Wallaby and Yellow Truck

We just spent a week at the Great American Campground and Dive Bar at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Brad is driving the Rock Star Bus pulling our motorcycles on a trailer. Next stop, Depew, Oklahoma!  Why Depew? Because we are looking to experience a Route 66 Biker Rally. This one is scheduled for mid-June. We left the Redneck Revival in Iowa, had a fantastic layover at the Great American Campground and Dive Bar in Missouri, and now we are arriving in Oklahoma a few days before the Rt 66 Biker Rally.

Brad and I are rolling down the highway looking out the huge windshield of the Rock Star Bus.  We crossed the state line into Oklahoma sometime earlier that day. We are near Tulsa. Then out of nowhere, a toll booth appears! There was this old-timer manning the toll booth.  Somehow, this big rock star bus pulling motorcycles entered a tollway without a ticket.  The old-timer insisted on knowing where we were coming from.  Brad replied, “Missouri.”  Not the answer the old-timer was looking for.  He wanted to know where we entered the tollway.  We didn’t have a clue as far as we knew we were entering it now.  The exchange was a bit comical when the old-timer proclaimed we didn’t know where we were coming from, and he surely didn’t know where we were coming from. Brad said, “We know where we are going.”  “We are going to Depew for the Route 66 Motorcycle Rally.”  That got a big smile from the old-timer. Brad made some compromise on the toll fee, and we were granted access to keep moving forward.

We find the motorcycle rally event venue just outside the small town of Depew.  Brad navigated the rock star bus through the elaborate maze of a gate system.  We came to the checkpoint, and not a person was there.  We were days early.  Brad did make arrangements which granted us permission to arrive early.  So we stopped at the checkpoint to figure out which camping spot we need to set up in.

The signs let us know were were in the correct campground.  We got excited reading the paint brushed sign that read:

WARNING IF NUDITY OFFENDS OR ANNOYS YOU IN ANY WAY DO NOT ENTER

THIS FACILITY BY ENTERING YOU ARE AGREEING THAT NUDITY IS NOT OFFENSIVE NOR ANNOYING

The sign indicated this was going to be an entertaining biker rally!  There are plenty of campsites.  We ended up parking the bus against the big shed.  The shed is located near the stage and pond.  Brad leveled the rock star bus and got our camp on wheels set up. One of the maintenance men introduced himself and showed us around the large shed that Brad backed the rock star bus up to.  We had our own roll-up door and space for shade behind the RV.  The shed had about a dozen roll-up doors on each side of the building. It was dark inside since we were the only campers there and the other doors were closed. I took advantage of the dark area and adjusted the headlamp on my 2006 Street Glide.

The maintenance man hung out with me while I adjusted the headlamp. Then he said he had to get back to work.  He walked across from our campsite and began power washing this old yellow utility bucket truck. The letters US Army were stenciled on the side.  It appears to be an old truck purchased at a government auction.  I’ll tell you that must be the cleanest old bucket truck ever.  This guy power washed that truck twice a day for the first three days we were at camp.  Brad and I waved at the guy when we departed for our morning rides.  The guy would still be power washing the truck when we returned in late afternoon.  The maintenance guy said his boss was riding him to get that yellow truck clean.  We met his boss later.  Interesting business tactics!  The owner has a few wallabies running on the fenced property.  During a past performance, they paid a band with a wallaby!  Talk about bartering at its best!  These guys have some stories. The boss’s wife carries a wallaby around in a shopping bag!

Waitress Finger Shoots Brad

 

Brad enjoys telling a joke nearly everywhere we stop.  So I am going to start this week’s post with a joke.  It is about a young cowboy and his ice cream sundae. 

