Rusty Wallce, Truck Race and Monster dedication

On Friday, May 30th we got up and went to the track's Victory circle to get Rusty Wallace's autograph. We went to the Truck Race afterward. Saturday was the dedication of the new "Monster" sculpture which is 46 feet tall. The car the monster is holding is a regulation size Sprint Car. We also went to a ceremony honoring Bobby Allison. We had heard Bobby talk and tell stories at Charlotte, as well as got his autograph. The plan at Dover is to honor a driver who made their name on the Monster mile each year and add a large plague honoring them beneath the monster sculpture. The National race was rained out big time with tornado warnings about 100 miles south of us. The rain, lightening and storm is big here at the track though!

Lowe's Speedway and Virginia Beach

On Saturday the 19th we moved over to Lowe's Motor Speedway, staying right next to Turn 4. (see picture view out of RV window). On the 20th we went out to Billy Graham's Library. On the 21st we just hung around the RV and visited with neighbors. On the 22nd we went to Roush racing, Sprint Qualifying and a Legends race. On the 23rd we went to the Downtown street fair and stood in line to get Matt Kenseth's (#17) autograph for Russell. That evening we went to Dirt track races (one was won by Richard Childress's 16-year old son, Ty). Saturday the 24th we went to the National Race. There was a big deal at the end of the race when Hamlin ran into Keselowski intentially during a yellow flag with just a couple of laps to go. After the race, Keselowski's crew and Hamlin's crew got in a "pushing" match. Both driver's stayed in their cars. Earnhardt Jr. sat on top of his car and watched (In case you don't know, Keselowski drives for Earnhardt's JR Motorsports). Sunday we went to church at the track and one of the pit crew for Menard's spoke. His talk was about how our lives are like racetracks and we need "pit stops" and to be filled up by God. On Monday we headed to Virginia Beach to a KOA to do wash, rest and clean the RV. It was nice to have services for 2 days. Today we drove to Dover Speedway and that is where we are currently - the Monster Mile track.

Church in SC, on to Charlotte and All Star Race

On the 11th we went to a small Nazarene church in South Carolina. Then we drove on to Charlotte. We spent 3 days visiting various driver's garages and went up to Victory Junction Gang Camp, a free camp for sick kids that was started by Kyle Petty in memory of his son Adam who was killed on the race track. We were so excited to find out we were going to eat lunch with Richard Petty (see picture). For those of you into racing we went to Michael Waltrip's garage, JR Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing garage, Henrick garages Petty Enterprises, Joe Gibbs Racing garage and to NASCAR's Research and Development center. We also got to hear a panel discussion among some old time racers - Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett and David Pearson. They told lots of old time racing stories which was fun. Sunday the 18th we went to the track ministries tent for church. Today (Monday the 19th) we moved our RV from an outside campground to a spot on the track property. We are staying right outside turn 4 of Charlotte track this week.

Darlington SC and on to Charlotte NC

We spent most of the 6th relaxing in the sun at the KOA with the dogs. On the 7th we left for Florence SC (near Darlington) where we stayed in a KOA. This KOA really got into the race week big time. The evening of the 8th they had a free BBQ with bluegrass entertainment. On Friday they cooked lunch (chicken and rice) for all the KOA guests and had a drawing. I (Chris) won free race tickets and pit passes. We went to the National race and watched them rub the wall at Darlington. Carolyn will be happy to know we cheered when Kyle spun out during the national race. Saturday we went to the race and I'm sure Carolyn was cheering when Kyle B. won the Sprint race. We got home about 1 a.m. Today (Mother's Day), we went to church and then travelled to Charlotte NC. We will be in Charlotte for about 2 weeks. Tonight we went through a tornado watch. We are within view of Lowe's motor speedway and we watched a storm go by. There were tornados touching down about 30 miles away which is close enough for me.

Charleston and Myrtle Beach, SC

We spent 5/2 at Ft. Sumter (the first battle of the civil war [picture is of a cannon at fort]) and at the Citadel (southern military college). Just so happened, we stumbled onto their preparations for graduation the next day at the Citadel, so we got to see a special military parade on the parade field - the handing over of the control from the seniors to the juniors. (picture below) On 5/3 we went to the Cypress Gardens where Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" was filmed. Roy is on a bridge in the swamp built for the movie. On 5/4 we drove north to Myrtle Beach. On Roy's birthday (5/5) we went to the beach and went out to a fabulous Italiam restaurant. Today we just relaxed in the sun.

Savannah GA and Charleston SC

From Talledega, we headed to Savannah GA. This city truly embodies the South. Spanish Moss hangs from the huge Live Oak trees. Savannah has a 2 1/2 square mile historic district that is protected and has a large number of antebellum (pre-civil war) houses still there, fully restored. Our first day we spent on a tour trolley going around the historic district. We spent a day and 1/2 on walking tours of the area. One tour was a civil war tour, talking about why Savannah wasn't burned by Sherman and the importance of economics and Savannah during the civil war. We took a second tour during the late night called the "Ghost tour" It was fun to walk around the old houses and buildings at 10 P.M. but we didn't see any ghosts (ha ha!). Our third tour was a tour of the places involved in the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". Today (May 1) we drove to Charleston SC and went down to Old City Market this afternoon. This is an old building used as a slave selling area which has been converted into a stall market. There was a little of everything. We walked down to the Cooper River and then ate seafood (Roy had fried oysters - yuk!!). Tomorrow we are going to Ft. Sumter and the Citadel.