RICK @ the RACES (Feb 24 to March 3)
Texas Trip for Carla and Alex’s Wedding (Feb 24 to March 3)
This weeks report is a bit different from usual, as it concerns my trip to Austin , Texas for my daughter Carla’s marriage to Alejandro (Alex) .
Monday 24 February
After parking my car at friends , Barbara and Wayne’s place in Pierrefonds, Quebec, early in the morning , I left a snowy Montreal for the begining of my trip. From the Pierre Trudeau Airport , I flew American Airlines to the JFK Airport , New York to connect with my flight to Austin.
I arrived in Austin around 8-30 pm and picked up my Rental car from Thrifty. I’d booked a small car , but as one was not available , I was given a luxurious Chrysler 300 , for the same price.RICK @ the RACES (22 March 2014)
From Austin’s Bergstrom Airport I drove to the Super 8 Motel , in the University area of the city. Once booked in to a convenient ground floor room , a few beers were bought from the nearby convenience store before crashing out for the night.
Tuesday 25 February
After many weeks of doing long hours at work, this was also going to be time for me to relax and take it easy for a few days, so on Tuesday I had nothing much planned except a belated birthday supper at the Olive Garden Restaurant, with Carla, Alex and grandson Benji.
Wednesday 26 February.
I’d got two ‘racing related’ things planned for this trip, and the first of them was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Before leaving Canada , I’d contacted Kate Traver ( Tour Operations Manager) of the Circuit of America F1 Grand Prix Circuit , located just out side Austin. They organize various tours of the track, and I’d booked with her , the V.I.P one.
On Tuesday, I received an e-mail from Kate, saying that the organized tours for Wednesday had been cancelled because of the wet weather in the forecast, but if I still wanted a tour, they could still accommodate me. With the wedding approaching at the weekend, I wasn’t sure what other day would work for me, so I opted to continue with my Wednesday plans.
I turned up as requested, at the COTA at 2-30 pm and was met by Guest Services Coordinator , Al Mays in his SUV.
Al , a former NFL and CFL player ( for the Calgary Stampeders) was a great guy and was an awesome tour guide. In his SUV , he took me on a personal ‘one on one’ tour of the tracks facilties, and he was a mine of information, with facts and figures about the circuits construction.
He told me that he was a good friend of Billy Joe ‘Red’ McCombs, the Texan, billionaire behind this great facility, and had been there right from the start when construction began , about three years.
Since then, two F1 Grand Prix have been held there, England’s Lewis Hamilton winning in 2012 and Germany’s Sebastien Vettel in 2013. As well as touring the track and viewing from the observation tower, I was invited into the offices and media hall. 
The track is an impressive place, and I have to thank Al and Kate for providing me with an excellent tour.
Thursday 27/ Friday /28 February
With the wedding quickly approaching my Thursday and Friday was taken up with last minute preparations, and a rehearsal at the church.
Saturday 1 March
Saturday was the big day, and the wedding of Carla and Alex took place at the Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Austin. By now I had moved from the Super 8 Motel to a room at the AT&T Conference Centre where the reception was being held.
It was from here that a Limo picked up Carla and I for the short ride to the church. I was a proud dad, as I walked Carla down the aisle.
After the church ceremony , we had a great night at the reception where I got to know Alex’s family and Carla’s many friends.
Sunday 2 March.
Sunday, my last day in Texas before returning home, was also supposed to be a race day for me. I’d planned on driving up to the Kennedale Speedway, for an IMCA Modified race, but Mother Nature had other ideas. Heavy rain caused the event to be postponed, so Sunday was another day of relaxing in Austin.
Monday 3 March
Monday was time to head back to the ‘great white North’ and first thing in the morning, I set off for the Bergstrom, Airport. The rental car was dropped off at Thrifty and I awaited the first of my flights home. From Austin, I flew into Dallas, Fort Worth, where I got my connection back to Montreal.
Wayne and Barbara picked me up from the airport at about 8-45 pm and by 11-00 pm I was back home in a snowy Cornwall.
PLEASE NOTE..
Wedding Pics to follow. As ‘Father of the Bride’ my photo taking ‘opps’ were very limited , so have I have to wait until the official photographers ones are done