bye bye 2008 hello 2009

Larry and I spent New Years Eve day cooking.

Larry has been busy slow roasting about twenty-five pounds of pork tenderloin that he will turn into barbeque pulled pork sandwiches. I have been simmering almost four gallons of tortilla soup since Monday afternoon. We are expecting anywhere from twenty to thirty people for lunch on New Year's day.

I was going to try a new soup this year but heard so many positive comments from last year, and the fact that the two gallons I fixed last year were gone before either Larry or I could sample a bowl, helped us make decision for this year’s menu.

New Year's evening we went to Patti and Mike Hoelzles home for a party with a lot of our friends attending. We took shrimp with a red cocktail sauce, and egg rolls for appetizers, to share with the group. Lots of laughter and good cheer with people you care about is the best way to celebrate any occasion. Patti and Mike set up the Nintendo wii and several of us tried to hula hoop and quickly realized that we weren’t kids with unending energy levels any more. I haven’t seen it but know there is a picture of me on someone’s camera phone swinging my hips in simulation to using the wii hula hoop. Wonder what it will cost me to buy it back? Next several of the group played a friendly game of bowling. Patty Price said something about not being good at bowling and then proceeded to bowl a 226 game with five straight strikes. Looks like Mike and Patty P. will be shopping for a new game system soon. Larry says we will be, too.

On New Year's Day the Mt. Baker Chapter Harley Owners Group arrived at our home for the 3rd annual Frosty Fingers ride for a hot home cooked lunch about 11:00 AM. When I got up about 5:30 AM to check the tortilla soup that had been simmering for two days, I looked out the kitchen window to see a white blanket covering the backyard. Three inches of snow by morning and while most of the county was dry and clear, there was no way the bikes would make it up our road and driveway.

Everyone on bikes headed home to switch to a cage (car or truck) and soon the house was full of friends. The coffee was hot and ready and all the group had to do was serve up their food and find a place to sit down and eat. Most of the guys headed off to the newly redecorated study with the big screen TV to watch a football game. The dinning room table was full and those who really wanted to relax, kicked back in the living room. We had several kinds of cookies, chocolate covered cherries, and M&M’s for dessert, and soda for the non coffee drinkers.

What a nice way to start the New Year with good friends and good food. My new year’s resolution is really a wish, a wish for good riding weather, warm weather to ride in, and more memories of rides with friends...in nice, warm weather!

Christmas with the Harley Group

The annual Mt. Baker Chapter Christmas party was held at the Bellingham Country Club on Friday December 19th, 2008. Fifty-two members and guests attended and we all had a rockin’ good time.

The weather was freezing at around twenty-two degrees outside while we were toasty at seventy-four or so degrees inside. The Ladies were wearing satin, lace, cashmere, and silk in red, black, blue, green, purple, and silver, with sparkles, glitter, rhinestones, and bling from top to bottom. The guys wore tuxes, suits, sport coats, jeans, casual shirts, and that was okay because the Ladies wanted them to be comfortable and happy.

Everyone who wanted to participate brought a wrapped gift labeled for a man or a woman and then placed it where they were seated. Someone could come along and steal the gift and leave theirs and you could do the same. This went on through social hour and dinner before Miss Rita said stop and whatever you had in front of you, you got to open and keep. I had a $15.00 Starbucks gift card and Larry had Harley coaster. What fun and great gifts.

We had a Charlie Brown tree that members could attach money to and received a ticket for a drawing to win a $100.00 gift certificate for H-D Bellingham. “Mr. Lucky” Dave McNeill won the prize. The money collected will be given to the local food bank.

A couple of months ago, Mike G. brought a special bottle of Jack Daniels Bourbon to a chapter meeting to auction off with the proceeds going to our chapter scholarship fund. My hubby was the high bidder at $250 and then took it to the Christmas party, unopened, to share with the rest of the members—at $20 a shot with these proceeds also going to the scholarship fund. The bottle raised another $280 at the party. So Mike’s bottle will pay for over ½ the cost of one of our $1,000 scholarships.

Dave and Mark were inducted into the Bun Man Club for flipping hotdogs at a Ladies of Harley fundraiser to earn tip money for our charities. They each received a gift bag with…what else? Hotdog buns.

