Me and the boy

On the 16th, Yeni and I headed to the Glendale Harley-Davidson with David Duffett, and rented a couple of bikes. We headed north through some amazing country that well, I’d only seen in pictures. We saw cactus, we drove by mountains that looked like Big Thunder, and had a great meal at a dive off the beaten path. More importantly, we got to ride with David, who although it was the first time I had ridden with him, felt like we’d been riding together for years.

Here’s a few movies…

The trip to Albany was amazing and covered parts of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Cities included Toledo, Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany. Normally, when traveling on the Interstate, you really don’t get to see much, and with this trip, we set that as our expectation. Gladly, we were wrong. I had never been West of Albany (yes, I’m one of those type of New Yorker’s) and the scenery simply amazed us. From the rolling hills and mountains to the lakes and rivers, the trip east absolutely provided some great views of the country.

While in Albany, Yeni and I enjoyed great food, great company, and a great time. The weather was slightly more wet than we had hoped, but being surrounded by family is like having a sunny day regardless of weather.

The trip home allowed Yeni to experience riding the Harley through some heavy rain. When we hit the Cleveland area, the sun came out and we enjoyed great weather until we reached the Ohio turnpike — where a very strong wind decided to throw us around until we made it home. Despite the rain and heavy wind, the ride was great and we’re looking forward to the next one.

Total miles: 1302

More pics...

Yeni and I just got back from a quick trip to Chicago… visiting her brother as well as celebrating our first month of married life.

It was a short drive (few hours) from Michigan to Chicago, and figuring the parking in Chicago would be interesting, we chose to take the Versa instead of the Expedition. Although, if we hadn’t have needed the trunk space, taking the Harley would have been much more fun. The more highway driving I do, the less I love Michigan roads. It’s funny too, as the second we hit Indiana, the road just smoothed out and we just smiled. Then, when you hit Chicago, well… welcome back “holes in the floor.”

Coming up this week… some Twitter coding, more Asterisk work, and if all goes well, a motorcycle ride up the east coast of Michigan with the wife (We have a new bluetooth headset to test as well as a trip to Albany to prepare for)

Benjamin Franklin

I’ve always liked Mr. Franklin. Some think he’s the only non-president on money… but those people probably think Mr. Hamilton was once a president. Anyway, Benjamin Franklin is perhaps my favorite American in history. I love his quotes and many of his thoughts can guide us still today.

Today’s the following Benjamin Franklin quote comes to mind:

It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.

Which brings us to…

Ann Arbor Parking

Ok, although I’ve lived in Florida for the past 20 years (and love it), my family is traditionally northern in attitude and heritage. Often my love of Florida is mocked with southern jokes and generalizations. And if Florida somehow makes the news, my phone won’t stop ringing. I still get ribbed over Elian Gonzalez, the 2000 election, Terry Schiavo, and more.

But what does Florida have to do with Ann Arbor Parking? Two words: Sunshine Law. The Sunshine Law provides public access to government (no closed doors, let in the “Sunshine”) and Florida takes this very seriously. Besides criminal and civil penalties for violating the Sunshine Law, it has become such a part of Floridan culture that it’s hard to imagine not getting easy access to public information. After all, this is why the news loves Florida. If something happens in the Sunshine State, it happens in the Sunshine.

Enter the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. This publicly funded group receives their budget from taxes and parking fees. Oh, they also think I’m a security concern.

Yes, even though I have a very clean background (just ask the FBI), the A2DDA thinks I pose a security risk and have blocked my access to their website.

When I look at the list of things that my mom can be proud of, I think:

• Court expert on DUI and Marijuana
• Firearm “incident” in Gainesville
• and now, Security Risk to the Ann Arbor DDA

Thank you DDA for your hard work, and for bringing to mind this other Benjamin Franklin quote:

“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid”

Which brings us to… (if you want to see more details on Fred vs. the DDA, click here)

Motorcycles

The weather in Ann Arbor warmed up enough to remove the ice and snow from the roads. And it’s been so long since I’ve seen a salt truck that Yeni and I decided to go for a quick ride on Saturday.

It was the first time I was able to ride since December and it took all the stress right from my face, replacing it with a smile.

Fred with Bear in Montgomery, MI

I learned that Colombian tradition places a lot of emphasis on Christmas Eve.

Last night, after eating tamales and playing Wii at Michael’s, Yeni’s family and I returned to the house, ate more tamales with friends, and then opened presents. I received some excellent presents this year, including Spider-man trinkets and a new Harley outfit for the bear.

We crashed very late and woke up to find much of Ann Arbor closed. The snow had let up and the roads, although icy, were mostly clear — so Yeni and I loaded up the family in the truck and headed outside the house.

Earlier in the year, Yeni and I stumbled upon a great little area called Chelsea (during one of the Harley rides we could take before riding the Harley would result in severe frost pain). We thought it would be great to show everyone this quaint little town and took the very long way through some Michigan side roads. After detouring through Saline and Montgomery, we arrived in Chelsea. We played in the snow for a while, looked at the Jiffy Mix factory, and headed back to Ann Arbor.

Yeni playing Wii

Back in town, I introduced Yeni’s family to my family’s Christmas traditions — and headed to Great Lakes Chinese Restaurant. We sat at the last available table and it was standing room only for those unlucky soles who arrived just minutes after us. The place was packed, and after finishing our delicious meal, we headed back to Michael’s for some more Wii action.

A lovely day.

Fred with family at Thanksgiving

Good morning world and welcome to the snowed in Monday morning edition of Fred Posner dot com. Let’s discuss the weekend…

Not much happened. Let’s see, in random order:

• Yeni and I had Pizza so good I reactivated Fat Freddy Says
• The Gators beat Alabama and are headed to Miami for the Championship Game
• My Harley is back from the dealer… and is pretty much packed away until March (but sounds GREAT with my new pipes)
• Thanksgiving Pictures were posted
• Blogged about an idiotic FBI Warning
• Yeni and I started on the Holiday Vegitation
• and the Chicago Tribune filed for bankruptcy.

And how’s your day? Feel free to comment

Fred enjoying Dunkin' Donuts

Yeni and I started early — very early — Saturday morning. After loading the truck and topping off the tank, we hit I-94 somewhere around 4 am. It was BEYOND cold with the truck showing outside temperatures ranging from 10 – 15 degrees. Normally, I make as few stops as humanly possible; combing fuel stops with rest breaks (and yes, “rest breaks” means exactly what it sounds like). I learned quickly, that while traveling with someone else (aka Yeni) brings great joy, it also requires more frequent “rest breaks.”

Our first break was near Dayton, OH. Finding a Dunkin’ Donuts, we stopped for “rest,” coffee, and an egg bagel. Mmmm, egg bagel. After topping off the tank, we heading back on the highway hitting a major traffic jam in Cincinnati, OH. After staying in place for the better part of an hour, we were able to cross the bridge, enter Kentucky, and put Ohio behind us.

When we reached Lexington, KY, we got off the main road and visited a college friend of Yeni’s (Maria Fernanda and her husband Diego). After a nice visit and a great breakfast, we dropped Mafe at the Univeristy of Kentucky and continued south. I’d never been to the University, and it’s always nice to visit a place where the Gators have dominated (this year we destroyed Kentucky, but that was a home game).

My favorite part of driving to/from Michigan is the leg from Lexington, KY to Knoxville, TN. The trip takes you through the Cumberland Mountains (southeastern section of the Appalachian Mountains) and provides beautiful climbs, views, and scenery. Although best experienced riding on a Harley, the trip is still enjoyable from the truck.

Little Lil puts a smile on Fred's face

After reaching Knoxville, we called my good friend Patrick and met with him, his daughter, and wife (Jessi) at a local Italian restaurant. It was great to see their family and playing with lil’ Lil put a big smile on my face. After eating some pasta, rolls, and cannoli , we were back on the road — this time with Yeni at the wheel.

Chattanooga is only a few miles north of Georgia, and the drive through Georgia is long; very long. Did we mention construction? Georgia’s I-75 passage can be described in three words: Pecans, Outlets, Construction. Despite being on the road for more than 20 hours, Yeni was determined to drive through Georgia by herself. She made creative efforts to stay alert, such as talking to the GPS device, counting Juanes songs, and singing.

