Daytona Beach 2010

Thankfully we had a beautiful morning to get under way and just to show you how excited we BOTH were to be getting away, we got on the road 15 minutes early! It wasn’t easy either with all of the crap we packed into the car. You would have thought we were going to a motel for a month! Even I did a terrible job of packing, but since it was just the two of us I wasn’t too worried. But we said so long to the cats and headed out.
We made great time through IN, KY and TN and were deep into GA before we stopped for the day. We ran into a driving rainstorm just south of Macon and it just about took it out of me. We stopped a little while later to eat, but the damn power was off in the area and we had to push on.
We made it down to Tifton, GA and decided we had to eat. We wanted to make Valdosta for the night, but while we were eating we just decided that we were close enough. Besides, with today’s start we probably would get up early enough to make up the 50 or so miles in the morning.
We ate at the Cracker Barrel and I got my chicken and dumplings! While we were there we called around to see how much rooms were. We didn’t want to spend a lot for just a few hours. Most of the places we called wanted $100 or so for the night. I thought that was too high. We decided to move on down the road when I spotted a ratty looking Rodeway Inn. I popped in and they just wanted $50 for the night and it didn’t look too terrible, so we deiced to stay. It was a good day and we pretty much accomplished what we set out to do.
SATURDAY
Saturday morning in Southern GA was gray and gloomy. But, we were up early and ready to go by 6. We had a five hour drive in to Daytona Beach and couldn’t really check in until 2 so we were in good shape. Worst case scenario I would have to hang by the pool and drink beer for a couple of hours. What a bummer;).
By the time we crossed into FL it was still crappy outside. We passed JAX and it was almost to Daytona Beach that we saw blue skies. We arrived about 11 at the Wyndham Ocean Walk. They had a room ready, but it was ocean view and we really wanted ocean front, so we decided to wait for an ocean front. We told the Wyndham people we didn’t want to speak to them this time around. While they seemed put off by this we got our parking pass and pool wristbands and moved on.
Now it was time to get into some swim suits and hit the pool and bar, not necessarily in that order. Of course we had a cooler with us and I had secreted a couple of coldies in there for just his moment and I don’t know if I even made it to through the lobby before one of them was gone.
Anyway, we found a couple of seats and waited for the front desk to call and let us know our room was ready. In the meantime I headed out to check out the ocean. Salty and cool, it was just as I had remembered. I came back in and went to the bar. I was pleased to find that the 16 oz. draft was just $3 and would be all week.
After a cold one I headed to the pool and some folks were hitting a volleyball around. I joined in and we played a couple of impromptu games when Linda came and told me our room was ready.
We headed in and got our keys, some towels for the pool and a cart to get our stuff up to the room. We were in room 1415 in the South Tower. We were at the far south end of the building. We weren’t really overlooking the pool which kind of sucked but later in the week our position would turn out to be advantageous.
The room was nice as we have come to expect from Wyndham. They may have annoying sales techniques, but all of the places at which we have stayed have been top notch. This was no exception and we had a lot of room as we had upgraded to a two room deluxe suite. This one had the whirlpool tub, shower, flat screen TV’s in all of the rooms and the usual full kitchen and laundry.
After we dumped off our gear we headed back down to the pool and had some onion rings and some more beers. Well, I had some beers!
We didn’t stay out too late that day. Unless you pick the right few chairs at the Ocean Walk pool, you lose the sun by 3:00 pm. We knew this and since we didn’t get out to the pool until almost noon, those seats were history. We headed back upstairs about 4 with the only threat looming was Hurricane Earl and it looked like it wasn’t going to be much of a factor.
We got cleaned up and did our trip to Wal Mart. Let me tell you, the clientele at the Wally World in Daytona Beach is no better, and maybe worse than that of any Wal Mart in Indy! Okay, we got some food and beer and we got a couple of beach chairs in case we went out to the beach for a whole day. Turns out we never did, but what the hell. We also got some noodles for the pool.
When we got back it was almost time for the Indy Car race and the only place we knew of to watch it was at the Legends Sports Bar in the Hilton since our place didn’t (or so we thought) have Versus. By this time I was pretty hammered having had nothing but onion rings to eat all day and several cocktails. So we made the trek to the Hilton and found the bar. It was a nice place and I had a really good burger and waffle cut fries. I was only able to watch about half the race and I was ready to call it a night. For some reason my knee was hurting and I had just had enough of this day.
We were here, had been to the store so we had accomplished what we needed to do for day one! Linda stayed up and watched some fireworks that evening, but I turned in fairly early. Tomorrow wasn’t supposed to be a real nice day but we’d have to wait and see.

