This year has really flown past. I thought once the pandemic eased, things would settle into place and get back to normal. Those thoughts were so wrong. I would like to thank you for your encouraging words and hugs during our time of grief. My sister’s children and our family have been surrounded by many friends. Eddie is still trying to get his brother through heart surgery, and it is our prayer that he will be strengthened by this process.

The best part of all the busy-ness in our lives has been the rides, rallies and time spent with GWRRA friends. Eddie and Ken have been good about keeping you informed about the past and future rides. Eddie says he just wants to ride but I say that it is riding with friends that make the rides become adventures.

This has also been a year to get caught up on the education part to GWRRA’s purpose. Frequently, Leo brags on Chapter P as the chapter that has had the greatest increase in members’ increased involvement in the Levels program. If you are needing more education to keep your Levels current, let me , Eddie or Leo know. There are Riding courses, Co-Rider courses and Medic/First Aid courses that are being offered this summer. If any of your courses have expired since 2020, the grace period to get the courses updated ends June 30. This is a good year to get caught up on your motorcycle education. You might be surprised about how much you may have forgotten.

Eddie and I are finally going to Alaska after a three year wait. This is our first cruise. We will report on that experience next month. As you enjoy this summer, please share your travels with us. The more we share good travels the better we can plan interesting rides. Hope you will be able to join us for some of the summer rides that are planned.

Pay attention to the conditions of your bike, your health, and the weather. Don’t forget to protect your body and your skin. Stay cool.

See you around the Hood and on the road.

Ride safe. Have fun. Teach others to be aware of motorcycles.

Christie Roberts, Chapter Director

The GWRRA district rally in Kerrville had a week’s worth of fun packed into two and a half days. It all began on Thursday morning when Eddie led a group of six Chapter P bikes, three Chapter R bikes and one SUV toward the Texas hill country. Vince and Tammy watched out for our backsides. The ride down was pleasant and without mishap. Eddie took us to the Hill Country Motorheads Museum in Burnet. It was a good time to take a break, walk around and see some old street bikes and dirt bikes that brought back a flood of memories of good times, old friends and motorcycles we now wished we had never sold.

We stopped in Llano to have a great lunch at Coopers BBQ. The Chapter R riders split off to head more directly to Kerrville. Our MIke Lee rode to Llano to have lunch with us but split off to go back home. (You know how those newlyweds are.) We did pick up another rider from Chapter R who wanted to ride the scenic route with us to the rally. Eddie took us on the Willow City Loop, outside Kerrville, which is a neat narrow winding road with numerous cattle guards and loose livestock signs that let us enjoy the hill country. We rode by some longhorn cattle that fortunately were on a section of the road that was fenced.

We arrived at the YO Ranch Hotel around midafternoon and got checked in. The rally conference was in full swing with Dan and Donna, Leo and Margaret, Gary and Becky and the other district staff busy helping everyone feel welcome. The YO Ranch Hotel was a great place to stay. It was close to everything and traffic was never a problem.

We attended the opening ceremonies in the YO ballroom and were treated to ice cream that evening. The story of what happened from here will be quite different for each of the five Chapter P couples that attended because there was so much going on.

The district staff had put together maps of three different good rides in the Kerrville area. We were surprised when we got up Thursday morning and it had rained during the night. It was raining lightly off and on but the forecast was for good weather. Not to let a little damp weather stand in the way of having fun, Eddie led a group on the Three Twisted Sisters ride Thursday morning.

Becky and I wanted to obtain our level III in the Rider Ed program. Becky attended the ARC co-rider course and I attended the ARC classroom session Thursday morning. Both of us had excellent instructors. Thursday evening, Walt and Toni took a short ride with us down to the Guadalupe River trails. Kerrville had some excellent trails and parks along the river. We got in a nice hike after being inside most of the day.

Friday morning I attended the riding course section of the ARC class. It was a well planned out training covering the skills needed for safe riding. It was planned for having 12 riders to take the training but one rider showed up with a motorcycle that did not have current registration and license even though he was advised the day before that only street legal bikes could be on the course. (The bike was not a Gold Wing). I have to admit that after 50 years of safe riding, I still learned some things. I highly recommend taking the ARC class. Just talk to Leo about getting signed up.

Friday afternoon, Becky and I chose to do the “Run for the Roses” ride that had seven stops in the Kerrville area. There was a drawing for a prize for everyone that completed the seven stops.

Each stop was unique and interesting. The Coming King prayer garden, sculptures and giant cross were moving. The Texas Lions Camp really impressed us on all the good the Lions club has done and is still doing. We were able to tour the The Western Art Museum for free since we were members of GWRRA. It had amazing bronze statues, historical pieces and work by current artists that were for sale in the four and five digit range, the quality of which justified the price. (Good thing we couldn’t fit any on our bike to take home.)

