DO YOU "WAZE"?

If you have read my posts about Martinsville, you know that last fall we got a speeding ticket while heading to the race on Sunday morning.  Not one of our favorite memories of our trip for sure.

Okay, so we weren't quite THIS bad, but we definitely felt like we were targeted because we were out of state and they knew we weren't going to return to Virginia the week before Christmas to fight it.

So this time around our kids told us about this new app for our smartphones - WAZE (pronounced Wah-zuh).  It is a free app and I can't begin to count the number of times it saved our hides on our fourteen-hour round trip!

Waze uses your phone's gps and shows you where you are on the road.  It's kind of cool and spooky at the same time.  But the great thing about it is that you can see if there are any other Waze users on the road ahead of you.  Whenever a user sees a police car or a traffic jam or even a vehicle on the side of the road the PASSENGER - NOT THE DRIVER - can enter that information on their smartphone and it immediately pops up on your phone.  There is even a little voice that comes on and says things like "Caution, police reported in one mile."  It also indicates whether they are hidden or visible.

We appreciated it as much for the "vehicle on the shoulder" information as the speed trap information.  When you are towing an RV on an interstate highway and know that there is perhaps a disabled tractor-trailer coming up you can safely change lanes well in advance.  We had to do that several times. 

The information concerning construction and traffic jams was also very helpful.  It also does other things like mark the Dunkin Donuts and Outback Steakhouses on your route, although we didn't need to use that feature.  There are lots of other features that we have not fully investigated yet but you can bet we will!

One little piece of advice for you though.  Be sure to take your car charger along with you as it really uses up your battery - even if it is fully charged.  I did not notice a big hit to our data usage, but we have so much data that we never use that I wasn't really concerned.  You might just want to check with your carrier if you use alot of data on a regular basis just so you don't fall over when you get your next cellphone bill.

Safe and ticket-free travels everyone!!

MARTINSVILLE REVISITED

I have finally THAWED OUT from a record-breaking cold weekend in Southern Virginia.  Wouldn't you know it would happen on race weekend?!  The good news is that following a rainy Friday morning, the rest of the weekend was filled with brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies.  The sun was the saving grace on Saturday as the wind was fiercely cold, but in the grandstand seats we were sheltered somewhat from the wind and the sun felt wonderfully warm.  I even came home with a little bit of sunburn!!

Yup, 30 degrees and we are headed to the track!

There were several big race headlines this weekend ....

THE MARTINSVILLE HOT DOG - And this is the last time we are going to discuss this, I promise! As you know, the track created quite the stir when it was made known prior to the race that they were changing hot dog vendors (GASP!!). We conducted our own unbiased independent research and can definitively declare that the hot dog remains unchanged.  The exact same as it always was. No change. None.

As this picture of the line of people waiting to buy one (only $2!) shows, sales were steady and by next race all will be forgotten and forgiven ....

I will tell you this much, though.  Hubby tried the fried bologna sandwich and he is a BIG FAN!

And me?  I'll stay with the ham sliders!  

KYLE LARSON - As of today (Thursday), Kyle has been cleared to get behind the wheel of his race car next week and I'm sure everyone in Nascar is happy about that.  He has said that he thinks he was just dehydrated. Not surprising really.  I am just so amazed at the schedule these drivers keep on race day!  They do so many appearances with the fans and sponsors.  I know of no other sport where fans have the access to their favorite athlete like they do in Nascar.  Can you imagine Tom Brady or Peyton Manning going out in front of the stadium the morning of a big game to greet fans and sign autographs?!  Add this to your list of reasons to love Nascar!!

DENNY HAMLIN - Great car, great race, AWESOME BURNOUT!!

And I just happened to catch up with his golfcart at his souvenir hauler ....

You just never know who you will see and where, so you're always on star-watch!

Next time I will show you a little bit of the behind-the-scenes things I learned about.  One little tidbit is so interesting, and I am pretty sure you have never read about this anywhere else!  Hmmm.... ;-)

WE HAVE ARRIVED!!

