A Day at Texas Motor Speedway!

We just arrived back from Texas Motor Speedway. We had seats on the start finish line 8 rows up! We caught the tail end of practice and boy was it fun to watch 4&5 on the track at the same time. I can't even imagine watching 43 cars running at 200 mph all at the same time. Maybe next visit. I went down to get a picture with the guy who lets people on and off the track between the stands and the infield. Roger took my picture with him and then he took our picture against the fence. I told him we were here from MN and he asked if we would like our picture taken with the 2 official NASCAR flagmen. Rick and Rodney. And we did! They were very nice. NASCAR officials travel on the NASCAR circuit. We also saw Rick and Rodney (the flagmen) tape a TV ad for SPEED Channel. I can't wait to see it on TV. It was such a fun day. I hope I called people who wanted to hear the cars going around the track. If I missed anyone I apologize. We did see Bobby LaBonte, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman as we were walking through all the drivers semi's. I took a lot of pictures and video. Tomorrow, on our last day, will be spent at a huge flea market! Can't wait to find treasures! Well time to put more aloe on Roger's face as he is really sunburned! Until tomorrow. Karen

Cemetery finds!

Well, we made it to Oakland Cemetery. It was the creepiest, oldest cemetery I have ever been to. LOVED IT! It is getting very overgrown even though there is a caretaker. We did find John J Budzien's headstone along with 2 others. It doesn't say "murdered" on the headstone but it does have the "Woodsmen seal" on the top of it. I took a digital picture of it but also recorded video of it and I read it out loud so we would know exactly what it said. It did have a different birth date on the headstone so I will have to look into that. One of the other headstones, I think is John's wife but again I will have to research that. I did stop and ask the creepy caretaker about the plot of 8 family members but only found 3 headstones. He said there probably was no other headstones as families ran out of money. So I did not find a headstone for Augusta Budzien. Then we were off to the Dallas Public Library. I did find the article on the incident that killed John Budzien. I also found his short obituary. I printed off both. Again, no obit for Augusta Budzien. It really puzzles me about her. I then went up to the 8th floor to the genealogy dept and found that they had Ship passenger lists by date and city of port. I found 8-13-1866 New York but did not find the ship Emil. At least it was a shot. I am still working that angle. I asked about criminal court records and the library only had civil cases on file. I guess I will have to research the case against the guy that hit John Budzien on-line. All and all it was a fairly productive day. After the library, we toured the 6th floor of the book depository where Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy. Very nice museum. Here is a fun fact that I just learned today...Did you know JFK was the one who created the "special forces" in the military? He sent some of our elite military over to southeast Asia to train them before we got involved in Vietnam. Some say if JFK had lived we probably would not have gotten involved in Vietnam. I guess we will never know. We also saw the two "X's" on the road that mark the spots where JFK took the bullets. Had to be 2 gunman once you see how far the shot is from the 6th floor depository. Tomorrow we go to qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway. We will be down on the INFIELD!!!! Should be a lot of fun as it will be 78 degrees and sunny! Well, back to my martini! I will be back blogging tomorrow. Love to all. Karen

Happy April Fool's Day!

We just returned to Dallas after being in Houston on Monday and San Antonio Tuesday to Wednesday. The Houston Space Center was so cool to see. We saw the actual Apollo 18 Rocket that was never used due to the start of the Vietnam War. We took a lot of pictures and video. San Antonio was just beautiful to see at night. We got a little rowdy at Rowdy Dick's on the River last night, ask Lisa as I talked to her! We actually went back this morning and ate breakfast and then stopped by the Alamo and walked through it. Always cool to actually see the bullet holes in the doors. Tomorrow it is the graveyard, library for family research, the JFK museum and Christy's dealership. I will chat again tomorrow. Heading back out poolside with my gin and tonic. 80 degrees! Love to all. Karen

A Shelter in a Storm!

Well, we made it as far as Cameron Missouri today due to a major snowstorm that is hitting, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. We decided to stop as we kept seeing cars in the ditch. It was really starting to get icy. So we checked into the Days Inn and had dinner at Ma & Pa Kettles restaurant and are now back in our room watching Airport. (1975). Hopefully, the weather will clear tomorrow and we will be back on the road again. We have had our warm cookies and later will head to the indoor pool. Pray for good weather and dry roads! Karen.

The excitement is building!

I can't believe we leave for Texas on Saturday! It will take us 2 days to drive down so we will arrive in Dallas on Sunday. Our hosts, Christy and Jerry Stephens, are very excited to have us come and stay with them. Monday we will head to Houston Space Center in Houston, TX for a day trip. We have always wanted to see it so we are going. Tuesday we head down to see Aunt Dorothy, my dad's older sister who is 86 years old. She is the person that did all the preliminary work on the family history before there was the Internet. Dorothy has provided me with the stepping stones to go forward in the research of the family stories and history. I am so glad she had the determination to put it all down on paper. We will stay overnight at a motel on Tuesday and then head back to Dallas. Thursday is the Dallas Library research day. We will also be going to Oakland Cemetery for the headstones of Augusta Budzien, John Budzien (her son), and her one daughter Amanda Van Detten. I guess there is a plot of 8 people there. We will also be going to where JFK was shot. Friday is Texas Motor Speedway to watch them qualify for the NASCAR race that is on Sunday. Saturday Roger will try his hand at cart racing. Then we head back home on Sunday. We will be back in town on Monday in time to go to the Twins last home opener at the dome. Well, back to organizing for the trip. That is all for now. Karen

A special thank you to a new friend!

After I blogged yesterday, I noticed that Allen ( my son) had added the photo of Charles and Augusta Budzien and their children at the bottom of the blog. A special thank you to Julie D (from Oregon) who found our family tree on-line (thanks Stephanie for doing that) and provided that picture. The men standing are as follows: from left to right, Herman, John and Frank Leo. Sitting from left to right are: Martha, Augusta, Charles and Amanda. Julie has provided information to me as I have her. Her line is John. He was the one who was "murdered" in TX. I will get the whole story as the incident was in the newspaper. I will also be looking up any court documents if the person who killed John was put on trial for the crime. You just can't make this stuff up. More to come on that once I get to TX. Until next time....Karen

Less than 2 weeks til Texas!

I am sitting enjoying a 62 degree day and boy does it feel great! I can't believe we leave for Texas soon. I can't wait to get down there and get busy researching family history. I have the exact location in the cemetery where there is a plot of 8 family members thanks to some volunteers who come in and map cemeteries and help load info online. It is people like these that make finding our legacies easier and it opens the door to all the wonderful stories of the people who came before us. Family history is more than just gathering names and dates, it is about gathering the occupations, events and daily life that shaped our ancestors lives and make us who we are. It warmed my heart to see how our family has carried on the names of our ancestors through the generations. Those people must have been loved and highly thought of for that kind of dedication. Enough on the soapbox! Just really proud to be able to do this and I thank my husband, Roger and niece, Stephanie for supporting my adventures! Couldn't do it without them! Karen