SUNDAY
Up early but my knee fucking hurts like hell. The sky is gray and it’s only about 70 degrees out. Based on the forecast I’m not getting my panties in a wad but my knee is a bummer. I put some ice on it and see if I can get it to feeling better but it’s of little use.
We kill some time in the room deciding what to do. Linda doesn’t want me in the ocean because the jackbag on TV keeps talking about rip tides. I’m not really interested, but to appease her this early on I decide not to go to the ocean. Besides, I hurt too much to really do anything.
Linda suggests we go to the mall. I think she means the next door mall, but she means the one across town. I really don’t want to and pout a little. Turns out I bought a book and she didn’t buy anything. It also turns out to be just about the funniest book I have ever read. I don’t remember the author off the top of my head but the book was called Emails From An Asshole. Absolutely hilarious. Reading a bit of it definitely helped my mood.
We decided to take a look around town and just drove up and down Atlantic Ave. We drove almost down to the Ponce Inlet and then back up north past Ormond Beach. The Treasure Island is still standing, but it still isn’t open. I remember going there on Spring Break when I was a senior in high school and it was one of the nicest places you could imagine. I guess time takes care of everything.
After we drove we decided to stop at a place called Charlie Horse for some lunch. It was good, nothing extra special, but a nice little joint and reasonable. I had another burger. Linda had some fish sandwich. She liked it a lot.
After that we just went back to the condo. It was still kind of crappy out but not as bad. Finally I decided to go for a swim and Linda went for a walk. My knee still hurt so I wasn’t really into a walk. Afterward we popped across the street and grabbed a pizza at the Napoli Pizza. I thought it was really good. We watched a Carol Burnett special on TV, ate our pizza and pretty much called it a day. I hate being grumpy on vacation, but my knee hurting was just too much to overcome. Sucked!

MONDAY
Well the skies were still cloudy, but not near as bad as Sunday morning and it was evident that the skies would clear as the day went on so I went down and set up shop in the chairs we knew would get the sun the longest. The beauty of these seats is that they are at the prime people watching position as well as being near the bar! We set up camp and then went in and got our free juice and pastry from Wyndham in exchange for hearing from a few local merchants. Pretty painless.
My knee wasn’t great but it was better. I figured if I laid low today I’d be back to about 100% by tomorrow. I was pretty much right. We pretty much just hung out at the pool. I went out to the ocean a few times, but mainly had a few cold ones and enjoyed the sunshine. Met another Wyndham owner from Dalton, GA. He had some useful info that I can use in the future so that was nice. I’d meet another guy from Orlando later in the week who also had some tips.
We kind of started a string of days where we didn’t really eat any lunch. On this particular day I started with a Fosters and then it was all downhill from there. I went up and made a small cooler but ended up buying from the bar as well and had one of their specialty Voodoo Juice cocktails. It didn’t taste like much but it had a shitload of liquor in it!
Anyway we just hung out until we lost the sun and went back to the room and laid around until dinner. Actually this would become the MO for pretty much every day of the week! Sweet!
We went to the mall next door for dinner. Stopped at a place called Sloppy Joe’s. I figured it was just a name, but turns out they actually had a Sloppy Joe sandwich on the menu. And as it turns out, this bad boy was big and tasty. Served with fries and the obligatory cold beer it was a winner! Linda had the same thing and we both really liked it. Turns out Dalton, GA and his crew were there as well that night.
That day they had begun setting up a stage in front of the bandshell that is in a plaza between the Hilton and the Wyndham. We weren’t sure what was going on but at dinner that night we found out that the city was having a music festival starting Wednesday evening. Tony Bennett was the opener while the Jonas Brothers closed it out Sunday night. In between Blake Shelton, Buddy Guy, Usher and Huey Lewis played at various local venues. Shelton would play Thursday night while Guy played Saturday afternoon and Lewis that night. This is where our room location would prove advantageous. While we weren’t able to really see the shows we could hear them fine from our balcony. We asked the waitress at Sloppy Joes how much to reserve the table at the open window that overlooked the bandshell venue and she said it only had a $25 per person minimum. Not too bad thought I.
Anyway, we pretty much called it a night after dinner and went back to the room and watched The Family Man show and called it a night.

