Formula Challenge V8 first time at Hampton Downs
Oct
09
Paolo Caporalli sets an amazing time of 46.22 in the Holden!!
Sep
23
Well one new staff member has arrived, Henry Thomas Dawson born 8th September. He was a big boy at 4.2 kilos and is doing really well.
The new Greenwood staff member is due any day and is a little girl so will need a pink racesuit & boots!
Apr
19
Tim Perkins breaks the Formula Challenge Drive a V8 lap record on Track 3 with 46.47. Well done!
Tim Perkins scores the new lap record on track 3
Apr
13
Well we are enjoying being back home in the paradise called Taupo. We moved into our new lifestyle block last week and are now looking to getting it up to scratch and buying some animals; Cows, Sheep, Alpacas, Goats & Chickens! We already have a pet Kune Kune pig called Wilbert that came with the property – he’s a very tame boy but does get bored & escape to see the neighbours – Tess has already been seen racing down the drive in her pink gumboots calling frantically for him & waving around a piece of bread (he comes back really well but very enthusiastically so you think you’re going to get flattened!).
We are back to work at the racetrack now and have just worked a big track day for over 50 drivers – more busy days ahead along with some exciting times planning the expansion of Formula Challenge with another location to open mid year at the new Hampton Downs track. We’ll be keeping this blog updated with both business and staff news throughout the year (including some happy events due in August & September!)
Apr
02
We arrived here after another flight from hell – it was bumpy all the way, a bit like being in a tube going thru a tunnel which keeps hitting the walls. Not to mention the 2 hour delay on the tarmac in LA as one of the drivers of the luggage trucks managed to knock an aerial of the plane & it had to be fixed before we could take off! Lovely to be back flying with Air NZ though – their cabin crew was top notch & so much nicer than the Delta Airlines crew that we flew with back from New York – not to mention that on Delta you have to pay for all your meals & drinks & in flight movies & headphones!
Just being here is relaxing – we got upgraded to an ocean view room with sun loungers & a palm tree right outside & the ocean just 10 metres away, the staff are really nice and look after us very well, great not to have to worry about tipping all the time. Lovely lagoon with little islands you can kayak to which are all inside the coral reef. From now on Craig thinks whichever hotel we book into he’s going to tell them we are on our honeymoon & Tess is pregnant & it’s amazing what upgrades you get! Last night we had dinner at a restaurant right on the beach – the tables are at the high water mark & the floor is all sand, great for bare feet. Stunning meal and the menu had gluten free choices, the first time we have seen that on all our trip.
Craig has cycled around the island to keep himself entertained while Tess had yet another sleep – the mountain bike hire people said that it normally took between 2-3 hours to get around & the fastest they’ve had to date was 1 hour 30 mins, of course once Craig heard that it was a red flag to a bull & he managed to do it in 1 hour 18 to the astonishment of the hire centre – I think they are more used to people doing things in relaxed island time! Not to mention the hire bike wouldn’t change gear, had flat tyres, buckled wheels & no brakes at all (a bit like Trev’s bike). We decided they don’t do a lot of maintenance around here – although our hotel is new & the asian gardener works very hard (with scissors!). We are both looking forward to being home tomorrow – just a pity the flight leaves here at 1.15am! Looking forward to seeing our new houses & land and will let people know what it’s like soon – plenty of room for visitors!
Mar
29
Well we have been up the Empire State Building (we went all the way up to the 102nd floor, you have to pay extra), beautiful views & boy we’d hate to live here – just buildings as far as the eye can see. Long queue to get up there & they cram you in the lifts like sardines, we had more security checks just like an airport. We heard today that a couple of weeks ago a bunch of tourists got stuck in one of the lifts for 45mins – she said fortunately one of the german tourists had some chocolate with him which he said he kept for emergencies & it kept everyone from panicing!
