Awards Dinner and Banquet

PAWNY Motor Maids held their first annual Awards Dinner and Banquet at the Penn Wells Lodge, Wellsboro, PA, Saturday, March 14, 2009. Twenty-three members and guests attended which was a nice representation for the first banquet.

We received special edition mugs along with some "bonus bucks". Dinner was a delicious buffet which had prime rib, crab legs, and much more. A memorial tribute to Mary Abraham's was held with pictures and memories and a moment of silence. Mary was killed in the Flight 3407 Buffalo plane crash in February 12th.

Sammie Wisner, former District Director, was honored with a certificate and the members presented Diane, our present District Director, with a certificate and gift.

Service Award winner was Lois Hendershot and the Safety Award winner was Cathy Decker. Both recipients were chosen by members that participated in the online survey sent to all district members. Top mileage awards went to Sue Goff (13,469), Beth Snyder (9,179) and Liane Horton (8,285). Top bonus points awards went to Helen Conrad (480), Lois Hendershot (395) and me (355). Lois and Liane were not at the banquet.

Following awards, a bonus bucks auction based on the points contest took place with Gary as auctioneer and Den as his runner. Once the competition for prizes began, there was no stopping this group of competitive ladies. The largest ticket item going for something like 250 bonus bucks was a bottle of Canadian Windsor - go figure! As for the Motor Maid uniform, Sue was the high bidder but at times it was somewhat fierce between her and I. I was bidding on it for Rachel.

We had a great time and like most MM get-togethers, the fun didn't end with the banquet. Many of us continued the party in Viki's room where she so thoughtfully brought along a travel blender so we could enjoy margaritas to go! We packed the room and had a lot of laughs telling MM stories and reliving memories.

Sunday morning we met for breakfast at the Wellsboro diner. All agreed that we looked forward to returning next year for a bigger and better PAWNY 2010 Banquet.

Heading Home

We had a really early start today - we were up and moving by 6:15. Billy & Bonnie were checking out of the Islander Hotel around 6:00 and were at the campground around 7:00. By the time they arrived, we had all our suitcases and bags outside ready to be loaded in the Suburban. Then the work began ...

Billy unhitched the motorcycle trailer and headed over to the storage lot to hitch up the boat trailer and move it out to the road in order to hook it up to the motor home. While he was doing that, we helped Bonnie to start closing up the motor home.

Rachel helped Billy drain the "black" water. For those not familiar with campers, the "black" water is from the toilet! Needless to say, Rachel had a very difficult time helping with that chore! While they were doing that, I was loading the Suburban.

The motor home was then pulled off the site and the motorcycles were loaded and tied down. We then headed out to the road where the boat was hitched to the motor home; and our little caravan was ready to roll.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and were on the road by 11:00 a.m. for the LONG ride home. Rachel and I drove straight through but Billy and Bonnie stopped for the night - they had their bed with them! We did encounter one accident around midnight but other than that, the drive was uneventful. The last hour or two of the trip was the hardest.

We arrived at Rachel's around 2:30 a.m. and unload the Suburban and loaded my car. I left and headed for home around 3:15. I unloaded the car, left everything in the dining room and headed up to bed - the grandfather clock was chiming 5:00 ... the time changed!!

My first trip to Bike Week came to an end. I had a great time - thanks Billy & Bonnie!

Day Seven

This morning we met Billy & Bonnie at Teddy’s in Edgewater for breakfast. There was a bad accident on I-4 with an overturn tractor & trailer at the off ramp to Rte 44. Of course, we were on Rte. 44 and the traffic was a little backed up.

After breakfast we rode to Loveland Grove to get oranges and orange juice. Went back to the hotel to drop off the oranges & juice and set up the trailer. This way, Billy will be able to load the bike and tie it down after riding today.

We then ventured off to the Gold Wing Road Riders vendor area near the New Smyrna airport to check out the Trikes and I bought a pink baseball cap – yep, me in a baseball cap and Billy on a Honda! Will wonders never cease? Next stop, Sunshine Park in South Daytona. Billy was checking out the California Sidecar which is the Harley Trike … now, that’s Billy! There I bought an Air Rider Memory Gel Seat … wow, what a difference it makes! Do you think this is a sign of age ... nah! Then, off to Beach Street in Daytona to do some last minute shopping since we did more riding than shopping this week, which was definitely fine with me! Those who know me, know I do not like shopping!!!

After Beach Street we went to Shady Oak for a very relaxing and unhealthy (but good) dinner. Shady Oak is a “dive” on the St. John’s River. While sitting on the deck eating all fried food – shrimp, catfish, mushrooms, poppers, french fries and hush puppies – we actually saw a manatee swimming up the river. I guess that was one of the ones chased off with the "vibrations" from the motorcycles.

We left Billy & Bonnie around 5 o’clock for our last ride down Rte 44 to Rte 17 to Rte 40 back to the campground. This time we made it back in time to watch the sunset from the deck instead of on the road. While watching the sunset, we made a new friend – a white crane - who stayed right with us … probably thought we had food.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and it was time for us to start packing – after Rachel got “unstuck” from the doorway! She was carrying the suitcase from the garage when she got stuck in the doorway – guess the extra 30 lbs of food caught up to her.

Day Six

Rachel and I were able to sleep in this morning since we were meeting Billy & Bonnie at O'Brien's Cafe - two miles from the campground!

