ABATE of Washington Has Grown PT2

When I left you last, Gypsy had been left outside in a parking lot with a few strange bikes, and a bunch of cages.  That was bad enough, but then sometime during the night it started to rain.  I got up out of habit a little after 5:00 am.  I laid there for a few minutes, and finally just said; "Fuck it" and got up.  I went in, used the bathroom, then took a quick shower.  By the time I came out, Robin and Mo were awake, and Charlene would soon be.  So we turned on the TV, and waited for the continental breakfast to be ready.  

I went outside, and saw it was raining.  Not hard, but just enough to make everything wet, and seem miserable.  But, the weatherman had said it was suppose to be a fairly decent day...so I kept the faith, and didn't get too disappointed.  Which is a good thing, because, by the time the registration for the S.T.E.A.M. training was about to start, the rain had stopped, and everything had dried out.  The sun even finally burned its way through the thin cloud layer by about noon or so.

When we went into the conference room, Mo recognized one of the other people there.  It turns out he had gone to school with one of them back about 40 years ago or so.  Everyone was really friendly, and several people came up and introduced themselves simply because they didn't know who we were, but knew we were in ABATE because we were there.  When they heard we were from one of the two chapters wanting to be chartered, it was like suddenly meeting a bunch of cousins you didn't know you ahd before.

The training was mostly on how ABATE operates, and its structure.  What it's goals are, and how things should be run, and why things are done the way they are.  Good information, put out in a friendly, concise manner so it was understandable.  Finally it the training and seminars were done, and it was time for a good hearty meal.  

After dinner, everyone more or less went their own way...little groups gathering together, or hanging out in rooms, or hitting the bars for a while.  Just an average night when a bunch of riders hit a town with friends old and new.

I made the mistake of kicking back on the bed and watching a little TV.  I was out before 9PM...but up again at 4:45 in the AM.  The sky was clear, and the temps were down below freezing.  But that I'll leave until the final part of this little story.  So until then;

I'll catch you on the road sometime...