Our latest adventure took us somewhere a little different – at least, for us. When we heard that ATI Performance Products, Inc. was having a race in memory of my uncle, their founder, the hubs and I agreed that it might be cool to check it out. Since I wasn’t sure how the kids would react to the drag way scene- I hadn’t been since I was a little girl – I also thought we should find some other things to do in the area.
Turns out, there are quite a few attractions in Cecil County, MD (where the drag way was), and the surrounding areas. You should totally check it out – here is a great site to plan your trip!
To be honest, our day at the drag way was probably (definitely) a bit different than it would be for someone visiting Cecil County Drag Way as a spectator unaffiliated with any of the racers. I took note of the spectator fee though – $10. Not bad for something different to do, though I wouldn’t recommend this as an activity with very young children, or children completely uninterested in cars or racing, as ours appear to be.
We didn’t leave our house until around 11:30am, so we headed right to the drag way to make it in time for the yummy barbecue lunch my aunt had waiting for us.
It took us about an hour from the Western Philly ‘burbs. Since we were with ATI, our kids had the luxury of an air conditioned RV to hang out in, older cousins to take them for rides on an ATV (before anyone gets upset – it was very controlled, and very slow), and younger cousins to play with – but had we not had those things, we wouldn’t have lasted very long. It was very hot (a theme to our days out lately!), and the only thing to do was watch the races. That would be fine for racing enthusiasts, car enthusiasts, or children with longer attention spans – not an accurate description of our crew. Luckily, we weren’t there specifically for the car racing. However, if you are or your kiddo is interested in that sort of thing – consider making the relatively short drive from the Philadelphia area to check this drag way out.
There is a snack bar, with ice cream, and that is always a hit with our crew, so there is that.
We ended up staying to hang out with the family for quite some time, and never made it to some of the area attractions. There is a zoo nearby, and plenty of water front towns to check out, which you can read about in the link above.
One of the towns that I would love to go back to is Port Deposit. When we left the drag way, we actually tried to have dinner there at this really cool waterfront restaurant called Lee’s Landing, complete with an Ocean City, MD-esque Boardwalk (boardwalk food only, no rides!), but the wait was 45 minutes, and we just couldn’t swing it with the kids. I’d love to go back there on a date night (hahahaha – those rarely happen!) or with some girlfriends. Looks kid friendly, but also seems like it would be a lot more fun without them, tbh.
Since my hopes of dinner on the water didn’t quite pan out – I settled for a German restaurant we passed between the drag way and Port Deposit, called Prost. Here is the menu. I can’t say I have a thing for German food, but I do like to check out places that are a bit different, and this fit the bill. I really enjoyed my meal, the atmosphere, and the authentic German offerings. I noticed that even the writing on the back of the beer list was in German. And hubby was happy with his liter of bier. The kids weren’t that thrilled with their food – and they ordered the hot dog and fish stick – but that’s because they are 4 and 6, and you just can’t expect them to appreciate fresh fish battered in pretzel, or a foot long hot dog “with skin” (I don’t know). For those of you who know me – why yes, I do help families with children who have difficulties with eating – but that doesn’t mean my own kids cooperate all the time! Despite how the kids reacted to their kind of pricey kids meals – I have to say that we almost didn’t go into this restaurant, but I am very glad that we did!
Overall I think we had a great time, and I’d love to go back to check out more of what Cecil County has to over.
-Kristin
The Drag Races
This past Saturday, we decided to take the kids down to Cecil County, Maryland to check out the drag races. No, it did not involve RuPaul and friends running around in high heels. It was the type of drag racing where the girl in the poodle skirt drops her scarf and two greasers drive as fast as they can, like that Smashmouth video from 1998. Or so I thought.
I wasn’t too sure how long the kids would last. The drive wasn’t bad – only about an hour south of Philadelphia, close to both I-95 and Route 1. My wife’s family was involved with the race, so we got in for free, but spectator tickets are usually $10. We bought earplugs because we thought it would be too loud, and expected the August heat would do them in. The kids loved the idea of shoving the plugs into their ears (better them than coins or toys, I guess), but they were not really necessary. Some of the cars were loud, but it was not deafening. And the air conditioned trailer my wife’s family brought down with them solved the heat issue. But how much interest would they show in the races?
The answer: barely any. I was able to get my son to sit with me and watch the races for all of 10 minutes, which was 9 minutes and 30 seconds longer then my daughter lasted. They were more interested in playing with their cousins (Shopkins and Hot Wheels came down with us) than watching real cars race. That and going on ATV rides around the parking lot. Part of the problem was probably the vantage point. For safety reasons, there were cement dividers blocking most of the views of the cars. That made it hard for them to see most of the cars that were racing. That, and the fact that they are kids, and they are just a pain in the ass with everything.
I am not much of a motor head, but I did manage to enjoy myself. Besides the typical long dragsters with the parachutes out the back, I was surprised at some of the other cars that were there for racing: Mustangs, Corvettes, Firebirds, and just about every other car the douche in a 1980s movie would drive. And there were also Harleys and snowmobiles racing. Yes, snowmobiles racing in August. I still don’t totally get the light timing (it seems like they don’t always start at the same time), but it was pretty cool watching the cars go head to head at top speeds. And since we were on the racers side of the parking lot (my wife’s cousin is involved in the racing industry), we got to walk around and see all the different cars that people were racing there.
I was a little disappointed at the lack of tailgating. Lots of people were hanging around, and almost no one was drinking. What the hell is with that? But I guess if you are going to be racing your highly customized vehicle at almost 200 mph, you don’t want to be doing it with a buzz.
It is probably worth checking out with older kids, or ones that are really into cars. I am not sure if I would bring my kids back to a race, as they didn’t seem to be into it.
After the races, we decided to try and get some food. First, we tried a place in Port Deposit called Lee’s Landing. Its got a playground, a small boardwalk complete with fries and popcorn, and a great view of the Susquehanna. But it was 7:30, we were hungry, and there was a 45 minute wait. That is a recipe for “hanger” and meltdowns with this crew. So we decided to find somewhere else.
Just up the road, we found a German restaurant called Prost. Sausages and liters of German beer? Count me in!
The menu was pretty decent. My wife had a plate of spatzel, which evidently is German for mac and cheese. I had a couple of sausages with some potato salad and sauerkraut. And of course, a big glass of Hofbrau! Prost, indeed! For dessert, we all shared a big chocolate mousse, which was pretty good.
The restaurant was pretty cool, too. The kids enjoyed finding that their seats opened up and had drawers in them for storage. As dinner moved on, it was a great threat to use when they wouldn’t eat, “Eat your dinner or I am going to shove you in that drawer and sit on top!” Of course, it didn’t work. The walls also had hand paintings of deer, cottages and other German stuff, as well as flags all over the place. It was also well lit and wide open. When we first got there, it was really loud. Good thing we still had the earplugs!
The staff was friendly as well. Although ALL of them had blonde hair and blue eyes – like some sort of Aryan poster. It was like going to an Irish pub and finding a bunch of freckle faced gingers named Seamus and Siobhan. But they closed at 9. What kind of bar does that on a Saturday? What a waste of beer liters!
Overall, the trip was a pretty good one, but not for the reasons I expected. The kids didn’t enjoy the races much, but we did get to spend time with family, and that is almost always good. And we managed to pull off a new and unexpected culinary adventure along the way.
-Shawn
