Day 5-Weathorford, OK to Conway, AR

Hello Y'all!!!

First, an Easy Rider Richard update: Rich left the wild ride and, like a lone ranger (cowboy hat and all) headed south.....last spotted by the Pueblo Band of Indians headed thru southern Arizona. Apparently, he stopped at a town called Strawberry, AZ (why, who knows) and found out soon enough that the BUGS under his pillow were representative of the $9.99 he paid for the room! Just a thought big fella, when you get to Dana Point, spend a little on a Motel 6 at least!(cowboy

Steve's Ass update: Doing well, the poopy face is gone, and residual soreness only. Debbie reports just as much odor arising from the general area, she was glad it wasn't her (can't tell at 80 mph!)

OH LORD (yes him again), why is the air so thick?. We walked outside and into a wall of what southerners call humidity....i call it bulls%!#! How can they live in this stuff. We packed the bikes and I walked back into the hotel air conditioning and sat down with sweat dripping down the back of my neck and back. Looked over to the left and on the coffee table there sat a Gideons Bible. Prayed for the humidity to go away, walked back outside, and.......still humid! Steve developed fromunda (think about it) rather quickly (hence, the odor Debbie detected 100 miles down the road :)

Rode over to the Oklahoma National Memorial (1995 Oklahoma City Bombing)....really moving. Having been to the memorials in DC (Vietnam/Korea) and NY (911) this was just as incredible and inspiring. We were all very moved and in awe. On one side the wall has 9:01, representing the last minute of American innocence (bombing at 9:02), and the other wall has 9:03, representing the first minute of healing and the beginning of a new not so innocent America....... (it was sweat, not tears Steve!)

Rollin on, visited two HD dealers in OKC area. At one, I bought a sticker of Harley Jesus (he had on shades), Gloria thought it to be sacriligious. Steve was still worried about the torrential down pour the good lord was going to inflict on us as we headed through the Bible belt into Arkansas. The person who shall remain nameless did not provide directions and we correctly headed east. Along the way, we saw great scenery of green rolling hills, farms, lakes and rivers. Really incredible after having gone through the brown, barren panhandle of Texas the day before for what seemed like a thousand miles (can we give Texas back to Mexico? Just a thought..) We also saw many armadillos on the side of the road (dead).

At one of the gas stops, we ran into a retired military man who was very nice, even offered his cell number in case of emergency (now, that would never happen in Cali!) He proceeded to give us directions to the Harley dealer Fort Smith, Arkansas. Along the way, we hit the downpour Steve had been predicting, sort of...but it only lasted about ten or so miles and wasn't very hard. We got off under an over pass and put our booties on. We rolled on, rain gear in the side bags, getting soaked with water and grime...Steve's favorite shirt turned yellow (hmmm) but it passed north of us.

Back to the military guy. Now, I could have swore he said "yaaall can see the sign and the dealer is right off to the side of the I 40,exit zero." But as we soon found out 20 miles out of our way, the "I40" was really the "540" (not five, "fi")...... (Yes, I need to work on my southern drawl). We rolled into Fort Smith, AR Harley about 4pm and we still had 130 miles to Conway! We ended up eating lunch at a Border Town BBCue. Great BBcue, just what I think we were all hoping for, except for the hanging noose depicted on the menu's!!!!!!!!!!!

No joke! And before we saw the noose, our token Latina Gloria, ordering a beer, with her cuban accent ordered a "Negra" (short for negra modelo "black model"). Now, "negra" in the south has a whole different connotation as yaaalll know. The female bartender kind of turned her head to the side and looked puzzled.....I can only imagine what she thought Gloria was ordering! (of course, the odd look and turned head could have been from the pain in one of her three teeth....) Anyway, I quickly clarified she wanted a "Modelo beer" and we sat down for linner (didn't have lunch). We all told Gloria no more Spanish...hell, with the Arizona laws, you never know). Let's just say, aside from the cut off t-shirts, rebel flag tattoos, and obvious lack of dental insurance, all that was missing was the theme from Deliverance! Debbie, having southern roots (Tennessee), felt comfortable enough to ask the owner about the noose depicted on the menu's. The fired policeman (not one of my clients) owner informed us that it was actually because of a famous "hanging judge" from Fort Smith who sentenced the most people to be hanged. As my girls would say, "cool story bro."

As we sat, looked up the weather, serious storm advisory on the I40 and Conway, just where we were headed. Our fearless leader Tafoya and his Tonto Debbie said "roll on" so we rolled on 130 miles east into just a little rain and safely into Conway. Wet, tired, and thirsty, we checked into the hotel and Debbie and Gloria quickly asked for the nearest bar. They were told "this is a dry county ma'am." What the hell is a dry county? No rain? No, I found out it means NO LIQUOR SOLD! Debbie found out there was one place, Chili's, that sold liquor in the entire county, and only a block away. Off we walked (no Steve we will not get a taxi) and soon found out Chili's meant "TGI Fridays." After several well deserved cocktails, Steve concocted a plan to order two more doubles and a glass of water to go, we then would dump the water and pour in the whiskey! (that Steve is a delinquent). The waiter (whom Gloria and Debbie thought was so cute) caught on to our plan and we were denied :( After a cuban cigar we hit the sack (no bugs).......

422 miles, three Harley dealers today. Off to see Elvis tomorrow......Ciao for now. Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!