Category: McCleary Family

Race City USA

Leave a comment

We woke up north of Mooresville, North Carolina.  Mooresville is known as “Race City USA” as over 30 race teams call this area home.  The girls needed a day to catch up with school work and Grace needed a day for her foot to be elevated so this day became all about me as Rachael and the boys and I toured several race shops. (Grace is doing much better by the way… thanks for your concern with her foot)

We decided to start our day with the race shop furthest away from our campground which was the Hendrick Facility.  The Hendrick campus was quite overwhelming and we clearly discovered that this is a VERY big business.  We were told that each team has 72 cars for the season so that is 288 cars for Hendrick and they build over 700 motors a year!  The cost of a NASCAR engine was approximately $120,000 each and when a hauler is loaded up and ready to go to the track with the cars, engine, spare engine and parts is is approximately 2 million dollars rolling down the road to the track!  To run a competitive team it costs between $35 and $40 million a year.  That averages out to be about $1 million dollars per race weekend.   One of the guys who works at the Hendricks shop on Kasey Kahne’s team is from Willmar, MN.  I actually knew him when we were in college.  Unfortunately he was not at the shop yesterday.  After seeing the Race Shop we went the the gift shop and museum.  It was fun to look at many of their past cars and buy and few souvenirs.

IMG_2931 IMG_2932 IMG_2933IMG_2590IMG_2591IMG_2582IMG_2606IMG_2605IMG_2604

After leaving Hendrick Motor Sports we went to Joe Gibbs Racing.    This was another very impressive facility and another 4 team operation.  It was cool to see Joe Gibb’s football trophy case which included his SuperBowl Rings  After viewing the Race Shop we went to the gift store and the boys found their favorite part of the day – an arcade racing game that was free and they could play as long as they wanted!

IMG_2937 IMG_2936

IMG_2609 IMG_2611 IMG_2612-1 IMG_2614

Our last stop for the day was Michael Waltrip Racing which we had heard gave the best tours, however we were unsure what we would find as we heard they were laying off over 200 employees at the end of the season.  This was a great facility that had a catwalk that went out over the Race Shop and out of the gift store their were different areas that you could view their shock and suspension room, their rear-end and gear room and their water jet fabrication room.  We then went on our tour of the grounds.  We looked inside the chassis fabrication facility and their hauler bay.  We were told that everything that we saw was “for sale” because at the end of the season this racing operation will be shutting down.  I am very thankful we were able to see this facility prior to that happening.  An interesting fact that we learned at Waltrip Racing was that their tire bill alone for the season is $1.5 million.

IMG_2951 IMG_2947 IMG_2946 IMG_2945 IMG_2943 IMG_2942 IMG_2941 IMG_2938

I have to say, touring these facilities was one of my funnest things on this roadtrip!  The people at each facility were very nice and if you are in any way a race fan I would recommend you add this to your “to do” list.

Below is a great video that Grace put together for me of the day.

A day at the caves

Leave a comment

We woke up in Maryland and headed to the Luray Caverns. (Here are some state pictures that we’ve taken over the last couple days.)

IMG_2866 IMG_2916

When we arrived at Luray Caverns in Virginia we had lunch in the RV. Then we went to the cave. In our first couple of steps grace stepped wrong and hurt her foot somehow. We aren’t sure whats wrong with it. She had troubles the rest of the way in the cave.

IMG_2910 IMG_2909 IMG_2908 IMG_2901 IMG_2899 IMG_2888

Here was the wishing well. Every year they empty it out and donate it to charities.

IMG_2569

Here were the two eggs. They were super cool!

IMG_2572

After the cave we went to the gift shop. Grace got a wheelchair to go the camper in because her foot was all swelled up. Then we drove to Greensboro, North Carolina and we went out for Cold Stone with the Croatts. Thanks for coming on such short notice!  It was awesome to see you!

IMG_2579

After eating our ice cream we drove to our next campground.

-Greta

Washington D.C third day

1 Comment

October 18, 2015

Today we went to Washington D.C (again) but this time it was our last day. Because it was our last day, we were running out of energy. So we wandered around a little. Our first stop was the Fords Theater.

