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.
Parrottrek Journal 2005
February 2005 -
We are in the process of selling our restaurant and renting out our house. We have quite a bit of interest in the restaurant which is wonderful, and we have
had a handful of people look at the house. We are quite confident both will be off of our hands before our departure date. We have had two garage sales
and have sold most of our things that won't be coming with us on the road. It is amazing how much "junk" we have accumulated in our 8 years of marriage
and living in this house. I think that we had three sets of pots and pans. Who needs that many pots and pans! Especially when we hardly ever cook!
The motorhome is getting some more warranty issues taken care of (again!!! :-( ). I certainly hope that we don't have many more issues with the Trek once
we hit the road. It would be terrible to be stuck somewhere unable to get to our next location because of mechanical errors on a brand new coach.
It is definitely a love hate relationship with this motorhome. We love the floor plan and design of the motorhome, but we are less than impressed with
Monaco's level of craftsmanship and quality control. Enough said!!
We are excited about our initial career on the road. We will be working for a company called MainGate Inc. We will follow them to all the NHRA events around
the country and assist them selling NHRA licensed merchandise. We will start out working in the store that is 4,000 square feet. It travels via semi-trailer from
race to race. It is quite impressive how the whole system works. We will be working in the same building with the same people each week, but our location will
change every weekend. We are greatly looking forward to seeing the majority of this great country in less than a year!
March 2005
Our house is getting emptier by the day. We are even more excited about our new adventure beginning as each day passes. We are currently waiting for
escrow to open on our restaurant. If it opens on time, barring any delays we should close at the beginning of May. We hope to hit the road on July first and
head towards Colorado for the July 15th drag race in Denver. Thank you Jesus that everything is working out so well. Neither of us can believe our dream of
traveling is really coming true. It just shows that a lot of hard work and a plan early on in life really does pay off. Never wait to save money for the future.
April 2005
The restaurant is officially in escrow and will only be ours for another thirty days (April 30 is the scheduled date to close escrow). We will be moving into our
motorhome sometime this month so that we can adjust to living in it and that we can get our house cleaned out for the future tenants. It will be a great way to
see exactly what we need and what we don't need to make it our permanent home. It will be a bit of an adjustment since it is only 8 1/2 feet wide and 30 feet
in length, but we are very optimistic. It is one thing to stay in it occasionally for a week or two at a time where you can live without little things for a day or two,
but who knows what it will be like living permanently in it, which is exactly why we are moving into it early and while it's still in the driveway. Check back with us
in a couple months and see how it pans out. :-)
Our plan now is to leave around the beginning of June and head up to Oregon to the Monaco factory. We have been having problems with the front entry
door to our Trek. The plant supervisor has contacted Frank and has arranged for us to show up at the factory and they will perform the work whenever we
arrive and send us back on the road. It will be fun to see the plant where our motorhome was built and more importantly it will be nice to get all the things
fixed. From there we have until the middle of July to be in Colorado for the Drag Races. Then we will be following the rest of the circuit for 2005. We will log
over 11,000 miles between July and December. After the season ends we will have a month or two off and will begin the following season in February 2006 if
we enjoy the rest of this year. Hopefully by then we will be pulling our own merchandise trailer.
Change of plans:
Surprise, surprise, we have changed our plans yet again!!! We have discovered that Monaco has technicians at many of the NHRA events so there is no
need for us to make a special trip to the factory for our repairs. In fact while we were in Vegas the Monaco technicians adjusted our door while we were at
work. What a great set up. Let's hope that they are a little better with their mobile repair facility then they are with their dealership repair facilities. Positive
thinking, positive thinking. :-)
May 2005 -
Escrow has closed on our restaurant!! We are now unemployed!! Well, only temporarily..... It is very strange adjusting to having very little responsibility, but
surprisingly easy to adjust to :-). The last nine years with the restaurant have been very rewarding while at the same time lots and lots of hard work. We have
been living in the motorhome for almost one entire month now. Surprisingly, it has not been that hard to adjust to at all, however I do wonder what all the
neighbors think, at least the ones that don't know what we are doing. Oh well it gives them something to talk about I guess. Living in the motorhome is
actually a lot of fun. We hardly notice the house is still there, and we never go inside except to show it to potential renters. This way it stays nice and clean.
Speaking of clean, the motorhome is great because it only takes a few minutes to clean it and it feels very cozy and comfortable to hang out in it. We have
about three weeks left here in town and then we will be hitting the road. Suzy still has a couple weeks left at the horse ranch training her replacement - Which
happens to be my sister Renee. This change has seemed to be rewarding for everyone.
WE ARE NOW ON THE ROAD!!!
Our first weekend out we went to see a race at Mesa Marin Speedway in Bakersfield California. One of our friends is on the pit team of the #9 Greg Voigt car
in the Southwest Series of Nascar. After the race we went a little bit further east to Lake Isabella and Kernville. What a crazy road on the way out here. The
two lane road to get here is very narrow and has a cliff wall on one side that sometimes hangs out over the white line. It was a very slow and nerve-racking
trip in the motorhome. Lake Isabella is...well....ugly! There are hardly any trees or plants and everything is brown. Even after all the rains that we have had
this year. Because the lake was so unappealing we decided to head further north to Kernville. It is much nicer here. Still brown, but we are camped right next
to the Kern River and it's FREE! We have absolutely no neighbors, and great nature views as far as the eye can see. However we are a bit lonely out here
with no one around so we will head out tomorrow to more populated places. The "hit the road date" is close!! We are so excited!
Our campsite on the river. We have the Easy Up set up so the birds can play outside! One of the waterfalls near our campsite
We are in the process of selling our restaurant and renting out our house. We have quite a bit of interest in the restaurant which is wonderful, and we have
had a handful of people look at the house. We are quite confident both will be off of our hands before our departure date. We have had two garage sales
and have sold most of our things that won't be coming with us on the road. It is amazing how much "junk" we have accumulated in our 8 years of marriage
and living in this house. I think that we had three sets of pots and pans. Who needs that many pots and pans! Especially when we hardly ever cook!
The motorhome is getting some more warranty issues taken care of (again!!! :-( ). I certainly hope that we don't have many more issues with the Trek once
we hit the road. It would be terrible to be stuck somewhere unable to get to our next location because of mechanical errors on a brand new coach.
It is definitely a love hate relationship with this motorhome. We love the floor plan and design of the motorhome, but we are less than impressed with
Monaco's level of craftsmanship and quality control. Enough said!!
We are excited about our initial career on the road. We will be working for a company called MainGate Inc. We will follow them to all the NHRA events around
the country and assist them selling NHRA licensed merchandise. We will start out working in the store that is 4,000 square feet. It travels via semi-trailer from
race to race. It is quite impressive how the whole system works. We will be working in the same building with the same people each week, but our location will
change every weekend. We are greatly looking forward to seeing the majority of this great country in less than a year!
March 2005
Our house is getting emptier by the day. We are even more excited about our new adventure beginning as each day passes. We are currently waiting for
escrow to open on our restaurant. If it opens on time, barring any delays we should close at the beginning of May. We hope to hit the road on July first and
head towards Colorado for the July 15th drag race in Denver. Thank you Jesus that everything is working out so well. Neither of us can believe our dream of
traveling is really coming true. It just shows that a lot of hard work and a plan early on in life really does pay off. Never wait to save money for the future.
April 2005
The restaurant is officially in escrow and will only be ours for another thirty days (April 30 is the scheduled date to close escrow). We will be moving into our
motorhome sometime this month so that we can adjust to living in it and that we can get our house cleaned out for the future tenants. It will be a great way to
see exactly what we need and what we don't need to make it our permanent home. It will be a bit of an adjustment since it is only 8 1/2 feet wide and 30 feet
in length, but we are very optimistic. It is one thing to stay in it occasionally for a week or two at a time where you can live without little things for a day or two,
but who knows what it will be like living permanently in it, which is exactly why we are moving into it early and while it's still in the driveway. Check back with us
in a couple months and see how it pans out. :-)
Our plan now is to leave around the beginning of June and head up to Oregon to the Monaco factory. We have been having problems with the front entry
door to our Trek. The plant supervisor has contacted Frank and has arranged for us to show up at the factory and they will perform the work whenever we
arrive and send us back on the road. It will be fun to see the plant where our motorhome was built and more importantly it will be nice to get all the things
fixed. From there we have until the middle of July to be in Colorado for the Drag Races. Then we will be following the rest of the circuit for 2005. We will log
over 11,000 miles between July and December. After the season ends we will have a month or two off and will begin the following season in February 2006 if
we enjoy the rest of this year. Hopefully by then we will be pulling our own merchandise trailer.
