November 30th 2005 -
We are back in fun-filled Las Vegas for the Wrangler Nationals Finals
Rodeo that will be held the first two weeks of December. Instead of working
in the store this event we will share what is called a kiosk with one other
couple. The kiosk that we have been assigned to is one of the busiest
locations which is wonderful since we will be on commission for this event.
According to the other couples that have worked this event in the past you
are busy from the minute the doors open to the moment the lights go off.
The hours for this event will be wonderful as well. We are only open from
10:00am until 5:00pm. Compared to our regular days that range anywhere
from 9 hours to 16 this will be piece of cake. We won't know what to do with
evenings off, but I'm sure we will find something to fill the time.
We are back in fun-filled Las Vegas for the Wrangler Nationals Finals
Rodeo that will be held the first two weeks of December. Instead of working
in the store this event we will share what is called a kiosk with one other
couple. The kiosk that we have been assigned to is one of the busiest
locations which is wonderful since we will be on commission for this event.
According to the other couples that have worked this event in the past you
are busy from the minute the doors open to the moment the lights go off.
The hours for this event will be wonderful as well. We are only open from
10:00am until 5:00pm. Compared to our regular days that range anywhere
from 9 hours to 16 this will be piece of cake. We won't know what to do with
evenings off, but I'm sure we will find something to fill the time.
November 6th -
Our NHRA season is coming to an end as the Pomona event closes today. Neither of us can believe that the season is over, and 6 months have passed
since we embarked on our adventure. After this event we will be heading to the Santa Ynez Valley for a few weeks to visit with our family and friends. When
we originally signed on we were told we would have 3 months off between the end of this season, and the start of the next. We weren't quite sure what we
would do in the mean time since neither of us want to sit in one place too long. Our prayers have been answered and we now have three other venues to
work at through our same company. We will be working the National Finals Rodeo from the 28th of November until the 12th or so of December, and then we
will be back in Las Vegas after Christmas to work a new Year's Eve party that will on Las Vegas Blvd. Apparently they close of the entire street to cars, so the
entire "Strip" will be crowded with people. We will be selling merchandise celebrating "America's Party". Our souvenir trailer will be parked right out in the
middle of the festivities. We have also been asked to work at The Barrett Jackson Car Auction which takes place in January in Scottsdale, Arizona. This event
is supposed to be great, so we are looking forward to it. They auction off cars from $5,000.00 to somewhere in the millions. We will be off for two weeks at
Thanksgiving and two weeks for Christmas. What better of a schedule could anyone ask for? Below are a few more pictures of our co-workers in the Nitro
Mall. Rick and LaVerne and Tom and Coni are the friends that we met in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. They decided to do a few events with us during the
Drag Race season and they will also join us for the National Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas. It's fun to think of all of the friends that we have met around the
country and stayed in contact with.
Our NHRA season is coming to an end as the Pomona event closes today. Neither of us can believe that the season is over, and 6 months have passed
since we embarked on our adventure. After this event we will be heading to the Santa Ynez Valley for a few weeks to visit with our family and friends. When
we originally signed on we were told we would have 3 months off between the end of this season, and the start of the next. We weren't quite sure what we
would do in the mean time since neither of us want to sit in one place too long. Our prayers have been answered and we now have three other venues to
work at through our same company. We will be working the National Finals Rodeo from the 28th of November until the 12th or so of December, and then we
will be back in Las Vegas after Christmas to work a new Year's Eve party that will on Las Vegas Blvd. Apparently they close of the entire street to cars, so the
entire "Strip" will be crowded with people. We will be selling merchandise celebrating "America's Party". Our souvenir trailer will be parked right out in the
middle of the festivities. We have also been asked to work at The Barrett Jackson Car Auction which takes place in January in Scottsdale, Arizona. This event
is supposed to be great, so we are looking forward to it. They auction off cars from $5,000.00 to somewhere in the millions. We will be off for two weeks at
Thanksgiving and two weeks for Christmas. What better of a schedule could anyone ask for? Below are a few more pictures of our co-workers in the Nitro
Mall. Rick and LaVerne and Tom and Coni are the friends that we met in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. They decided to do a few events with us during the
Drag Race season and they will also join us for the National Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas. It's fun to think of all of the friends that we have met around the
country and stayed in contact with.
November 23 -
Mira Loma, Ca is our current home. We are here getting our tow hitch upgraded in order to be able to tow a 12,000 pound trailer for next season. We will
be towing the Kenny Bernstein Top Fuel Dragster merchandise trailer. Since the trailer is driver specific (driven by Brandon Bernstein) we will be attending
all of the 23 events for next years NHRA Powered Series. We have had quite a good time since we arrived here in Mira Loma. We are at the Prevost bus
facility and have seen all sorts of celebrity buses. We met the drivers for Oprah Winfred and saw her bus. Parked near us are the buses for the band Nine
Inch Nails and the Eagles. Yesterday when the bus was getting worked on we were parked next to Clint Eastwood's bus inside one of the bays. Frank has
met and talked to all the different drivers, including Lee Greenwood's driver. His bus is beautiful with all sorts of musical notes on the sides and back. We
were also able to see the plans for Oprah's new bus which had everything imaginable including 24kt gold in the sinks and shower - To each their own I
guess. We also met the driver for Henry Ford III's bus (the owner of the Ford company) We actually have seen that bus at a couple drag Races so now
Frank has a bus friend to hang out with when the Ford coach is there. We have gone to two different swing dance clubs with Frank's cousin Sean. Frank
and I haven't been swing dancing for about 5 years so we were a bit rusty. A few steps came back to us but we had more fun watching all of the other
couples dance. Sean is a great dancer and gave me a few quick lessons so he and I danced a couple songs, but again it was far more entertaining to
watch the "regulars". Some of them were professionals. One day we took a nice long bike ride one day. It was supposed to be about 10 miles ending at The
Air Museum in Chino but we apparently missed a street so it turned into a 21 mile bike ride. Needless to say we didn't make it to the Air Museum that day,
so we decided to drive the Jeep there the next day. Our legs appreciated the day of rest. Another day we had a picnic out on the lawn of the RV Park. The
birds loved the tree. It was the perfect size for Abbey and Bradley to sit in all day. Below are pictures of our trailer for next year, our picnic at the RV Park
and the amazing feat of lifting the bus up in order to get an up close and personal view of the undercarriage of our bus.
