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