Home Sweet Home

I'm back! Safe and sound. And ecstatic!

This was the roadtrip of a LIFETIME! Caps to show how excited/enthusiastic/serious I am.

Sturgis, South Dakota for my number 1 bucket list item. Check!

I won't go into too many details, as we all have that friend who thinks it's really fun to invite you over and show you 1000's of her vacation pictures. Really?? Can I really sit there for 3 hours while you tell/show me how awesome your trip was? Pass.

Cliff Notes Version:

• Rode through 6 states (Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Oregon)
• 17 days nights on the road, 16 nights (including one sleepless night in Spokane, WA where there was ZERO VACANCY in the whole city and we showered at a Flying J Truck Stop)
• Almost 7, 000 km on my bike (highlites included The Custer Wildlife Loop in South Dakota, Big Horn National Park in Wyoming and part of the Oregon Coast...after 2 weeks away from the ocean, that is one sweet sight!)
• 3 days spent riding to Sturgis, South Dakota, 1 week spent in Sturgis and 1 week spent riding home. How we got there in 3 days and took 7 to get home, I'll never know ;)
• An entire motley crew of people we met along the way, including new friends from Burnaby, South Dakota, Arkansas, Colorado and Arizona (the couple from AZ actually bunked with us one night in Montana...the hotel there had no vacancy and since we knew what that felt like from Spokane, we invited them to stay with us...thankfully they wound up being lovely and didn't steal from us, phew!)
• Heat I have never experienced before, most days were about 35 degrees. And it was awesome. (Note: we were super responsible and re-applied SPF 110 every hour and a half...thanks to our Irish company, we needed to make specific sunscreen stops)
• Memories I will cherish forever...too cheesy? That's how I roll.

Incredible company, beautiful scenery, perfect weather. What more could you ask for?

Sturgis, a town of about 6, 000 people, balloons to about 450, 000 during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Heaven on Earth.

A lot of people get married during the Sturgis rally. Pictured: Not Me. Congrats to the happy couple!

Deadwood, SD, home of the Wild West and where Wild Bill was murdered.

Even though the national history was lost on me, it was still reallllllly cool to see Mt Rushmore in person.

Bitter sweet as all 3 of us travelling gypsies are packed up and about to head home.

A little roadside nap on the way home. Life is tough.

Such pretty countryside. Wyoming, I love you THIS MUCH!

Old Faithful doing its thang.

Arrived in Oregeon. Picked up a few hitchkiking bugs on the way. The more the merrier ;)

Safe and sound on the ferry. Seeing the ocean was magical. There's no place like home.

We're now in the planning stages of next year's trip. We were on the ferry on the way home Saturday night when I realized it was this time last year that we decided on this trip for this summer (last year the same girls and I did a road trip down to Oregon for another motorcycle rally). So I said to the girls "Where to next year? We should pick a destination right now and keep the tradition going!" One of the girls suggested we each come up with 3 roadtrip ideas, put them all on a dartboard and throw a dart to decide.

Sooo...what should my 3 ideas be? I'm thinking Halifax and New Orleans. Thoughts? Any great roadtrips you've been on that you'd recommend? I'd love to hear them!

PS, let me know if you ever want to come over and look at my 1000's of photos. It'll be fun ;)



Talk to you soon, friends!

The Countdown is ON!!

Vacation Countdown.

It's been running in my head for the last week. 5 days left. 4 days left. 3 days left. 2 days left.

And with just TWO DAYS LEFT until STURGIS (!!!), I've got to get organized. Which is what brought me to my mom's house last night. She has this thing to keep all your ID in, like your passport etc.

So I went by last night to pick that up and she's like "Don't forget your license, Brittany."

Obviously, mom. I'm riding down; I'll definitely have my driver's license.

Then she hands me this plastic ID holder with two little cards inside.

Huh?

Let me preface this by saying my mom is the mom who holds on to EVERYTHING my brother and I ever made as kids.

And low and behold, those two little cards? ID cards I had made for myself when I was around 8.

One is a fake Driver's License I made for myself, complete with a picture of myself and my brother (???) and also listing my age as 42. Obviously I look 42.

The other is an ID listing my profession...as a "Docter/Spy Detective". What a great combo!

You need 2 pieces of ID to get into the States, right?

Those will probably work for border crossing, right ;)

Bucket Lists...

What's on yours???

After 6 years of wanting soooo badly to ride down to South Dakota for the Sturgis MC Rally, I'm doing it next week! It's actually kind of sureal to have wanted something so bad for so long...and now to actually see it come to fruition.

Too cheesy? That's how I roll.

Anyway, Sturgis is one of the biggest things on my Bucket List and I'll soon be able to cross it off (!!!!!!)...what's on yours?

One of my BFFs...Susan...wants to ride an elephant.

Until she makes it happen, this will have to do.

The STURGIS COUNTDOWN IS ON!!! In two weeks, I'll be South Dakota-bound for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. It's a town of like 3, 000 people that balloons to 700, 000+ during the two weeks of the rally. So accommodations are tight. And expensive. Which is why you have to get creative.

