And There They Go

Many of you know that James and I have been making a yearly trek to the Indianapolis 500 for the past few years. I never really gave a hoot about that kind of sport at any time in my life, but my husband enjoys it and I have learned to like the event at a certain level.

First of all, I usually get to see my Indiana relatives - who used to be close-by California relatives. They moved to Indiana and then my cousin married a died in the wool hoosier! No chance of getting them back in California now - so I now I look forward to my once a year visit with them. This year we will miss Erin and Bret and most of all baby Grant - they'll be out of town - but we will see my mom's sister Deb and her husband Dave. It is always fun to see them and catch up!

Then we started adding a little more to the trip. Each year we start at another destination for a few days before going to Indianpolis. We've been to Kansas City, St. Louis, Cincinatti and this year we are flying into Chicago for a few days. We are looking forward to seeing Wrigley Field and Tyrannasauris Sue.

Last year for the first time we invited James' sister and her husband along. I'm not sure if we got them hooked on the race or not , but they agreed to come along again this year with us! Last year we suffered through a few hours of pretty steady rain to watch the race. James and I learned in one of the early years not to leave if it starts to rain or even if there is a tornado - so we stuck it out. The race is kind of like the US Postal service - they deliver no matter what the weather!

I constantly get the question - "You LIKE going to car races?" Well, the answer is this - if you've ever been to a big sporting event - World Series, Super Bowl, US Open, etc. - you know what I mean when I say there's just something about the atmosphere at that type of event. It's the guys that have been up all night in the same clothes, drinking beer sitting next to you, the really worn out, cushiony seats that you rent for $7 to keep your bottom from going to sleep on the hard bleachers, the smell of burning asphalt and tire rubber, the black residue on your clothes and skin, the deafening noise of the cars as they race at over 200 MPH -I use ear plugs, which I have to take out each time someone says something to me so that I can hear them, and then when the excitement of the race is over after a few hours we walk what seems like four miles to get back to your car in the rain or scorching heat - that great Indianapolis weather!
Yup, that's race day!

Ask me if I like and I'll tell you the truth - I LOVE IT! We really do have a blast. As the PA announcer, Tom Carnagie says as the drivers head out after the green flag is waved - AND THERE THEY GOOOOOOOOO! So here we come Indianapolis!