4th of July Pics

4th of July, 2009

We had a very relaxing 4th of July long weekend full of sun, sand, sharks-teeth, shells and fun!

We left on July 1st and headed to Venice, FL for sometime in the sun at the many beaches in the Venice area.  We drove through a torrential rain storm all the way south on I-75.  By the time we arrived at our destination and got settled in (after doing some grocery shopping) the sun was out and we got ready for the next day and hitting the beach.  

Each day that we were there from July 1 through July 6, we would get up and have breakfast and then hit the Beach, any beach, it really didn't matter, a long as it had waves, the Gulf, sand and Shark's Teeth.  We would stay until around 2 p.m. and then head home for showers and lunch.  We would then relax and enjoy the peaceful time with hardly any cell phone service.  I completed 22 Scrapbook pages over those 6 days - Very productive!

On the 4th we went to Venice Beach and got the perfect spot in the sand, so Elani could dig and watched the sun set before the Fireworks started.  Sunday was our last day at the beach and then we headed home on Monday.  What a great relaxing place without a care in the world.  Elani had a ball playing in the waves and sand at the beaches.  It was hard getting her to come out of the water to go home every day.  Just had to promise her that we would be back the next day!  She is like a little fish!

More Michigan Pics

Catch up Time

I can't believe I have neglected this blog for the past two months.  We've been so busy, but we are now settled in at home for a couple of months.

June 25th we flew to Michigan to celebrate my birthday with our daughter Michelle.  We took Elani with us.  Rudy found some great rates on flights and we couldn't pass it up.  When we arrived in Grand Rapids at 1:00 p.m., Michelle picked us up and we drove to her house where we relaxed for a couple of hours before going to The Bear Claw for dinner with my Mom and Don.  Michelle made a cake and brought it, but it wasn't edible (we tried).....  long story.  We took lots of pictures outside the restaurant and then down along Lake Cadillac.  This time of year, it doesn't get dark in Michigan until almost 10:00 p.m.  I forgot that about Michigan summers.

Friday we worked in Michelle's garage sorting through some boxes that she was storing for us and we threw a lot of stuff away, too.  In the afternoon we went to Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Paul's house on Rose Lake.  They took us on a pontoon ride and Elani caught her very first fish and then another one.  After two she was done with fishing (they stopped biting).  It was so nice and very relaxing riding around the lake.  Michelle fixed dinner and we ate on their patio.  While Rob was giving Elani rides on his 3-wheeler, Michelle and I took off for our traditional photo-shoot at Lake Cadillac.  We took lots of pictures of just Michelle and me.  Our time together.  Very special to me.  

Saturday we went to my mom's house on the Muskegon River and tubed down the river for 1 1/2 hours.  It was very refreshing to say the least.  We never got off the tubes once after we started the ride back to the house.  When we arrived mom had fresh strawberry shortcake waiting for us.  Another thing I miss about Michigan summer's - sweet juicy strawberries.  The Florida grown just aren't the same.  Later that afternoon we came back to Michelle and Rob's and had grilled chicken, pasta salad for dinner.  We made a fire in the back yard and roasted marshmellows and made smores in the spitting rain with umbrellas. We didn't let a little rain stop us from having a good time.

Sunday we had to get up early and head back to Grand Rapids for our returning flight.

When we arrived there we found out that our flight had been cancelled and wouldn't leave until Monday at 4:00 p.m.  This was not going to work for us, so they made us other arrangements.  We had to rent a car and drive to Fort Wayne, IN and catch a 7:30 flight that would arrive in Tampa/St. Pete at 9:30 p.m.  Janine had our car, so she drove to the airport and picked us up and we finally climbed into bed around 1:00 a.m.  My alarm went off for Monday's work day at 5:00 a.m.  Needless to say, I was somewhat tired by the time I left work that night at 6 p.m.

It was a great weekend though.  A great way to spend my birthday, too!

Charlotte, NC Race Weekend

May 20 - 26, 2009

Wednesday, May 20: We picked up Janine and Ashley at the dorm and left heading north to our final destination of Charlotte, NC for the Coca-Cola 600 to be run on Sunday, May 24th at 7:15 p.m. We drove all night (Rudy & Ashley drove all night) and arrived at Roush Racing at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 21st. We were about the 75th, 76th, 77th & 78th persons in line to get Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and David Ragan's autograph tickets for a signing later that morning. It was a very long 4 hours on the hard concrete and rocky area where we waited with another 200 people or more, only to have to return at 10:00 a.m. to actually get our items autographed. Some even had blankets, pillows, mattresses & chairs because they had been there since 9:00 p.m. the night before. After receiving our tickets we went to a nearby Cracker Barrel for breakfast and some caffeine. Returning to Roush we joined others in another line to wait for our turn to chat with the drivers and get their autograph. Carl was super nice and chatted awhile with us about his experience last December with Elani at the ESPN Club. From Roush we headed to Stewart-Haas Racing to see the new shop and get Rudy a # 14 Tony Stewart shirt or two! By this time we were all ready to check into our hotel and get a hot shower and a change of clothes before heading to the Track for Qualifying. After Qualifying we found a good place for another hot meal.