Residents in the area rent out rooms in their homes, their backyards for camping...and in our case, their motorhomes (parked in their driveway).

So I had to send a deposit for the motorhome but wasn't able to do a money transfer. I asked the gentleman if I could just send him a cheque instead. His reply?

"You're Canadian, you seem trustworthy."

My reply?

"Thanks, eh!"

Do you know my friends Bob and Doug? They're from Canada.

Yay! for stereotypes!

What's your fave Canadian stereotype?

Sidenote: I am trustworthy.

Cliff Notes Update

How is it Mid-July ALREADY!?! Ugh.

Make the most of this summer, friends- clearly it's going by quickly.

Gearing up for my trip to SD for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally (!!!!!!) in August, I'm starting to think of what to pack. All the room I'll have for our 18 day trip is just whatever can fit into a couple saddlebags and my backpack. Packing light. Which means whatever I wear on my body and then an extra one of everything in my bags. So two pairs of pants, two sweatshirts...and two t-shirts.

If I can only bring two t-shirts, they better be good right? I mean, I'll be wearing these clothes for over 2 weeks straight. I wanted a t-shirt that was going to be fun, something bright, something that would let people know I was coming for a few km (or miles, I guess).

Something TIE-DYED!

Thanks Coombs, I knew I could count on your for some sweet tie-dye

Second order of business. I had an Ortho apt yesterday. Guess who has to wear a retainer to keep her bottom teeth in line?! This girl! Flashbacks to grade 8, losing my retainer in the trash after accidentally throwing it out while it was wrapped in a napkin at McDonalds.

Fishing through the trash to find your retainer as your mom scolds you the whole time for not taking better care of it? Not fun.

Here we go again.

I know what you're thinking. Tie-Dye AND retainers?

Yes, it sure is an exciting life I lead.

Once a week, I volunteer at the YMCA in their crafts program for kids 4-8 years old. We make sweet art projects and talk. It's kind of the best.

Yesterday one little boy asked if he could draw my portrait.

Obvioulsy my response was, "heck yes you can!"

I assure you, this is not a photograph of me, but rather his drawing! I know!

Welcome to...

one of the funniest conversations of my life.

You know KOOL FM is 107.3. I know KOOL FM is 107.3.

But does my Nonna know?

Wow.

You know when you're in your car, and just as you get to your destination, your FAVORITE (older) song comes on the radio? But you've already gotten to where you need to go...so what do you do? It's your FAVORITE song, and it's a bit older so it's not like you hear it all that often on the radio anymore. So...you sit in your car, parked in the stall, or you drive around an extra few blocks just so you can listen to the song in its entirety.

At least I do.

What song does that for you?

For me, it's "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows. I will fully be late for an appointment just so I can hear that song from start to finish. And yes, I have an iPod, and of course it's on my iPod (3 versions, in fact), but there's something extra special about hearing it on the radio. As if it were meant to be.

On a different note, I'm super shy about public singing. I wish I weren't. I wish I were that person who visibly rocks out in their car, alone, and doesn't care who sees or what they think. But I kind of do. I'm better than I used to be about it, but I still get shy.

Which sucks because going for drives and singing in my car is my third favorite pastime. Sooo...I used to hold up my cell phone to my ear and pretend as if I were talking to someone, but really I was singing along to Mr. Jones, or something equally as awesome. Now I can't do that, what with the new cell phone rules.

I've gotten really good at ventriloquism, though ;)

How's this for ironic...

Immediately following a post on loving my "all grown up" life...I'm now about to complain about being all grown up.

Once in a while, I'll get super overwhelmed with my adult responsibilities. Mortgage renewal, fixed term versus flexible, will my tenant renew her lease?, Charlie's got an ear infection, bills, my house looks like animals took over, and I'm eating chips for dinner because I haven't had time to grocery shop.

OK, so the last one's not really that bad. Except it gives me a tummy ache and then I wake up the next morning, still with all the above problems, but now my stomach hurts, too. Ugh.

I got adult problems. Kind of like Jay-Z.

What's the one thing you miss most about being a kid?

Maybe I'll just hide out in my blanket fort and eat breakfast for dinner and call it a day.

If you need me, I'll be here...

Home Sweet Home

When I grow up...

I was out for breaky with my girlfriend the other day and she was telling me about work and how it's not what she wants to do "when she grows up". She's done the travelling thing, has the degree, even works a secure job, which she achieved through said degree, but it just doesn't make her heart go pitter patter.

She was telling me about some other career options she wants to look into. MED SCHOOL!!! I have super smart friends. I told her "go for it!" You gotta be happy at work. Period. Dot. No questions. And if you're not? Listen to your heart (super cheesy, that's how I roll) and do something about it.

I never grew up knowing I wanted to be in radio. At the start of grade 12, I actually had never thought about it, and would never have guessed it would be my path. My brother got into radio school (RADIO SCHOOL?!) when I was still in highschool and he would come home on weekends or whatever and show me what he was learning at school. It was the coolest! How could this be what you're studying? I remember thinking.

