Gentleman – START YOUR ENGINES!

Admittedly we are not big race fans. However, a combination of cabin fever and the promise of automobiles hurdling thru the Ozarks backwoods has peaked our (maybe I should say “my”) interest. For several years there has been a sanctioned rally type event not far from where we live. It’s called the 100 Acre Wood Rally here’s a link: 100 Acre Wood Rally.

The event headquarters is Salem, MO, a sleepy little town in the south central part of the state. This must be the biggest annual event in Salem as witnessed by every business having a “Welcome 100 Acre Rally Participants” sign out front. The gist of the race is that there are timed trial sections of road all around Salem. The participants drive between these trial sections and then compete to see who can drive each section the fastest. When I say fastest – I mean HOLY CRAP! WHAT THE HELL JUST FLEW BY ME AT 100MPH?

It would be impressive to see these cars fly by at such high speeds on asphalt or concrete. But that is not what Rally Racing is all about. These guys are slinging these cars around corners, up and down hills and across water crossings on roads that consist of no more than graded DIRT and GRAVEL.

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!

This must be a pretty popular type of racing. We saw license plates from as far away as Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, and Ontario, Canada. Watching the race could only be done from certain designated locations with very strict rules as to where you could or could not stand. After watching a few of these cars fly by Erin was ready to give it a try. Look for her and I to be piloting one of these all-wheel-drive 4 cylinder land missals in next years race. Now, where can I find a racing jump suit in a portly size 60 long?



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Freshly Groomed

I have been seized by spring cleaning as of late. Not even Riley escaped my quest for clean. Here is he, just back from the groomer. His wonderful groomer, Sarah, was saying that he is really good on the table and had lots of energy to play with the other dogs once he was done. Just as she said that, he made a beeline for me, jumping up and almost knocking me over. **Sigh** At least he looks good!

An Unusual Moment

Henrietta, also known as BC or Brown Cat, rarely ventures downstairs. She prefers the relative safety of upstairs, where she is less likely to be chased by Riley. But Saturday she was spotted enjoying the sunshine downstairs. Gracie was as close to the sun as she could get without risking the wrath of Henny. I lured Riley over with the promise of a treat for this picture. ALL our pets in one picture! Probably won't happen again for a long time.

Out With The Old, In With the New

Last year around this time, we attended the last regular season game in the old gymnasium, Weiser Gym, at our alma mater. Friday, we were invited to join my friend Christina and her friend Mindy in the fancy schmancy new gym - O'Reilly Family Event Center.We didn't just get to watch the game in the fancy new gym...we got to sit in a private suite! With comfortable leather seats...and a sink and a fridge. It was great! Thank you to Christina for inviting us.
Might be hard to go back to the regular plastic seats with the common folk though. ;)
Don't worry...we didn't let David or Mindy leave with the decorations.

Snow Day!

For the second day in a row, I'm enjoying a snow day. Snowmageddon has hit southern Missouri. Riley spent a lot of the day going in and out, in and out, dragging in snow with his every return.
Finally, we decided to join him. He doesn't seem to mind the snow at all! I wish I could say that I've gotten lots done, but I haven't. Lots of sitting around, sleeping late, and napping. I think that's the only cure for cabin fever.