Change of plans:
Surprise, surprise, we have changed our plans yet again!!! We have discovered that Monaco has technicians at many of the NHRA events so there is no
need for us to make a special trip to the factory for our repairs. In fact while we were in Vegas the Monaco technicians adjusted our door while we were at
work. What a great set up. Let's hope that they are a little better with their mobile repair facility then they are with their dealership repair facilities. Positive
thinking, positive thinking. :-)
May 2005 -
Escrow has closed on our restaurant!! We are now unemployed!! Well, only temporarily..... It is very strange adjusting to having very little responsibility, but
surprisingly easy to adjust to :-). The last nine years with the restaurant have been very rewarding while at the same time lots and lots of hard work. We have
been living in the motorhome for almost one entire month now. Surprisingly, it has not been that hard to adjust to at all, however I do wonder what all the
neighbors think, at least the ones that don't know what we are doing. Oh well it gives them something to talk about I guess. Living in the motorhome is
actually a lot of fun. We hardly notice the house is still there, and we never go inside except to show it to potential renters. This way it stays nice and clean.
Speaking of clean, the motorhome is great because it only takes a few minutes to clean it and it feels very cozy and comfortable to hang out in it. We have
about three weeks left here in town and then we will be hitting the road. Suzy still has a couple weeks left at the horse ranch training her replacement - Which
happens to be my sister Renee. This change has seemed to be rewarding for everyone.
WE ARE NOW ON THE ROAD!!!
Our first weekend out we went to see a race at Mesa Marin Speedway in Bakersfield California. One of our friends is on the pit team of the #9 Greg Voigt car
in the Southwest Series of Nascar. After the race we went a little bit further east to Lake Isabella and Kernville. What a crazy road on the way out here. The
two lane road to get here is very narrow and has a cliff wall on one side that sometimes hangs out over the white line. It was a very slow and nerve-racking
trip in the motorhome. Lake Isabella is...well....ugly! There are hardly any trees or plants and everything is brown. Even after all the rains that we have had
this year. Because the lake was so unappealing we decided to head further north to Kernville. It is much nicer here. Still brown, but we are camped right next
to the Kern River and it's FREE! We have absolutely no neighbors, and great nature views as far as the eye can see. However we are a bit lonely out here
with no one around so we will head out tomorrow to more populated places. The "hit the road date" is close!! We are so excited!
Our campsite on the river. We have the Easy Up set up so the birds can play outside! One of the waterfalls near our campsite
May 22-25 -
The Trek has officially begun. We left on Sunday morning after breakfast with our family. We drove south to Malibu State Creek Park. This is the place where
they filmed the TV series M*A*S*H. This is our favorite show to watch on DVD. On our first day here we hiked about two and a half miles back to where they
filmed the show. It has been over twenty years since the show ended, and there have been a couple fires since,so the area where their camp had sat was
quite overgrown. On our initial visit we found the helicopter pad, and an old Jeep, the rest of the set was hardly recognizable. We went back to our campsite
and after watching several episodes in order to study the area we came back the next morning and were able to visualize where everything was.
A view of the M*A*S*H set from the top of the helicopter pad. An old rusty Jeep still sits below. Frank and Cody feed the wild rabbits
The Trek has officially begun. We left on Sunday morning after breakfast with our family. We drove south to Malibu State Creek Park. This is the place where
they filmed the TV series M*A*S*H. This is our favorite show to watch on DVD. On our first day here we hiked about two and a half miles back to where they
filmed the show. It has been over twenty years since the show ended, and there have been a couple fires since,so the area where their camp had sat was
quite overgrown. On our initial visit we found the helicopter pad, and an old Jeep, the rest of the set was hardly recognizable. We went back to our campsite
and after watching several episodes in order to study the area we came back the next morning and were able to visualize where everything was.
A view of the M*A*S*H set from the top of the helicopter pad. An old rusty Jeep still sits below. Frank and Cody feed the wild rabbits
One of the days we spent in Simi Valley we went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. We were hoping to get to see Air Force One on display, but they
won't have the display open until the Fall. I guess we will have to come back here next year. The Presidential Library was very interesting, and quite
educational. We were both fairly young throughout Reagan's presidency, however Suzy did get to shake his hand in junior high. Yes the real man, not just
his statue,so it was nice to relive his presidency through movies and memorabilia. It sure would be wonderful if we could have another president like Reagan.
Frank shakes hands with President Reagan
outside of the library.
<------------
Suzy poses with a piece of the Berlin Wall!
Thanks to Ronald Reagan it no longer
stands between East and West Germany.
------------>
won't have the display open until the Fall. I guess we will have to come back here next year. The Presidential Library was very interesting, and quite
educational. We were both fairly young throughout Reagan's presidency, however Suzy did get to shake his hand in junior high. Yes the real man, not just
his statue,so it was nice to relive his presidency through movies and memorabilia. It sure would be wonderful if we could have another president like Reagan.
Frank shakes hands with President Reagan
outside of the library.
<------------
Suzy poses with a piece of the Berlin Wall!
Thanks to Ronald Reagan it no longer
stands between East and West Germany.
------------>
June 2nd -
We are sitting in the parking lot of a Flying J Truck Stop in Richfield, Utah. We left Vegas this morning and have driven for about five hours so far. It doesn't
feel like we have driven even half that far because the views are beautiful, and the roads are nice and smooth. Our goal is to get to Arches National Park in
the next day or so. We spent three days in Vegas visiting with our friends Chris and Karolyn as well as Tony, Allison, and Kylie White. We had a great time,
the weather was perfect! It was hot, but not too hot. It was in the nineties, so being outside was actually enjoyable. We spent a lot of time in the swimming
pool, and lounging around at the beach surrounding the pool. We met another couple at the RV park who were traveling with their amazon parrot. It is nice
here in Richfield. You can see snow on the mountains in the distance and there is green in the fields and trees! Such a nice treat after the brown of Vegas.
The birds are having a wonderful time as well. Bradley sits in the front window when we drive and he loves looking at everything. Abbey has begun to play
with her toys on the floor of the motorhome like a cat, she will entertain herself for hours doing this. Her newest thing is to chase after Frank's toes when he
walks by and attack them. The funniest part is that she won't bite my toes. Somehow, she knows the difference. In fact when I walk by, Abbey will run over and
cuddle with my toes. Well, we are off to complete our drive to Moab, Utah which is about 2 minutes from Arches. We will probably stay at a Rest Area tonight
since it is still a bit of a drive into Moab. It is so nice to be on roads out of California. We pay some of the highest registration fees in California yet our roads
are the WORST! It's weird to think we won't be back in CA until the end of the year. Can't to see what's in store for us in the meantime. Stay Tuned!
We are sitting in the parking lot of a Flying J Truck Stop in Richfield, Utah. We left Vegas this morning and have driven for about five hours so far. It doesn't
feel like we have driven even half that far because the views are beautiful, and the roads are nice and smooth. Our goal is to get to Arches National Park in
the next day or so. We spent three days in Vegas visiting with our friends Chris and Karolyn as well as Tony, Allison, and Kylie White. We had a great time,
the weather was perfect! It was hot, but not too hot. It was in the nineties, so being outside was actually enjoyable. We spent a lot of time in the swimming
pool, and lounging around at the beach surrounding the pool. We met another couple at the RV park who were traveling with their amazon parrot. It is nice
here in Richfield. You can see snow on the mountains in the distance and there is green in the fields and trees! Such a nice treat after the brown of Vegas.
