NASCAR Weekend, phase II -- The Isabel Surprise!

Where to go following a great NASCAR weekend?  Disneyland of course!  We wanted to do something special just for Isabel since she has been working hard on school and to repay her for her patience during our travels. So we left Las Vegas Monday Morning and ended up at the Anaheim RV Resort, right down the street from Disneyland  Monday evening.  The RV park was really nice -- free coffee and doughnuts, free USA Today, nice level concrete pads, beautiful landscaping.  The only downside was that it was located right in a downtown neighborhood -- but we chose it for it's convenient location, not for its privacy.  The shuttle for the park ran right from the parking lot as well!

So here we are, on Main Street at Disney!  This was Diana and Isabel's first visit which made it even more special.  So much to see and do...

 

Here's Isabel and I sitting in our new futuristic home we created while visiting Tomorrow-land

 

Watch out!  New driver at the wheel.  Isabel actually did better than we did on the track.  I think we'll install this bumper on our cars at home.

And now, it's time for a Churro!

Did we do Small World?  Of course we did, but only once. (and I'm still singing the song)

"It's a World of laughter, a World of fun..."

Disney added a few lands while I was away.  This is a new section of the park called Toon Town.  Isabel is having more fun than she is showing here.  This is her famous "teenage look".

Here is Mom, trying to rid her of the look.  I wouldn't mess with Mom if I were you, Isabel!!

Did we do Pirates of the Caribbean?  Of course we did!

Another "new" ride that I didn't see when I was here was the Star Wars ride.  The best I can do is to say it's like being on a roller coaster ride while watching a 3-D movie.  Very Exciting!  This was the highlight  ride of the day for Isabel.  Had we eaten lunch first, Diana and I would have been in big trouble!

At the Mad Hatter, trying on hats.  I thought she should have bought this one, but alas, she didn't.

Ya - Man!  Where did I put my steel drum?

Isabel was the only one who ended up with a hat, and it was a nice one!  It even lights up!  Now, it's time for lunch which will give us time to plan our afternoon park strategy.

Did we do the Jungle River Tour?  Of course!  This was one of my favorites!

So, when we planned the trip we said, Hey!  we're going in March... It's still somewhat cold and it should be off season so the park will be mostly empty!  Oh yeah, the schools are on spring break... so much for mostly empty!  The place was JAMMED!  So we spent a good amount of time looking at the back of other peoples heads while waiting in lines!  The neat part was, for the most popular rides you could go to a separate kiosk and get a fast pass which had a time (in the near future) that you could return to the ride and go straight to the front of the line!  We really liked this feature!

Taking a much needed break somewhere in the park.

Pooh's house!

A Tree House!

On The Trail...

Found them! Isabel wanted a picture with Tiger and Pooh

I was always an Eeyore fan!  (yes, that's how you spell it, but I had to look it up)

And finally, Pooh!

All in all, it was a great, fun filled day!  Now, where's my bed?

Race Weekend!!!

OK race fans, the fun at the track started to peak as the weekend approached!  But first, we take a few minutes out to enjoy the strip!  Here's Isabel at her favorite gaming spot inside Circus Circus:  The quarter pusher!

After just a few minutes she amassed over 1,000 tickets!

Which she quickly cashed in for this bling!!  A nice tiger hat/mitten combo and a gumball machine.

Luckily, she remembered to pay the "Mom Tax" by treating Mom to a mountain of Tootsie Rolls paid for with  her leftover tickets.

Is this a content kid, or what?  A bunch of new toys, an ICEE, and a pretzel!

and just across the way, mom makes another quick 20-bucks by playing her new favorite slot machine.  I don't know how she does it, but every time she sits down at a machine she makes money!  SO far, she's paying our way!

We stepped out onto the strip to watch the NASCAR Hauler Parade

The parade was great and lasted about 20-30 minutes while every hauler passed by an blew their horns.  Here's the highlight of the night:

Go Jimmie!

And Speaking of, we figured our first stop on Sunday should be to check in with the crew in the garage to make sure the car would be ready

Meanwhile, Isabel was meeting with Ms Sprint 

and she was trying to meet with Danica.  Unfortunately this was as close as she would get this weekend

She also had a chance to get a close look at what she says will be her car someday!  The Dodge Challenger.

Back to the garage to check in with the competition.  Here's a picture of the NASCAR haulers and all of Carl's gear.  Not sure why he left his tires and stuff here...

and back in Jimmie's garage, Junior has come over to discuss race strategy with Jimmie and Chad.

Roaming around the garage area, we saw this mechanic really getting into his work!  

Sunday finally arrived so Isabel and I climbed on top of the RV to get the ultimate NASCAR view from the infield!

The field is lining up in turn 3!

Fast forward toward the end of the race--Isabel and I head to the winner's circle.  Since it's the Kobalt 400, she gets a complimentary foam rubber hammer!

and soon after, the winner of the weekend, Tony Stewart pulled in and climbed out

Here's his car, back at the garage after the celebration.

All in all, it was another awesome NASCAR weekend. 

I just wish this picture would have been of Jimmie or Carl since that's who we put money on at the casino!

 

Luckily for Isabel, this wasn't the end of the excitement!  Stay tuned for details of our surprise side trips following Las Vegas!

Our New Spot and the Calm Before the Storm

Moved to our final camping spot Sunday Afternoon in the infield this year. Here's Diana checking out the neighbors and Isabel supervising move-in.

Here's our new across the street neighbors.  Notice that this picture was taken Monday mid-day as the Sprint Cup trucks started to arrive from Phoenix.

Here's the view from our backyard down the backstretch toward turn 2

A few of the die-hard fans started arriving today at Noon on the dot, as soon as the gates opened.

Even the gulls are fighting for a good spot!

During our morning walk, I couldn't help but realize we were enjoying the calm before the storm.  Here's a view of turn 4.

Most of the Nationwide Series Haulers arrived Sunday.

We took a chance to head downtown to the Venetian for a stroll around our old stomping grounds (of sorts).

Isabel enjoyed a Limon Cello gellato in the mall!

and a quick mention that we are feeling slightly guilty for leaving Sadie at home during this trip, but we're glad that we did now because we know she wouldn't have enjoyed the infield experience.  I was looking back at a few pictures of her and found one of her early puppy sleeping poses.

Here's a picture of her at the house from just a few weeks ago.  I have a feeling she's probably doing the same thing right now since we're gone.

More Updates to come...

Las Vegas!

After a few months off so we could close up the quilt shop and finalize the lease of the building, we are back on the road!  We're back at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as camp hosts again this year!  There was no snow on the way down so the drive was a breeze this year!  Here's the new view from our living room for this week...

We'll attend our welcome meeting today at 1 pm and we start work Monday.  Not sure which campground we're workiing yet...