the Vue, and I drove the Versa from Richmond to Louisville, Kentucky. Was a strange trip being as he is not there (a lot of time spent on visits to Kentucky was with him) but did enjoy seeing family and friends. One such is at the right; Ed worked with me in Concord, but moved back to Louisville. That is the bike he rode there; we had lunch at Bearno's Pizza on the Ohio River. Also saw much of my far flung family at the funeral which was nice, though wish we could get together more for better reasons.
I saw this motorcycle at the hotel. Brought back a lot of memories. Back in my Navy days, I rode a GS400 Suzuki in Hawaii. Actually it was Dad who suggested I get that bike; said an old beat up car would cost a fortune and I would enjoy the motorcycle more (had a few during high school which I did have a blast with). It was a good bike, and liked riding it around Hawaii which was a remarkable place to go riding. The GS-500 uses the same engine (100cc bigger), course its got a fairing but it is a nice looking bike and would be a great beginner motorcycle. Suzuki makes some fantastic motorcycles, and has some interesting models.
Also of interest was this Triumph Bonneville which I saw in downtown Jeffersonville, Indiana. Again, a good basic bike like the GS-500 but a nice looking ride, and was the start of the rebirth of a great motorcycle company back from the past. Saw a lot of motorcycles in the Louisville area during my visit; many of the riders wore helmets in Indiana and Kentucky...many did not (not required in those two states).
Got back in Concord on July 25 and spent Monday there before a Tuesday return to Concord. Did get a ride out on the Vulcan, still hot and humid, but the ride was a nice break from the stress and pain of the previous days. Dad is gone to a better place, will miss him a great deal, but the memories I have with him will live on forever!