We made it to our campground safe & sound on Friday afternoon.  We traveled about a mile up the road and had dinner at a great little local diner, The Pink Cadillac.  If you are coming South on 81 it is right off Exit 180B, and may I recommend the burgers?!  Delish!  A great local spot with Elvis memorabilia everywhere.  We love to find these kinds of places.  They are so much better than the predictable chain restaurants.  And here is a TOP SECRET tidbit for ya .... they have lots of hot dog combos on their menu too - even one topped with Slawsa!  Now I'm not saying that it is a Martinsville hot dog since we didn't order one, but I'm betting money it would be pretty darned close - maybe even better!  (GASP!!)

We are heading to the track late this morning to visit the souvenir trailers and depending on the weather (temps are expected to top out at 40 - whaaaat?!) we will catch practice and the truck race.  I may meet up with someone you might know as Infield Jen. If you get the chance you should check out her Facebook page and give it a 'like'.  We have been in contact with each other this week and are looking forward to meeting and sharing stories.  I'll keep you posted!

Have a great day everyone and check back later for all the latest and greatest things happening in Martinsville!!

MARTINSVILLE BOUND!!

Remember that endless winter I talked about last time?  Well, it is still here!  Yesterday we had the RV de-winterized and today it was flurrying.  But that won't stop us!  We are Martinsville bound for race weekend!

Hubby is updating the scanner frequencies, washing the RV and checking the air pressure on the truck and trailer tires.  Me?  Well, I have the washer & dryer going and am packing our clothes as they come out of the dryer. Since the forecast for Sunday in Martinsville is for temps in the 40s, we'll leave the t-shirts and shorts at home this time around but that's okay with me.  Actually I'd rather sit out at a race when it is a little cold rather than in the beating hot sun.

This time around we have Green Flag Experience tickets which means we will get to see and hear some interesting race folks - like the President of the track, Chocolate Myers, and a bunch of drivers. Hubby is especially excited that Jimmie Johnson will be one of those drivers!  I'll probably get have to take a few pictures ;-)

So, when you tune in to the race on Sunday, look for us!  We will be in between Turn 3 and Turn 4. I'll be the one with all the layers of winter clothes on!!

SPRING FEVER ......

Here in Pennsylvania we are deep in the throws of an ENDLESS WINTER!  Never do I remember such a winter, with at least two snow type events every single week!!  It has been relentless, but nothing like the poor folks in Massachusetts have had to endure so I guess I don't have the right to complain too much!

Hubby and I have spent alot of time daydreaming about our Nascar camping trips - past and future. This year we had hoped to get to the New Hampshire race, but then our youngest daughter decided to get married in August!  We are very excited to be welcoming a new son-in-law into this crazy family so we will postpone the New Hampshire trip to next year.  Instead, we will be going to Richmond for the night race because we can do that one on a long weekend.  Hubby has been there several times on overnight bus trips, but this will be my first trip.  I have heard great things about this night race and this track so I am really looking forward to this one!

Right now though we are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will straighten itself out and we will be able to go to the Martinsville race in three weeks!  Hardly seems possible the way things look outside our window right now, but we gotta have hope right?!  Last spring when we went to Martinsville we woke up on race morning to a coating of snow.  Wouldn't surprise me if that happens again this year, but we survived before and we will probably brave it again this year.

And with Martinsville right around the corner we will soon start to hear all the chatter about the famous Martinsville hot dogs.  Or maybe I should say 'infamous'!  Before we go too far, let me just say that Nascar Wife loves herself a good hot dog.  I love them with onions and mustard.  I love them with saurkraut and mustard.  I love them plain with just ketchup.  But Martinsville hot dogs?  Not so much...

Hot dogs just aren't supposed to be so ...... RED!

And rolled up in foil ....

And all smooshed.

I TRIED to like them, honest I did!!  Hubby likes them, or so he says.  Since he is the healthier eater between the two of us, I suspect what he really likes is the idea of the Martinsville hot dog. Kind of the whole, "when in Rome" thing.  Anyway, he always gets at least one before the race.  Me?  I prefer the Virginia ham sliders they sell at the same stand.

Now, we're talkin'!!!

These little beauties are worthy of a little excitement!  Nice and salty Virginia country-style ham sliced just right on perfect size little buns!  Now this I can get excited about!!

How about you?  Is there a special track food you always look forward to?  

