The wedding.....

 9:39 am - Sunday - April 3rd - Elks Backyard, CA - 58° F, humidity 73%, wind 5 mph out of the southwest......overcast today with a forecast high of 66° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were at Monument Valley taking the sunset tour.....amazing.....↴

For the first time in a long time I've taken more than one, or two bike rides along the PET here in Fontana.  I can see real improvement in my conditioning, and endurance, and Saturday the realization that the ride I would take Saturday would be my last this time around began to settle into my brain as I began my ride westward.  This is one of my favorite places to ride as I don't have to share the bike path with motor vehicles.  Initially I thought I would just ride as far as Cherry Avenue, which is 5+ miles out, and then turn around making my last ride a 10+ mile ride, but as I neared Cherry I realized I was feeling strong, and decided to make the turn around point Rochester.  When I reached Rochester in just under 43 minutes I was averaging 12.8 mph.....my best this time around.......

......riding to Rochester I gained about 143' in elevation, so going back east I knew it was mostly a downhill grade.  Normally I end my ride at Linden, which is about 1/4 block east of the Elks Lodge entrance, but I decided to go all the way to the eastern terminus of the PET.....Cactus Avenue where I made my last turn around, and headed for home......

....by the time I parked the bike at our trailer I had covered 20.5 miles, burned 1,166 calories, and averaged 13.6 mph....again, my best this time around......

......I covered those 20.5 miles in 1 hour and 30 minutes.  To say I was beat is an understatement, but it was a good kind of 'beat', if you know what I mean.  It was after 12 pm, so before I ate my first meal of the day I did my daily weigh in......I hit a new low....190.8 lbs....just 9 more ounces before I break the 190 pound barrier....a barrier I have not broken since 2014....I am one happy guy!  So far my waist line has shrunk by 3".  TLE also hit a new weigh in low.

Of course, Saturday is the reason we are back here at the Elks....it was the day of my oldest granddaughter's (Cynthia) wedding to Daniel.  The wedding was scheduled for 5:30 pm at the Pomona Valley Mining Company in, of course, Pomona, CA.  By the time I finished lunch it was around 1 pm, and there was one more task I needed to accomplish before we leave Fontana this week.....paint both the engine bays.....the Oregon Coast salt air was not kind to them, and they needed a little rust abatement.  I had two cans of the Rustoleum Gray Gloss paint, and figured it would take one per bay, and it did.  They look so much better now, and so do the rubber mats which cover them.....

The driver side engine bay

The passenger side with rubber mat reinstalled

....I finished with that task around 2:30 pm.....time for a nap and a shower!

We left home to make the drive to the wedding venue around 4 pm, and arrived there without incident around 4:30 pm. Unike most weddings, this one began on time.....my daughter is s very punctual person!   Finally, around 5:30 my daughter, Meredith, who was the officiant, called everything to order, and the service began.....

Meredith with her two brothers (Tim and Chris)

....I love short wedding ceremonies, and this one lasted about 15 minutes, then it was time to party, and celebrate.....

Wedding party

First dance

Father/daughter dance

My kids hamming it up....love it!

Brings a tear to my eye....I am blessed beyond measure

More of the beautiful women in my life.  Back row, left to right: Yvonne, Meredith, Amanda, TLE, Jena, Sharon.  Front row, left to right: Danielle, Kate, Ali, and Jeannie (my brother's wife)

The Pomona Valley at night....beautiful!

Post wedding pics....left to right: Chris, Rochelle, Cynthia, and Daniel

Left to right: Kate (daughter), Jena, Sharon (daughter) Amanda, and Ali.....I am blessed with all of these beautiful ladies in my life

Left to right: Travis and Keith.....friends of my son, Chris, since 1986.....honorary Hockwald's

Father's first look of his daughter in her wedding dress

.....what an amazing evening TLE and I had....my heart if overflowing.  I lost track of how many times I hugged each of my children, and grand children.  TLE and I have been blessed with so many weddings, births of grand children, and great grand children over the 10 years we have been vagabonding.  Many tears of joy were shed by all.

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