Lake Haven Retreat is the new staging ground for our Indianapolis 500 spectacular. Located south of Indianapolis, right off the 465 loop, it provides headquarters for all our comings and goings for time trials and is only 13 miles from the track if you take the Interstate – or 8 miles if you go cross-country! Lake Haven Offers: · 22 Acres Lake Haven Retreat · 5 Acre Stocked Lake 1951 W. Edgewood Ave · Fishing (Catch & Release) Indianapolis, IN 46217 · Laundry Facility ww.lakehavenretreat.com · Restrooms & Showers · 110 Full Hook-ups 30/50 Amp · Pull-Thru Sites · Primitive Tent Camping · Event Hall · Outside Storage · Complimentary Cable · Complimentary Wireless & High Speed Internet And here is the line-up for our time-trial weekend: Johanna earned the pole position, arriving at Lake Haven Thursday afternoon and setting up her R-Pod. She received a caution for setting up in the wrong pit/camp site, but was not penalized by having to move! Micah arrived Friday before noon in his big black truck, just minutes before Ella’s appearance . . . one of the closest arrivals ever . . . earning second spot in the field. Tom and Caleb arrived at 6:30 Friday evening, bringing with them the rookie Laura Shiffer (Caleb’s GF!) , and they all lined up in the second row! Our field was now set! Micah and Johanna headed to the track for Fast Friday to pick up Johanna's Bronze Badge, sneaking in a few practice laps on Friday afternoon. They logged in 5 extra hours figuring out who was on it, who was struggling, and who should be watched as the drivers prepared to race for the Pole on Saturday. They cheered as Marco Andretti blitzed the field, hitting 227.540mph with the assistance of the additional turbo-boost that all the drivers got to use for the first time. Ryan Briscoe was at 226.835mph, and was just faster than his Penske team mate Helio Castroneves at 226.716mph. Pole day was all set! Saturday morning saw the die-hard race devotees (that is everyone but me!) leave the campground at 6:30 with the pole-day plan of being in shaded seats by 8:00 as the track opened for practice. . . deadline met with 10 minutes to spare! Following was non-stop coverage of every car and every driver taking to the track during the day. They were introduced, discussed, timed, encouraged, hooted, applauded, and enjoyed -- for the next 10 hours! Everyone quickly figured out that, although a novice, Laura knew every number-related statistic; and that is what time trials is all about – the numbers! Time Trials is not my cup of tea, although I did put in a brief cameo appearance at the track at 11:00! It took me 2 hours to drive the 13 miles to the track, find a place to park, and stumble up to the stands to join the group! By a stroke of luck I was able to park infield, straight across the tracks from their seats in turn 1, and Caleb snapped pictures of me getting out of the van! (There are no private moments any more!) In another 30 minutes I was gone – leaving them to comment that it was a very expensive visit. At the end of the day, it was all about Team Penske, and driver Ryan Briscoe! Sunday was another type of experience all-together. Officially it was "bump day", where cars not in the race could bump out the slowest cars in the field. However, there were 33 cars and drivers and 33 slots, so bumping was not the nail-biting, last-minute event that it could sometimes be. As an alternative to sitting in the stands, there was lots to do around the track. Team Penske had an autograph session with a chance for a brief chat with the drivers and congrats to Briscoe.
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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 |