TUESDAY
The day started, and frankly rolled out pretty much the same as Monday. We did have breakfast at the IHOP. Mmmm! Grits! By the pool, beers, a few jaunts to the sea and a lot of swimming. I have to hand it to the two ladies who ran the Turtles Nest, the pool bar. They were awesome. The guys who worked a couple of days weren’t as good, but all in all it was excellent service!
During the afternoon they have a girl who does hair braids, wraps and henna tattoos. I asked as Linda was kicking around the idea of a tattoo, so I thought I’d check prices. I also asked about a hair wrap for me. Well needless to say, an hour later I had two really cool hair wraps on the right side of my scalp. They were with white beads for Colts colors. Later in the week a girl would ask me “Sir, is your hair braided?” like I was a ruh-tard. She may be on to something!
After I came up from the pool I was going to go fly my kite but my Spongebob kite was missing a few pieces so I had to buy a new one the next morning. To top it off we never really had any wind the rest of the week.
A few years ago when we were down here me and Linda at a little Italian place called Portofino and really enjoyed it. The concierge at the Wyndham recommended a place called Anna’s, but it was closed. So we ended up driving until we found the Portofino down south on Atlantic and we really liked it. We vowed to make it one of our dinners this time around and tonight was the night.
We drove down to the joint and like last time we were about the only ones there. That’s okay though. We liked it and what did we care if no one else did? We had our usual; Linda the lasagna and I the spaghetti with Italian sausage. Add a salad and their homemade bread and we came away happy campers again! We didn’t do much else that night. Kind of hung out and watched some poker on TV. My pattern doesn’t change much from home

WEDNESDAY
We finally had a beautiful sunrise and it was going to be a cloudless day. Linda didn’t want to go to the pool too early so I went down and claimed our chairs. Then I took a walk down towards the Hilton and the bandshell to scope things out. They had a memorial for the motorcycle racers from the past which was pretty cool. I wandered around the pool deck of the Hilton just to check it out. It was nice, but small compared to our pool deck.
For the most part there wasn’t much to report new today except one thing, some folks from GA showed up with a volleyball in the pool and I wasted no time in getting involved. The activities board kept saying there was pool volleyball at 11 each morning but that never happened. I guess they changed it to 3 and I was in the right spot at the right time. We had about 10 playing so it made for some nice games. They were all real nice so that made it cool to play. When we were done we pretty much agreed to meet the next day for some more games.
That night me and Linda just went next door to the Johnny Rockets for dinner. I like Rockets, but it is pricey for what you get. Still it was good and we were both full after some ice cream at the Cold Stone Creamery.
That night there was a small Texas Hold’em tournament in the bar. $5 entry for some nice prizes. I think we had about 12 play. It was fun, but the dealer was hilarious trying to scare us about the ocean. Earl had wandered further east than earlier expected. It posed no direct threat to us, but the waves would be so bad you couldn’t get on the beach, let alone the water. He was so dramatic!

THURSDAY
When I got up I expected to see 20 foot waves and the tide splashing against the sea wall. Imagine my surprise when nothing really looked any different. Another beautiful day in Daytona Beach! The pool deck was definitely busier today than the previous days. With the upcoming holiday people were starting to head in. I didn’t really notice it too much until Saturday on the elevators, but you could sense more people in the pool and on the beach.
Apparently the chair rental people were sufficiently spooked as they didn’t put out any product for the day.
Well about noon the water did come up as far as it did all week. It did, in fact, come up to the sea wall, but for about 10 minutes. Me and Linda went out to the water and the waves were pretty strong. One low wave came in and the people it hit went tumbling. Thinking I could handle it I laughed as the wave took my legs out from underneath me and sent me flying. As I was going down I looked back and saw my wife go down like a sack of potatoes. It was pretty cool. The water receded in a few minutes and all was back to normal.
Later that day we took another stroll on the beach without incident. We did find a jellyfish that had floated in with the current, but he was dead as fuck.
More volleyball in the pool with my GA friends and I was ready to call it a day for the pool and ocean. Just two more whole days left at the resort, but I was having such a great time I didn’t really think too much about it ending. I would Saturday, but that was 48 hours away!
Thursday night we decided to hit another place we had gone to with Timmy and Tammy a few years back. Our Deck Down Under is situated under a bridge and has some pretty good seafood. It’s nothing fancy mind you. You stand in line and order your food and then stake out a table. Many of the tables are on a deck that is on the water but you have to be lucky to get one. We were lucky! Had a nice big meal of some fried fish and chips. I was going to get some conch fritters but decided to pass. I was glad I did as the fish and chips were more than I could handle!
After dinner we got some pretty cool photographs. My only regret about going on vacation with just my wife is that we end up with a dearth of pictures of just the two of us.
When we got back to the room Blake Shelton had taken the stage at the bandshell and was just starting his show. He wasn’t bad for a new country guy. He did play several covers including the Cheater song (Escape) and All My Ex’es Live In Texas!

