Saturday: We're Home

Saturday morning found us shopping in Grand Forks; butter and trans fat free shortening at Wal*Mart and running shoes at Scheel's. Then it was on the road home. There was still A LOT of water along I29.

Our initial plan to shoot down County 55 to Menke's in Neche didn't pan out so a quick backtrack was in order.
Marion was entertained by a couple of birds while she waited for me at Menke's.
The border crossing was ultra-smooth. We crossed at Winkler and still don't know what the charges are for bringing back an over-the-limit quantity of wine. I guess the fellow felt we were entitled as we didn't spend anywhere near our 1 week + limit. We're getting close now. Here's Manitoba ....

...Winnipeg.... ... and finally home.

We were surprised by the amount of snow still on the ground here. The river ice did start to flow while we were gone and the water level doesn't appear much different than when we left.

Anyway, that's it for this trip. We'll post again when things of significance happen in our autocross adventures.

Friday: The drive home continues

Today's travels were smooth and uneventful. I29 in Iowa had more sections under construction than open so that slowed our progress slightly.
South Dakota was smooth sailing, with a stop for dinner in Watertown at my favorite Mexican restaurant.
The was very little snow north of Watertown ....
.... but as we headed further north it appeared to have snowed not all that long ago.
There's still plenty of water in North Dakota .....


..... and the sun sets on both the day and our trip.The negotiator at Priceline hooked us up with a nice room for the night at the Fairfield in Grand Forks. Tomorrow, the final leg.

Wednesday/Thursday

Wednesday did a little more touring of Houston and area. Our first quick stop was at Hermann Park. We had planned to do lunch and a Harbour tour after that, unfortunately, we couldn't find the place where the Harbour Tour was supposed to be, so we drove to the Kemah Boardwalk instead and had lunch there. Returning from the Boardwalk we drove by the Space Center so we stopped in to finalize our annual membership and took in a couple of shows at the same time.

From there we drove into Houston to do a bit of shopping and also experienced a true Houston rush hour. For dinner we went to a wonderful restaurant, Backstreet Cafe. we know it was great because the ladies finished every bite of their meals!! (No, they weren't small servings.) Desert was every bit as good, as Roger had whipped up a cheesecake the previous evening!

Thursday morning we said our good-bye's to Roger, Clarissa & Hildy and started on the journey home slightly before 8 AM. We made our way through the Houston rush hour and made great time through Texas.
We hit a traffic jam and a closed section of interstate in Oklahoma. Apparently there was a grass fire, most likely started by a carelessly disposed cigarette. :o(

We made the best of it, soaking in some back road scenery.
We were back on the interstate within an hour and rolled into Topeka a little after 9. The weather was a bit of a shock. Our day ranged from sunny, mid-80's with a south wind to raining, mid 40's and a strong north wind. Friday morning we'll probably debate whether we should head north or south. :o)

Tuesday: Houston Space Center etc.

Today our travels took us to the Houston Space Center. It was an interesting tour, though both Marion and I have fonder memories of our tour of the Kennedy Space Center a couple of decades ago. We took few pictures as most everything we saw was indoors, but here's a restored Saturn V rocket, the launch platform for the Apollo program.
Ironically the most interesting outdoor sights were some longhorns .....
.... and a 'gator at the creek.
On the way back we finally got a picture of Reliant Stadium. We'd only driven by half a dozen times prior.
Roger and Clarissa outdid themselves with a scallop dinner .... WoW ... we're going to miss this place!!

Time for bed. We're not sure what tomorrow holds ... other than dinner out and a cheesecake we've been licking bowls from all evening. :o)

Monday: A Chance to Put Our Feet Up

Lazy Monday. We spent most of the morning around the house resting and catching up on the market and our e-mail. We also stepped out for a lovely Thai lunch and an little bit of shopping. This will be the trip we discover what happens at the border when we bring too much wine back.After Clarissa finished work we toured a part of Houston where the residents seemed a little down on their luck ......


..... not!

We also stopped at a park to enjoy some sights and greenery.
A few people pictures were in order.

Marion doing her best whale imitation ...
Roger and Clarissa in front of an old cabin ...Us with our new buddy the DuckDinner was another culinary delight ... Italian this time ....
... then it was back to Roger and Clarissa's for an evening of stimulating conversation.
Even Hildy was engrossed by our stories.
Tomorrow ... the Space Center.

Sunday: Competition Concludes

Another early morning to Gulf Greyhound Park for the final day of competion. Traffic was interesting as there was also a bike race starting and finishing at the same location with approximately 2,500 cyclists. This was their lineup coming in. Early entertainment was provided by one of the CP competitors climbing out of the car Dukes of Hazard style. Apparently there were a number of butter jokes the first time he got in.


Briget on course
Marion on courseThe tires Mark drove to victory
Mark, the ecstatic C-Stock class winner. He came through in the clutch on his final run to claim the win.
Tonite we enjoyed dinner out at a family style Italian restaurant and are looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Saturday: First day of Competition

GridOn course ...
Art
Mark
Marion
Briget
End of day one has Mark in first and Art in third in CS. Briget and Marion are 2nd and 3rd in CSL.

Cones pay no respect to the price of a car.
Briget and Hildy getting friendly at Roger & Clarissa's.
Roger & Clarissa dishing out the smoked salmon! Mmmmmmm