Mira Loma, Ca is our current home. We are here getting our tow hitch upgraded in order to be able to tow a 12,000 pound trailer for next season. We will
be towing the Kenny Bernstein Top Fuel Dragster merchandise trailer. Since the trailer is driver specific (driven by Brandon Bernstein) we will be attending
all of the 23 events for next years NHRA Powered Series. We have had quite a good time since we arrived here in Mira Loma. We are at the Prevost bus
facility and have seen all sorts of celebrity buses. We met the drivers for Oprah Winfred and saw her bus. Parked near us are the buses for the band Nine
Inch Nails and the Eagles. Yesterday when the bus was getting worked on we were parked next to Clint Eastwood's bus inside one of the bays. Frank has
met and talked to all the different drivers, including Lee Greenwood's driver. His bus is beautiful with all sorts of musical notes on the sides and back. We
were also able to see the plans for Oprah's new bus which had everything imaginable including 24kt gold in the sinks and shower - To each their own I
guess. We also met the driver for Henry Ford III's bus (the owner of the Ford company) We actually have seen that bus at a couple drag Races so now
Frank has a bus friend to hang out with when the Ford coach is there. We have gone to two different swing dance clubs with Frank's cousin Sean. Frank
and I haven't been swing dancing for about 5 years so we were a bit rusty. A few steps came back to us but we had more fun watching all of the other
couples dance. Sean is a great dancer and gave me a few quick lessons so he and I danced a couple songs, but again it was far more entertaining to
watch the "regulars". Some of them were professionals. One day we took a nice long bike ride one day. It was supposed to be about 10 miles ending at The
Air Museum in Chino but we apparently missed a street so it turned into a 21 mile bike ride. Needless to say we didn't make it to the Air Museum that day,
so we decided to drive the Jeep there the next day. Our legs appreciated the day of rest. Another day we had a picnic out on the lawn of the RV Park. The
birds loved the tree. It was the perfect size for Abbey and Bradley to sit in all day. Below are pictures of our trailer for next year, our picnic at the RV Park
and the amazing feat of lifting the bus up in order to get an up close and personal view of the undercarriage of our bus.
September 28th -
This morning as Frank was washing the motorhome he
heard anoise that sounded like kittens crying. After
investigating, he found a box full of teeny tiny kittens with
their eyes barely opened, left in an abandoned campsite
with only an open had been spilled since they were all
stumbling around. He brought them home, and we took
turns giving them water with the bird's syringe, and began
calling around to find someone to take them in. 2 hours later
and about 80 miles donation to purchase some extra food
for the 6 little fluffballs and headed back to the RV Park
feeling much better knowing the kittens were in good hands.
This morning as Frank was washing the motorhome he
heard anoise that sounded like kittens crying. After
investigating, he found a box full of teeny tiny kittens with
their eyes barely opened, left in an abandoned campsite
with only an open had been spilled since they were all
stumbling around. He brought them home, and we took
turns giving them water with the bird's syringe, and began
calling around to find someone to take them in. 2 hours later
and about 80 miles donation to purchase some extra food
for the 6 little fluffballs and headed back to the RV Park
feeling much better knowing the kittens were in good hands.
Our kiosk is 40 feet long and about 8 feet or so deep. There are essentially two separate sides that have the same merchandise displayed. Frank and I will
work one side and Dan and Patty, our co-workers, will work the other. Above you can see Frank and Patty checking in our first order. We will receive an of
our merchandise is displayed. We spent most of yesterday and today setting up our kiosk and organizing it so we all can find the correct sizes and colors
when the crowds hit.
work one side and Dan and Patty, our co-workers, will work the other. Above you can see Frank and Patty checking in our first order. We will receive an of
our merchandise is displayed. We spent most of yesterday and today setting up our kiosk and organizing it so we all can find the correct sizes and colors
when the crowds hit.
We are all camping at Thousand Trails, which is a nice RV park about 5
miles from work. This is the only event that parking/lodging isn't provided
for us due to the fact that the location of the event, the Thomas and Mack
Arena at the UNLV campus, is rather small and they need all the room that
they have to house the animals and all the vehicles here. The RV park has
a big party room that the guests can use, so we all took full advantage of it
for our Christmas party the other night which happened to have a very fun
and entertaining gift exchange. To the right are just a few shots from our
wild night. Clockwise from left - 1)Frank, Kurt, Dave and Rick sample Len's
famous margaritas.yum yum.
2)Philly, Shirl and Suzy
3)Frank looking a little nervous to open his present after seeing what Kurt
received below!