We also had a big walk around most of Central Park – it was a freezing cold day & all the dogs had jerseys on, when we went back the next day the sun had come out & it was much busier with guys playing gridiron & baseball. Lots of cyclists & runners too – New Yorkers aren’t any fatter than your average kiwi. Looked at the upper West Side neighbourhood, quite smart & there was lots of black nannies pushing little white kids in strollers. The Upper East Side is even posher with some tall thin townhouses like you see on movies – we can’t imagine living there but I guess you have to be a city person.
Craig got some Phantom tickets for half price by standing in a queue for an hour in times square – it saved $139 US though so was worth it. They are so good at queuing here that Craig stood in a four lane queue 80 metres long that snaked to the ticket booth and no-one queue jumped or had to be organised in a line by barriers or anything (it would just be a mad rush in NZ!) After his long wait he was quite hungry & eyed up the meat skewers on the stands that are on every corner – he sensibly decided against it after seeing that the meat was chicken & they half cook it, put it to the side & then reheat it just before they sell it to you! Tess got so cross with a black homeless f**k in Starbucks when he asked her for some spare cash that she looked him in the eye & said ‘NO” in such a loud voice that he & Craig jumped & the whole shop turned around! – Needless to say the homeless guy made a quick exit! One of the criteria for being homeless seems to be able to talk to yourself but we think it’s because they are all drugged up to the eyeballs or mad.
On the whole we think American kids are better behaved, politer & better taken care of. The average person has an awesome vocabulary if you can understand them (especially in the service industry – most waiters & people in McD’s are incomprehensible) and that only LA & New Orleans are noticeably full of fat people. The lightswitches, shower knobs & doors all turn on & open back to front which takes a while to get used to. We really like the freedom of speech here where people can say what they think – it makes the radio talkback & TV shows amazing to listen to compared to back home where we are so conservative & too pc to say what we really think – you should hear some of the ad’s on TV about sending the Mexicans home. Oh Yeah & we are not too keen on US toilets – too high a water level…….
We are at JFK airport waiting to fly out to LA & then on to Raro – we mastered the subway & used it to get out here – pity about all the beggars on the way – they must think the tourists are an easy target to get rid of their spare change before they leave. They have a very up to date unmanned train system that drops you off at whichever terminal you require. We are at a very nice new one & the cafe even has power points for your laptop, very handy! A very nice check-in lady booked our bags in all the way to Raro so hopefully they will meet us there – Tess has an appointment with a shady palm tree & an alcohol free cocktail!
Mar
26
We bought a 7 day subway pass for $25.00 & made our way down to Battery Park which is where the ferries to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island depart. Huge queue of people and maximum security like getting through NZ customs to even get on the ferry. Craig had to take off his belt & Tess had to take off her pink woolly hat in case there was a gun secreted underneath it! Bit OTT really (like the machine gun toting cop seeing us onto the New York train in Washington yesterday – & yes he even had his finger on the trigger). Freezing cold out in the harbour but was cool seeing the statue close up, they made it out of over 300 sheets of thin copper with a frame of steel underneath, was made in a kitset form in France & then bought over here. We had to have chilli cheese fries to warm us up – mmmmmm. Ellis Island felt a bit like Alcatraz, just sort of empty & peaceful, it was a bit hard to imagine all the poor old immigrants coming into the country there – was some Greenwoods on the list though.After that we walked up to see the Bull in Wall Street and the NY stock exchange (heaps of cops outside in case of grumpy customers who had lost all their money in shares!). We then walked up to where ground zero happened – not much to see just a big hole in the ground which is now a big building site all fenced off. The surrounding buildings were remarkably untouched considering what happened. We found the Century 21 brand name discount shop & Tess bought some very nice baby clothes in pretty pink – Calvin Klein & DKNY.
We are becoming real new Yorkers and don’t wait for the cross signal at lights but go when there are no yellow cabs screaming towards you or on a red light. All the tooting we ignore now instead of turning around to see if they are honking at us. We discovered the joys of Macys (7 floors!) – Craig had to sit down by the time Tess discovered the chocolate & teddy department – he wished it was a tool store that big. The outside temperature feels like the carpark at Whakapapa ski field which is fine which is when you are rugged up like we are but all the shops have their temperatures set at about 20 degrees so you are alternately boiling & freezing which is not good for you – we have learnt the trick is to wear just a shirt under your huge jacket so you can regulate your temperature properly.
