A very nice ride thru Idyllwild and a great birthday party afterward!

Talk about a spur of the moment ride!

I had a tentative planned ride for Bub, Johney and I out the Ramona Expressway to Hwy 243 (it didn't look TOO daunting from the aerial view, anyway) thru Idyllwild, down to Banning, then 10/60/Central/Chino Hills Pkwy to Carbon Canyon. Never been on the first leg of the trip out that way but at least had some routes to go on. So the Gruesome Threesome set off at aroun12:50 PM (ok, ok, Bub and I were late, but I hadda go in for some books and almost forgot the map!) and beat feet down the 91 to the 15 to Cajalco Road.

MAN, that road is a long road! But finally made it to Idyllwild, gassed up, got a drink, took the first of a few pics of The 3 Royal Grodi-nesses (I really didn't give a rat's you-know-what about my hair as long as it was outta the way under my helmet.) Below is our gas stop in Idyllwild.

Barry and Lynne-yeah, we're havin' fun! Barry and Johney-they look pretty happy (at least they smiled with teeth)...
Johney and Lynne, below... Um, Johney, do you have a toothache, or just want to get the hell on the road?
So far, a nice ride, but it was going to get better. I really like being on the bike because you can FEEL the wind and the temperature brushing against your arms, your legs, your face; SMELL the pine trees and the wood fires; SEE the flowers starting to bloom before they wilt and die because this will be a VERY dry year; and just experience the almost isolated feel of woman on machine on road. No one to talk to, no music except what's playing in my head (and on the way it was Meat Loaf's 'Bat Out of Hell' and on Hwy 243 it was "Ghostrider in the Sky"), no technological distractions. Because distractions can kill you thru a moment's inattention. I still did had time to look at the sky, the clouds, the view, just nature (and the guys were wondering why I wasn't going all out zooming on the bike! Well, now you know, my friends).
Johney surprised me w/ this pic, but I got him back, below. Above is Bub, lighting his usual cig.















Some of these pics are mine, and some are Johney's . Either way, it was absolutely gorgeous, weather around 74 degrees, sunny.


This Indian Vista point we stopped at for pics (after all, I brought the doggone camera!) was a gorgeous stopover & I'm really glad we stopped.

We left Lincoln at the 57 at around 12:50 PM and got back to Brea at 5:00. Not bad.

Now, the birthday party:

A friend of ours, Jessica O'Neill, was having her 21st birthday party at Diamonds in Brea, so we rushed to shower & get ready. Got there around 6:20 PM, not bad again.

Jess opening her present from us-a brand new pool cue and case; Jess USING her new giftie; Jess and friend; Jess and girlfriends; Jeremy ALWAYS has to check his cell! and Tim and Jess (Tim is her brother)

Jackie Shapiro, above: Jax is assessing a shot: Jax's boyfriend Bryan (Bo)

Now, below, I want to show you something...remember on the ride, I looked pretty disheveled, no makeup, hair every which way, in other words, YUK?

Check out the difference 3 hours (and a shower) can make:

YES, it's the same person, same day, same afternoon-ish. NO I did NOT use Adobe Photoshop or any photo-altering application (well, ok, but JUST MS Office Picture Manager to Auto Balance the color, but THAT WAS IT.)