Pumpkin Patch Weekend

The weekend is winding down and we are finally getting some relax time. Friday I took Rosa, Elani and Lenix to JCPenney's for their annual Halloween/Fall photo shoot. After that I brought Elani home with me and we met Rudy for lunch and then drove to Celebration for their Annual Falling Leaves in the Town Square and a visit to the Pumpkin Patch. We had so much fun at the Pumpkin Patch even if it was very hard to get Elani to sit still for a nice picture with her Grammy and Paw-way! So I put on the zoom lens and just shot pictures of her laughing, playing, and enjoying the day.

We played a little hide-and-seek on the way to the Town Square behind the pillars, we explored the water edge and watched some boys catch fish and we just sat on the side of the street taking in the sites. It was a very relaxing afternoon with Elani. She is such a joy to be with and watching her grow and change is amazing.

Fall is just around the corner here in Florida and cooler temps are heading our way. It will be nice for a change to have some cool days and no humidity just for a short time anyway!

See ya on the road . . . .

Talladege - PRICELESS

Camping in East Park at Talladega SuperSpeedway - $100.00

Ticket for UAW 500 at Talladega SuperSpeedway - $120.00

Watching JEFF GORDON take the Checkered Flag on the last lap - PRICELESS!!

As you can tell, we had a great time. Wouldn't have missed it for anything! We arrived at the Speedway around 1o:30 Central Time and made our way to some seats to watch Cup Practice. Then we did a little browsing at the merchandise trailers before Happy Hour Practice at 2:30. We got there and they announced that Jeff was so pleased with his car that he wasn't going to practice this last hour. So I had to take pictures of the other drivers as they practiced.

RACE DAY - Sunday - I got up before the guys and walked around the campground taking some pictures of the sunrise and the campground. Rudy fixed a great breakfast, as usual, and we sat and enjoyed the cool morning breeze before heading to the track. We had Tri-Oval Tower, Row 60 Seats. We were right across from Victory Circle and could see the whole track. I definitely was not going down once I got up there either! So glad we brought sandwiches, snacks and drinks with us. I shot over 900 pictures on Race Day and 500+ the rest of the weekend, now I have to choose which ones to print!

We left he track around 9:00 p.m. Central time and drove to McDonough, GA, got a nice hotel room for the night and hit the road bright and early Monday morning (today), so that we can be back to work on tomorrow.

I love making memories with Rudy and our friend, Cully. We sure do eat well and we have a great time at the Races together.

See ya next time.........We are heading to Atlanta for our next Racing Adventure at the end of this month.

See ya on the Road!

Talladega Here We Come!

October 5, 2007 It is a cloudy, misty Friday morning and Rudy & I are on I-75 heading North through Atlanta making our way to Talladega, Alabama for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Race on Sunday. This is the third Race in the last 10 races of the Season. It will be the first race where the Drivers will be running the COT (Car of Tomorrow) on a SuperSpeedway Track (over 2.5 miles). Lots of exciting Racing is in store and we will be there to experience it all.
We are hoping to arrive in time to see some practice time today on the Track. I also have reservations to take a Garage Tour at 1:30 this afternoon with other ONMC members. It really should be a good time, as it is between practice times for the Cup cars, so I am hoping to be able to get some good pictures of the crews working on the cars and maybe a few Driver pics too!
We will have plenty of time to kill while here today as Cully doesn't plan to arrive until later this evening, so we might even take a tour of the museum that is right next to the Track. Of course we will be touring the Driver Merchandise Trailers as well looking for some bargains.

We left yesterday around 3:30 and stayed the night in Macon, GA in a very comfortable Comfort Inn. Got a good night's rest and a nice hot, long shower before a nutritious breakfast and hitting the road again.

Updates will be coming your way with pictures too. See ya on the Road!
Later

Pictures from Richmond, VA

I finally got some pictures ready to share from our Richmond Race Experience so thought I would add them here. This is definitely one track that we would like to go back to. The Racing was exciting and we had a great time seeing the sights of this historical city, too.

