Fast Cars and Dashed Dreams

I’ve never been a motorhead. I danced ballet, sang in a madrigal group, read classic novels and did lots of other nerdy things. I like to hike in remote areas and use pedal power to bike down long trails. Let’s just say I’m relatively low-key. However, after our recent golf outing, and Googling “must do in Adel, GA”, we came to the realization that there was only one thing left to do. So, we headed to the South Georgia Motorsports Park.

When we arrived, the drag strip was being prepared for a night of racing but the afternoon was dedicated to something called autocross. Stock cars navigated through a maze of orange cones in a race against the clock. There was plenty of loud, engine revving, squealing wheels, and blue smoke that reeked of burning rubber. I was a novice. All of this was new to me. I was hoping to see a drag race, but time (and a dog left in the RV) would not allow us to stay for the main event.

Apparently, though, motorsports is a true passion in the Deep South. From our next campsite, at Lake Manatee State Park, we could hear the unmistakable sound of speed demons putting pedal to the metal. So, on a chilly, sunny, Sunday we trekked the two miles to Bradenton Motorsports Park and finally got to see dragsters, souped-up hot rods, and motorbikes fly down the dragstrip.

I was grateful for the experience, and can see why car enthusiasts are so passionate about it. I’ll probably go back to nature, novels and nerdy endeavors but am delighted to cross one more item off of my to do list.

Most days have been beautiful and warm. Hiking has given me much needed contemplative time during which I digest the fact that our dream of a lake house is an aspiration that will not be coming to fruition. Due to supply and material issues, the cost to build on our lake lot became prohibitive. I’m not always frugal but I am practical. A price tag exceeding a million bucks for a three-bedroom house with an unfinished basement is ludicrous; laughable.

Lake Anna Lot for Sale.

Time to “pick myself up by my bootstraps” as my dad would say, and move on. Reassess. Regroup. Remind myself that there is a reason for everything. Despite the disappointment life will move on.

We are looking forward to catching a couple of Spring Training games before heading back North.

Stay tuned…