Formula 1 Inaugural United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas

I have been a fan of car racing since a friend took me to my first race when I was 18 years old.  And if you've read some prior posts, you'll know that not only do I like watching races, but I like to drive the cars as well, having already taken some laps in both a NASCAR and an Indy Car and having learned some off-road skills at rally car school.  I love the whine of the cars (well, not NASCAR so much), the firesuits and helmets that make the drivers look like the Bic pen logo, the thrill of the starting lap when the cars bunch up going into the first turn, the chasing and the passing with gutsy maneuvers, etc.

When we heard that the Formula 1 circuit would include a race in Austin this year, my friend marked her calendar for the date when tickets went on sale.  We had both attended our first Formula 1 event last year in Montreal, but while the first two days had great weather, Sunday's race day was wet and cold.  We actually missed the race itself due to a rain delay with an unknown restart time and an evening flight departure we would miss if we stayed.  With a race in Texas, we figured we had a much better chance of the weather cooperating in November.

Since this blog is basically a diary of my life experiences, and I enjoy trying new things so they tend to be very positive, it makes me sad that this post is going to be a record of one of the worst experiences I've ever had going to a race.  Let's just say the major lesson to be learned is to NEVER go to an inaugural event ever!  Most often times, and as was the case last weekend, there are too many loose ends - construction and planning - that really detract from the experience.  And since Formula 1 tickets do not come cheap - ours were $320 for a three-day ticket (and that was not even close to the most expensive seats), in addition to the cost of airfare, a car rental, and a hotel with a minimum 4 night stay and prices 3x the normal daily rate - to be let down so much is extremely frustrating and a deterrent to future race outings.

So here's the story (and I hope this reaches the organizers of the race somehow so people don't have to endure a similar experience next year):

Track Construction:

The evidence of poor planning and time management during the construction of the facility was blatantly obvious:
1. The ground was still settling and took all of the recently laid (and dying) sod with it, causing some seriously dangerous walking conditions in some spots.
2. Instead of building permanent restrooms, the decision was made for only port-a-potties and not even the nice trailer kind with flushing features.  More money to the bottom line for the owners!
3. The organizers encouraged everyone to park in certain spots away from the track and take a 25 minute shuttle to the track, but did not explain that the shuttle stop onsite was still almost a mile walk from the track gates.  You certainly could not have any physical restrictions and come to this race.  How they passed an American with Disabilities Act inspection is beyond me!  

Crowd Management:

1. There were three ways to get around to the other side of the 3.4 mile track:  (1) take a tram/train that went about 5 mph, which was replaced by shuttle buses on Sunday that were overcrowded and only picked up maybe 8 people at each stop; (2) walk around the exterior of the track; or, (3) go over the ONE path that had TWO bridge overpasses at Turn 3 and Turn 15, both of which were not large enough to handle the quantity of people moving from one place to the other in between or after racing sessions.  The bridge issue was bad on Friday with only 50,000 people in attendance.  We avoided it on Sunday with 125,000 people in attendence!!  Plus, they had raised lighting on the floor of the bridges on the side, tripping people (i.e. me) who were unaware of their existence.  Very dangerous!
2. Again, encouraging people to use the shuttles, the line after the race on Sunday was unbelievable - probably at least a 1/4 mile long and 5 people wide. The taxi line was not as long, but since each taxi was only taking - let's say - 3 people on average, the wait was the same.  We got on the shuttle only after an hour because at just the right time they opened up three extra crowd corrals, essentially letting us jump the queue a little.  But this line was AFTER the hour it took us to get from our seats on the other side of the track to the shuttle path.  It took us over 2.5 hours after the race to get back to our hotel!

Food and Drink:

1. The organizers took the cheap route and decided to not invest in building actual concession stands, opting to utilize the popular food trucks from Austin. These food trucks are not used to handling the volumes of people wanting something, scratch that, anything to eat.  It took us an hour to get through the line and to wait for the 1 or 2 cooks inside the truck to prepare the order.  Fortunately, we ordered when we did because 5 minutes later, they were out of chicken for their tacos, and it was early in the lunch period too!  And this was on Friday where, again, only 50,000 people were in attendance!
2. Drinks also had a long line.  And the only concessions being sold, very infrequently, in the stands that I observed, were canned beers.  On a hot day, the last thing you want to do is wait in line for a bottle of water!

