An award received...and shared

I was the recipient of a fun award from Baron (Baron's Life) and Danny (A Blog About...)! Well, how do I begin...I'd like to thank my agent... wait...I don't have one...seriously, thanks for the nod guys, and thank you to everyone that stops by to read my blog - I've met a lot of great people in the blogosphere.

Now to share this award, as there are many great blogs out there that I have had the opportunity to read - some serious, some funny, all very good. Here's my list of 8 blogs that get this award, in no particular order:

1) Premeditated Scootin' - a great new scooter blog. http://cpa3485.blogspot.com/

2) Bobskoot: Wet Coast Scootin' - Bob covers BC and Washington State on his motoring adventures, and is an amazing photographer and writer. He's got some cool camera gear, and an even cooler sense of what makes a great picture and blogpost. He was one of the first to befriend me in blogspace. http://wetcoastscootin.blogspot.com/

3) Two Wheels and an Engine - Earl blogs about motorcycling in the Palouse area of Eastern Washington State. Another blogger that encouraged me when I first started. I get, to quote the Eagles, "a peaceful, easy feeling" when I read his posts - a great writer and photographer. http://thevampireduck.blogspot.com/

4) A Scooter In Turkey - John posts some amazing stuff from his scootering in Turkey, from home life to beautiful antiquities. John was one of the first blogs I started reading when I got my scooter, and it is worth checking out his blog. http://suzukiscooter.blogspot.com/

5) Heinz n' Frenchie in SoFla - Ahhh...South Florida by Vespa...it doesn't get any better than this, unless it's South Florida by two Vespas, with lots of great pictures and history of the area. http://heinznfrenchie.blogspot.com/

6) Scootin' da Valley - Joe introduced me to the free wifi and great coffee at Panera's. A great storyteller with an even greater beard! http://scootindavalley.blogspot.com/

7) Cruising Ohio - Doug has had some amazing trips in his part of the country. I've enjoyed great scenery and was tempted with great food (like fried bologna sandwiches) via his blog. http://www.cruisingohio.com/

8) Scootin' Old Skool - Orin is well known in scooter land for his great insights into scooters and scooter life. He was also nice enough to write about my Honda Elite on his blog. http://scootinoldskool.wordpress.com/

Well, there's eight of many great blogs out there. For the award winners above, you get to share your award via your nominations - if you can find eight, great, even if it's less that's great too. Just spread the recognition and encouragement around!

Cats that are not pleased...

Baron (of Baron's Life) has a post with a very funny picture of a cat with a helmet made from what looks like a lime. Check his blog out here:

http://www.baronsview.blogspot.com/

I'm a big cat fan, and I mentioned to Baron that I had some other pictures of cats that are not pleased with what we humans subject them to. There's taco cat (above), and others for your (and Baron's) enjoyment:

This poor guy is definitely not pleased with what was recently done at the salon.

Some cats don't mind having their picture taken, but some are not pleased with being on camera, like this one:

This cat's owner needs to clean the kitty box more often - the cat is obviously not pleased:

In addition to cats that are not pleased, sometimes bunnies are not pleased, as evidenced here:

You know you've had a bad day when...

...your house has that sinking feeling. This was caused by the last flood in the area. I go by this house on many of my rides. This house and the one next to it suffered significant damage. They are both across the highway from the river on what has historically been the high bank side.

Carnation, Washington - A Tale of One City, Two Names

About 15 miles northwest of North Bend is the town of Carnation. The town was officially incorporated on December 31, 1912, and given the name Tolt. The name was changed to Carnation in 1917, back to Tolt in 1928, and finally back to Carnation again on October 29, 1951. For those of you familiar with dairies, the name Carnation was chosen to honor the Carnation Milk Products Company. But is the town Carnation or Tolt? The dispute over which name is the "real" name for the town continues, with some signs reading "Tolt" and others, "Carnation." The elementary school is named Carnation Elementary School, while the middle school takes the name Tolt Middle School.

But it was the Carnation Dairy that put the town on the map. The valley became world-famous as the "Home for Contented Cows." One cow, nicknamed "Possum Sweetheart," produced more than 37,000 pounds of milk in one year - a world record.

My ride takes me to this quiet town, and I stop to take a few pictures of the local businesses, some doing better than others:

A beautiful stone church stands at the end of town, as if to end the naming controversy - it's called Tolt Congregational Church.

April in New York

I've been away for about 10 days on a business trip to our corporate headquarters in New York. I really enjoy Manhattan - the city is so diverse, so vibrant. Crowded yes, but people have found a way to make this a very enjoyable (albeit expensive) place to live.

Like the Seattle area, New York has had a pretty long winter, and the long wait for Spring ended the first weekend I was there. Temperatures in the high 80's to low 90's brought people out to the many parks that dot the city. In Madison Square Park, which is near my office, an ethnic festival was taking place.

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The hotel I was staying at was in a new (for me) area, so I spent a lot of time walking around, getting my bearings. I came upon this place for a bagel and coffee:

After coffee, more time spent wandering the neighborhood. Good thing I am walking, and not driving - parking is astronomical here.