Today Gary and I ventured across the State of Florida to Daytona.  We received two complimentary tickets from a dear friend to visit the Daytona 500 Speedway, site of the Daytona 500 each February as the NASCAR circuit opens their season each year.  It was a great adventure for us.  A tram took us onto the track and do you realize the track itself sits at a 31 degree angle on turn 3 and an 18 degree angle on turn 1?  That simply means that if you don't have enough speed (say at least 90 mph) your car won't stay on the track at that angle!  It was amazing since I thought the track was an oblong circle!

There were pictures of the guys who have won the Daytona 500, the car of Jamie McMurray in a mock Victory Lane (the winner of this year's Daytona 500), the incredible trophy that sports the names of all past winners and many salutes to Dale Earnhardt, Mr. Intimidator, who in my opinion, was the greatest of them all. 

Gary tried his skill of driving on simulators which was interesting....and we were entertained with a 3D movie in their IMAX theater explaining the preparations made before a race for the car, the crew, the driver and the fans!  It was absolutely awesome to watch in 3D!!  So there you have our adventures for Thursday....tomorrow we head to Ft. Myers and the Minnesota Twins baseball camp.  I'm hoping to reconnect with a former student of mine who is one of the pitchers for the Twins, Kevin Slowey.  Who would have thought when he was in middle school he would end up in major league baseball??  God bless, my friends.  Have a wonderful Friday....hopefully your area is warming up....we went back into the 50's and 60's!  Winter just won't let go!!!