Merchandise:
1. There was only 1 tent selling merchandise related specifically to the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.  I heard one person say it took about 2 hours to get to the front of the crowd and purchase items.  We gave up after 10 minutes.
2. Team merchandise trailers shared the long line problem, albeit shorter than the solo race merchandise tent, and they were poorly stocked - running out of the most popular items early in the weekend.  In addition, the prices were extremely inflated!  I found a a jacket that I liked online for approximately $170 (translated from Euros), selling at the event for $290.  I didn't end up buying it in either case.  I know Formula 1 is stereotyped as the "rich man" elite racing series, but come on!  A lot of people were stretching their budgets to come to this race since they can't afford to go to all of the other events around the world.  It was such an example of greed exploiting a situation.  Of course, while the economist in me was somewhat temporarily fascinated by the scene, it still seemed criminal, in my book.  Greedy, greedy, greedy!
3. With the extremely inflated prices, one other observation was that most, if not all, of the merchandise trailers were only taking cash for purchases under $200!!!  Who carries that amount of cash on their body?

I'm sure there's a lot more points to make, but my mind has blocked those details out as part of the recovery process from the weekend.

Best part of the weekend?  Capturing this amazing photo of the viewing tower (of course, to go up it you had to pay - I think - $35....uhhh, no!)

As for the racing experience itself, it was actually quite boring because there were not a lot of big moves save for the moment when Hamilton passed Vettel in Turn 12 for the lead.  We did have a good view from our seats in Turn 5 of the Turn 3-4-5 chicane sequence, the hard breaking before Turn 12 at the end of an overtaking zone where drivers can use their Drag Reduction System (DRS), and a turn sequence modeled on the Hockenheim "stadium section" that allows for some aggressive passing.  We didn't spend the whole weekend in our seats, though.  We watched the Porche and the Ferrari races from the top of Turn 1, where we could see the race start and the crowded jockeying for position in the tight hairpin turn at the peak of the climb.  We also spent some of the practice and qualifying time at Turn 19 near the end of the circuit where we saw a lot of drivers taking too much speed into the turn and finding themselves off course or off line, especially during qualifying.  Of course, we had selfish reasons for claiming a spot on that corner, as well, because it didn't require us to deal with the mess of crossing the two footbridges to the other side of the track!

Here are some photos from the weekend, including our side trip down to San Antonio to see the Alamo and have dinner on the famous Riverwalk, where I had what had to have been the world's largest margarita!

View from Turn 5 of Turns 12-15

Austin Fan Fest - less of a music festival, more of a sponsor expo

Team Red Bull tent

Start of the Porsche Race

Turn 1 chaos!

Who needs a bumper anyway?

Start of the Ferrari race

A cleaner Turn 1 on Lap 1 for the Ferraris

Drivers Parade in classic American cars

Sebastian Vettel

Jockeying for position on Lap 1

Alanzo in his Ferrari

Best Action Shot

And now for the non-racing part, after the Friday practice we drove the short 1.25 hour drive down to San Antonio for a change of scenery.  I had never seen the Alamo before, and like most experiences seeing for the first time something you've only read about and seen in pictures in books or on the internet, it was a lot smaller than you would think!  One block from the Alamo site is an entrance to the Riverwalk, a below street level canal system with Venetian inspired bridges, restaurants, and shops.

See the Alamo.  Remember seeing the Alamo.  Remember the Alamo.

The Grounds of the Alamo where Santa Ana's troops fought the Texans

At the Riverwalk, you have the option of taking a boat tour for $8.25 each

San Antonio Riverwalk

Here it is - a 60 oz. frozen margarita at Cafe Ole on the Riverwalk in San Antonio.  I bought it just to see how big it would be.  Didn't make it through more than half, not because of the alcohol because it was quite week but because my stomach couldn't take anymore.  Salsa bowl and silverware added for scale.

A fun bar we went to in Austin is called the Handlebar, and it's themed entirely on crazy mustaches.  We were greeted by this handsome devil at the door.  Of course, with it being Movember, this Rollie Fingers (who by the way was signing autographs there that day) wannabe was only the beginning of the night's visual journey of facial hair.

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More Yummy Cookies

I tried out three new cookie recipes this month that I think you should check out!  Just click on the cookie name below the photo to get to the original recipe website.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Biskoff Cookies

If you have not tried the delicious biscoff spread, you don't know what you're missing!  Think of it as spreadable gingerbread cookies.  The Dutch and Belgians often call it speculoos and use it on top of waffles - another use you should definitely try! I got my jar of Biskoff at Wegman's, but I have heard people have found it at World Market and Trader Joe's has their own version of this cookie butter. 

Chocolate peanut butter chip cookies
I don't know why it's taken me so long to make a chocolate peanut butter cookie, especially when I adhere strictly to the chocolate only goes well with nuts, not fruit, taste philosophy.  I will admit that these cookies came out a little chewier than I had hoped, but the flavor combo was still there.