We reached Florida around 2am and I took over the wheel. When we arrived to the house in Gainesville, Yeni wisely suggested we inflate the bed, grab some shuteye, and rest for a few hours. We rested until around 7 am, loaded Grandma’s chandelier into the truck, grabbed breakfast at DD, and hit the road. Yeni had never seen Florida’s west coast or the Everglades, so I decided to take I-75 straight through to Fort Lauderdale.

Spider-bear at the Gulf of Mexico

When we reached Tampa, we took I-275 to visit the Tampa Bay and see the ocean. I-275 takes you over the Sunshine Skyway bridge (the world’s longest cable bridge) and the ocean view provides a great contrast to the snow we woke up to on the previous morning. Yeni seemed to enjoy the ocean, and Spider-bear was excited to play on the rocks (during one of the “rest” stops).

We continued driving (well, I drove while Yeni napped), and after crossing the Everglades reached the Casa de Parientes. I cannot wait for the rest of the family to arrive and celebrate my favorite holiday.

Yeni sleeps in the Everglades

So, this is November and tomorrow morning we may very well have a new President-elect. This year I voted for… oh yeah, I didn’t get to vote. What? Huh? Why?

Atypically, I will make this a short story.

I moved this year. I’m no longer a registered voter in Alachua County, Florida and instead am registered in Broward County, Florida. I knew I’d be in Michigan so I requested an absentee ballot and had them send it to me in Ann Arbor. Well, the US Postal Service decided that I should not vote this year. Instead of delivering the ballot to me, they delivered it to my neighbor.

My neighbor nicely (albeit somewhat tardily) came to the apartment and returned my ballot. Unfortunately, since it was Monday after 5pm, I was unable to send it for a Tuesday delivery as required by Florida law.

So, that’s how Fred didn’t get to vote in 2008. I feel saddened as I really wanted to vote for Sheriff Al Lamberti. I think he’s a good Sheriff and wanted to give him my vote. Anyway…

So, what am I most looking forward to on Wednesday after election day? Hopefully picking up my Harley from the shop. Oooooh… new pipes.

Ricardo was a great friend.

Normally, I look forward to celebrating 2 days every year — my birthday and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a religious event for me. The combination of family and friends gathered to celebrate thanks brings me more satisfaction than any other time of the year. Normally I reflect on the past year and use those thoughts to write a special “Thanksgiving Message.” It truly is my favorite day of the year.

Followed closely to Thanksgiving, but for completely selfish reasons, is my birthday. I just love to selfishly enjoy 1 day a year where I can eat what I want, go where I want, and truly put the priority on me. Sometimes, the celebrations provide amazing memories. Others are filled with different emotions. Typically, I would head down to South Florida and enjoy Paglia e Fieno with my parents — my favorite meal cooked by my favorite chef (aka Dad). With Ricardo’s passing, this year would be one of those “different” days.

After feeling (for obvious reasons) very, very down for a few days, I rented a big ol’ 6×12 trailer from U-Haul and had my good buddy Joe help me load the King Size mattress into the rather tight accommodations (let’s just be thankful there were no cameras). I headed north Saturday morning and was a little nervous about pulling the trailer through the mountains. Surprisingly, I averaged more than 13 mpg the entire trip and the truck handled very well. I do like my truck. The speed was slow, and other than spending a few minutes catching up with Patrick (at a gas station in Tennessee), the trip was uneventful.

Sunday morning, Mikey came over and helped Yeni and me unload the truck. It went very quickly, but OMFG it is beyond cold here for October. The sleeveless shirt I was wearing in Florida became entirely inappropriate in Michigan. We celebrated my birthday at a Chinese buffet and enjoyed a great cookie-cake that Yeni had gotten for me (complete with a frosted spider-man riding a frosted Harley).

Monday witnessed me getting an oil change where the mechanic had to do a double-take on my engine coolant (apparently he had never seen non-winter engine coolant). A quick coolant flush later, and I was on my way.

It feels great to be here. I’m hoping to have about another week or so left on the Harley before I have to winterize her… and that’s all I have to say about that.

