chili today…

finally got around to taking my first ride of the year… ray price was having their polar bear run and chili cook-off today, so i decided to head down there…

the problem with the polar bear run, and it seems to happen each year, is the weather doesn’t turn out to be polar bear weather. which really isn’t a bad thing. it got into the 60s today, which made for some really great riding. and in hindsight, i probably should have taken a longer ride through the country rather than head downtown…

although, with the chili cook-off, i can’t say it was the wrong choice. we got to taste from eleven different entries, some really good and, well, some not so good. two or three were really bad, i couldn’t finish the small helping i had. most were average with three really standing out. i did manage to get seconds of those so i could do a final run off to make my choice. all three had great flavor, but i think it was the versatility of the one chili i liked the most. i could see myself eating it by itself as a meal or throwing it on top of a couple hot dogs…

i tried to get a couple pictures… unfortunately it was my first day with a different camera and i was having problems taking pictures. turns out i was in video mode and have a lot of footage of the ground. here’s what i was able to get…

so after filly my belly with chili, it was time to head home… wife needed me to pick up some stuff for dinner and on the way to the store, i passed one of the most beautiful (inanimate) sites i’ve ever seen…

first, some background… there’s been some new construction around one of the nearby gas stations… i’ve been trying to figure out what it could be. the footprint is very similar to bojangles, but too narrow in my opinion. so for a couple weeks i’ve been trying to figure out what it could be… of course they won’t put a sign in front to help anyone out…

and today, the mystery was revealed!!! a good ol waffle house!!

what a great day for riding it turned out to be…