VISIT TO AREA RACE SHOPS

May 19 – Weather pretty good today, so we drove to some of the area Race Shops.

JOE GIBBS RACING




Of course, Joe Gibbs Racing was the first stop. Ken has been following Joe Gibbs Racing and Bobby Labonte for years. Bobby used to race for Joe Gibbs – in fact he won the 2000 NASCAR Championship while with Gibbs Racing!!

Bobby is no longer with Joe Gibbs, but we now we follow Kyle Bush because he took over Bobby’s car No.. 18, and it turns out he is a heck of a driver!! Here I am with Kyle!!

Some of Kyle's trophies!

Kyle's No. 18 in the shop!

And in the lobby of the shop!

We also follow Denny Hamlin because he went to my high school (Manchester). He turned out to be a winning driver, too!! Ken with Denny's car No. 11!

Inside Denny's car.

Joey Lagano also races for Joe Gibbs, but we don’t know too much about him except that he took over Tony Stewart’s No. 20 car.

Looking through the window at the No. 20 in the shop.

Can you believe how clean the shop floor is??!!

TRG RACING

Next we went to TRG Racing because Bobby Labonte now drives for LRG!! Ken beside Bobby's No. 71!

Inside Bobby's car!

Ken talking to Bobby!!! Wishing him Good Luck!!

RED BULL RACE TEAM

The next stop was Red Bull.

We don't follow Red Bull Racing, but I like their name and logo!! Here's a couple of pictures of their shop.

Again -- the floor is spotless!!! Who says men don't know how to clean???

PENSKE RACING

Our last stop was at the most impressive Penske Racing! Man. That set-up was huge!! This is the only shop we saw that the transporters were housed inside the shop!!!

Some cars in the shop. We don’t really follow any Penske drivers.

I did find one Penske driver that we like very much!!! Helio Castroneves!!! Does not drive for NASCAR but drives an Indy Car. We really enjoyed getting to know him when he was on Dancing WithThe Stars!!! Now when we hear he is racing, we actually watch a little of the race. He’s soooo cute!!! Watch for him in the Indy Race on Memorial Day!!

A WEEK AT THE RACES – LOWES MOTOR SPEEDWAY

May 18 – 23 - We had planned to leave Raleigh on Monday, May 17 and get to the Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC that afternoon. However, as we left Raleigh, the bottom fell out of the clouds and it poured rain the for a couple of hours as we drove. We called the Speedway and were advised the campground paved or graveled. It was wet and sloppy. We decided to detour and stay overnight Thousand Trails Forest Lakes in Lexington, NC.

Tuesday morning, May 18, the rain had stopped so we drove the rest of the way to Charlotte. We are dry camping (no hook-ups) in Tim Flock campground right across the road from the race track. There were only about a dozen rigs in our campground when we arrived so we had our choice of sites, right on the front row, along the gravel road!! View of the racetrace from our RV.

This is where our seats are, Diamond Tower. We are row 44, seats 4 and 5, under the first Herr sign from the right!!

On Wednesday, there was not much going on so we decided to go to the movies in Concord. We read the Cinema was showing Ironman 2 for only $6.50 a person! When we bought our tickets, they were only $4.50 for Matinee!! What a deal!!

We were in the theatre, watching the PreFlix stuff for Ironman 2. It was so blurred we complained. It turned out we were in the wrong theatre and Ironman had already started in the proper theatre. We decided to see Robin Hood instead. Enjoyed it very much!!

On Thursday, we spent the morning visiting some of the nearby Race Shops and ended up going back to the Cinema on Thursday afternoon for the matinee. This time we did see Ironman 2. I liked it more than Ken did because I have always loved bad boy Mickey Rourke!! I could still see some of that sexy, wicked smile of his from years gone ago, but he certainly has changed a lot!!! I just think he should have had a bigger part in this movie!!!

After the movie, we went up the street to Golden Corral for early dinner!! Have not been to Golden Corral in ages!! Still a really good deal!!

VISIT WITH BARRY’S FAMILY IN RALEIGH

May 15-16 – We are on our way to Charlotte to go to the NASCAR All-Star Race next weekend. We took this opportunity to stop in Raleigh to visit my son, Barry, and his family. This is the first I’ve seen them since leaving for Florida last October.


