Greetings and salutations my virtual friends. Well its the end of October in the first official year of the Sidetrak'n project. I find myself wishing I had an actual time machine or at least a time stretcher so I could make this month last just a little bit longer. October is actually our most summer-like weather here on the Central Coast of California. The almost daily clear skies and warm temperatures tend to make you a bit spoiled. When you add to that, the vivid colors of the season, the long light of fall and the many harvest celebrations, it's easy to see why one would wish it last just a bit longer.
Well Sunday was a great example of finding a happy place behind the handlebars. My intention was to tie a few local events together as an excuse to get unite some friends and generate some spontaneous fun. The plan was to do a scavenger hunt for scarecrows and see what else pops up. Well, almost immediately upon kicking the idea around something else popped up. It turns out there was a flash mob planned for the same day in the general area. Now when I say flash mob I do mean a dancing flash mob but this wasn't just any old dance or any old place. The event was to perform the choreography to Michael Jackson's epic video of Thriller. Thats a pretty cool plan for a Halloween flash mob but this was going to occur at the entrance of his former home, the Neverland Ranch. So there you have it; find scarecrows, have fun, see a historic flash mob and of course find some pie. No worries! The scarecrows were easy since there was a scarecrow festival happening in Solvang just down the road from MJ's ranch. The ranch was an easy drive so I didn't put too much worry into the planning. As for pie…well the Ural has pie seeking radar for that so not a prob.
All in all it worked out fine. We accomplished all of our goals and met some neat people along the way. With some help from Willie Wonka, all the kids got plenty of sugar (the big ones too) plus a balloon that unfortunately didn't survive. Sadly there were some alligator tears over that one for the littlest monkey in the gang. --Reader assume sad face... now--. OK we're over it.... as Dad said, "your three, I'm sure you'll get another one." Brilliant sarcasm lost on the 3yr old. Anyway, the scarecrows were cool, the flash mob was great but I think the best part of the day for me was introducing my friend Stacie to side-hacking (she immediately assumed the role as my impromptu monkey) She was a real trooper and got to find out what this is really all about. Life is short and precious so enjoy the day and savor the interactions that happen, even when you start off on the smallest of adventures. All will be fine if you take the plunge, keep an open mind and see where it leads you when your head is in the right place. So off we went, her first ride in a sidecar and her first flash mob (my first flash mob as well). One my favorite Stacie comments, "people really do just smile when they see you in this [sidecar]." Its true. They can't help themselves. umm the monkey always smiles as well. That is all the payback I need. 
The flash mob was very cool. I would say about 100 people showed up with about 50 or so dancers in full make-up and attire. It was very kind of the current Neverland Property owners to allow this to happen without hassle. There was only one major bummer. My friend the Vino Vaquera couldn't make it. She got stranded in LA with car trouble. She was the one that brought it to my attention and I was looking forward to her participation. I know she was as well. Next year! My helmets off to all of those who participated both in the dance and the coord. All very cool. If you'd like to see more pictures check out the Sidetrak'n FaceBook photo album.
Next stop… pie.
So now that we are rolling and we have the proper attitude, we find that the adventure is often something as simple as the stories we learn along the way…. somehow they just happen. It's like there is some cosmic force that calls your attention to the periphery and there in-wait are the stories. This day was no different. On the quest for pie we took a detour to a pumpkin patch for some pictures when a story presented itself. We had a gentleman and his family (a fellow Ural owner) come up and tell us about his great camping adventure he had with his son. His story sums up this project perfectly, I might add.. Anyway this is an example of how life is an adventure but more importantly how we view it is the difference. Here's the readers digest version of the story; He and his son were n the middle of nowhere, 40 miles outside of cell phone range, heading up a mountain pass on their sidecar when the bikes engine blows. BAM! Not good! So, they turn the bike around and coast back down the mountain to the nearest home and stop to ask if they can use the phone and possibly camp in their yard until they get help. The strangers greet them at the door and are completely sympathetic to their situation. You see… they "get it" the adventure, the courtesy etc etc. they also get it because they too own a Ural sidecar. Seriously, what are the odds of being in such a remote place and having such troubles and finding such a connection. What a great experience for all. They embarked on what they thought would be a particular adventure and ended up finding something completely different and being rewarded with a connection that they otherwise would have missed.
That was a cool UDF! I was happy Stacie the "Flying Tiger" Monkey was there to experience this unscripted random exchange. Usually I'm by myself when this stuff happens. It was cool to share it with someone in real-time. Thanks for hanging with us. It truly made my day.
So thats it… Keep pulling on the thread my friends. An adventure is bound to unravel.
Reporting to you this week with the assistance of the "Flying Tiger" Monkey and as Woody Guthrie would say, Take it easy… but take it!
jp
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