The trip from hell or how me and Jr got something in common. - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

TOMMAY · 02-20-2003, 09:07 PM

I thought I was the luckiest guy in the world.I'd never been to a Nascar race and when my boss said he'd been given a free all expense trip to the Daytona 500 and couldn't go and I could go if I wanted to,I leaped at the chance.

Our flight left at seven am on Saturday and that was the first mistake.I stopped for just one on Friday nite intending to leave in time to get a good night's sleep.Only problem was I ran into a couple of friends and before I knew it the bartender was calling last call and when I got home I was afraid to go to sleep,knowin' I'd sleep right through the alarm.but anyway we made the flight ok and had a two hour layover in Charlotte where I took a nap and my snoring woke me up in time to catch the connecting flight.

Got to JAX ok,but had to rent a Ford which made me kinda ill,especially since they described it as a sporty two door and it was a six cylinder mustang which I could becycle faster than.But anyway we got to the hotel ok about noon and the Cuban behind the counter said we couldn't check in til three PM cause they didn't have any clean rooms.I thought to myself they musta hired my ex wife.I sure wanted to lay my head down by then but I didn't raise too much hell.We decided to just drive on down to Daytona and check out the sights since I was startin' to feel good enough for a cold beer I know I'd live through another day.

We got off the interstate at St.Augustine so we could see the old city and drive down A1A along the beach.Pretty little city,course those war protester's didn't like me too much.One of them stuck a brochure in my window and I threw it back at him and we got in a cuss fight and I was about to exit the Mustang to continue the conversation when the light changed and the cars behind got to blowing their horns,plus there was a gang of about six pretty angry looking peace lovers headed my way so I went ahead and left.Rest of the day was pretty good,found a steak house with a bunch of Harley's outside,spoke their lingo pretty good since I used to ride back in the sixty's and seventys,had a good meal and a few cold ones.

Got back to the hotel bout nine and my prepaid room hadn't been paid for so I had to put it my credit card,too tired to argue,had to hold my breath til it cleared,knowin' it was pretty close to the limit.Got a good nights sleep and up bright and early.

Left the hotel about quarter til seven,figuring i'd get to the track early,boy was I wrong.Got within two miles of the track and sat in traffic for two hours waiting to get into that swamp they called a parking lot.Thankfully I'd had the foresight to lay in a small supply of beer in the car.

We stopped by a hospitality tent and got a hotdog and cold drink and went on up to our seats.Ol boy next to me was drinking the biggest beer I'd ever seen,said he'd gotten it downstairs so I had to have me one,twentyfour ounces,eight dollars!!!How many people can say they've drunk the worlds most expensive beer.

The race was fine except for the rain.It was kind of a blessing though,there was a women in front of me that sure looked a lot better with a sack over her head.

We finally left about five o'clock after the second rain delay to try get out ahead of the pack which worked fine,we were on the interstate in no timeand making good time for about twenty miles then dead stop.Two hours later we passed the jack-knifed tractor trailer that was blocking traffic and made it fine after that.

We were up at two thirty Monday morn to catch our early flight,turned in the rental car and stood in line to get our boarding passes forever it seemed.You guessed it,flight cancelled,snowed under in Charlotte,no other connector for US Airways,can't get out til Wednesday.God,what else can go wrong.Went back down,rented a car,another frickin ford and headed out for home on I 10.Made that four hundred plus miles in about six hours but I was one tired puppy when I got to the airport to turn in the rental car and get my truck and head home for a shower and on to work.

You guessed it,this day ain't over yet,my battery is dead as a hammer.Called my daughter who lives close by and she came and jumped me off.She couldn't understand why I was laughing so hard.I told her I was just feeling famous cause me an Earnhart Jr got so much in common,can't neither one of us get too far on a dead battery.

Good Luck

Tom

LOHRTBT · 02-20-2003, 09:13 PM

lol....that sux....we didnt have too much bad luck.. I was there too the rain sucked!! Especially since the day before and day after were so nice.

**swervin ervin** · 02-20-2003, 11:00 PM

Tom,

your tale is exactly why I will never go to another race. I've been to Charlotte. It's bad enough but only 1-1/2 hours away. Last time I went, I swore it would be my last. It has been so far.

Glad you finally made it back home safely. It seems to me these free things end up costing a lot of money.

Low87 · 02-21-2003, 10:19 AM

LMAO, Mike's right, you need to post here more often!

79BIG10 · 02-21-2003, 01:50 PM

Sounds like that kind of trouble is going everywhere. My alt. was going out, Jr's, your battery, Prerunner1982's GEEZE!! Sounds like a big mess. Glad to see you finally got home okay.

*Zilverado* · 02-21-2003, 02:19 PM

Wow! Sounds like quite the experience - both good and bad. Okay, so mostly bad.

At least it's good to see you kept your sense of humour about it.

