September 3, 2004Gaston
For those of you not in the area, here are some pictures, from Times Dispatch, of Richmond during & after Gaston hit Monday (08/30/04).
The day of
The aftermath
Reader pictures
Craziness..I had no idea how bad the Southside was hit until I saw the pictures. I'm glad we live on higher ground!
Posted by Olivia at 5:59 PM | Comments (1)
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September 10, 2004Birthday #14
Happy Birthday Chris!
Posted by Olivia at 12:34 PM | Comments (1)
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September 21, 2004Racin' in Richmond
Thanks to Paul's friend, Debbie, we were able to secure tickets to the Richmond Race on Sept 11, which included access to Nextel's hospitality room. About 2:45 the 4 of us headed towards the raceway to enjoy the benefits of being VIPs. Well, almost VIPs.
As we inched through traffic outside the parking areas, and again in the parking areas, time was slipping by. Time we could have been spending in the vendor area, the pits, or munching on food provided by Nextel. Eventually we were able to park and jump on the tram up to the back stretch of the raceway.
And wouldn't you know it, we had to be on the other side of the track for Nextel's hospitality area. So we hoofed it around the track only to find out we had gone too far, that we only had to go to the ampitheater. So back we went.
We gathered our tickets, goodie bags, had a brief rest, and some beverages before heading to the pits. Unlike last time, the only way into the pits was through the pedestrian tunnel, which runs under the track. It was slow moving, no airflow, and pretty stinky. We made it across with about 30 minutes to peruse the pits, and see the cars being fueled up and pushed out.
After getting our fill of tires, fuel, and pit stalls, we got in the massively long line heading into the tunnel. Lucky for us, someone decided they should probably open a second exit to help speed things up. So we were able to walk across the track, just like last time. That was pretty cool.
It's always so cool to go to the pits, and to see all the people stopping to pose for pictures on the track and at their favorite driver's pit box. There are some crazy race fans out there.
We made our way back to the ampitheater to enojy the catered dinner which was surprisingly good! Paul & Debbie both won blankets from the door prize drawings, then we headed for our seats. Which were, of course, on the other side of the track again.
The race itself wasn't the most exciting Richmond race we've seen, but it's just neat to be there. Jeff rented headphones/scanner so we could switch between the announcers and the radio contact between driver and pit crew. It definitely helps to have a radio to keep track of the running order. It's practically impossible once cars start getting lapped, to figure it out on your own.
We've now been to 3 tracks and 4 (5 for Jeff) races, it's time to visit another track. Maybe next year we can go somewhere really cool, like Talledega or Daytona. So, if anyone out there ever has tickets they don't want, let us know!
Pictures to come later
Posted by Olivia at 12:13 PM | Comments (2)
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