The Nationwide race, my very first NASCAR event, was scheduled for 7:00pm and with all the running around, and the long walk- golf cart- walk…I was tired and HOT when we finally got to our very good seats in turn one. I was happy they were actually seats as some areas were metal benches- that would not have worked for me. An added bonus was the $5 Tony Stewart hat I got to match my- oops I meant Rick’s- Tony Stewart hoodie he got in Martinsville. I fit right in!
The scanners were helpful for keeping up with what was happening, and the race was quite exciting, with frequent leader changes and a few interesting wrecks- who knew a car could do to turns up on a wall- and thankfully, no one was hurt.
The drawback is that I don’t know the Nationwide drivers that aren’t in the Sprint cup, and most of the Sprint cup guys are in different numbers in the Nationwide. This made it difficult to keep track.
Kyle Bush- the guy people love to hate- added to his win in the truck race by knocking Brad out of the way and winning his second race this week. It was a long walk-golf cart-walk home and we were out cold nearly as soon as we hit the sheets.
The next day we had rain, but it cleared before the race and Rick and I went shopping for my Jimmie Johnson bling- a really nice hat and hoodie- I am a happy girl. Don’t be hating me just cause my guy cheats better than your guy, Margie…
I also got Bristol and Jack Daniels shot glasses and a cool Tony Stewart T-shirt of my own. I am a happy girl. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the JD trailer won’t even sell t-shirts to those under 21.
Our seats looked right down on my boy’s pit area, as Jimmy had the pole. Did I mention he won at the track earlier in the season?
There was on very interesting, intoxicated woman about six rows down from us, who gave an “I LOVE YOU” hand gesture each time Dale Jr. passed, while flipping the bird at Jeff Gordon on 500 occasions. She was the real entertainment in our section.
The race was rather boring with it’s lack of significant action. The crowd had only Jimmie Johnson’s kiss of death into the wall after turn 3 to really cheer about… And Tony had issues after being caught up in an accident himself…
Kyle Bush- who was not wrecked by Brad as was widely expected- walked away with his third win of the week, when the last 50 laps proved to be wholly unexciting. My verdict- the Nationwide race won, hands down…
There were no golf carts after the race so we walked back all the way to the road to our subdivision, where we had prudently stashed the Land Rover. I was delighted to sit in the a/c after the long walk.
The traffic was INSANE- and that might be an understatement as the mass exodus began. I was glad to settle in for the night
Happy Anniversary to us!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Bristol Weekend Part One
I took off from 8/23/10 to 8/26/2010, and due to my shortened work week, I had 10 days in a row without work…I have not been out of the hospital for that much time since I started… I forgot what it felt like to be completely out of work mode…
Thursday evening, I dropped John with my cousin for the weekend and went home to pack- I was heading to my first NASCAR race. I got the tickets from Peg and Tony, as a 3rd anniversary gift for Rick… He was delighted. Lyle, his step-son, got tickets from Tony’s cousin, so he and his girlfriend Lindsey joined us for the weekend.
On August 20, we drove down to Bristol- and it was RV camper MADNESS- approximately 160,000 attend the race in what is usually a small town, so campers and RVs were parked in parking lots, fields, and along the grass at the side of the state roads. It was a huge crowd. Lindsey and Lyle stayed at our original destination- rooms in a house were Peg and Tony have rented for years, but due to Rick’s allergy to dogs, we could not stay. (There was debate as to if I asked about dogs when paying, so I let Rick deal with the individual to prevent me from going Bronx on him and telling him what I really thought of the situation- I did not want to sleep in the truck!)
The room we were shown next was behind a Southern Baptist Church, and it is where Church visitors (ie missionaries) stayed when visiting the church. The room was impeccably clean, the bed was comfortable, if a bit on the small side, it was a good 2 mile walk from the track, it had a closet toilet on the left, a closet shower stall on the right and a sink that faced the bed, on the wall to the left as you walked in.
The bed was against the right and back wall, and a small dresser was across from the bed on the door wall. There was less than a foot between the dresser and the bed and only about three feet from the end of the bed to the sink.
Did I mention the religious verses on the wall?