The birds are having a wonderful time as well. Bradley sits in the front window when we drive and he loves looking at everything. Abbey has begun to play
with her toys on the floor of the motorhome like a cat, she will entertain herself for hours doing this. Her newest thing is to chase after Frank's toes when he
walks by and attack them. The funniest part is that she won't bite my toes. Somehow, she knows the difference. In fact when I walk by, Abbey will run over and
cuddle with my toes. Well, we are off to complete our drive to Moab, Utah which is about 2 minutes from Arches. We will probably stay at a Rest Area tonight
since it is still a bit of a drive into Moab. It is so nice to be on roads out of California. We pay some of the highest registration fees in California yet our roads
are the WORST! It's weird to think we won't be back in CA until the end of the year. Can't to see what's in store for us in the meantime. Stay Tuned!
June 3rd -
Arches National Park is amazing! It is enormous, and very fun to drive through and explore. We spent last night at a Rest Area about an hour away. It rained
all night long, and snowed up in the mountains above us, so that made for a bit chilly morning today. The Rest Areas here in Utah are very nice. The
buildings are new, and look like homes. While we drove further into Utah it began to snow on us at the top of one of the peaks we drove over. It was still
raining today when we arrived in Moab and it makes quite a mess on the motorhome and Jeep since all the roads are red dirt. The RV Park we are staying at
is quite fun. We have our own private Jacuzzi!!! We sat in it most of tonight since it's so cold, and the rain let up. Tomorrow is supposed to be a very nice day,
so hopefully we will get to see a bit more. We did drive through Arches today, and between rain storms we walked around and got a few pictures of the park.
Arches National Park is amazing! It is enormous, and very fun to drive through and explore. We spent last night at a Rest Area about an hour away. It rained
all night long, and snowed up in the mountains above us, so that made for a bit chilly morning today. The Rest Areas here in Utah are very nice. The
buildings are new, and look like homes. While we drove further into Utah it began to snow on us at the top of one of the peaks we drove over. It was still
raining today when we arrived in Moab and it makes quite a mess on the motorhome and Jeep since all the roads are red dirt. The RV Park we are staying at
is quite fun. We have our own private Jacuzzi!!! We sat in it most of tonight since it's so cold, and the rain let up. Tomorrow is supposed to be a very nice day,
so hopefully we will get to see a bit more. We did drive through Arches today, and between rain storms we walked around and got a few pictures of the park.
June 6th -
We explored more of Arches National Park and made our way over to Canyonlands National Park as well. We had no rain at all today or yesterday and the
skies were beautiful and clear. We took a three hour Jeep ride on the "Shafer Trail" which climbs from the base of Canyonlands to the very top and you are
only allowed on it if your vehicle is equipped with four wheel drive. This was an awesome trip. We did not need to put the Jeep in four wheel drive, but the
views were awesome. It would be the equivalent of starting at the base of the Grand Canyon where the Colorado River is, and driving to the very top of the
Canyon. There were many views that were literally breathtaking! Yesterday, we floated for 10 miles in a canoe down the Colorado River. This evening we met
some very nice neighbors Fred and Sue, who also have a Trek Motorhome, and travel with birds!! What a coincidence the names were similar to ours as
were the birds. It was fun to see what other people do with their birds on the road, hopefully we will keep in touch as they too are full-time RVers.
June 10th-
We arrived in Durango on June 8th. Yesterday we rode on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. It takes you, surprisingly enough, from Durango
up into Silverton, Colorado. The views are great, the river was roaring, and there was a multitude of waterfalls. We had great seats on an outside gondola
which made the views that much better without windows or walls, but the ride up and back was a bit long. The long day did have a little to do with the fact that
we watched the wrong news report. Instead of watching the weather for Silverton which would have told us that it would in fact snow in the mountains, and the
temperature in Silverton was 50 degrees, we watched the Durango weather that informed us the temperature would be a beautiful 80 degrees. Dressing in
shorts and a sweatshirt was not the wardrobe to have. We should of worn our long underwear and parkas. We smartened up on the drive home however and
instead of keeping our outside seats we slyly found some seats in an inside car. It made the ride back about 40 degrees warmer than the ride there. Frank
actually fell asleep he was so comfy. We will stay here until June 14, and then make our way to our first official work site since we have hit the road. We will try
and get to Illinois fairly quickly, and do a bit of sight seeing there. The only things between us and Saint Louis are Kansas and Missouri. According to the map
Kansas doesn't have to much to see except wheat fields and tornadoes. Missouri may have more, we shall see.
We explored more of Arches National Park and made our way over to Canyonlands National Park as well. We had no rain at all today or yesterday and the
skies were beautiful and clear. We took a three hour Jeep ride on the "Shafer Trail" which climbs from the base of Canyonlands to the very top and you are
only allowed on it if your vehicle is equipped with four wheel drive. This was an awesome trip. We did not need to put the Jeep in four wheel drive, but the
views were awesome. It would be the equivalent of starting at the base of the Grand Canyon where the Colorado River is, and driving to the very top of the
Canyon. There were many views that were literally breathtaking! Yesterday, we floated for 10 miles in a canoe down the Colorado River. This evening we met
some very nice neighbors Fred and Sue, who also have a Trek Motorhome, and travel with birds!! What a coincidence the names were similar to ours as
were the birds. It was fun to see what other people do with their birds on the road, hopefully we will keep in touch as they too are full-time RVers.
June 10th-
We arrived in Durango on June 8th. Yesterday we rode on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. It takes you, surprisingly enough, from Durango
up into Silverton, Colorado. The views are great, the river was roaring, and there was a multitude of waterfalls. We had great seats on an outside gondola
which made the views that much better without windows or walls, but the ride up and back was a bit long. The long day did have a little to do with the fact that
we watched the wrong news report. Instead of watching the weather for Silverton which would have told us that it would in fact snow in the mountains, and the
temperature in Silverton was 50 degrees, we watched the Durango weather that informed us the temperature would be a beautiful 80 degrees. Dressing in
shorts and a sweatshirt was not the wardrobe to have. We should of worn our long underwear and parkas. We smartened up on the drive home however and
instead of keeping our outside seats we slyly found some seats in an inside car. It made the ride back about 40 degrees warmer than the ride there. Frank
actually fell asleep he was so comfy. We will stay here until June 14, and then make our way to our first official work site since we have hit the road. We will try
and get to Illinois fairly quickly, and do a bit of sight seeing there. The only things between us and Saint Louis are Kansas and Missouri. According to the map
Kansas doesn't have to much to see except wheat fields and tornadoes. Missouri may have more, we shall see.
June 16th -
Kansas has a little more than wheat fields! In fact it has a great zoo. We stopped by the Rolling Hills Reserve today in Salina. It was roughly 100 acres, and
the best laid out zoo we have ever been to. All of the animals have huge enclosures, and all of them could be seen easily from the nice walkways that lead
you around. They had a petting zoo that had cows and pregnant goats and sheep. They had baby black bears that played next to a golden eagle (in
separate cages of course). The prairie dog display was great! They would all come out and stand when it was quiet, but as soon as a tram would go by they
would all start to bark, and dive for their holes. There was a baby leopard display, and in the middle of the display was a crawl hole that lead you into a glass
room that was in the middle of the enclosure. The baby leopards were practically within reach. Walking through the Reserve was a nice change from the 500
miles we drove yesterday. It felt great to get out and stretch our legs. We are driving almost to the end of Kansas this evening, and into Missouri tomorrow.
The rest stops here in Kansas are like parks! All of them have picnic tables and enormous grassy areas. They even have dump stations! We are currently
watching the news which is full of thunder storm warnings and tornado watches. Hmmmmmm! I hope we don't get sent to Muchkin Land while we are here in
Kansas. Driving through a tornado wouldn't do the motorhome much good. Maybe we could get to Illinois faster with the help of Dorothy! Hope we make it
out of Kansas before the wind catches us!
