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Michigan International Speedway with #HungryJack

I am a Hungry Jack Ambassador and this was a compensated trip but all opinions are %100 my own!!!!!

When I received an email to become a #HungryJack ambassador I was super excited because my first thought was “I LOVE PANCAKES” but once I found out that they were sending me to Michigan to do some site seeing and I was also getting the opportunity to attend the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway I became beyond excited.

I have never been to Michigan so I was excited to eat some of what Michigan had to offer and the first food stop was at Zingerman’s Deli which was featured in the movie The Five Year Engagement.  The menu was HUGE and the sandwiches were awesome.  When we first walked up to the deli there was a line just to get inside.  Once inside there was another line to order food which was totally worth the wait because the sandwich I ordered was AWESOME!!!

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First line to get inside Zingerman’s Deli

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This isn’t even the whole menu. I couldn’t get the whole thing in the picture. LOL

After we finish lunch we headed over to Kerrytown Market and Shops to check out some local shopping.  Kerrytown was named after County Kerry, Ireland, Kerrytown was part of the original village of Ann Arbor. Converted into markets and shops in the late 1960s, these historically old buildings have been meticulously maintained to preserve the timeless appeal of their brick and exposed beams.

The architecture of the building was really awesome and the shops were really nice with a lot of variety so there is something for everyone. I saw a ton of stuff that I wanted to buy but then I remember that I only brought a small carry on with no room to spare so my shopping was cut short but I did enjoy a really good cup of coffee while I was there.

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Our food journey then continued to a really nice restaurant called Terry B’s where we had the chance to eat dinner and talk with the owners of the 47 car – Tad and Jodi.  Again no surprise the food (I ordered the Tuna) was really really good and the desert was even better.  I only say that because I am a HUGE desert fan.  If you are reading this and thinking I keep talking about eating that is because I ate almost the ENTIRE time that I was in Michigan.  Ok, back to the dessert at Terry B’s.  The options were great and I was torn between the Potted S’Mores and the Molten Almond Joy.  I almost ordered both but instead of being a pig I decided on the Molten Almond Joy which was so freaking good.

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Tuna with Shrimp Pot Stickers

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Molten Almond Joy

Sunday arrived and that meant race day at Michigan International Speedway.  The only thing that was a real bummer about the day was that there was rain in the forecast for the entire day.

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 When we got to the track we were taken to our suite which was on pit road.  The suite was really cool because were able to see cars come in and pit on pit road especially our man AJ in the #47 car.

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Pit road

 Once we got settled in we were taken to the owners motor coach where we got to have an awesome Hungry Jack breakfast with AJ Allmendinger and then had a little meet and greet where we got to ask AJ questions.

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Owners motor coach where we had breakfast

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Meet and greet with the driver – AJ Allmendinger

This was a really neat part of the trip because Nascar fans would kill for the kind of access that we were given.  We got to eat with AJ then go into the garage area where we saw the team haulers, garage area where they work on the cars during the weekend and the inspection area where all cars are required to pass through before they are allowed to race.

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Nascar officials inspecting the car

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Garage area where the team haulers are parked. Look at the dude on the left with everything stuck to his head, LOL.

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Garage Area

We then got to walk on pit road and got a full tour of the #47 pit box where all of the action happens during the race.

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After we we got the full tour it was time for the 400 mile race to begin which is 200 laps.  The race only made it about 10-15 laps before the first red flag come out and stopped the race due to rain.  For people who know nothing about Nascar these cars can’t race on a wet track due to traction so the cars come on to pit road and wait for the rain to stop and for the track to be dried.

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Drying the track after rain fell on the track

 The race got underway again but was delayed again due to more rain.  After 103 laps the race was called due to extreme weather and that was the end of the race, just like that.

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This is how the race ended at lap 103

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Flooding in the pit box

At first I wasn’t that excited to attend the race because I wasn’t really sure what to expect and I thought it would be a total snooze fest but boy was I wrong.  It was awesome and now I am totally a Nascar fan as well as an AJ Allmendinger fan who drives the #47 Hungry Jack car owned by JTG Daugherty Racing.  I am looking forward to watching the next race on TV and cheering for #47.

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All in all this was a great weekend and an awesome trip to Michigan.  I go to meet and hang with a bunch of cool people during the weekend which made the trip a really good time. I hope to get back to Michigan International Speedway again but next time hopefully there will be no rain in the forecast.

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Me and the #HungryJack Crew!

This ambassadorship is a year long opportunity so make sure you stay tuned for more awesome posts and information about #HungryJack.




Why I’m Looking Forward To Our Next Carnival Cruise

So it has been about a week since we have come home from our week aboard the Fun Ship Carnival Dream. This was the entire families’ first cruise and I loved it so much that is all I have been talking about. So much that Melinda told me she is sick of hearing it and not because she didn’t have a great time but because I am excessive and that is ALL I have talked about.

Here is a list of the things that make me want to go on another cruise:

  • 24/7 Food – The Carnival Dream had burgers until 1:30am, deli sandwiches until 11pm, pizza 24/7, room service 24/7, ice cream 24/7 and the daily 6pm dining in the Crimson Dining Room was to die for(the food was soooo good)
  • Non-stop entertainment – Shows in the Comedy Club, Encore Theater, Casino (which I was a few dollars at), and not to mention the piano bar and dance club. The picture below is the Fun Force (Break Dancers), they were awesome.

  • Serenity Lounge – Adults only lounge. We did get to use this once for about an hour while Sabreena stayed with Shaun and Shae but the next cruise will be just Melinda and I and this will be utilized a lot more.
  • Pools – They were salt water which I thought was pretty cool.
  • Port – What better way to get to see four different places in 7 days. We went to Cozumel, Belize, Isla Roatan and Costa Maya.
  • Relaxation – We got to do some of this but again with three kids this was hard to do. Next time we will be sure to relax to the fullest.

This past cruise we flew to Florida and left out of Port Canaveral which was very nice but next time we are going to leave from the Port of Baltimore which is about an hour drive for us. Leaving closer to home will cut down the travel time by about 80% plus we can bring more cloths without having to pay bag fees, LOL.

Even though the kids will not be cruising with us next time the highlight of this cruise for Shaun was probably Camp Carnival. Shaun enjoyed camp so much he missed dinner with us one night and went to dinner with his camp friends which I was shocked about because he loved dessert so much at the 6pm dinning. For Sabreena was probably Club O2 where she made a few friends and got to hang out a little bit and for Shae was Water Works where she spent a ton of time on the slide.

For some reason I was always scared to cruise thinking the boat would sink or get hit by a rouge wave but I must admit it was the best vacation we have ever been on. Everyone including the staff was SUPER friendly and we were never bored because there was always something to do.

I can’t wait until our next cruise on the Fun Ship Carnival Pride out of Baltimore!

Thank you to Carnival for providing the complimentary 7-day cruise as part of their Mom-bassador Program. All opinions and descriptions presented belong solely to LookWhatMomFound…and Dad too! and were not influenced in anyway by anyone.