A great day, but oh, my legs!
Nov. 4th, 2018 08:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreThank Halford for the extra hour of sleep we were given last night. I so needed it as Saturday was a very busy, fulfilling day.
kshandra and I had to get up at the crack of dawn to drive up to San Francisco for the Lard Butt 1K a fun event that includes a food drive to support local emergency pantries.
Kirsten did this last year as I watched, but I've done well enough walking that I decided to take part. We made one tactical error, though. Parking in Golden Gate Park can be such a nightmare that we parked at the dog park lot. So even before the event, we had walked a kilometer to just get there.
But once on scene registration was a breeze and we quickly wandered to the beer garden. Part of the registration was a free adult beverage for those over 21. A cup of Corona, hard cider, or a mimosa. We got into a couple of nice conversations in the garden and met several good dogs. Then it was time to race! Or something.
We were broken into several groups. First to go were the Showoffs, who were roundly booed for daring to actually run the course. Second, came Kirsten's group, the Legends, anyone over 250lbs. finally came the Waddlers, which was everyone else. We lined up, body's tense, with one goal in our minds: the donut stations.
Every 250 meters along the course there was a tent where Krispy Kreme was passing out their little donuts. My kind of race. I indulged at the first two stops, but I was already experiencing a sugar rush when I passed the third station, so I pressed on. I actually ran the last ten meters of the course.
Kirsten and I hooked up and walked back to the truck. Despite having done ridiculous amounts of activity by our standards we decided to not waste a day in the city. As Giants legend Willie McCovey had just passed away, we decided to drive across the city to visit his statue and the memorial that has grown up around it.
It's hard to describe just how important WillieMac was to the Giants. set aside his amazing career at 1st base. After he retired he became an ambassador of the game, a near-constant presence at AT&T Park where he'd happily chat with fans. He'd been ill for years, confined to a wheelchair, but you saw him and you saw Stretch McCovey reaching out his big frame to steal a single from a speedy baserunner.
His statue is set across the small inlet named in his honor from the ballpark. It's a beautiful place, with a small baseball diamond for kids and amazing views.
It was an amazing day yesterday, in the mid-70s and no wind, so after admiring the statue we both realized we were that close to 10,000 steps, the decision was made to follow McCovey Cove down to the Lefty O'Doul Bridge, over to the park where we could check out the Giants Dugout store and walk out to the statue commemorating the San Francisco Seals and back.
At the store, we scored big. My current Giants windbreaker was purchased at a game against the Dodgers where Orel Hershiser was the Giants starting pitcher and offense was provided by J.T. Snow. July 3rd, 1998. It was time. We found a really nice jacket on sale for $30. Winner!
Staggering, we made it all the back to the truck and realized we needed food. Which led to the only part of the day that was a disappointment. We've loved Chili's for years. It was the go-to place for a dinner out. But it has changed, and they've lost us.
First of all, they have bucked the trend and made all their portions larger. Also, everything comes loaded. Take their fajitas. I loved their steak fajitas, mainly because I get exactly what I wanted to eat: Steak, flour tortillas, and I asked to have the usual sides replaced with just cheese. Now, the fajitas come with a mountain of sides that I don't want! I'm not going to spend a lot of money and then cut off half the order!
They also seem to have embraced a corporate concept of "if the table isn't covered in food, we're doing it wrong." Yesterday, I ordered their original chicken crispers. This comes with corn-on-the-cob and fries. For obvious reasons, I can't eat corn that's still on the cob. So I ask for it to be taken off. The server almost seemed panicked as he listed the other sides. "No just, the fries, please."
I get a double order of fries. Which I'm never going to even make a dent in. Which I didn't ask for!
I'm reaching to point of only going to places to offer buffet options.
But yeah, yesterday was pretty awesome.
kshandra and I had to get up at the crack of dawn to drive up to San Francisco for the Lard Butt 1K a fun event that includes a food drive to support local emergency pantries. Kirsten did this last year as I watched, but I've done well enough walking that I decided to take part. We made one tactical error, though. Parking in Golden Gate Park can be such a nightmare that we parked at the dog park lot. So even before the event, we had walked a kilometer to just get there.
But once on scene registration was a breeze and we quickly wandered to the beer garden. Part of the registration was a free adult beverage for those over 21. A cup of Corona, hard cider, or a mimosa. We got into a couple of nice conversations in the garden and met several good dogs. Then it was time to race! Or something.
We were broken into several groups. First to go were the Showoffs, who were roundly booed for daring to actually run the course. Second, came Kirsten's group, the Legends, anyone over 250lbs. finally came the Waddlers, which was everyone else. We lined up, body's tense, with one goal in our minds: the donut stations.
Every 250 meters along the course there was a tent where Krispy Kreme was passing out their little donuts. My kind of race. I indulged at the first two stops, but I was already experiencing a sugar rush when I passed the third station, so I pressed on. I actually ran the last ten meters of the course.
Kirsten and I hooked up and walked back to the truck. Despite having done ridiculous amounts of activity by our standards we decided to not waste a day in the city. As Giants legend Willie McCovey had just passed away, we decided to drive across the city to visit his statue and the memorial that has grown up around it.
It's hard to describe just how important WillieMac was to the Giants. set aside his amazing career at 1st base. After he retired he became an ambassador of the game, a near-constant presence at AT&T Park where he'd happily chat with fans. He'd been ill for years, confined to a wheelchair, but you saw him and you saw Stretch McCovey reaching out his big frame to steal a single from a speedy baserunner.
His statue is set across the small inlet named in his honor from the ballpark. It's a beautiful place, with a small baseball diamond for kids and amazing views.
It was an amazing day yesterday, in the mid-70s and no wind, so after admiring the statue we both realized we were that close to 10,000 steps, the decision was made to follow McCovey Cove down to the Lefty O'Doul Bridge, over to the park where we could check out the Giants Dugout store and walk out to the statue commemorating the San Francisco Seals and back.
At the store, we scored big. My current Giants windbreaker was purchased at a game against the Dodgers where Orel Hershiser was the Giants starting pitcher and offense was provided by J.T. Snow. July 3rd, 1998. It was time. We found a really nice jacket on sale for $30. Winner!
Staggering, we made it all the back to the truck and realized we needed food. Which led to the only part of the day that was a disappointment. We've loved Chili's for years. It was the go-to place for a dinner out. But it has changed, and they've lost us.
First of all, they have bucked the trend and made all their portions larger. Also, everything comes loaded. Take their fajitas. I loved their steak fajitas, mainly because I get exactly what I wanted to eat: Steak, flour tortillas, and I asked to have the usual sides replaced with just cheese. Now, the fajitas come with a mountain of sides that I don't want! I'm not going to spend a lot of money and then cut off half the order!
They also seem to have embraced a corporate concept of "if the table isn't covered in food, we're doing it wrong." Yesterday, I ordered their original chicken crispers. This comes with corn-on-the-cob and fries. For obvious reasons, I can't eat corn that's still on the cob. So I ask for it to be taken off. The server almost seemed panicked as he listed the other sides. "No just, the fries, please."
I get a double order of fries. Which I'm never going to even make a dent in. Which I didn't ask for!
I'm reaching to point of only going to places to offer buffet options.
But yeah, yesterday was pretty awesome.
no subject
Date: 5 Nov 2018 02:29 (UTC)I'm sorry I couldn't hang out afterwards; I would've loved to walk around McCovey with you guys. I'm glad we had such a gorgeous day for it!
Might be worth looking for places that have a 'senior menu', as they usually have smaller portion options.
no subject
Date: 5 Nov 2018 10:23 (UTC)