Kansas has a little more than wheat fields! In fact it has a great zoo. We stopped by the Rolling Hills Reserve today in Salina. It was roughly 100 acres, and
the best laid out zoo we have ever been to. All of the animals have huge enclosures, and all of them could be seen easily from the nice walkways that lead
you around. They had a petting zoo that had cows and pregnant goats and sheep. They had baby black bears that played next to a golden eagle (in
separate cages of course). The prairie dog display was great! They would all come out and stand when it was quiet, but as soon as a tram would go by they
would all start to bark, and dive for their holes. There was a baby leopard display, and in the middle of the display was a crawl hole that lead you into a glass
room that was in the middle of the enclosure. The baby leopards were practically within reach. Walking through the Reserve was a nice change from the 500
miles we drove yesterday. It felt great to get out and stretch our legs. We are driving almost to the end of Kansas this evening, and into Missouri tomorrow.
The rest stops here in Kansas are like parks! All of them have picnic tables and enormous grassy areas. They even have dump stations! We are currently
watching the news which is full of thunder storm warnings and tornado watches. Hmmmmmm! I hope we don't get sent to Muchkin Land while we are here in
Kansas. Driving through a tornado wouldn't do the motorhome much good. Maybe we could get to Illinois faster with the help of Dorothy! Hope we make it
out of Kansas before the wind catches us!
June 27th -
We have finished our first event since we have been on the road, and the third event that we have worked for the company. We had a good time, but boy
was the weather hot. It was about 98 degrees each day, and the humidity has quite high. The humidity wasn't bad, except for the fact that the city is so full of
smog that there was absolutely no fresh air. Today Frank is out in the heat helping them tear down the tent that we worked in. They started early this
morning to try and beat the heat. We do have air conditioning in the tent, so it isn't as bad in the store, but the poor fans that sat out in the heat in the stands
must have been cooked by the end of the day. The store was setup right outside the staging area so we could see the cars lining up behind our tent to get
ready for each race. It's amazing how loud, and fast the cars go. The ground beneath our feet in the tent vibrate each time the Top Fuel or Funny Cars go
down the quarter mile track.
Before the race we did get to spend a little time in the city. We went in to the top of the arch one evening and watched the sunset. Another day we took a
horse drawn carriage ride around the water and out to dinner. Luckily the temperature was perfect to be outside on the days prior to the race. We also spent
a couple days at the different Anheiser-Busch attractions. We toured the Brewery one day and were quite amazed at how much beer they process at each
location. They walked us through the entire process from growing the grain to taste testing. That was quite different at 11:00 in the morning to sample beer.
The following day we drove out to Grant's Farms where the family previously lived. It has now been turned into a zoo with many great animals, and even a
bird show. We were able to bottle feed baby goats in the petting zoo who also liked to eat your clothing. They even had two severe macaws. We had never
seen an Abbey at a zoo before. These miniature macaws looked almost as spoiled as ours. Now we know who to will our birds to in order to ensure they have
many more years of happiness after our passing. Frank was ready to move in the old Anheiser mansion and run the bird show himself.
Frank's audition for the bird show Abbey's fellow family Feeding time at the zoo
The Beautiful St. Louis Arch A carriage ride down the waterfront The view from the top of the Arch
We will leave this afternoon and head towards Oklahoma for a small detour. We want to look at a couple of bus conversions. Frank has been looking at them
on the Internet for months and months, and we have found a place to test drive a few. We will definitely look at many many more before deciding on whether
or not we will make the switch, but it should be fun to research. Who knows where we may stay in the meantime.
We have finished our first event since we have been on the road, and the third event that we have worked for the company. We had a good time, but boy
was the weather hot. It was about 98 degrees each day, and the humidity has quite high. The humidity wasn't bad, except for the fact that the city is so full of
smog that there was absolutely no fresh air. Today Frank is out in the heat helping them tear down the tent that we worked in. They started early this
morning to try and beat the heat. We do have air conditioning in the tent, so it isn't as bad in the store, but the poor fans that sat out in the heat in the stands
must have been cooked by the end of the day. The store was setup right outside the staging area so we could see the cars lining up behind our tent to get
ready for each race. It's amazing how loud, and fast the cars go. The ground beneath our feet in the tent vibrate each time the Top Fuel or Funny Cars go
down the quarter mile track.
Before the race we did get to spend a little time in the city. We went in to the top of the arch one evening and watched the sunset. Another day we took a
horse drawn carriage ride around the water and out to dinner. Luckily the temperature was perfect to be outside on the days prior to the race. We also spent
a couple days at the different Anheiser-Busch attractions. We toured the Brewery one day and were quite amazed at how much beer they process at each
location. They walked us through the entire process from growing the grain to taste testing. That was quite different at 11:00 in the morning to sample beer.
The following day we drove out to Grant's Farms where the family previously lived. It has now been turned into a zoo with many great animals, and even a
bird show. We were able to bottle feed baby goats in the petting zoo who also liked to eat your clothing. They even had two severe macaws. We had never
seen an Abbey at a zoo before. These miniature macaws looked almost as spoiled as ours. Now we know who to will our birds to in order to ensure they have
many more years of happiness after our passing. Frank was ready to move in the old Anheiser mansion and run the bird show himself.
Frank's audition for the bird show Abbey's fellow family Feeding time at the zoo
The Beautiful St. Louis Arch A carriage ride down the waterfront The view from the top of the Arch
We will leave this afternoon and head towards Oklahoma for a small detour. We want to look at a couple of bus conversions. Frank has been looking at them
on the Internet for months and months, and we have found a place to test drive a few. We will definitely look at many many more before deciding on whether
or not we will make the switch, but it should be fun to research. Who knows where we may stay in the meantime.
June 30th -
Our current home is in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. It is a much nicer area than Saint Louis. We were going to head down to Branson, but decided against it
once we arrived here. We meet some very nice people here, and have made quick friends. There are two couples. One of the couples works at a local boat
dealer here in Lake Ozark. Tom and his wife Coni invited us out last night for a boat ride down the lake, and to dinner with Rick and LaVerne. The weather
was great. We left around 6:30 and the boat ride to the restaurant was about 30-45 minutes. We had our own private tour of all of the homes on the lake.
There are some amazing homes here with their own private docks. The lake is enormous. We went to a fun restaurant called Dock Knockers that you can
only get to from the water. It had great food, and half price drinks for ladies. We watched the sunset during dinner, and headed home. We stopped down one
of the many coves, and put our feet in the water. It was as warm as bath water. The evening was great, so it was nice to sit out and talk for awhile without
being cold. We arrived back at the docks around 10:30. It was a wonderful experience. The boat was a 32 foot power boat with duel engines, and so smooth
on the water. They invited us to go out with them again and watch the fireworks over the weekend. Apparently they have a fireworks show each night of the
weekend for the Fourth of July. We will meet at 4:30 at Tom and Coni's campsite for a bar-b-que, and then hit the water again around 8:00. We are looking
forward to it!! Today we are going to a local Watermark since the weather calls for warmer temperatures. They have a long lazy river, a wave pool, and a
bunch of water slides. We drove by it yesterday, and it looks like a lot of fun.
Frank relaxing on the water Tom our driver and gracious host! Dock Knockers in the background
Our co-captain Rick
Our current home is in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. It is a much nicer area than Saint Louis. We were going to head down to Branson, but decided against it
once we arrived here. We meet some very nice people here, and have made quick friends. There are two couples. One of the couples works at a local boat
dealer here in Lake Ozark. Tom and his wife Coni invited us out last night for a boat ride down the lake, and to dinner with Rick and LaVerne. The weather
was great. We left around 6:30 and the boat ride to the restaurant was about 30-45 minutes. We had our own private tour of all of the homes on the lake.
