I of course went into a speech about not needing money or gifts to feel special and I would be just as happy to have him make me dinner as to take me out. The hubby quite frankly did not believe a word of it and went on making his plans.
Joey knew that even though I have lived in or around Daytona (The HOME of Nascar) since 1991 I have never ever been to an actual race. I've been to the track, watched practice but never an actual race. He decided that for Valentine's Day we were going to see the Daytona 500. I of course didn't believe him...until he came home with two beautiful, bonafide tickets! WE WERE REALLY GOING!!!
I prepared for the race the best way I knew how - by not doing much of anything all day Saturday. I made it to the grocery store and cooked some steaks for dinner. That was enough for me!
I was up bright and early Sunday and finally managed to get Joey out of bed around 9. I had explained to him what a nightmare traffic and parking is but he of course knew better! Oh well.
We managed to get in the car and out the door by around 9:30. It was smooth sailing for the first five miles to the track (which is only like 11 miles from our house) then we hit traffic like you had never seen. During which I of course had to pee. I amused myself by taking pictures instead!
The line of cars waiting to exit the freeway. I briefly considered whether I could pee behind those trees in the distance.
So we finally got there, I was forced to pee in a port-a-pottie outside a 7-11. (This would have to have been the single most disgusting experience of my life. I still gag thinking about it. I have no idea how my husband uses those every day at the job site. I would rather hold it!)
Then mercifully, finally we were through the gates. The big draw for me was that Tim McGraw was doing the preshow. Until we got to our seats.....a mile (literally) away from where he was performing. I would be watching him on here -
Yup - A JumboTron. Oh well. I still wasn't going to let it rain on my parade. People watching was next on my list and I wasn't disappointed. There was missing teeth, camouflage and beer all around. Yep - Iwas out of my comfort zone. Not to worry though - I was prepared. The one thing I wasn't prepared for was just how LOUD and fast the cars are. It's completely different than seeing it on TV.
Then the lady next to me decided we were best friends and shared that she had left her husband of 20 years due to an abusive relationship and the guy that she brought with her was "just a friend". No really, all those beers make people super friendly. Sometime during all this Joey disappeared for an hour or so, a crack developed in the track that forced a red flag and all the cars were stopped, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees, and Joey reappeared with a strawberry daquiri for me!
Yep, we really are that stinkin cute together!
The crack in the pavement!
What else can you do during an hour and a half wait?
My husband can't hold a camera straight!
This was obviously while the cars were racing.
At this point we were freezing and tired of waiting so we decided to leave. I was obviously driving since Joey drank half my daquiri and quite a few beers. I learned that the race is a lot easier to watch on TV and warmer. I also learned that it was worth going out there once for the experience. Spending the whole day with Joey and being showered with love affection wasn't too bad either.
(Until he fell asleep in the car on the way home, then slept on the living room floor and ate half my pizza when he woke up!)
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