On The Road Again - Homeward Bound

Monday, April 30:
This past weekend flew by, but we had a great time at the Talladega Super Speedway for the Aaron's 499. We arrived at the Track and got all set up on Friday before Cully arrived from Tennessee and we had just enough time to walk over to the Track to catch the last Practice for the Nextel Cup Cars.
Saturday - I was up bright and early and walking over to the Track at 7:00 a.m. to get myself on a Garage Tour with the Official Nascar Members Club ("ONMC"). I had pre-registered, but needed to check-in. I was the first one there in line to check in with plenty of time so after I got my wristband for the Garage Tour, I walked around the Driver Trailers and saw a line forming near Bobby Labonte's trailer so I stepped into line hoping that I would make it back to the ONMC booth at 8:00 for the Tour. I was successful at both of those agenda items. I got a ticket to come back after the Busch Race to get Bobby Labonte's autograph at the Trailer.
The Garage Tour was great, we got to see several drivers and crew chiefs and Cup cars coming out of and going into Inspection befor Qualifying and I got pictures of them too. I never saw Jeff's car and found out later that it was because he was already on Pit Road because he was the first car to Qualify. After the Garage Tour I walked back to the RV and we relaxed until Cully was ready to go over to the Busch Race. I decided to go to Bobby Labonte's trailer and when I arrived I noticed people lining up for his autograph and the Busch Race hadn't even started, so I got me a piece of cardboard and found a semi-comfortable spot with only 10 people ahead of me to wait for Bobby to arrive. It ended up that I waited there for 4 1/2 hours for Bobby to arrive because he WON the race. But we got is autograph on a die-cast car and on another item that I will use in my scrapbook pages with the pictures of Rudy shaking hands with him and talking to him, too!
After the autograph session we walked back to the RV and Rudy fixed us some supper.
Sunday - Race Day - I was up bright and early again, but I just went outside to read awhile so that they guys could sleep in some. We left for our walk to the Track around 10:30 a.m. so that we could go to the Vendor area and check out the Exhibits there. Rudy got a new pair of Crocs and we got to go in the AAA viewing booth, had our pictures taken with the Sprint-NEXTEL Championship Trophy and I also go my picture take at the # 24 Nicorette tent with Jeff and his Car. (its a tradition).
We went to find out seat around 11:30 so that we could be all settled in before Driver Introductions and eat our sandwiches that Rudy prepared before we left that morning. We had great seats in O.V. North Tower - Row 41, Seats 12, 13, & 14. We saw a lot of the pit action and could see the whole track from our seats!
After the Race we walked back to the RV for showers and Rudy fixed us chicken & potatoes on the grill and green beans! YUMMY!

We left the Track this morning at 7:15 a.m. CST and just down the road we lost an hour by going into EST. We stopped one time just south of Atlanta for a leg-stretch and bathroom break. We should arrive home around 7:00 tonight if all goes well and the traffic isn't too bad!
It was a great trip and with Jeff getting his 77th WIN when I am in attendance at the Track puts the icing on the cake!

If you'd like to see more pictures from our Talladega Race Trip go to the following websites:

http://my.onmc.com/Igo2C24 and/or http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v719/1GordonFan/Dega-April%202007/

Talladega Bound

Chapter One: It is 7:45 pm and we are on the road to Talladega, AL for the NASCAR Race on Sunday. We've gone 133 miles so far and we left around 5:30 by the time we stopped for gas and got out of the Apopka traffic. We are making good time now- traveling about 70 m.p.h. in this first real road trip in the new RV. We will be stopping later this evening to get some shut-eye for a few hours and then up bright and early so that we can be at the Track and set up in our Camp spot before Cully arrives from Tennessee.
So far the weather has been great. Blue, sunny skies and temps in the mid-80's and a nice breeze coming through the Coach as we travel down the road.
We don't really have an specific plans for tomorrow at the track other than maybe try to get some tickets to go to Cup Practice and get to the SPEED Stage to watch as they tape the shows for airing. I've got a schedule and so I will try to keep these guys in line and active!! This Race is an impound Race so that means that they will practice tomorrow and then Qualify on Saturday and then the cars are put in the Garage Stalls until Sunday for the Race.
No working on the Cars after they Qualify this weekend!
The weather is showing some rain showers on Saturday, but again we don't have any specific plans for that day, so I will try to sleep in some and let the guys lounge around that day!
I will be keeping a log of when we reach certain travel markers and try to get pictures of the STATE signs as we come to the borders. (i'll add them later to this page).

Great Weekend!

We had a great weekend - beautiful blue sunny skies with temperatures in the low 80's for three days with just a slight breeze - the perfect Florida weather! So while Travis & Rosa moved into their own house [yeah :-)], we took care of Elani and with the weather being so perfect, I took Elani to the beach on Friday and then Rudy went with us on Sunday. We had a great weekend with Elani - taking her to church and she even slept in a "big" bed!

I got lots of cleaning and laundry done too, in between playing with Elani outside and inside and at the Beach. The weekend was productive and fun, relaxing and fun, and to top it off, Jeff Gordon WON the NASCAR race at Phoenix on Saturday night breaking all kinds of records (i.e., Only Driver to WIN from the Pole position, WIN # 76 tying Dale Earnhardt, & it was Jeff's FIRST WIN at Phoenix.)

Thursday, we are on the road north to Talladega, Alabama to camp at the Race Track for the weekend and attending the Race on Sunday! Got to get some packing done!!

More From Texas

Wow - Was it every windy and cold on Saturday in the Fort Worth area. We found a place for breakfast and then went to Sundance Square in the heart of downtown Fort Worth to see what NASCAR exhibits and fun things there might be to do there. We didn't stay long though - the wind was fierce and was whipping around that Square gusting to about 30 m.p.h. at times. We test drove some new Chevy vehicles though just for fun and for a warm place to be...