There are some amazing homes here with their own private docks. The lake is enormous. We went to a fun restaurant called Dock Knockers that you can
only get to from the water. It had great food, and half price drinks for ladies. We watched the sunset during dinner, and headed home. We stopped down one
of the many coves, and put our feet in the water. It was as warm as bath water. The evening was great, so it was nice to sit out and talk for awhile without
being cold. We arrived back at the docks around 10:30. It was a wonderful experience. The boat was a 32 foot power boat with duel engines, and so smooth
on the water. They invited us to go out with them again and watch the fireworks over the weekend. Apparently they have a fireworks show each night of the
weekend for the Fourth of July. We will meet at 4:30 at Tom and Coni's campsite for a bar-b-que, and then hit the water again around 8:00. We are looking
forward to it!! Today we are going to a local Watermark since the weather calls for warmer temperatures. They have a long lazy river, a wave pool, and a
bunch of water slides. We drove by it yesterday, and it looks like a lot of fun.
Frank relaxing on the water Tom our driver and gracious host! Dock Knockers in the background
Our co-captain Rick
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!!
We had so much fun on the 4th of July weekend. We did go out again on the fun boat to watch the fireworks. There were about 12 of us along for the ride,
and WOW was it amazing. There wereat least another 200 boats on the water around us, and many many more as far as the eye could see. We arrived at
our water location about 8:00 to get a good spot, and waited until the sun went down and the festivities began. What an experience that was returning after
dark. The speed limit on the lake is 30mph after sunset. We are used to our lake where it is 5mph. It was quite an adventure going that fast with so many
other boats around us going at that rate of speed if not faster. The rangers had their work cut out for them that night.
We have swapped information with everyone there in Lake Ozark, and have made tentative plans to meet up again next year for the 4th of July. It's so much
fun meeting new people, and having new friends to visit around the country. It was such an answer to prayer to find such fun people for the holiday. The
week prior we had no idea what we would be doing, but thought it would be nice if we could somehow spend it with friends, and we did!!
Another fun evening on the water with friends as we watch the fire works on the Fourth of July!!
We had so much fun on the 4th of July weekend. We did go out again on the fun boat to watch the fireworks. There were about 12 of us along for the ride,
and WOW was it amazing. There wereat least another 200 boats on the water around us, and many many more as far as the eye could see. We arrived at
our water location about 8:00 to get a good spot, and waited until the sun went down and the festivities began. What an experience that was returning after
dark. The speed limit on the lake is 30mph after sunset. We are used to our lake where it is 5mph. It was quite an adventure going that fast with so many
other boats around us going at that rate of speed if not faster. The rangers had their work cut out for them that night.
We have swapped information with everyone there in Lake Ozark, and have made tentative plans to meet up again next year for the 4th of July. It's so much
fun meeting new people, and having new friends to visit around the country. It was such an answer to prayer to find such fun people for the holiday. The
week prior we had no idea what we would be doing, but thought it would be nice if we could somehow spend it with friends, and we did!!
Another fun evening on the water with friends as we watch the fire works on the Fourth of July!!
July 6th-
We spent the night last night here at the Newell Factory in Miami, Oklahoma. They had free full hook-ups, however our little Trek felt very out of place. All of
the motorhomes around us were million dollar Newell's. The lot was closed when we arrived, but we walked around last night, and looked at the outside of all
of the new and used ones that they had on the lot. As we walked around them we noticed that they all had a doorbell. Not realizing what it really was Suzy
pushed on of them, and the door swung open. Her jaw almost hit the floor thinking that someone was answering the bell, but we then realized that it was the
button to activate the pocket door, and that one had apparently not been locked for the evening. Figuring that there were probably cameras around we
decided against taking our own tour. Almost all of them were 45 feet long, which is longer than we want, but they sure are nice. This afternoon we actually
had a tour of the facility, and watched them being built literally from the ground up. It was quite impressive. We found a used one there on the lot that was
very nice, but a little out of our price range. It did have one slide in the living room, but we really would like to find one with the perfect floor plan without any
slides. As we walked into another we meet a very nice woman who was looking to upgrade her Newell. At first we thought she was one of the sales people
because she told us all about them. She and her husband own a 1995 without any slides. They want to get one with two slides, and are looking for the
perfect one to trade their current one in for. When we told her that their Newell was almost exactly what we were looking for she invited us to come and look
at it. It was beautiful, and oh so perfect. It had a five foot walk-in closet in the back that would be perfect for all of our clothes, and the birdcage. We
exchanged phone numbers and told her to call us if she ever wanted to sell. Below is a picture. The paint job is nice and simple, and the interior is all beige
with subtle black accents. This afternoon we are planning on driving down to a Featherlite dealership that has a couple buses that we want to look at. The
Newell's are nice, but they are still technically a "motorhome" and we really want a bus. Maybe we will find something worthy down there.
A Newell being built - Slides are installed first The 1995 45 foot Newell Frank test driving a bus
We spent the night last night here at the Newell Factory in Miami, Oklahoma. They had free full hook-ups, however our little Trek felt very out of place. All of
the motorhomes around us were million dollar Newell's. The lot was closed when we arrived, but we walked around last night, and looked at the outside of all
of the new and used ones that they had on the lot. As we walked around them we noticed that they all had a doorbell. Not realizing what it really was Suzy
pushed on of them, and the door swung open. Her jaw almost hit the floor thinking that someone was answering the bell, but we then realized that it was the
button to activate the pocket door, and that one had apparently not been locked for the evening. Figuring that there were probably cameras around we
decided against taking our own tour. Almost all of them were 45 feet long, which is longer than we want, but they sure are nice. This afternoon we actually
had a tour of the facility, and watched them being built literally from the ground up. It was quite impressive. We found a used one there on the lot that was
very nice, but a little out of our price range. It did have one slide in the living room, but we really would like to find one with the perfect floor plan without any
slides. As we walked into another we meet a very nice woman who was looking to upgrade her Newell. At first we thought she was one of the sales people
because she told us all about them. She and her husband own a 1995 without any slides. They want to get one with two slides, and are looking for the
perfect one to trade their current one in for. When we told her that their Newell was almost exactly what we were looking for she invited us to come and look
at it. It was beautiful, and oh so perfect. It had a five foot walk-in closet in the back that would be perfect for all of our clothes, and the birdcage. We
exchanged phone numbers and told her to call us if she ever wanted to sell. Below is a picture. The paint job is nice and simple, and the interior is all beige
with subtle black accents. This afternoon we are planning on driving down to a Featherlite dealership that has a couple buses that we want to look at. The
Newell's are nice, but they are still technically a "motorhome" and we really want a bus. Maybe we will find something worthy down there.
A Newell being built - Slides are installed first The 1995 45 foot Newell Frank test driving a bus
July 12th-
Frank is helping set up the tent today in Denver, Colorado. This was originally going to be our first race, but boy are we glad we went to Saint Louis. We
could have done without the heat, but the people we have meet along the way are well worth it. The two couples we met in The Ozarks are definitely going to
do an event in November, and maybe even the Rodeo. We met another very nice couple at a rest stop that loved our motorhome. They are looking to
downsize, so we exchanged numbers with them as well. How funny would that be to sell our current motor home to them, and buy Tom and Erika's Newell. We
wouldn't even need to go through a dealership. That would be great. It is so much cooler here than Saint Louis, but much warmer than it was earlier this
month in Colorado when we took our train ride. It should be a great weekend. Today while Frank and Bob (one of our bosses) put up the Nitro Mall tent Shirl
(Bob's wife) and I went down to a local lake that had a wonderful beach. The day was perfect. We laid out all day and read and relaxed by the water, and
when it would get too hot we would go for a swim. The guys finished about 3:00 and we went back and picked them up and all of us came back down to the
lake. We swam for another couple hours, and then all went to dinner. Our little Trek's water tanks are so small and we are here for so many days that Frank
and I have joked that we should come down each night to the lake and rinse off, that way we wouldn't have to use the shower. It might work for today, but any
longer and we would start to smell funny.
