During the Western Swing, if you don't stay out on the road one thing you appreciate deeply is the time you get to spend at home. You earn it, for sure, because if you live anywhere east of the Rockies the flights are long and the travel days exhausting, but once you walk through the door into your own humble abode, it all seems worth it.

What's unfortunate for me is how rarely I've actually gotten to see my wife during this marathon. She's been in Pittsburgh since last week, at her nephew's graduation part /family reunion, and she and her mom will be coming back here tonight, landing around 8:30. I, of course, leave tomorrow morning. At least it's not the other way around, and my time here since getting back from Seattle has been made all the better by having the undivided attention of a pair of fuzzy little guys named Boofus and Buster.

I have to give Tim credit for one thing here: He has kept up on his end of the deal regarding the Wilkerson clan's promised drive down the coast after Seattle. I just finally heard from him (barely, as he was cutting in and out) and even now, midday on Wednesday, he and his wife Krista, along with their daughter Rachel, were only about to cross the California state line from Oregon. That's two straight days of hugging the coastline, seeing the magnificent sights, and having a short but vivid vacation. It also left him mostly incommunicado, out there on the rugged coast, and after a race win you can only imagine how many press and interview requests immediately come in. All I've been able to say is that the driver promised his family a trip down the coast, and that's what they're doing... Good for him, and I think it's pretty fair to say he earned a couple days of nothing more than driving and touring.

Anyway, one of the main reasons for today's blog is simply to have a way to share some additional stories and photos. I'm not sure what it is about this blog that seems to resonate with so many people up in the Pacific Northwest, but the Seattle race has got to be one of the most heavily-visited events when it comes to longtime loyal blog readers being in attendance. There's Kim the lawyer from Vancouver, who comes to the race with his terrific rugby-playing son Andrew, and of course there's Crazy Jane and her husband Chris, also from Vancouver and most well-known for their deep allegiance to the Canucks.

There's Tom Miller and his son Doug, from West Linn, Ore., who have been shown here before because I've been getting emails from TomFWL (Tom from West Linn) since the blog began. There's Terry Mattis, who always makes a creative sign and ends up with a plethora of autographs on it before he's done. And Andy Perreault, who's been reading forever and sharing pics equally as long. And Jeff Eason, who plays in a band called The Flood and who gave me an old Rush pin last year, which still sits on my credenza here in my office (hey, some bits of "clutter" simply have to remain). And Tristan Slezak, who just graduated from high school but has been coming to the Seattle race since I have. I've known Tristan since he was just a little kid, and anyone who has ever met Tristan remembers him.

Pat "Ma" Green was there, as were countless other friends and blog readers, too numerous and in some cases too nameless to mention. For the record, I do appreciate every hello and handshake, even from those who simply say "Love the blog" and walk on... Like I said, I'm not sure why Seattle is such a big deal in this way, but it is.

And we got to see some familiar faces of other sorts (not sure if they all read the blog or not.) Did I mention that Cristen Powell was there? She made a point of coming by to catch up on everything, and once again left me with the overwhelming impression that she is one of the truly good and righteous people on this planet. Cristen had every opportunity to be a race car driver for as long as she desired, or be just about anything she wanted to be. She has chosen to simply help people less fortunate, and since getting out of college she has mostly worked in shelters, helping those who need it most. I imagine most of those with whom she interacts have no clue that the kind woman who is doing so much to help them was once the "World's Fastest and Quickest Teenager" and quite a celebrity in her own right.

240-Gordie Bonin was there, and even though we never had a chance to stop and talk, we yelled at each other while passing by in cars or on golf carts a few times. And of course, my former boss Whit Bazemore was in attendance, doing some more fine work for ESPN2. All in all, the whole weekend seemed to consist of seeing old friends, making new ones, and meeting nice people. And then we won the race! Pretty cool deal all around.

Between the Millers, Andy, and Terry I received quite a few pics in the last couple of days, so I've included some of them in the gallery. Sometimes, even if the shots are a little grainy or maybe slightly out of focus, it's just neat to see things from someone else's perspective. Oh, and you'll love the one shot of the area behind the huge main grandstand in Seattle. We lovingly talk about the track as our KOA in the woods, but the new main grandstands are on the far side of the track from the pro pits and now I realize I've never so much as walked over there. I had no idea what the area behind the big grandstand looked like... Wait until you see that one... KOA indeed...

