When Marriott bought Gaylord hotels two years ago, it meant little to me, if anything. But when I road the motorcycle to Music City on Memorial Day weekend, it mean everything. I had lots of Marriott hotel points, and therefore had free-ish lodging at one of the coolest hotels. Have you seen it?

Gaylord 

I will never forget my first stay at the Gaylord Opryland Resort years early. Before arriving, I totally had visions of Hee Haw do-si-do-ing in my head. You know, barn door motif, hay bales, bib overalls, “Daisy Dukes” and the like.

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– from T-Mobile Press Release …

Like HD Voice, Voice-over LTE (VoLTE) and a host of other pioneering wireless innovations, T-Mobile has also long led the way with Wi-Fi Calling. Back in 2007, we were the very first US wireless provider to enable Wi-Fi Calling nationwide on our Android™-powered and Windows smartphones.

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About a minute after I posted the 1,400-mile review of the Triumph Thunderbird LT, it donned on me that I didn’t mention it is belt driven. Big difference. Anyone besides me remember the old song “We’ll see the world on my Harley, if the chain don’t break”? Oh wow. I knew the original was by Sailcat. I had no idea that the Sugarcubes had covered the song. I digress …

About that belt drive, by the way. There is no tachometer on the bike, so you can judge your r.p.m.s by belt vibration or wobble or whatever. The belt makes a sound that reminds me of the belt on a device Papa Pingel bought when I was a mere lad. He had a weight-loss, jiggly thing … a motor on a stand, with a belt 4-inches wide, that you could strap around your waist, turn on, and wobble yourself to skinny oblivion. Didn’t work. Ha … I saw pieces of it lying by the old barn at the Ping Farm recently. I should probably try to resurrect it and use it. I digress …

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The Bird

Before and after I bought the 2014 Triumph Thunderbird LT read many motorcycle reviews. One reviewer thought the bird blew away the home team favorite Harley. That writer was British. Another reviewer preferred the Victory over the Triumph and The Harley all in the similar touring class — leather baggers. Pretty sure there were some Victory ads throughout his Website. All of the reviews I read praised the Triumph for the most comfortable seat. So, I deduce all motorcycle writers have big arses.

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I found another coffee shop in Columbia by chance, just because it is near my grocery store. Ha … when on the road for one of these long projects, the grocery store is an important place. In the small cities, when I am tired from The Dirty Gig, or maybe a long ride, it is a big night out for me.   You know … unless the small city has a Walmart:)  I digress …

Anywho … Dunn Bros Coffee is only a short ride from the hotel, so on this fine morning, here I am.

Pretty sure I have blogged about these guys — back when the blog was called The Wi-Fi Guy … maybe in Minnesota, way back when.

Dunn Bros

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No one else would really care about this … but that’s blogging, right? On the ride from Fort Worth to Columbia Mizzou, i pulled the bike over in Springfield, Mo. for two reasons. First my friend Markus (with a K) is from Springfield. Second, so is one of my favorite old bands, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. So, I thought it would be funny if I just started asking people on the street if they knew where I could find the OMDDs. Hmmm … maybe too quirky for even me. I put the idea on the back burner … So, I had pulled into a gas station and I noticed this guy sort of limping on by and looking at the Triumph. He didn’t say anything. Later when he came out of the convenience store, he complimented me on the bike and started telling me all about his motorcycle days. He was the 2nd best motocross racer in Missouri, he said. And his walk was impaired by the many wipeouts. Great guy. Said he rode a Penton, back in the day. And he knew all about Triumphs. OK … I couldn’t resist … “So, do you know where I can find the Ozark Mountain Daredevils?” He got a huge grin on his face. And said, “That is funny that you mention them because i used to date one of the guys’ sisters and we hung out at their practice studio all the time.” He went on to tell me which band member was doing what these days. He knew that one of the band members went on to be a doctor (which I know to be true). He filled me in on about 20 years of DareDevil history … ha … and I was leaving, he ran to his truck and pulled a bunch of OMDD CDs from the glove compartment just to add authenticity to his stories … It was a nice little classic rock moment to break up the ride. Yep … Fort Worth to Columbia … 600 miles and 9 hours later … Done!

Know what I sayin?

I do like a college town, but the time had come to take a break from preppies and hipsters, so I ambled over to foreign-studentville. Bubblecup boba tea caught my eye about a week ago, and despite it being next door to a local ice cream legend, I did it anyway.

BubbleCup? Or is it LolliCup as is printed on the Fire Department certificate on the wall? Hmm …

Ha … this place is authentico, or whatever the word is in Mandarin. I spoke briefly with the manager who is from The Republic of China. She was proud to tell me where boba originated in the orient, and said the word translates as “pearl.” I told her, for me, boba originated in Berkeley 2004, at which time I tried, loved and also Googled the word and according to the Internet of teas, it also means “nipple.”

Boba Tea

Long story short, boba is a cup of tea that is loaded at the bottom with a handful of  dark brown tapioca balls, about a .38 caliber, I would say.

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No, PingWi-Fi. You can’t judge a coffee bar by its dreadlocked buskers. I totally expected to be overcome by the telltale, pungent odor of patchouli … eau de hippie … when I checked out Columbia’s homegrown Lakota Coffee Company. Not so. There is an earthy vibe … yes … real timber chairs, an American Native tribal name, rustic brick walls and perhaps a more laid back crowd than some of the other places on Ninth … the college scene of Columbia, Mo.

But … Lakota (love the name) may be the best in town for my purposes — a great Wi-Fi network, a delicious chai tea shake (not a frappe) … a shake with lots of ice cream … paninis … and fairly nice baristas (once you get them warmed up).

Lakota

Elizabeth, Lauren, Hannah at Lakota

In the back, the wall is lined with student lab-like work stations, complete with blinders so the next doctoral student can’t steal your thesis or scope your selfies. The Wi-Fi is password protected, but quick to let you come onboard. And, I am told Lakota is truly “a mom and pop shop.” Wonder if the photo of a Texas dj (KOKE-FM) interviewing a member of Little Feat in the photo by the head has anything to do with “Mom” or “Pop.”

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Ninth Bux

Today, let’s get old school here in the college town of Columbia, Mo. None of that blogging about nothing. No rock or film reviews. No interviews of FOX or CBS correspondents (dig into ping, they’re there). Today, we ping Wi-Fi hotspots — as we did when this blog began — here in the “Athens of Missouri.”

First up … a tale of three lattes — three Starbucks within about a five-mile radius. First up, I hit the Bux on Broadway, over by Stephens Lake Park.

For gosh sakes, hang some dark shades over the windows on the west side of the cafe or give two for one discounts on tanning. Otherwise, great Wi-Fi and a nice green tea frap, almost as good as the ones back home in Fort Worth – 6 pings.

Quick story. There’s only two easy chairs in the joint. Naturally I nabbed one at the first avail. Soon after, a foreign doctoral candidate entered my airspace to snatch up the chair that was the ying to my cushioned yang. Land grabber! She always wanted the foot stool sitting in front of me. On first thought, I was courteous and gave it up quickly. She showed little gratitude, but I gave her a break for cultural differences, but then decided to pull her leg a bit. I pulled out my earbuds and motioned for her to do the same.

“I’ve changed my mind. I want it,” I said, in my most serious voice.

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