Richmond, Virginia or Bust

Thursday, September 6th at Noon was the deadline to be on the Road to Richmond, Virginia and we met our deadline. We made really good time on the road with just gas 'n go stops, arriving just south of Emporia, Virginia at 11:00 p.m., which was about 40 miles from our final destination of Richmond International Raceway (RIR).
We spent the night and got up and on the road to RIR by 8:30 a.m. arriving and getting parked by 10:00 a.m. We made in time to watch the Cup cars for their final practice at 11:00 a.m. We found seats in the shade up high at the start of Pit Road so we could catch the cars coming doing Pit Road and out onto the Track. After Final Practice we walked around the merchandise trailers, found some bargains and got some samples from the various sponsors.
It was about 91 degrees and the sun was beating down, so we found a cool place in the shade to sit and relax a little before Qualifying started at 4:00 p.m.
At Qualifying we went to our seats in the 34th row of Commonwealth Section (way up high on the front stretch) next to the top fence. Great seats to see all the action on Pit Road and on the Track!
We were exhausted after this long day, so we left after Qualifying and found an Applebee's close to our hotel for a sit-down/knife& fork meal. And who do you suppose was sitting at a table just across from us...... the Engine Crew (Nitro and friends) from the # 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team. I talked with them and convinced them to have their picture taken with Janine since she is a Jr. Fan...
By the time we finished eating and got showers we were hitting the sheets and it was 10:30 p.m. Cully arrived around 2:00 a.m. flying in from Nashville by way of Washington D.C.
On Saturday morning we all got up and had breakfast in the hotel lobby and then decided to find a place of interest to visit in this very historical part of the country. We found our way to The American Civil War Center and National Park in downtown Richmond. We toured the facilities, took in all the exhibits and I walked away very thankful for the fortitude and strength of our forefathers for fighting to make the United States of America what it is today and also thankful for the freedoms that we have as US Citizens. We then found a great place for lunch where they make their own Root Beer for lunch in the downtown area.
Shortly after 3 p.m. we decided to make our way to the Track.
What a mistake we made...... We should have been there at Noon if not before...... The Race Traffic was HORRIBLE to say the least. We wound our way around to the backside of the Track for several hours. Finally at 6:15 p.m. Cully and I got out of the car and walked to the Track so that I could be sure to get pictures of the Driver Introductions. Janine and Rudy parked the car in Lot H and road the tram to the Gate. They actually made it just in time for the start of the Race. Our seats were in Turn Two - Dogwood Tower, Row 7, which was just coming out of Turn Two and once again we could see the whole track and all the action of the cars coming out of turn one and two, all the way down the backstretch and into turn four. I got a couple of good pictures of the cars three wide in turn two. Jeff Gordon dominated the first half of the Race and led the most laps.
With 100 laps to go, Janine and I left our seats to head to the Pedestrian Tunnel to meet up with the ONMC group to be a part of the media questions to the 12 Drivers that made the Chase. Janine and I were in the 2nd to front row and got some great pictures of the drivers while the signed autographs and threw out hats and shirts and did ESPN and SPEED interviews. We even got autographs from Clint Boyer, Kyle Busch & Denny Hamlin and to put the frosting on the cake - I caught an autographed hat from Jeff Gordon! Before it was all over we were sprayed with Champagne by the Drivers after they completed their picture sessions for the media. We left the infield area at 1:00 a.m. met the guys and caught a Tram to the parking lot where we sat in traffic until 2:30 a.m. We were back at the hotel by 3:00 a.m. and the alarm went of this morning at 6:15 a.m. And that brings us to back on the road again home to Florida. Our expected arrival time is 6:00 p.m.

I've got another update also..... We are moving..... in the process. I will share more later.....another day and include pictures of our new dwelling place real soon.

See ya on the Road!

Bristol, TN - Sharpie 500

WE ARE HERE! We arrived at the Track at 8:30 Friday morning after we stopped at a local WalMart to get our portion of the groceries for the weekend! We woke Cully up so he could give us specific directions to our campsite. The Site is Great! Way up on top of a mountain over looking the Track and Drag Strip. It is very quiet and clean.

After getting showers and exploring the area, we went down to the Track for Cup Practice. It is very hot here this weekend with temperatures in the 90's, a slight breeze in certain places and a hazy-sunny sky. Thankfully, since we are camping so high, there are golf-cart shuttles that take us to the showers and to the Track from our campsite.

Tonight is the Sharpie 500 NEXTEL Cup Race. We have great seats on the backstretch next to the Tunnel. We can see Victory Circle really well and of course the whole track (it's a 1/2 mile track). I made sure the guys know that I want to go early to get some pictures of the cars all lined up and also so that we can be in our seats for Driver introductions.

See ya at the Race!

On the Road Again -Destination-Bristol, TN

It's been awhile since I last updated here, but we've had a pretty quiet month of August. We are making some major changes in our lives these days, like moving into our RV full-time real soon, job changes, packing, selling, etc. Life is Good - Change is Good!

Today we are on our way to Bristol, TN to the NASCAR race there on Saturday Night. We left around 4:30 pm this afternoon and hope to be there where we will meet our friend Cully and stay with him at the Track in his RV. The weather is good for traveling this afternoon with mostly sunny skies and temps in the upper 90's, but cooling as the day is rounding to the end. We hope to make it to the South Carolina Welcome Center Rest Area, rest awhile and then be in Bristol tomorrow in time to watch some practice and Qualifying of the NASCAR Cup Cars.
Bristol is an experience that is hard to explain. But once you go, you are hooked and have to go back.
I'll be updating throughout the weekend and hopefully have pictures to share real soon too.
Keep Smiling and Travel Safe where ever you might be going!