DAYTONA WEEK WITH THE HAPPY WIFE'S HUBBY ....

Well, folks, this is it.  The week we all have been waiting for since the Miami race in November.  I think Nascar has the right idea planning the Daytona kick-off race in February.  And they didn't even consult me when they planned it that way - ha!

In our neck of the woods, winter is endless.  It is gray and cold -- very cold! -- and bleak and boring. So for the Nascar fan to have something to anticipate and look forward to and plan for is a real lifesaver!  When we sat down at the beginning of the year to fill in our 'social' calendar, the first thing we entered was this coming week.

And yesterday being Valentine's Day and us not being the type of people who enjoy crowded restaurants and over-priced entrees, that provided me with the perfect Valentine's gift.  I told Hubby that he did not 'have' to make reservations for dinner.  We would have dinner at home, in front of the TV, watching the Sprint Unlimited.  He was a very happy guy.  Sometimes life's simple pleasures really are the best!

So I fired up the grill and we dined on the most delicious filet mignons, baked sweet potatoes, tossed salad and for dessert, Hubby's favorite Boston cream pie made with strawberries not chocolate.  It was a simple menu (I bought the pie!) and it was really enjoyable!

Today our wind chills in Pennsylvania were in the below-zero range and the weather people were advising people to stay inside.  Oh, okay, if we must.  We watched qualifying, and we decided we didn't like the way they are doing that now.  What did you think?  I guess we will watch the rest of the qualifying on Thursday.  Who am I kidding, of course we will!

And next weekend you will find us right here - plopped on the sofa in front of the big screen tv and dreaming of the time when we can actually hook up the RV and head south for this week.  But for now we are quite content watching it all week long on television.  We may call a few friends to come watch with us on Sunday, but that remains to be seen.  I have a big ol' pan of lasagna frozen for the day just in case we decide we want to be social.  If not, we will eat leftovers all week.

How about you -- how do you celebrate Daytona?

NASCAR HALL OF FAME

It is a cold and snowy here in Pennsylvania which, for some strange reason, I really like.  Maybe because everything feels different - people are staying home from school and work so there is very little traffic outside - and maybe because I seem to use days like this to catch up on all sorts of things that I would not be doing if it was a dry, sunny normal kind of day.

So today I spent some time catching up on all the Nascar news I have fallen behind on over the holidays.  There are all kinds of countdowns to races, team and drivers news updates, but the one tidbit that really caught my attention was the news that the Nascar Hall of Fame is struggling financially.

Hubby and I visited there in the fall of 2012, and I really must say that if you consider yourself a fan, this is a MUST DO for your Nascar Bucket List!

I will be the first to admit that, being the casual fan I am, the thought of spending an entire day aimlessly wandering around the HoF did not excite me.  But this was part of my Christmas gift to Hubby so I bit the bullet and went.  And I am I ever glad that I did!  So many fun and interesting things to see and do there!  We were there on a day when they also had a driver's appearance so we got to spend some time with Martin Truex which was really interesting.  It's kind of funny to see a driver in street clothes and talking about normal stuff - you know, just like us 'common folk'!

There was a nice place to eat inside the Hall as well as a Buffalo Wild Wings adjoining, but that was two years ago so you should check to see if that is still the case.  Don't take my word on that one.

The one thing that I thought was very thoughtful was the abundance of well-placed white wooden rocking chairs for people like me.  When Hubby would drift away looking at things that maybe didn't interest me ... at all!.... I would just point to a group of rocking chairs and tell him to take his time and see everything he wanted to see.  I would be very happy sitting there waiting for him.  There were lots of other people like me -- okay women! -- doing the same thing so we enjoyed chatting while the men wandered.

According to the news article, the Hall of Fame needs 400,000 visitors a year to be profitable.  Last year there were only 170,000.  It would be a real tragedy for our sport if this facility had to close its doors.  SO ..... if you are looking for a really great spot for a brief winter break allow me to suggest Charlotte NC and the Nascar Hall of Fame!  I'd also suggest that you plan to stay for several days and tour some of the team shops and garages.  It is a fun, fun trip!

Here is the link to the news article:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/01/05/5427276/charlotte-to-banks-write-off-176.html#.VKsUstLF9WI