“ Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship. five passengers set sail that day, for a three hour tour, a three hour tour”.   If you’re a Sandie or know about these Sandies they are all escapees from “ One Flew over a Cuckoo’s Nest” kind of place. Since Sandies   are   involved and with boats   this could be the typical start of a Sandie Sailing Adventure. Which by the way usually involves a torpedoing of some sort.   Our trip to Mobile to see the SS United States would require a boat ride. 12 Sandies made the fateful trip to ride The Delta Queen paddle wheeler. This vessel would help us to get a great up-close view of the SS United States. A bit of history inserted here. The SS United States holds the record for crossing the Atlantic ,both ways. This competition among ocean liners had been going on for well over 150 years. Well the SS United States broke the record and was awarded the Blue Ribbon, given to the record holding Liner. The record, which still stands today, was 3 days and 10 hours. So getting to see the fading Queen of Ocean Liners and going by motorcycles to see this magnificent ship was something pretty special.   We left Tuesday heading west. I had laid out a route that kept us off the Slab longer much more fun. Met Tommy N  and Sandy S  and The Dark Prince (Tim W)  at GTD. Picked up JoeJoe, Tony & Nikki G, Mark & Lorna S. in Navarre .   Now keep in mind with this crew anything was possible Supernaturally or   just plain trouble .   Ate lunch at Felix’s, on the causeway. Which brings me to The Bankhead Tunnel, a tunnel opened in 1941 is a narrow tunnel, cars were much smaller then. Now most people are adult in a motorcar tunnel. These were Sandies, remember ? The tunnel echoed with horn noise the whole time the Sandies were in there.   Since we were early for our boat ride, made a stop at The Phoenix Fire Museum. A so very cool place, oh free too. Inside old Fire rigs, horse and internal engined The boat ride was pretty damn cool . The SS United States as faded as she was is, to me,  still a magnificent sight. We had a guide to provide history and stories about The SS United States. Lots of Warships at the Shipyard across the river. In all stages of being built or repaired.   At the end of our three hour voyage, ok so it was only hour. We headed for the hotel, The Hotel Malaga, built in 1862 making the hotel a 162 years old. It is the only hotel like it in the State of Alabama, by the way. It was a fabulous place to stay every room was at least 100 years old. The courtyard was beautiful, it was like stepping back to a much simpler time.  The people that were the average passengers of The SS United States would be very at ease here.   After a great dinner we retreated to the Sky Lounge on the 17th floor of The Holiday Inn.  What a view of The City of Mobile and in the distance was The Blue Ribbon winner herself, still looking proud. We had a super night’s sleep, checked out and got ready to head home. Still keeping with No Slab Traffic we rode on US 31 awhile. The other end of 31 is Detroit, Michigan, maybe some other time. We did spend 245 miles   of Sandie Adventure having a fabulous time.   NOTE: JoeJoe, Sandy Shorey  and yes Tim White  have posted some very good pictures of our Ship Adventures on our Facebook page. But Wait There’s More! Tony Garcia , who takes incredible videos. Well Tony  has posted on the Sandie Facebook page, the most incredible videos.   It was a most bodacious Sandie Adventure, filled with laughter and fun.     .

Monday bright and early 3 Sandies  left to see The SS United States arrive in Mobile. This was 240 mile visit and what a spectacular visit it was. Mark and Lorna  S met me in Navarre.  We did the interstate for a while before taking to the two lane backroads. The weather was simply fantastic, roads outstanding.    Well until we took the old tunnel into downtown Mobile. It was the final Monday of Mardi Gras and we arrived in between Parades. You got a feel for the mood when you noticed every stoplight had hula-hoops thrown around them. We had to wend our way between revelers, vendors and cops. Trying to find your way through the blocked streets, around piles of beads, cups etc was a feat. But we made it to the industrial area along the Mobile Ship Channel. We were some of the first folks there. Mark  tried to pass himself as a member of the media so he could get into the dock area. Nope not happening Mark was politely turned around and escorted out. Like Smokey Yunick, famous NASCAR car builder, you to say “ If ya ain’t cheat’n ya ain’t try’n”.   While waiting, we met some of the folks who came to see The SS United States arrive like us. One guy had a radio tuned to the Tugs bringing the United States in, quite the conversations between all the Tugs.   Pretty soon the funnels appeared then parts of the ship began to show. You have no idea just how big it is she is  a hundred feet longer than The Oriskany , the carrier sunk off Pensacola as a reef. She is longer than the Titanic and still holds The Blue Riband. She crossed the Atlantic from New York to Southampton in 3 days 10 hours a record that still holds today. As she slowly came into view she looked incredible, faded and a bit battered. But you could see she was still The Queen of the Transatlantic Liners.   We will be going to see the SS United States, Saturday, March 29.  We had on the schedule Conecuh Sausage trip that day, but we pushed that trip into April. Leave here, go to Mobile, see The SS United States find lunch. Then go to the Gulf of Mexico Maritime Museum, which is a pretty cool place.   It was a great day to be a Sandie, getting  to see an American Icon. From Americas halcyon days of elegant crossing of the Atlantic. Especially poignant is the fact that she will be taken apart and sunk not too far from here.  Riding with Mark  and Lorna  is always a pleasure.   This is a great video of the SS United States arriving in Mobile Bay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb4M9yV4etg