4)Yikes. Can you tell what is in Kurt's hand to make such a smile?
5)Tom and Rick take a self portrait on Suzy's camera. These two are
always up to something! I didn't realize they had taken the picture till I
downloaded all the others.
6)Verna and Patty catch up on the last year of each others adventures.
Patty and her husband worked for MainGate for a few years but are now
working in Alaska (Brrrrrrrrr!!)
Since most of our fellow friends will be working evenings at the Thomas and
Mack Arena and the rest of us will work the day shift, we might not see half
the people too much during the next two weeks so tonight was nice to say
our final good byes. Another great thing that Thousand Trails has is a
fabulous jacuzzi, so we plan on hitting that a few nights, especially since the
temperatures in the evening get fairly cold here in the desert. We would
also like to attend the rodeo a few nights and see what all goes into that.
miles from work. This is the only event that parking/lodging isn't provided
for us due to the fact that the location of the event, the Thomas and Mack
Arena at the UNLV campus, is rather small and they need all the room that
they have to house the animals and all the vehicles here. The RV park has
a big party room that the guests can use, so we all took full advantage of it
for our Christmas party the other night which happened to have a very fun
and entertaining gift exchange. To the right are just a few shots from our
wild night. Clockwise from left - 1)Frank, Kurt, Dave and Rick sample Len's
famous margaritas.yum yum.
2)Philly, Shirl and Suzy
3)Frank looking a little nervous to open his present after seeing what Kurt
received below!
4)Yikes. Can you tell what is in Kurt's hand to make such a smile?
5)Tom and Rick take a self portrait on Suzy's camera. These two are
always up to something! I didn't realize they had taken the picture till I
downloaded all the others.
6)Verna and Patty catch up on the last year of each others adventures.
Patty and her husband worked for MainGate for a few years but are now
working in Alaska (Brrrrrrrrr!!)
Since most of our fellow friends will be working evenings at the Thomas and
Mack Arena and the rest of us will work the day shift, we might not see half
the people too much during the next two weeks so tonight was nice to say
our final good byes. Another great thing that Thousand Trails has is a
fabulous jacuzzi, so we plan on hitting that a few nights, especially since the
temperatures in the evening get fairly cold here in the desert. We would
also like to attend the rodeo a few nights and see what all goes into that.
December 10th -
What could be better than front row seats at a Neil McCoy concert??Free
front row seats. Fremont Street has three free concerts throughout the
week of the Rodeo and we attended this evenings free concert with
legendary Neil McCoy. It was a blast. The view was great and he and his
band put on a very fun show. He is quite a dancer and really gets into the
music. We did a little gambling afterward. Shirl and I played what we
thought were penny slots, but after we both won we realized that they were
set to the 5 cent option. On my first bet I won the bonus spin and the
winning just kept coming and coming. I had 36 bonus spins by the end and
had made a nice stack of nickels. We were so excited. Apparently neither
of us gamble enough to realize that the machines are so fancy now you
can not only bet however much money you want, you can also change the
denomination that you are gambling as well. Where else can you turn 5
cents into 88 dollars??? The people around us probably thought we had
won the big jackpot listening to us scream so loud. It was a lot of fun. Bob
and Frank went to the Craps table and Frank won a bit of money as well,
but I think Shirl and I had the most fun. We quickly took our winnings and
headed home for the night.
The next night we went to the rodeo, visited everyone working and
watched the crazy festivities. What would posses a man to climb on the
back of a bull that first of all is quite wild and second of all is a bit upset
because of the rope around his privates tied as tight as the guys could pull
it is beyond me. 8 seconds doesn't seem too long until you watch just how
quickly and how far a bull can throw that same man that climbed onto him.
Watching the Bull Riding made the Bare Back Riding look easy. It is
amazing to watch, since all of the participants make what they do seem so
easy. I must admit however I did find myself cheering for the little calves
when they got away from the cowboys trying to rope them. The man next to
me gave me an odd look but oh well. We had great seats right in the
middle so we had a perfect view down the center of the arena.
Tomorrow is the last day of the rodeo which is sort of sad since we are
having such a great time. Our volume of sales has been wonderful. We
broke all of last years records and the goals for this year so we are all very
happy with ourselves. We will stay here in Las Vegas a couple extra days
so we can visit some good friends that we haven't been able to spend
much time with who live nearby. After that we will head back to California
for the holidays and enjoy a few weeks off.
What could be better than front row seats at a Neil McCoy concert??Free
front row seats. Fremont Street has three free concerts throughout the
week of the Rodeo and we attended this evenings free concert with
legendary Neil McCoy. It was a blast. The view was great and he and his
band put on a very fun show. He is quite a dancer and really gets into the
music. We did a little gambling afterward. Shirl and I played what we
thought were penny slots, but after we both won we realized that they were
set to the 5 cent option. On my first bet I won the bonus spin and the
winning just kept coming and coming. I had 36 bonus spins by the end and
had made a nice stack of nickels. We were so excited. Apparently neither
of us gamble enough to realize that the machines are so fancy now you
can not only bet however much money you want, you can also change the
denomination that you are gambling as well. Where else can you turn 5
cents into 88 dollars??? The people around us probably thought we had
won the big jackpot listening to us scream so loud. It was a lot of fun. Bob
and Frank went to the Craps table and Frank won a bit of money as well,
but I think Shirl and I had the most fun. We quickly took our winnings and
headed home for the night.
