NASCAR - LENOX Industrial Tools 301

Pam got me 4 tickets to the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 for my birthday.  I thought I would take Courtney, Anthony (Courtney's boyfriend), and Kevin.  When talking with some of my friends about NASCAR and going to the race I heard comments from ... WOW, wish I was going ... Take Me, Take Me ... It's like watching paint dry, with noise.  Kevin and I had a blast last year so this will be exciting for all of us. 

Katelyn was talking to her co workers at Panera about the race and how she really wanted to go too.  One of the regular customers heard her conversation said his company does work for NASCAR and he receives tickets to give away.  Wheeling and dealing took place and she got a ticket in exchange for 2 chocolate chip cookies.  We were all excited that she could go with us.

The gates opened at 7:00AM and the race starts at 1:00PM.  My plan was to leave around 8:00AM so we could walk around before the race.  I parked the truck in a good spot close to the exit near the South Gate so we could hopefully get out quick once the race finished.  I would put the kids together and take the one ticket that was in a different section. 

You can bring coolers and food in to the park which is nice.  Once we arrived we loaded up 2 backpacks with water, gator aid, diet coke, snacks, sandwiches, etc.

Before the race started Kevin and I tried our driving with the simulators.  Kate bought a hat and shirt and Kevin bought a shirt before we headed for our seats.  The band FOGHAT was playing at the start finish line before the game.  They sang "Slow Ride”, ”Fool for the City", and a bunch of others ...

I took the 5th ticket so the kids could sit together.  I planned to stay with the kids until someone kicked me out of the seat next to them then head to my seat.  It worked out well as the people sitting next to them had extra seats so there was room for me to stay with them for the race.  Our seats were between turn 1 and turn 2.  Kevin and I liked that seating area last year.

Unlike most sporting events the more expensive tickets are higher up in the stands away from the track where the view is better and the noise is less.  We were up 36 rows so the noise wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.   We all had hearing protection just in case.

It was a good race.  There weren't many cautions or accidents to bunch the field up so there were lots of green flag pit stops.  Cautions and crack-up's make for a much more interesting race.

At one point Kate and Kevin went down to the track to take pictures.  There is a white line 6 feet or so back from the fence.  Once the race starts security will not let you go closer than that line and they will tell you to keep moving if you stand there for more than a couple pictures.  2 reasons: it's a safety issue as cars are doing 150+ mph in the corners so car chunks could go through the fence if there was an accident, and people standing there can block the view for the people in the stands.  This is Kevin and Katelyn at the fence and the security guy telling them to move along. 

A while later this person showed up by the fence.  He was trying to get the crowd to start "The Wave".  The security guy didn't seem to want to move him along very quickly.   What's with that ...

Top 5 results; 1 was Jimmy Johnson in the 48 car, 2 was Tony Stewart in the 14 car, 3 was Kurt Bush in the 2 car, 4 was Jeff Gordon in the 24 car, and 5 was Kevin Harvick in the 29 car.

Here is the Home Depot number 20 for Anthony and the Taco Bell number 17 car for Amy and Chris.

This was me goofing around with the shutter speed ...

Kevin driving with "old guys"

All three girls have their drivers license.  Kevin said he wanted to practice for when it is his turn to get his license so I took him to Mels. 

I wondered how he would do with the fast cars and lots of drivers.  He seemed tentative his first time out and got spun out by an "old guy".  Being 12 years old, not sure what his definition of an "old guy" is.  I did see it happen and the"old guy" he referred to was around my age.  I dare him to call me an "old guy" ... hehe 

By his third time on the track Kevin was much more comfortable driving and was more aggressive.  So much so that HE spun out a "different old guy".  

With a large race track, I set up to take pictures on the final corner.   I did watch Kevin on other parts of the track when I could.  Kevin wanted to drive the Home Depot car for his last race.  Looked like he had a good time but the Home Depot car was a bit slower than his previous car.  Wonder if that's a sign for the Nascar race coming up here in NH.

He wants to go 4 wheeling and shooting one of the weekends coming up.  It will have to be after the girls graduate on the 20th ...

Record Rain in March

We broke a record in March with 10 inches of rain in one month.  The Nashua river was above flood stage and overflowing its banks.  Many streets were closed in the area.

The water at Mines falls was really raging.  Large pine trees were being swept over the falls.

Tough to see but there is a pipe rail that goes to a rocky area we can walk to and watch the river.  The water was so high the island and the steel bridge are under water.  Here is a picture with Kevin on the bridge.

Ants are out

This tree is on the outside bank of the river.  The water has caused the rocks to break up and exposed the roots.

Kevin and I walked the river edge once the water started to recede.  I saw these ants on a rock. 

Volleyball Ends ...

Volleyball may be officially over for Megan.  Who will play in college?

Active Ankle braces worked well for Megan.

Patriots Place

The kids had school vacation this week so we headed south to Patriots Place on Tuesday.  Snow was in the forcast and MA had school vacation the week before so it wasn't very crowded.

First we stopped at Bass Pro.  The kids split up and had a good time looking at the fish and turtles.  My migration ended in the hunting section.

They were replacing the field turf at Gillette Stadium.  There isn't much time because the New England Revolution (soccer) play their first home game here in April.  We watched for a few minutes then went inside Patriots Hall. 

There are lots of exibits and displays of New England Patriots history, Patriots Hall of Fame players, winning footballs, trophys, rings, etc.  Hannah, Grogan, Coates, Tippett, Nelson, Haynes, Cappolletti, etc ... I know I missed some ...  

