I still can not believe I was at a NASCAR race this past Saturday! I have never been a fan of this sport but always thought that I needed to go to one race to see what it was all about. A few weeks ago, Wes's boss Donny asked if the two of us wanted to go to Charlotte for the race. Keep in mind that when Donny does something, he goes all out, so we knew it would be fun. So he gave us tickets and we found a hotel room. I was pretty excited about it all but stressing at the same time. Saturday night was the first time I left Paige over night! I wanted to go but I didn't want to go! But it was our anniversary weekend, it would be a fun event with all adults, and Wes and I just needed it!
So we dropped Miss P off with her Mimi and we headed to Charlotte Saturday morning. The race wasn't until 7:30 so we took our time getting there. We stopped to eat lunch at Outback on the way and then checked into our hotel...next time we know where not to go! We didn't book our rooms until late so we didn't have any choice. We got our own beds...two double beds! And the doors to the room opened to the outside..not a hallway. I hate those kind of rooms. Oh well, we were only there for a few hours that night anyways!
After we checked in, we headed to the tailgate. Man did this get me ready for football! Donny is awful at giving directions, so we rode around for 45 minutes trying to find the spot. He said it was in front of a pond, so we had to use google maps, find a pond and then drove to that and found him. He gave us a hard time but when we started talking to everyone else, they had to do the same thing! Thank goodness for the pond and google maps! :)
There were about 18 people in the group and it was full of people with lots of money...so Wes and I fit right in! HA! I looked around and Wes told me....that couple are like bazillionaires (most of these people have retired and moved south and have Donny and Wes build their houses..everyone that was there lived in the same neighborhood). Their dining room table cost more than our house. Then he pointed out some other people and told me all about them as well. The funny thing is, the Doctor that gave me my epidural was there and was a riot! He was so entertaining and funny. Another guy that was there was on the United Way board last year that interviewed me and a co-worker about the grant at work...man was he intimidating! But he was defiantly not Saturday. It is just funny to know them professionally and then see them "letting loose"!
We hung out at the tailgate (It was a secluded campground by the pond...so nice!) for a while and then around 5:30, we rode the bus to the front gate of the complex. Our seats had access to the New Veranda and Club Level, which had a dress code (no shorts, flip flops, men had to wear a collar shirt, etc) so we went up there for a while. They had a fancy dinner for $50 a person and a nice bar. We all hung out there for a while and Wes and I got bored so we went to walk around.
After we ate, we decided to go find out seats....Clemson needs these comfy seats by the way! It had been raining off and on all day, so they had the jet engines drying the track off...they were so loud!
So then the BIG production started, and they introduced all the drivers and crew.
Our group had a race pool and we all had to draw names. Donny bought mine and Wes's buy in but I think the winner got like $200? I think it cost $10 a piece. I drew Kevin Harvick (#29..which is one of the numbers I already knew! So I felt like that would be good luck since I knew who he was). Well, that made the race even better since I had someone to cheer for...I don't think he ever got in the top 5..oh well! Remember that Doctor I was telling you about...he had number 5 car and he was in the top 2 just about the whole race. He was freaking out...he wanted to win that bet so bad! Man was he crushed when he didn't win :)
I took a video and will have to update the blog with the video soon...I just wanted to document how loud it really was!
Once the race was over, we caught a ride on the bus and headed back to the campground. It sure was nice not to be around all those people in those parking lots! There were some DRUNK people....yes we had some drunk people too but wasn't like the others!
So we stayed at the tailgate for like 45 mintues until we could see the traffic improve. **So many of the people we were with told me how proud they were of me about Paige. They asked how many times I called to check in and said I sent one text message all day...I told them it would have probably been different if my mom was keeping her instead of Wes's. I missed her LIKE CRAZY but I was also proud of myself.**
It was a great day with some fun people. So glad I talked myself into going. Wes and I had a wonderful time. We needed some time just to ourselves and it was awesome. (We sat 3 rows behind everyone else so it was like we were by ourselves...it was also nice when we had another rain delay. We were under an awning and they were not.)
After we ate, we had to make one more stop while in Charlotte...Bass Pro Shop. We both love that store! We bought Miss Paige a life jacket for the boat next week, bought me some new black Reef flip flops and Wes got a new t-shirt.
Then it was finally time to go get my baby girl! I think her Daddy missed her too...he brought her up in conversation just as much as I did...which made me smile.
Wes was wondering how Paige would react to seeing us. He said she would just go..ehh they are back...let me keep playing! Wes walked in first and she smiled and starting bouncing up and down. I walked in behind him and she made her laugh/cry noise and then started crawling towards me...MADE MY DAY! I don't know who missed who more! I was so happy to be back with my sweet Paigey.
Wes and I had a great weekend away but we were both glad to see our girl!
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