Living large in Texas

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Hello from the Big D - the greater Dallas - Ft. Worth area. I rolled in Wednesday about 1 pm. It was nice to have a short drive in and good to get settled in one location for a few days.

Had a good Mexican meal last night. Tonight I had some Texas BBQ!

Today was a nice relaxing ‘down’ day. Carley got a bath before we went to Grapevine. I guess I’m officially a car nut washing my car while on a trip! Of course I don’t think that will be too unusual if I continue to attend Miata events - which is definitely in the works. Of course I think back to 2001 and a trip to Texas when I actually ran my rental car through the car wash during the trip. Bet there aren’t many of you out there who can say they’ve put a rental car through a car wash. Of course we were in a dust storm and the car was just totally filthy.

Rolled into Grapevine and got some photos in front of the Gaylord Texan. Then I went to downtown Grapevine, explored and had a nice lunch. If you are ever in the DFW area Grapevine should be a stop. It’s a fun place. I was here at the end of my western trip in November of 2008. It’s nice to already be familiar with getting around there.

Saw some of my fellow Ridgerunner club members today as well as some friends from the Tri-Cities club. Met some nice folks from Colorado and Vancouver, BC, too.

Tomorrow is a full day. I’m participating in a track day at MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, TX (southwest of Ft. Worth). Classroom instruction and track time on a road course. That’s from 8-5 and then I’ll zoom by the RV to walk Chessy, feed her, and head north to Grapevine for evening festivities. There are several runs scheduled for Saturday and evening events. Sunday we have a track day at the Texas Motor Speedway and more evening festivities.

Well my 5:30 wakeup call will be here way too early so I’ll wrap this entry up and get my final preparations complete.

Hope you enjoy a few images from the day. I’ll try and get more photos posted as the weekend unfolds. Thanks for checking in.

Bruce & Chessy

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Photos

Carley beside motorhome
Here's a view of my primo campsite at the KOA in Arlington, TX. Nice pull through site where I didn't have to disconnect my car trailer. Carley is enjoying her first journey behind DB - my motorhome!

Carley in front of Gaylord Texan
Here's a shot of Carley in front of the Gaylord Texan. I had the camera ready, stopped and got a few images off quickly. This road isn't used much but didn't have any official parking. As you can see I have the Ridgerunner Miata Club magnetic logo on the side of Carley. Thanks Joe for loaning me your set for the trip! I've had several comments from Miata folks in the south who are familiar with our club.

downtown Grapevine
This is a view of Main Street in Grapevine.

reflection
I'm always looking for reflections to photograph. I liked this one with Carley reflected in the store window. I think it is really cool how the town of Grapevine welcomes groups to the Gaylord Texan. As you can see there is a sign in the window welcoming Miata World II. They are in every shop window in town. There were also posters for a helicopter reunion meeting next week.

City Hall and windmill
This is a working windmill across from City Hall. There is a small historic park where the windmill is located.

another downtown view
Here's another view of downtown Grapevine. As you can see one of my Miata friends from Virginia was exploring downtown today as well.