Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Scott AFB Famcamp - Grandson's Football Practice

(Scott Air Force Base, IL)  Hi 72 Lo 49 -- A little chilly when we got up around 7:15. We even turned on the fireplace to take the chill off. We were packed up and out of the Hollywood Casino RV Park by 9:00, and that's after coffee, breakfast, a quick check of emails, and a visit to the dump station on the way out.

The five-hour trip was very smooth, with only a few slow downs for construction. We had nothing to look at but fields and a couple of windmill farms, but at least we had the rain-delayed NASCAR race to listen to on the radio. The race was in Atlanta, and it was rained out on Sunday due to tropical storm Lee and re-scheduled for 10am this morning. It helped to pass the time on the trip. And I can't resist mentioning that my favorite driver, Jeff Gordon, won the race! It was his 85th career win, which puts him in 3rd place in all-time wins behind Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105). Jim and I have been NASCAR fans since the 60's, and Richard Petty is our all-time racing hero. We've followed Jeff Gordon since we saw him race an open-wheel car at the age of 17, and we have a hard time believing he's 40 now! It's been so wonderful to see him develop into one of the all-time greats. We're pulling for him to win the championship this year.

Sorry for that little NASCAR diversion... We arrived at the Scott AFB Famcamp around 2pm. We love coming here; it's great to be back to the place we called home for 12 years during our military life. And we feel very secure here on base. We now get to spend a few weeks with our older son Frank, his wife Angie, and the boys, Kyle and Kendall. Kendall plays baseball, basketball, and football. After a quick dinner we went to watch Kendall's football practice. He's on a team of eight-year olds, and Frank is one of the coaches. Kyle came just to keep us company while we watched. We'll get to see some of Kendall's games while we're here, which we're looking forward to.

Kyle told us all about school, his teachers, and the subjects he likes (and doesn't like). He also brought along his rip board to show us his skills. A rip board is like a skate board, but it has only two wheels and it flexes lengthwise in the middle. It's pretty amazing to see how it works.
He asked me and Jim if we wanted to try it.  Yeah, right... :)

We had a good time seeing the boys tonight, and we're looking forward to the next three weeks.

7 comments:

squawmama said...

Jeff being only 40 should catch up to the other two pretty easily... Glad your all tucked in and ready for a great visit with the family... Nothing like spending time with the grands. Those new skate boards are tricky looking. It is amazing how the kids manuver on them!
Have fun with the fam and travel safe... see you when you get back in Florida!
Donna

Rick and Elaine NB said...

glad to see you had a good travel day..enjoy your time with the family...fill up on those gramma hugs before heading south....

Jeff said...

Jeff Gordon has been my favorite since I began following NASCAR a handful of years ago. I listened to the race on Sirius radio since we were on the road from NE Ga to FL yesterday. Would have loved to have seen him beating JJ. Be safe in your travels.

Carol Kerr said...

Enjoy your visit with family. The little kids football is fun to watch. Conly (9) is playing again this fall and seems to be pretty good.

Thanks for reminder to check FamCamp locations. Maybe there's one on our way to Kansas...

Carol Kerr said...

Oh, fortgot.. Am okay with Jeffy winning yesterday, but rooting for Kevin Harvick all the way! ;-)

Anonymous said...

I was so mad at myself yesterday. I was so busy that I forgot all about the race and I love Jeff Gordon. We went to see our grandaughters play Volleyball last night, they actually won to.

Chris

Diane and Rich said...

We watched the race on ESPN yesterday. The race to the finish line between Jeff and jimmie was awsome. I was afraid they were racing so hard that they would wreck each other. Was a great race.

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