FRIDAY
The weather is relentless!! Another beautiful sunrise giving way to another day of bright sunshine. Temps are up as well. Nothing really new today. More sun, more water, more volleyball, more Rocky Mountain Spring Water! I did have quite a few late in the day! Leaving the pool that day I started to feel a little sad knowing we had but one full day left before we had to leave this.
That night we went to Bubba Gumps for dinner. Linda had a steak and I had the Shrimp tower or whatever the hell they call it. It was good, but not great. With the concerts tomorrow night we figured this was our last chance to eat at the mall. There is a new wing place but we wouldn’t make it by on this trip. Hopefully it will be around next year. Hear that honey? Next year, same place!
I wanted to get a T shirt from the Charlie Horse, Sloppy Joe’s and one from the music festival, but I never saw any music festival shirts and when we drove down to the Horse they didn’t have any shirts in my size. SUCK! I did get my Sloppy Joe’s shirt which was cool!
Friday was a quiet night at the bandshell. Usher was at the hoity-toity joint down the street. I heard the ladies in the LBD’s were out en force but I was safely tucked into my room by the time that happened. Going to be I knew we had but one full day ahead of us and we were going to have to move from one room to the next to top it off. I promise myself not to be too much of a dick, but who knows.

SATURDAY

I get up with my stress level rising just because I have no faith in the front desk making today’s move a smooth one. I wouldn’t have to wait long to have it elevate even more. I wait until 8:15 to take our towels down and after that I swing by the front desk to make sure everything is on course to have us move without having to take our stuff to the car or put in the bell man’s office for a couple of hours.
I approach the desk and ask the lady if there everything is cool and I am told we are not on the list for room reassignment. Okay, are we staying in 1415 I ask. No, we have no reservation for tonight and the resort is full. Okay, I’m not hot I’m pissed. This lady tries to appease me by telling me she has Bell’s Palsey. I tell her that doesn’t matter to me and I know it has no affect on what she is telling me. She goes to the back office and tells me that when we upgraded our reservation for the week it somehow cancelled our other reservation. My BS meter is completely off the chart. NFW that our reservation got cancelled for that reason. I’m pissed and she knows it. She goes back to talk to the manager and comes back and tells me that she can reinstate my reservation. Okay, good answer.
Then she drops the “Well since your reservation is now the last one, your room won’t be ready until 4:00” Two steps back! I tell her that is ridiculous and that we were told everything was set and that we would just go from one room to the next around noon. She says no, can’t happen. I remind her we are VIP so we have to have our room by 2:00 anyway. She says she will do what she can. Not good enough.
By this time I am raising my voice and the security guard has stopped to make sure I don’t kill Bells. Look, I know this isn’t her fault personally, but right now she is the face of Wyndham and that face is bad.
She agrees to let us keep our room until noon and we are to check back at that time to see if our new room is ready. She also took our number to call us if it was ready early. Based on some grumbling from a few other customers this was a crapshoot at best to get a room at noon. Frankly I don’t care what time we get the room as long as we can have ours until it’s time to move.
I agree to this plan and head upstairs to gather my wife and head to the pool. Linda is not any happier than me claiming not to leave the room until the new one is ready. Be that as it may I tell her we just need to go hang out and wait until we hear from them. Let it be noted here that I purposely had no beer at this time so if things got ugly I didn’t go to jail!
Of course 11 passed and 11:30 and eventually at 11:55 we went back in. No, the room was not ready, but she will extend our room until 2:00. Fine, but now it’s noon and a Foster’s is beckoning! Well we don’t hear from them again and about 1:45 we go back in. Hooray, the room is ready, boo there are no luggage carts to be found to move our stuff. So we have to hire the bell man. He was a real friendly cuss too.
So anyway we go back to our room and our keys don’t work. Thankfully Mr. Friendly had his master key and got us in. We packed up the cart and moved. The new room was fine, just a one bedroom as opposed to a two. We’re just two floors down as well so we can hear the music tonight if we choose.
With that ordeal out of the way we head back down to the pool. My last day so I am making the most of it with many board rides and yes, more volleyball. Some jackbag from what had to be Boston joined us and ran his mouth for a couple of games. Not sure what he said, but one of the GA guys had a few words with this wheezy windbag and pretty much silenced him. When we were done I said bye to the GA’s and wished them a safe trip back and thanked them for letting me play. They were a nice bunch!
I decided to ramp up the drinking so I headed to the bar. I knew I was out in the room so I better get my fill down here. I had a few and closed out my tab for the last time at the Turtles Nest. As I gathered my towels, board and iPod and started heading in I shed a couple of tears. It had been a great week and anyone who has been to this place knows it’s not easy to leave. I mean it’s nice to get home, but I hate to see vacation end.
I gathered myself and took the resort towels in and turned them in and made the trip upstairs. I really started to lose it going across the lobby. Sometimes I am such a wuss!
That night we wanted to watch the Indy Car race but again, no Versus in the room. So I pooped down to the bar in the lobby and for some reason they had it. So me and Linda went down there and watched the race and ordered a pizza from next door. We enjoyed our last night in FL and sadly I closed out my last tab.

