"29 years Wedding Anniversary Weekend"

Hello,
I am so tired today but a good tired. Yesterday was my 29th Wedding Anniversary!! My hubby and I spent our weekend at the races!! Yes, we went to the Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday night for the Nationwide race and then back yesterday for the Sprint cup race!! We had soo much fun. Thanks to my lovely neice, who just happened to be my flower girl 29 years ago,we had passes to the garage area and the pits!! We had a ball!! I was in pain from all the walking but would sit down and rest for a while and then get up and go see what we could find to look at. Watching the races on TV is nothing like being there in person and down in the pits and the garage areas!! Friday night, we walked and watched as the crew members finished the last minute details on getting the cars ready for last night's race. Each car has a wonderful big truck that carries the cars to the track and also everything that the crew will needs at the tracks. They are all painted and beautiful. Every part of those big trucks shine and glisten in the sun!! Everyone is so nice too. The teams have colors of drinks and water, help yourself. Some teams leave their signature snack available to the fans too. There are buttons to grab, photos of the teams and drivers to take. You may just get lucky and see the King of Nascar, Mr. Richard Petty setting beside one of his teams trailors right after the race has started. I walked up and asked, Mr. Petty, may I have your autograph please? He signed my backpack with his signature blue sharpie. I took this opportunity to say Thank you to him for signing a message to the troops, Thanks for your service, Richard Petty. Then this was made into a screen print and was screen printed on 6000 tshirts to be included in a care package of the troops that contain all item that were made in North Carolina. I was fortunate enough to meet the founder of this non profit and to offer my help. I have been blessed with a uncanny gift of getting people to donate things. I am part of the Blue Star Mothers and before that I did it on my own to collect items and send to the troops. With the help on my online scrapbooking friends, we sent over 300 quart and gallon size paint cans decorate for Christmas and filled with snacks and other items for the troops at Christmas in 2007. Then for Easter, we did it again, 300 Easter treat bags were sent. Then again at Memorial Day and 4th of July, we sent snacks and personal care items. All the items I sent were donated!! I just called and asked!!The gentleman with the North Carolina care packages said for me please to contact him once my surgeries with my back are over and I am ready to be involved, that he would love my help. So, I am excited about that.
Back to the races,
I got to meet Trevor Bayne, the 20 year old that won the Daytona 500 in Feburary. When I walked up to his trailor, I saw him and several of his crew in a circle praying! It brought tears to my eyes. When I got to speak to him, I told him how much his faith and his expression of that faith was an inspiration to so many young people. He said Thank You mame, it made me feel old Lol.
I meet and got autographs of the famous Wood brothers owner of the 21 car that Trevor Payne drives. They were so nice, polite, and humble, one of them asked why I wanted his autograph and I told him that he was such a part of the success of Nascar and that I had grown up watching the races . I grew up in Hickory, North Carolina,and my parents took me to the races every Saturday night at the Hickory Motor Speedway, home of the Nascar stars!! I watched Dale Earnhardt Sr, Harry Gant, David Pearson, and other legends race every week. We took our chairs and sat in front of the garage at Charlotte and watched the race on the big screen tv. We also watched pit stops from the back of the pit stalls. Oh, my those guys move super fast. You also have to watch every step you take. Cars going to the garage from pit road are on a mission to get fixed and back on the track, so get out of their way! We usually do not buy sovenirs, but we bougth two tshirts last night one for each of us. They just happened to have 10/15/2011 on the front or back of the shirt, a very nice reminder of where and how we celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary!! I have pictures to download to the computer and I will post them soon. I got lucky and got a few autographs, Ryan Newman, Daivd Regan, Clint Bowyer, Juan Pabelo Montona,Trevor Bayne, both Wood Brothers, and Richard Petty.

Thank you Buffy for an anniversary of a life time!!! We love you!!