It's one of those evening in the Northeast in late spring, ya get home from work and there is just too much of the day left. So, before ya even leave work one call is made ride for dinner? Oh, hell yeah is the answer, so can you assemble the troops since I'm still at work? He did too, I pulled into the driveway and the party barn was open and several bikes were in the driveway. The stero jamming and can I could here the clack of pool balls smashing together with a brake out of laughter. I strolled across the asphalt and said hey gang, "Tumbleweed" how ya doing? The daily blah, blah, blah kind of stuff happened here. Cindy the Yellow Mother informed us we were waiting for "Sweep" and "Tart Cart" LOL! I saw that "Thumper", "Double D", "John boy" and "Maria" were there waiting all had a beer in hand as the ex and "Johnboy" were playing pool. I went behind the bar and pulled out a beer took a sip and asked where we might be heading? They decided it would be a cruise through The NJ Pinelands to the Sweetwater Casino. Good Choice, I was hoping we'd go to ShipBottom or CapeMay really but any ride is better than no ride right?
In the distance we could hear the approaching roar of two bikes on a sporty and the other a bigtwin, we knew this had to "Sweeper" and "Tart'. Cause they had stopped which ment they were waiting to turn down coal road, which was about 3/4 mile from the house. The "Ex" and Johnboy" finished up their pool game, the rest of us chugged them beers down and started to make our way out to the asphalt of the driveway. "Sweep" and "Tart" were dismounting as we got the garagebar shut down. The "Ex" always led as he was a control FREAK, so we got his general idea of how he was going in case we got seperated, its not like we didn't know how to get there its just nice to take the same route right? We had "Yellow Mother" and "Double D" on his king, "Maria" and "Johnboy" on his ultra, "The ex" on his king, "Thumper" on her 450, "Sweeper" on his Heritage Springer, "Tart Cart" on her sportster, and me on the 77.
We left the drive way and made a right on to Cross keys road, a right at the next intersection. I loved this road it had several farms on it and well was different than the hustle and bustle of Cross Keys Road. What else was neat every once in a while a plane would be coming in to land and fly right over head. We crossed route 73, passed Edgewood High School and continued down and made a few turns and ended up coming out at Jackson Rd. On Jackson Rd the Atco dragway once passed was open cranberry bogs, farm fields and a horse farm. From Jackson Rd a right was made on to Atsion Rd, past the fields promised to Cambelle Soups, the Wilderness campground, Atsion Family campground, and to the lake. The road has some small curves in it but during this time of the year when everthing is the yellowgreen of new growth, as the grass on the side of the road begings to grow the road looks like a black ribbon not belonging here, just a black strip oddly placed. We made a Right onto 206 at the lake, Goshan Pound chruch was straight ahead and the ranger station was just to the left aways. We headed towards route 30 and after the Blueberry and cranberry fields made a left. If ya time it just right ya don't have to stop, from there it was a quick left, right kind of a move over a little wooden bridge, past the miragnt workers whom would be out bringing in the laundry. We came to the T intersection, made a right which would take up past Basto. Basto was an old iron ore town and supplied most of the iron of the Revolutionary War, French and Indian War, War of 1812, and Civial War with cannon ball and small shot. We crossed over the dam, in the heat we'd jump off that dam, we passed another campgound. the whole while sunlight flickered through the limbs and leaves of the pine forest.
The shadows were growing long and the pinetrees were releasing their scent of pine at first it makes one think of PineSol. We came to the sharp bend where the homes barely have land but back up to the Mullica River, in this bend the little fresh water marina can be seen of the Sweetwater Casino. Pay attention don't get caught up in the water's reflection of the sun setting. We made a left turn on 6th avenue I do believe and drove down to the casino's enternce. The driveway is a snaky little road. You'd never think such a place would be here but it is. OH boy, my favorite! Gravel parking! YAY! LOL! about 10 years has passed since I've became "Tumbleweed" till now so parking really wasn't that hard, I got it now, but don't get me wrong the stuff can be tricky. We all park in a row and go in to eat. We had to wait so we went to the bar visited Hank the bar tender then went out side on the patio to watch the sun set, amd watcj the boaters load up for the weekend, watch some of the locals arrive by dirtbike and horses. It is that kind of area, the wealth hop nob with the salf of the earth, or better yet my kind of place man. We went in to eat, acted stupid and found out that the casino was doing a Titanic Weekend. They had a pino player, the waitress were in clothing from 1912, the waiters were dressed like ship stwearts, and the menu was similar to Titanic's. The Sweetwater Casino as far as I know still does this event. Anyway, we ate then resumed to the bar to babble with several other folks that had come in on bikes and a couple we knew.
It was passed dark at this point, and not my most favorite time to ride through the pinelands as you can guess deer, bear and other creatures are waiting in the shadows for us. Our bikes were in a line "Yellow Mother' and "Double D", "Maria and Johnboy", "Tart Cart" then "Sweeper", myself "Thumper" and the "ex". We were all putting on the leathers as the sun sets the temps drop and dampness sets in here, eventhough the smell of pine was heavy and the stars numberous we still had to get going. Since "Yellow Mother" and "DoubleD" were parked where they were they'd be the leaders for some reason. We all got on our bikes, after leathering up and motors started ready to pull out "Double D" checked to be sure that everyone was ready to roll, got the nod, this is when it happened. As "Double D" begings to Pull out so does "johnboy", "Double D" says to the "yellow mother" Right turn.....out, the "Yellow Mother swings her right arm out, she forgot to put her purse away it was hanging on her arm, the purse swings hard and slams "Maria" right in the face, braking her glasses and yanking her backwards , so much so "johnboy" had to stop for the bike was all off balance. "Maria" had blood all running down from her lip, OH my gosh we were laughing so hard, "double D" yells out "Are we mean mothers or what?" Now if any of you have seen Clint Eastwood's Any Which Why you Can, ya know how freaking funny it was. Cindy once was a "Yellow Mother" as she drove a school bus, now became "Mean Mother" and to make sure she stuck to it we all gave her a gifts for Christmas that year of Rinestone Spider pin, to Spider web shirts, dorags, Spider web purse, and patches and such. LOL! I hope you enjoyed this tale of the stupid and silly have a great one! "T"