Three of the last photos in the gallery came from me, and were taken yesterday. There was a chance of showers all day, but just after noon I had to make the trip over to Minneapolis to drop my roller bag, the one now sporting three wheels instead of four, at a fine suitcase repair place over there. On the way back, a large dark cloud was forming to my east, and by the time I got to the Woodbury exit off I-94 it was basically right on top of me. All I could do was grab the iPhone and take one shot of it and hope for the best, while simultaneously slowing down from 65 mph to get off the freeway on the exit ramp. Well, as you can see, I got pretty lucky. What struck me about the storm was how the center of the cloud looked like it was being sucked up into the heart of the beast. There was no rotation, but it clearly looked like the edges of the cloud were being sucked in and up, and even though it was just my phone, I think the picture shows that. Pretty impressive, and a little scary to look at.

Once I got home, the storm hit and it was a big one. It didn't last long, but we got about an inch of much-needed rain, while we also got the never-needed hail that accompanied it. They weren't the oft- mentioned "golf ball-sized" versions, but they pinged off the windows pretty loudly there for a while. I'd consider them "jelly bean-sized" hail stones... Fortunately, no damage to report around here.

Time to check-in for my flight now. Happily, I'm back up in the front cabin again, which is a very good thing when the flight is more than three hours. I had the Shakespeare seat (2-B) a couple of trips ago, and then the Special Effects seat (3-D) coming home from Seattle. Tomorrow I'm in 2-D, so I guess we can call that the Flat Stanley seat, since it's only 2-D...

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The Millers. Tom (TomFWL) and Doug

 

Speaking of dinner, I got a note from my buddy and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Freddie Camarena, who will be there with his team this weekend. Some of Freddie's crew guys have never been to San Francisco, so he was asking for some advice regarding dinner or "must see" places to go. SF is, I think, the most unique and amazing city in America, but you could spend a month there and not even come close to seeing all the "must see" sights or eating in even a fraction of the great restaurants. For first-timers, though, I think the best thing to do immediately upon arrival is to just go to Fisherman's Wharf, park the car, and start walking around. If you only have one short night in the city, that's the best place to start. Yeah, I know, it's a pretty touristy area, but it gives a first-timer a real flavor of the city and it affords you a LOT of dinner options.

I had to remind Freddie that he'll have to tell his crew guys to take jackets or sweatshirts, even after they tell him he's nuts because it's a million degrees at the track and San Francisco is just over there on the other side of those hills. At that point, he only needs to say "Suit yourself, but you'll learn." Del Worsham and I used to both crack up over the fact we each had about 20 cheap sweatshirts at home, all with some version of the words San Francisco or an image of the Golden Gate Bridge printed or stitched on the front, because we never seemed to learn. A lot of people make a good living selling warm clothes to tourists who think the weather in San Francisco will be just like the weather they're leaving in Sonoma, or San Jose, or Fresno, or Sacramento, or Napa Valley, or even Oakland... You'll learn...

For us, I'm hoping for dinner in Sausalito while we're there. Same wonderful waterfront ambience of the city, but much closer to San Rafael, no major SF traffic to deal with, and more good food than you could shake a fork at... I've been to San Francisco many many times, and I always drive right up through the city when heading up to Sonoma from the airport, so I'll get my Golden Gate fix that way, and can then simply enjoy a wonderful dinner in Sausalito... It's all good.

Oh cool, my phone just buzzed and I had two phone pics from the traveling Wilkersons, so I'll tack them on the end of the gallery too. Funny Rachel wrote "Sea lions, hehehe" as one caption, as if she thought the concept of sea lions was funny (maybe it is, actually) and then on the other pic of the beautiful coastline she wrote "And don't think Dad is sending these. He doesn't know how to work his phone that well..." LOL... Thanks Rachel!!!!

Enjoy the pics...

Wilber, out!