Stonehenge II was a hoot as they were having the Celtic Festival and Highland Games that weekend. You think we are proud of our chapter colors, you should see these folks in their clan’s colors and crests.

We had assumed that the stop at the James Avery jewelry store would just be a retail shop out on the edge of town. However, it was more of a jewelry making campus with numerous buildings set in the hills. James Avery had started making his mostly Christian themed jewelry business in 1954 in his mother-in-law’s garage in Kerrville. HIs business expanded so that there are now 50 stores across the country. They had a museum in the shop that had excellent displays on the jewelry making process, Avery’s actual tools and a video about how the business developed. The store had a wide range of merchandise and was doing a brisk business as many people were shopping for Mother’s Day gifts.

The closing ceremonies Saturday evening were nice. One thing we all noticed is that it was great to be able to get together again after our lives have been impacted by the pandemic. None of us from Chapter P won any of the big prizes. Gary and Becky received a well deserved recognition for being the District MEC’s and Leo and Margaret for their work with Rider Education.

Sunday morning, Eddie headed a group towards Big Bend and the Alpine area. Vince and Tammy were the tail gunners for the ride. The rest of us headed back home.

Overall the rally was fun with lots of games, social events and rides going on all the time. It was impossible to do everything. The good news is that Dan and Donna announced that the district rally will be held at the YO Ranch again next year. That’s good news to us since there were many things we didn’t get to see and do this year. Please put this rally on your ride list for 2023 because it will be more fun if you go.

Ken and Becky Eftink

MECs Chapter P

Keep up the posting guys, and I will keep up the experimenting.

1/2 Cup Salted Butter

2 Eggs, plus 1 egg Yolk (room temperature)

Glaze

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1-2 TBS Water

1 TSP Strawberry Extract

Preheat oven to 250

Spray 9 x 13 Pan with non-stick spray

Mix melted butter, eggs, egg yolk, and cake mix in medium bowl

Spread batter in pan and bake for 18 minutes

Whisk together powdered sugar, extract, and enough water to form a paste.

Remove brownies from the oven and immediately pour the glaze on top and spread.

Allow brownies to cool completely after glazing.

ENJOY

BANANA PUDDING BROWNIES

24 vanilla wafers

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese

1 3.4 oz box vanilla pudding

1/3 cup milk

2 TBSP banana extract

2 eggs

Brownies:

2 cups brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 all purpose cups flour

1 cup melted butter

2 whole eggs + 1 yolk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

To make the filling: Mix cream cheese and vanilla pudding until thoroughly incorporated. Add milk and eggs and mix until combined. Stir in banana extract.

To make brownies: Mix together both sugars, butter, vanilla extract and eggs. Add flour, salt, baking powder.

Mix together to form a thick dough. Line a 9x13 glass casserole pan with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray, leaving enough overhang to lift the brownies out of the pan. Drop the brownie mix in and spread evenly in the pan. Pour filling on top and spread evenly over the dough.

Lay vanilla wafers on top in a 4 x 6 pattern. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Good Morning All

Christie and I have made our hotel reservations in Shreveport for Tuesday thru Saturday morning (June 28th-July 2nd) at Good Morning All

Christie and I have made our hotel reservations in Shreveport for Tuesday thru Saturday morning (June 28th-July 2nd) at Wingate by Wyndham on Barksdale Blvd. The hotel is in the Bossier City area of Shreveport and is 2 miles from the Convention Center. Accomidations are going fast so if you think you may attend Wing Ding 43 you probably should go ahead and reserve your room just in case. We reserved ours on line through Wyndham and there were still rooms left for about $97 plus taxes.

Our plans at this time is to ride there Tuesday morning in time for the Welcome Party and return Saturday evening after the Closing Rally. It's less than a tank and a half drive (249 miles). Also, Christie and I didn't include any of the catered meals in our Wing Ding Registration (just as an FYI).

Ride for Friends, Safety and Knowledge,

Eddie and Christie The hotel is in the Bossier City area of Shreveport and is 2 miles from the Convention Center. Accomidations are going fast so if you think you may attend Wing Ding 43 you probably should go ahead and reserve your room just in case. We reserved ours on line through Wyndham and there were still rooms left for about $97 plus taxes.

Our plans at this time is to ride there Tuesday morning in time for the Welcome Party and return Saturday evening after the Closing Rally. It's less than a tank and a half drive (249 miles). Also, Christie and I didn't include any of the catered meals in our Wing Ding Registration (just as an FYI).

Ride for Friends, Safety and Knowledge,

Eddie and Christie

THE LINK TO THE HOTEL IS BELOW