PEPSI 400

Janine and I were there! Can you believe it? Janine got tickets off the internet three days before the race so we sat in the 5th row of Section A in DePalma Grandstands. Not the best seats, but WE WERE THERE! The rain held off and there was lots of excitement in front of our seats on the 4th turn, entrance to Pit Road. This was the last PEPSI 400 and the last SuperSpeedway Race with the Car of Yesterday and Jamie McMurray WON - Jeff Gordon came in 5th after leading laps and starting from the Pole. Coke is going to be the official drink of the ISC tracks from here on out and so who knows if there will be another Pepsi 400. And next year all the races will be with the Car of Tomorrow - (COT). So Janine and I experienced along with thousands of others this historical race on 07/07/07.

4th of July Week Beach Trip

Friday - June 29: We were on the road again, but in the car heading to the Gulf Beaches this time to spend a few days relaxing in the sun with a good book and magazines. We collected shark's teeth, seashells, ate at Sharky's on The Pier, watched the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico and just plain relaxed! Our friend, Janine came and spent the first few days with us. Friday after dinner at Sharky's we watched the sun go down at the South Jetty where the dolphins jumped and played as we watched and a couple of manatees played by the rocks. It was totally amazing, but as soon as the sun set and we had gotten our hundreds of pictures over the waters, it started to rain.

Saturday - June 30: We again enjoyed time at the Beach and then a great dinner that Rudy cooked for us and then ended the day at the Englewood Beach to watch the sunset over the Gulf as we sat quietly in our chairs and took in the magnificent sky and listened to the waves come crashing in.

Sunday - July 1: This started our week-long routine of getting up, having breakfast, leaving for the beach by 9:00 a.m., coming back to the house for showers, lunch and some R&R for the afternoon (I make lots of scrapbook pages), then in the evening we would venture out again to just site-see in the area.

Thursday, July 5: Rudy decided that we were going to take a drive to Fort Myers and find a restaurant called Famous Dave's that we saw advertised on TV. So on this very warm afternoon we hit the road south and had a great dinner at a place we've never eaten before.

New adventures and spur of the moment things are always fun!
Our daily routine was carried out through Thursday and then Friday, July 6th, we packed up and headed home with a stop in Sebring for our monthly hair cuts. We arrived home on Friday, unpacked and settled in to go back to the every-day work week until we are able to take another couple of days and travel on the road for fun, rest and relaxation!

Penny's Birthday Weekend at Daytona Beach!

In my opinion it is the best way to celebrate your birthday - on the beach, soaking up the rays, relaxing poolside or in the white sands of Daytona Beach. It was a great relaxing 4 days that Rudy and I spent in Daytona on the beach. We walked on the beach, soaked up the sunshine and swam in the pool as much as I could. We ate at great restaurants and visited the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse at the farthest point of A1A South that you can go. We ever climbed the 203 slim winding steps to the top of the Lighthouse and took in the spectacular view over the Atlantic Ocean. Then to top it all off Rudy surprised me with a Richard Petty Ride-Along on the 2 1/2 mile, 33 degree high-banks of Daytona International Speedway going 165 miles an hour in the Car of Tomorrow from NASCAR. Just like the sign says at the the Track, 'FEEDING MY OBSESSION - MY NEED FOR SPEED! It was awesome and a great experience that is hard to compare anything to. On our way home from the Beach, Rudy took me to dinner at Don Pablos for the final portion of celebrating this year. I don't care what others say, birthday really aren't that bad when you can celebrate them like this!

Feeding the Obsession - Need for Speed!

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story!

My Birthday Weekend in Daytona

What a weekend! It was so relaxing and fun-filled at the same time. Rudy and soaked up the sun at the pool and on the beach, we walked in the twilight, ate good food, went to Daytona USA and as a gift from Rudy we took part in the Petty Driving Experience with three laps around the high-banks of Daytona International Speedway on Sunday morning in a Car of Tomorrow! It was awesome! Going 165 miles per hour is such a rush! We also took a drive up to Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and walked through through the museum which included the 203 circular-step trip up to the top of the Lighthouse to see the Atlantic ocean for 25 miles! It was spectacular and I highly recommend it to anyone in that area. Just follow A1A north as far as you can go and you will see the signs. On our way home we stopped and did a little shopping at the mall and dinner at Don Pablos before heading home to reality and back to work! It was a great weekend and one I'll not soon forget!

Heading to Venice, FL for the 4th of July on Friday (june 29) for a look at the Gulf Beaches. See ya on the Road!

Father's Day Celebration - 2007

Our Father's Day celebrations lasted all weekend long. It started with a visit to a local State Park on Friday with Elani (Wekiva Springs State Park) for an evening walk in the out of doors.

Then Saturday night we met Travis and Rosa for dinner. Sunday, Rudy chose to spend his Father's Day on the Bike, so we left the house around 9 a.m. and headed north to Clermont to an Arts & Crafts Exhibit at Lakeridge Winery. We also took a tour of the Winery and learned how Florida wines are made and what grapes they use. It was very interesting and a beautiful day for a ride. We arrived home just in time to watch the NASCAR Race from Michigan. Afterwards Travis and Rosa and the kids stopped by again to present Rudy with more cards gifts of love. It was a great weekend, the weather was perfect and we enjoyed being out and about in the Florida sunshine!

Thursday we are on the road again heading towards Daytona Beach for a nice long weekend on the Beach soaking up the sun by the pool and ocean side!

See ya on the Road!

June 13, 2007

He folks! It's been really quiet at our house and we've been staying home for a change (for awhile anyway). We've had some very nice relaxing weekends at home and at the beach lately, so it's been quite nice to get a few things done around the house. We've been to the beach each Sunday and then home to watch the NASCAR race in the afternoon. And of course we've had little Elani with us for some days during these past couple of weeks. Pictures??? Of course I have pictures! I've even gotten some scrapbook pages completed during this time of rest and relaxing at home.
Today is an exciting day, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is expected to announce that he is joining Hendrick Motor Sports in 2008 which will make him a team mate to Jeff Gordon...... I am not sure what I think about it yet so I will reserve my opinion for now......
This weekend will be Father's Day, so I've invited Rudy, Travis, Rosa and the kids to go to dinner to celebrate. Don't tell the guys, but last night Elani and I put her handprints on a t-shirt for her grandpa and papa and today Rosa is going to add Lenix's prints so that they will be dry and ready to wrap before Sunday! So Cute. (I'll share pictures after Sunday).