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Nick's birthday was a low-key affair, a pookie and a few balloons. I had a trip to LA for a clinic this month, so I was gone for a short week, dinner on the beach and a successful clinic in Pasadena, including a couple new bars with the gang, and finally dinner with my team in Huntington Beach.
Warming up fast, not much of a winter, Nick shoveled the one snowfall we experienced.
The general teenage mysteries continue. Why does he require a half-dozen alarms and clocks and still sleep through them all? And when we're having a casual conversation, why does he think to ask me about extradition laws, for what purpose? He did cook a little more this month, I had him working on a roast and gravy, gotta start honing the cooking skills before college.
Highlight of the trip was an afternoon tour of St. Augustine by sailboat. It was a private charter, brand new 38' sailboat, Dale the captain was an incredible host, teaching Nick some points about sailing and letting him sail it relatively independently. It was a joy seeing the fort and lighthouse from the bay without being near all the tourists. Weather was cool but perfect, Brandi even saw dolphins along the boat. Makes me want to take sailing lessons, would definitely do it again. Our best meal of the trip was probably there near the docks at Beaches at Vilano.Before turning for home, we drove across the state to Sebring to see Earl and the family for a short visit, first time to their place in Maranatha. They took us on a tour of the resort on golf carts, to see the make-shift golf course, pool and all the activities. Jessica is settling in and dating, and Carrie and the boys are doing well (they are relatively self-entertaining at this age.) The visit was nice, the drive out of the wilderness in the dark and rain was miserable, but we made it.
Earlier in the month we celebrated Matilda's first birthday with Haleigh and the family. And Nick is now driving us most places, like school and piano, although I didn't have him drive on the FL trip, what a mess of people that was. Of course there was a quiet Christmas at home, too, with gift opening before we left for the trip. (Shopping is all via Amazon anymore, and my father couldn't figure which was to stage the incoming boxes because there's arrows on every side... it's the Amazon logo, not 'this side up'.)
Pics here.
Nick's highlights for the month were the college fair at Lourdes University, sponsored by the high schools. We walked the tables and Nick was able to ask questions of the college reps. We learned about a program at PSU we didn't know existed in Altoona, along with some smaller schools, and the MAC schools. Not sure we narrowed the pool much, but it gave us some good ideas, like the Cleveland Institute for Art. I was impressed with his questions, and got a chance to see how some of the other kids interacted in the environment, and lots of them looked more lost than Nick. He can't be lost anymore, he officially has a driver's license, which the driving test was quite easy (he was prepared, that helped.) Short drive starting at the high school, the instructor wanted to talk to me more than Nick, and Nick aced the parallel parking, while knowing the town well enough he didn't need directions from the guy.
I made an evening trip to Cinci to see Noah play football, which turned out to be his last game. The team wasn't that great, but there was no doubt he was the best player in the group, he played safety with a nose for the ball, wideout, and return man. Took a big hit at the end that cracked rib and punctured his lung, not serious enough that he won't recover. He's arleady dating the head cheerleader, and he's the best player, time to retire. And I got to take a nice road trip with my new truck.
I spoke one evening at the SFS career night, with about 20 other guys, shared stories from our work. This was a great event last year, I was happy to join in this year. Was paired with a guy from P&G who used to work at Gongos, which made it easy. The kids asked good questions, and after asking me not to call him out or embarrass him, Nick asked a couple questions of me. And he was kind enough to suggest I should become a teacher, I made it interesting and he learned something. The most evident thing about my work, I travel more than I should, and that's evident by having more photos from clinics than my family, I was gone again alot this fall (8 trips total this year.)
We stayed at the Mandalay, my first time there, so it took a couple trips to learn how to travel the length of The Strip, from the monorail to Excalibur, then the tram from MGM Grand down to Harrah's. I must have walked tens-of-thousands of steps anyways. Directions to the grandstands and suites were not clear, and my new friends were finding their way as well. We circled a little around Wynn on the first day, but by Day 2, getting to the North and South Koval seating, to the Paddock for a tour (overrated), and down to the Circle was familiar territory. (I had the app handy, which briefly made me the defacto front-man.) Michael, David, Travis, Chris, Syed, Ali and the few spouses were all welcoming and a great travel bunch.
