It's over and the PVB has set in

My dear friend Julie calls the sad, let-down feeling after a vacation PVB - post-vacation blues. Well, I've got it again. I can't believe our girlfriend weekend is actually over! It went so fast. I was anticipating it so much and it was so great to be with my girls again.

A special thank you to Don and Janet Miller for letting us crash in their great house with great beds. It was comfortable and so convenient! And of course, a special thank you to my husband, for making the pit passes happen for us and for making our Sharneen's dreams of race bliss come true!

I haven't really got any photos as we designated Sharn the official photo taker with her new kick-butt Nikon D80. So if you want to see the slideshows she's posted, go to her blog at: http://petersens-2.blogspot.com/, or click on the link to the right called Sharn's blog.

I boarded a plane last Thursday afternoon and flew to Cincinnati. With an over 2 hour layover I thought for sure my bags would make it to Phoenix, but much to my despair they didn't arrive. This was especially frustrating after Julie and I waited for them for over an hour, along with 9,000 other disgruntled travelers. I often wonder WHY airports have more than one baggage claim area if they only use ONE carousel? Anyway, we enjoyed some yummy grub at Mac Grill that night and crashed after some visiting. Friday was our first day at the track. We all had pink Bobby Labonte shirts (care of Philip - my husband is amazing!) and were referred to as the 'pink ladies' often through out the day. I enjoyed this trip to the track a lot because last time I went, I was alone - and a little unsure to venture out all that much. With my gals it was fun to just go everywhere and I definitely saw more of the drivers than I had before.

Saturday was a blast with lots of shopping! My feet were killing me by the end of the day and the pedicures were a welcome treat. I think the massage chair did a number on me because that night I started to feel very sick - a lot of back pain and nausea. I even sat through dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (which I LOVE) without ordering any food or cheesecake. I thought for sure I'd feel better in the morning. Sunday morning arrived quickly and I felt even worse than the night before! This couldn't be!! It was girls weekend - I was supposed to be bouncing off the walls! With a little help from my friends (Shannon buying me a pack of Rolaids soft chews - sooo yummy - for antacids that is) my tummy seemed to settle a bit and we were off to the races. The weather was perfect and we had an awesome time.

Probably the highlight for me was a conversation I had in the hauler with Phil's driver Bobby Labonte. He was especially kind and very easy to talk to. I thanked him for stocking the truck with fruits and vegetables and removing the junk food. We talked about our families and the importance of spending time with our spouses away from the race track. That is probably more important for him now but I hope in the future to attend more races with Phil so I appreciated the advice.

Sunday came much too soon. Sharn and I spent the morning cleaning up the house, changing sheets, doing laundry and taking out the garbage. We grabbed a quick brekkie and I was off to the airport to return home. I was missing my babies so badly. I flew to Atlanta (probably my LEAST favorite airport as something always seems to go wrong there...) where I had another 2+ hour wait. Well that wait turned into a 5+ hour wait as our gate was changed multiple times and who knows what else caused the delay. It was a long day and my great hubby was there with a smile on at nearly midnight to pick me up.

I'm so glad to be home. And I'm so glad I've got three of the best girlfriends in the world. Thanks for the fun trip gals and don't forget - our next weekend will be in my neck of the woods!! Love you WSH.