Rachel wanted to ride to an area that they have not already covered over the last couple years. So, we rode in the opposite direction from Bike Week activities and headed for the Gulf Coast. We followed Rte. 40 west until it came to a "dead end" - at a boat ramp on the Withlacoochee Bay in Yankeetown. There were some people fishing and, believe it or not, they were from Allentown! Billy was the only one who put his feet in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a beautiful ride through horse country. We passed some pretty nice horse farms, riding stables, etc.

On the way back, we took Rte 44 which took us around Lake Griffin State Park and back into New Smyrna Beach. We stopped for dinner again at The Garlic in New Smyrna. Since Billy's motorcycle was behind Rae's and my bike, we "tortured" him by making him wait while Rae and I put on all our riding gear for the cool ride back to the motor home. We arrived home at 7:45 - just in time to get a quick shower and watch Survivor.

What a great day we had! We rode 275 miles and the temperature was 78 deg. As of today, we did over 1,000 miles of riding this week! One day left : (

Day Five

Another chilly start but it really didn't feel bad ... 40 deg. After breakfast, we rode Rte A1A - a scenic ride up the coastline to St. Augustine, the Old City. We visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, the seat of the oldest Catholic parish in the nation.

We walked down St. George Street. There were more than 50 houses and craft shops on this pedestrians-only lane, along with the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse. Of course we had to stop in the ice cream store and have some Olde Tyme Homemade Ice Cream!

We left St. Augustine and stopped for dinner at High Tides, a neat seafood place on Flagler Beach. After dinner, we went to Destination Daytona ... a lot of T-shirts, vendors, etc.

We said good-bye to Billy & Bonnie around 6:30 and got back to the campground around 7:15. Again, the temperatures dropped rapidly when the sun went down. Another great riding day. Total miles today - 200.

Day Four

Today, we were able to sleep in a little and have a later start. We were on the road by 9:00 and the temperature was a little better - 43 deg. We met Billy & Bonnie at Teddy's in Edgewater for breakfast and were on the road by 11:30.

We rode Rte. 1 South. The first stop was at the Haulover Canal which was also a Manatee viewing area - no Manatees were to be found. One Texas visitor to the area stated there were no Manatees because of all the "vibration" from the motorcycles! I guess he did not realize he was visiting Florida during Bike Week.

We continued on thru the Intracostal Waterway to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This was a 15 mile "packed gravel" road through the refuge. We did get lucky and saw an alligator sunbathing.

From there, we rode to the Canaveral Seashore National Park. There we could see the shuttle on the launch pad for the March 10th launch.

We stopped for dinner in DeLand at a little "mom & pop" Italian restaurant.

We were back at the campground by 6:30. Temperatures did get up to 58 but when the sun goes down, the temperatures really drop fast. Today, we rode about 175 miles.

Day Three

When we left this morning at 8:00 a.m., the temperature was 38 deg - that was cold! I had three layers of clothes on and my jacket with the liner. When I went to put on my helmet, I couldn't bend my arms; Rachel tried to turn and look at me, and she couldn't - too many clothes. Of course, a fit of laughing followed.

We met Billy & Bonnie at the Sunshine Cafe in Ormond Beach for breakfast. After breakfast, we rode over to Daytona Beach to walk along Main Street before the crowds - I'm not good in crowds! I did buy a pair of heavier riding gloves since I only brought lightweight gloves with me. Bill suggested I bring my heavier gloves but I said I wouldn't need them ... yeh, right!

We left Daytona and took a beautiful scenic ride up through Flagler and into Ocala National Park. We stopped in Deland for dinner at Chilis. Of course, when we were leaving, I tried to put on the new heavier gloves and could not get them up over the jacket sleeves. After she stopped laughing, Rachel helped me get the gloves on.

The temperatures do drop rapidly when the sun goes down. We were back at the motor home by 7:00 p.m., and had rode 220 miles. A great ride!

Day Two

Today was a relaxing day because the weather was not fully cooperating. A windy storm came through about 10:30 and was over by 3:00. Not exactly great riding weather.

Billy and Bonnie picked us up in the Suburban (thank heaven for the Suburban) around 8:30. We had breakfast at O'Brien's Cafe. After a great breakfast, we went to 10:30 Mass at a little country chapel, St Hubert of the Forest Mission. One of the ladies in the choir was playing an old time instrument - washtub with a stick & a string - they sounded pretty good!

After Mass we went to their hotel - Islander Beach in New Smyrna. It is a really nice hotel right on the beach. Since the weather was very iffy, we decided not to ride and stay in and play cards. They taught me how to play "Hand and Foot". Billy and I were partners and we won - good thing because Billy is not a very good loser! It is really a fun game. This could be a new game to play at Reen and Al's. I just hope I can remember how to play when we get there.

We went to J.B. 's Fish Camp & Restaurant for dinner. This was a little "hole in the wall" local restaurant with great food. After dinner we went back to the hotel and played another game of Hand and Foot which we had to stop so they could get us back to the campground before it got too late.

Plans for tomorrow are to leave around 8:00 a.m., meet Billy & Bonnie at the Sunshine Cafe for breakfast and do some riding along the A1A to St. Augustine. It will be quite chilly when we leave but will be warming up and sunny.