Truck and trailer in Tenn

But then there’s the other side of the story. The truck gets horrid mileage, True. But, the truck has space to load with boxes. And I can talk on the phone and drive. AND… thanks to the new plugin, I can even blog from the road.

So the plan… at least one blog post per state.

Let’s see how it goes. The goal is to leave Saturday morning at 6:00 am. Ugh.

New York City

After spending the weekend in Oregon with my family, Yeni and I joined my parents and cousins in New York City for a great weekend. Yeni had never visited New York before, and we tried to shove as much touristy goodness in 48 hours as could be humanly possible. What did we do? We went to Times Square, rode the Subways, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, checked out the Statue of Liberty, whispered in Grand Central Station, walked all through Central Park, saw a Squirrel-Rat, visited Lincoln Center, the Museum of Natural History, and shared an ice cream in Brooklyn Heights.

Not shabby, huh? We snapped a lot of pictures, and have them posted at my Picasa page. The weekend it self was amazing. The trip home sucked. Let me sum it up in three words: US Airways Sucks. How much do they suck? The enormity of their suckitude is beyond all knows means of measure. Comparable to a black hole, they simply do not allow any intelligent thought to escape.

Scheduled to fly from Newark to Gainesville, Yeni and I took a cab from Carnegie Hall through the Lincoln Tunnel and into Jersey. All was well until we parted ways and I headed to my gate. All of the gate displays for US Airways were down and periodic announcements informed passengers of flight status. My flight was delayed; but we were told that there was no reason to worry and I’d make my connection. Well, they lied. Two hours after my flight was scheduled to fly, they cancelled it. And since it was now after 6pm, all remaining flights were booked. I was stuck in Newark and even worse… they weren’t helping me schedule a new flight. I had to grab a hotel and well… made it home 36 hours later. (The cheaper flight from Newark ended up being not so cheap) Long story short? US Airways sucks and I’ll gladly pay more to use another airline.

July 4th Weekend

I’ve always dreamed of taking the Harley on a long ride. My two dream rides are still the 48 states in 48 days ride and the Forrest Run. For the Forrest run, I want to pack up Forrest with me and drive from one ocean to the other… turn around… ride to the ocean again… and then repeat until done. The 48 states run will be at least one meal in the 48 continental states. Anyway, I digress…

So, the lease on the Ann Arbor apartment started in early July. I of course wanted to be there to help and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to put some more miles on the bike. For the first time in 8 years, I put in for vacation time, packed up the bike, and headed on the road.

The trip should have been around 1000 miles. My good friends Patrick and Jessi live in Chattanooga, Tennesse – which ended up being just under half way. So the plan was to go to Chattanooga, eat dinner, spend the night, and continue on in the morning. Once I hit north of Atlanta, I could make out Blue mountain peaks in the distance and my heart just started beating a little harder. It was absolutely beautiful. The hills were so colorful, the road smelled like an air freshener, and I had to slow down just to take it all in. Just riding to Patrick’s house on the windy inclined road was amazing. The country was so beautiful that I added an hour to my trip taking the scenic route back to the highway.

From Chattanooga, I headed north and rode through some incredible mountain views. On some of the climbs the road would wind near some cliffs, and the views from the drop offs were just gorgeous. A smarter man would have packed the camera in a better place – but then again, just taking it in on the bike was more than satisfying. On some of the descents through the mountains, your ears would actually pop.

The ride was some of the most incredible scenery I’ve seen and the ride was phenomenal – until I hit Ohio. Cincinnati provided me a “back to reality” moment with traffic reminiscent of Miami or Manhattan. After taking 2 hours to go 30 miles, I took the first exit and didn’t choose wisely. I was unable to get back to the highway and the gas station / check cashing store was less than desirable. I started heading down a side road and within a few miles another Road King appeared in front of me.

At the next light I pulled up next to him and asked if I was headed to the highway.

“Where ya headed?” he asked.
“I’m going to Ann Arbor, Michigan.”
His old lady said “Hell, we’re going to Michigan, too. But we’re going to skip the highway until we’re way north of the cities.”
I smiled. “Ride together?”
“Sure, ya ever see Dayton?”
“Nope.”

