Sunday, June 20, 2010

GO FAST! GO FAST! GO FAST! TURN LEFT!!!

Dover Downs Nascar: The Monster Mile : Three Decades of Speed

Ok, so we all have a lapse in judgement once in a while, right? Well, mine was an EXPENSIVE one. Lenny loves his NASCAR races, I don't. Every year for the last few years, he would bid me farewell and drive off in our motorhome to the Poconos race in PA. There he would meet up with his friend Dave and they would spend five long days camping and watching live NASCAR events. You must love the sport to dry camp for that long in June. Well, last year he and Dave decided that they were growing tired of the Pocono race and wanted to see a different track. I had at one time expressed an interest in seeing a truck race, so he asked if I wanted to go to Dover, DE where Dave and his wife Crystal and the two of us could take in three races. A truck race, another race and the cup race on Sunday. "Sure I'll go, if Crystal wants to go," I told Lenny (and here is my lapse of judgement), I forgot that Crystal LOVES Nascar as well. OK, maybe not as much as the guys, but none the less, she enjoys it. So here we were planning our weekend to Dover. The four of us met up on Thursday in Delaware and drove to Dover Air Force Base. Dave is retired Air Force so he was able to get us on the base campground. The sites were great. Lightly wooded, large, full hook-ups and most important, LEVEL. I wasn't feeling that great the entire weekend, but gave it a shot. We got to the track on Friday much to early for the truck race but were able to park close to venue. Lenny thought it best if I got to my seat and just stayed there. I didn't know it at the time, but I had a 100% blockage in an artery that would be opened up upon my return home. Well, the track is like a fishbowl. In full sun, there I sat for hours waiting for the truck race to start. It was loud and hot. I never made it to see the race. Before it began, I excused myself and went to sit in shade and nap in the car while everyone else stayed. After that I vowed to never go back. My girlfriend, Crystal, didn't enjoy sitting in the sun that long either so we decided to give our tickets for the rest of the weekend to the military. Saturday, we dropped the guys off at the track and did what girls do best...shop, after all Deleware is tax free. Sunday we let the guys take the car and we stayed back at the motorhome and just chatted away the day. So much to catch up with now that we live in different states and hadn't seen each other in months. It was a wonderful weekend. Oh, by the way, did I mention the campground was at the end of the runway and the military doesn't believe in quiet hours. I'm glad these men practice day and night in all conditions to keep our country safe and free even if it means hearing a C-10 land at 3 o'clock in the morning. Well, thanks for travelling along with us on The Thomas Trails...until next time.

Camping in the Catskills

When Lenny and I first bought our motorhome, we joined an international organization for motorhome owners. FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) is a great way to meet other people who enjoy camping and other hobbies that you share. Within that organization are sub-chapters. One that we belong to is the Northeast Coaches for Christ. It is a group that gets together during the area rally and provides daily devotions for those interested. Why they elected me president last year who knows??? Did they realize I can be really crazy? Well, I wanted the group to get together more than just once a year, so I organized a weekend we could all get together. At least those that were in the area. Four families were scheduled to join us, but due to unforseen circumstances two had to back out. We still had a great time. Lenny and I took Friday off from our jobs to make the two hour drive to Round Top, NY. The beautiful scenery as we drove north was breath-taking to say the least. It was like a painted backdrop looking at the mountains. And the clouds looked like they had been outlined in a darker gray. Shortly after we arrived at the campground, Karen and Ed pulled in. To say we had a great weekend would be an understatement. Even though there were only two of us we had a blast. Karen and Ed have alot more experience than we do when it comes to camping. By Saturday night we were cooking over a campfire. Ed pulled out his cast iron dutch oven and made salt potatoes. I had never heard of them, must be a regional thing. I had speared a white hot dog and was roasting it over open flames. Boy does food taste different when you cook like that. We had a wonderful time sharing and getting to know each other better. We all can't wait for the next Coaches for Christ outing in the fall.
See you in the fall!