Day 1 was practice, which was cancelled after six minutes when Carlos Sainz hit a manhole cover, wrecking his vehicle. My breakout group (Travis and Syed) stayed until 2 AM waiting for action, which started after we left. Not a good look for F1 on the first day. Had a nice chat with Chris, from Wells Fargo, about Auto Finance, and burned some calories as I skipped eating waiting for food at the event, which they pulled at midnight. The paddock tour sucked, but I did learn how the tires work.
Day 2 was a few calls and then a nap for me, then dinner at Delilah, an amazing exclusive club. At $250 a plate, and celebrities around us (OBJ at the next table), it's like no place I'd ever been. I sat in the hairpin turn with David and Travis for the three qualifying races. A group of girls came by, and I pulled them up in seats next to us, spending Q2 talking to Casey Boonstra, a model and social influencer from Australia. (Tried to connect her with one of the guys, who quickly showed his true colors, pivoting from bullshitter to lame.) David realized online later we're now Insta famous! Found a slice on the walk back to the hotel. Was returning to my room closer to 4 AM now each night.
Day 3 was the race. I walked down to the Shelby Heritage Museum for a tour in the afternoon, just down from my hotel. And then took a helicopter tour of the track at 5 PM as they lit the track. Got some pefect photos of the layout from above, despite being squeezed in the back seat of the copter so a useless couple could make-out in the front seats and ignore the view. With Travis, Mark, and Ali, I was now in the third spot where we had tickets, in North Koval, I was the only one to sit in all three spots, by chance. Top deck of the suites, with lobster tail and prime rib, I grabbed us a table along the glass, before upgrading us slowly to seats along the track bar, and finally seats in the second row from the track. (I even dragged a barstoool to the trackside... no shame, not for that seat price, I was having a good seat.) It was an amazingly competitive race, I put $100 on Sainz, who finished 7th following a bad penalty, and the other guys placed theirs as well once I did. Hard to put words to the race, but with a great view down both ends of the straightaway, direct line to the Sphere, and perfect cool weather, there's nothing that could have made it better. And fireworks.
We had an invitation to the after party at Delilah, which I didn't intend to go, but we all met there after. More than 200 people lined up down three halls in Wynn to get into the club, and Tony LePenna the owner escorted us past the ropes and security, and into the bar first. I grabbed us a couch and chairs near the bar, to anchor us for the evening. I'm quite predictable, I provide a center point so no one is lost, and everyone has a good time, including two girls looking for their way, Katie and Charlotte, who offered a good 45 mins of conversation, and a couple phone numbers (which are of no use to me at this age!) So my reputation as 'the player' (Ha!) lands quickly, and endears me to the group, getting plenty of offers to go clubbing the future (I've always been a good wingman.)
We made a nice thank you video for Tony, I unexpectedly flew home next to Becky who was on the same flight returning from a bike ride in Nevada, and being very short on sleep with sore feet, I come away with memories that were unimaginable just a few days earlier. And now I have an F1 team going forward, Ferrari is it.
I had free tickets to a speed show at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Nick and I got up early on a Saturday to drive up. On the road to enter the highway, a dozen Ford Mustangs pulls in front of us, and Nick voted we follow them in the opposite direction. They had lead and trail vehicles, looking like they were headed to a show. We followed them for 90 miles down I75, and finally turned off in Lima, where there is a train display in Lincoln Park that Nick wanted to see. He proceeds to explain everything about this engine to me, from journal bearings to water pumps. Impressive knowledge. And I learned the trains he builds in G-Mod he names after Greek mythology characters. That's his mother's influence right there. We stopped at Tony's on the way back, little diner in Findlay with a great salad bar.
