I had the honor, and pleasure, of attending the 2004 Alabama State Harley Owners Group Rally, which was held at the National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds on US 231 South in Dothan, Alabama.  Being in the US Army, I was going to be in the area, by default, in order to attend the Aviation Warrant Officer Advanced Course at Ft. Rucker, Alabama.  That is a totally different story, but knowing that, and since the Army was springing for the transportation, lodging and per diem, well hellyoud do the same thing.  So, last February I pre-registered both Renea and I for the rally.  Just two days after I sent the pre-registration, our daughter, Stephanie, broke her hip.also another story.but the event basically quashed Reneas attendance plans.  Again, I had to be in the area anyway, so youre doggone right I went.  I picked up Reneas T-Shirt and pin for her, so dont give her a hard time for not going..she was here in spirit, and we all know she would have been here if luck had been with Stef on that Saturday night.but alas, the children will always be priority number one.

The next day saw my classes run long, but I managed to break away and ride to Dothan.  More vendors were on site.  Another caught my eye..The original legend of pinstriping was there:  Joey Hutson from West Monroe, LA.  I watched him work, took plenty of pictures and was completely fascinated with his ability to create remarkable freehand art.  I looked up his web page that evening, and was even more impressed, so I had him do some striping for me.  Youll get to see his work on my bike when I come home, but for those of you with the good fortune of attending the Tennessee State HOG Rally, Joey will be there as well.  Go see him.  Consider having him do some work for you.  You will not be disappointed.  I know I am very happy with the work he did on my bike.  Visit Joeys website at http://www.joeyhutsonart.com. 

The rally launched on the afternoon of 22 Apr 2004.  I showed up about 5pm and picked up our pre-registration packets.  There were a few vendors on site, and they were selling everything from beer, to motorcycle trailers, to vest/jacket patches, to flooring material for garages and trailers to Cajun and American eats..all at a high premium.  My interest was sparked by one vendor who was marketing front wheel chocks.  The design is particularly interesting in that one must roll his/her bike on the chock and once doing so, the rear portion of the chock moves upward thus catching the front wheel and elevating it off the ground.  The bike is held stable without the use of the jiffy stand.  The concept means that one could transport a motorcycle without cinching down the front end by the triple tree and risking leaks to the front fork sealsIm heading down a tech path, and that means Im digressing, so..anyway, then the vendor told me the price:  $160.00I did an about face and continued down the midway.  There wasnt too much going on that first dayother than the opening ceremony at the host hotel, which was the Quality Inn at the intersection of Highway 84 and Ross Clark Circle in Dothan.  I attended and scarfed down plenty of the free food.  There were so many nice folks there, as one would expect at any HOG function.  I had previously ridden with the Wiregrass Chapter, and they readily made me feel at home.  I was the only person there from Tennessee, and I wore my colors.  I was very proud to represent our chapter at this rally.