Stop, drop and roll in Dega

First, I will share what I put on Facebook last night:

"Will have blog material tomorrow. For a starter, I have one of Tony's nuts. Oh, I mean LUG NUTS!"

So let's back up to Saturday. We survived the bad weather. It actually was just lots of rain and a little bit of wind. Jim was in bed all day with what he thinks were kidney stone pains. All is well now but there was a time he thought he was having a baby.

By Sunday the rain had stopped and the sun was out in full force, with a high of 80. We went to the grass between turns 2 and 3 to watch the race. The Cup race was pretty exciting with Tony jumping all over the track but he was up close to the front several times. In the end, Kevin Harvick won by .011 seconds. That is pretty darn close! The group put a pool together. JHB got third place with the #42 car. Not bad.

Prior to the race starting, the boys (GOB and BWB) were sent to redeem some coins from the Hellman's 88 tent. The tram was full so they decided to walk, and thus, the safari began! With the free Hellmans 88 yellow chairs in hand, they started heading back but somehow got derailed and took a detour. That meant a stop, drop and roll under a security fence! Not knowing where to go next, they got 2 beers to help fuel their next decision. While wondering around, they found themselves getting closer and closer to the pits. After thinking they could go no further, they miraculously circumvented several more layers of security. They ended up in the #14 pit! Now their bladders were full so they managed to get under another fence and got into the Miller Lite Zone. Of course, there were bathrooms AND a "few" free Miller Lites. It's funny it was Miller, as they both won't usually touch that brand but the price must have been right. You can imagine that was trouble for those two!!!! Can't you just hear all of the laughing and high-fiving going on!

Meanwhile, the race had started and we didn't know where they were. We finally connected and heard they were in places they shouldn't be without the proper credentials or passes. I didn't think they even had their regular infield tickets with them. They snuck under several fences, security guards and NASCAR personnel and got into many of the pits, and shot the shit with lots of people. Now here is where Tony's nuts come in. One of Tony's pit crew was asking these two yahoos for advice. Ya, I bet that was a little added fluff to their adventure! Anyway, the pit guy gave them a handful of "hot" lug nuts fresh from the 5th pit stop. Woo-hoo!! Now I have one of Tony's yellow nuts! After the race somehow they noticed yet another opportunity to walk through a security fence and got into the garage area, just in time to see the Nationwide cars getting lined up for the next race. I guess they got kicked out of that garage for improper attire and drinking beer. Imagine that! They couldn't take no for an answer so they went into the next garage by following Harvick's car to the post race inspection.

They seem to be having a hard time recalling much more. They think they got bored because they pretty much had been everywhere they shouldn't been. Pretty soon the two of them stumbled back to camp, giggling and trying to explain about all of the shenanigans they pulled. I wonder if Homeland Security is tighter than Talladega's.

Their little adventure added a few laughs at camp. How they pulled all of that off is beyond me. It's a good thing we didn't have to bail them out of jail. Maybe we would have left them there.

It's now Monday and we are sitting at a nearby campground with a lake view! The kids fly home tomorrow. We will stay here one more day to do laundry and get ready for our next leg of the trip.

We all had a great time and have many memories of an eventful Talladega. (I even sold some of my personally designed NASCAR crafts!) Thanks to our friends for inviting us back. It's been quite an experience.......(some not noted above!)

Pictures will follow at a later date.