Oh dear!  It has been a bad blog week for me as you can tell and I apologize.  It may not be a surprise to some that my love of socializing had interfered with my correspondence to you.  So without further ado, let me catch you up!

On Wednesday the 19th we left Billings with predictions of some rain and cool temperatures in the 50's.  The breakfast situation was a bit hectic as the staff was not well prepared for everyone to eat so early at once!  Kevin and I ate together but the guys waited until after the crowd left.  With me not eating with them they got to choose where to eat.  Since there are no Cracker Barrels in Romania, that is where Jay wanted to eat.  He had the hashbrown casserole and he sold Mark on trying it as well! I believe both left with happy tummies!

Our drive was a mix of rain, overcast and some sun.  The area was more populated than the stretch the prior day.  We could at least see some farms and houses!  There seemed to be more pastures with cattle.  There were more trees on the mountains scattered on the mountains as well.  We also saw a number of lakes that had houses built around them.  As we got further into the mountains we had to go through a beautiful pass!  I wish I would have thought of it sooner to have someone video the drive it was that spectacular!  It is definitely different taking the curves in the motovan as opposed to my car! 

When we arrived in Great Falls, Montana it was chilly and wet.  We meet the riders at Big Sky Harley-Davidson shop.  Some of the riders had their support go to the nearby North40 store for warmer clothes while others, including Kevin, picked up some warmer apparel along the way!  The shop had planned ahead and everything for the hosted supper of pulled pork was inside allowing all to be warmer and drier.  They were nice enough to include cold beverages but the coffee was the real hit! The weather did not deter the crowd from coming!  People came from hours away to see the riders and bikes!  There was even a group of vintage cars that pulled in to visit.  I always love to hear how excited they are and how they have been following along with the event.  Kevin had a few of his AdvertureRider fans show up and introduce themselves! (and thank you for purchasing a shirt :)

these little scooters are along for the entire ride!

a chilly crowd at Big Sky H-D

Kevin and Patience coming in

With the weather not being the most hospitable and Patience needing only the routine maintance, the guys were able to take care of her in the van.  This left plenty of time for Jay to do some homework, Mark to chance some winks and Kevin and I to go socialize!  A bit later Kevin caught some winks and Jay came down to socialize.  We were sitting with a friend that could not eat all her artichoke cheese dip so I had to help her out!  It was a very relaxing night after such a yucky day of riding.