Archive for the ‘Travelogue’ Category

Stories about the places I travel.

Windmills–Old and New

Posted by Teddy Osuch on March 27, 2012

When I left Davis, CA after my visit with Howard and Nancy, I went straight south to take a picture of a number of windmills contrasting old and new technologies. This picture is for Mary Ida.

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Nancy – Wildflowers Don’t Care Where They Grow

Posted by Teddy Osuch on March 27, 2012

Came back to Davis from Las Vegas to see Nancy Shapiro on February 28. She was out of town when I first visited Howard about two weeks earlier. Nancy is a true wildflower (meaning she can thrive anywhere) and we had just a whopping good time. We shopped for great healthy food and Nancy cooked it into incredibly delicious meals (I love yams). We dropped off the dry cleaning. We went and got new eyeglasses for me (I stepped on mine earlier in Bakersfield). We went to San Francisco and had lunch and then went to see Dr. Kang.

Dr. Kang prescribed an aggregate of herbs for Nancy. There was a two week supply that consisted of 14 bundles. Each bundle was about the size of a 16 inch softball. Each bundle was used to make two cups of tea per day. The pictures below show Nancy with the bundles and the tea.

Howard came home early from his Washington, D.C. trip. He brought really fine chocolate but wouldn’t give me any. I was glad to see him anyway. Later, I seriously considered withholding his vegan cookies but decided I would be the better man.

We went to a concert featuring Jewish folk music that evolved from various influences. Fascinating.

Howard and Nancy are two very dear friends and I truly appreciate their hospitality.

Herbs, Cats, Shapiros

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Russell and the Cathedral in the Canyon

Posted by Teddy Osuch on March 15, 2012

I went to Las Vegas to see a good friend, Russell, who I had not seen for over 25 years. Russell has a Harley-Davidson Fat Bob. We took a great ride West of Las Vegas towards Death Valley. During that ride, Russell took me to a place locally known as the “Cathedral Canyon”. Its located in the desert and you do not know it is there until you are right upon it. Over the years, the site has been vandalized but some of it still remains intact. It is said that the last Indian in Nevada is buried there. I provided a photo of a fine stand of tires someone set up to burn. The pictures following show the current state of this weird landmark.

As an interesting aside, Cathedral Canyon is near the town of Pahrump, NV. Pahrump is the location of the first brothel in Nevada. It is currently the location of the famous Chicken Ranch. There is an organized motorcycle ride there every year to celebrate the town’s history. Perhaps I will ride along to document the event.

Cathedral in the Canyon

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Vintage Motorcycle Mecca

Posted by Teddy Osuch on March 9, 2012

So 18FEB2012 I went to see my friend Howard Shapiro in Davis, CA. It was 27 years since I last saw Howard. He has a beautiful motorcycle collection. He introduced me to his friends Jerry Kaplan (the famous Norton and other vintage bike mechanic) and Mike the motorcycle (and other motorized things) collector. Mike’s motorcycle collection is housed in his private museum. You will see him in the photos. There are also some photos of the Indians and Ducati’s in Howards collection and some photos of Jerry’s collection. There were too many to post so I tried to pick out some of the more unique ones. In the first slide, Howard is the bearded one.

Howard and Jerry Show

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Valentine’s Holiday

Posted by Teddy Osuch on March 3, 2012

Melissa and Akash at the Holiday Inn Express on Valentine’s Day. Melissa was pretty damn lively! What a cutie!

Akash and Melissa

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Onward to Alice’s Restaurant

Posted by Teddy Osuch on March 3, 2012

So Jenny made a custom scenic route for me to take out of San Francisco and it was absolutely beautiful until I somehow deviated from course. I had to fuss around to regain my bearings for about 45 minutes. Then I found Highway 35 again and started the ride up the mountain to Alice’s Restaurant. Alice’s Restaurant is located at the crossroads of Highway 84 & Highway 35 in Woodside, California. It’s a popular motorcyclist destination.

Highway 35 was a mighty curvy ride which was going okay until I ran into patchy fog that became drizzle by the time I reach Alice’s. So I was slowed down during this leg of the trip too. Alice’s was warm and friendly so I decided to stay for a while. It wasn’t too busy and I met two charming young ladies there: Kendra and Sierra. It was a slow time before dinner so I struck up a conversation with them. Kendra had recently moved to California from Seattle so we had a lot to talk about. It was 45 minutes before I looked at a menu.

On the ride down after dinner, Highway 84 was almost like Highway 35: foggy and wet but 84 was dark. Scenic routes lose their allure when its dark. Like in the past, I almost wet myself on the way down the mountain. Another lesson not learned.

Sierra and Kendra

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Mad Maps

Posted by Teddy Osuch on March 2, 2012

I stopped by the Mad Maps offices in San Francisco to meet Jenny Lefferts, the founder of the company. Mad Maps are great for motorcyclists or RV enthusiasts looking for specifically mapped scenic routes around the US.

Jenny has the energy of a nuclear reactor. She took me to coffee, introduced me to Christopher Gil, Vice President – Editorial & Production, sorted and organized some maps for me, and posed for a few pictures. This all took about a half hour. Jenny then laid out a custom route for me to take towards Santa Cruz. It was a marvelous route. More about this later.