The next night we went to the rodeo, visited everyone working and
watched the crazy festivities. What would posses a man to climb on the
back of a bull that first of all is quite wild and second of all is a bit upset
because of the rope around his privates tied as tight as the guys could pull
it is beyond me. 8 seconds doesn't seem too long until you watch just how
quickly and how far a bull can throw that same man that climbed onto him.
Watching the Bull Riding made the Bare Back Riding look easy. It is
amazing to watch, since all of the participants make what they do seem so
easy. I must admit however I did find myself cheering for the little calves
when they got away from the cowboys trying to rope them. The man next to
me gave me an odd look but oh well. We had great seats right in the
middle so we had a perfect view down the center of the arena.
Tomorrow is the last day of the rodeo which is sort of sad since we are
having such a great time. Our volume of sales has been wonderful. We
broke all of last years records and the goals for this year so we are all very
happy with ourselves. We will stay here in Las Vegas a couple extra days
so we can visit some good friends that we haven't been able to spend
much time with who live nearby. After that we will head back to California
for the holidays and enjoy a few weeks off.
Neil McCoy live in concert on Fremont Street
| Notice how quickly the cowboy goes from being on the bull to doing a header onto the dirt below! Ouch! |
December 20th - Home for the Holidays -
It has been so much fun to see everyone and catch up with all our friends
and family. We have been to a couple fun Christmas parties so far and
Christmas is still a week away. The best one was with Frank's best friend
Tony, his wife Allison and a group of friends that we have known since high
school. We had dinner and played Karaoke. The guys put on a dance
competition as we ladies watched. We laughed so hard, and I swear all we
had to drink were a few alcohol free egg nog lattes - promise.
Next was the sing off competition. We were all in choir together at Trinity
Baptist through most of high school and a bit of college so we can all carry
a note or two. Tony sang a few songs, and actually went platinum on the
game where poor Frank got booed off the stage. He was a little shy. I guess
American Idol will not be one of the stops along our way next year! We girls
did okay. We even received a couple Gold Albums. A few of our songs
weren't album worthy, but we still had fun. Keep in mind we ladies all sang
together since we were all chicken to sing by ourselves. Tony was by far
the winner of the singing part of our competition while Mark was the dance
champion of the night. Tony again did quite well in the dance category, but
fell a bit short of our reigning champion. The girls didn't even attempt to
compete with the boys in the dancing segment, except for Kylie - Tony and
Allison's two year old daughter. She gave Mark quite a run for his money.
While the guys danced the ladies built gingerbread houses! Well actually
they were graham cracker houses with fudge as the glue. Mine
appropriately looked a lot like a graham cracker bus!
We also attended the Antonio's Pizza Christmas Party. Our old restaurant.
It was fun to see everyone and the new owner is doing a wonderful job, but
deal with the headaches of being self employed anymore. The best part of
being back in the Valley was being able to eat the best pizza again. We
both sure did miss that!! Yum! We have yet to find a better pizza anywhere
across the country and trust me we have tried.
December 25th - MERRY CHRISTMAS!
We spent Christmas Eve with both of our families. They all live within 30
minutes of each other so it makes for a fun holiday to have everyone at the
same table for Christmas dinner. We all got together again today for
Christmas morning to open presents and eat all of the leftovers. This
afternoon we all went to see Cheaper by the Dozen 2. We are currently
parked outside Frank's grandparents house so we are in close proximity of
everyone.
It has been so much fun to see everyone and catch up with all our friends
and family. We have been to a couple fun Christmas parties so far and
Christmas is still a week away. The best one was with Frank's best friend
Tony, his wife Allison and a group of friends that we have known since high
school. We had dinner and played Karaoke. The guys put on a dance
competition as we ladies watched. We laughed so hard, and I swear all we
had to drink were a few alcohol free egg nog lattes - promise.
Next was the sing off competition. We were all in choir together at Trinity
Baptist through most of high school and a bit of college so we can all carry
a note or two. Tony sang a few songs, and actually went platinum on the
game where poor Frank got booed off the stage. He was a little shy. I guess
American Idol will not be one of the stops along our way next year! We girls
did okay. We even received a couple Gold Albums. A few of our songs
weren't album worthy, but we still had fun. Keep in mind we ladies all sang
together since we were all chicken to sing by ourselves. Tony was by far
the winner of the singing part of our competition while Mark was the dance
champion of the night. Tony again did quite well in the dance category, but
fell a bit short of our reigning champion. The girls didn't even attempt to
compete with the boys in the dancing segment, except for Kylie - Tony and
Allison's two year old daughter. She gave Mark quite a run for his money.
While the guys danced the ladies built gingerbread houses! Well actually
they were graham cracker houses with fudge as the glue. Mine
appropriately looked a lot like a graham cracker bus!
We also attended the Antonio's Pizza Christmas Party. Our old restaurant.
It was fun to see everyone and the new owner is doing a wonderful job, but
deal with the headaches of being self employed anymore. The best part of
being back in the Valley was being able to eat the best pizza again. We
both sure did miss that!! Yum! We have yet to find a better pizza anywhere
across the country and trust me we have tried.
December 25th - MERRY CHRISTMAS!
We spent Christmas Eve with both of our families. They all live within 30
minutes of each other so it makes for a fun holiday to have everyone at the
same table for Christmas dinner. We all got together again today for
Christmas morning to open presents and eat all of the leftovers. This
afternoon we all went to see Cheaper by the Dozen 2. We are currently
parked outside Frank's grandparents house so we are in close proximity of
everyone.