When Val was a young cowboy, he worked hard at the rodeo all summer.  He dreamed of riding in the rodeo one day.  He was brutally honest.  He worked hard at every thing he did.  Val, at the young age of 10, was serious about his transactions.  He’d walked past the ice cream parlor about a dozen times that summer.  There was a picture of a delicious ice cream sundae displayed in the window.  The thought of the sundae gave Val good motivation to keep working under the hot sun.  This eagerly anticipated day had finally come.  He earned some money and it was in his pocket.  Young Val, wearing his chaps, cowboy boots and large brimmed cowboy hat, strutted into the ice cream parlor.  He looked the waitress in the eye and told her he wanted an ice cream sundae.  The waitress asked if vanilla ice cream was okay.  Val said yes.  She asked if he wanted strawberries? Val said yes. The waitress followed up, “Do you want whipped cream and a cherry on top?” Val said “Yes, just like the one pictured in the window.”  The waitress asked, “Do you want me to to crush your nuts?” Val excitedly drew his cap guns and said, “Lady, do you want me to blow your tits off?”!!   Bada boom! 

The folks at the Great American Campground and Dive Bar gave us some great tips on the best motorcycle routes and places to eat that are perfect for motorcycle riders.  Armed with information on small diner choices, Brad and I left the campground and headed towards Cole Camp a small town in the rolling prairies.  The road to Cole Camp wound through the beautiful countryside, and it was a smooth ride.  Our motorcycles leaned into the turns, and the sun shone off the chrome, making everything look so shiny.  The temperature was starting to rise.  We enjoyed the cool air pockets as we rode through the green trees that shaded the road.  It was a relaxing ride approaching the middle of the day.

When we got to Cole Camp, the sun was high and the heat was on. The Classic Grill was the first restaurant we saw as we got closer to town.  I spotted a vintage yellow car parked next to the restaurant.  I didn’t manage to take a photo, but it was an antique car with those cool curved lines and a shiny chrome grill—obviously a symbol of the restaurant’s name, Classic Grill.  I knew we had to stop. 

Brad and I were happy to feel the cool air conditioning as we walked into the restaurant. We figured we’d grab an iced tea to cool off from the heat. It was a simple restaurant. The tables and chairs were sturdy and comfortable.  More than half the tables were full of people enjoying their meals.  This indicates that the food is great.  We were seated right away at a table.  As I walked to our table, I looked at the platters in front of folks eating.  The meals all looked delicious with big portions.  We also noticed an ice cream machine.  As we looked at the menus, we saw ice cream sundaes on the menu.  Neither of us was very hungry yet.  We wanted to take a break from the warming sunshine.  So Brad decided on ordering ice cream.

The joyful waitress greeted us at our table.  We ordered some iced tea. Then Brad ordered an ice cream sundae. The waitress terribly failed to conceal her surprise. She took a step backwards.  Her body began squirming like one of those inflatable stick men at a used car lot. You know the kind that wave in the air to get attention from folks passing by.  In a loud high pitched surprised voice, she exclaimed in a questioning tone, “you two big bikers are not going to have our big juicy hamburgers!!??”  She was animated and visibly surprised at our choices.  Brad matched the waitress’s enthusiasm.  It was a little comical as we attracted the attention of other customers in the restaurant.  Brad started laying it on thick with his order.  He declared we definitely want ice cream sundaes.  The order conversation went something like this;  

Waitress: Do you want a banana split?

Brad: No an ice cream sundae.

Waitress: Do you want vanilla ice cream?

Brad: Yes.

Waitress: Do you want strawberries?

Brad: Yes and whipped cream and a cherry on top!

The waitress follows up by asking Brad if he wants crushed nuts.  Brad excitedly exclaimed, “Lady, do you want”, the young enthusiastic waitress cut him off and pulled out her finger pistol.  She finished Brad’s sentence, “to shoot my tits off?!” Brad pulled out two finger pistols and gestured shooting at the happy waitress.  Both erupted in laughter.  I am sitting across the table from Brad with the waitress standing beside me.  Their finger pistols still smoking.  Myself the the other customers wonder what the heck just happened!  So Brad had to enlighten me by telling me the joke about the cowboy and the ice cream sundae.  Apparently the waitress has heard the joke a hundred times!