Dinner was a magnificent feast of prime rib and barbequed chicken with several different green salads, orzo salad, wild rice, grilled vegetables, roasted potatoes, green beans and rolls; it not only looked great it tasted wonderful. Rita provided a wonderful array of desserts including a five layer chocolate cake, pumpkin cheesecake, Boston cream pie, apple pie, cookies, and more. At the end of the evening the dessert table looked deserted.

A few drinks to be merry, a filling dinner to make us content, and we were ready for the entertainment. Lorraine, Shelia, Rita, Angie, Patti, Cis, Lisa, Jeannie, and myself paraded across the dance floor in our shoes, twirling, dancing, and flirting with the judges as they checked out the “killer heels”. There was a lot riding on this contest, a gift certificate to the Chrysalis Inn & Spa for a pedicure. Those who had already paraded before the judges gave back rubs to the judges hoping to influence their vote. When it came down to the end it was a tie between Shelia and Lisa. They had one last chance to prance and dance for the judges and still it was a tie. Again, our big hearted guy Dave Mc stepped up and threw in a second gift certificate and both Lisa and Shelia are this year’s co-winners of the “killer heels” contest.

Jeannie gathered a basket full of wine, coffee, Harley mugs, chocolates, and too many more goodies to name that was raffled off to members who brought a $5.00 gift to donate to WomenCare Shelter or donated $5.00 cash. Of course most people donated more to get receive extra tickets for a chance at the basket. My own hubby Larry was the winner of this heavy basket and I am sure we will be enjoying the goodies for some time.

So after all the shoes, the gifts, the raffles, the special awards, all we had left to do was “get down”. It was party time and the music was rockin’. Some of the guys just don’t enjoy dancing unless their arms are twisted but the Ladies don’t mind. We’ll dance with each other or join in with another couple. Pretty soon we were one big happy group moving to the beat and working off the desserts.

It was an evening to remember and if you check the website, www.mtabkerhog.com you will find pictures of the members smiling and enjoying themselves.

Next up, the Frosty Fingers ride on 01-01-2009. See you there.

What goes on in Washington Stays in Washington...But nothing ever happens in Washington...Or does it?

Well I am just back from the Mt. Baker Chapter Harley Owners Group ride to Republic, Washington and it was a blast. Start to finish, those that planned the ride, led the ride, and swept up after the group did an amazing job. We went in three groups with a chase vehicle to carry cold water and soda. One group headed to Republic via the Canadian route and the rest of us headed over highway 20 to Twisp for lunch before riding into Republic. We were surprised riding out of town to find Kaye and Rob on an overpass taking our pictures as we rode down the highway

All three groups arrived with an hour of each other and when the kickstands went down the real fun began. We sat outside soaking up the sunshine and warmth, having a cold drink or two and wondering what to do for dinner in a town with only one restaurant open on the 4th of July. We pooled our money and arranged for seventy –five hamburgers to be delivered. Angie assigned Mark, Lois, and me to take the rest of the cash with a shopping list and find the rest of the items for dinner at the grocery store up the street. How much fun can a grocery store be right before closing? Not as much fun as it is to walk back three blocks with the grocery cart to find your whole group hooting and hollering in laughter to see us coming. Money left over so what do? Bob returned the cart and brought back more cold stuff to drink leaving the store dry for the weekend.

The day rides were leaving at eight o’clock the next morning but no one wanted to go to bed. It was too much fun to be able to sit outside at 11:00 o’clock at night and not need a coat or rain jacket.

Everyone split up into two groups the next morning for different destinations and our group encountered over fifteen deer in the morning, ran with the unfenced baby bulls right next to the road, we were dazzled by butterflies, and had our share of wild turkeys. We took a ferry across the lake and had lunch at a quaint little fishing resort at Twin Lakes. We did about one hundred and sixty-five miles that day and it was time well spent with friends. We arrived back in time for some of us to get a nap before dinner.

It was Dave M’s birthday and Lorie secretly arranged a cake for his birthday to have after dinner. We had dinner up the street at the local bar, and yes we did eat at the bar. Some of the group retired to the conference room for a game of poker. The rest of the group retired to parking lot which we had taken over with tables and chairs to watch the evening sunset when someone suggested Karaoke back at the bar.

