World of Outlaws

I am not sure if this video will post on my blog and if it doesn't I probably won't blog anything so you will never know.    But if you haven't seen a World of Outlaws race and wonder why in the world we go to so many, this little video will give you a taste of what it is like.  These little cars go flying around the track at over 100 mph and are totally fearless.  They drive where it is impossible to drive and pass where there is no room to pass.   They are a blast to watch and the drivers are all very fan friendly.  I will never forget the time Steve Kinser saw me with my camera and just stopped what he was doing and posed next to his car for a picture without me ever asking.  I said thank you and he said, sure and grinned and walked off.  Oh - Steve Kinser happens to be a 20 time World of Outlaw champion so as drivers go - he is the best of the best.  If any driver has reason to be "stuck up" it  would be him.   And at age 57 he still has it - he won Friday night at Dodge City and came in second Saturday night - right after his son. 

NASCAR

As big NASCAR fans we couldn't be on the east coast without seeing the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.  It was built three years ago and my favorite driver was in the first group inducted in the hall. 

There were also many interesting exhibits including a simulator exhibit that we didn't participate in but looked like fun.

We spent Sunday night and Monday night at a Super 8 in Mooresville which is Dale Junior's hometown.  It was very cool to be there when Dale won his first race in four years that day.  The town was even mentioned on Speed TV that evening.   On Monday we went on a Race Shop tour.   We were the only ones on the tour that day (except for the tour driver's daughter) so we were able to change the schedule and skip one race shop and went to the Dale Earnhardt Memorial Park in Kannapolis. 

 

 

 

At the Junior Motorsports shop the lady running the souvenir shop was Junior's cousin and knew the tour guide.  She let us go inside the shop where others don't get to go.   She tried to give us pictures of Danica, their Nationwide driver but we politely declined.  :) 

After the tour we rushed to the Richard Childress race shop knowing there was a museum of Dale Earnhardt Sr that closed at 5.  We got there at 4:20 but they stop selling tickets at 4 because the museum is so large.  I was very annoyed but we did get to see the race shop and it had things in it about Dale as did the Earnhardt shop owned by his widow, Teresa.

 

M I C K E Y - you know the rest

The fast pass system (described in another post) even works with meeting characters.  We had a private session with the Head Mouse - now down at the Trailerhood we put out glue strips for mice - but Mickey is pretty darn special.   It was such fun - Mickey thought Jimmy's camera was very cool.  Of course we went in the room to get a picture of the girls with Mickey and Minnie, but Dennis and I couldn't resist getting ours taken too.

More pictures from Disney

Jimmy's camera got a lot of attention.  One tourist almost tripped staring at it for so long

James designed a great tshirt for us to all wear at Magic Kingdom.  We got a lot of compliments on it

The  t-shirt had two KState wildcats in cars with Wilson and Renfroe on the tags

My favorite grandson.

Disney Pictures

At Animal Kingdom waiting on a bird show

Izzy and Uncle James

Had a lady take our picture at Hollywood Studios waiting on the stunt show

Character dinner

Cinderella was wonderful - after posing, the girls started back for their chairs and she said, "but I want another hug!"

James and Jessica at Epcot

Jessica and her buddy Audrey

Disney

Disney really knows how to do things right.  They seem to think of everything.  Even though we got hot, tired, wet etc we had a fabulous time.  They allow you to bring in snacks and drinks which helps - we froze bottles of water and then would refill them at the water fountains while they still had ice in the bottles and that saved a ton of money.  Since we bought the bottles for 33 cents each and buying them at the park was around $3.00 we were glad we did that.  We also had goldfish, snack crackers and I made a trail mix that was a big hit.  Stopping for a break with a cool drink and snack helped keep our energy up.

 You hear about the long lines for the rides and occasionally we did stand in line for awhile but you kept moving and there were interesting things to see as you walked along but using the fast pass kept us from standing in very many lines.  The fast pass allows you to make reservations to ride the attraction.  One of us would go to the ride and take all our Disney tickets and put them through a machine that would produce a fast pass.  It told on it when we could return to the attraction and walk past people standing in line and get on the ride in just a few minutes.  It would also tell when you were eligible for another fast pass- you are limited on how many you can get in a day.  It was amazing though - one time when we went back to the ride there were people waiting for 110 minutes and we walked right on up and got on.