Friday, May 22, 2009: Rudy and I had a Meet & Greet Fan Event with JEFF GORDON at Hendrick Motor Sports, so we let the girls take the car with free rein to do as they pleased. Rudy and I had a great time and met some new friends, had some lunch, tasted some new Schwan's ice cream and finally got to get up close with JEFF GORDON. Rudy got my Pepsi replica Hood personalized and autographed by JEFF for me and I had a scrapbook page from last year for JEFF to autograph. I told him that it was now tradition and we couldn't break tradition for me to give him a kiss on the cheek when I see him at these events and he willingly obliged.

We had a great time. It was in my eyes the perfect place to spend a Friday afternoon. We had scheduled an "inside" tour of Joe Gibbs Racing with the receptionist that we met there last year for 4 p.m., so we made our way there. Paige was great and we saw a lot of behind the scenes areas at JGR. We also found out that Joey Lagano was going to be at a local Home Depot so we made our way there and waited in line for 1 1/2 hours to get his and Matt Kenseth's autographs and pictures. By the time we made it to Michael Waltrip Racing it was 5 p.m. and closed. That place will definitely be on the agenda for next year.

Saturday, May 23, 2009: We all slept in a little and then spent some quality time relaxing by the pool. We did a fun thing while down at the pool. Each of us girls had our iPods with our favorite Christian music, so we each picked out a song that we wanted the others to hear and after listening to them, we told each other why that was one of our favorite songs and what it meant to us personally. It was a great sharing experience and I am sure we will do it again on our next trip. Later that afternoon we took a drive to Lexington, NC where we found the Childress Winery. Janine and Ashley had never been so we took a tour and learned how they harvest the grapes and make their wine. We then had lunch in the Bistro overlooking the vineyards. It was a perfect afternoon. The Nationwide Race was that night, so we went for a little while, but it got rained out and we got soaking wet.

Sunday, May 24 - RACE DAY: We took our time getting ready and just kind of hung out at the hotel until Noon because the Race wouldn't start until 3 p.m. We got to the Track and the skies were not looking good. It was hot and muggy, so we didn't spend much time around the merchandise trailers or vendor areas, just went straight to our seats. I was glad we did, because the rain held off and we saw a great pre-race show honoring all the veterans and those currently serving in the Armed Forces.

After several attempts to start and run the race, it was called due to rain and more rain coming for the evening. It was announced that it would run on Monday at 11:00 a.m.

Monday, May 25, 2009: The Race started without much pre-race happenings and it wasn't long before you could see the rain moving in over Turn 2. It rained hard, too. Then it quit and the sun tried to shine, then it would rain again. Fortunately for the #00 Aaron's Dream Machine car of David Reuttiman the Race was stopped after 227 laps in intervals of 30-40 laps which made it past 1/2 way and he just happened to be leading at the time. We left at 4:00 p.m. before it was officially announced that # 00 was the winner and the Race was considered complete. We are happy that we left when we did, we missed a lot of bad traffic this way. Again Rudy & Ashley drove all night and we arrived at home at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 26th. where we unloaded the car and crashed and called it an early night.

We had a great time despite the continued rain and we were happy to return home to the sunny blue skies of Florida.

Another NASCAR Race under our belts with lots of great experiences and stories to tell by all

See ya on the Road. . . . .

More fishing pics - May 9, 2009

The waiting Game

"I can do this all day"

"Let's find a new place to fish"

"I did it all myself"

May 10 - Mother's Day Weekend

We planned sometime ago to go to my mom's house in Venice, FL for Mother's Day, so Thursday we picked up Elani after work and headed over. Friday we got up and went to the beach arriving around 10 a.m. It was a beautiful day, lots of sun, the Gulf water temperature was around 80 degrees so it was quite pleasant to be in the water. Elani was in the water most of the 3 hours that we were there. Swimming and diving and rolling with the waves. Later that afternoon upon our return to the house and after a light lunch we did a little shopping. By 9:30 p.m. everyone was totally tuckered out and we called it a day! We did a repeat day on Saturday, except no shopping. Instead we took Elani to the Jetty to let her use her new fishing pole. Rudy gave her some quick casting lessons and she tried really hard. Grandpa Higel even put artificial bait and a bobber on her line. Unfortunately, the fish weren't biting. Elani was disappointed and told everyone that we walked past as we left the Jetty Park.

Sunday was just a day of relaxing at the house and some pictures in the backyard. Mom loved all her gifts and Elani loved giving them to her. We had a great dinner before heading back home in the afternoon.

May 20th - Wednesday, we will be heading north to Charlotte, NC for the Coca-Cola 600 with two of our friends for a nice long Race weekend, visiting race shops. Rudy and I will be attending a Jeff Gordon Fan Event at Hendrick Motor Sports, too. I am really looking forward to this trip and to having a great time.

See ya on the road!!