Day 1 – May 13th – Auburn, CA

Mather VA Medical Center – Mather, California

Auburn CA: State Coordinator: Wayne Worden

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Locations:

Begin in Auburn, CA, travel to Sacramento, and return to spend the night in Auburn

Weather:

Chilly morning, warmed to 72 in Auburn, and in Sacramento in the afternoon, it exceeded 75 for a while. Tomorrow will be near 60 when we leave but the temps will drop as we get into the Sierra Nevada mountains. The good news is, it will be dry so the chance of ice is very slim.

Agenda:

Bowman School, Auburn, CA

The short ride to Bowman School was dry and we were welcomed again to the campus for an all-student assembly.
Certificates were awarded to school representatives and to again our Larry LaVerne. In addition to appreciation certificates, Wayne Worden, California State Coordinator, presented the school with an image of our flag with a crossword-like wording acknowledging the partnership between NVAR and Bowman School (see the gallery for a copy of the image).
We concluded the visit outside where Larry LaVerne lead the kids and NVAR crew in the National Anthem. Then the honor guard—made up of two NVAR crew and three students—did the flag raising ceremony. And the Larry again led everyone in the pledge of allegiance.

Mather Medical Center, Sacramento, CA

We changed the route from Auburn to Sacramento due to construction, however, as it turned out everyone liked the new route much better. All but five miles on backroads, the majority through beautiful scenery.
Three of the women that invest their time to provide quilts for all the Veteran Medical Centers and Retirement Homes, were able to join us in gifting the quilts to veterans. Mary (Linus Project), Carol (VFW Auxiliary), and Suzanne (VFW Auxiliary), join the NVAR crew into the hospital to meet the veterans. Watching the veterans humbly accept their quilts, they all wanted to provide more quilts for future visits.
Interestingly as we were led to the rooms to meet the vets, they had a wall of five quilts made by volunteers and the names of hundreds of volunteers stitched into the quilts.
Two of the recipients were Bo and Andy Anderson, who agreed to have their pictures taken. It’s quite a sight to see their response when they learn their service is appreciated and they haven’t been forgotten.
The Road Guards did an excellent job, as usual. However, Mary, Carol and Suzanne were interestingly affected by the number of stop signs and red lights they passed through. Carol said, “I felt like I should be waving, like in a parade.”

Ride Send-Off Dinner,

Sweetpea’s Restaurant, a breakfast favorite, who serve dinner once a year, for NVAR
We do introductions. The room is filled with old friends and first-time riders. Riders have come to Sacramento from the south—Florida & Texas, the north—Minnesota & Michigan, central—Wyoming & Ohio, and west San Diego to Portland, Oregon.
I’m impressed by the fact that nearly everyone in the room included in their introduction the role they play for the ride, from Road Guard to State Coordinator and Weatherman to Chase Truck/Merchandise. There are dozens of roles and everyone contributes in their own way to make the ride a success.
Jerry and JackWagon reviewed key information we’ll need for the ride, and Wayne honored people with certificates and then introduced his invited guests.
Tonight, we got to meet Terrie Taylor who decorates the first of the overpasses we go under as we ride out of town tomorrow.
Finally, Wayne introduced Neil Fergus and his impressive list of accomplishments within the motorcycle community. A local legend, he’s ridden motorcycles for over 85 years. Today he’s ninety-five and still rides his Suzuki 650 about 100 miles a day.
We all headed out early to get a good night’s sleep, looking forward to waving to the kids as we drive through Bowman School, and waving up to Terrie and friends on the Auburn overpass and the VFW Auxiliary on the overpass in Colfax.

Thank a veteran today,

Thank You – Libby Worden – Sitrep Admin