SUNDAY

Travel days aren’t much fun if you are driving. We got an early start out of Daytona Beach and stopped for gas around the FL/GA border. When we stopped to go to the bathroom just south of Macon I thought the car sounded a bit strange. I mean, what the hell were we going to do? It wasn’t an awful sound, just strange.
Just south of the ATL the battery light came on and I started to sweat. The AC was off and we were headed right into downtown ATL. We got through town fine, but just north of town I felt the power steering go. We were on the highway so steering wasn’t an issue, but I knew it wasn’t good. Soon after the ABS and airbag lights came on. They both went out quickly though and now my battery light was off. We were heading past Dalton, GA when I checked to see if we had radio and when we didn’t I knew our days was about done. I lost power right at a Dalton exit and was able to wrestle the car off the highway and into a gas station parking lot.
We discovered the serpentine belt was off and dragging and hoped it just needed to be put back on, but I think I knew better. I called roadside assistance and we had a tow truck there before I was even off the phone with them. We got towed to a Sears Automotive as it was the only thing open at 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon that did any real work.
Once there the mechanic discovered that a bearing had failed and would have to be replaced. They called around but no one in town that was open had one. Looks like were here for the night. Or are we. We give Sears our info and grab a taxi to the Days Inn. Nice Days Inn and reasonable. See Ford, we tried to save you money, because this is on you! Tired, hungry and frustrated we grab showers and walk over to O’Charley’s for a bite of dinner.
We head back to the room, not as nice as the two bedroom at the Wyndham, but what are you gonna do? It was a sucky day. Had to leave FL and vacation and now broke down and having to pay for a room. We had reservations up by Nashville, but obviously never made it. Looking forward to going home tomorrow.

MONDAY

Monday morning 8:30, time to call Sears and find out when we can get our car. As they say “Clank”! The Ford dealer is open, but parts are closed for the Labor Day holiday. It would be at least Tuesday before we could find out if they even have the damn part. FUCK! Stuck in Dalton, GA with no car.
We watch the Pawn Stars marathon most of the day after Saved By The Bell. Finally I go for a swim. I didn’t have my trunks as my suitcase was in the car, a $12 taxi ride away. Linda protested but I went in my skivvies. Hell there wasn’t a soul around.
I did spot a Fudruckers sign across the street and was all whetted up for a burger for dinner. So about 6 we wandered across the road only to find the MF closed. I was pissed. I guess we were going to have to hit the Waffle House. Great, but not as great as Fudruckers! We had a good dinner, the All-Star and left hoping Ryan, the waitress didn’t get the shit beat out of her by her ex who was hanging out in the lot.
We went back to the room and watched some more Pawn Stars until I fell asleep. We will be on the road tomorrow come hell or high water.

TUESDAY

The ordeal continues. Of course at 8:30 we find out that the part is not available at either local Ford dealer and will have to be ordered. It will be here Wednesday. We can’t wait. Linda had already checked around for rental cars and we would have been home had the office been open Monday. But we called Enterprise and they came and got us and we got the car, went to Sears, got our stuff out of the car and headed for Indy in the KIA Rio. It had no luxurious amenities, but it would be good enough!
We stopped in Elizabethtown, KY at the Cracker Barrel for lunch and even it didn’t seem as good. It was just time to be home. Linda took us the rest of the way in and we arrived home at just about 6:00. I wasn’t ready to kiss the ground, but I was glad to be home.

EPILOGUE

Well Linda and Ginny are on their way to Dalton to pick up the car. I just spoke to them and they are almost there and seem to be making pretty good time. We turning all this into Ford for warranty consideration and I suggest they pay it.
As for the vacation itself, it was wonderful. 8 fantastic nights in FL at a resort we both really like. The onion rings were as good as we remembered, the beer was cold and the wait staff was top notch. Other than the one day where my knee was really hurting it was one of the best vacations I have ever had. Hopefully we get to go back to the same place next year and spend another 8 nights. What with Amy and Greg’s impending nuptials it’s hard to know if we can do it next year.

