I got home from Gingerman super late on Labor Day. I drove the hatch into work on Tuesday to prep for Expo. I knocked everything out except dismounting two old RA1s and mounting some streetable, but old RT615s. I was tired, so I drove home on the crappy Toyos and didn't check pressures before I headed home. Due to the laziness, the steering was HEAVY. haha. I used another night to pack the car, bleed the brakes, and mount the fifth point to the seat frame.
We had Bailynn's 4th birthday party on the Saturday night prior to Expo. So, we missed out on the Indy Expo party, but it gave me the night to pack my clothes. Travis showed up at 8am to load the car. We have the car and truck loaded by 830. Then, it was time for Cracker Barrel!!
Off to Ohio we went. The cruise was pretty smooth, except hardly anyone got the Facebook "Like" thumb. Too many old people on the road that don't partake in social media. haha. We met Jason and Shelbi at the track, but the paddock was still pretty full. We decided to go grab food. I forget the name of the place that we ate, but it was pretty good. It is the Bar and Grille next to the putt putt place. We also learned how much Jason loves apple sauce. I remember when I was 6!!
One of the "coolest" parts about this trip was that Travis(picture left) was the first one to introduce to me the site Honda-Tech. As you know, the rest is history. And, on the picture's right is Rob. He is the first person that I thought "I want to be that guy". He had a picture on a local forum in like '04 where his tach and speedo were buried, as well as his boost gauge! Travis went to Expo 4 and drove in 5, so I had been trying to get him to come back. This was Rob's first Expo and he was my intermediate student. Yes, that Like thumb is real!
Jason and Shelbi were shooting engagement photos(congrats, you two) with Kevin out on track. I decided to follow along to get a bit of a course walk in. Jason wanted to use helmets in the pictures, so Shelbi used mine. While they weren't using them, I acted in typical fashion.
Monday came around and it was time to get on track and also instruct. This was my first time on Hoosiers, so the first session was to "feel them out". The first time over Madness, holy D1. "I thought these things had TONS of grip??!" The first session was "eh", I expected more out of them. After the session, straight into Rob's car. Then, after his session, straight into Zach(my beginner student)'s car. Woof! One session off while Advanced is out and then back out for me. The second session was a lot better. It helped that Erik went by, so I had to chase right when I came out because I planned on "taking it easy". That is what I was expecting out of the Hoosiers, but my main problem was massive vibration going into China Beach. Due to being in the car for 6 out of the first 8 sessions, I skipped my third session. I don't remember much about the fourth session, but I am at Mid Ohio and I love that place. haha.
After the track festivities wrapped up, it was straight back to the hotel to ride the "Bangquet Bus" to Mansfield Reformatory. We did a tour before the banquet and holy smokes, that place was amazing. As sketchy as I expected it to be, it wasn't. Devon and I even stood behind the "haunted chair" and got our picture taken. Where is it at Matty D??! The food was good, as normal, but that tour, WOW! As Steve said, that tour might have made Expo this year. Thanks, Joe!!
Sunday started off well, the first session was great. I knew that it was going to get hotter as the day went on. So, for the second session, I wanted to lay a flyer down. I had been talking with Spencer and Erik about a few things to work on. The first session, I found some of that "speed". Well, earlier in the day, I put a #RyanConley sticker on my car. And, as I am going over the car before the second session, I have a leaking valve cover in the right rear!! Great, well, I can't bail on my students due to my car's malfunction or my malfunction in sticker choice. So, I missed two sessions before I could get to NAPA to get a core and tool. The fourth session was good, but it was hot, so I knocked out a few good laps. The tires were falling off due to pushing them, I was hot, so I was going to come in. I started my cool down lap and as I get into T1, here comes Adam Jabaay out of the pits. What The CRAP! Are you serious! I waited for that bum in grid before the session started and he was taking forever in the paddock. Oh well, I kept it in 4th gear and got going again. I ran another lap and a half, but I was already shut off mentally. I was over driving, not double clutching like I should(sorry, had to), so I threw the point by out. Adam waves it off, I show the pit signal, and he shows me the ol' #1 signal. hahaha!!
That was it for me for the weekend. Events like Expo have all this build up, then they are over in a split second. It stinks, but it is part off it. There is never enough time in the weekend to spend with your friends. The conversations are never long enough. You feel like you are always cutting that other person short, but I guess that is why we keep coming back, for the friendships!
