Well....

I did not do 1,000 mile but 1,000 kilometers.. seems Kymco does mph for speed and km for odometer! Thanks to the gals at Scooter Diva for pointing this out to me :)

Boom 1,000 miles!!!

Here it is, I turned my first 1,000 miles today. Was perfect setting, was tooling along listening to LA Woman by the Doors. I was able to pull over and take the picture. I was on Mo Route 94 headed towards Augusta.

Here is what the bike and I saw at 1,000 miles :)

MY LONG RIDE

Was an awesome day to ride, I left the house at 10 and headed out the backroads to WildHorse Creek to Ossenfort to T. I went for a short side ride through Babler Park before I got to WildHorse Creek. Was a perfect day to ride, no traffic at all. Plenty of horses were out by the fences.

Was hard not to pull the scooter on and play a round of golf at St. Albans Country Club, was the perfect time for golf too! So many hobbies so little time! Back on Hwy T heading west. Took a small side trip down to the Ameren UE Labade Plant. Not sure why a huge coal burning electric plant intrigues me but it just does.. it is freaking huge...

Came into Washington on Old Hwy 100. Sat down by the Missouri River for a bit.. was going to eat in Washington but wasn't hungry so headed back to Route 47 to cross the Missouri River. I was going to take Augusta Bottom Road into Augusta but quickly changed my mind. Augusta Bottom is the first right after the bridge.. started out paved road and quickly was 1/2 gravel 1/2 pavement with a whole lot of potholes thrown in for good measure. I thought to myself, No... HELL NO.... and turned around to go back to 47 to pick up 94 East. I have no idea if the gravel would have stopped but I wasn't going to find out.. Was hard not to turn left and head West to Herman when I go to 94, but alas I did come back East.

I am glad the road was gravel because 94 was incredibly beautiful today...hardly any traffic to speak of. I just happened to looked down and noted my odometer reading.. after I took my 1,000 mile picture I headed into Augusta.. now I am getting hungry.. but no winery restaurants were open. So I walked around Mt Pleasant Winery for a bit. In the tasting room I was offered some samples but politely declined. ..LOL was quickly approaching 90+ degrees.. So I bought a bottle of Port and Harvest Red. Headed back onto 94 East, I drove through a few other wineries making my way back to Highway 40.


Here was the big test.. Highway 40, the Daniel Boone Bridge and traffic... :) Once on the highway I stayed 60-65mph and crossed the bridge. Whew!

Took the Chesterfield Valley Exit, made a short side stop at Red Robin for a pineapple teriyaki burger then wound my way though the backroads to home :)

Dale Chihuly - Glass in the Garden

Rode down to the Missouri Botanical Gardens this morning. Before hitting the Gardens I dropped by Extreme Toys and scheduled my first maintenance visit.

Basically took Clayton to Lindbergh to Manchester. After I left Extreme Toys, I took Manchester to SouthWest all the way to Shaw. Parked under a tree in the Garden's lot.

I have seen Dale Chihuly's work before in California, it was in a gallery setting. At the Garden it is housed in the Climatron as well as through out the grounds. I was amazed at the way the exhibit looked in the Climatron... ones imagination can run wild! The glass fit in perfectly!

I found Monday early a great time to be there. Was not crowded at all and allowed me a slow move through the Climatron while I gawked and took pictures. I am already planning a trip back down one evening, I was told the glass at night is awesome!

Click on the link to see the pictures I took:

Click on any picture on the lefthand side to advance or sit back and enjoy the slideshow.

http://www.stlphins.com/BG-II

Sunday Night Heat

Still another hot one... waited till late to ride. Rode out Clayton to 109 and into Babler. After tooling around Babler Park, I went back to 109, then WildHorse Creek to Kiefer Creek to Catyon then home. Hoping tomorrow to get out early. Didn't take the camera out with me.. Should have.. I was awestruck by the 1.5 million dollar homes going up on Kiefer Creek.. These homes crack me up.. no land just a big freaking house..

Saturday Night

It was wicked hot all day but I did manage to get out :) I rode out the back way to Hog Hollow, then through Creve Coeur farm lands into Creve Coeur Park.

On way back, I got brave and went across the Missouri River on the new Page extension bridge. Bike handled well at 65mph. Came back over the bridge, hit Olive Road to 141 and home.

Came home pretty much soaking wet.

Friday Night Ramble

Started out to Castlewood to warm up.. not that I needed warming up but Castelwood seems to be my starting point. Parked the scooter and took a walk by the river.

The pictures tonight are as the sun is going down as opposed to my morning visit the other day.

I was going to come back in Big Bend to Sappington to see a friend but decided before that I would take a side trip back out to Sherman Park. So this found me back on St Paul Road.



I love this shot from between the grass. I wish I could grown my grass this long.. I hate manicured lawns! However I am sure my neighbors would not appreciate it.






I found this cool spot where the tree line breaks open on the side of the road and a huge field of long grass appears with a farmhouse. I parked and took a picture. This so much reminds me of the French countryside.






I can not begin to say enough about Sherman Beach Park. I want to take the bikes out and ride the longer trail up to Glencoe...one of these days after I get over my new scooter itch!

After I left Sherman Beach Park, I rode Big Bend east to Sappington. After a stop at The Emporium, I rode Manchester Road back home to West County. My first experience with Manchester Road and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Sherman Beach Park Pictures

My Beautiful Day

Well, I got my first ride in the rain.. umm nice call weather man.. no rain on Thursday... NOT! As soon as I left work it started to rain. I came home via Clayton Road.. the rain was not really to bad.. just more nerve racking since it was my first ride with wet conditions. Got home and my new wicked helmet was waiting for me! (No it is NOT pink)

My day was not a complete washout, Susie finally got to sit on the scooter! She looks like a natural!

Check out that smile!

My Scooter

Thought I should post a picture of my scooter. I added a butterfly decal on the back.. yeah I know a girly thing to do. But hey, I am a girl. I know Don is waiting for me to paint the scooter pink ;)

Back Out to Castlewood

I was back out to Castle Wood this morning. I left a little earlier this morning, 6:30am. I was hoping to catch some wildlife this morning and I was not disappointed. Saw hundreds of cardinals and other birds as well as squirrels, rabbits and a few deer. Note to myself, need jacket before sun is really up..burrrr!

I am sure I will tire soon of riding to CastleWood but it is such a great ride especially early in the morning. I was reflecting on the picture above. This is where the 4 children from the same family drowned last week. Such a beautiful place but sad place. I will admit when we were kids we did swim here..Well more like teenagers. I consider myself an above average swimmer and the Meramec can be a treacherous place.. even for an experienced swimmer, let alone those than can not swim.

Sunlight hitting the trees near the bank.

I was patient enough for the baby to finally emerge from the woods with his Mom. I could see him through the thick vegetation wanting to come out. After standing still for about 2 minutes he popped out.

Today I will ride into work.. going to be a beautiful day!

Sherman Beach Park

Rode out Wednesday morning to Sherman Beach Park in West St. Louis County. Was about 20 miles round trip.

I left my house about 7am. Not a lot of west bound traffic. Met two cars on St. Paul which is a very narrow, hilly and winding road.

Once I got there I park my scooter, locked it up to the guard rail in the parking lot and took a about a 3 mile hike! The hiking trails are awesome!