July 13th-
We have finished stocking the tent, and are ready for another race. Suzy went down to a local casino with the girls to play penny slots. Neither of us had any
cash on us so she only took five dollars, but came home with $35.00 maybe we should think of changing careers. All of the people we work with are great, we
really are starting to feel like a family, and it's only been a short time. I guess when you spend that much time with anyone and actually get along you get
attached quite quickly. These next few weeks will be very very busy. We have three back to back races. They call them the West Coast Swing. Next weekend
we are off to Seattle, and then to Sonoma California where we will meet up with some family. It will be so odd to be back in California for awhile. We do not
look forward to driving on those darn roads again. After Sonoma though we actually have a week off. We aren't sure yet what we might do, but something
very relaxing sounds nice.
Frank is helping set up the tent today in Denver, Colorado. This was originally going to be our first race, but boy are we glad we went to Saint Louis. We
could have done without the heat, but the people we have meet along the way are well worth it. The two couples we met in The Ozarks are definitely going to
do an event in November, and maybe even the Rodeo. We met another very nice couple at a rest stop that loved our motorhome. They are looking to
downsize, so we exchanged numbers with them as well. How funny would that be to sell our current motor home to them, and buy Tom and Erika's Newell. We
wouldn't even need to go through a dealership. That would be great. It is so much cooler here than Saint Louis, but much warmer than it was earlier this
month in Colorado when we took our train ride. It should be a great weekend. Today while Frank and Bob (one of our bosses) put up the Nitro Mall tent Shirl
(Bob's wife) and I went down to a local lake that had a wonderful beach. The day was perfect. We laid out all day and read and relaxed by the water, and
when it would get too hot we would go for a swim. The guys finished about 3:00 and we went back and picked them up and all of us came back down to the
lake. We swam for another couple hours, and then all went to dinner. Our little Trek's water tanks are so small and we are here for so many days that Frank
and I have joked that we should come down each night to the lake and rinse off, that way we wouldn't have to use the shower. It might work for today, but any
longer and we would start to smell funny.
July 13th-
We have finished stocking the tent, and are ready for another race. Suzy went down to a local casino with the girls to play penny slots. Neither of us had any
cash on us so she only took five dollars, but came home with $35.00 maybe we should think of changing careers. All of the people we work with are great, we
really are starting to feel like a family, and it's only been a short time. I guess when you spend that much time with anyone and actually get along you get
attached quite quickly. These next few weeks will be very very busy. We have three back to back races. They call them the West Coast Swing. Next weekend
we are off to Seattle, and then to Sonoma California where we will meet up with some family. It will be so odd to be back in California for awhile. We do not
look forward to driving on those darn roads again. After Sonoma though we actually have a week off. We aren't sure yet what we might do, but something
very relaxing sounds nice.
July 24th-
Two events down from the West Coast Swing, and one to go. We are leaving tonight to try and get to the Marathon dealership in Coburg, Oregon. Yes once
again we have found a bus that is right in our price range, and not too scary. Most of the ones we have looked at have had either pink interior, or something
weird. The one in Oklahoma was pink and floral, so we quickly marked that one off of our list. We are quite confident the perfect one is out there somewhere,
it's just a matter of finding it.
Seattle was so beautiful. WOW! Definitely a place we wouldn't mind spending more time. Unfortunately we had to leave town too early to do much exploring.
We did get to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but Frank was quite disappointed by it. I knew he had his hopes up too high. Willy Wonka and
Chocolate Factory is one of his favorites, and usually the remakes aren't as good as the original. The place that we camped while at the track was completely
surrounded by trees. We were right on the return road, and we were able to watch the races while on our lunch break. At one point we were sitting outside
watching them in our lounge chairs and one of the Safety Safari guys came by and said we had to move, he claimed that in case a piece of one of the cars
broke off we would probably get hit by it. That would be just our luck - to get killed by a flying Funny Car engine.
The top half of a "Funny Car" The underneath of a "Funny Car" Our Store in the middle of "Pit Row"
Camping under the trees in Seattle The view of the track from our campsite Watching the sunset in Washington
Two events down from the West Coast Swing, and one to go. We are leaving tonight to try and get to the Marathon dealership in Coburg, Oregon. Yes once
again we have found a bus that is right in our price range, and not too scary. Most of the ones we have looked at have had either pink interior, or something
weird. The one in Oklahoma was pink and floral, so we quickly marked that one off of our list. We are quite confident the perfect one is out there somewhere,
it's just a matter of finding it.
Seattle was so beautiful. WOW! Definitely a place we wouldn't mind spending more time. Unfortunately we had to leave town too early to do much exploring.
We did get to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but Frank was quite disappointed by it. I knew he had his hopes up too high. Willy Wonka and
Chocolate Factory is one of his favorites, and usually the remakes aren't as good as the original. The place that we camped while at the track was completely
surrounded by trees. We were right on the return road, and we were able to watch the races while on our lunch break. At one point we were sitting outside
watching them in our lounge chairs and one of the Safety Safari guys came by and said we had to move, he claimed that in case a piece of one of the cars
broke off we would probably get hit by it. That would be just our luck - to get killed by a flying Funny Car engine.
The top half of a "Funny Car" The underneath of a "Funny Car" Our Store in the middle of "Pit Row"
Camping under the trees in Seattle The view of the track from our campsite Watching the sunset in Washington
August 8th-
California - here we come, or should I say here we are and here we go!!! Sonoma was great. We again had a great view in our campsites, but the hills were a
bit much. Luckily Frank's parents came up to visit us, and brought our scooter for the weekend. We coasted pretty much the whole way down the hill to work
each morning, but the incline back was about a 90 degree angle (only a slight exaggeration :-) It was fun to see family, and have a little time to spend with
them. We did have a lot of long days, but at the end of the event we had a few days off. Frank's grandparents came up to visit as well.
Our next trek will be a long one. It is 1900 miles from here to Brainerd, Minnesota. We have heard wild stories of this event, so we may be in for quite an
adventure. The weather is supposed be a bit hot. We don't mind the heat as long is it doesn't get as hot as St. Louis. Hopefully we will have some fun
pictures to post after Brainerd.
August 23rd -
The weather in Brainerd was gorgeous. In was just like a nice spring day, only in the middle of summer. There was apparently a cold front that came in for
the weekend, just in the nick of time. It had been 95 degrees all week before we arrived. I think the week of the races in Brainerd is the only vacation these
people get all year long. There were at least 2000 people camping, and their parties and music went all night long. There were police everywhere. The
camping area for the fans is nicknamed "The Zoo" and that is exactly what it is. There were a couple guys there that had a huge sheet of wood with three
sets of holes across the top. They called it the "Boob-E-Meter" and each set of holes got larger as it went across the board. The first one had "Oh" printed
underneath it, the second was "Oh My" and the third one said "Oh My God!" Apparently they had many woman asking if they could be measured. There
were so many people with crazy designed golf carts as well. Apparently that's the big rage there - to modify golf carts and have their own races in the grass.
It was a very fun week. Just listening to the people talk was funny. They all have that crazy Minnesota, North Dakota accent it reminded us of the movie Fargo.
Tennessee however was a different story. It was hotter than Hades there. With the heat index it got up to 125 degrees - no exaggeration at all!! We all
thought we were either going to melt away, or die. I can't believe it can get that hot anywhere. We sell a product in the store called Neck Coolers. They are a
silicon filled scarf that when put in ice gets nice and cold, and stays cool for hours. It goes around your neck, and is supposed to keep you about 10 degrees
cooler than the outside temperature. We usually sell about 200- 300 at each event. This event we sold over 1600 of them. Why anyone would purposely
come to the track and sit in the sun to watch the races in that kind of heat is beyond me. I now know what a turkey feels like on Thanksgiving as it bakes in
the oven for 6 hours, except that our average day was 12 hours. We are soooo glad to be out of Memphis. I pray it isn't that hot in Indianapolis.
The home office of our company is in Indianapolis, Indiana so that is our current home. We are actually camped out back of the Main Gate facility for a few
nights. It's great too have a few days off. The next couple days we are going to do absolutely nothing. This Sunday night one of our Event Managers is
having a party at his home here in Indy for all of the employees. There are 16 or so couples that we work with at each event, and have gotten to know them
fairly well, so we are looking forward to spending some time with them outside of work, and not at an event. We usually don't have a lot of socializing time
while we are at an event, and everyone has a different travel schedule so we very rarely meet up with them on the road. Most of them work the various
merchandise trailers, so we see them even less often.