Time for a liver break!

Now that was some weekend! From the lasagna dinner at Mom’s on Wednesday evening to coming home and absolutely dropping from being exhausted last night it was a great time start to finish!

First of all thanks to my mom and pop for having everyone over for dinner. We had a really nice time. Got to meet my niece’s boyfriend. I thought I put a moratorium on her growing up;) Had some cake and ice cream and got some nice gifts. Now at some point today I have to get those thank you cards out!

Thursday was cloudy and cool, but not cold. I headed out to the track and saw a couple of hours of practice before we got some sprinkles. We were heading out that night for a birthday party so I decided to head home. I got home, got a shower, fed some cats and headed over and got my annual May manicure. Being on my feet all day, they needed a little TLC! Best $25 I spend a couple of times a year.

Then I drove down to Brandon’s on the south side for my birthday party. What a turnout. My wife billed it as a “Girls Night Out” but it was all about me;) I tried to count the number of attendees but could only recall 32! Thanks to everyone who turned out and for the birthday beers and shooters! It was a good thing I only had a couple at the track or I would have been face down on the table at the bar.

Friday, however, I was feeling it. But, being the trouper that I am I chewed up a couple of aspirins, drank a beer and was fine. Me and Linda headed out the Speedway about 10. It was another cloudy and cool day. Costanza didn’t show saying the rain was coming at noon. It didn’t and we enjoyed nearly a full day of practice. Linda even managed to stalk Graham Rahal long enough to get his autograph. I want to get Tomas Scheckter’s but that slippery shit is proving to be quite elusive!

We headed out about 4 from the track when we got some slight precipitation. I knew it was going to be a long couple of days coming up and it was supposed to get hot and sunny so leaving early wasn’t any big deal. I hit the rack early in anticipation of having to get up at 6 the next morning.

Welcome to Pole Day for the 2010 Running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing! At home the day dawned bright, but a little chilly yet. The lady on TV said not to worry that the heat was coming. Okay Nicole, I’ll buy it. We pack up and head out and the closer we get to the Speedway the darker it looks. We stop and get gas in Linda’s car and when I get out I’m cold. Nicole didn’t say I would need a sweater to start the day!

When we get to the track we are parked about where we would park every day. Close to the shuttle stop, so that was a bonus. When we get to the seats we head out to get a bite to eat. We watched practice and honestly, I would have bet against sunshine ever happening on this day.

Finally, after all the festivities we were set for qualifying. The complete story of qualifying can be found at many online sites so I won’t bore you with all of the details, but there were some highlights not the least of which was Princess Poutypuss and her asinine comments.

To no one’s surprise Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing were fast. A little more surprising was that Rahal Letterman got Graham in at 7th and that Alex Tagliani showed he wasn’t faking all week when he had the second fastest speed of Q1. “Special’ Ed Carpenter was the biggest shocker coming out of nowhere to take the final spot in the “Fast Nine” and advance to Q2. For those of you unaware, they qualified 24 on Saturday and the fastest nine went back out at 4:30 in the afternoon and see who could post the fastest speed and sit on the pole. It was a new concept this year and there were some monetary enticements to get teams to participate. That “Fast Nine” session was Q2 or qualifying round 2. To make things more interesting, the fastest time in Q1 would get the first pick of pit location. That made it so guys wouldn't sandbag or hold out until the Q2 session to show what they had.

Anyway, Q1 played out pretty much to chalk. The biggest team surprise was that the Andretti Autosports team struggled so mightily. None of them were particularly fast and team leader Tony Kanaan crashed on his attempt. They weren’t great all week, but generally they are considered to be just a step down from Penske and Ganassi. Well ol’ Danica just couldn’t help throw a hissy fit after her run. If there is a bigger bitch in sports I sure don’t know who it is.

Obviously I am no Danica Patrick fan, but she is, for whatever reason, extremely popular. But this time Dunce Cap Danica stepped on her own wiener. Clearly agitated by not being the fastest and no where near the Fast Nine Danica got out the car and complained that it was all wrong and that she was scared and that the car didn’t deserve to be that far back and finally that her run was “not my fault”. You could hear the boos cascade down all over the Speedway and “the World’s Largest PA System”. It was classic! This bitch who refuses to ever accept any blame for any mistakes she makes threw her team and crew under the bus and pissed off her fan base in one small sentence. It was the line of the day or maybe even the Centennial era. She was derided and made fun of her the rest of the weekend. Her crew was jokingly told it was their fault as they went up and down pit lane and in the ultimate indignity she had the line yelled at here as she made her way down pit lane and there were even several “fuck you bitch!” epithets yelled at her. Poutypuss was as dour as ever and just couldn’t understand why her fans would boo her. Maybe she hasn’t figured out what we fans know. It’s a team sport and when an individual puts themselves ahead of the team, bad things happen.

