Cottage Grove

We left last night for a trip Alex has wanted to do all summer . . . Wandering around SW Oregon. He wants to go to the Winston Animal Park and the Bandon Game Farm. There's quite a bit of driving involved so we have been waiting for a three day weekend. This will probably be our last trip of the Summer.

We left home last night heading toward our hotel reservation at Comfort Inn in Cottage Grove. We stopped at Harbor Freight in Salem to get some transfer punches for the Soap Box car, but ended up getting quite a bit more, including an RC car for Alex and a 72" level that was on sale for an incredible $15!

On our way south, I was watching the traffic map on my Droid that was showing a huge tie-up in Eugene; the tie-up had been there since we left Portland.

When we hit Eugene about 8:30, it looked like I-5 was almost shut down so we decided this would be a good time to stop for dinner. We went to a Skippers a couple miles East of the highway where a truck driver told us that a pickup had rolled over on the highway. We asked around about how to get South of town without taking I-5, but nobody had any good, easy directions.

When we were done eating we started following any road that headed South but didn't run into I-5; we had the GPS so we weren't TOTALLY blind, but it was dark and we were driving through what looked like extremely bad neighborhoods. I've often said that one of the good things about Portland is that there really aren't any neighborhoods that, as a grown man, I absolutely would NOT walk through after dark. I might be a little uncomfortable, and watch my back closely, but I would likely make it through. We drove through neighborhoods in Eugene and Springfield that I would not walk through.

We finally hit a traffic-free Interstate south of town and drove the remaining 20 minutes to our hotel, arriving about 10:00. Alex and I played in the outdoor heated pool for about half an hour (that boy is a FISH!!!), then we watched the last hour of 'Titantic' and feel asleep.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.8

AC Nutter

I got Alex out of the house early this morning to visit AC Nutter's shop. AC has been building race cars, race car engines, and race car drivers for decades. He is one of the big names behind Greg Biffle's success, and built every one of Biffle's engines right up until he was signed on by Rousch Racing. Alex was actually pretty excited to meet him and didn't give me ANY problem getting up early to go. Although I have a couple connections to AC (He went to High School with my father-in-law and has built an engine for my brother-in-law), I have never met him. We just drove to his shop and introduced ourselves.

We talked Soap Box Derby for a while. AC remembered there being Soap Box races in Vancouver when he was a kid, and jumped on his computer to pull up the websites . . . He was very interested. He had lots of good tech advice based on his decades of involvement with various types of racing. Much of his advice sounds pretty good, and is a little different than what I hear at the track. And some of it . . . Just SOME . . . Would actually be legal. (Sorry, But no, we won't be rod drilling our axles!) We had brought in a part to ask him to do a little mill work on. Instead of doing the work, he actually came up with a way I can do it myself with a drill press, and it will be just as accurate (or even more accurate).

We ended up having to run to get Alex to school on time. After dropping Alex off, I called back to apologize for running, and to thank AC for his ideas. He wants me to bring the car in for a little show-and-tell. Turns out he has a machinist working for him who has a 6 year old daughter who lives and breathes race cars, and they might want to try this out. I figure getting this guy's eyes on our car can yield nothing but good things. We're going over next week after putting the car back together for the next race, but before aligning it.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.8

Pumpkin Pie

Alex had been wanting to make a pumpkin pie for a while so last night we went to the store and he got all the stuff . . . Canned pumpkin, spice, whipped cream ("In a can!", he insisted). The only thing we did not get was condensed milk. Alex was insistent that we had some, and I thought we did, too.

We got home, poured the pumpkin into a bowl, then discovered that we had only evaporated milk. I had to run down to Albertsons to get condensed. As Alex was stirring I convinced him that condensed milk tastes like frosting, and he nearly licked the can clean!

Alex took a shower while his pie cooked them enjoyed a slice before bed. His only two complaints . . . It was too hot, and the whipped cream was melting.

Tiffany just sent me a photo that illustrates how much Alex is still enjoying his pie today for lunch.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.8

Cub Scout Pack Picnic

We had a great time at the Cub Scout Picnic today. We came back from Poulsbo and skipped a day of Soap Box racing to be there, so I was really hoping Alex would enjoy himself. He did.

The picnic was at Orchards Park. We played Frisbee and catch, the kids rode bikes and scooters, and we all played a big game of Ultimate Frisbee. This is basically football, but with a frisbee instead of a ball. There were about three adults and five kids on each team. Tiffany says we played for half an hour; I'm pretty sure it was more like four hours. Nobody is sure who won.

David brought an air and water powered rocket and let the boys launch 2 liter bottles 100 feet in the air.

After the picnic we went to the Troutdale Outlet Mall and Wal-Mart for school clothes and supplies.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.5.2

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.5.2

Poulsbo Soap Box Derby

Alex had a great time at today's race. He ran three heats (six runs down the track) and came in eighth place. In one of the photos you can see his 'cheat sheet', where he mapped out the track and planned his line, then taped it inside his car for reference.

His first heat was against Anthony Poggi, who just came back from Akron, where he won eighth place in the world.

After the race I drove to NAPA where I bought a new brake light switch for the van . . . Both the brake lights AND the cruise control now work.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.5.2

On our way to Poulsbo

Alex and I are both excited to get back to the track this weekend. Tiffany is going, too, and I think she's just excited to get out of the house for a couple days. We've got a race Saturday and Sunday in Poulsbo.

We got out of town okay, but were having problems with the trailer lights, so we had to pull over in Kelso to buy a new plug for the van. When we left Kelso, the cruise control wasn't working. The van got a new brake switch this week so, thinking it might have a problem, I pulled up on the brake pedal and . . . The brake switch fell out! We pulled over in a rest stop but the switch didn't seem to fit in its bracket! By this time all the part stores were closed, so I was forced to drive all the way from Kelso to Bremerton with no brake lights.

We're now in our hotel (the photo is Alex in the lobby waiting to check in), have had Domino's delivered, and are about ready to go to sleep.

Alex discovered that his footie pajamas have become too short; I cut the feet out so he can wear then this weekend, and he's now excited that he has matching pajamas and slippers!

Can't wait to get on the hill tomorrow.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.5.2

Mobile Blogging

So, I have been posting lots of stuff on Facebook recently that really SHOULD have gone to the blog. I now have a DROID X Smartphone, and have just added a blogging app. Hopefully now I will stay putting los of stuff on the blog instead of Facebook!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.5