We stepped out of the car in South Carolina and the sweet smell of Barbecue filled our nostrils and invigorated our road weary souls.
I don't even like barbecue, but the air smelled sweet and succulent. We were hungry.
We were here for one purpose: The Sandblast Rally. This was Seth's first year participating in the Sandblast Rally, and we've been excited about it for months! The excitement of being on the road, the exciting smell of barbecue in the air, the exciting thought of Sweet Tea (with no hint of lemon, as in more northern climes) in every restaurant, the excitement of the race...excitement is so exhausting! So after we found some food, we promptly went back to the hotel and took a four hour nap.
While we slept it started to rain. It rained and rained and rained. And then the heavens opened up and it rained as though it would never stop raining. In the midst of all this rain we noticed a Jeep with a trailer in the hotel parking lot. At one point, Seth met the owner of said Jeep and discovered that Jen and James were here for the rally as well! They are from Asheville, and James has the same motorcycle as Seth!
Seth registered and we went out to dinner, and the full glory of real live southern style tea finally hit my mouth.
Mmmm.
'Tis humorous that we met some friends from North Carolina before me move there, and I still haven't met any friends in Vermont after three and a half years...a good sign for the Carolinas.
Friday, steady, heavy, long and straight lines of rain beat in constant rhythm on every rooftop, parking lot, puddle and unfortunate umbrellaless head.
Saturday is race day! How exciting!
A few weeks before the race we discovered that Jonah Street, who raced in the Dakar Rally (and came in seventh this year!) was participating. So Seth was in the same race as a pro-motorcycle racer. Are you shocked? (very!)
Woah Nelly!
James and Seth left on their motorcycles and Jen and I walked down to the starting line to watch the big start.
The motorcycles are off! Jen and I caravan to the pit area, pretending to be important. Then, we wait. Then, we eat lots of homemade chili - for $1 a cup, it can't be beat for warmth. We wait for our men to come back, silently hoping that they will come back, and when they do it will be in the same condition in which they left.
They came back. The only change was a heavy layer of wet, muddy sand covering them and their bikes. Then they left again, and we started waiting again.
Sirens.
Anxiety...the wait. Craned necks as anxious eyes scan the road for signs of motorcycles. Aaaaah and they came back again! Sweet Relief! Laughter unfolds at the thicker layer of mud.
It was a long day of repeating this process.
And the cold! The rally guide informed us that the average in Cheraw at this time of year is 60! While we were there it was in the twenties and thirties. In Vermont this would feel like spring, but we were expecting sixty degree weather, so it felt abnormally cold. As the sun set it got colder.
Jen and I ventured out to one of the spectator areas during one of the longer of our interminable waiting sessions. Seth's movin!
I love pine trees.
Some of the guys on motorcycles didn't have lights, and they finished in the dark, then had to drive back to the pit area. They all made it, but I'm not sure how they did it.
Seth and James got back, and we followed them back to the hotel. At a dinner held that evening for all the participants and volunteers the results were posted, and Seth finished in a decent position. He thinks he's getting the hang of this rally thing, and we can't wait for the next one!