We kicked things off bright and early with our monthly business meeting. The Cat Herder  was showing off the new Sheepdog patch, and we heard all about the SS United States coming into Mobile soon. Thanks to everyone who participated and contributed to another great session. It was great seeing SpecreSteve  again, who is spending more and more of his time with his wife in the Philippines. Once the business was taken care of, it was time to hit the road. Our destination: DeFuniak Springs, Florida. We said our farewells to those who couldn’t make the ride today, and one by one we donned our gear and started our bikes. Some have more gear than others Seven Sandies made our way up north. Soon after getting out of traffic, the Dark Prince  embraces the awkward and points out the Ace  has nine RAM® Ball mounts on his Can-Am. A discussion ensued regarding the potential road name change. George pointed out that there are only so many jokes one can make with “Ram”, “Ball”, or “Mount” as a road name. Waldo  pointed out that we would be relegating Tony to a life of 70’s mustaches. The group tabled the discussion because about halfway down Bob Sikes Rd, we see a few bikes roar past heading west. GQ  mentioned the last one looked like a Triumph. Tim chimed in with looked like a Rocket 3 to him. About 10 seconds later Tommy noted the Triumph had made a U-turn and was behind him now… After a brief stop at the nearby Ritz (Food Store), we confirmed that MacRocket  had joined our band. Eight Sandies  rode into DeFuniak Springs. We rode past the tiny library, train depot, caboose, and pulled into the downtown storefronts on Baldwin Ave. It was great to catch up, share some laughs, and enjoy a delicious meal together at Perla Baking Company . Delicious With our bellies full and spirits high, we strolled outside, where JoeJoe   was actually included in a picture with the new Sheepdog Patch. Since Joe is typically behind the camera taking photos, we don’t get too many with him organically visible (he usually adds himself during post processing). Super Sixes, Sweeps, Tail, Drag, and now Sheepdogs Back on our bikes, Tim lead us through a few loops in central/eastern Walton County. The sun was shining, the air was a perfect 66°F, and these are some of the absolute best (and my personal favorite) motorcycling roads in the Panhandle. It felt like a special treat. George and Sam E  separated from the group early to go visit someone in the area. The rest of us looped and swooped our way back to 285 where the fun ended, and the commute home began again. All in all, I clocked us with 129.7 miles  (but I didn’t start tracking  until a few miles after I started) A huge thank you to everyone who came out and made this day so fantastic. Whether you were there for the meeting, the ride, or both, it was great to catch up and see some of you again. We’re already looking forward to our next adventure!   Upcoming Events: 1.       March 9th Ride to Food ( Remember Munchkin : Time springs forward one hour on this morning! ) 2.       March 16th Chili Ride 3.       March 23rd Skills 4.       March 29th Conecuh Sausage Ride

2023 < Back Bingo Bob 1961 - 2023 Robert Lawrence aka Bingo Bob Those of you “been around Sandies“ know Bob was one of the nicest people you would be privileged to know. Bob was the only person I knew that told Life Flight, at the scene of his motorcycle accident , he was riding in the Ambulance. I’m sure the Sandie gang above have already welcomed Bob home. George E Always chain smoking, and never missed a chance to point out when you were overlooking something obvious or did something dumb. He was a nice guy who genuinely cared for the Sandie family. Bob first rode with the Sand Dollar's on Jun 29, 2008. He logged 15,176 miles with the club and well liked by everyone that knew him. I always enjoyed riding in the group with him. We were heartbroken when he could no longer ride with us, and the news of his passing brought all of the memories flooding back. We miss ya Bob! Bobby B Previous Next

SDMC Leaders < About Sam E Vice President Can-Am bio president@sanddollarmc.com < Previous Next >

2017 < Back The Brick 1947 - 2017 Phil Bowie Ride on Phil, on your white winged Harley Davidson through Eternity "His Way" Phil logged 41,298 miles as a Sandie and will forever be remembers by all of those fortunate enough to ride with him. Previous Next