Of course her staunchest supporters are still defending her saying she has a right to say what’s on here mind, or that guys like AJ Foyt were loved for speaking their mind because they were guys and not a woman in a mans sport. Well sorry but I have to call bullshit on that. Sure she has a right to say it, but just because you have the right doesn’t mean you should. This should have been handled in the privacy of the garage or motor home, not over the PA system. Yeah, I bet her crew was fired up to help her get her car ready for next Sunday. Second the Foyt, or any other guy comparison doesn't hold water. Foyt was a winner. I don’t like Tony Stewart but he is a winner as well and these guys have earned that right, yet they still don’t ever eschew all blame. Besides, when Foyt called his car a tub of shit, it was his team and his crew, the guys he hired and directed. It was a tub of shit because AJ had created a tub of shit. Danica hasn’t done shit, yet still acts like she if God’s gift to racing. What a bitch!

With all of the Danica excitement over we hardly noticed that the skies had cleared and it was not only sunny, but getting much warmer! Scheckter went out but they had some problem and wouldn’t get in until after 3:30. Helio was the fastest in Q1 after retaking the top from Tagliani. We got our beverages and settled in to see how this Fast Nine would shake out.

It turned out to be pretty fun. I don’t think they did a great job of explaining it, but all in all it was pretty exciting. Unfortunately Graham lost a position, but he still starts in the first three rows. Tomorrow is Bump Day and there are some big names still to try to get in. Paul Tracy, Vitor Meira, John Andretti and Tony Kanaan to name a few. It’s also supposed to be sunny and 90 degrees. Nicole? Is that accurate?

It was! 94 in fact. Hotter than a pepper fart. I was dousing my head down and then soaking may hat in the sink in the bathroom. The beer didn’t work and my hand is even sun burnt but it was a good day anyway!

Linda decided not to go as her back was hurting her a little. She ran me down to Neils to go with Keith and him. We headed out and it was obvious it was going to be a beautiful day. There was 2 hours of down time between practice and qualifying for Armed Forces day events. We got to hear the Army band play their usual assortment of military songs and had a nice flyover by some F-16’s. But the real show would be on the track and it didn’t disappoint and neither did that slippery shit Scheckter. Still don’t have that autograph! And Tomas, if you're reading this, nothing but love for you and your effort this month. Just sign my damn hat!;)

With the track heating up several drivers went out for qualifying attempts before the heat really set in. A few had some good runs but Bump Day is always about the 5 o’clock hour and it was a good one. I have to tell you, the heat almost ran me out to the shade, but I stayed and was rewarded with a spirited final hour of qualifying! Drivers pulled their speeds and retried, some bumped their way back in and some made questionable decisions. Of those, some worked out, some didn’t. I was sad to see Sarah Fisher’s team miss out putting their second driver in, but their decision backfired on them. Same thing happened to Paul Tracy and now the self-proclaimed winner of the 2002 Indianapolis 500 will have to wait until next year to even try.

Milka Duno was the only woman at the Speedway to fail to make the field although I expect to hear that she will take over her teammate Alex Lloyd’s car but the time the race rolls around. Money talks people. Nowhere louder than the racetrack I’m afraid.

So the field was set, the beer was drank and it was time to head home and rest up for a couple of days before I head back to work for a couple and then it’s Carb Day on Friday and Sunday is Race Day! My liver is happy for the break and honestly, the thought of a beer today just isn’t very appealing!

Peace out and thanks again to everyone for all of their Birthday wishes!!

A Season Ticket No More. For Now;)

Well the NFL draft is now a few weeks past, mini-camp is over, it’s May and we are at the point on the calendar that is about as far away from NFL football as you can be.

So why am I writing a piece about the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts at this time of year? I guess with a week or so until the track opens, just a couple of other racing events and no other real sports news that grabs my attention I started thinking about the upcoming season. I mean, I love to follow the Yankees and the Reds but baseball has five months UNTIL the playoffs. I want to follow hockey more but just can’t really make myself. The NBA playoffs, uggh! No thank you.

This isn’t an entry about how I think the upcoming season will go although there may be a little of that thrown in. Nor is it going to be my assessment of past events such as the loss in the Super Bowl or the 2010 Draft. No, this is about my personal experience as a 25-year season ticket holder.