But it was air conditioned and dog free so we told Chris, another man with the company, who had driven us out to the Church, that Lindsey and Lyle would go back to the original house, and that Rick and I would make do in the backyard of the Baptist Church. And I told Chris outright that this was not what we paid for and clearly we would be due a refund of a portion of our fee, which he agreed to on the spot.
I wasn’t happy, but I understood we were lucky to find anything available at all on Race weekend. And clearly I have stayed in worse places. But I was disappointed. Happy Anniversary to us…
Chris said he would try and find us a better room and we settled in.
But not for long. Chris- a really good man- reached a gentleman who they had worked with in the past. He had two rooms already rented, but had a room empty- it just wasn’t prepped. He gave Rick the address and we were on the road again…
We ultimately found ourselves about two miles from the racetrack on the other side, in a lovely subdivision that clearly suffered with the housing decline. Many empty lots were dotted among the homes, which were lovely. We stayed in a large 5 bedroom house that was really big on wallpaper and faux painting, but lovely. Our room, easily 3 times the size of the Missionary bedroom, was nice, clean and well furnished. We were off to the races…
Thursday evening, I dropped John with my cousin for the weekend and went home to pack- I was heading to my first NASCAR race. I got the tickets from Peg and Tony, as a 3rd anniversary gift for Rick… He was delighted. Lyle, his step-son, got tickets from Tony’s cousin, so he and his girlfriend Lindsey joined us for the weekend.
On August 20, we drove down to Bristol- and it was RV camper MADNESS- approximately 160,000 attend the race in what is usually a small town, so campers and RVs were parked in parking lots, fields, and along the grass at the side of the state roads. It was a huge crowd. Lindsey and Lyle stayed at our original destination- rooms in a house were Peg and Tony have rented for years, but due to Rick’s allergy to dogs, we could not stay. (There was debate as to if I asked about dogs when paying, so I let Rick deal with the individual to prevent me from going Bronx on him and telling him what I really thought of the situation- I did not want to sleep in the truck!)
The room we were shown next was behind a Southern Baptist Church, and it is where Church visitors (ie missionaries) stayed when visiting the church. The room was impeccably clean, the bed was comfortable, if a bit on the small side, it was a good 2 mile walk from the track, it had a closet toilet on the left, a closet shower stall on the right and a sink that faced the bed, on the wall to the left as you walked in.
The bed was against the right and back wall, and a small dresser was across from the bed on the door wall. There was less than a foot between the dresser and the bed and only about three feet from the end of the bed to the sink.
Did I mention the religious verses on the wall?
But it was air conditioned and dog free so we told Chris, another man with the company, who had driven us out to the Church, that Lindsey and Lyle would go back to the original house, and that Rick and I would make do in the backyard of the Baptist Church. And I told Chris outright that this was not what we paid for and clearly we would be due a refund of a portion of our fee, which he agreed to on the spot.
I wasn’t happy, but I understood we were lucky to find anything available at all on Race weekend. And clearly I have stayed in worse places. But I was disappointed. Happy Anniversary to us…
Chris said he would try and find us a better room and we settled in.
But not for long. Chris- a really good man- reached a gentleman who they had worked with in the past. He had two rooms already rented, but had a room empty- it just wasn’t prepped. He gave Rick the address and we were on the road again…
We ultimately found ourselves about two miles from the racetrack on the other side, in a lovely subdivision that clearly suffered with the housing decline. Many empty lots were dotted among the homes, which were lovely. We stayed in a large 5 bedroom house that was really big on wallpaper and faux painting, but lovely. Our room, easily 3 times the size of the Missionary bedroom, was nice, clean and well furnished. We were off to the races…
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Gastric Bypass Update
Yeah- after doing all the pre-surgery stuff,and running all over the medical world, I have decided this whole bypass thing is not for me. I was all set to cancel my appointment tomorrow, and low and behold, I just got a call from the office saying the doctor will be out of town and unable to see me...
A sign?
I won't be rescheduling the appointment.
Now I need to start doing some lifestyle change...
A sign?
I won't be rescheduling the appointment.
Now I need to start doing some lifestyle change...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)