The Fords Theatre, for those of you who don’t already know… Is the theater where Abraham Linlcon was assassinated. When we got in the theater we went to the higher level so we got a very good view of the presidential box. We didn’t watch a play or anything, but just listened to a man tell us about what happened there. Let’s see what you know about Lincoln by answering these true or false questions. The answers will be at the bottom of the page.

  1. T or F: Aberaham was the 16th president

2. T or F: Lincoln is buried in Kentucky

3. T or F: Lincoln’s middle name is Thomas

The next place we went was to see the White House. We didn’t get very close but it was still cool to see. Let’s see what you know about the White House.  These questions are going to be True or False as well.

4. T or F: George Washington oversaw the construction of the White House, but he never lived in it

5. T or F: The White House is not open to the public

6. T or F: Presidents are allowed to make changes to the White House décor during their term of residency

The answer to these questions are:

  1. True
  2. False, although he was born in Kentucky he was actually buried in Illinoise.
  3. False, he doesn’t have a middle name!
  4. True
  5. False, up to 5,000 visitors go inside daily
  6. True

We encourage you to comment and let us know how many you got right!

Here is a video I put together over the weekend. The audio is Martin Luther King Jr. , I have a Dream , and the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln.

-Grace

Washington DC

Leave a comment

Today we spent the day in Washington DC we were able to see quite a few monuments. It was a lot of walking (over 10 miles) and some sore legs but totally worth it. We started out by our car and walked to our first stop, the Washington Memorial.

The Washington Memorial is a Tall Building standing at 555 feet tall. It took 36 years to build, 1848-1884. When it was finished this building was the tallest building in the world. This monument symbolizes the awe, respect, and gratitude the nation felt for its most essential founding father, George Washington.

Another Monument we went to was the Lincoln Memorial. Considering we learned a lot about Abe yesterday it was cool to see this statue of him. The whole Monument has 36 columns surrounding “Honest Abe” representing the 36 states that where established in the time the he was elected. He was the 16th president to be elected. He was also considered on of our “best” presidents. It was him who had a major roll in stopping slavery and that is one reason of many why we honor him. This monument opened to the public in 1922.

Next we went to the World War II Memorial. My great grandpa Clifton served in this war. This monument was one of the saddest ones. It honors all of the more than 16 million who served to defend our country. And the 400,000 who died during the process. This monument opened to the public in 2004. And It is open to visitors 24/7. It was a very cool place to be and see.

The next place we went, my favorite of the day, was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is a very special place where active soldiers protect the tomb. What’s so special about this tomb? This tomb has three very important people inside of it. They fought for our country and died doing it. They fought for what they believed in and for what they loved. The only thing is that we do not know who these people are. This tomb located in Arlington National Sematary represents all of the soldiers who are killed in war and we are uncertain of who they are. Thus its name “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier”. During the time that we where their we where able to witness the changing of the guards. The guards are there 24/7 to guard the tomb, rain or shine. On the front of the tomb is written “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God”.

We would like to know how many states YOU have been to. We invite you to take participation in this poll. And we cant wait to hear from all of you!

These are just some of the places we went today. Here are a few pictures with some of the monuments. -grace

IMG_2832IMG_2831

The Sculpture Gardens

 

IMG_2834 IMG_3564 IMG_2297 IMG_2295IMG_3563

World War II Memorial

IMG_2419 IMG_2421

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

IMG_3568 IMG_2834IMG_2291-1

The Washington Monument

IMG_2839IMG_2316

Abraham Lincoln Memorial

IMG_2313

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial

IMG_2406 IMG_2402

The Vietnam Memorial

IMG_2365 IMG_2371IMG_2362

The Korean War Memorial

IMG_2395 IMG_2375

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

IMG_3569IMG_2846IMG_2348

John F. Kennedy’s gravesite with the Eternal Flame – The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – Arlington National Cemetery

IMG_3570

Gettysburg, PA

Leave a comment

October 15, 2015

We woke up in Coatesville, Pennsylvania and headed to Gettysburg. When we got there we went to go see the twenty minute movie about it. Then we saw the cyclorama about it. There was a huge painting in the cyclorama. The painting is one hundred thirty-one years old! It was really cool to see the cyclorama!

IMG_2798 IMG_2799 IMG_2800 IMG_2801

After we saw the super cool cyclorama we went to the gift shop. We got some stuff including a audio cd that would tell us about Gettysburg while we drove around. After the gift shop we went to the car to drive around the battlefield.