Run little calf run!! The Rodeo Clown puts on a show
The boys are
off in foot to
combat.
Right! Left!
Right! Right!
Left! Right!
off in foot to
combat.
Right! Left!
Right! Right!
Left! Right!
| Allison, Shelley and Suzy for the final round |
| Game time with nieces Hayley and Torrie and family friends Beth and John |
| Frank with his sister Renee and Grandma and Grandpa Saulsbury |
| Allison and Becca model their graham cracker Christmas houses |
Parrottrek Journal 2005
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| The curious cows look on as we rode by on our bikes |
| Our Country getaway aka Bob and Shirl's house |
| Frank and Cody check out the backyard |
September 10 - Frank's Birthday!!!
Happy Birthday to Frank! We have found a little piece of heaven right here on earth. It is in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Good friends of ours and co-workers
Bob and Shirl Kase live here, and have opened their home to Frank and I and Doug and Martha for the week off that we have until the Reading, Pa event.
We have created our own little RV Park in their driveway. It is so quiet up here at night all we here are the crickets, and the deer walking by our motorhome.
The leaves are beginning to turn colors since fall is beginning, so the trees are all different colors. Frank has had a wonderful birthday it started out this
morning when we drove up to an Elk Farm where for a price people can come in and hunt. We just went to see all of the beautiful Elk. It's so sad to think that
people shoot them, but then again they do use the meat, and Elk jerky isn't too bad. Most of the Elk were sleeping in the woods so we didn't get to see many
of them, but there were a couple herds eating on the outskirts of the wooded area. After the Elk Farm we went to downtown Williamsport where Little League
Baseball was started. The six of us toured the ball field where they hold the Little League World Series every year. It's funny to see a baseball field so small
but with so many seats for the fans. To celebrate Frank's birthday we went to a carnival in town, had dinner and played a few of the games. We then went
back to Bob and Shirl's house for cake and ice cream. It was a wonderful day all around. It was so nice to spend a few days in the country. We had a
campfire last night out in the backyard, and watched a bunch of deer walk down to their property from the hills across the street. They have quite a few
Amish neighbors, who light their homes up at night with candles. We took a long bike ride early one morning and explored the neighborhood and
surrounding farms. It was sad to have to leave and return to work, but it was a perfect place to recharge ourselves.
Happy Birthday to Frank! We have found a little piece of heaven right here on earth. It is in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Good friends of ours and co-workers
Bob and Shirl Kase live here, and have opened their home to Frank and I and Doug and Martha for the week off that we have until the Reading, Pa event.
We have created our own little RV Park in their driveway. It is so quiet up here at night all we here are the crickets, and the deer walking by our motorhome.
The leaves are beginning to turn colors since fall is beginning, so the trees are all different colors. Frank has had a wonderful birthday it started out this
morning when we drove up to an Elk Farm where for a price people can come in and hunt. We just went to see all of the beautiful Elk. It's so sad to think that
people shoot them, but then again they do use the meat, and Elk jerky isn't too bad. Most of the Elk were sleeping in the woods so we didn't get to see many
of them, but there were a couple herds eating on the outskirts of the wooded area. After the Elk Farm we went to downtown Williamsport where Little League
Baseball was started. The six of us toured the ball field where they hold the Little League World Series every year. It's funny to see a baseball field so small
but with so many seats for the fans. To celebrate Frank's birthday we went to a carnival in town, had dinner and played a few of the games. We then went
back to Bob and Shirl's house for cake and ice cream. It was a wonderful day all around. It was so nice to spend a few days in the country. We had a
campfire last night out in the backyard, and watched a bunch of deer walk down to their property from the hills across the street. They have quite a few
Amish neighbors, who light their homes up at night with candles. We took a long bike ride early one morning and explored the neighborhood and
surrounding farms. It was sad to have to leave and return to work, but it was a perfect place to recharge ourselves.
| Suzy and Shirl at "Casey at the Bat" statue donated to the Little League by Garth Brooks |
| The World Series of Little League Ball Park |
| Bob and Shirl outside the Little League park |
| "Cocktail Hour" at the local pub |
| Happy Birthday to Frank |
| Frank naps on the lawn while we explored |
September 12th
The girls spent the day in Intercourse!! Intercourse, Pennsylvania that is! Where is this you ask?? It is the heart of Amish Country. Frank, Bob and Doug
are setting up the tent today so Martha, Suzy and Shirl are going to go shopping!! It used to be called Cross Keys, which is a much less embarrassing
name, but apparently since they used to have some sort of horse race course there they changed the name, or so the story goes. The town next door to it
is called Blue Balls, and there is another town a little up the road that is called Virginville. These people have quite a sense of humor when it comes to
naming their towns. We had a great time seeing all of the homemade quilts, and eating Amish food. It was fun to see the little horse and buggies going
down the road right along with the cars. State Law here says that if you kill a horse pulling a buggy you will get the same prison term that you would get if
you killed a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Not a good idea!!! The people here in Amish Country are very nice, and very wholesome. None of the children are
allowed to speak unless they are respectful, and they all follow behind mom and dad just like little ducks in a row. The grocery store was very quiet, you
didn't hear any of them screaming for a toy or cookies like you do in 'Secular' grocery stores. Maybe all children should spend their first few years in an
Amish household. Monday is laundry day here in Intercourse, so every house that you drive by has huge clotheslines full of clothes from little tiny sizes up
to great big dad and mom size clothes. The fields are enormous, and quite smelly this time of year. We had to turn the air off when we would pass by a
large field or we would nearly pass out.
