100th Running of the Indy 500

"Start your engines!" was heard for the 100th time for the Indy 500 yesterday. And I can say I was there... which I was. But I can't say I saw much of the race. More on that shortly.

But first, let's talk about this historic race. 100 years of anything is kind of a big deal. So often, things just don't pan out for that long of a period of time. There's an entire history that I won't go into about this race, but I will say a lot has changed over the years. And they promoted the hell out of this running, so much that they actually sold out for the first time in decades! Even general admission. Kind of crazy when you think about how big this track is, and how many people it can hold (300,000-ish with general admission).

So how was my experience? Let's start with the fact that Eric and I decided to ride our bikes to the track - we really didn't want to deal with the traffic. Honestly, I've yet to go to any event in Indy that has good traffic control. They suck at it here, quite frankly. But I digress. The end of May can have unpredictable weather, and it can be cold and rainy, or hot and sweltering. This year, it was the later of the two. Which made for a steamy ride to the track, even if it was at 9am. But we got there, and tried to cool down as best as we could.

Now as to the reason why we didn't see much of the race... well, we were in the Snake Pit, not the stands. Which essentially meant we went to an EDM concert that happened to be going on in the middle of IMS during the race. Which is what we chose to do. Eric love EDM, and can't site still, anyway, so it made no sense for us to pay a premium for seats we wouldn't be able to sit in too long before he got antsy. This allowed us to wander, and see some big name EDM DJs. Win Win. They did broadcast the pre-race festivities and the first few laps on our big screens over the stage... but then it was all EDM music. Which was fine by us.

And then we have a very sweltering bike ride back home. But that was okay, because we were going home. First thing I did was jump in the shower! Reflecting back, though, I'm glad we went. We can say we were there, and being part of the Snake Pit was a pretty cool experience on its own, that 250k+ people didn't get to know.

Bubba's a High School Graduate!!

I can honestly say that this day came up on me fast! I swear, just a couple of years ago, he was falling asleep in my arms. And didn't he just come up here for 'summer camp' at ISU just recently??

Kristopher graduated from Bayside High School on Friday. I'm still in disbelief that this day has come. Not that I'm surprised... it just seems like time flew by. I was happy I was able to make it down for his ceremony - unfortunately, Eric had a prior/bigger commitment, so he couldn't make it. So it became a 'me' trip (aside from the family stuff), which was fine. I flew down late Thursday night, since the ceremony was on Friday. I flew into MCO, so I stayed near the airport, rather than drive over to the Space Coast. Worked out well.

Friday morning, after a quick breakfast at the hotel, I was off to the east coast. I had no commitment to be anywhere until later, which was fine by me. I had places to see on my one day in town on my own. But first, along the way, I went by the bookstore of Kris' future college, Florida Tech. I bought a few small token additions to his graduation gift. Just for fun. From there, it was the beach!

Like that surprises you.

I only actually stayed at the beach for about 2 hours. For starters, it was hot. I'm not used to that anymore, even with the water right there. Besides, the water was still really cold. Secondly, the standard afternoon storm blew in, so I took that as my cue to head to the hotel, settle in, and get ready for the family time.

The ceremony was your standard fair high school graduation. Well, by FL standards, which means on the football field, rather than in a gym or auditorium. At least his was after sunset, unlike mine, at the peak heat of the day. Pretty good size class, and Kris was a little more than halfway through the list. But finally, they called his name and we all cheered for him. He graduated with a couple of honors - AP and BETA. So he looked all snazzy in his special cap and gown. Took awhile to find him afterward, amongst all the people, but we finally did, and snagged a few pictures before he headed out with friends to celebrate. We headed back to Wanda's to catch up a bit. But then I headed back to my hotel... on the beach.

This was the big 'me' weekend item. I rarely get to stay on any beach, let along an east coast beach. So, while it is way early, I set a little alarm so I could see the sunrise (with full intentions of going back to bed afterward). When it went off Saturday morning, I looked outside and I thought it was going to be a little disappointing, as far as sunrise shots go. While I had a decent view from my balcony, I was missing some good foreground. So I threw on some shorts and a tee, and went downstairs to the actual beach. Finally... with some dunes in the foreground and the sunrise spectrum bounding off the clouds, I got what I wanted. Yay! Back to bed for a couple of hours before the family cookout back at Wanda's.

Saturday was pure family time. Caught up some with Nan and my parents as well as with Wanda, whom I hadn't seen since Larry passed away. Finally got to catch up with the graduate, as well, and even met Darian's boyfriend. Gregg did some grilling, and we had some cake and gifts for Kris. It was a nice day. But alas, I had an early flight this morning, so I had to head back towards Orlando, since I wisely chose to stay at a close hotel again.

That alarm went off early this morning. And while I got home an early hour, I took a nap. While is was, indeed, a nice weekend of family time,it still wore me out. But I'm so proud of Kris. Can't wait to see where his college career takes him!