They smiled and we were off. It was awesome. We took some really scenic routes and rode through the Dayton 4th of July festivities. Apparently they have been working to bring new life into downtown Dayton and it was really nice. Fountains on the River, lots of action on the riverfront, and just a great little run. In about an hour, we were at the highway, clear of all that city traffic, and the rest of the ride to Ann Arbor was smooth sailing.

I got to Michael’s house a few hours later than I wanted, but the kids were still up and Christopher was more than happy to see Uncle Fred’s motorcycle. The next day we had a great barbeque, and I couldn’t have imagined a better way of celebrating Independence Day.

Ann Arbor

So on the 5th of July, Yeni and I drove to the condo and started figuring out all the things we needed. We made a list, checked it twice, and then ended up with a 4 and a half foot long Ikea receipt. Ouch.

But the apartment is great. Lots of natural light, a one car garage, and some nice views of the clubhouse/pool. The furniture we picked out took a few days to arrive, but that gave us time to build the furniture we bought from Ikea. We’ve got a new TV, a nice couch, and as soon as my Gainesville house sells, I’ll be there full-time. I’m very excited about it.

Oh, and the next ride?

Yeni and I are planning to ride through Canada and visit Niagra Falls.

Wow gas has gotten really expensive. Thank god for Harley-Davidson. I just came back from my weekend in South Florida and my wallet is still freaking out about gas prices.

On the way down, gas was around $4.05/gallon. On the way up, it was up to 4.20 in Orlando for gas. On the Harley, I get about 40 miles per gallon on average… so let’s think how much better life is with me riding the bike.

And now for some simple math…

750 at 40 miles per gallon is approximately 19 gallons. At an average of 4.05/gallon that’s a fuel cost of $76.00.

Now if I took the newly paid off Expedition, I would have gotten about 16 miles per gallon (high estimate for the trip). 750 at 16 miles per gallon is approximately 47 gallons. At an average of 4.05/gallon that would have been a fuel cost of $190.00!!!!

Crazy.

Mathematically, I think we’ve proven that I should ride the motorcycle more often.

Thursday will be mom’s [censored]th birthday and I’m riding the bike down to South Florida to celebrate mom’s birthday, grandma’s birthday, and Mother’s day in what I would like to call The Mother of May Weekends.

So besides a great weekend to catch up with my mother, father, grandmother, sister, and girlfriend (she’ll be flying in to try Joe’s for the first time), I’m looking to The Mother of May Weekends as a Sayonara to fat…

Why Sayonara to fat? Well, I had been really good about dropping some of that weight I had gained but over the last 2 months managed to pack on about 10 extra pounds. So, to quote my favorite song writer… Come Monday it will be Allright… Allright for the gym that is.

Let the workouts begin.

So I tried another Sunday ride this week… had a great run to Orlando’s house and then was hoping to get to Sonny’s for AYCE Beef Brisket (yum). Well, long story short, as we pulled into the parking lot, the phone started ringing and it was time to go to work.

Saturday was the annual Orlina Cinco de Mayo party and this year will have to be one of the best.

Good drinks, friends, and just a good time away from it all.

Didn’t have a plan at all… just started going south. I love riding like that. Especially on a great day — and Sunday was a beautiful day. Big white clouds, bright sun, low 80′s… was just a great day.

So, I headed south and when I hit south of Ocala, turned around and started back north again… taking 441 back to Gainesville. Of all the times I’ve ridden the bike (or even pedalled one) I had actually never stopped and walked on the Paynes Prairie  lookout… so I stopped off, snapped a couple of pictures and then got a call.

The positive of using the iphone is that it’s great music on the bike. I love my headset (when it’s not trying to kill me) and it just sounds great on the road. The negative of course, is you know when the phone rings. So I answer it and it’s someone wanting to see the house… and well… long story short (for once), my stress-free day was no longer.

I headed home and then went to Whataburger for dinner — where I ate wayyyy too much and am still feeling the burger this morning

Now, I’m back at work and getting ready for the flight to Michigan on Friday. Although after the ride on Sunday, I’ve decided that the next time I go to Ann Arbor, I’ll have to ride it.

Sure it will take like 7000 hours, but it will cost maybe 100 bucks in gas and I can’t imagine how great I’ll feel after riding that long.

Gotta love the Harley.