The girls spent the day in Intercourse!! Intercourse, Pennsylvania that is! Where is this you ask?? It is the heart of Amish Country. Frank, Bob and Doug
are setting up the tent today so Martha, Suzy and Shirl are going to go shopping!! It used to be called Cross Keys, which is a much less embarrassing
name, but apparently since they used to have some sort of horse race course there they changed the name, or so the story goes. The town next door to it
is called Blue Balls, and there is another town a little up the road that is called Virginville. These people have quite a sense of humor when it comes to
naming their towns. We had a great time seeing all of the homemade quilts, and eating Amish food. It was fun to see the little horse and buggies going
down the road right along with the cars. State Law here says that if you kill a horse pulling a buggy you will get the same prison term that you would get if
you killed a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Not a good idea!!! The people here in Amish Country are very nice, and very wholesome. None of the children are
allowed to speak unless they are respectful, and they all follow behind mom and dad just like little ducks in a row. The grocery store was very quiet, you
didn't hear any of them screaming for a toy or cookies like you do in 'Secular' grocery stores. Maybe all children should spend their first few years in an
Amish household. Monday is laundry day here in Intercourse, so every house that you drive by has huge clotheslines full of clothes from little tiny sizes up
to great big dad and mom size clothes. The fields are enormous, and quite smelly this time of year. We had to turn the air off when we would pass by a
large field or we would nearly pass out.
| Shirl gives Martha and I milking lessons |
| Amish commuter traffic |
| A one room school house and playground |
| An Amish church and cemetery |
| A "two horse power" vehicle |
September 14th -
The race is starting tomorrow so tonight was our last night of freedom. A big group of us drove back into Amish Country and went to Shady Maples. It is a huge
Amish restaurant that has a buffet style dinner. They had everything imaginable on the menu. All of it is homemade right there by a bunch of Amish ladies.
Everyone loved it, and we all ate way too much. The food was excellent however, and well worth it. It poured pretty much all day today. The tent was beginning
to flood out, and all of our computer outlets were under water. Lets hope those dry out before we have to use them, or we may loose a few employees to
electrocution. It continued to rain pretty much all night. As we drove into town you could barely see the front of the car. This race usually rains out, so lets
hope that tonight was the last of it.
September 20th
Our weekend turned out to have wonderful weather. Not a single drop of rain during the races. It did however rain pretty much all night each night, but once
the sun came out in the morning the rain clouds went away. All of the fans were amazed. Sundays races were sold out and everyone who came in the store
was in awe that it wasn't raining. The joke of the Reading race is that it has only rained out 13 of the last 12 years. This weekend was busier than the race in
Indianapolis. The days flew by, and we are once again on the road.
We are now headed to Ennis, Texas which is about 1400 miles from Reading, Pa, so we have had a couple long days of driving. The driving is actually part of
the fun. It's nice to relax while you watch the scenery go by, and Frank loves to drive the bus. I actually did drive it for a few hours each day on the drive to
Indiana, but Frank can't sit still very long, so driving keeps him entertained. I on the other hand love to curl up on the couch with a good book, or just stare out
the window as the country goes by us. In fact right now the sun is setting here in Arkansas, and it sure is a beautiful sight to see. It's amazing to think how
many different states we have watched the sunset in in the last few months. Something we couldn't do back home very often. I tried to take a picture for you,
but it's too dark now. Sorry!
Frank's cousin Kellie and her family live about 10 miles from the race track in Ennis, so we will be meeting up with them tomorrow night for dinner. It really is a
small world when you think about it. It turns out we have had quite a few friends and family at various locations that we have worked. Last weekend in
Pennsylvania we met up with Chris Millar who used to be an employee of ours at Antonio's for about 4 years. He and his dad came out to the races and we
had a little time to catch up. We also just found out that other friends or ours recently moved to Indianapolis, Indiana and live only a little ways from the track
there. Too bad we didn't know that this year, but it will give us someone else to visit along our journey for next year.
The race is starting tomorrow so tonight was our last night of freedom. A big group of us drove back into Amish Country and went to Shady Maples. It is a huge
Amish restaurant that has a buffet style dinner. They had everything imaginable on the menu. All of it is homemade right there by a bunch of Amish ladies.
Everyone loved it, and we all ate way too much. The food was excellent however, and well worth it. It poured pretty much all day today. The tent was beginning
to flood out, and all of our computer outlets were under water. Lets hope those dry out before we have to use them, or we may loose a few employees to
electrocution. It continued to rain pretty much all night. As we drove into town you could barely see the front of the car. This race usually rains out, so lets
hope that tonight was the last of it.
September 20th
Our weekend turned out to have wonderful weather. Not a single drop of rain during the races. It did however rain pretty much all night each night, but once
the sun came out in the morning the rain clouds went away. All of the fans were amazed. Sundays races were sold out and everyone who came in the store
was in awe that it wasn't raining. The joke of the Reading race is that it has only rained out 13 of the last 12 years. This weekend was busier than the race in
Indianapolis. The days flew by, and we are once again on the road.