We toured the facility here a little, and were able to see how all of the shirts were printed. It sure is different from my old days of screen printing where you
had to do it all yourself. However the place I worked was considerably slower paced (Thank God)
The home offices of Main Gate The stacks of T-shits to be printed
The machines that print our merchandise - up to 16 colors per machine The completed stacks of T-shirts from that day
California - here we come, or should I say here we are and here we go!!! Sonoma was great. We again had a great view in our campsites, but the hills were a
bit much. Luckily Frank's parents came up to visit us, and brought our scooter for the weekend. We coasted pretty much the whole way down the hill to work
each morning, but the incline back was about a 90 degree angle (only a slight exaggeration :-) It was fun to see family, and have a little time to spend with
them. We did have a lot of long days, but at the end of the event we had a few days off. Frank's grandparents came up to visit as well.
Our next trek will be a long one. It is 1900 miles from here to Brainerd, Minnesota. We have heard wild stories of this event, so we may be in for quite an
adventure. The weather is supposed be a bit hot. We don't mind the heat as long is it doesn't get as hot as St. Louis. Hopefully we will have some fun
pictures to post after Brainerd.
August 23rd -
The weather in Brainerd was gorgeous. In was just like a nice spring day, only in the middle of summer. There was apparently a cold front that came in for
the weekend, just in the nick of time. It had been 95 degrees all week before we arrived. I think the week of the races in Brainerd is the only vacation these
people get all year long. There were at least 2000 people camping, and their parties and music went all night long. There were police everywhere. The
camping area for the fans is nicknamed "The Zoo" and that is exactly what it is. There were a couple guys there that had a huge sheet of wood with three
sets of holes across the top. They called it the "Boob-E-Meter" and each set of holes got larger as it went across the board. The first one had "Oh" printed
underneath it, the second was "Oh My" and the third one said "Oh My God!" Apparently they had many woman asking if they could be measured. There
were so many people with crazy designed golf carts as well. Apparently that's the big rage there - to modify golf carts and have their own races in the grass.
It was a very fun week. Just listening to the people talk was funny. They all have that crazy Minnesota, North Dakota accent it reminded us of the movie Fargo.
Tennessee however was a different story. It was hotter than Hades there. With the heat index it got up to 125 degrees - no exaggeration at all!! We all
thought we were either going to melt away, or die. I can't believe it can get that hot anywhere. We sell a product in the store called Neck Coolers. They are a
silicon filled scarf that when put in ice gets nice and cold, and stays cool for hours. It goes around your neck, and is supposed to keep you about 10 degrees
cooler than the outside temperature. We usually sell about 200- 300 at each event. This event we sold over 1600 of them. Why anyone would purposely
come to the track and sit in the sun to watch the races in that kind of heat is beyond me. I now know what a turkey feels like on Thanksgiving as it bakes in
the oven for 6 hours, except that our average day was 12 hours. We are soooo glad to be out of Memphis. I pray it isn't that hot in Indianapolis.
The home office of our company is in Indianapolis, Indiana so that is our current home. We are actually camped out back of the Main Gate facility for a few
nights. It's great too have a few days off. The next couple days we are going to do absolutely nothing. This Sunday night one of our Event Managers is
having a party at his home here in Indy for all of the employees. There are 16 or so couples that we work with at each event, and have gotten to know them
fairly well, so we are looking forward to spending some time with them outside of work, and not at an event. We usually don't have a lot of socializing time
while we are at an event, and everyone has a different travel schedule so we very rarely meet up with them on the road. Most of them work the various
merchandise trailers, so we see them even less often.
We toured the facility here a little, and were able to see how all of the shirts were printed. It sure is different from my old days of screen printing where you
had to do it all yourself. However the place I worked was considerably slower paced (Thank God)
The home offices of Main Gate The stacks of T-shits to be printed
The machines that print our merchandise - up to 16 colors per machine The completed stacks of T-shirts from that day
August 28th-
The last few days have been great! We have actually had a bit of time to ourselves, and have ventured out into "Indy" as all of the locals calls it. On Friday
we went to The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, or otherwise known as the home of the Indianapolis 500. It was very educational to see how the Speedway has
progressed after all these years. We took a tour of the track in a little bus, and walked around all of the cars that had won previous Indianapolis 500 races.
The entire facility is funded by only one race a year! That's crazy. They now have a Nascar race once a year as well, so that income is apparently icing on
the cake.
Corner one of the Indy 500 track The "Winner's Circle" The first car ever to win the Indy 500
Start/Finish line, and only bricks left Suzy and Frank test out an Indy car. They sure are small, and low to the ground!
to represent "The Brickyard"
On Saturday we drove out to Mount Comfort Airport and watched the Indianapolis Air Show. They had all sorts of Military planes and helicopters. We were
able to tour the inside of a Black Hawk helicopter, and quite a few others. They had a great air show with all sorts of acrobatic planes, and the finale was a
very impressive show by the Blue Angels. The different maneuvers they did were remarkable. We weren't able to get too many pictures of them, because of
their speed, and neither of us wanted to miss any of the show by trying to focus through the camera. The had their huge air traffic control headquarters out
there which is called "Fat Albert" I'm not quite sure what sort of plane he is but we was enormous. The Blue Angels did have of their maneuvers inverted
which was fun to watch. They must have to spend so many hours practicing to get each maneuver so perfect. At times it appeared that they were only mere
feet away from each other. If you ever get a chance to see them, it is more than worthwhile.
Pilot Frank in an Apache Helicopter The back of a Black Hawk Helicopter WWII Bombers drop mock bombs
"Fat Albert" of the Blue Angels The Blue Angels performing their amazing aerobatics
The last few days have been great! We have actually had a bit of time to ourselves, and have ventured out into "Indy" as all of the locals calls it. On Friday
we went to The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, or otherwise known as the home of the Indianapolis 500. It was very educational to see how the Speedway has
progressed after all these years. We took a tour of the track in a little bus, and walked around all of the cars that had won previous Indianapolis 500 races.
The entire facility is funded by only one race a year! That's crazy. They now have a Nascar race once a year as well, so that income is apparently icing on
the cake.
Corner one of the Indy 500 track The "Winner's Circle" The first car ever to win the Indy 500
Start/Finish line, and only bricks left Suzy and Frank test out an Indy car. They sure are small, and low to the ground!
to represent "The Brickyard"
On Saturday we drove out to Mount Comfort Airport and watched the Indianapolis Air Show. They had all sorts of Military planes and helicopters. We were
able to tour the inside of a Black Hawk helicopter, and quite a few others. They had a great air show with all sorts of acrobatic planes, and the finale was a
very impressive show by the Blue Angels. The different maneuvers they did were remarkable. We weren't able to get too many pictures of them, because of
their speed, and neither of us wanted to miss any of the show by trying to focus through the camera. The had their huge air traffic control headquarters out
there which is called "Fat Albert" I'm not quite sure what sort of plane he is but we was enormous. The Blue Angels did have of their maneuvers inverted
which was fun to watch. They must have to spend so many hours practicing to get each maneuver so perfect. At times it appeared that they were only mere
feet away from each other. If you ever get a chance to see them, it is more than worthwhile.
Pilot Frank in an Apache Helicopter The back of a Black Hawk Helicopter WWII Bombers drop mock bombs
"Fat Albert" of the Blue Angels The Blue Angels performing their amazing aerobatics
August 29th-
Nationals have arrived!! We began setting up the two tents today for "The Big Go". This race is supposed to be the biggest of the season. Last year was the
50th Anniversary so it was really big. They hope to do almost as well s last year, but they know they won't quite reach it since it was such a big celebration.
