In our seats- Yarborough Terrace, Section 3, Row 2
  The guys on the hill overlooking the Track & Drag Strip
Me & Rudy in our seats
Rudy & Cully @ Qualifying (on the frontstretch)
Rudy & me at a Scenic Look Out in TN mountains.

Bristol Motor Speedway Spring Race - March 2009

Wednesday, March 18, 5:45 p.m.  

We pulled out in the RV heading north for our final destination of Bristol Tennessee, for the 5th race of NASCAR season.  We drove until around 10:00 where we stopped at the SC Welcome Center and got some shut-eye.

Thursday, March 19:    I woke up at 5:45 a.m. and we were on the road by 6:15 heading north again.  We only stopped for fuel, breakfast and a short while at a Scenic Pull-Over in TN before arriving at the Track campground - Pole Position.  We got all set up and Rudy was fixing some supper when it started to rain and the wind began to blow.  We watched several movies while waiting for Cully to arrive.  He got there around 11:30 p.m. and we all were tucked into bed by 12:30 a.m.

Friday, March 20:  After showers and breakfast we put on our heavy jackets because it was very chilly, but there was lots of sun before we hiked over to the Track to watch Practice and Qualifying of the Sprint Cup cars.  We sat directly in front of Jeff Gordon's pit stall so that I could get some pictures of him and his crew working on the # 24 Car.  I also pictures of some of the other drivers, too.

After Qualifying we roamed around the outside of the track checking out all the merchandise trailers and across the street to the flea market tents to find some bargains.  Rudy still hasn't found a # 14 Tony Stewart shirt that he likes and we need a new large decal for the rear of the RV.  We then watched a little of 2nd practice before heading back to the RV for a snack, since we told GJ that we would wait for him to arrive before eating supper.  GJ got there around 7 p.m., but Cully & I had run into town for some supplies while Rudy cooked our Friday Night Special - pasta, two kinds of sauces, garlic toast and salad.  It was delicious!!  It was very chilly during the night, everyone had as many blankets on as we could muster up. 

Saturday, March 21:  We woke up to sunny blue skies and very cold temps in the mid 20's...Too cold for this Florida girl!

Sunday, March 22 - Race Day @ Bristol:  With the racing activities not beginning until 1:30 with Driver Intros we went up the hill to take some pictures overlooking the Track.  What a sight..... the drag-strip was full of RV's, and there were campers and cars everywhere around the track.  With the mountains in the background and lots of hills, it was a beautiful sight to behold.  The Race was very interesting with # 18 Kyle Busch winning, Jeff Gordon finished 4th and there were only 15 cars on the lead lap.  We actually saw 4-wide racing down the backstretch at one time and 3-wide several times.   It is a very quick .533 mile track so the 500 miles was complete at 5:15 p.m. and we took our time walking back down the hill and up the hills to our RV spot (about 1 1/2 miles)  160,000 people pack there way into this stadium-style race track, and all or most all of them are wanting to get out and head home after the race.  It is like a sea of people walking to the main gate!

GJ left right after the race, Rudy grilled us a great dinner and we enjoyed the cool evening under the awning until the sun went down.

Monday, March 23, 6:00 a.m.  I woke up and got Rudy up and we got ready to hit the road.  Cully was flying out, but was leaving too and we were all packed up and ready to leave at 7:00 a.m.  We travel through 5 states to get to this Race, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.  The Blue Ridge Mountains are gorgeous, but a little stressful to drive through in the RV.  We saw dogwood trees and daffodils in bloom along the way, to.

4:50 p.m. and we just crossed over the Florida state line from Georgia, and it is raining, overcast and a little chilly.  ETA at home is 7:45 p.m.  Just in time to unpack and got to bed.  We had a great time with our friends and can't wait to do it again real soon.

Next planned RV Road Trip is in April to the Talladega Race in Alabama, unless something comes up before that.  At any rate, we will see you on the road!  Buckle those belts and hang on tight!!