We are now headed to Ennis, Texas which is about 1400 miles from Reading, Pa, so we have had a couple long days of driving. The driving is actually part of
the fun. It's nice to relax while you watch the scenery go by, and Frank loves to drive the bus. I actually did drive it for a few hours each day on the drive to
Indiana, but Frank can't sit still very long, so driving keeps him entertained. I on the other hand love to curl up on the couch with a good book, or just stare out
the window as the country goes by us. In fact right now the sun is setting here in Arkansas, and it sure is a beautiful sight to see. It's amazing to think how
many different states we have watched the sunset in in the last few months. Something we couldn't do back home very often. I tried to take a picture for you,
but it's too dark now. Sorry!
Frank's cousin Kellie and her family live about 10 miles from the race track in Ennis, so we will be meeting up with them tomorrow night for dinner. It really is a
small world when you think about it. It turns out we have had quite a few friends and family at various locations that we have worked. Last weekend in
Pennsylvania we met up with Chris Millar who used to be an employee of ours at Antonio's for about 4 years. He and his dad came out to the races and we
had a little time to catch up. We also just found out that other friends or ours recently moved to Indianapolis, Indiana and live only a little ways from the track
there. Too bad we didn't know that this year, but it will give us someone else to visit along our journey for next year.
| Hold your breath here comes another field |
September 24th -
Dallas, Texas ended up being a very short stop. Hurricane Rita changed our plans for the weekend. NHRA called off the race since Thursdays reports
showed that Dallas would be getting 70 mile an hour winds, and quite a bit if rain starting 2am Saturday and probably not slowing down until late Sunday.
We had just put up the entire store with stock and all just to take it down the next day. We didn't mind the extra work, since we would rather not experience
70 mile an hour winds first hand.
Since we already had a vacation planned with some friends from back home for the two weeks after the Dallas race, the cancellation actually worked out to
our advantage. This way we have a few extra days to reach our destination of the Grand Canyon, and can make a few extra tourist stops on the way. We
stopped in Tombstone, Arizona today to check out the O.K. Corral and the infamous gunfight between the Earp brothers with Doc Holliday and the wanted
McLaurys and Clantons. It was fun to see a bit of history up close.
We hope to make it to the Phoenix area tonight. We will be staying at Lake Pleasant until Tuesday, and then make our way up to the Grand Canyon's North
Rim from there.
Dallas, Texas ended up being a very short stop. Hurricane Rita changed our plans for the weekend. NHRA called off the race since Thursdays reports
showed that Dallas would be getting 70 mile an hour winds, and quite a bit if rain starting 2am Saturday and probably not slowing down until late Sunday.
We had just put up the entire store with stock and all just to take it down the next day. We didn't mind the extra work, since we would rather not experience
70 mile an hour winds first hand.
Since we already had a vacation planned with some friends from back home for the two weeks after the Dallas race, the cancellation actually worked out to
our advantage. This way we have a few extra days to reach our destination of the Grand Canyon, and can make a few extra tourist stops on the way. We
stopped in Tombstone, Arizona today to check out the O.K. Corral and the infamous gunfight between the Earp brothers with Doc Holliday and the wanted
McLaurys and Clantons. It was fun to see a bit of history up close.
We hope to make it to the Phoenix area tonight. We will be staying at Lake Pleasant until Tuesday, and then make our way up to the Grand Canyon's North
Rim from there.
| The boys at the lake |
| Frank swimming in the double wide Olympic pool |
| Lake Pleasant RV Park |
Lake Pleasant is a very fun area. We found a great RV Park for 15 dollars a night right on the outside road of the lake. Frank's aunt and uncle and cousins
live in Phoenix which is about 30 minutes from the lake so we were able to spend a good amount of our time with them. It was fun to see them since we
usually only get to see them once every three years or so. It's also been great to relax by the pool for a few days, and boy is the pool huge here.
live in Phoenix which is about 30 minutes from the lake so we were able to spend a good amount of our time with them. It was fun to see them since we
usually only get to see them once every three years or so. It's also been great to relax by the pool for a few days, and boy is the pool huge here.
October 1st -
The Grand Canyon is beautiful, and this is a perfect time of year to visit. There are no crowds, and the weather is a bit cool. We actually had to use our
furnace for the first time. P.S. We discovered that the bus has heated tiles - very nice for early morning trips to the potty or to the kitchen for a midnight
snack. No more shock of ice cold tiles on your feet to help in the wake-up process. We will be heading out of here in the morning and making our way to
Lake Mead. We will have some other friends of ours meet us there, and will hopefully be able to hit the water for a day or two.
Our whole group is now here and we are at Lake Mead. The birds are loving being outside, and our friends dogs Malibu, Ty and Tanner are intrigued by the
birds. The guys went on for a Jeep ride while the girls went shopping at a local craft and art show. The guys came back with only one flat tire which was quite
amazing considering the rocky area that went 4-wheeling. We will be here at Lake Mead for another day and then our next stop will be Vegas for almost a
week.
The Grand Canyon is beautiful, and this is a perfect time of year to visit. There are no crowds, and the weather is a bit cool. We actually had to use our
furnace for the first time. P.S. We discovered that the bus has heated tiles - very nice for early morning trips to the potty or to the kitchen for a midnight
snack. No more shock of ice cold tiles on your feet to help in the wake-up process. We will be heading out of here in the morning and making our way to
Lake Mead. We will have some other friends of ours meet us there, and will hopefully be able to hit the water for a day or two.
