Scott AFB Famcamp - Grandson Football Practice

(Scott Air Force Base, IL)  Hi 72 Lo 49 -- A little chilly when we got up around 7:15. We even turned on the fireplace to take the chill off. We were packed up and out of the Hollywood Casino RV Park by 9:00, and that's after coffee, breakfast, a quick check of emails, and a visit to the dump station on the way out.

The five-hour trip was very smooth, with only a few slow downs for construction. We had nothing to look at but fields and a couple of windmill farms, but at least we had the rain-delayed NASCAR race to listen to on the radio. The race was in Atlanta, and it was rained out on Sunday due to tropical storm Lee and re-scheduled for 10am this morning. It helped to pass the time on the trip. And I can't resist mentioning that my favorite driver, Jeff Gordon, won the race! It was his 85th career win, which puts him in 3rd place in all-time wins behind Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105). Jim and I have been NASCAR fans since the 60's, and Richard Petty is our all-time racing hero. We've followed Jeff Gordon since we saw him race an open-wheel car at the age of 17, and we have a hard time believing he's 40 now! It's been so wonderful to see him develop into one of the all-time greats. We're pulling for him to win the championship this year.

Sorry for that little NASCAR diversion... We arrived at the Scott AFB Famcamp around 2pm. We love coming here; it's great to be back to the place we called home for 12 years during our military life. And we feel very secure here on base. We now get to spend a few weeks with our older son Frank, his wife Angie, and the boys, Kyle and Kendall. Kendall plays baseball, basketball, and football. After a quick dinner we went to watch Kendall's football practice. He's on a team of eight-year olds, and Frank is one of the coaches. Kyle came just to keep us company while we watched. We'll get to see some of Kendall's games while we're here, which we're looking forward to.

Kyle told us all about school, his teachers, and the subjects he likes (and doesn't like). He also brought along his rip board to show us his skills. A rip board is like a skate board, but it has only two wheels and it flexes lengthwise in the middle. It's pretty amazing to see how it works.

He asked me and Jim if we wanted to try it.  Yeah, right... :)

We had a good time seeing the boys tonight, and we're looking forward to the next three weeks.