A Two-For-One Special

Sunday, Mom and Dale went to visit Dale's sister-in-law who usually lives in the KCMO area near Mom and Dale but is currently staying with her son in the Charlotte area due to health issues of both her and her husband (it's a long, convoluted story). So while they went there, I went and spent time with my friend Cristi (you can catch a quick glimpse of part of my visit to her house here.) She treated me to brunch at a wonderful place called "The Flying Biscuit." Although no biscuits actually flew, I did get to eat some of the best grits ever, and I got to try some fried green tomatoes. I also got to play Doodle Jump on her iPhone, which one of my NASCAR drivers is obsessed with, so that was exciting.

From there, we went to her place for my first sock lesson. For those who have been paying attention, you know that I've taken sock classes. And if you've been paying attention for a VERY long time, you know that I've made toe hats, I've made sock cuffs, and I've even turned heels - I've just never managed to do them all in the same project. And Cristi is determined that I knit socks. Actually, so is Brook. And Hunter. And I think a few other people wouldn't mind, either.

So she VERY graciously and generously gave me some yarn from her stash. I am now the very proud and grateful owner of some black and grey sock yarn, and a variegated skein of reds, pinks, purples, and blues. VERY pretty. She measured my foot, and pretty soon, I was casting on for my first whole sock! (And Cristi found out that when I say I'm a tight knitter, I mean it. "Boy, you ARE a tight knitter!" Then, later... "I'd like to fire a bullet through that fabric and see if it makes a dent.") She printed me out a copy of her Candi Wrappers pattern (which I'll just be doing in stockinette stitch for my first sock, but I'm using the pattern for the construction), and gave me some stitch markers (that woman's generosity is never ending).

And, of course, I got to pet Ripple and she held Calvin for a few seconds so I give him a quick skritch. We also watched a fascinating (and quite good) documentary on the Miss Gay America pageant - an annual pageant for gay female impersonators (Cristi: are there any STRAIGHT female impersonators?). After, we looked up whether any of the contestants we'd followed through the movie had won in the subsequent years, and happily one had! And, he's from KCMO! Yay!

Yesterday, we spent the day in Mooresville touring the team shops. Our first stop was RaceWorld USA (aka: home of Michael Waltrip Racing). You might remember me blogging (albeit very briefly) about my trip there last December. I got a t-shirt there, and Mom scored a t-shirt and a magnet. Next up was Red Bull Racing Team. Because they had a clearance rack, I scored three shirts (one was a shirt I already have and paid full-price for last year, but I LOVE it and it was on sale for ten bucks so I got another one). Note, if you ever to Red Bull's facility, the receptionist on the left is rude. A woman came in after us (we'll call her "The Stalker" - you'll see why later), and asked if Scott was in today. Reception on the left said, "Well, you know, since he DOES have a LIFE, he isn't always in here and he's out enjoying himself today." Um, you know, a simple "No, he isn't in the shop today" would have sufficed.

However, Mom did (very nicely, since she has no interest in this AT ALL) inquire about where the Epicentre is in Uptown Charlotte and if it was feasible to get from there Friday afternoon to the World of Outlaws race Friday evening (are y'all tired of hearing of Friday's logistics yet?). One of the shop guys told us it should be doable unless traffic was unusually heavy. And if we thought we could pull it off, we should, because it would DEFINITELY be worth it. Oh, and by the way, if you like Red Bull and you're ever in the Mooresville area, stop by the shop. They have a fridge and you get to help yourself to complimentary Red Bulls. I can't have them because they have caffeine (not as much as I thought, though - only about the equivalent of a cup of coffee). But the fridge is too cute!

Then we headed to Germain Racing to see Todd Bodine. They don't have much going on there. Some pics and trophies in the lobby, and you can see into the shop. But it's kind of uncomfortable because their actual offices are right off the lobby. So as you're trying to take pictures, people are having meetings in their offices or are on phone calls. Plus, Mom hates Todd Bodine and who knows what could come out of her mouth at any given time. :P Next stop, TRG to get some pics for Ria's daughter. It may not look like many pics, but they're as many pics as were available in the tiny lobby.

Then we hit Penske. One of the first guys we saw when we looked through the shop windows was Steve Addington, crew chief for Blue Deuce (aka: Kurt Busch). A guy near me had a picture and a miniature helmet of Addington he wanted autographed, so the cashier asked the security guard to take both out to the shop to him. He signed the picture but wouldn't sign the helmet (and we aren't sure why). I thought about sending my autograph hat out there, but I decided not to because most of the fun of collecting the autographs on my hat is getting to meet the people at the time. And sending a guy out there in my stead would be cheating. So I settled for some blurry pictures instead.

After the Addington angst, we turned around to start shopping, and who do run into but... The Stalker. So I pointed her out to Mom and Mom laughed and said, "Where are you going next, so we can meet you there?" Then some jokes about who was following whom, and we decided that we had made it to both Red Bull and Penske before she did, so she was, indeed, stalking us. Mom and I each decided on a t-shirt (I got a Kurt shirt after FINALLY finding one that didn't have "Miller Lite" on it; she got a Brad one - blech. I didn't let her share bags in case I'd get Brad cooties). Then we went up to the "Fan Walk" of Penske where you can look out over the shop and watch them work on the cars. Behind the Fan Walk area is where they have the banners from each race win.

On our way to supper, I checked my Blackberry to find out that I was one of the winners of Mikey's contest. I won an autograph wristband for his Fan Appreciation Day on Wednesday! His event is open to everyone, but the autograph event is limited to a certain number of people. Anyone can come through the line, but only those with wristbands can get autographs and you can only get two autographs. And I won a wristband! But, as with the driver into fiasco, there's a catch. Oy. It says we have to bring a hard copy print out of the email stating I won to Race World. Um, yeah... we're travelling from out-of-state, I don't happen to have my printer with me, and we don't know anyone in the area to drop by and go "Hey, can you print this for us?" So we're going to hope that me showing up with my BlackBerry and waving the email in their face is good enough. Otherwise, Mikey is gonna have to deal with Mom and I and our un-autographed Mikey memorabilia. Mikey, consider yourself warned.

Shop pics are here. And, no, I do NOT like Brad, but I took those pics for Jen.