Friday was work day for all 3 boats. I got up early and washed all the salt off Quest and Skip tore into removing his leaking water pump. Huen (Lucky One) had a genset that wouldn't keep running so after quite a bit of diagnostic work and reading manuals, we discovered that his raw water impeller was not functioning properly. As luck would have it, his genset and mine are very similar and I happened to pick up a spare impeller kit last year in Green Turtle Marina.
Ricki finished her power cord cleaning project.
As we were all leaving for dinner that evening we discovered a couple of these guys hanging around Quest.
Dinner was at Caribbean Jack's and Huen insisted on picking up the check. Huen loves all girls and since Cricket was at home with her ailing father .....
Just kidding!!!
5/21/11
Caribbean Jack's was a very neat place overlooking the AICW with entertainment and great food.
5/21/11
We made arrangements for a VIP tour of the Daytona Racetrack and had to be there for our 4 1/2 hour tour by noon, so we all left the dock at 11:30. Skip was already at the top of the ramp so Huen took charge of Barb on the way to the car.
We were shuttled around to various spots via an air conditioned bus. This was only the 3rd VIP tour they have given so there was only about 16 folks on it.
As we drove around to the back side of the track the tour driver explained everything about the history and construction of the track. One of our stops included the 500 Club and a visit to victory lane. Here's the 5 of us in the winners circle.
A couple different things were going on at the track today. The Richard Petty driving experience where you could ride in a car for $150 or drive one for $700 plus Chrysler Corp had a road course deal going for all their different cars that were actually driven by the new owner. Our crossings in the bus had to be timed between the circuits on the road course.
We were shuttled around to various spots via an air conditioned bus. This was only the 3rd VIP tour they have given so there was only about 16 folks on it.
As we drove around to the back side of the track the tour driver explained everything about the history and construction of the track. One of our stops included the 500 Club and a visit to victory lane. Here's the 5 of us in the winners circle.
A couple different things were going on at the track today. The Richard Petty driving experience where you could ride in a car for $150 or drive one for $700 plus Chrysler Corp had a road course deal going for all their different cars that were actually driven by the new owner. Our crossings in the bus had to be timed between the circuits on the road course.
After several tries, we finally got a picture of the cars running on the track. They told us that those that chose to drive them could go up to 165 MPH.
This picture was taken from the top of the 500 Club which is at the finish line.
The perfect couple!
Our tour included the pit area .......
The inspection area ......
Pit road ........
And a tour of Suite 701 which is the France Family private box. This is actually the equivalent
of close to 14 stories above the track and is BIG. They had cookies and drinks there for us plus the great views of the whole track.
Looking down from the box to the starter stand. This took several more tries to get a car crossing the finish line.
Our driver and tour director for the adventure. He also does the radio commentary from the inspection lane during the races.
A small portion of the Frances' box.
This lady was in a box below the suite and has radios to control all the track action.
The original tunnels under turn four ..... They have put new tunnels toward turn one to accommodate the large haulers the teams use.
We left the track at 4:30 and decided to go to Hooter's across the street for wings. Another full day in Daytona. Tomorrow we will make like tourists and go to the beach and the Ponce de Leon Light House. Cricket is due back tomorrow so we will probably leave Monday for Palm Coast. Our flexible plans are to be in St. Augustine on Tuesday and Wednesday then on to Jacksonville before starting up the St. Johns River toward Sanford. That will probably take 10 days up and back before starting again north toward Georgia.
This picture was taken from the top of the 500 Club which is at the finish line.
The perfect couple!
Our tour included the pit area .......
The inspection area ......
Pit road ........
And a tour of Suite 701 which is the France Family private box. This is actually the equivalent
of close to 14 stories above the track and is BIG. They had cookies and drinks there for us plus the great views of the whole track.
Looking down from the box to the starter stand. This took several more tries to get a car crossing the finish line.
Our driver and tour director for the adventure. He also does the radio commentary from the inspection lane during the races.
A small portion of the Frances' box.
This lady was in a box below the suite and has radios to control all the track action.
The original tunnels under turn four ..... They have put new tunnels toward turn one to accommodate the large haulers the teams use.
We were then bussed to a secret location a few blocks away where we were allowed to view the archives and memorabilia clear back to 1903. This building is not open to the public and we were not allowed to take any pictures inside or out because they don't want the public around it. It can only be used by media folks or those needing to research stuff. If the general public wants anything from it they must use the Internet. After leaving this interesting facility, we were returned to the track and the winner's museum. This is the car that won this year and is still covered with champagne and confetti. It will be on display until next February when the new winner will be put there.
We left the track at 4:30 and decided to go to Hooter's across the street for wings. Another full day in Daytona. Tomorrow we will make like tourists and go to the beach and the Ponce de Leon Light House. Cricket is due back tomorrow so we will probably leave Monday for Palm Coast. Our flexible plans are to be in St. Augustine on Tuesday and Wednesday then on to Jacksonville before starting up the St. Johns River toward Sanford. That will probably take 10 days up and back before starting again north toward Georgia.
What a wonderful day!
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