Fred Chavarria

2014 - Alaska to Texas and back on a Motorcycle: Here we go! Blog number 1! I will be detailing my solo motorcycle ride from Ketchikan, AK to Corpus Christi, TX and back on my 2006 Honda VTX1300C. It begins in Ketchikan, AK where I have to take a ferry (2 days) to Bellingham, WA. Once in Bellingham, the actual road trip begins. I will be riding through the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and then back! When I reach my destination in South Texas, I will spend a few days visiting family and friends and then start back after a little exploring as well. I have taken a month off from work for this trip. I have talked about doing a cross country ride since my early twenties and finally now in my fifties, I have the bike and opportunity to fulfill this fantasy ride. Along the way, I intend to talk about folks I meet and stories from my past that I think will be funny/interesting and sometimes odd. It depends on what I encounter on the way that sparks an old memory! Watch out for a couple of funny confessions along the way! Away I Go! // 2015 - Iceland on Horseback: Blog number two! This year's grand adventure is Iceland on horseback. This trip is more on my wife, Tammy's, bucket list but it sounded like a great trip to me so, here we go! Before we actually get to Iceland we have two days in Washington and big plans. We have a surprise birthday party for my sister-in-law, Debbie to attend and a small family reunion for Tammy's aunt and uncle's family, the Fishes. Originally we thought that perhaps we would go to Iceland, Tammy would do the horseback adventure and I would rent a motorcycle and go explore Iceland that way. Well, all the reading we did said that the best way to see Iceland is on horseback! That was it, I wanted to see the best of Iceland, and so horseback it is! Iceland is an island about the size of the state of Kentucky and only has about 300,000 people living on it. Most people actually live along the coast since the interior is inhospitable. I would guess the population size could be attributed to the fact that only about twenty percent of Iceland is habitable. When I told friends where we were going, I had to repeatedly explain that Iceland is green and Greenland is Icy! The people of Iceland are of Viking decent so I am really looking forward to the cultural differences and to see how our foods and drinks differ. Since we will be in Viking land, I thought I should give Tammy her new Viking name and call her this during our stay. Henceforth, she will be known as Helga. I told her this but I don't think she is buying in!?! Here we go! Wish us luck and a soft saddle! // 2015 - Family comes to Alaska: So, this is a short blog of my sisters Amelia and Nina's visit to my home in Ketchikan, AK. They came for a week with their husbands Raul and Jerry. Nina has been here once before but Amelia doesn't like to fly so this is her first visit here. I wanted to make this short blog so that their kids back home in Corpus Christi, TX could see some of the sights we showed their parents. Since I am preparing this blog, it most likely will just have my recollections of their experiences so they will need to fill in the gaps for you in person.