Okay, so I was asked to carry the American Legion Auxiliary banner in the post color guard for the Overland Park, KS parade. I rode my bike to the Legion post building (AL post 370, Overland Park) and I wore my American Legion Riders vest in the parade, so its still going to count as a bike event and be included my blog here. The day started around 10AM as I had volunteered to help decorate the Aux float that morning. When I got to the post Norma the AUX president wasn’t there yet so I sat and had a great [View Full Entry]

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Just a quick note to share some photos. My guest room has become a disaster zone but the upside is that I've got most of my items packed. I highly recommend the folding/packing things - don't know what they are called but I'll include a photo for you. I had two wonderful going away parties this weekend. Thanks to my family and friends for making my last weekend so much fun. You guys are the best! Here's some background info on Tanzania and Moshi... Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is the southern most country in East Africa. Its mainland [View Full Entry]

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No. 1092-07 IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 07, 2007 Media Contact: (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public/Industry(703) 428-0711 DoD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.They died Sept. 4 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device.They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan. Killed were: Sgt. Joel L. Murray, 26, of Kansas City. Spc. David J. Lane, 20, of Emporia, Kan. [View Full Entry]

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Testing, testing, 1 -2 - 3. Well, I am 9 days away from leaving for my trip and getting very excited. Some background for those who may not know...I am going to spend a month in Tanzania volunteering through Cross Cultural Solutions (CCS). I've always wanted to go to Africa and when I read about "volunteering vacations" I decided that would be a great solution. I want to be able to do something useful for the community and get a better understanding of life in Africa that I wouldn't get if I simply went on a safari. I will be staying [View Full Entry]

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Dear....God.... Okay, let me try that again. This morning I woke up more excited than usual (especially given my EconoLodge surroundings). Today I was going to find out the truth of the origin of life. Today I was finally to understand the meaning of existence. Today I was going to the Creation Museum. The Museum is a $27 million dollar, 60,000 square foot facility is the crown jewel in the evangelical Christian's fight on science in the name of God. It is a place of refuge; a sight of affirmation; an escape from the nonsense of common sense. I sped down [View Full Entry]

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A lot of people have contacted me and asked about the saddlebags I have mounted on my Sporty Effie. They were shown in the HOG Tails article. I decided the thing to do was to just write a blog about them and show some good detail. I am sure that there are better ways to mount these, but here is how I did it. I am a very functional type of person, it doesn’t need to be pretty, but it needs to be functional. So I wanted hard bags that were waterproof, could store the kitchen sink and were cheap. No [View Full Entry]

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I have SO much to share, but for now, I just want you to know that I have just gotten home safely. We were 53 hours in transit, this time...instead of the 21 hours it was supposed to take. Whew. This was one of the most amazing months of my life. Now, I need to go rest. More soon! [View Full Entry]

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It was a cliff-hanger but Santa Maria pulled it out -- 5-3 in 11 innings. After 4 innings, SM trailed the Community Bank (Wichita, KS) Cowboys 3-0. With runs in the 5th and 6th innings, SM pulled to within 3-2, and then a run in the 8th made it 3-3. A 2-out, 2-run homer in the bottom of the 11th brought home the 5-3 win for Santa Maria. From the 8th inning, the radio announcers were commenting that it was the best game so far in the World Series (and it is going to be hard to top it). JJ entered [View Full Entry]

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[url='/Videos/4196.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/4196.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'] Mr. Song Harvesting Wheat in KansasMr. Tran Song, in country representative for the Library Project of Vietnam came to Kansas in 2006 and experienced a little of our harvest. A big thank you to Kate Hildebrand of Edmond Oklahoma who gave me pointers on how to add video to my travel blogs. I am making a couple of entries to try it out before I go traveling again. Thanks Kate and thank you Mr. Song for what you do. [View Full Entry]

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With less than 24 hours notice the Patriot Guard was asked to provide escort to a young Marine that was coming home from Iraq. Well, that is what we like to do best - Welcome Home servicemen. We are to meet at Doc’s coffee shop, they don’t even bother telling us that it is more commonly know as the McDonalds at 87th and I-435 in Lenexa, KS. Anyway we are to meet there at 2PM and then at 2:15 we will head out to the airport. The plane is coming in at 3:30PM. The group gets together, at the McDonalds. [View Full Entry]

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