26 Jan 2014 - Lacking in Redneck...ness

The jeeps going through the Sissy Hole...halarious!

Rocket shaped Swamp Buggy.

They come around the corner on 2 wheels.

We programmed the GPS (aka The Other Wife) and headed out for the annual Swamp Buggy Races. Wayne had already checked it out on Youtube....I was a  complete novice but hey, it's 'racing' therefore it must be good. It wasn't good....it was GREAT!
Wayne didn't think it would be too crowded as it was advertised as the trials vice full out racing but I knew...I knew...there would be a good crowd, and there were lots of people. We were there early enough that finding a seat wasn't at all an issue and within a couple of hours, most of the stands were full.
The 'track' is a pretzel shaped trench of water, about 3 feet deep....except for the two Sissy Holes...which are about 5 feet deep and 15 feet long. The swamp buggies are various shapes but generally rocket-shaped with four large, thin, wheels that are designed to keep the vehicle just above water level. The driver sits behind the pointed cone at the front of the 'rocket' and drives the buggy much like a car. There are V-6 and V-8 engines and the difference is all about speed. They can really get some rpm's going and the rooster tail of water they leave behind is quite impressive. We didn't see any of these guys racing, just doing time trials, but 2 of them competing side-by-side would be quite impressive.
The best entertainment of the day were the jeep swamp buggies. Except for the odd jeep, most of them were relatively pokey but the best fun was when they got to the Sissy Holes. They virtually disappeared and all that was visible was the driver's helmets! They would race with 4 or 5 jeeps at a run and there always seemed to be one of them that gave out and stopped running in the middle of the hole and had to sit there until the end of the race when a tractor would come out and pull it out of the water.
We really failed at passing for true Rednecks as we didn't have any camouflage gear at all whereas anyone with any knowledge and love of the sport, and/or career aspirations to become a Swamp Buggy Racer was dressed in 'camie'. Even the little kids wore camouflage! The other thing that set us apart of the local population was that we didn't get excited or rush out to have our photo taken when the Swamp Queen and her entourage came by. In fact when she announced via loudspeaker that the next door prize was an autographed photo of her and the girls, I laughed and I think I got a few dirty looks from the camouflaged group sitting around us. As I frequently tell Wayne, you can't be pissing these people off....they have guns!
Scott and Brenda were supposed to arrive yesterday but missed their flight Saturday morning because of the snow and the domino kicked in...they missed their Toronto connection and the next flight got cancelled and they spent most of Sat and Sun in either the Ottawa or Toronto airports. They did get here today and are with friends in Cape Coral and will be here tomorrow.
We had a very quiet day...I made spaghetti sauce which became baked ziti for supper and Wayne went to the gym. I had full intentions of going for a long walk but..... We did watch some of the carnage happening on the 401 and the 400 highways! Man, whatever the gene is that makes us head out on the road, in the worst weather conditions, because 'we just have to be there', must be pretty powerful.
I miss my baby Honey Bees but sure don't miss the cold and snow. It was cloudy here today but still over 70 degrees. Had I not been so lazy we probably would have gone to the beach anyway. Until next time, much love to everyone at home. xx