Part of the group remained around the tables talking and relaxing and the rest of the group headed up the street. We had a secret weapon. We had Mark. Little did we know we also had other talent in our group? Mark wowed the group with his first song and the crowd--that was us-- went wild. Mark did several songs while we were there and each time everyone was just amazed by his voice. The locals sang but they just didn’t know what hit them when our Harley group showed up in town. One of the regulars looked at us and said you aren’t from around here are you? The comment from our group was, ”We just rode in.” The night was beginning to get late when Sheila and Bill brought the house down with “born to be wild”. By this time, part of the poker group had shown up so we really did have a good cheering section. That was it; we left a few hangers on from our group behind and most of us headed home to the motel.

A couple of the group rolled out at six o’clock on Sunday morning to get back in time to catch a plane, and the rest of us were on the road by eight o’clock headed to Coulee Dam, Twisp for lunch, and then home. The last surprise of the ride was finding Kaye and Rob waiting for us at Diablo Dam overlook taking pictures of the group as we pulled in to take a break.

A mini vacation with thirty of your friends might seem overwhelming to some people but to our chapter and friends it is just a regular occurrence and another chance to ride and have fun.

I went to POT in Las Vegas

Mt Baker Chapter H.O.G. Bellingham, WA
www.mtbakerhog.com
Billie Marrs – Director
Monthly meeting - 3rd Thursday, 5:30 PM
Bellingham Country Club
3729 Meridian St
Bellingham, WA 98225

I am so excited. I just returned from Las Vegas where I attended Primary Officers Training (POT) for my local chapter of the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.). I attended for the first time last year and it was incredible walking around the MGM Grand with 850 other bikers all attired in denim and leather and all carrying our black POT briefcases.

This year POT was located at the Red Rock Casino and there were seven members from our chapter attending, Angie, Rick, Dave, Rita, Shelia, Bob, and myself. Bob and Shelia will arrive early to have a few extra vacation days. Angie, Rick, Dave, and Rita arrived on Thursday in time to relax, and enjoy some play time before POT began.

I also arrive early to see my daughter Kelly who attends school at UNLV and works at Hooters. I have sort of adopted her roommate Kelly W.as our new daughter in the family along with her three children as my only grandchildren. I do plan on spoiling them a little.

What does POT cost our chapter to send us? Nothing! Each of the officers pays their own way and their own expenses. What are the benefits to the chapter and members? We were each allowed to select six classes to attend during the two days we are there. The classes cover everything from risk management, leading the chapter, succeeding with volunteers, creating events, communicating with impact, and many more.

This may not sound like a full day but when you arrive for breakfast at 6:00 AM and classes aren’t over until about 4:30 PM you have had a full day. We were looking for new ideas that we can learn from H.O.G. national or ideas we borrow from other chapters on how to improve what we are already doing or trying something new. We also had a chance to share what our chapter is doing about rides, events, safety, meetings, newsletters, etc. We will shared what we learn with the other officers at our next officer meeting and how we can best utilize this information and then share it with the chapter members. As a chapter we continue to grow and knowledge to build a stronger chapter is always a “good thing”.

We all had stacks of our business cards printed and I took about fifty copies of our latest newsletter to post and share with other chapters. We also collected newsletters from other chapters as a way of discovering new ideas. Last year Angie saw a brochure from another chapter and they shared a copy with her and we revised our chapter brochure based on this design.

Many of the members in our chapter have other hobbies but owning a Harley is the one we all have in common, the one that brought us together from our different backgrounds. We don’t just ride bikes together, we have become friends, and we have become family. When you buy a Harley you haven’t just purchased a motorcycle you have been adopted into the H.O.G. family and I think my branch of the HOG family is the best.

My friends flew home but I stayed in Vegas soaking up the sunshine, spending time with my daughter, basking in the sunshine, shopping, sun, warmth, heat, sun, sun, sun. I came home because there is a full calendar of rides and events that I want to be a part of so I’ll just put on warm clothes and ride with my family. Besides we are riding to the eastside twice during the summer and it will be warm on the other side of the mountains.