There was a field goal kicking machine.  Katelyn and Kevin tried to kick a field goal.  Kevin made his attempt.  For his success he got to wear a Patriots Super Bowl Ring. 

They had lifesize players in a huddle. Most were pretty tall.  There is  a locker room area with player equipment you can try on.  Tom Brady's equipment is probably the most popular.  We watched a great movie of Patriots history which included franchise game winning plays, victories, championships, etc. 

After the Hall, more shopping at Patriots Place.  We made it home that afternoon just before the snow.

Boston for the Weekend

On Friday we dropped our kids off for snow camp at 5PM. We said our quick goodby's then Pam and I were off for our weekend.

Pam didn't want to know anything about the weekend. Up to this point I had been giving her misleading and deceptive hints of what we were doing. I hinted at things like: 1) A Bed and Breakfast with a common bathroom down the hall. (When she asked if we would have our own bathroom, my face dropped and I told her I would see what I could do.) 2. We would need hiking boots for the woods and ear plugs for shooting. 3) We would be taking the truck 4 wheeling and I was worried about the depth of snow. 4) We would have a good time meeting some of our friends. (She wanted it to be just the two of us for the weekend). Etc ...

When it was time to go I told her we were taking the van and we started driving south into MA. To her, that ruled out 4 wheeling. I brought no guns so shooting was out. No boots so the woods was out. I told her Rt 128 may be faster than Rt495 so that explained heading to Rt 128. At that point she guessed Newport, RI and the mansions as we had done that a few years ago. Wrong.  As we headed south on Rt 128 I veered off onto Rt 2 toward Boston. I parked at Alewife Station and we hopped the Red Line to Park Street. A block or so away was our destination ... the Omni Parker House Hotel.

The Parker House was a great location for walking. A 10 minute walk from Faneuil Hall, 4 minutes from the Boston Common, 10 minutes from Hanover Street, etc. with the subway close by also.

We checked in and headed out for dinner to the Hard Rock Cafe.  After dinner we headed for the Prudential Center to the Top of the Hub. The Top of the Hub is on the 52nd floor of the Pru. It was a clear night so the city lights were pretty. I used to work in downtown Boston so I pointed out many things I recognized.  We don't typically stay up real late but found it easy to do with all the activity in the city.

Saturday morning I was up pretty early and headed out for a walk while Pam slept.  Pam likes her frozen coffee yogurt for breakfast.  I didn't find any coffee yogurt in any of the convenience stores I went to.  No frozen yogurt of any kind.  Must be one of those "Live Free or Die" things. 

Early morning also gave me some time to take pictures. City shots and buildings aren't something i've taken many pictures of so I experimented a bit.  I saw some good shots as it started to get light.  Next time I will bring a tripod.

The King's Chapel burial ground and the Granary burial ground are historic cemeteries right by the Parker House so I investigated.  Some good history.

When I returned Pam was up and ready to go so we headed out for an Old Town Trolley Tour around Boston. It was a lot of fun. We experienced good history lesson from the drivers. 

One place we stopped was at the USS Constitution.  We took the ship tour.  They said there were 500 people aboard the ship so very tight quarters and low ceilings.  Pam in the Captain's Quarters.

We stopped at Cheers for lunch then more trolley.   We also visited the Old North Meeting House and ended up in the Jewelers district a few streets away. Saw a watch I loved but ya know ...

At around 5PM we headed toward Hanover Street for dinner.  Earlier in the week I reached out to Tom B. and asked him his opinion on where to eat Italian in the North End. 

He recommended L'Osteria Ristorante on Salem Street which is one street over from Hanover.  I made dinner reservations for 6PM. 

I wanted to take a picture of the Old North Church before dinner.  One if by land ... Two if by sea ...

The service at L'Osteria was great , the food was outstanding.  Pam had the Veal Saltimbocca alla Romana and I had the Bocconcini Di Vitello Triestini.  Both excellent choices. 

We had to head to Mike's Pastry for desert.  The line was out the door and down the street but moved quickly.  It was well worth the wait.

Sunday morning I was up and out walking at 5:45AM.  The city was asleep.  Dunkin Donuts wasn't open ... what's with that.  I set out across Boston Common toward Charles Street and only saw one other person walking across the common.  I wanted to find Acorn Street and take a couple pictures.  It didn't take me long to find it.  I was early enough so the gas lamps were very pretty.  I could have used the tripod again.  It is very pretty looking up the street or down.

I noticed 1-a Acorn Street is for sale.  It's at the top of the hill and listed as a "sun-filled 6-bedroom, 3 full and 2 1/2 bath house with three exposures, fronts at the corner of Willow Street and quaint Acorn Street. The house has rich architectural detail, and yet retains a 'country' feeling. The main entertaining rooms are all on the same floor and there are two wonderful roof decks. Part of the house is a newly renovated air-conditioned two-bedroom apartment with separate entrance at 10 Willow Street." 3175 sq. ft., 0.02 acres, Built in: 1826.  With housing prices so low you get all this for $2,645,000.  Ok ... I had to run the numbers ... with a $529,000 (20%) down payment and a 30 year fixed at 5.5%, that would be a $12,014.42 monthly payment.  Makes no sense to me since I would do the 15 year fixed at 5.15% for only $16,899 a month.  I'd do it if the property taxes weren't so high ... hehe ... A small piece of history can be expensive.

Once I returned to the hotel we headed to Commercial Street in the North End and had a good breakfast an Anthony's.  We walked to the pier before heading back to the hotel to check out. 

It was a very relaxing and fun weekend.  We will do it again.