Silver and Gold

Yes, we did make it through all 5 nights of racing at Volusia Speedway! Each night, the temperature got warmer and we (I) got more recognizable!

Although we really enjoy the dirt racing and those drivers, there were several NASCAR celebrities present either as drivers, car owners, or grandfather of drivers. Those that we knew of included Kenny Wallace, Ken Schrader, Tony Stewart, David Reutimann, Buzzy Reutimann, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Richard Childress, and his grandsons Austin & Ty Dillon. While we were there, Paul McMahon made Volusia the World’s Fastest ½ mile dirt track with a lap time of 12.569 seconds at 143.206 mph. Plus, we made new friends, which reminded me of the Girl Scout song “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold”.
We discovered that JAWS has worms and John called a local vet who was willing to sell us medication without seeing the cats. YEA! We medicated both JAWS & Candy & expected to come home that night to lots of messes, but neither of them went until later the next day! When they finally did go, there were no worms as we were told to expect. The medicine made both cats very lethargic, but other than that, everything seemed o.k. Aren’t you glad that I don’t post pictures of EVERYTHING?!
Friday morning we went out to breakfast with our friends that we met last fall at the campground in Unadilla. They knew of a restaurant inside a state park where you can make your own pancakes, and pay for them! It was a fun time, though I didn’t make any Mickey Mouse pancakes. The restaurant offered several options that you could buy to add to your pancakes including pecans and chocolate chips, but most of us just had plain pancakes.

We walked around the park a little and visited, then headed back to the rig to rest before the races that night.
On one of our Wal Mart trips, there were Girl Scouts selling cookies! I had already placed an order with my niece for 6 boxes, but I don’t know when I’ll be able to get them, so I bought 6 boxes some from this troop too. I was sure glad I did, as my niece charged $4.25/box, and these were only $3.50/box!! YUM! They have some new flavors this year, such as crunchy fudge coated treats called “Thanks A Lot”. I haven’t tried any of those yet; I’ve been concentrating on my favorites, the peanut butter patties!

Our last race was Sunday night and we celebrated Valentine’s Day on Monday with breakfast at the Cracker Barrel then went to "Big Daddy" Don Garlits' Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, FL! In 1985, Don Garlits was chosen by Racers for Christ and NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Division 2 as "Person of the Year"

(The drivers compartment is a tight fit, and provides an upclose and personal view of the engine!)

(That is, until "Big Daddy" endured a transmission explosion in 1970 which severed his right foot at the arch, and inspired him to design a rear-engine dragster)

(Nova's (the yellow car here) are lightweight, which makes them a popular choice for drag racing!)

(This autographed tire is a bargain at $1000.)

(Evel Knievel is packed and ready to go!)

I’m more of a drag racing fan than John, although he does like John Force. We both enjoyed the museum. One of the sponsors on a dragster was Olympia beer, and their logo is a bridge and a waterfall. When we were visiting our friends in Olympia, WA last year, they took us to the former Olympia brewery and we saw that bridge and waterfall!

Monday started a new class titled “Organizational Change and Development”. It is an 8 week course worth 4 credits. This Monday, I start a 3 week course worth 1 credit, and this will be the beginning of my “doubling up” so that I can finish 31 July – only 163 more days!!! I’m so excited to announce that I finished my latest class with a grade of 97.95%! My highest final grade yet!

I tell you, it’s not me that’s doing it. It’s God doing His will through me. That is so amazing! Easy? NO, Amazing? YES!