Several of our friends parked at 'The Gear' and they all said that attendance was down....a lot. I also noticed that our neighbors, who allow people to park in their yards for a fee, charged less than half of what they have charged in the past. Normally they charge $3.00 Monday through Wednesday, $5.00 on Thursday, $10.00 on Friday, $15.00 on Saturday, and $20.00 on Sunday. This year they charged $3.00 all week except Friday when they raised the price to $5.00, and Saturday and Sunday was $7.00.
Normally I pick up at least 3 or more Buick Open plastic beer cups each day. I also usually pick up at least 10 used tickets and numerous scraps of paper such as programs, cigarette packs, etc. This year the litter consisted of 1 used ticket.
My husband and I usually laugh at the number of extremely drunk people we see every year. Some people stumble by the house several times in their search for their vehicle. This year....not one drunk or even slightly intoxicated individual. We also did not hear any clapping or yelling from the 17th hole, which is notorious for it's rowdiness. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/2008-06-27-3120458807_x.htm
So lets recap...lower attendance, less beer drinking, cheaper parking prices, and less enthusiasm. Next weekend I will be in Ohio for the King's Royal Sprint car race, at that time I will observe the beer drinkage and t shirt buying. If those two actions are also down......I will then know we are in trouble economically.
One thing that hasn't changed is the need for everyone in a sport car to squeal their tires when they leave their parking spot and pull out onto the road. Seems there is not a male alive that cannot hold back.....including my son. My son and daughter in law came over for a visit in their 1986 Buick Grand National. They rarely take it out of the garage but in honor of the Buick Open they felt the need to tool through GB and show off their ride. So when they left he not only burned rubber on our driveway...grrrrr.....but when he pulled out onto the street, he launched it a good one. He does that because he knows I hate it. LOL I told him I don't do that with the Tracker when I leave his house in Fenton. That reminds me....I forgot to tell him his turbo spooled up nicely but sounded terrible when he lifted.
Today all the semi trucks were leaving with all the sky boxes, porta potties, golf carts, bleachers, and hospitality tents. It normally takes a month to set up and about two weeks to tear down and get back to normal. Yea for normal.
