I know everyone was expecting to hear from Jim this week, but since he is presently dropping the rig off in Vegas and getting ready to catch a flight home I thought I would help him out again and catch everyone up on what has been happening with the Yates family this week.

As you already know, we had the opportunity to spend a great spring break week with Jon and Allie boating around the Florida Keys. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and early Sunday morning, Jon and Allie got in their rental car to make the long drive back to Clemson while Jim and I turned the boat west to head towards Cape Coral.

It was a nice day for cruising, unlike some of the other days of boating we had experienced during this past week. Anyway, to make the trip from the east side of the Keys to the west side of Florida there are only a few ways to cut across. We usually travel from the Atlantic under the Channel Five Bridge into Florida Bay and then out into the Gulf of Mexico. While taking this route we have to be very careful to stay in the well marked channels as the water levels have been very low everywhere due to the lack of rain. When you look out over the waterways in Florida it seems like there is water everywhere, but you have to be really careful because a lot of the water is less than three feet deep.

Well it took us about five hours to make the trip back to Cape Harbour Marina in Cape Coral. This marina is really unique because it is protected by a lock which keeps the water levels even and the salt water to a minimum. That is the good thing. The bad thing is that the lock is very old and very slow. Unfortunately, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, it can take an hour or more to get your turn in the lock and this Sunday was no exception. Now it would be really easy if you could just put your boat in park and wait for your turn, but it doesn't work that way. Jim has to try to keep the boat relatively still while avoiding other boat traffic using only his throttles and an occasional hit on the bow thrusters. Nevertheless, we got through the lock, got docked into our slip, and still had time to get the boat cleaned and polished before we had to get ready to leave for Houston.

We took the long way to get to Houston. First we had to drive to Merritt Island on the east coast of Florida (Sea Ray Plant) to get the rig and then drive back across the state to head to Houston. It was an uneventful drive and that is always a good thing.

We arrived at the track on Wednesday afternoon, met up with Jamie, parked and then washed the rig. I should have known right then and there that we were going to have a problem with our pit spot when the water from washing the rig seemed to be making a huge puddle in the middle of our pits. Well, I was sure it really wasn't going to rain Saturday like they said it would and Friday was such a beautiful day. Boy was I wrong! We had no less than six inches of standing water in our pits from Saturday morning until Sunday evening. What a mess. It actually got to be quite the attraction as we had people from all over coming by to take a look.

We took one of our engine crates and constructed a "boardwalk" over our flowing waters but when we had to finally get the car out of the trailer it was time to come up with a more aggressive plan. Luckily Jim had a pump in the back of the trailer and he and Jamie devised a method to pump the water from our pits, through our 75 foot garden hose and out into a much larger drainage area somewhere else in the pits. Between the pump, bailing water with coffee cans, and hours of sweeping, we did manage to keep the waters at bay. Well at least until another deluge hit, then we would start all over again. What a mess, but by the looks of things we were lucky to just have high water. Lots of rigs were bogged down in high mud and that was even worse. I couldn't believe the Safety Safari got the track dried, prepped, and ready to race only a few hours behind the Sunday schedule. My hat goes off to all of them for a job well done.

Rain delays always give you a lot of time to catch up on organizing the trailer, cleaning cabinets, catching up on paperwork, playing solitaire on the computer, and Jim's favorite pastime, signing autographs. He got a chance to talk to a lot of fans (a lot of them wet) while waiting for our call to the lanes. It is amazing how many people were there despite the threatening weather. It was worth the wait, though, because they got to see a great day of racing.

Well, I just heard from Jim and he is in a mad dash across town trying to get the Vegas airport. Hopefully he will make his flight because I know he is looking forward to having a nice Easter weekend at home with his family. Melissa is coming home for the weekend. Then we will go to Easter Sunday services and later meet up with Jim's family for our annual Easter Brunch. If it is like our usual Easter Brunch celebration, it will begin at 11:30 a.m. but will probably not end until the restaurant asks us to leave because they need to get the tables and chairs put away. One thing about us Yates' -- we love to get together and have a good time.

We hope that you and your family have a very blessed Easter weekend. Be sure to check back soon and we will share some family Easter pictures with you.