Open Wheel Racing Returns to Milwaukee

Early in June, we went (once again) to Rossburg, Ohio for the annual Prelude to the Dream charity race at the Eldora Speedway.  For once, the weather was absolutely perfect for their "one perfect night".  We didn't take any pictures this time, because we didn't want to get the camera as covered with mud as we were.  The speedway will usually post pictures and information at www.eldoraspeedway.com

Came home, repacked and headed for Milwaukee for the IndyFest at the historic Milwaukee Mile.  Every year, we have to find some excuse for the annual run to the outlet mall at Pleasant Prairie (sock and underwear restock) and enjoy a Friday fish fry.  Then as usual, race day starts out with breakfast at our favorite Milwaukee diner.  Massive quantities of excellent food at way reasonable prices.

We started attending races at the Milwaukee Mile the first year we moved to Illinois.  We went to Champ Car races and also to NASCAR races.  But then, open wheel racing kinda fell apart when Champ and IndyCar split, and after a few years NASCAR just plain split and didn't return to the Mile.  This after they had just refurbished the entire track and built a beautiful new grandstand.  The track hasn't been used for much in the past few years except testing and the annual Millers at the Mile event (see our previous posts).  Recently, IndyCar has gotten its act together and it's turned into a decent racing series again.  A couple of drivers that we enjoyed in Formula 1 are now in IndyCar:  Rubens Barichello and Takuma Sato. 

It was great to see the track back in action.

It was a pretty good race.  Our drivers have handled the transition from F1 to Indy fairly well:  Barichello's still an excellent driver and Sato still runs into stuff.  On the return home, we somehow managed to avoid a stop at the world-famous Mars Cheese Castle.  It wasn't easy, passing up those cheese curds as we headed back across the cheddar curtain.
  

George Washington Masonic Temple

Back in May, we made a quick trip to the Washington, DC area.  Gordon was going to a Washington National Airport FAA reunion with a bunch of other geezers from the late 60's and early 70's.  As always, we also spent some time with friends and family.  Dropped by to see Gordon's Uncle Carl and his wife, Alberta.  Carl's in his 90's now and has lots of good family stories to tell.  We had dinner with Gordon's childhood friend Nancy and her husband Jerry, as well as with Gordon's cousin Amy and her husband, John.

We had a free morning, and we had just seen something on TV about the Masons.  Gordon remembered that when he was a kid, his school class went on a field trip to the George Washington Masonic Temple in Alexandria, Virginia.  He recollected a huge hanging tapestry that was hand-knotted by children in someplace like India and wanted to show Pati.  Off we went for the guided tour.  The temple's website is www.gwmemorial.org.

The inside of the temple is interesting, especially the elevators in the tower than slant inward.  They start out at the bottom, one of each side of the large central room...when they reach the top, they're next to each other.  It's a wierd feeling.  Once you're at the top, the view is outrageous:

                                      Looking out King Street toward the Potomac River

                        View of Washington, DC with the Washington Monument and the Capitol

We enjoyed our time there, but we both had issues as we finished the tour.  First, Pati's interested in Masonry, but women can't be Masons!  'Cause they think girls can't keep a secret!  Pooey!  And when Gordon enquired about the tapestry, which we had not seen on the tour, the guide said it had been removed...seems that its origins had been misrepresented.  And they didn't even have a stinkin' snack bar.