We had a fun party last night at Rob Bissonette's house. He is the Event Manager for this race, so that means that he has to deal with all of the logistics of
where our trailers will be placed and who will work where. We had a great time with all of our co-workers. We had a huge bar-b-que, and Suzy played
bartender for the evening. That was a lot of fun. Hopefully everyone will be able to work tomorrow. :-)
The next few days will be very long so it was nice to have one last night of relaxation before the races begin. The gates open at 7:00 every morning, and the
races don't end until 10:00 each evening. We are usually open for about an hour after the last race, so that will be a long six days, but we are up for it
Nationals have arrived!! We began setting up the two tents today for "The Big Go". This race is supposed to be the biggest of the season. Last year was the
50th Anniversary so it was really big. They hope to do almost as well s last year, but they know they won't quite reach it since it was such a big celebration.
We had a fun party last night at Rob Bissonette's house. He is the Event Manager for this race, so that means that he has to deal with all of the logistics of
where our trailers will be placed and who will work where. We had a great time with all of our co-workers. We had a huge bar-b-que, and Suzy played
bartender for the evening. That was a lot of fun. Hopefully everyone will be able to work tomorrow. :-)
The next few days will be very long so it was nice to have one last night of relaxation before the races begin. The gates open at 7:00 every morning, and the
races don't end until 10:00 each evening. We are usually open for about an hour after the last race, so that will be a long six days, but we are up for it
Here are a few pictures of our fellow MainGate
employees. All of them do the entire circuit with us,
some pull the trailers of merchandise, some work in
the store with us, and a few of them work at the home
office.
Upper Left: Kurt and Phyllis Hanson
Above Center: Shirl Kase, Vicki Smith and Martha
Upper Right: Lavina, Rob, Doug and Verna
Left: Jim Maxey, Steve Cermac and Bruce
Right: Sue, Danny and Lavina (with Toby in her arms)
Candy and Rick, and Martha
employees. All of them do the entire circuit with us,
some pull the trailers of merchandise, some work in
the store with us, and a few of them work at the home
office.
Upper Left: Kurt and Phyllis Hanson
Above Center: Shirl Kase, Vicki Smith and Martha
Upper Right: Lavina, Rob, Doug and Verna
Left: Jim Maxey, Steve Cermac and Bruce
Right: Sue, Danny and Lavina (with Toby in her arms)
Candy and Rick, and Martha
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.
Our Country getaway Frank and Cody check out the backyard The curious cows look at us as we ride by
aka Bob and Shirl's house on the bikes
Bob and Shirl outside the Little League park The World Series of Little League Ball Park Suzy and Shirl at "Casey at the Bat" statue
donated to the Little League by Garth Brooks
Frank naps on the lawn while we explored "Cocktail Hour" at the local pub Happy Birthday to Frank
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.
A "two horse power" vehicle Shirl gives Martha and I milking lessons An Amish church and cemetery
with Klarabelle
A one room school house and playground Amish commuter traffic Hold your breath here comes another field
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.
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.
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.
Lake Pleasant RV Park Frank swimming in the double wide Olympic pool The boys at the lake
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.
Brandie, Joe, Suzy and Frank on the rim Cody and Abbey look out at Lake Mead Ty sits on his throne with Tanner at his feet
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 bigger. 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.
A day out on Lake Mead The bus driving over the Hoover Dam
Outdoor Resort in Las Vegas The guys practice their synchronized swimming
Joe and Brandie plan their next attack as John and Frank look a bit nervous
We found a great place to four-wheel drive the Jeeps not far from our campsite at Lake Mead
Suzy's brief lead on John in the go-cart race Andrea gaining speed on the last lap We watched a ram fight at a local park
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 he made 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.
A full shot of the Super with truck and trailer Our merchandise selection The motorcycles getting ready to race
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 Connie 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.
Ellie and Vicki LaVerne, Suzy, Vicki and Coni Rick, Frank and Tom
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.
Our Country getaway Frank and Cody check out the backyard The curious cows look at us as we ride by
aka Bob and Shirl's house on the bikes
Bob and Shirl outside the Little League park The World Series of Little League Ball Park Suzy and Shirl at "Casey at the Bat" statue
donated to the Little League by Garth Brooks
Frank naps on the lawn while we explored "Cocktail Hour" at the local pub Happy Birthday to Frank
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.
A "two horse power" vehicle Shirl gives Martha and I milking lessons An Amish church and cemetery
with Klarabelle
A one room school house and playground Amish commuter traffic Hold your breath here comes another field
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.
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.
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.
Lake Pleasant RV Park Frank swimming in the double wide Olympic pool The boys at the lake
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.
Brandie, Joe, Suzy and Frank on the rim Cody and Abbey look out at Lake Mead Ty sits on his throne with Tanner at his feet
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 bigger. 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.
A day out on Lake Mead The bus driving over the Hoover Dam
Outdoor Resort in Las Vegas The guys practice their synchronized swimming
Joe and Brandie plan their next attack as John and Frank look a bit nervous
We found a great place to four-wheel drive the Jeeps not far from our campsite at Lake Mead
Suzy's brief lead on John in the go-cart race Andrea gaining speed on the last lap We watched a ram fight at a local park
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 he made 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.
A full shot of the Super with truck and trailer Our merchandise selection The motorcycles getting ready to race
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 Connie 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.
Ellie and Vicki LaVerne, Suzy, Vicki and Coni Rick, Frank and Tom
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.
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September 28th -
This morning as Frank was washing the bus, he heard a
noise 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
can of dried out tuna to eat, and a bowl of dirty water that
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
away, we found a home for wayward kittens, made a
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 bus, he heard a
noise 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
can of dried out tuna to eat, and a bowl of dirty water that
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
away, we found a home for wayward kittens, made a
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
order each morning replenishing what we sold the previous day. It is actually quite an efficient set-up that MainGate has. You can see behind Frank how all
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
order each morning replenishing what we sold the previous day. It is actually quite an efficient set-up that MainGate has. You can see behind Frank how all
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 is rather small and they
need all the room that they have to house the animals and all the vehicles
to get the animals to and from the event. Lucky for all of us, Larry and
Jeanette are members of Thousand Trails, which is a chain of parks all
over the country. They invited us all to stay at the Las Vegas location as
their guests and got all of us a great price for the two weeks we will be
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. Clockwise from left -
Frank, Kurt, Dave and Rick sample Len's famous margaritas.yum yum.
Philly, Shirl and Suzy
Frank looking a little nervous to open his present after seeing what Kurt
received below!
Yikes. Can you tell what is in Kurt's hand to make such a smile?
Tom and Rick take a self portrait on Suzy's camera. These two are always
up to something!
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!!)
Most of our fellow friends will be working evenings at the Thomas and Mack
Stadium located at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Frank and I will
work at Cowboy Christmas with Dan and Patty. We have the day shift,
which is nice in the fact that we have nights off. We are planning on
attending the rodeo a couple nights and the jacuzzi every night. The
weather here is really nice during the day, but nights are a bit chilly so the
jacuzzi will be a great way to warm up and relax aft
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 is rather small and they
need all the room that they have to house the animals and all the vehicles
to get the animals to and from the event. Lucky for all of us, Larry and
Jeanette are members of Thousand Trails, which is a chain of parks all
over the country. They invited us all to stay at the Las Vegas location as
their guests and got all of us a great price for the two weeks we will be
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. Clockwise from left -
Frank, Kurt, Dave and Rick sample Len's famous margaritas.yum yum.
Philly, Shirl and Suzy
Frank looking a little nervous to open his present after seeing what Kurt
received below!
Yikes. Can you tell what is in Kurt's hand to make such a smile?
Tom and Rick take a self portrait on Suzy's camera. These two are always
up to something!
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!!)
Most of our fellow friends will be working evenings at the Thomas and Mack
Stadium located at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Frank and I will
work at Cowboy Christmas with Dan and Patty. We have the day shift,
which is nice in the fact that we have nights off. We are planning on
attending the rodeo a couple nights and the jacuzzi every night. The
weather here is really nice during the day, but nights are a bit chilly so the
jacuzzi will be a great way to warm up and relax aft