Nominations, Election, Results

The nominations and elections are over and I am going to be the new director of the Mt. Baker Chapter Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) in 2008. This is pretty exciting to me. I would have never have imagined when Larry and I bought our first Harley together how important it would become in our lives.

Christmas 1999 found a shinny chrome yellow Heritage Softail under the tree. Well not under the tree but in the shop behind the house. My kids were all excited and laughing that mom was going to be wearing black leathers and they could hardly wait to tell my old friends from CA about it. That was only the beginning.

In 2001 Larry became director of the chapter (he was the first assistant director when the chapter was formed back in 1991) and I became the Ladies of Harley LOH officer. We were a very small chapter of only 40+ members and only about 12-15 actually attending meetings. Since then I have been the chapter photographer, historian, secretary, membership officer, assistant director, and the 2007 WA state rally events coordinator.

I have a wonderful group of officers/friends (Rick, Angie, Vern, Rita, Jeannie, Dave B., Dave M., Dave J., Shelia, Martha, Bob, Mike S., Art, Mike G., Sherry, and Larry) who will serve with me as a team and together I know next year will be a great year filled with rides, events, and lots of fun for our chapter members. The members aren’t just members; they are part of my family. I care about them, worry about them, and truly enjoy being with them. Without a Harley I might never have met them and my life would be so much poorer without this group.

An Escort for a Soldier

On September 15th my fellow H.O.G. members participated in our annual “Iron Butt Ride” of 12.2 miles for charity. This was our was our 7th year and the money we raise goes to our scholarship charity that we award to a local graduating senior each year who lives in our county and has a relative who owns a Harley-Davidson. We had a lot of fun and my husband got real lucky and won the 50/50 raffle. Momma wants a new pair of shoes (notice I didn’t say I need a new pair of shoes).

We finished up the raffles and drawings quickly to stay on time because we had another important event to participate in. Several weeks ago two of our members ask if anyone would like to ride their bikes and help escort their son Tony who was returning home with his Stryker brigade from a fifteen month tour in Iraq. We arrived at the rest stop with thirty bikes and at least forty people when you count those riding two up.

Angie had contacted the Combat Vets and they arrived with a group to lead the escort and several other local chapters notified their members and we had sixty bikes for the escort waiting for Tony to arrive. Surprise--because Marla and Bill told their son they would meet him there but didn’t tell him that all these bikers would be waiting to cheer him home. You see Tony bought a Harley while he was in Iraq and he will take delivery of it October 5th and will become our newest H.O.G. member in the chapter.

All we could do was visit with friends and wait. Someone yelled, “here he is” and the look on his face was like, “where I am going to park my vehicle with all these bikes taking up the spaces?” Then people were calling out his name and waving and the look on Tony’s face was stunned silence. Marla had tears coming down her cheeks to see her son home safe. We gave the family a few moments for welcoming hugs and the Combat Vets then greeted their brother with hand shakes and hugs. Slowly most of the crowd also moved forward to either shake Tony’s hand, hug him, or both.

Mike S. was there with his trusty camera and wide angle lens for a few groups shots before we pulled out and headed up the highway. Several of the bikes with the Combat Vets lead the vehicle Tony was driving with his wife and baby. His family and the rest of the bikes fell into a staggered riding formation stretching out for almost a mile down the freeway. Riding farther back in the pack and sitting elevated on what everyone refers to as a “princess seat” on our ultra classic I had a view of the entire procession ahead of us when we hit the dips and twists. Quite impressive! I am sure the motorists who passed us wondered why there were so many of us and where we were going. Mike had gone ahead of us and was stationed on an overpass to take some shots of the escort parade coming into town.

We ended the ride in Bellingham at a park where everyone could visit and do some more picture taking. Bill spoke on behalf of the family and thanked everyone for making this surprise welcome home for Tony and his family a very special event. Bill also asked that we remember those who have not returned home alive and to remember those still serving their country.

Mike and Miss Patti had a large oversized flag attached to their bike all day and it was quit a sight waving behind their bike. At the park Mike presented Tony with the flag as a remembrance of his escort home.

I have always told my kids that you are born into a family and that in life you also have others who become your family. This HOG group is my family. Thank you Marla and Bill for inviting the HOG family to become a part of your family and sharing such a precious memory with us.