Our whole group is now here and we are at Lake Mead. The birds are loving being outside, and our friends dogs Malibu, Ty and Tanner are intrigued by the
birds. The guys went on for a Jeep ride while the girls went shopping at a local craft and art show. The guys came back with only one flat tire which was quite
amazing considering the rocky area that went 4-wheeling. We will be here at Lake Mead for another day and then our next stop will be Vegas for almost a
week.
| Cody and Abbey look out at Lake Mead |
| Ty sits on his throne with Tanner at his feet |
| Brandie, Joe, Suzy and Frank on the rim of the Grand Canyon |
October 10th -
Viva Las Vegas!!!!! We are staying at a gorgeous RV Park called Outdoor Resorts. There are five pools and five Jacuzzis The sites are enormous and
each one is different from the next because each site is individually owned. It's very similar to the resort in Florida where we own our site, except that the
Florida RV Park is about 10 times larger. We all played tennis everyday followed by laying out by one of the pools. We went into town a couple nights and
had a great afternoon at the indoor go-kart track where we all raced against each other. John finished first, Frank was second and Suzy finished third. It
was so much fun. Joe and Brandie ended up leaving early Saturday morning and John and Andrea stayed an extra night. The four of us went to lunch at
Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and noticed that Elton John was in concert at Caesar's Palace. We spontaneously decided that if they did have tickets we
would go that night, but considering that Elton John is only there for a month, the chances of getting in on a Saturday night was super slim to none. We
called anyways and surprisingly lucked out. The concert was unbelievable. All of his songs are so familiar and it felt as though we were sitting there alone
listening to him play and sing the way that the Colosseum is designed. The only bummer part was that they made you check your bags at the door,
including my camera bag so I have no pictures of the inside of the concert or of Elton John himself playing. I guess they don't want everyone putting
pictures of him on their webpage. :-)
Viva Las Vegas!!!!! We are staying at a gorgeous RV Park called Outdoor Resorts. There are five pools and five Jacuzzis The sites are enormous and
each one is different from the next because each site is individually owned. It's very similar to the resort in Florida where we own our site, except that the
Florida RV Park is about 10 times larger. We all played tennis everyday followed by laying out by one of the pools. We went into town a couple nights and
had a great afternoon at the indoor go-kart track where we all raced against each other. John finished first, Frank was second and Suzy finished third. It
was so much fun. Joe and Brandie ended up leaving early Saturday morning and John and Andrea stayed an extra night. The four of us went to lunch at
Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and noticed that Elton John was in concert at Caesar's Palace. We spontaneously decided that if they did have tickets we
would go that night, but considering that Elton John is only there for a month, the chances of getting in on a Saturday night was super slim to none. We
called anyways and surprisingly lucked out. The concert was unbelievable. All of his songs are so familiar and it felt as though we were sitting there alone
listening to him play and sing the way that the Colosseum is designed. The only bummer part was that they made you check your bags at the door,
including my camera bag so I have no pictures of the inside of the concert or of Elton John himself playing. I guess they don't want everyone putting
pictures of him on their webpage. :-)
| The guys practice their synchronized swimming |
| Outdoor Resort in Las Vegas |
| The bus driving over the Hoover Dam |
| A day out on Lake Mead |
| Joe and Brandie plan their next attack as John and Frank look a bit nervous |
| We watched a ram fight at a local park |
| Andrea gaining speed on the last lap |
| Suzy's brief lead on John in the go-cart race |
| We found a great place to four-wheel drive the Jeeps not far from our campsite at Lake Mead |
October 19th -
Happy Birthday to Suzy! On one of the evenings after stocking the store, a group of us went out for a very fun evening at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. The
restaurant was great. They had a mock concert with Jimmy Buffet performing on a big screen while the waitresses would dance. They even had a balloon
man dressed as a sailor walking around on stilts who made Suzy a great birthday hat and a sword for Frank.
Happy Birthday to Suzy! On one of the evenings after stocking the store, a group of us went out for a very fun evening at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. The
restaurant was great. They had a mock concert with Jimmy Buffet performing on a big screen while the waitresses would dance. They even had a balloon
man dressed as a sailor walking around on stilts who made Suzy a great birthday hat and a sword for Frank.
October 22nd -
The Vegas race is well underway and very busy. We are working in a "Super" this weekend which is a gigantic semi trailer that opens up on one side and is
full of merchandise. It's great to work in the Super because it gives us an idea of what next year will be like when we have our own trailer to tow. Our trailer
will be a bit smaller but at least we now know we will enjoy it. The best part of our trailer this weekend is the location. We are about 50 feet from the
racetrack staging area so when the trailer isn't busy we can take turns watching the races. Frank watches most of them but I make him switch with me as
soon as the motorcycles start. Watching someone go over 250 hundred miles an hour on a motorcycle is quite exciting.
The Vegas race is well underway and very busy. We are working in a "Super" this weekend which is a gigantic semi trailer that opens up on one side and is
full of merchandise. It's great to work in the Super because it gives us an idea of what next year will be like when we have our own trailer to tow. Our trailer
will be a bit smaller but at least we now know we will enjoy it. The best part of our trailer this weekend is the location. We are about 50 feet from the
racetrack staging area so when the trailer isn't busy we can take turns watching the races. Frank watches most of them but I make him switch with me as
soon as the motorcycles start. Watching someone go over 250 hundred miles an hour on a motorcycle is quite exciting.
| LaVerne, Suzy, Vicki and Coni |
| Ellie and Vicki |
| The motorcycles getting ready to race |
| Our merchandise selection |
| A full shot of the Super with truck and trailer |
| Rick, Frank and Tom |