Okeechobee!

Last night, Viguen and I were at the kitchen table looking over the map to determine how far it is from West Palm Beach, Florida to Kershaw, South Carolina.  (Alexander's next races will be in South Carolina and we need to get the Rusty Bucket from West Palm Beach to Kershaw.)  As we were looking at the map, Viguen, out of the blue, exclaimed "Okeechobee!....that's the word that I was trying to remember!"  I'm like "what the heck are you talking about?"  Viguen was all smiles and told met that he and Alexander had fun with that word while they were in Florida.  I totally didn't get it.

This morning, when I was driving Alexander to school I relayed the story to him about looking at the map and finding Okeechobee.  Well, a smile stretched across his face so fast and he immediately became the Geico "little pig that went 'weeeeeeeee weeeeeeeeeee' as all Alexander could say the ENTIRE way to school was "Okeechobee, Okeechobee, Okeechobee!"

At that moment it hit me.....besides sharing the love of go-karting, my boys love being together and creating memories of a lifetime. 

OKEECHOBEE!

So Long Florida Winter Tour

 Racers at Florida Winter Tour..Alexander is in the center, on the ground, in the red racing suit

My boys made it home safely and now the discussions begin.  We just received a call from Alexander's WKA racing team and they want him to begin testing at each one of the tracks for the upcoming WKA Racing season before the actual race.  Weighing the importance of actually attending school and not sucking Alexander's inheritance dry, we decided not to have Alexander race in the Florida Winter Tour anymore.  There were two races remaining this year...Ocala in February and Homestead in March. 

Now, the racing focus will be on WKA....lots of new tracks and new adventures.

Racing in West Palm Beach

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On the Grid in West Palm Beach

The neat thing about racing in the Florida Winter Tour is that the racers come from all over the world to compete.  In Alexander's class alone, there are racers from Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, United Kingdom, Brazil...not to mention Illinois, Texas, Missouri, Florida, and Virginia. 

In addition to having racers from different parts of the world, the number of karts on the track is many times more than he is used to. With 60 plus racers in his class, the number of karts on track is about 32 at a time.   

Viguen and Alexander worked hard to get the tuning of the kart just right.  On Thursday, the kart was fast and Alexander felt ready for qualifications on Friday.  Friday came and my boys choked....seriously, the choke was left on in practice so they didn't get any good data for the actual qualifying runs. 

In a nutshell, Alexander raced primarily in the Last Chance Qualifier and Consolation races because of numerous bumps and wrecks.  He actually led a race or two and was in the top 5 in a couple of others....but in all races, the dreaded wrecks took him out or pushed him back to the back of the pack.

My boys are still crazy about the sport and learned a LOT this weekend.  Although there were some frustrating times, their spirits remain high, they are spending quality time together, and taking it all in stride.  I wouldn't have it any other way.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Just taking a stroll by the Rusty Bucket

This is "home" for my boys while they are at the Florida Winter Tour/West Palm Beach.  Alexander has been riding his bike A LOT while at the track...pictured in the background next to the Rusty Bucket.  Viguen captured the "neighbors" just taking a stroll in the 'hood.

Happy Birthday, Viguen! 

After Race Celebration

One can never have too many ribs!

Thanks to the Clark Families in Texas and Arizona, we gnawed on a feast of ribs celebrating a successful Daytona racing trip and being back together. Next stop: West Palm Beach, Florida for the Florida Winter Tour.  Until then......