Hi everyone, Toni here. I figured I would give Jim a break from his blog writing since he has been driving the rig home from Phoenix since Sunday night. Besides, I know that my week has been a lot more exciting than his has been so far! There are only so many mountains and hillsides that you can get excited about while driving along the same highways.

As most of you know, I usually travel with Jim in the rig, but when he suggested last week that I fly home from Phoenix instead of riding shotgun in the rig, I have to admit I eagerly jumped at the opportunity. Well, I tried not to be too eager, I didn't want to hurt his feelings or make him think I would rather fly four hours than drive 72 hours in the rig. You know how it is. I immediately began the search for a flight home and found it was cheaper to fly to Atlanta than it was to fly to Washington, D.C. Since Jon is at Clemson it made perfect sense to fly to Atlanta, have Jon pick me up, and visit with him for a few days while Jim trucked his way across the country.

Well, after the race Sunday evening we all went our separate directions. An hour after the final, Jim headed east in the rig and Al headed to N.Y. in one of Melissa's cars that had been left in California. On Monday morning Jamie left for Baltimore and I flew to Atlanta where Jon and his girlfriend Allie met me at the airport. Unfortunately, my flight landed right at the start of Atlanta rush hour so it took us well over two hours to get back to Clemson. It wasn't too bad, though; I hadn't seen Jon since our Christmas ski trip so we had lots of things to talk about on the drive back to Clemson.

Jon has a great two-bedroom townhouse within walking distance of the campus, which he shares with his roommate Bert. Between everyone's class and work schedules it can get a little crazy around the townhouse, so I always elect to stay at the Martin Inn which is located about a mile from Jon's house. Jon always offers to let me stay in his room and offers to sleep on the couch, which is really thoughtful, but I think not. A little too much togetherness, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I love the campus and the town of Clemson and Jim and I both really enjoy visiting.

By the time we got back to campus Monday night, it was getting late, so Jon, Allie and I went to a great restaurant, Pixie and Bills, for a nice dinner and then called it a night. Jon dropped me off at the hotel and we planned on meeting for coffee the next morning before his class. As it was, he only had one class that day so we could spend a lot of time running around catching up on everything that we needed to do. As a Mom I had a list of things to do with Jon -- get a haircut, shop for some new jeans, fix a flat tire on his truck, and get some groceries for his house. I have to admit, Jon is a good sport about it and doesn't even complain anymore when I drag him to the mall to update his wardrobe or insist that he buy vegetables and orange juice for his refrigerator.

Anyway, Tuesday was a beautiful day so I put on my running shoes, took my backpack and my camera and spent most of the early morning running around the perimeter of the campus. Clemson University is full of history (which I won't bore you with) and is absolutely beautiful so I took lots of pictures while waiting to meet up with Jon. The football stadium, Death Valley, is awesome as you can see from the picture. Because of our busy fall racing schedule, we have never been able to attend a football game, though one day Jim swears we will make it to a Maryland vs. Clemson game.

Speaking of Maryland vs. Clemson, we have a very friendly ACC rivalry going on in our family. Both Jim and Jamie are die-hard Maryland Terrapin fans and Jon and Melissa will live and die as Clemson Tiger fans. Whenever the two teams match up it is always exciting, and if you have been following college basketball lately, you know Maryland has a winning record over Clemson this season. Not to worry, as long as they aren't playing each other we figure we have two teams that we can root for!

Jon and I had a great time together and we ended up back at his place where I made him, Allie and Bert a good home-cooked meal complete with leftovers for the next few days. I would have liked to stay longer, but with everyone's busy schedules it just didn't work out this time. So, on Wednesday morning, I headed for home. My timing was perfect because I arrived at the house just about the time Jim arrived back at the race shop with the rig. He Jamie and Terry had to unload the car and get the engines ready to be picked up the next morning by Charlie from Jenkins Competition before he could close up the shop. Needless to say, he was a little weary by the time he finally got to the house so we decided to just settled down to a quiet dinner and watch the Maryland vs. Duke basketball game. What a great way to end a day! Go Terps!

We have been very blessed to have our kids involved in all aspects of our lives whether it is business, racing, or just family time. With Jon living in South Carolina, Melissa living in North Carolina, and Jim, Jamie and I traveling all over the country it is sometimes hard to see each other as often as we would like. I guess that just makes me more appreciative of the time I do get to spend with them. Why is it that a visit never seems to be long enough?

Well, I am really looking forward to Gainesville. Jon, Allie, and Melissa will be there. Jon's spring break is the week after the race and he has been planning for months to spend his week on the boat with us. Hopefully, everything will go as planned. We're not sure where we will be going yet, but I will guarantee you that there will be a blog and plenty of pictures of our trip. One of us will be writing again soon.

Thanks for checking in.