Cookies and Cream Cookies

Whenever I go to a training class at work, where they have a catered lunch, the first thing I look for is the ONE cookies and cream cookie on the platter.  Now, I no longer have to wait for my next training class because I can have as many as I want.  This recipe could not be any easier!  It's a must try!

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Baby Shower for a Little Girl

Last summer, I threw a baby shower for a little boy with a space/alien theme.  Now, with the opportunity to throw one for a little girl, I got to go all out in the girliness department - butterflies and flowers all the way.

First project was preparing the decor.  I had seen some giant tissue paper flowers on Pinterest a few weeks ago and fell in love. Probably because they reminded me of an Anthropologie window display, and I love Anthropologie windows.  Actually making the flowers didn't take a whole lot of effort once I started, but collecting the supplies was a little tricky.  The hardest items to obtain were the right colors of tissue paper.  I ended up buying peach and olive tissue paper from Papermart online.  Then instead of the stucco wire, I bought the more conveniently located chicken wire from Home Depot.  I'm not sure what they meant in the instructions about covering the wire in tape because I bought paper carton tape, but it wasn't sticking, so instead I wrapped the chicken wire in brown packing paper.  Key to the whole project was the spray glue - made the tissue paper application a lot faster!  Look at the inspiration photo and my version:

With the large decor out of the way, I decided to put my floral design classes to work and create my own bouquets.  Collecting various flowers from the grocery store, Whole Foods, and whatever I was missing from a florist, I was really pleased with the results.  I embellished the arrangements with paper butterflies made using the Martha Stewart monarch butterfly punch and some wire.

Arrangements of "leftovers"

And now on to the food.  For the lunch, I kept things simple:

• Cucumber hummus cups
• Pita sandwiches - vegetarian with Boursin cheese spread and turkey with colby jack cheese
• Mini quiches (from the freezer section - only thing not homemade)
• Roasted butternut squash salad with escarole, pears, gorgonzola cheese, dried cherries, bacon, and a dijon balsamic dressing.
• Mini caprese salads

For my favorite part, dessert, I attempted to make an individual ombre layer cake that I saw on Pinterest.  I'm not terrific when it comes to cake making or decorating (cupcakes are my thing), so I liked these cakes in particular because their beauty came from having the layers exposed, meaning I didn't have to frost the cake.  Yes please!  It ended up being a time intensive process only because I had to make four different cakes for each of the colors, then cut out the circle shapes.  I was a little disappointed because my lack of cake experience became obvious when the baked cakes came out too thin, so I had to use the brown bottom of the cake to stabilize the cutout shape.  Next time I know to put two boxes of cake mix where it says to use one. Taking the butterfly punches I had leftover from the decor, I wove them onto a toothpick for an accent.

For other sweet treats, I made sugar cookies, cookies and cream cookies, and seasonal cranberry curd with walnut shortbread crust bars.  And for drinks, there's nothing pinker than pink lemonade!  Plus passionfruit mimosas for those who wanted a little something extra.  

 And finally, the complete spread:

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Appreciating the Greatest Generation - WWII and the 15th Air Force B-24 Liberators (Part 2)

To round out my research into my grandfather's participation in WWII and the 456thBG, I was determined to get a real life experience flying in a Consolidated B-24 Liberator.  I saw one on the ground at the air show earlier this year, but that model of the B-24 was actually a pre-war model that was maybe used in the earliest part of the war, but was quickly replaced by more practical models.

At the airshow

The Collings Foundation Wings of Freedom Tour travels around the country year-round with several WWII aircraft, one of which is a B-24J model.  When it was initially restored in 1989, the airplane was painted to celebrate the 15th Air Force out of Italy, using the colors and nose art of the "All-American," whose crew achieved a record by shooting down 14 enemy aircraft in a single mission and was only one of two planes to return that day out of a squadron of 19.  Over the years, the B-24J has had two additional facelifts, one to honor the War in the Pacific taking on the colors and art of the "Dragon & His Tail," and it's present-day representation of "Witchcraft," a member of the 8th Air Force, 467th bombardment group, 790th bomb squadron that served in England and the EuropeanTheater of Operations (ETO) and completed a record 130 combat missions.  Taking a short trip on the restored Liberator isn't cheap, but much of the money goes to counter the high cost of maintaining these planes that are 70 years old.

