When I got to California, I wanted to buy a Harley. Well, in 1995, there were not to many Harley's available for sale. Demand far outstripped supply. I visited several dealers, and they wanted top dollar, an very high deposit up front, a delivery time of six months or greater, and guarantees that I was going to bring in the motorcycle for service. I decided to buy a second Honda motorcycle: a Honda Shadow American Classic Edition, with some nice accessories and nice loud pipes. It has shaft drive (no Harley belt drive here), and a water cooled engine, which was designed to vibrate and sound just like a Harley. At stop signs, many times I get the "thumbs up" sign, and a comment: "Nice Harley".  I just smile back.

I purchased it new, and it has over 35,000 miles on it now. The bike has proved dependable and a pleasure to ride. I ride it to work almost every day, from April to November. Daisy and I have been to the North Redwoods and the Oregon border, to Lake Tahoe and to Reno, Nevada, and south to San Simeon (Hearst Castle) and San Luis Obispo, pretty close to Los Angeles. We have stayed at Bed and Breakfast homes, and have had some very interesting times getting to see a great deal of California..

And below is a picture of Daisy and Ed at the Alameda Marina Deli, on our way to getting our boat ready for the New Millennium fireworks celebration.