Saturday Night we got tickets to the Rodeo back at the Stock Yards District. We saw Jeff Hammond (FOX Sports NASCAR commentator) there, but couldn't get close enough for an autograph. (I've gotten it on several other occasions). After the Rodeo we walked back to our Hotel and got a good nights rest with the intent of getting up early to be at the Track when the Gates opened.

Sunday morning we woke up to clear blue skies, no wind and the promise of sunshine for the whole day with temperatures in the mid-70's! YEAH - some typical Texas weather for a change. We were on the road and heading towards Texas Motor Speedway by 8:00 a.m.

We got into a little bit of traffic, but made our way to the Track and to the ONMC Registration Booth where Cully and I checked in for our pre-registered 11:00 a.m. Garage Tour. After, we walked around to some of the exhibits, got our pictures taken with David Ragan and his autograph at the AAA booth.

Just before 11:00 a.m. Cully and I left Rudy chatting with some Race Fans and headed for our Garage Tour. It was the best tour I've every been on. Our Guide, Spencer was great! He pointed out Drivers, Crew Chiefs, and others as we walked through the Garage Areas. Just as the Driver Meeting was getting out we caught glimpses of Richard Childress, Steve Letarte, and I got 6 shots of Jeff Gordon as he walked by signing some lucky fan's white helmet. Then we say Kasey Kayne and Ray Evernham just standing by the garage chatting, Richard Childress and Clint Boyer, Mike Helton, & Jack Roush (just to drop a few names).......

We got to see some of the last cars going into and coming out of Pre-Race Inspection, including the # 43, # 83, # 7, # 99, # 48 and # 24, so we stopped to get a picture of us up close and near these cars, the haulers and garages. We got to experience the hype and excitement of those crews and workers in the Garage area before the Race. After our Tour we headed to our seats and met Rudy there between Turns 1 and 2 to watch the Race.

After the Race we headed back to the Stock Yards District to our favorite place to eat - Riscky's BarBQ, where we sat out on the patio and watched the people and listened to the music of a wanna-be country band.

It was a long day, so after dinner we walked back to our Hotel to pack, shower and get ready for an early morning and flights back home.

We are on the Road again in two weeks, traveling to Talladega, Alabama in the RV for another Race Weekend!

April 14- Fort Worth, Texas

WE SURVIVED!! First we arrived at DFW at Noon yesterday to here that they were expecting some heavy storms later in the afternoon, so we got our luggage, rental car and headed to find a good place to eat on the way to our pre-arranged place of residence for the weekend, TEXAS HOTEL. After locating our Hotel in the heart of the Stockyards District of Fort Worth, we checked in and walked the streets of this very authentic western city. Cowboys everywhere, walking, riding their horses and a bar on every corner plus some. We did a little souvenir shopping and then watched the Cattle Drive down the Main Street (this happens every day - twice a day). Long-horn steer are walked from one end of the stock yards to the other with Cowboys leading them along. While in the General Store browsing - we noticed the CLOSED sign was put on the door and the proprietor told us that they were closing early as they were expecting 100 mph winds within the next 30 minutes - We left and walked back to our hotel and arrived just in time to hear the Tornado Sirens go off and the storm hit. We looked out to see golf ball size hail hitting the roof next too us and lots of rain. This lasted about an hour and it blew away. We didn't see a lot of damage around us as we took another walk through the streets after the rain stopped, but the TV was showing some badly damaged areas nearer to the airport where we were earlier in the day. We felt very fortunate to have gotten on the ground here and in our Hotel before all of this hit.
Today it is suppose to be cooler with temps only in the 50's, cloudy, but clearing with no more rain or storms. Sunday - Race Day is suppose to be better with some Sun and warmer temps.

More updates will follow.

Our Easter Weekend

It came and went too fast, but we had a blast! We left Thursday, April 5th for RV Camping with friends north of Clermont and we took Elani with us! She was so good, she played outside almost constantly, she slept well and ate well and we all had so much fun! We went for long walks, spent a lot of time at the swing set and she made a new friend, Princess - the Yorkie!

This weekend is typically a very relaxing weekend with visiting with friends, reading good books and just plain relaxing, do-nothing time! With Elani we did see a little more action, but it was worth it. We even colored Easter Eggs for the very first time with her. She was totally amazed and tickled to see those white eggs turn colors. When we arrived back home on Sunday, I hid them for her in the backyard around the patio and she hunted with everyone's help to find them all. She had so much fun, I can still hear her giggles of delight as she found all 11 of them.

He mamma and papa got her an Easter Basket (the green one - Shrek) and we got her another one filled with all kinds of goodies for the bath and play time! She isn't into chocolate so she didn't get much of it, but she did try to eat some of it and aftwards was put in the tub for a bubble bath.

I can't wait to take her again for this monthly camp-out weekend.

Friday we leave for Fort Worth, Texas for another NASCAR Race so I will be adding new pics and have lots of stories to tell.

April

April 4, 2007 - It is my baby boy, Travis' 28th Birthday today! My, how time flies..... We are taking him and his family out for dinner tonight. Should be interesting and fun! Pictures will follow later and I will add them.
Got to get those eggs colored too one of these nights before Sunday, so Elani can have her very first Easter Egg Hunt in the backyard. Hopefully another memorable photoshoot - I have so many ideas in my head of what I would like to get pictures of and rarely do they ever "develop" the way I dream..... But we will see, I will not give up!!

On the road again this weekend with our Florida Outdoor Club camping in northern/central Florida. R&R Time - Can't wait!