Kannapolis

Rest easy Mark, we resisted the “Call of the Rat Toe.” We came into Concord on US601 and even though we were 5-6 miles east of Lowes Motor Speedway the traffic was as thick as mosquitos on a summer’s eve. Descretion being the better part of valor we just rolled north into Kannapolis.

After a few false moves we found our motel. I couldn’t beleive that we could find a room this close to the big race on such short notice, but maybe I know why now, it is only a couple short steps up from a dump. But hey, there is wireless broadband internet, the water pressure is great, the AC blows cold air and after manually hitting the power button, the remote control works the TV just fine, so what else do you want for $80.

At the front desk there was a schedule for the Kannapolis Intimidators, class A farm team for the Chicago White Sox, and they were home. We found a local pizza place for dinner, Flyin Buffalo and went to a baseball game, sort of.

Parking was a buck and General Admission was to be $4 each, but some guy was giving away complimentary General Admission tickets just outside the gate. He assured Donna there was no catch, so we took them and got in for free. About 10 minutes before gametime the grounds crew put the tarp on the field. The PA announcer said the game would be delayed a few minutes as there was a storm system headed our way. Donna and I immediately made our way to one of several covered picnic areas, even though it wasn’t raining yet, to avoid the rush later. After about a half hour and no rain we decided to just go ahead and leave as our tickets were free. Before we made it to the exit they started to take the tarp up, so we got some seats to watch some baseball. We made it through two whole innings before our long day caught up to us and we headed for the exit again.