When I arrived at the airport, the B-17 on tour with the B-24 was getting ready to take off with its group of warbird enthusiasts.  Once it had cleared the loading area, my small group (maximum 10 people) was ushered to the B-24.  When they describe this as an authentic experience, they aren't joking.  There are no added safety features to this plane - large openings (windows) for the guns with no plexiglass and we boarded the Liberator just like the crews did in WWII, through the bomb bay doors on the belly of the plane (see the slatted doors that are open under the wing).  We hoisted ourselves up onto the narrow (maybe 10" wide) catwalk that traverses the bomb compartment.  I remember reading in Mr. Shuster's memoir that the bomb bay doors were not thick and definitely not capable of holding the weight of a human, which made the in-flight crossing rather perilous.  I was surprised that they only had some ropes strung from one bulkhead to the next to assist you.

Narrow Catwalk

Once inside, we then headed to the tail where we were assigned places to sit.  I had the seat next to the waist gunner position, facing the tail on the floor of the plane, buckled to a bulkhead.  Once we were airborne, it was surprisingly quick before we heard the bell that gave us the all clear to walk around.  

My seat was behind the star

Buckled in for take off

We had about 20-25 minutes to wander the entire B-24 from nose to tail.  I started heading back to the tail gunner position, just out of convenience, then enjoyed the views of York and Gettysburg from the open windows before heading around the ball gunner to the narrow catwalk.  Yes, that is a gap around the ball turret in the photo below!  I actually dropped my lens cap as I was waiting for my turn on the catwalk, and it almost did a 10,000 foot plunge towards the farmland below.  Fortunately, I caught it just in time.

Tail Gunner

Ball Turret

In the nose of the plane, you had two places to explore.  Hoist yourself up, and you're in the area behind the cockpit.  I think this is the navigator's position.  If you lower yourself into the compartment below, you literally had to get on your hands and knees to crawl around the retracted nose wheel to get to the bombardier and nose gunner position.

View out the waist gunner position

Looking back at the tail gunner from my seat

Before we knew it, the bell was going off indicating we had to return to our seats for landing.  To say this was a special experience is an understatement.  I loved the opportunity to live history and to gain an unique perspective into what it was like to be a crew member on the B-24 Liberator.  Of course, for a truly authentic experience, they would have had to place anti-aircraft guns all over the countryside to shoot up flak.  I'm not sure if I'd pay for that kind of adrenaline rush!

Here are videos from my flight:

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Appreciating the Greatest Generation - WWII and the 15th Air Force B-24 Liberators (Part 1)

Since Veteran's Day is only a few days away - on Monday - here in the United States, I thought I would finally finish up and post this entry I've been writing for awhile.  Part II will post tomorrow.

Back in April, after having a discussion with my mom about her extensive research into our family history, I realized that I wanted to know more about my grandfather who was a pilot of B-24 Liberators in WWII.  I was not fortunate to ever be in a position to learn about his experience firsthand because he died when I was young and, as would be expected, I had absolutely no frame of reference, knowledge, or interest about WWII at that age.  In contrast, I was lucky to have a close relationship with my paternal grandfather and to engage him in talks over the years about his experience in the Navy during the war, when I had more contextual knowledge to understand the stories he shared.

In a quest to fill in some gaps with my maternal grandfather's service, I started just doing Google searches with what little information I had about him.  I came across a reunion page for the 456th Bombardment Group, where I was able to find his name mentioned twice in newsletters published by the group.  While this did not give me any more information about him, it did give me names of his crew.  I also found a reference to my grandfather listed as a person in a photo that was archived in a collection stored at Utah State University.  Following the procedures for obtaining a copy of the photo, a few days after its discovery, I received a scanned copy in my email inbox.  I now had a photo, previously unknown to my family, that identified men who had worked with my grandfather!  Already this was a successful effort, in my book.

In my online searches, I found another website where you could ask questions in a forum environment.  It was fascinating to see the number of actual veterans responding to queries.  In my case, I had just one response that led me back to the newsletters I had already found, unfortunately.  All was not lost, however, because in reading other responses to questions, I stumbled upon one participant who may have been a part of the 456th Bombardment Group.  On a whim, I emailed him, not knowing if he was even still alive because the post was from 2009.  Considering that many of the veterans were in their early 20s when the went to war, the youngest surviving men of the 15th Army Air Force are now in their late 80s/early 90s.  Low and behold, I got a response!  And, fittingly, on Memorial Day this past Spring, I had the honor of speaking with Mr. Joe Shuster, a former B-24 Liberator co-pilot who flew for the same squadron as my grandfather - and happened to live just 15 minutes away from me in D.C.

