My old friend Oz

A couple of weeks ago, an old Navy buddy of mine was in Oklahoma City on business, and I was in Wichita Falls on business so I drove up to OKC to visit him. His name is Arthur R. Osborn ("Oz"), and he's from the Boston area and now works for Raytheon in Washington DC. He is a terrific guy and was a great sailor/supervisor/engineer/mentor/friend. It is a testament to the incompetence of the US Navy that they pissed him off and let him get away, because Oz is exactly the kind of people that need to be running the US Navy and for that matter, the US Government. And after that, the Galactic Federation.

Near the end of our visit we mentioned motorcycles and it turns out he's got a pretty good one and sent me a picture of it. So by virtue of this post, I hereby welcome him as the newest member of the Middle Finger Yacht Club Motorcycle Auxiliary. I hope we all get to ride together some day.

Ride to Vega & Restaurant Review

Bill, Ron & I took a Thursday after work cruise to Vega via Boys Ranch Road. We stopped in at the newly opened Boot Hill Saloon & Grill in Vega. This restaurant is owned by Rory Schepisi, who was the runner-up in a big Food Network show which I never saw, but was told by my wife that it was a very big deal and that Rory got hosed. I did not take the attached picture of Rory, but stole it from the Amarillo Globe-News site (photo by Steve Lewis).

The food was quite good, but a tad pricey. You get what you pay for I guess. Ron got the Jack Ryan burger which was a big-ass burger with mushrooms and fries, $8. Bill got the Filet Mignon Chili, $9, and I got the Green Chile Chicken Won-tons, $9. My main complaint was that they seemed stingy with the ice tea. Especially after charging $3 for it.

Also, you would think that the Resistol-and-Starched-Wrangler crowd that this place attracts would be better at controlling their screaming children. Next time, I'm springing for the $5 three-day private club membership, and eating in the Saloon end. And drinking a beer as well, motorcycle safety not withstanding.

I give it 3.5 stars out of 5. They need to dump the smelly oil lamps too.

Palo Duro Lookout

Bill and I rode down TX207 across Palo Duro Canyon to the South Rim. Nice evening. We met a fine fellow at the rest area on a Harley Fat Boy named Steve Rohde. He is an attorney in Tulia.

On the way to the canyon, Bill pulled a "Wild Hogs" stunt, and flung his brand new cell phone into the blue at 70 mph. He immediately regretted the action and we spent some time recovering the pieces. Never found the battery.