Five years ago today was one of the most memorable days of my life. Two weeks prior, Chris called me and asked if I was interested in going to the Indy 500.
Totally free.
Wasn't going to cost me anything but the gas down to Grand Rapids.
Um...let me think about that....
YES!
I left my house on saturday morning, the plan was to get to GR by noon, and then we had to go pick up Mike and Vic, the other couple that was invited. Got that all taken care of, got Mike and Vic's kids dropped of at her parents house, and headed to Noblesville. The trip down was uneventful, but once we got to Noblesville, we sort of got lost looking for a restaurant. But we got there eventually and had some dinner. There was talk about going out, but it was getting late, and we had to be up and at the meeting place by 6:00.
The meeting place happened to be the business of one of Chris' jetski racing friends. Every year, Derrick's dad would buy tickets to the Indy 500 for his employees, and whom ever his son invited. When we got there, it wasn't just a few people...there were close to 300 people there. They had coffee, OJ, tea, donuts, bagels and muffins for us to munch on while we were waiting to leave.
Again, all free.
And the buses. Fred, Derrick's dad, chartered 6 buses to take us to Indianapolis. While we were waiting to get on the buses, we got wristbands with the company name on them. That was our admission to the race, and the hospitality area that was for us only.
Everyone finally gets loaded up in the buses, and we hadn't even gotten out of the parking lot, when the beer and booze started flowing.
All free.
Oh...it gets better.
We had a police escort. From Noblesville to Indianapolis. One of the most exciting things about the escort? There was a police officer, who would stand and balance on his motorcycle while it was going down the highway.
Freaking amazing!
We get into Indianapolis, and it was total chaos! The streets are lined for miles with cars, people who lived nearby were selling food, beverages, parking spots. The buses are winding their way through the crowds and streets, and we finally make it to our destination. Accross the street from the enterance, an area is roped off for our buses. We get off the bus, and there are two different drink areas, and two different grill/food areas set up, and a large tent with tables and chairs, and a band setting up. As long as we had the wristband on, everything was free. In the drink areas, you could get whatever you wanted. And it wasn't the cheap beer and alcohol they offered you, it was good stuff. The food was awesome. Burgers, dogs, chicken, brats, cold salads. Good eats!
After we got some food, Chris and I decided to go for a walk and check out some of the vendors. The were selling everything. I got a program and Indy 500 flag for dad, and a couple of Indy 500 stickers for Bro and me.
The race was getting ready to start, so we hightailed it to our seats, and got comfy. Well, as comfy as you can be on metal seats. We were in the at the end of the track, near turn 4. It was awesome. The weather was beautiful, the company was great, I couldn't have asked for a better day. Don't ask me who won the race that day. I don't remember that. Just everything before and after the race ended.
On our way back to Grand Rapids that night, I got us lost, becuase the map that Chris had sucked. Mike and Vic were sleeping in the back of the van, so they were no help. Chris and I finally got it figured out, and we made it back to GR unharmed. It had been a fun-filled, jam packed weekend, and I was beat. When we got back to Chris' house, I crashed, and slept like a rock. Thankfully, Chris was upstairs in his room, and I was down in the living room, so I didn't have to listen to him snoring.
I headed home early monday morning. I'm not fond of driving in bigger cities, especially if there is a lot of traffic. I was home by 11:30 that morning, and ended up taking a nap, still trying to catch up from the weekend.