Monkey see, monkey do, I guess. I applied for the Broadcast Communications course at BCIT and the rest, as they say, is history. I've been working in radio for over 7 years now and honestly can't imagine doing anything else. I love this industry so much. Almost as much as Criminal Minds

I see you, Gideon.

and my dog, Charlie.

Heart Melt.

The fact that I have two pictures of both CM and Charlie readily available on my computer should be an indication of how much I love both. And also how much I love radio to be able to compare it to the above.

I digress.

When did you know what you wanted to do was what you wanted to do? Or do you? Are you still figuring it out? It's tough, isn't it?

I sure hope you have found, or soon find, that career path that makes your heart go pitter patter. It's a pretty incredible feeling.

If they can get into it, chances are they will.

Tight spots. Messy situations. If they can get into it, whatever "it" is, kids will.

I was watching that show The Doctors today and they had a segment on kids crawling into those Claw Toy games at arcades. I guess if a kid really wants that stuffed animal, and they're small enough to try, maybe they'll crawl into the machine.

Win me back, Mommy!

What?!? How does that even happen? But then I started thinking, 'well I guess kids are crafty little things'...and I remembered that time in kindergarten that I got into a pickle of my own.

The scene: After school care at The Playhouse (North Saanich shoutout!) It was a rainy day and we had to stay undercover. There wasn't really a lot to do undercover so my friend took her umbrella and suggested we pretend to be at a soda shop and sip Coca Cola from the umbrella.

So there we were, sipping Coca Cola through our "straws", aka the umbrella spokes. When it was time to switch, I couldn't get mine out. Turns out there was no plastic cab to the umbrella spoke I was "drinking" from and the bare metal got intertwined in my bottom lip!

When my mom came, sure enough everyone was crowded around me, trying to untangle this umbrella spoke from my lip. No luck. Off to emergency we went.

I still remember the discomfort. Not so much from the spoke being lodged in my lip, but more the weight of a massive umbrella hanging out of my kindergarten size head.

A proud moment for my mom, no doubt.

Ceara K is getting married!

And she's asked me to press PLAY on the song that she walks down the aisle to.

I know what you're thinking. That's HUGE right?

Pretty much the biggest role anyone will play at a wedding...right up there with the officiant ;)

Easy peasy...what could go wrong.

And then I started thinking 'oh my gosh, what could go wrong?'

I could play the song too early, I could play it too late, it could play too quietly, too loudly...or I COULD PLAY THE WRONG SONG altogether!

Oh man, could you imagine? The sweetest, most tender part of the ceremony and Sir Mix-a-Lot comes on talking about his anaconda and some girl who's 'little in the middle but she got much back'.

Date Night!

With my mom. You thought I had a steamy date night story to tell you about? Unfortunately, no.

Tuesday night my mom and I had date night at the Star Cinema in lovely Sidney by the Sea. We saw "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". Really liked it.

One of the main characters had a saying he kept repeating throughout the movie.

"Everything will be OK in the end. If it's not OK, it's not the end."

I loved that.

What's your favorite movie quote? Or any quote for that matter?

Live long and prosper, friends.

Now that's a movie quote.

At Crafts today...

Once a week I volunteer at the YMCA with the Crafts Program. I don't know who enjoys it more, me or the kids. Seriously. It's one of the best parts of my week. Not only for the awesome company of the 4-8 year olds, but we make some pretty cool stuff, too. And *sometimes I even hang what I make on my fridge.

Anyway, yesterday at crafts, I wore my nose ring. Bad move.

"What's in your nose?"

"I think you're prettier without it in."

"Did it hurt?"

"You should take it out now."

"Does your mom know you have it?"

"I would take it out before you get in trouble."

I was bombarded! How could there be so many questions/comments about something so small?

And then this questions-

"Why do you have that anyway?"

I didn't know what to say. How much detail do I go into? And why do I feel so defensive?

Finally one little girl, who clearly had enough of the questions herself, spoke up, "Because she likes it, OK?"

End of discussion. So simple and to the point. Like only a 4 year old can be.


Always.

I'm back, baby!

Wow it's been a looooooooooong time. Do I need to re-introduce myself? Hi! I'm Brittany King. Host of KOOL FM's Midday Show, dog lover, motorcycle enthusiast, frequenter of the Victoria Public Library and sporatic blogger.

Now that that's outta the way...

What's new? Any summer plans?

I've got two weeks off in August for a trip down to South Dakota for the Sturgis Bike Rally...aka one of the BIGGEST in the WORLD! (Caps to show how BIG it really is).

Go ahead, Google it.

This is the most "audience friendly" Sturgis picture I could find. The others would need a "Parental Advisory".

 I'm pretty pumped about the road trip! I just came back from a few days in WA with the Vancouver Island HOG Chapter (Harley Owners Group). It was no fun at all ;)


That's me!! With about 8 MCs behind me. No big deal.

So how's it going with you? What have you been up to?

Ride free, friends.