Three Wishes

I would like to wish a Happy New Year to everyone that has visited my blog and specially want to say thank you to the followers for sticking with me.  I thank you all for the kind comments, friendship and the sense of camaraderie shown.   I have enjoyed following your blogs and will try to set aside more time to read all the blogs I am following.
A new riding season will soon be upon us and my second wish is for safe riding to everyone and may you enjoy as many miles on your motorcycle as possible.  I'm sure there will be many new adventures and places to be discovered on two wheels and I can't wait to read about it and see all the beautiful pictures of this beautiful country.
My third wish and I think everyone will agree with me, is for this winter season to end and for all the snow to melt and disappear as soon as possible.  I am already tired of all the snow and ice that has fallen since mid December and the weather man is predicting more snow for tonight.  I woke up on December 27th and this was the view from my garage.

My cars were buried in the snow and I had forgotten to get the snow blower out of the shed.  A foot and a half of the white stuff had fallen overnight and had managed to paralyze the tri-state area.  I struggled to get the snow blower out of the shed and then had to drag it all the way to the garage before I could attempt to start it.

I plug the electrical cord, press the start button and all I hear is the whine from the electric starter motor.  After a few more futile attempts, I take the cover off only to discover that the plastic gear that engages the flywheel had disintegrated.  I guess the very cold temperature didn't help the material and neither did the age of the blower. At this point I'm cursing like a drunken sailor but soon my neighbor came by with his little Cat and helped me clear the snow out of the driveway behind the cars and the street in front of my house.

Another neighbor offered his snow blower and I was able to clear a path around the cars and all the way to the front of the house.  It was hard work even with the blower, the wind blowing fast and furious and throwing it back at me but after some cursing and a few cups of hot chocolate I was finally done.  My daughter in the mean time was having fun with her friends and decided to build an igloo in the middle of the road after my friend had created a huge mountain of snow with his little Caterpillar.  It seems like kids don't feel the cold the way we do, I retreated to the couch with another cup of chocolate.

On January 1st, my wife and I go to New York and board the Norwegian Gem, starting the new year by going on a cruise to the Caribbean for 11 days.  We had planned this cruise earlier in the year and were accompanied by high school friends from South Africa we hadn't seen in 26 years.  It was cold as we left New York but warmer temperatures were ahead of us.

We visited Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Antigua, Saint Martin and Tortola.  The weather was beautiful, the sky mostly clear with every afternoon offering us beautiful sunsets.  There is something special about sunsets at sea for me, maybe because I live on the east coast and don't see the sun setting over the water.  Every afternoon I made my way to the top of the ship to see the sun disappear over the horizon.

Our ship the Norwegian Gem

The water and the beaches were spectacular.  If you ever go to St. Thomas, make sure you visit Magens Bay.  In Antigua the beach was simply stunning but I can not recall the name of the beach.  In Saint Martin we visited Bikini Beach and spent most of the time in the water while there.

Magens Bay, St Thomas

Antigua Beach

Bikini Beach, Saint Martin

Bikini Beach, Saint Martin

Bikini Beach super clear water

We return to New York on the 11th and that same night we have another snow storm, it was fun for my South African friends since they don't have any snow where they live but I had to take them to the airport the next day and I was not ready to shovel snow again.  This time we had about 6 inches, just enough to be annoying.  We spent the last night together throwing snowballs at each other, a big snowball fight soon ensued while my daughter made snow Angels.

 

 

Tonight we are supposed to have another snow storm, three to six inches which will make tomorrow's commute to work just horrible, I can not stand this weather anymore.
This weekend I am going to New York to the International Motorcycle Show to see for the first time my future bike, the Yamaha Super Ténéré, I hope the snow will be all gone before the weekend.  So back to my third wish, lets hope it happens soon so we can all start riding again.