IMG_2250 IMG_2243IMG_2260 IMG_2258

These pictures are from “Little Round Top” on the Battlefield.

When we were driving around there were so many memorials. We walked up a few flights of stairs at one spot and it was a really pretty view from the top. We stopped at about fourteen spots that the audio cd told us about. It was really pretty because the sun was setting.

IMG_2809 IMG_2808

I learned that 252 of Minnesotas men went to fight in the war. Within the first few hours 85% of those men died. After the day at Gettysburg we drove the rv to our next campground in Millersville, Maryland. One of my favorite things about today was looking at the battlefields.

IMG_2262

-Greta

Lancaster County, PA

Leave a comment

Oct 14, 2015

Yesterday we went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There we stopped at a few Amish stores and looked around. There were all sorts of homemade items for sale at the stores we stopped at. As we were driving around we also saw a very neat steam engine train.  You could go on train rides but we were holding out for a buggy ride!

image-2

After eating a family style Thanksgiving type meal at a place called Plain and Simple (which was supper yummy, buy way too much food) we got to go on a buggy ride behind a horse. It was cool to see how their life style is so much different from ours.  Our buggy driver informed us a little bit about the Amish life. Their life seems so much more simple but hard work! The men milk the cows and do the farming while the girls cook and clean all without the use of electricity. We got to play with some cute kittens as well. They had a lot of work horses pulling buggies that we saw along the road.

IMG_2157 image-1

The horses that pulled us where named Jake and Sid. Jake got a little more distracted by things and was a little bit more eager. Over all they both did super well and it was very fun to go on that ride.

IMG_2159

Here is Jake and Sid

IMG_2158

We played with all the kitties hanging out by the barn.

After the ride we headed to a Walmart for a few groceries then went back to the camper and made kitty cocktails to eat with some of the treats we bought. It was a fun day filled with new experiences.

IMG_2175

Here is the parking at the Walmart that we stopped and bought some groceries at.

-grace

The Liberty Bell and The Mint

Leave a comment

October 13, 2015

We woke up in Sussex, New Jersey. We got up and headed down the road to a bagel bakery and deli that our friends told us we needed to go to before we could cross the Jersey boarder.  We got some breakfast bagels with Talyor Ham.  They were yummy!!!  Thanks Gamps!  Then we drove to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to go see the Liberty Bell. It was a couple hours of driving but it was worth it. When we got there we had to go through security. I was surprised that it was free to get it to see it! We got a picture and moved on to the next thing.

IMG_2128IMG_3549IMG_2782

We walked to go see the U.S Mint, Which is where they made coins. There is only two Mints in the U.S and the other is in Denver. When we got there we had to go through security again! We went up the escalator to see the factory. I learned that it starts out as a coil then they stamp out the shape of the coin. After looking at the factory we went to the gift shop we got a few things them moved on to the next thing.

After doing all that we were hungry so went to a place and had some pizza. When she brought out the pizza it was huge! We all got our own slice. After having some pizza we went back to the RV and drove to Coatesville, PA at a campground.

IMG_3553

-Greta

NYC busy day 3

Leave a comment

We started our day yesterday by sleeping in. Everyone was very tired from the late night in New York the day before. After everybody got ready and showered we headed out to High Point. High Point is a memorial not far from our campsite that honors New Jersey Soldiers that fought by land and by sea. My dad was a little, okay… a lot freaked out because it was pretty high up. There where a lot of stairs in that building. After High Point we made our way over to an Ethiopian church. We mainly went there because Hannah has to write a report about an cultural experience that she attended. Even though we could not understand anything they where saying, other than the often “hallelujah” and “thank you Jesus”, it was pretty cool. We could not stay for the whole thing due to Amanda having to be to the airport. So we quietly left trying not to make a scene, which is kind of impossible for our family. So a lady followed us out to say bye and we explained to her that we just had to go to bring Amanda to the air port. We felt a little better knowing that they didn’t think that left because we didn’t like it. After getting out to the parking lot we realize that someone has parked their car behind our car in the street. My dad maneuvered the way out. He said its a good think he has practiced turning a car around in our garage just in case he would ever need to know how to do it. Then we made our way to the air port. We said our last goodbyes to Amanda as my mom walked her into the air port. After that we headed into to NYC for the night tour on the bus. (I was against it for the record.) I have definitely had enough of the city for a while. When we got to the bus line and boarded the bus we realized that we should have brought some warmer clothes. After we boarded we drove around the city. We even went over the water on the big Manhattan Bridge. That was another thing that my dad could have gone without. After a long cold bus ride we went home. Most of us kids slept on the way home. After getting back to the camper we all tucked in and went right to sleep.

