The Thanksgiving holiday is over, everyone is back to work, the traffic on I-95 is almost negotiable again, and at my last weigh-in I'd only gained one pound from my turkey dinner -- that's a good thing.

Speaking of good things, we have a lot of exciting things happening around our shop as we are busily preparing for the 2008 Wiley X racing season. Jerry Haas is right on schedule with the building of our new Pontiac G6 race car which will debut in Pomona, and everyone at Wiley X is working with the designers and painters on our wild new paint scheme for next year. Wait until you see it.

Last week, we completely emptied our tractor-trailer and took it down to Charlotte to get a fresh, new paint job, which should take about four weeks. When the rig returns to the shop we will do some much needed repairs and upgrades and then start loading things back into it. Hopefully half of the stuff that came out of this rig won't have to go back into it. Boy, the things we accumulate in our rigs over the years.

Toni and I are leaving this evening (with my GMC Denali and a trailer in tow) for SeaRay headquarters in Merritt Island, Fla. This is the plant where the big yachts are built, and every year they have the SeaRay Yacht Expo. Our Pontiac GTO will be on display one last time for the many Expo guests and the employees at the Merritt Island/Sykes Creek Facilities. Of course in between signing autographs and greeting guests, I will get a chance to check out all of the new 2008 SeaRay yachts that will be unveiled. Hopefully, I will be able to take another plant tour and maybe even browse the newest items at the electronics booth. A guy can always wish that Santa has boat electronics on his sleigh, right?

We'll go from the Yacht Expo to the PRI Show in Orlando and then back to Charlotte to pick up the rig. By the time we finally get home I should have just enough time to get our Christmas tree, do some shopping, and celebrate Christmas with all of our family. What a great time of the year.

I will be on the road for a while but will check in soon to give you updates on the latest developments with our new program as well as share with you some pictures of the SeaRay Yacht Expo. Make sure you get your lists to Santa on time this year!