Del Mar Races

Decided to take it easy this morning and recover from the traveling.  Bryan called a few places trying to get a replacement for the windscreen wiper.  No luck so far but a couple of places are supposed to be looking for one for us.  I researched some campgrounds here in San Diego for when we leave here but they were either full or ridiculously expensive.  We really wanted to stay here until it cools off a little before heading back across the desert.  Will keep looking.  Ryan was working until 4 or 5 and the races started at 4 so we decided that Christina would come with us and we would meet Ryan there.  Christina came to the house and we left about 4 to go to Del Mar Races. It was not too far but the traffic got worse as we got nearer.  We eventually got there in time for the 5 o'clock race.  Now, none of us had been to the horse races before.  When I was a teenager my grandfather owned racehorses in England and I once went to the racecourse but I couldn't remember much about it.  I remember more visiting the stables where the horses were trained and my granddad giving my brother & I polo mints to feed a resident goat there.  Well, my brother decided he would eat the mint and not give it to the goat.  The goat promptly butted him in the stomach and my grandfather laughed out loud.  I don't remember seeing my granddad laugh very often and so it was good to see him laugh.  My brother didn't think so though.  :)
Back to the races - I had researched how to place a bet on the website and so Bryan & I made our way to the window to place our bets.  $2 each, mine was "Show" on #8 which meant the horse could come first, second or third and I would win.  Bryan's was to "Win" on #4 which meant the horse had to win.  Obviously you win more if you select the "win" and the horse does win rather than the "show" when the horse can come first, second or third but it also depends on whether you select a favorite or an outsider.  Christina didn't want to place a bet and just enjoyed cheering with us for our horses.
We both ended up winning, yay!!!!  Bryan's horse came first and mine was third.

Sue's horse before the race

Bryan cheering for his horse

We were amazed and went to get our winnings and place our bet on the next race.  We won $13.40 between us, woohoo!!!  We had four more races and it seemed that our first win was beginners luck, however we both got one more win each.  Bryan's win came when his horse went from last to first in the final furlongs and so was exciting. Mine was in the last race when my horse "BackintheAcademy" came in first.  We ended up slightly ahead on the night which wasn't bad.  Ryan arrived with two races to go and wasn't as lucky as us.
We decided to go to Outback for dinner and as we had no idea where we were, we decided Ryan was leading.  This was easier said than done as the traffic to get out was horrendous.  I programmed the address in my phone but my battery was dying.  We managed to follow him and after a couple of frantic calls to Christina where Ryan had to stop and wait for us to catch up we found our way to La Jolla which was where the restaurant was supposed to be.  We couldn't find the restaurant and the resort was packed as usual so we decided to go home and get Wendy's on the way.  Ryan was very good in making sure we were following him as we really didn't know where we were going until we got closer to the house. Phew, we made it!!!  I'm sure Christina thinks we are a couple of nutcases but hopefully she won't hold that against Ryan.

CLICK HERE for pictures of Del Mar Races