Bird 'Expressions'

Capital Casino Chips
(Yes, more than 30k - from a much better day.)

It all began innocently enough...
I was deeply involved in my usual Sunday poker tournament
At Sacramento's Capital Casino
Julieann had armed me with her typical counsel
Just before leaving home; "Be patient and good luck."

So I spend the first couple of hours practicing patience
As luck was hard to come by
Finally after the second break... in the third hour
I started catching hands

I was soon up to around 30,000 in chips
And was enjoying the momentum
Cards dealt again...maybe 90 hands into the tournament
And I was looking down at pocket Kings

I raised to ten thousand in early position
And a guy to my right, who had more chips than me
Said, "all in."
I called and he flipped pocket Aces
The rest of the cards were dealt and I didn't hit

That's the game... it happens to everyone
I wished everyone "good luck", bowed my head
And retreated to the parking lot
Where I had carefully parked the RedSled
To avoid dings from others

(The "RedSled is a 2002 Corvette with 30,000 miles on it...
Another gift from my tolerant, forgiving Babe of 42+ years)

Blackbirds were fluttering in and out of a tree

RedSled's hood in better days too
With water drops and reflections
No bird expressions

That shaded most of the Sled
And as I approached
I notice that there were a few dozen splats
Of bird crap all over the car

I resigned myself to the fact that
My streak of bad luck had not yet played out
What I mean is I put on my Forrest Gump composure
And accepted the fact that (bird) "S___ happens."

So I  headed to the nearest spray car wash...
It didn't all come off so then I headed home
To work on it some more

I carefully removed the remaining resi-doodoo
And then noticed some patterns remaining on the paint
So I brought out my heavy artillery

"Bug and tar remover" - nope
"Goo-gone" - nope
"Rubbing compound" - sort of...
So I applied 80 strokes per spot (yes I counted for consistency)
Then a final layer of wax

Still - some etching remained - a couple of dozen instances
If you looked at it from the right angle
"Uh-oh"
(perhaps I used stronger words...)
So I Googled it
Asking the almighty god of knowledge
"What to do?"
It said, "clay bar"
I tried it - nope


Note: Along the (Google) way.
I also discovered that Red is the favorite color for 
Birds to 'express' themselves on - go figure.


I am now out of home remedies
So next stop - body shop
To see what I can see about professional buffing
Besides, I dropped a ladder on it not long ago
And put some dings in the hood,
Need a pro to fix that too
But that's another story

Through it all I am still practicing Julie's advice,
At least the "be patient" part.

Cards in the Air!

Load of coffee

A few Google maps

Rental car, full tank

Free weekend

To roam the South

Plot a course

Skirt the Appalachians

North past Manassas

Past Harpers Ferry

To Charles Town, West Virginia

Historical names of substance to stir the curiosity

Through countryside

Horse country – estates large and small

Farm country – corn tall and turning color

Almost ready for harvest

So green… no drought here…

America the beautiful as only it can be

Poker tournament at the Hollywood Casino

Poker room at Charles Town's Hollywood Casino

In Charles Town West Virginia

Plunk down hefty entry fee

Worth it

After all, how many times in life?

Not many casinos out this way either

Players from all walks

Just like the Sacramento bunch

Just like the Harrahs, New Orleans bunch

Just like the Reno bunch

Just like the Beau Rivage Biloxi bunch

“Cards in the air.”*

The signal to get the tournament rolling

Hitting slow, missing draws

Stack whittles down

Finally a double up against an “all-in”

Finally a quarter of us left

Almost at the money “final” table

Stacks and wagers get bigger

Still just hanging in

To eleventh (the famous “bubble”) then tap out

On a bad beat … The cards falling where they may

Five hours of concentration

Tempting chance

Shuffling chips

Squeezing cards

This great restaurant in old town Winchester, Virginia

Comfort on the felt, with the surroundings

The vast majority of players being

By and large good sports

Overnight at Winchester, Virginia

Dinner in old town Winchester

Chanced upon Italian restaurant

The “Violino Restorante Italiano”

All the authentic trappings

Including the all important

Real Italian chef: Franco Stocco
(http://www.violinorestaurant.com)

A truly memorable dinner

I corralled Franco to tell him so

Found out he rides Harley’s too

(He mentioned it after noting my perennial HD t-shirt)

We talked a while…animated

Owner/chef opera singer
and
fellow Harley enthusiast Franco Stocco.

Food and Harleys in common

Plan A was another tournament there

The next day

But it started late

I wanted to leave enough time to get back

To my current gig in Raleigh

Plan B was to take a slow ride

On the Blue Ridge Parkway and thereabouts

A slow ride back

Weather forecast a lot of rain

What would be to see?

Plan C was route back

Through Richmond

Hit a few Harley dealers

Shirt and dealer pin check

Sniff leather, ogle chrome

Get my proverbial fanatic card punched

It was C

Three more pins for my famous corkboard collection

(What will become of that pin packed board in the end?

Who would want it?  Gotta’ quit building it.)

Return through a couple of bouts of hard rain

So hard we were creeping along the freeway

Emergency lights flashing

Finally back in time for dinner

A weekend adventure worth noting?… well, yea.....!

A harvest of great food, pins, chips and memories


*"Cards in the air" is a phrase used by pit bosses and commentators to signal the beginning of tournament play. Another common expression is; "Shuffle up and deal."

HOG Runnin' Sweet...

... as a maraschino cherry.
Sacramento to Reno's
2012 biker event, "Street Vibrations"

Just got off a project in the Carolinas 
So all I could make was the last day

A two hour run
Getting some wrinkles out
Of the Harley and me
After a couple months of inactivity

Partly cloudy, partly overcast day
Perfect riding weather
Not too hot.  Not too cold.

Chaps and jacket for the cold
Over Donner pass
Then lose a layer in the high Sierra Nevada desert
That envelops Reno

Reno area has three major vendor exhibit areas
Reno Harley Davidson dealer "Chester's": A mile or so out of town
Sparks, Nevada:  A couple miles out near the Nugget casino
Downtown Reno:  Main drag, Virginia Street
Closed off for foot traffic, booths, tractor/trailers
And a visitor from Sacramento

There are a lot of people here for the last day, a Sunday
No sign of the recession I am thinking
Judging from experience at this event over the years

Silver Legacy - replica of full working mine
inside that dome

Got a good, cheap room at the Silver Legacy for the night
So I have plenty of time to rubberneck
Accompanied by a fine stogie
Enjoying the great weather
All the chrome and leather eye candy
The outdoor bands
And some of the great junk food

Later, I join the players
Mostly locals
For a friendly Texas Hold'em game
At the El Dorado casino next to the Legacy

There is an elder gentleman (no, not me)
Who is there every time I attend
A fine silver mane
A lean figure
Who dresses in shirt, slacks and sportcoat
With just a little bling, a small cross on chain
Worn outside mock turtle

I always compliment him
As consistently the best dressed poker player
I have come across

I stick in the game a few hours
And finally quit when I am a few bucks ahead
He compliments me; "You are a good player."
I return the compliment.

Next day back to Sacramento
Via the longer but more scenic way

Highway 50 sweepers near Spooner summit

Through Carson City and Lake Tahoe

I have written before about the
Thirty or so mile run between those two towns
Half of it includes a stretch of long, gentle curves "Sweepers" up the mountain
To Spooner's summit
Speed limit there is "50"
That is for cars though

On a big Harley bagger it is very comfortable at 70
Tucking those handle bars inside each corner
Matching the natural rhythm the mountain offers
It unfolds as a ballet between rock, metal, pavement and man
The music that ties it being the bagger's pipes
We all work it together