Suzanne's Blog: Day 9 - Ready to roll!

The first task of the day was getting out to the motorcycle dealership to see if they had a tire in stock and could install it today. We had been brainstorming multiple contingency plans if we couldn't get it fixed today - this was the only shop in the area that was open today. All of our worries were for naught though; we hit the jackpot and they had a tire in stock and an open bay to work on it! We had an hour and a half to kill until it would be done so Dad, Margo, and I went to Starbucks for coffee and then took a brief tour of the area - lots of development going on, which doesn't always go over well with the locals. Some people here want to preserve the Colorado they grew up with and have taken to putting (Colorado) "Native" decals on their cars, along with "No Vacancy" decals that look like the green and white Colorado license plates.

We were a little early getting back to the shop so we browsed a bit - I was hoping to find a 3/4 length riding jacket like the one I borrowed (thanks LaVerne Miers-Bond!) but most of what they had was shorter racing-style jackets, and none in the hi-viz yellow I wanted. I had ordered a Tourmaster jacket on the way out here and had it shipped to my dad's but it was too small and I had to send it back to exchange it. It won't be here in time for this trip, but it might be waiting for me by the time I get back home to Maryland.

When my bike was done, I followed Dad and Margo back to the house, and shortly afterwards Margo and I took the truck and left for Johnstown, CO to visit with her Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bob. We had not realized the last time we were out here how close they lived to my dad, and when we saw them in June for their daughter's wedding, we had made plans to get together on this trip. We had a lovely lunch with them at their house in Johnstown, with the added bonus of visiting with their grandkids, Caden (12) and Grace (4), whom we had met at the wedding in June. Grace immediately took to Margo and wanted her to read a story, more than once! So adorable! A quick stop at the Johnstown post office to mail my jacket back and we were on our way back to Loveland. Now we are all packed and ready to roll tomorrow morning! Next stop...Riverton, WY.