02-20-2003, 09:07 PM	#1
TOMMAY Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Mobile,Al Posts: 163	The trip from hell or how me and Jr got something in common. I thought I was the luckiest guy in the world.I'd never been to a Nascar race and when my boss said he'd been given a free all expense trip to the Daytona 500 and couldn't go and I could go if I wanted to,I leaped at the chance. Our flight left at seven am on Saturday and that was the first mistake.I stopped for just one on Friday nite intending to leave in time to get a good night's sleep.Only problem was I ran into a couple of friends and before I knew it the bartender was calling last call and when I got home I was afraid to go to sleep,knowin' I'd sleep right through the alarm.but anyway we made the flight ok and had a two hour layover in Charlotte where I took a nap and my snoring woke me up in time to catch the connecting flight. Got to JAX ok,but had to rent a Ford which made me kinda ill,especially since they described it as a sporty two door and it was a six cylinder mustang which I could becycle faster than.But anyway we got to the hotel ok about noon and the Cuban behind the counter said we couldn't check in til three PM cause they didn't have any clean rooms.I thought to myself they musta hired my ex wife.I sure wanted to lay my head down by then but I didn't raise too much hell.We decided to just drive on down to Daytona and check out the sights since I was startin' to feel good enough for a cold beer I know I'd live through another day. We got off the interstate at St.Augustine so we could see the old city and drive down A1A along the beach.Pretty little city,course those war protester's didn't like me too much.One of them stuck a brochure in my window and I threw it back at him and we got in a cuss fight and I was about to exit the Mustang to continue the conversation when the light changed and the cars behind got to blowing their horns,plus there was a gang of about six pretty angry looking peace lovers headed my way so I went ahead and left.Rest of the day was pretty good,found a steak house with a bunch of Harley's outside,spoke their lingo pretty good since I used to ride back in the sixty's and seventys,had a good meal and a few cold ones. Got back to the hotel bout nine and my prepaid room hadn't been paid for so I had to put it my credit card,too tired to argue,had to hold my breath til it cleared,knowin' it was pretty close to the limit.Got a good nights sleep and up bright and early. Left the hotel about quarter til seven,figuring i'd get to the track early,boy was I wrong.Got within two miles of the track and sat in traffic for two hours waiting to get into that swamp they called a parking lot.Thankfully I'd had the foresight to lay in a small supply of beer in the car. We stopped by a hospitality tent and got a hotdog and cold drink and went on up to our seats.Ol boy next to me was drinking the biggest beer I'd ever seen,said he'd gotten it downstairs so I had to have me one,twentyfour ounces,eight dollars!!!How many people can say they've drunk the worlds most expensive beer. The race was fine except for the rain.It was kind of a blessing though,there was a women in front of me that sure looked a lot better with a sack over her head. We finally left about five o'clock after the second rain delay to try get out ahead of the pack which worked fine,we were on the interstate in no timeand making good time for about twenty miles then dead stop.Two hours later we passed the jack-knifed tractor trailer that was blocking traffic and made it fine after that. We were up at two thirty Monday morn to catch our early flight,turned in the rental car and stood in line to get our boarding passes forever it seemed.You guessed it,flight cancelled,snowed under in Charlotte,no other connector for US Airways,can't get out til Wednesday.God,what else can go wrong.Went back down,rented a car,another frickin ford and headed out for home on I 10.Made that four hundred plus miles in about six hours but I was one tired puppy when I got to the airport to turn in the rental car and get my truck and head home for a shower and on to work. You guessed it,this day ain't over yet,my battery is dead as a hammer.Called my daughter who lives close by and she came and jumped me off.She couldn't understand why I was laughing so hard.I told her I was just feeling famous cause me an Earnhart Jr got so much in common,can't neither one of us get too far on a dead battery. Good Luck Tom __________________ 76 Silverado 74 Vette

02-20-2003, 09:13 PM	#2
LOHRTBT BeWarE tHe eViL CrAnkTOe! Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Yukon, OK Posts: 3,605	lol....that sux....we didnt have too much bad luck.. I was there too the rain sucked!! Especially since the day before and day after were so nice. __________________ ~Dave~ You can call me Mike, Mike Oxlong - 1986 Chevy SWB - Stock for now - *1986 Chevy Custom SWB* *Stolen 6/26/05* - 1985 Chevy SWB SOLD - 1999 T/A Some mods www.cardomain.com/id/ramairdave AIM Screenname - Jester84

02-20-2003, 11:00 PM	#3
swervin ervin You get what you pay for Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Cherryville, NC Posts: 4,798	Tom, your tale is exactly why I will never go to another race. I've been to Charlotte. It's bad enough but only 1-1/2 hours away. Last time I went, I swore it would be my last. It has been so far. Glad you finally made it back home safely. It seems to me these free things end up costing a lot of money. __________________ Mike 1985 Chevy C-10

02-21-2003, 10:19 AM	#4
Low87 been here longer than Liz Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Broken Arrow, OK Posts: 2,437	LMAO, Mike's right, you need to post here more often! __________________ ~Greg~ Mac's Garage '87 SWB 6/8 drop "Piso" '08 CCSB Silverado DD the departed '89 GMC K5 Jimmy 4x4 "Rusty Nuts" '77 Chevy K5 Blazer 2wd '83 Chevy stepside "You get what you pay for" - Mike 'swervin ervin' Ervin

02-21-2003, 01:50 PM	#5
79BIG10 I'm back with 2nd truck! Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 3,774	Sounds like that kind of trouble is going everywhere. My alt. was going out, Jr's, your battery, Prerunner1982's GEEZE!! Sounds like a big mess. Glad to see you finally got home okay. __________________ 1979 Chevrolet Bonanza Big10 "Tootsie Roll" 1985 Chevrolet Silverado (wife's) Member of the Southern Bowties Club "Don't underestimate how sexy a fat man who drinks to excess can be." Homer Simpson

02-21-2003, 02:19 PM	#6
Zilverado Account Suspended Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Posts: 798	Wow! Sounds like quite the experience - both good and bad. Okay, so mostly bad. At least it's good to see you kept your sense of humour about it.



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