Time to Chill

Tom Johnson Camping Center Racing Resort Campground

Located just off Bruton Smith Boulevard, (I-85, exit 49) is a short walk from the front stretch of America's premier race place, Charlotte Motor Speedway and a short drive from the shopper's paradise of Concord Mills.

  We stayed here on Monday and Tuesday for $25 a night with full hookup.  During race week it runs around $475 a week.  It is a good stop over place as long as there isn't a race going on.  The campground has paved roads, good size gravel sites, laundromat, no cable and a picnic table.  It is my understanding from the office that the name can change every year as the rights are sold to the highest bidder...anyway, as long as you can find the ZMAX Dragway in Concord you will be ok.  We would diffiently stop here again as the price is right and it was clean.

It was so nice to have full hookups and not alot of people around.  In the evening we rode our bikes around and discovered one gate was left open to the drag strip so of course we had to check it out.  It seemed pretty wild to ride our bikes on the drag strip with nobody there.

                                                                   Start your pedals....

On Tuesday we had lunch at Charanda Mexican grill &cantina which was very good.  Then we decided to go see the new Priates of the Carribean movie which was at the mall.  We wandered around the mall until the movie started enjoying the A/C and the sites. 

I have never been in a Bass Pro Shop before so it was fun to check out what they have.  The huge fish aquarium was pretty cool.



That's one big ugly catfish

Oh by the way the movie was excellent and we look forward to the next one.  After the movie we went to Quaker Steak n Lube for beer and wings.  It was good but not as good as the one in Sharon PA that my cousin Doug took us too the first time.  This one didn't have enough stuff like the cars hanging from the ceiling, oil cans, car parts, etc.

We leave tomorrow and plan on stopping by the family farm in Cerro Gordo to see if we can fit the caravan in somewhere.  Still haven't located a spot to park til September so this may be an option. 

The Busch and Coca-Cola Race

The Busch race was run on a very hot Saturday which called for lots of ice cold beverages.

                                        This is the new jumbo screen that was installed this year.

The stands in the back is where we will sit for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday which will be right in the
sun...ugh

Greg Biffle was the winner and it was a good race.

                           I enjoy the burn outs that the winners do...the cloud of smoke is awesome.

Later on that evening we had a fire using the new Stump Stove.  This is a pretty cool concept and it work very well.   It’s a log that has been cut according to the specs of the companies patent which allows it to burn five times longer than a traditionally cut firewood log.  You can even extinguish it and reignite it multiple times.  One single 16-inch log, depending on diameter and density, can burn well beyond 3 hours.  Compare that to a typical night out camping, and you’re burning anywhere from 2-6 bags of firewood.  The Stump Stove is probably the most ingenious advancement to camping technology we have seen in decades. It conserves forestry by cutting back the amount of wood used, and also the amount of carbon released in the atmosphere when you burn it.  They sell from $15-$20 depending on the size.

Coca-Cola 600

Well we lucked out for the 600 race as Buddy, Sara, Mark and I got upgraded to clubhouse which has A/C with tv monitors so you know whats going on during the race.  You couldn't bring in coolers but it was worth it.

                                                The new screen at night time was impressive

And the winner is Kevin Harvick...poor Dale Jr. ran out of gas on the 3rd corner but Mark won the pool that we had going.

And again the smoke...all is good

Coca Cola 600 Charlotte NC

Our compound

Our much needed shelter

We arrived on Thursday and first thing we did after having a cold beer was get the generator going so we could turn on the air.  The shelter was a must have as it provided us a shady spot out of the baking sun.  We had a small rain shower thursday night but on friday we had one in the morning and then a down pour around 5pm.  The guys didn't have enough time to get the tarp off the shelter before the bottom dropped out and down went the shelter...ugh.

Ok now how do we fix this...it was decided that pvc pipe would work well.  So Mark went to Lowes and the rest of us had a beverage while we waited on him to get back.


Dan, Chris and Sara







Chris, Cheryl, Sara and Jan

Operation Repair the Shelter was done in no time and we were back at the business of having a good time but being very careful where we stepped to avoid the red mud.  There were lots of people tent camping and I no they had to have a soggy night...no tents for this gypsy girl.

Buddy, Curly and John

All is good at the compound...



No you don't need another T-Shirt

If Mark had one t-shirt he had 250 of them.  Sunday morning he took everything out of his closet and started the process of elimination.  He has 7 times the clothes I do...but honey it's a nice shirt...there will be room for just one more...thank heavens for vacuum bags and he is not allowed to buy another t-shirt for at least 5 years!!!  But I do give him credit as he seen the piles growing he looked up on the Internet how to fold a t-shirt and he proceeded to fold every one of them in color coordinated piles (I have been trying to teach him this for 25 years).

So think twice the next time you want a t-shirt from some place that you have been...

                                                                           all is good...

Everything is For Sale

Since we went under contract I have been as busy as a fly at a pig picking going through Mark's barn and his tools getting ready for yard sales and posting more things on craigslist.  Sure wish he was a stamp collector and not a contractor...anyway he has been working a ton of overtime (he worked 8 days in a row) so I have taken on the job.  I find the tools, look them up on the internet for pricing, take pictures, post them on craigslist and then neatly display them in my garage for the up coming yard/tool sale. 


This is command central

This process continued for 2 weeks but I have gone through everything in his shop including the attic and have had 2 yard sales.  I found things in the attic that we put there when we moved 10 years ago...crazy the things that we keep!  Craigslist is wonderful, a buyer would see something and come to the garage to get it and usually would leave with other things after looking at what all I had.  I use to own a thrift store years ago so I have experience working customers and I thankfully have sold alot of things.  I never want to own this much stuff again.

I had 3 yard sales last fall where I hauled stuff to different locations but I have too much stuff now so having it in my garage works better as I can still be doing things in between customers.  On the left is the household section, on the right is tools and out front is everything else.

My neighbor Scott Brotherton bought my utility trailer along with other items and decided it would be easier to just pick it up with his lawn mower.   Of course when he was driving it home every neighbor was outside looking and laughing as he went by.



WE GOT AN OFFER - THE HOUSE IS UNDER CONTRACT

We received on offer on the 28th and accepted it on the 29th.  What perfect timing and we are beside ourselves with joy.  Once the word got out in the neighborhood I was selling things right and left.  Almost all of my inside and outside furniture is sold, sold one of my lawn mowers along with other various items, and the other camper pulled out on Sunday.  It has been a 3 day whirlwind with people coming and going, trailers backing in, loading up and pulling out.  Closing is scheduled for the 14th of June, can't wait til we get to finally pull out!!! Everything is going so great that I am almost getting scared but I will ride this roller coaster with a smile my on my face!!!