I didn't talk much about instructing because I figured I would give them their own paragraph. What can I say about Rob? Well, here, he is FAST. I guess he had a drift car back in the day or something ricey. haha. Anyways, he has car control, etc. He just "gets it done"! Zach, wow, first timer, no autocross, nothing. Totally green and starting out at Mid Ohio, plus he drove up from Florida! With first timers, you never know what to expect. You can kind of read the person to see how it will go. Zach was a hard read, but he picked it up quick like it was a Black Friday special. It was a pure joy to instruct him. He went from not really knowing what to do, making silly everyday driving on the street errors, to frickin' ripping apart the whole beginner group. He went home stoked, but I think I was way more stoked than he was!!
The drive home sucked! It seemed the "weekend" went by way to quick. The five hour drive home seemed like ten. Travis seemed fine, yet I whined like a four year old, ask me how I know! haha. I can't wait for next year. If you don't attend Expo, even just to watch, you are missing out, BIG TIME!
Also, after reading all the crap about Honda/4 cylinders vs. Corvette/8 cylinders on Facebook this week. I figured that I would share this picture as well. Too me, this is what it is about. Abbymael is a car enthusiast and a Type R owner. We had never met prior to Expo. I was going through his pictures and I found this. It is awesome to see a peer enjoy the work that you have put forth. Maybe it is because they get the "struggle" or maybe they understand the "love" behind it. Regardless, they get it. It isn't about who drives what or who passes who. It is about having fun and making bonds with people, people who live 15 hours away. Those people you may only see once or twice a year, but I bet that bond never breaks. That is what it is about. Thanks again, Abby!
I worked Wednesday, Thursday, and a half day on Friday. Then, we were off at 2pm headed towards Florida. My goal was to make it past Atlanta on the first day, which we did. We got up at 6am and ate breakfast. We had a few weird things go out there, but nothing was worse than this weird lady down there at breakfast. I won't get into the gross details, but she finally left with 4 cups stacked(both 3 looked to be empty) with 3 bowls on top of that, one with cereal in it, I believe, and a plate stacked on top of that with butter packets, etc covering the whole plate. She also hovered over the juice machine and left her cups next to the machine when she was done.
Brandy's sister's family drove straight through and said that they had to sit in this traffic jam for a couple hours. She sent pictures of this semi that had been over turned. Well, we were 4 hours out from that point, so I figured that we were ok. Guess what, wrong! We sat in traffic for about an hour. Once we got through that, it was smooth sailing.
Once we got to the Disney resort, we ate, then unloaded. Later, we headed to Downtown Disney to eat at T-Rex. That place was packed, but I guess that it was setting the tone for the rest of the week! Sunday, we didn't have park tickets, so I wanted to go to Daytona to check out the speedway and get Bai to the beach. Of course, to Brandy, this was a terrible idea. She threw a fit until we got to the beach. I think she is finally understanding that I am normally always right! haha.
From Monday to Thursday, we had park hoppers. So, I really could go on and on about every place, etc. But, I'll try to hit a few points from every park.
Magic Kingdom: There isn't really much to say, but this is "where the magic happens". It is awesome, you could spend days there and never get tired of it!
Epcot: Not really a lot for the kids, but going around the Worlds is AWESOME!
Animal Kingdom: Really cool. We have an annual zoo pass, but this was the Indy Zoo on steriods! We got to talk to some of the workers that were from Africa, super awesome.
Hollywood Studios: We made a quick trip through there. Really neat to get the behind the scenes look at things. We also got to see a lot of characters without much wait.
Food: We ate at several places, but Ohana, Liberty Tree Tavern, and Rainforest Cafe stood out. I also like Casey's Corner in Magic Kingdom for a quick serve meal.
Characters: Bai LOVED meeting characters. Her interaction with them was amazing!
The parades were awesome, we also watched a show at Hollywood Studios called Fantasmic, but to me, at Epcot the fireworks show called IllumiNations was amazing!!
I could keep going on and on about Disney, but it would take FOREVER. Anyways, that Friday, we were going to Mickey's Not So Haunted Halloween at Magic Kingdom. So, Brandy's brother in law and I went karting. There were an indoor and outdoor facilities within a half an hour of where we were staying. We used our mid-day Friday to go do just that, kart. The outdoor track was awesome and it helped that we had like 14 people on track. The indoor track had electric karts, wow, those things were hard to get used to. I wish that I could have stayed at the outdoor, Orlando Kart Center all day, but back to Disney.
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Like I said before, I could go on and on about Disney. I would like to, but it is best to go experience it yourself. I would tell you about the trip home, but who cares, just know that I am planning my Disney vacation for next year!!
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