Race day drizzled in – cold, damp, soggy, and wet! Nonetheless, the alarm went off according to “the plan” at 5:30 a.m. The boys shot out of bed, hastily dressed, and headed off (in the truck) to the other side of the track and their far-away favorite stadium. The plan called for a quick hike to the top to drop off their backpacks on the top row to secure their seating. The plan also called for them to leave the truck close to their seats in the parking lot and walk back – but the ongoing dribble made it too tempting to drive the truck back to the Silvermine. They were back by 6:30 and crawled in bed and got a few more hours of shut-eye! I was vaguely aware of the going and comings. Still convinced that they might miss something, they headed back to their seats at 9:00 – still mizzling! Micah was armored with a full rain suit, but Tom had forgotten to pack his, and suited up in a cheap, $1. Poncho – and five layers of including a hoodie! The menu for the day started with the 9 AM Indy Car Warm-up and the Indy LIGHTS race. At 1:00 the Verizon Indy Cars hit the grid, and after some pre-race festivities, the drivers were introduced and the green flag was dropped at 1:47 for the IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen. The following pictures show the wet track during the Indy LIGHTS race -- and the view that Tom and Micah had of the cars coming down the track from the start/finish line towards them . . . clockwise! Before I hiked to my choice spot for the start of the race, I walked to the end of our camping area and spotted Tom and Micah high up in their stands. I had to text them and tell them where to look to see me waving at them! That's them in the top/left row! I was miscalculated the time it would take me to walk from the Paddock to the location where I could cross the track via the bridge, and then backtrack on the other side to the main grandstands – all to end up directly across from where we were parked in the Paddock! I missed the first few drivers as they were introduced, but had a good view standing at the top walk-way of the stands of the pre-race doings – not so good for pictures as everything was through the tall, curved, shielding fence. I stayed until the cars took off and then worked my way slowly back to the warmest and driest seat in the Speedway – the TV in the Silvermine! The boys were back quickly after the race, and we all walked the 50 paces to the Victory Circle aftermath where Alexander Rossi, Scott Dixon, and Ryan Hunter Ray received 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies provided by the Corning Glass company. Micah got a picture of Tom and me with the drivers in the background. Dinner was on Micah again, as he had brought some of his famous Ribs – tenderly cared for in his new pressure cooker InstaPot. Tender! I put some baked sweet potatoes and fresh blueberries and steamed broccoli with the ribs. Around us, people were packing up and moving out, but our plans included spending one more night with an early launch in the morning.
Time will tell if this event is offered again next year – attendance was very low. It might just be time to move on and explore some other possibilities for Labor Day Weekend. And, this will be our last campout for a few weeks, as we have details to attend to for . . . . . CALEB'S WEDDING! If I'm not back in a few weeks --- that means I didn't survive!
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |