Daytona Supercross

Onward Ho!  Now we were on our way to Daytona International Speedway for the supercross race.  Ben's most anticipated part of the trip.  What he was looking forward to the most.  His "Ariel" moment.  He's been making and meeting contacts with some people involved in the sport thanks to us living in Charlotte last year.  So there we were, pulling into the speedway infield in our big RV.  Our spot, not a "hook up" like at the plush Fort Wilderness, was in the grass, beside two scooters and a couple of lawn chairs.  There was interesting company around us.  That's for sure.  The race wasn't until 8 pm so we had all day to walk around in the pits and hang out with the guys Ben has befriended.  Right?  Wrong.  Rain.  It rained most of the day.  And we weren't equipped for rain.  I had brought a couple "emergency" ponchos with us for Disney.  But they were the equivalent of a wet paper sack.  We tried walking around the pits with the girls, in the rain, but that just was miserable for them, and us.  So the girls and I hung out in the RV which really was much needed.  And daddy tried to find us substantial ponchos with no avail.  No worries though, we were there and we were going to that race!  With our emergency ponchos!  At 8 o'clock at night.  With an almost 5 year old and almost 3 year old.  No worries at all!  There was a small break in the rain, long enough for us to walk to the track and find our seats.  And for Mike the Mouse to make a quick cameo before being stuffed back into the bag.

Walking over to the track

Whit and Mike

But then the skies opened up.  Rain! Hallelujah! Rain!  The girls were awesome.  They really didn't complain at all.  They had never worn a poncho before and of course, they can't stand still which is pretty much a requirement for a poncho to work properly.  We had tied so many knots in those things to "plug" the holes they kept making.  Hysterical.  In between soggy snacks, most of the night they were occupied "cleaning" the bleachers with the paper towels I had brought to dry the seats off with.  That provided at least an hour of entertainment and distraction from the pelting rain.

Snacking

Cleaning...the only clean thing in that whole place!

Ben was not having any fun at all.  He kept saying we were going to go back to the RV.  The racing was horrendous because the track was a complete mess.  We had never seen anything like it.  The racers and their bikes were covered in mud, landing in standing water, sliding all over the place.  All I could do was laugh.  Now, I have been in some pretty hefty rain before sitting out in football games, but this really rivaled that.  I was used to sitting at sporting events in the rain.  My hubby, not distracted by playing in a football game, wasn't really digging it this time around.  We stayed out though.  In my mind, we had made the commitment, we were already drenched and we all had smiles on our faces.  Mainly.  So why not stay? 

Not amused

Muddy racing

Me and my wet girls

A family that sits out in the rain together...

We did change our vantage point though.  We went up high hoping to see a little bit better.  And we did.  But along with gale force winds.  More laughter.

Still a super fun time.  Again, not as we would have planned, but we made the most of it with mostly positive attitudes from all.  The trip in total was a lot of fun. We would absolutely do it again in a heartbeat.  We made some wonderful  memories.  So much to be thankful for.  Again.