This is the first time we have camped at the NC State Fairgrounds. It is only five easy miles from Barry's house. They have full hook-up with 50 amp service. And I found out on Sunday afternoon that I can use their WiFi for internet connection!!!

There is always something going on in Raleigh! This Saturday they were having the Tour d’ Coop, where residents who raise chickens in their backyards have “open coop” to display their chicken coops to interested visitors. Barry’s chicken coop was included on the tour. He said they had about 200 people stop by during the day!

Barry with one of his six chickens in front of his chicken coop during Tour d' Coop.

When the Tour was over, they had 10-12 friends stay over for Shish-Ka-Bobs on the Barbie followed by homemade ice cream topped with hot fudge sauce and fresh sliced strawberries!! UUUMMMMM!!

Shish-Ka-Bobs on the Barbie

MaryAnne and Barry serve up homemade ice cream. A couple of young guests enjoy it, too!!

Ken is really enjoying his ice cream!! Here is a full view of the chicken coop and storage shed.

It was a most enjoyable afternoon at the Tour d' Coops!!

ART EXPLOSION IN RALEIGH

On Sunday morning, I joined the family to go downtown Raleigh to do the Art Explosion!! Who should we happen to run into as soon as we arrived at the park!!??! My grandson, Jason , and Rita!! They were doing the Art Explosion too!! I have not seen Jason since he gave me my tattoo!!

At the Art Explosion -- Rita, Me, Jason, Thomas, MaryAnne.

We browsed all vendors and exhibits. One very interesting vendor was Archie Smith with his musical instruments – “A unique blending of art and music.” We were fascinated by the Bowed Psaltery, a pyramid shaped instrument with strings from the tip to the base. Strings are accessible with a bow from the outside edge. Archie said it dates back to the ancient harp, i.e. Book of Psalms. He played a tune and then gave us an opportunity to try our hand. Thomas plays the violin so he knew how to hold the bow; not as awkward as I. (That's a dulcimer on the wall between Archie and me. I am familiar with the dulcimer, but this one is pretty fancy!!)

Here are pictures of some of the crowd. Upper right, the Family purchase a pottery vase. Lower right, an artist paints a Raleigh street scene.

On our way back to the car, we passed Thomas’ school. On display in the window were drawings that the students had made depicting their proposed design for a new Fountain square. This is Thomas’ design. Very impressive!

DINNER AT JADE GARDEN CHINESE RESTAURANT!!

Sunday evening we decided to go out for Chinese. Barry and MaryAnne took us to one of their favorite places, Jade Garden. They were right. It was delicious!!

Enjoying our dinner!!

Thomas had been saying all weekend that he was taller than I now. I could not believe that!!! After dinner we had an official measuring!! I am stretching as tall as I can go! Thomas Won!!

Tomorrow we leave for Charlotte, but in the meantime we had a Great Time in Raleigh this past weekend!!

LUNCH AT THE MARKET CAFÉ, INNSBROOK

May 13 - I mentioned that the Elk’s Lodge is located at the edge of an industrial park. Well, my brother, Chip, works for Virginia Electric and Power (name has changed since we left town). His office is only a quarter of a mile from us, in Innsbrook. He had a birthday earlier this month and is planning to retire the end of May. A lot to celebrate!!

We invited him to join us for lunch at the Market Café, walking distance from our motor home. They have great Ruben sandwiches.

Here we are at the Market Cafe, ready to order our Sandwiches.

Brenda serving our Rubens!

It was fun seeing Chip again!

Sorry I spilled my Coke all over you, Chip!!! Happy Birthday and enjoy your Retirement!!

RIBS AT THE SUNSET GRILL

May 12 – On Thursday, we went out to the Sunset Grill for dinner with long-time friends Karen and Dennis.


Dennis, Ken and I ordered the half rack of ribs. Their half rack was larger than a full rack of baby backs at the Oakwood Smokehouse and Grill in Clermont, FL. They were DE-licious!! We had enough left for dinner another night. And the Mac and Cheese was to die for!!!