Mr. Shuster's B-24 Crew

Mr. Joe Shuster joined joined the 304th Wing, 456th Bombardment Group, 747th Squadron of the 15th Air Force in May 1944 and completed his required missions in October 1944, allowing him to be back with his family for Thanksgiving.  During the war, the target number of missions every "flyboy" needed to hit was 35, but they often got double credit for particularly long missions.  By the time, Mr. Shuster was flying from Italy, many of the key manufacturing targets had been hit by earlier bombs, since the 456th and other bombardment groups arrived in airfields around Foggia and Cerignola, Italy months before he did, so his experience was not necessarily the more perilous one experienced by pilots who had flown some of the first missions when anti-aircraft resistance was more intense and enemy air power heavier.

The crews of the B-24s in Italy flew missions into Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, France, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Hungary to take out strategic supply line positions, such as railroad facilities and marshalling yards, bridges, oil refineries, and manufacturing plants.  As the 15th Air Force achieved more successes, the Germans put up less of a resistance simply because they did not have the ability to do so without fuel and supplies.  This did not necessarily mean that missions were no longer dangerous because the anti-aircraft flak was still heavy over particular cities, and groans were always heard in the briefing room when the curtain was pulled back on the map to reveal Munich, Vienna, or Bucharest.  In fact, it was a flight to Bucharest on July 2, 1944 that caused Mr. Shuster to be switched from the 747th Squadron into my grandfather's 744th Squadron.  That day, flying in formation, the 744th suffered the loss of 6 out of its 8 planes and their crew members.  Mr. Shuster has made an amazing contribution to his legacy by not only spending the time to write down his best memories from the war in a 70+ page memoir but by being such an active participant in reunions, by engaging people on the internet, and by being so willing to meet with strangers to help them, the later generation, understand the truth.  I had such a great time talking to him about the difficulties of flying a B-24 - from space issues, wearing parachutes (which they were expected to use without ever having performed a jump before), the constant modifications to the aircraft throughout the war, etc.  I also got a better understanding of what life was like on the base and of these men who were really just boys (Mr. Shuster was only 19) that were forced to display an unfamiliar maturity.  It was also fun to see photos that Mr. Shuster treasured, including ones from his R&R trips to Rome and boating in the Adriatic Sea.

Returning to my own research, I have one more convenient source to look for more information.  Housed in the National Archives - Silver Spring, Maryland Branch are the specific flight records of all the missions flown by the 15th Army Air Force.  I thought that I might be able to track down why Mr. Shuster, though he was with my grandfather's squadron at the same period, did not recall his name or face.  We speculated it may have been because of the difference in their ranks - my grandfather was a Major - and perhaps he was more involved in the bureaucratic activities on base rather than flying missions.  The photo I found in the Utah State Library could be perceived as supporting this theory because it is a group of officers at the Allied Air Command in Italy.  However, I had read in Steven Ambrose's book, The Wild Blue, that high ranking officers still flew missions, often times in the lead position in the formation due to their more extensive experience and knowledge.  I knew that the 456th's records were officially kept at Maxwell Air Force base in Alabama, but I want to try my luck at the National Archives with the mission records for the Army Air Force first.  Unfortunately my schedule has kept me so busy this summer and fall that I haven't found a weekend when I can dedicate the many hours I know it will take to comb through all the records.  I promise to update this post as soon as I make the trip!

In the meantime, stay tuned for the second installment of my quest tomorrow.  You won't believe what I did to better understand these wartime heros in their B-24 Liberators!

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November Cupcake of the Month - Popcorn Cupcakes

The inspiration for this month's cupcake is this week's U.S. release of the newest James Bond film, Skyfall, because I'm a huge "Bond Girl."  And what goes well with a movie premiere?  Popcorn!

I found a popcorn cupcake on this website, where you will also find detailed instructions.  The site also directs you to where you can print out the cute scalloped popcorn wrappers, but they actually cost money to print out, so I found a free alternative that is equally suited for my needs at this website.

Inspiration Photo

Cupcake is just a basic yellow cake mix from a box.  I was looking for simple here, and forget what other people say, box cake mix makes delicious cupcakes.  Standard buttercream recipe (1lb powdered sugar, 3 sticks unsalted butter, vanilla extract) with a splash of coconut extract for a flavor surprise was used for the "popcorn glue."  For the popcorn, it took a little trial and error to figure out the best way to create the popped corn look.  I eventually settled on snipping the mini marshmallow four times, about 2/3 of the way lengthwise, then used my thumb to push the marshmallow into the shape I wanted.  Sometimes I pushed down on the strips for a stubby popcorn, and sometimes I stretched them apart for a wonky popcorn shape.  The color came from a spray bottle of Wilton Color Mist that you can find in the baking section at Michael's.  I used over half a regular size bag of mini marshmallows for just 6 cupcakes, so prepare yourself to be making popcorn for awhile, maybe even make it in advance.

I am so excited about how these cupcakes turned out!

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