Sadly, I’ve made the choice to not renew my Indianapolis Colt season ticket for the 2010 season. Frankly it just wasn’t in the budget this year and I felt it was time to make the right decision regarding the ticket. I’m not saying it is in any way permanent; it was just the right thing to do this year. Hell, I’m hoping something happens that allows me to go to most of the games this year, but only time will tell if that happens. Even if I don’t make it to the games I’ve had more fun over the past 25 seasons than most fans can dream of.

I’ve seen what amounts to the birth of a franchise. Sure the Colts had been in Baltimore for years, but they were new to Indianapolis and what a welcome they received. Of course the newness wore off quick as we sat through some crappy seasons with what we thought were marginal NFL players and coaches. 3-13 season records were the norm rather than the exception for most of the first 15 years the team was here. But the team had their moments.

We drank Old Style beer, maybe a little too much, at the games. We laughed at the inept play of some of the Colts. Eugene Daniel was “the Toast of the Town”. Mike Pagel was a horrible quarterback and we always wanted Art Schlichter to play, but truth be told he was even more of a nightmare. There was Jeff George and the whole train wreck that he was.

We stole the famed “Steel Curtain” banner the Steelers fans had the audacity to hang in OUR room. Of course the police made us give it back, but it didn’t go back up! We wore tuxes to the game the day after one of the guys in our row got married. We ran the fans in front of us off. I kind of regret that but I guess they had had enough beer spilled on them. The Bears fans wanted to fight us for no reason other than they are just jerks.

And lest you think that the first years were ALL bad there were some shining on field moments and memories that I’ll never forget. Jack Trudeau was a defensive, arrogant prick but he gave his all on the field and I will always be thankful for that. Number 29 Eric Dickerson provided many thrills most notably his dominating performance against the Broncos on that Halloween night in 1988. The Dome literally rocked that night as it did a week later when the Colts came back from a halftime deficit to beat the Jets. There was Rosie Potts blocking and catching the ball. Brief glimpses of greatness from linebackers such as Barry Krauss, Duane Bickett and Jeff Herrod. Bill Brooks catching most anything that got in his area, although with some of the QB’s, that wasn’t much! And of course the short, but brilliant career of Steve Emtmann.

But going to the games was ultimately more social than it was about being a serious fan. Of course we were and are serious fans, but to mock and deride those around us who were only there for the “event” was misguided as the team gave very little to get enthused about. In fact, for the first 10 years we only had one playoff appearance and that came in the strike year.

Then there was 1994. The Colts drafted Marshall Faulk and we had OUR first real superstar. Sure 29 was here in the 80’s but he was acquired in a trade and will always be known more as a Ram than a Colt. With Marshall running and Captain Comeback Jim Harbaugh at QB and a solid defense the team seemed headed in the right direction. After a revolving door at head coach the team had their old coach Ted Marchibroda back on board with some solid help at key coaching positions.

With Harbaugh, Faulk and a decent team we saw a deep run in the playoffs for the first time. None of the games were at home, but after 10+ years we had a team the city could rally around. Unfortunately the feeling nor the success lasted. A couple of short years later and we were watching the same old 3-13 Colts, but we still loved them and still had a great time at the games.

Finally, in 1998, the Colts turned the corner for good, or at least as good as for 12 years of success. With Peyton Manning at QB and a laundry list of stars on offense the Colts started putting up gaudy numbers for wins, yardage and points each season. For the past 10 years the Colts have been in the conversation for Super Bowl champion. Sure we’ve only won the one, but there is little reason why this team can’t win another or more.

More importantly is how the whole experience of going to the games has changed. From the “ho-hum, I’m here, where’s my book” days of 15 years ago to the fever pitch we have today. More than anything I will miss that. The whole “fuck you, this is our house” mentality that has come with winning is awesome to experience. Sure we get fans of the other teams, especially those jackass Patriot fans, but their numbers are small and getting smaller all of the time.

I’ll miss hanging at Tom’s before the games. Drinking my RBV before the game and my four Bud’s at the game with a couple after thrown in for good measure. I’ll miss seeing the Colts try to improve upon last seasons incredible 13 wins in a row stretch and make it through unscathed and culminating in a Super Bowl win. I’ll miss the camaraderie of the fans around us with whom we’ve become game friends.

It has been a great 26 years and like I said, I wholly expect this to be temporary and am already making arrangements for my return. It’s just something that has been such a part of my life over the past generation that I feel like I am losing a great friend. Just know, I’ll see you again old friend.