I think our favorite was a ride called Soarin which we rode twice.  The Disney description is:
"Soarin'™ is a multi-sensory attraction for big kids, teens and adults in Epcot theme park that simulates a peaceful hang-gliding flight over the Golden State of California.
Fasten your seat belt on the multi-passenger glider and be lifted 40 feet into the air. Swoop up and soar towards the clouds and spectacular California panoramas. An IMAX projection dome wraps 180 degrees around you, so you're engulfed by the impressive scenery"

You really feel like you are flying and it is fabulous.  Lily was almost too short for it - she had to stand under a bar that was 40 inches high - she stood on her toes and they made her put her feet flat, but she made it with a hair to spare.  :)  

Disney also has shows to sit in and get out of the heat that are a lot of fun.  Some are 4 D - you wear the 3D glasses but you also get sprayed with water, have bubbles around you and smell different odors (Izzy held her nose as soon as she saw the stink bug on the screen)

Of course some of our group love roller coasters so they would ride one while Dennis, Laura and I would sit with the girls who were too short.  That annoyed Izzy as she wanted to ride them too.  But we would bring out the snacks, find a shady spot and sit and relax until the rest returned.

Sunday we were at Hollywood Studios, Monday Epcot, Tuesday Animal Kingdom (where we got soaked).  Wednesday we took the day off and everyone went to the beach except Dennis and I.  We attended a time share sales pitch (didn't buy but got $100, three light sabers for the kids and a 1/2 off voucher for a future hotel stay).  That evening Jimmy's family, Laura and I attended a character dinner at one of the resorts featuring Cinderella and cast.  That was tons of fun.  Each character came to the table and visited with the girls and posed for pictures. (and the food was beyond fabulous)  Thursday we went to Magic Kingdom.  On Friday Stacy's family and Laura went back to Epcot and Jimmy's family with Dennis and I went back to Magic Kingdom.   And then we went home to pack. 

Saturday I cried.   :)  I still get tears in my eyes thinking about the week - it was just the BEST.  

Vacation continued

Once we got to Orlando, we stayed in the Sheraton Vistana Resort.  Stacy's family has a time share so they had reserved a two bedroom at the resort for them and Jimmy's family to stay in.  I checked in to staying there and was pleasantly surprised to find we could get a one bedroom with a couch that made in to a bed for only $119 a night.  So Laura stayed with us in it and we were a short walking distance from the rest of the family.  This place was fabulous - many swimming pools, a marketplace for groceries, daily maid service, plus a room that was just great.  It had a kitchen with a full size refrigerator which was so nice to be able to freeze bottles of water and juice to take to the parks.  Also a stove, microwave, dishwasher and dinnerware.  We were very surprised to find we had a small washer and dryer which was really nice.  There was also a screened in balcony with table and chairs off the bedroom.  With two flat screened tvs (living room and bedroom) you could even watch tv if you had time - which we didn't.  :)  The resort is only about 15 minutes from the Disney parks.

Vacation

Just returned (at 2:15 AM Wednesday morning) from a marvelous two week trip.  We first went to New Orleans, then to Orlando where we met up with all the kids and grandkids.  After a week in Orlando (five days at Disney) the kids went home and Dennis and I went to Charlotte after a leisurely drive up the coast of Florida.  In Charlotte we went to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and on a tour of the race shops.  We listened to three and a half books on CD, saw wonderful interesting sites and made a bunch of memories.  I still get tears in my eyes just thinking about the week in Orlando with the kids.  It went better than I ever could have hoped - having 12 people at Disney World can be a challenge but we all had a wonderful time.

Our first great sight (that you certainly don't see in Kansas) was this battleship.

Once in New Orleans, we took a swamp tour and saw a lot of alligators.   The captain was a very witty Cajun boy that lives in the area and was a great guide.   He threw marshmallows out for the alligators and explained they do not have very good eyesight but can see white things the best.  He said anyone with a white shirt on that day should be careful to not fall in the water.   He also said that when you see an alligator with its mouth wide open it means they have gas and are trying to burp.

After the tour we took the free hotel shuttle to the free ferry and went to the French Quarter.  After having some wonderful Beignets at Cafe Du Monde we started to walk back to the ferry in the rain.  The French Quarter was very crowded so we took the river walk which was empty as I guess we were the only ones that thought to take a poncho.

The next day we took a city tour that lasted most of the day.   It was very interesting and made us want to go back to New Orleans this winter for a few more days.

The grey wall is the levee that broke during Katrina

This picture and the following one are homes built by the Brad Pitt foundation

Our bus driver at the cemetery

Wild life at the Trailerhood

We love the wildlife at the Trailerhood - it is such fun to try and get good photos.  Dennis put up a couple of hummingbird feeders and we were shocked at how quickly they found the feeders.  Dennis got a couple of good pictures of them from inside the trailer.

I decided to sit outside and try to get a picture too and while sitting there a huge turkey flew across the river and landed in the yard not far from me.  It slowly walked across the yard, stopping occasionally to pose for me.

Looking down in the river I found this turtle sunning on a log.

The wheat field next to our trailer was beautiful  - ready to harvest but they had about 1/2 inch rain the night before we came so I didn't get to take a picture of the harvest.  They were starting in as we left on Sunday.

Of course the craziest wildlife at the Trailerhood would be the residents.