MARTINSVILLE -- THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY!

Well, we have returned safe and sound from an absolutely gorgeous weekend in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  It was a perfect weather weekend and the fall colors on the mountains were positively electric!  What a perfect time of year to visit this area of our country.  We feel so fortunate to live close enough to be able to take in this spectacle provided to us courtesy of Mother Nature!

There were lots of things I consider GOOD about the weekend.  VERY GOOD, in fact.  At the top of the Good List would of course be the race itself.  Probably the best race of the year so far.  Not a single fan left the track disappointed!

Also GOOD for us was the interesting side trip we took to a little town about two hours north of Martinsville called Lexington.  It is the home of Virginia Military Institute and Washington & Lee University.  It is also the location of Stonewall Jackson's home and gravesite.  The town is a very cool college town, complete with small boutiques and neat little restaurants.  There are also two craft breweries that we just had to check out also!  We brought home several different beers to share with our boys.  I also bought something I have never seen before - a growler of iced coffee tapped over nitro.  It is amazingly delicious, and my girls are going to love it!

Along with all the good, there was also some BAD.  And, sadly, I can't say that I was surprised at what I found to be BAD.  It was the behavior of some of the fans.  I know bad behavior is becoming prevalent in our society as a whole, but c'mon!  Booing the UNC Marching Band when they were introduced to perform the National Anthem?!?!  Because why - you are a Duke fan?  Shame on you!

And then there are those who think that the "no smoking" signs apply to everyone except them.  And those people are usually sitting in front of me.  This weekend was no exception.  Young guys who ran out of money because of all the beer they bought so they bummed cigarettes from others around them.  Really?!

And, lastly, the BAD behavior of those fans who find satisfaction is standing and giving the finger to a driver who is beating their driver.  Newsflash -- HE CAN'T SEE YOU!  But the little kids sitting around you certainly can.  Or the fan who thought he was funny when, after the race, Brad Keselowski was passing by in his golfcart and he had to shout out "You suck!"  Some people are just idiots.

And lastly, the UGLY.  And the UGLY AWARD goes to the Virginia police who hid themselves along Route 581, where the speed limit goes from 70 on a two-lane highway to 55 on a three-lane highway (WHY?!?!?!) and then ticketed every out-of-state driver they saw because they knew it was an easy score.  Thanks.  I feel better now.

How about you?  What were your GOOD, BAD & UGLY moments at Martinsville?