Thankyou very much to Trev & Kate for inspecting our new property, sounds like everything is fine & ready for us - with a new pig!!!! Is it a pet for Tess or maybe Kate (although Craig thinks it would look nice on the table with an apple in it’s mouth). Also thankyou to Amanda & Daniel for sending through some lovely shots of our wedding – we havn’t had a chance to look at them all yet as the internet is so slow here! Pic of Formula Challenge Partners & their wives as below.
We popped into a couple of bike shops and everything here is more expensive that NZ – Craig bought his new heart rate monitor watch in Macy’s which was a more reasonable price.
Mar
24
Arrived in NY from Washington on the fast train, bloody cold here glad we have got our big coats. 5 degrees & dropping. We are staying at the Hotel Pennsylvania opposite Maddison Square Gardens Stadium, really central & a great location for our 5 day stay. Craig told the girl at the desk it was our honeymoon & she gave us a free upgrade to a very nice corner room – quite big by NY standards. 1700 rooms here, it’s the 3rd biggest Hotel in Manhattan.
Off to find a buffet restaurant for dinner, Tess has found a great gluten free supermarket a few blocks down & has eaten her heart out with chocolate biscuits! We have found the internet in the US to be pretty slow, certainly not as quick as NZ – had to pay US2.00 per 30 mins for this – can’t find a free one. Off tomorrow to sightseeing & for Craig to buy a $10 watch off a black guy. Supposed to be the best weather tomorrow so might do Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty while it’s fine. Photos to come…… (also thanks for your comments Neil – we are looking forward to getting home & starting to provide that fresh farm produce; Alpaca’s, puppy dogs & very small chickens)
Mar
23
After a run around Capitol hill park (Craig) & a lie in (Tess) we started a great day of sightseeing. Craig had already had an exciting start to his morning as when he ran towards a policeman guarding the Capitol buildings entrance he said stop no further while putting his hand on his gun. Needless to say Craig turned & ran the other way! It was a great view running towards Capitol hill with the sun rising over the top.
We started our sightseeing by walking to look at the White House. Tess was really impressed by it, it actually had more presence than Buckingham Palace – maybe because we see so many movies with it in. Craig asked a policeman whether the president was in residence & his reply was ‘maybe maybe not, what do you want to know for!’ they seem to be quite secuirity concious around here! After Craig told the policeman we were from New Zealand he relaxed & chatted to us in quite a friendly way. We then jumped on an open-topped tour bus, you could hop on & hop off wherever you liked. Tess wanted to go to the zoo rather than a museum or an art gallery (so uncultured!) it was actually free & was great to see a whole lot of different animals than what you get in a zoo at home. The pandas looked almost like someone in a bear suit they were so cute. We ended up coming out of the other end of the zoo & rather than walking all the way back through we (Craig) decided to take a shortcut - it looked much faster on the map & involved walking through a road tunnel. There wasn’t a lot of room on the path between us & the cars but people were very friendly as they kept on tooting at us!
We finally got to our bus pickup point & continued our tour, through Georgetown & Arlington Cemetary before getting off at the Lincoln Memorial. Craig was just staring his ‘I have a dream’ quote & the bus commentary started it at the same time too! The Lincoln Memorial was the protest point for Martin Luther King and also the bit from Forest Gump where he calls out ‘Jenny’ - it was really a huge building just to house a statue of Abraham Lincoln inside. On the way back to the hotel we drove past all the Smithsonian museums and Capitol Hill before going back for a cup of tea & bit of a lie down. Tommorow we get back on the train to go to New York (just a 2.5 hour trip) & start enjoying the big apple.
Thanks to Trev & Kate for doing the inspection of our new property – you’ve now seen more of it than we have! Trust the team at FCR is doing it’s usual stirling job and look forward to seeing everyone when we get back in a couple of weeks – don’t worry Ben we hav’nt forgotten your duty free.
