Hot Rods and Big Rocks

I just had a huge post written and Blogger crashed. Argh! Ctrl-S, oops. I shall try and recreate it. Why is it that the second attempt just never seems to have the same pizzazz as the first? Maybe I’ll wait a while and start over, in hopes I can provide you with equal humor and insight to what was a very fun weekend!

It has been a while, we’ve been busy. We were lucky to have both our mothers come visit, and we hope they enjoyed their time here with Audrey, Mica, James and myself . We truly enjoyed your visits—come often and stay long!

Recently I was invited to attend an NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Race in Atlanta. Having never attended a truly “redneck” event, I was excited and thankful that James agreed that I could go. I was also excited to hopefully see the sun, as this spring has been particularly soggy and rainy. So you deduced correctly, I was not taking Audrey to a hotrod race, which meant leaving her here with James. I knew they’d be fine, but still felt very “motherly” as I walked out the door, words streaming from my mouth. “I refilled her diapers and her wipes, if you need more they’re behind the crib. Her clothes are almost all clean. Carseat is in the living room, bottles are clean and ready to go, I gave her a bath this morning, doesn’t she smell nice? Emergency number is 911, call if you need anything!!!” James just smiled that calm smile of his and said, “Suz, we’ll be fine. Go have fun!”

So I did.

I met up with the other race-goers on Friday, and we headed to the speedway just northeast of Atlanta. We had stocked up on hot rod appropriate tailgate foods like bratwursts and baked beans (see picture of Redneck Grill later), chips, water, and a few select beers. When we arrived, we slathered on sunscreen and put on our earplugs and sunglasses (safety first!). I was surprised at how loud the cars were, even from the parking lot. One guy said, “Aww, that ain’t nuthin’ yet, them are just your average neighborhood station wagons. Just you wait until those purdy little ears of yours hear the funny cars!” Yes, I have small ears. I admit to being a Yankee. The Mason-Dixon line is only 18 miles south of me. But “funny car”? Sounds like a term I’d make up. I’d say, “ooh, look at that,…ummm,..funny car!” But alas, funny car is actually a class of hot rod. Who knew? You have to love sports that use terms we can all understand. Not like golf….I fear I’ll never get birdie and eagle straightened out.

Lunch!!! Note the $5 disposable redneck grill. It left burnt spots in the grass, but worked wonderfully!

Good beer. I can eat like a redneck, but just can’t bring myself to drink Bud Light!

Races were fun, and I’d go back again if the opportunity presented itself. Maybe it’ll be an annual event!

Saturday we headed to Stone Mountain—the World’s Largest Piece of Exposed Granite. As a geo-nerd, this was actually really cool to see. We hiked up to the top, enjoyed the view, then took the tram down. Who knew such a cool thing was just outside Atlanta?
For some reason they decided to carve Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis.

View of downtown Atlanta, 16 miles away.

Such a fun weekend—with good food, good fun, and great weather!