 

IMG_2033IMG_2030IMG_2038IMG_2048

Here are some picture from High Point, New Jersey

 

 

IMG_9434 copy

We were so glad Amanda joined us for the weekend!

 

FullSizeRender

This was the awesome Ethiopian Church we went to.

 

IMG_2083IMG_2067IMG_2081

Our night tour of Manhattan.  The last picture is one we took over the double decker  bus ride over the Manhattan Bridge.

Here is a Video that I put together of videos that my mom took over the last few days.

-Grace

The New York Experience

Leave a comment

October 9, 2015

Yesterday was the first day of New York. I joined my family at about 11 pm on Thursday night. After the flight my mom was waiting at baggage claim for me, and the hug I received is believed to be the biggest yet. We started our day quite a bit earlier than I usually do in my dorm at home in Mankato. This means about 9 o’clock. Although we are visiting New York for the weekend, we are staying at a farm that reminds me much of our home in Alexandria. There are ponies, goats, sheep, chicken, a donkey and wild deer there. We left the farm and made our way, about an hour and a half drive, to New York City. After driving in the city for about 20 minutes looking for a parking spot, my mom was stressing out and in need of someone to take over the wheel. At a stoplight that was backed up my parent’s switched spots and my dad then got us to a parking ramp with only a few close calls. Immediately after walking out of the parking ramp we experienced New York City. There were bus services all around us that wanted to sell us the “best” tour around, and notifying us that “all the other ones are scams”. Being my dad has a short fuse of patients and we intended on getting a bus tour anyway, he didn’t hesitate to say yes to the first man who talked to us. Other than the bus tours, there were people dressed up as characters from the boys favorite shows asking to take pictures with tip jars strapped around them. While my dad was figuring out how exactly the tour worked that he had just bought, we got on the bus to see it first hand. Our tour guide, cheesy and annoying, showed us around the city. We saw Uptown, Downtown, Midtown, Soho, China town, Time Square, Madison Garden Center, Statue of Liberty, The Empire state building and just about anything more that you could imagine. After the tour, my dad was eager to teach us all about the One World Trade Center. We went there with good intentions of learning, and although we did that, I think a few of us left light headed and ready for some food. Out of all places in New York to grab some food, the choice was made to eat at T.G.I. Fridays. Shortly after, we found ourselves back on the tour bus to make our way to Times Square. On our way there, a downpour happened. Although we were given plastic ponchos, I think it’s safe to say we all ended up rather wet and cold. As my dad says though, McCleary’s don’t quit. We kept going until the end of the day. My sisters, mom and I enjoyed shopping at Forever 21 as that is all we had time for due to the 4 floors. We intend on doing some more shopping tomorrow. We left NYC for the day and I was exhausted. Not only did we get up earlier than usual for me, I did not get to take my typical 2/3 naps a day. Falling asleep in the car has never been so comfy. Although I miss my friends and boyfriend at home, this trip with my family is much needed and I am so lucky to have the opportunity to see all of them in a beautiful city for the weekend.

Amanda

IMG_2695 IMG_2696 IMG_2698  IMG_1872   IMG_1934 IMG_2725 IMG_2722 IMG_2700 IMG_2699 IMG_1904  IMG_1883IMG_1893  IMG_1899IMG_1920IMG_1880IMG_1915IMG_1890

Middleboro, Massachusetts to Sussex, New Jersey

Leave a comment

Oct 8th, 2015

Today was quite uneventful. We drove from Middleboro, Massachusetts to Sussex, New Jersey. We stopped for gas and a red box but that’s about it. Our camp site has some animals that I took the boys to see. There are goats, sheep, ducks, and some mini ponies. The best thing that happened yesterday was that Amanda joined us!  She’ll be blogging for us a few times over the next days.

-Grace