PGR kind of day

Today was a long day for me. I got a call late last night that there was a Patriot Guard mission today,(Sunday) in Snellville. Below is an article on the young man. My friend Dan and I met up and rode to the church about 12:00. It looked to be about 150 PGR people there. The family of this young man was incredible. In what had to be one of the lowest moments in life, they held it together and told how he was doing what he felt needed to be done. He was only three weeks from the end of his tour in Afghanistan. As we rode from the church to the grave sight the people of Snellville showed there fallen hero the spirit of America. The rout was lined with people holding flags, old men saluting, parents telling children what was happening. As you ride tears of pride run down your face. Everyone there are patriots, no Republicans, no Democrats, no left wing and no right wing, just patriots. One of the proudest moments in my life was being called a patriot by a veteran. I got home about 7:00 this evening between the riding and heat I am tuckered out.
Now for some bad news. Next Saturday there is another mission. Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, of Cumming who died along side Jon Ayres will be buried next Saturday. I am planning on going unless something big comes up.
That’s all for now.

Fallen Georgia Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Laid to Rest
Last Edited: Sunday, 20 Jul 2008, 6:23 PM EDT
Created: Sunday, 20 Jul 2008, 6:23 PM EDT
A Georgia soldier who was killed while fighting in Afghanistan was laid to rest Sunday, July 20, 2008 at a Snellville church. Corporal Jon Ayers was killed when Taliban forces attacked a U.S. base in Wanat on July 13.
SNELLVILLE, Ga. (MyFOX Atlanta) – A Georgia soldier who was killed while fighting in Afghanistan was laid to rest Sunday at a Snellville church. Corporal Jon Ayers was killed when Taliban forces attacked a U.S. base in Wanat on July 13.

Video: Fallen Georgia
The service was held at Zoar United Methodist Church in Snellville and was restricted to family and friends. Burial with full military honors followed at Eternal Hills Memory Gardens on Stone Mountain Highway.On Saturday, a motorcade for Corporal Ayers stretched for miles through the streets of Snellville. Young and old, citizen and veteran all gathered to pay their respects to a fallen soldier who gave his life for his country.Cpl. Ayers was killed in Afghanistan when his unit was ambushed by Taliban fighters. In all, nine soldiers died defending their post. Georgia native Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, 27, from Jasper was also killed in the attack.The other seven killed were 1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii; Sgt. Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach, Calif.; Cpl. Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle, Wash.; Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tenn.; Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, N.C.; Cpl. Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, of Florissant, Mo. and Pfc. Sergio S. Abad, 21, of Morganfield, Ky.

Just needed to blog

Just wanted to drop a line to let everyone know we are still here. Last weekend Deb was in Tennessee. She went up for work on Thursday and stayed to visit with family. I spent Saturday running errands in the morning. I picked up a lift for the motorcycles. The last time I changed the oil my back ached for days. That afternoon I took our friends Cindy and Lavada to the airport. They are on a cruise from England threw the Netherlands and then they end up in St. Petersburg Russia. They will be gone over 2 weeks. Lavada retired in May from Rockdale County Sheriff’s Department. Cindy is home from Kosovo. She has been working as a UN Peace keeper and her tour has ended.
Sunday morning I met Micah and we played golf. We got rained out after 3 holes so I came home and relaxed until Deb got home. I had to go to Jacksonville for a trade show on Monday morning and got home late Wednesday.
The picture is one I just put in for no particular reason. It was taken on my birthday shortly before I had a plunger on my head. That is a story for a later time.

See you all later.

Back to the Blue Ridge

We had a great week end. Deb and I went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway with Peg and Steve. We left on the bikes Thursday afternoon and went to Peg’s for the night. Steve cooked some steaks on the grill and Peg made an ice cream cake. Life is good. We got up and headed for the mountains on the 4th. We were staying at the Bluffs Lodge at Doughton Park. Steve and I stayed here last year and knew the girls would love it.

After we arrived Steve and I decided to go on a beer run. The sky looked bad but I said I would go and since I had taken all my bags off the bike, I would not take my rain gear. Wrong move. We got about 4 miles and the bottom dropped out. I was following Steve and his GPS told us to take a left. We did, and found our self on a 1 lane dirt road with twists and very steep inclines. The rain was as hard as any I have been in for a long time. The next thing we see is a 1949 Citroen CV2 coming the other way and not giving us much room.

At that point I had enough and headed back soaked to the bone. Steve went on. About 3 minutes after I got back here comes Steve. The road got worse and he followed my lead. At least he was in rain gear. The sky cleared and we went out to the patio to here a talk by the ranger and enjoy the big fire place. It was in the low 60’s and the fire felt great.
On Saturday we rode over to Mount Airy NC. It is the town that Mayberry was patterned after. They have a lot of the things from the show in town. (Wally’s Gas, the Snappy Dinner, and Floyds Barber shop)
They also have the old Court House set. We all got in the cells’ and sat at Andy’s Desk. The ride to Mount Airy was well worth the ride over.
The ride back to the lodge got a little messy. As we ascended to the parkway we hit some rain then rode in to the clouds. We were riding in about a 10th of a mile visibility on and off for 10 miles. You were afraid to stop for fear of someone coming up behind you. We got back and spent a second evening just enjoying the patio.
On Sunday we hit the road home. Deb and I decided to hit I85 and make some time on the way home. The weather was iffy. The traffic was not bad till we hit the GA. State line. We got off the interstate in Commerce, take the back way home, and stopped to gas up. As we got to Athens the sky opened up. That put us in a good rain for about 50 miles. That is not bad for a 1000 mile trip. See you all later.