Karen and Faye - Friends Forever!!

OUR FORMER TOWNHOUSE IN FOXFIRE

When we are back in Richmond, we always drive by our townhouse just to check things out.

Ken planted the big tree on the right, the holly, and the greenery in front of the house. There’s a Redbud tree on the left; you can just see some of its leaves. Behind the house is a small back yard and a wooded area, so no neighbors in the back.


We lived here for 20 years. I thought when we bought it that we would be here about five years!! We spent many happy years here!!

A BRIEF STAY AT THE GLEN ALLEN ELK’S LODGE

May 10 – 15 – After leaving TT Chesapeake Bay, we are spending a few days at the Richmond, VA Elk’s Lodge. Actually, it’s located in Glen Allen (a surburb of Richmond). When we are staying at TT Chesapeake Bay, we usually spend our "week out" at this Elk's Lodge.

People often ask if they have campsites here. They do have three 30 amp electrical hook-ups, water, and a place to dump. You do need long electrical cord and hose to reach the hook-ups. The camping area is located behind the Lodge. Although it is on the edge of Innsbrook, an industrial park, and within walking distance of the I-295 By-Pass, it is surrounded by a wooded area and consequently is nice and quite and private.

It works for us!!

MOTHER'S DAY CELEBRATION WITH MIKE AND DIANE!

May 10 – We left Chesapeake Bay this morning and went to spend five days at the Elk’s Lodge in Richmond. Mike and Diane had called us to see if we could go to Mexican with them for Mother’s Day. Of Course!!!

We went to their house before dinner and indulged in some of my Sangria and a game of “Corn Hole”. Mike and I took on Diane and Ken. After practicing a few throws and being unable to even hit to board, I wanted to throw against the weakest opponent – How the heck did I get Ken???

Anyway, Diane and Ken were in the lead;



Mike caught us up with them;

they passed us again with Ken’s toss.

and it was nearing the end of the game!!! Mike had scored the last point so I had to throw first – under great pressure. My first toss went into the hole. Ken threw. My second toss went into the hole!! Ken threw his corn bag into the hole and cancelled out one of mine. My third toss went into the hole!!!!! Can you believe that??? I can’t!! Ken missed. My fourth toss missed the hole but stuck on the corner! Ken’s toss stayed on the board, too, and cancelled me out. In the end, I got six points and won the game!! Can you believe that??? Diane swears I was Sand Bagging!!!

The winning toss!!!!!

After the game we went to El Paso Mexican for dinner.

We had about all we could eat and it was delicious!!

Thank you Diane and Mike. It was a great Mother’s Day celebration!!

TRAVELING FRIENDS STOP BY CHESAPEAKE BAY

May 09 – Two Pickleball couples were traveling together from Florida, heading north. They stopped by Chesapeake Bay for a few days.


Front: Lee, Niki, Judy. Standing: Jim, Tracy!!

Actually, Judy and Lee and Niki are only staying a couple of days, then they will be off to Pennsylvania. Tracy and Jim will be here for a couple of weeks before heading to Pennsylvania also. (We played Pickleball with Tracy and Jim on Monday morning before we left Chesapeake Bay. They cleaned our clock!!!)

WELCOME to Chesapeake Bay, you guys!!

MEMORIAL DAY PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT AT CHESAPEAKE BAY!!

A Pickleball Tournament has been planned for Sunday, May 30, at TT Chesapeake Bay. This tournament is being run by Mike Roberts and Rick Rowe. I believe they are requesting registration be in on Saturday.

In addition to the tournament, there will be a cookout on Saturday in conjunction with the Horseshoe Players!!

If you are in the area, be certain to plan to participate!!

Participants in the 2009 Labor Day Tournament!

GRANDSON MICHAEL’S SENIOR PROM!!

May 08 – My handsome grandson, Michael, and his date, Vanessa, went to their Senior Prom on Saturday night. They went with five other couples. Stasia sent pictures! What a good looking group!!

These are the Guys!!

Vanessa was so beautiful and Michael is so handsome!!

And, to top the evening, Michael was voted “King of the Prom”!!! Congratulations, Michael!!
Glad you had a great time. Love You!!