Thursday, November 4, 2010

Racing and Halloween in Savannah

Race car driver, David Pryor...?  Yes, Dave was invited to race with Hurley Haywood in the Cayman Series held in Savannah on Halloween weekend.  We packed up the kids, the dog and car and headed down south.  Luckily, the Westin accepts dogs, because this dog is in training to be a 'race dog'.  We only had to go down 16 floors to take him out for the bathroom :-), but he was accident free.  Woo hoo!  

 
Dave was psyched his name was on the car.  Each Cayman was painted in a historic car theme and their car was painted in Sonoco colors.  
Hurley decided to defy the officials and sneak Zach into the car.  Zach drove the car from the track back to the pits.  Pretty sweet, huh?  Later, he gave Zach a 'hot lap' around the track.  Hurley told us to bring a car seat so Zach could see over the dash - great idea.  Zach's response afterwards...."mommy, my stomach was queasy the whole way around the track."  I'm not sure how many 5 year olds have had those race track opportunities, but he loved (almost) every minute of it.  That's my boy!  
Dave practiced most of Friday and the race was on Saturday.  We entertained ourselves at the Westin. Check out that gigantic room above (and that's just the kids room) !  I guess the hotel thought we needed space with two kids and a dog. The pool, hot tub and room service were more than enough entertainment, but they also had several kid activities for Halloween.  We painted pumpkins and had a little help from Kobe.  Our pup also had a nice surprise when Indy, Hurley's spaniel, arrived Friday evening.  They entertained the babysitter Friday night - poor lady.  They do what puppies do.....play fight for hours, then pass out from exhaustion.  
Race day was super fun for everyone.  The kids and I drove around on a golf cart to see the race (and have fun), Dave raced the first half and Hurley, the last half.  The boys came in third place, which was awesome considering Dave is an amateur and as it turned out, all other racers were semi-pro.  We thought more racers would be amateurs.  Dave and Hurley were on the podium with a champagne spray and all!  Dave looks a little tired holding his trophy, doesn't he?  I would be tired after two days of driving a race car too. 

The Westin is located on Hutchinsen Island and we had to take a ferry across to River Street.  The kids and I went over a couple of times for lunch and just to look around.  The sculptures on River Street were inspiring.  
Savannah celebrated Halloween on Saturday night, and we were on River Street and downtown for dinner.  Our friend, Steve, found an amazing restaurant, Alligator Soul.  The kids were dressed up, along with the rest of Savannah and it was an electric night.  Live bands playing, people tossing candy (nicely) to the kids from balconies.  I thought they were going to throw beads...oops, wrong city.  Everyone was wonderful to the kids.  Zach decided to run through the musical lights fountain at Telfair Square (think Centennial Olympic Park type fountain), and yes, he got a little wet.  Of course, he made us all laugh.  Take a look at the frog legs and alligator pieces Olivia ate for dinner!  Sorry for the photo quality...I only had my iPhone.
After returning on the ferry to the Westin, all of the drivers were invited onto a gigantic yacht docked outside the Westin.  It belonged to one of the drivers and his wife.  It only had four bedrooms....only.  Olivia's comment, "daddy, our boat doesn't have an inside."  Sorry, little one.  She also came out with "I want servants!"  As it turns out, she did not want to go out to dinner one night and wanted room service again.  Funny, but maybe she really meant what she said... she wants servants!  You have one, it's called mommy.  :-(
Saturday was a long day and night with races, parties, Halloween, good food, and a party on the yacht.  
We promised the kids we would take them to the beach.  So we packed up, stopped for breakfast (and gluten free pancakes) and spent the afternoon on the beach in Hilton Head (40 minutes away).  Kobe loved the beach; he's one spoiled pup and was awesome during the entire trip.  He received so much affection at race and hotel.  I have a feeling we are in for a fun week of deprogramming him.
After a gorgeous day at the beach, we had to say goodbye and go home.  Trick or Treating was awaiting us.  We arrived home at 6:00pm, unpacked, dressed the kids and headed out for some candy.  Our cheetah and Iron Man II raced from door to door with Halloween delight.  Dave and I knowing that candy will keep us going this week.......

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