Thursday, October 22, 2009
A Weekend to Remember
The weekend of Oct. 16 will be another highlight of my pretty cool life. This one however will go down in the top 3! Going to races and enjoying things you like to do is always fun but when you get to include some really awesome friends that to put their life on the line and keep our country safe, that is something that is truly special for me.
I had the pleasure to hang out with Wes Deaver, Tre Del Pizzo, and Jon and Coreen Schaafsma all with the United States Marines. Not only are they Marines, but they are naval aviators flying the Harrier Jet. All of them serving at least 2 tours of duty in Iraq, I felt very honored to be hanging around them and having a great weekend together.
We spent the first night in downtown Charlotte eating dinner at Blackfinn, which was fantastic, then headed upstairs to Dale Jr's famous Wiskey River. If you are in Charlotte and a Nascar Fan you have to hit up his place! Just a great night hanging out drinkin a few beers and a little moonshine, you are in the south you have to :), and eating pizza with Dale Jarrett. A memorable night like that would be hard to top but boy was I wrong!
As a beautiful Saturday is upon us, we start to head over to the "Holy Grail" of racing to check out the night race, the Bank of America 500. Walking around the exhibits and checkin out merchandise, I get the phone call I have been waiting for. I get a call from my good buddy Jake Pickett telling me we can head to the pits and walk around. Justine Gazzola, who works with Jake, picks us up and we head inside and start to walk around and see the pit boxes and all the awesome gear for the race. Just thinking we were going to walk around the back of the pits, they take us out on the track for the introductions of the drivers and stand right next to the stage. I was really not expecting that at all and couldn't be happier. Taking pictures and soaking all this up with my buddies, this is something I truly won't forget.
As if that can't get any better, the race starts and Jake lets us go into the pit box and stand next to the pit wall while the race is going on. If you have ever been to a race and see just how fast these cars are going, it is a whole other feeling when you are standing literally right next to one as they go by! After a little fun down in the pits we head up to our seats at turn 1 and watch the race. It is something sitting there as the cars go by and you feel the wind blow right into you. These cars are haulin!
Those 2 days just might be some of the best nights I will keep with me for the rest my life! I enjoy and am fortunate to do some pretty cool things once in awhile but when I get to experience it with some of my friends from our armed forces, I just can't tell you enough how awesome that makes me feel. There is not enough I can do to give thanks to these special people for protecting my way of life in this great country.
I also have to give a very special thanks to Jake Pickett and Justine Gazzola for taking us down to the pits and giving us some pretty cool access! You guys are the best!
In closing, if you ever see a person who serves our country tell them Thank You for their duties and protecting our freedoms and way of life. These great and brave people put their life on the line day in and day out and are protecting millions of people they have never met and will never meet in their life. But that is the courage and pride that they have to fight for this great country and we all should try to do something to show our thanks and support for them! As the saying goes, "a little goes a long way." Without these brave soldiers, we would not be able to have these memorable weekends.
I had the pleasure to hang out with Wes Deaver, Tre Del Pizzo, and Jon and Coreen Schaafsma all with the United States Marines. Not only are they Marines, but they are naval aviators flying the Harrier Jet. All of them serving at least 2 tours of duty in Iraq, I felt very honored to be hanging around them and having a great weekend together.
We spent the first night in downtown Charlotte eating dinner at Blackfinn, which was fantastic, then headed upstairs to Dale Jr's famous Wiskey River. If you are in Charlotte and a Nascar Fan you have to hit up his place! Just a great night hanging out drinkin a few beers and a little moonshine, you are in the south you have to :), and eating pizza with Dale Jarrett. A memorable night like that would be hard to top but boy was I wrong!
As a beautiful Saturday is upon us, we start to head over to the "Holy Grail" of racing to check out the night race, the Bank of America 500. Walking around the exhibits and checkin out merchandise, I get the phone call I have been waiting for. I get a call from my good buddy Jake Pickett telling me we can head to the pits and walk around. Justine Gazzola, who works with Jake, picks us up and we head inside and start to walk around and see the pit boxes and all the awesome gear for the race. Just thinking we were going to walk around the back of the pits, they take us out on the track for the introductions of the drivers and stand right next to the stage. I was really not expecting that at all and couldn't be happier. Taking pictures and soaking all this up with my buddies, this is something I truly won't forget.
As if that can't get any better, the race starts and Jake lets us go into the pit box and stand next to the pit wall while the race is going on. If you have ever been to a race and see just how fast these cars are going, it is a whole other feeling when you are standing literally right next to one as they go by! After a little fun down in the pits we head up to our seats at turn 1 and watch the race. It is something sitting there as the cars go by and you feel the wind blow right into you. These cars are haulin!
Those 2 days just might be some of the best nights I will keep with me for the rest my life! I enjoy and am fortunate to do some pretty cool things once in awhile but when I get to experience it with some of my friends from our armed forces, I just can't tell you enough how awesome that makes me feel. There is not enough I can do to give thanks to these special people for protecting my way of life in this great country.
I also have to give a very special thanks to Jake Pickett and Justine Gazzola for taking us down to the pits and giving us some pretty cool access! You guys are the best!
In closing, if you ever see a person who serves our country tell them Thank You for their duties and protecting our freedoms and way of life. These great and brave people put their life on the line day in and day out and are protecting millions of people they have never met and will never meet in their life. But that is the courage and pride that they have to fight for this great country and we all should try to do something to show our thanks and support for them! As the saying goes, "a little goes a long way." Without these brave soldiers, we would not be able to have these memorable weekends.
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