Can’t Seem To Get My Mind off of You

Coming to you from thirty five thousand feet, I begin this blog from the blue skies as I whisk across this beautiful land known as the United States of America. Where am I headed? As they say on television, stay tuned for exciting scenes from my latest journey. Okay, they don’t quite say that but you get the idea.

The “month of May” is always a busy one for me and this year has been no exception. The first weekend of the month found me on my first plane ride of these thirty one days. My wife and I took a much needed vacation and traveled to the big island of Hawaii. We’ve been together before and one good thing we learned on this trip was the Nissan Altima is apparently the “hot” rental car of the moment. Everywhere we turned, literally, we saw an Altima. The two of us even zipped around the island in the sedan. I’m not sure if the state of Hawaii got a good deal on a fleet of cars or not. Perhaps the state can look into, I don’t know, Corvettes? That’s a rental car I would enjoy driving.

During our visit we had a couple of fun driving days, oh Altima. In one afternoon we went to the southernmost point of the United States, beating out the Florida Keys. While there we watched as fellow tourists jumped from a cliff into the ocean because, well why not. Well, with the exception of a guy names Justin who, despite climbing the rickety old boat launch acting as a diving platform, stood for a good ten minutes and decided not to jump.

Much to the dismay of the small crowd of people who gathered to watch, maybe next time Justin. Wow, that’s already a fun outing for one day. Not done yet as we ventured to the active volcano on the island and with our own two eyes saw lava splashing as high as thirty feet in the air. Spectacular is a good word to describe this awesome site.

During our excursion we also saw breathtaking waterfalls, botanical gardens, black sandy beaches and turtles, on the aforementioned black sandy beach.

The big island is vast and the landscape can change from a dry hot desert feel, complete with black charred hunks of lava to the prettiest green trees, colorful flowers all with a backdrop of the bluest water you may ever see.

Not all of our time was spent driving, oh Altima. We were on vacation after all. There is something to be said for just lounging by the pool enjoying and adult beverage and listening to the ocean. Okay, I had a diet Coke but I sipped Janelle’s adult beverage. Although my wife has sensitive skin when it comes to chlorine, she came with me into the pool and we swam a couple of laps. Floating in the pool was very calming and peaceful. I would even say tranquil. Yes, this is including all the families on vacation who seemed to be in the pool the same time we were. We did have some quiet time to ourselves. Part of this trip was to celebrate our sixth year as man and wife. One night we had a nice meal at sunset with the pink colored sky and Pacific Ocean as our backdrop.

It was a beautiful site. However, it just didn’t compare to the woman sitting across the table from me. To be frank, she is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She lights up my world. In one of the most beautiful locations on planet earth, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I thank God every day, yes thanks God, for bringing her into my life.

Suddenly a week had gone by and it was time to fly home. Despite being in paradise both of us were ready to come back. Our hotel had a dolphin pond and this blog post would be lacking if I didn’t give the little guys a shout out. Both of us watched as trainers worked with the dolphins; performing tricks, posing for pictures with tourists who pay for a dolphin experience and listening to the wonderful sounds they make. Fun fact: did you know the dolphins make that unique noise via their blowhole? Watching this exchange made us miss our little ones back at home. After a long day of travel, we reunited with those little ones, our dogs Sydney and Buddy. What an amazing vacation and kickoff to May. But wait, there’s more.

The very next weekend I found myself up and out of the house by 5:30 in the morning – on a Saturday. Yes, I said Saturday. For me, this is a big deal. I was up and our early as I spent the next two days participating in an autocross. Unfamiliar with an autocross? Never fear, Chris is here to explain. This sport involves the use of your car where you compete against yourself, in a timed event on an open stretch of land. In this case, and old abandoned airstrip. Orange cones are placed in an obstacle course where using your car you get to legally zoom around testing your reflexes, timing, and car’s automotive ability in a coordinated effort to have fun and flex a little muscle car action.

Day one was a school where newbies, that would be me, learned some driving tips and how to handle your car in high velocity situations. Key takeaways from instructors included “be smooth,” “brake straight,” and “finish the turn.” Day two was the event itself where fellow enthusiasts came out to participate. The day saw many spinouts, burning rubber and missed cones that can cost you valuable time. Yes, I missed some cones and cost myself some time. Yes, I missed several cones and cost myself much needed time I wouldn’t get back. How much? Well, imagine driving in a straight line. You approach two orange cones, one on the left and one on the right, just wider than your car. You, as the driver, need to pass between the cones, or what is called a gate. This gate, if you miss it, costs you a whopping ten seconds off your time. Let’s just say I missed one. Let me back up; let’s just say I missed three. Did I have fun that weekend? Yes. Did I feel frustrated on that same weekend? Yes. Going fast in your car is a thrill, but there’s a lot more to it and just putting the hammer down.

This brings me back to the first line of this post. Less than a week after my autocross adventure, I’m more than halfway to my final destination of the month. What is known as the “Crossroads of America.” I’m headed to Indianapolis, Indiana to watch the ninety ninth running of the greatest spectacle in racing, the Indy 500.

It will be my fourteenth consecutive race and fifteenth overall. Indy has been special to me since I was a little kid. Keep a lookout for my next blog post which will detail this upcoming weekend. I wait all year for this month. Other than Christmas, this is my favorite time of year. Soon, thirty three cars will roar past me and a quarter of a million fans at speeds of over two hundred and twenty five miles an hour. Simply put, there is nothing quite like it. Let’s go racing!

Oh yeah, and go TK!!!