High Springs, Florida - Camp Kulaqua

March 6-8, 2009
Thursday when I got off from work we headed north to High Springs, FL (just a few miles north of Gainesville) for Cowboy Campmeeting at Camp Kulaqua. Rudy and Elani got everything ready to roll and we hit the road around 5:45 arriving at a little past 8:00 p.m. We set up with the 9-10 other RVer's in our little circle and got ready for a quiet, peaceful rest in the woods.
We woke up early on Friday and had a great breakfast before heading to the Horse Barn. Elani was anxious to see the horses and hopefully get a ride. We waited around awhile and then one of the wranglers gave her a ride around the paddock on Big Boy (Elani's favorite white horse). After her little ride, we took a nice long walk around the grounds, finding a playground, the Springs where we watched turtles and tadpoles and other water animals play. By this time it was lunch time so we made our way back to the RV site and got some lunch and relaxed in the sun for the afternoon while other campers arrived.
The first meeting was at 7:00 p.m. and it was very good. Lots of southern gospel music and a wonderful message by the guest speaker, Dan Smith from La Sierra University church. at 9:30 p.m. we were all exhausted and ready for bed. The sunshine and fresh air was refreshing and it helped us all sleep so well.
Saturday morning we got up and had a great breakfast of blueberry pancakes and then Elani rode her bicycle to Sabbath School where she sang songs, made new friends and made craft projects. Church was in the King Chapel where again we received a wonderful message of hope and love and were blessed with great music.
The featured guest speaker joined our group for Sabbath potluck as he had an aunt and uncle among us. There were two more programs that afternoon and evening. Rudy and Elani made it to the Zoo, too.
Sunday we again went to the horse barn to see if Elani could get another ride on a horse. This time her favorite horse was Sassy, a pretty little bay that was so gentle and sweet. Elani told the wrangler that was leading her around the open field that she "loved riding horses". Makes me wish we were still in Michigan and had some horses of our own. She would have a blast with them. After Elani's ride we pulled out of the camp for our trip home. It was such a great weekend with sunny blue skies and temps in the lower 80's. I think that Spring has finally arrived here in central Florida.

We will be heading to Bristol, TN on our next adventure to the spring NASCAR race there on Wednesday, March 18th, where we will meet our good friends and racing buddies, GJ and Cully for another weekend of Racing Fun!

See ya on the road!

Daytona Bike Week (end) - Feb. 26-29, 2009

When I arrived home on Thursday, Rudy had the RV packed, Bike loaded and we were ready to roll.  We arrived at Crazy Horse Campground, unloaded the bike and settled in for the evening around 9 p.m. after Rudy fixed a great dinner.

Friday, Feb 27 - We were up and ready to roll and see the sites by 9:30 a.m., so off we went with our first stop on the outside of Daytona International Speedway to visit all the Bike vendors, leather sale tents and all the other miscellaneous items that Bikers just have to acquire.  We then headed towards to The Loop and ended up at Flagler Beach for lunch at Joseph's Italian Restaurant across from the Flagler Beach pier.  They have the best italian food around! We then rode back along the beach to Daytona, explored some on Beach Street, walking through Daytona Harley Davidson.  Later we drove out to Destination Daytona for more sights, and window shopping.  Rudy did find some new handle bar grips and some "Sharks Gills" that he will be adding to our bike this week. (more chrome)....

We couldn't ask for better weather with sunny, blue skies and just a light breeze.

Saturday, again we got up and hit the road early cruising again down Beach street making our way across the bridge to Main Street - just for the experience - There are bikes everywhere and there are all kinds of bikes, pretty bikes, not-so-pretty bikes and all kinds of riders too!

It is always a good experience to come and be here for a couple of days, enjoying the sights, sounds and watching people.  After a ride to Ponce Inlet to the Light House and a stop along the beach, we  drove down 1A to New Smyrna and discovered a Gold Wing Rally so we visited for awhile and then headed back to the RV.

The weather wasn't looking too good for riding on Sunday, so we  decided to load up the bike and get things ready to roll in the morning bright and early.

We arrived home and totally unloaded and everything put away by 11:30 a.m. (just a little rain on the way home).  Rudy fixed a great dinner and now we are ready to watch the NASCAR race.

It was a great weekend get-away and time together.

See ya on the road!