So about 3 weeks ago, 1st Class tells me he’ll be
in Tacoma for a visit. I figure about 3 days. Nope. Try 3 weeks. All in all it
was really like 2 weeks, because he went up to Lopez Is for a few days, and I
left for a few days to go to Oregon.
So the 3 weeks were a lot of fun. Our schedules were a bit
off, his bedtime was 3am, and my wake-up was 4am. Also, 1st Class
was quite busy working. Work in Lacey, Auburn, Lake Washington, and
Bellevue. We played plenty of tennis, my record was 3-4, but the quality of
play for both of us went up another level.
Of course, we also got in our tv viewing. We saw the U.S.
Open, Wimbledon, Novocaine, Silicon Valley, The Godfather, Armageddon, The
Kelly File, and a George Harrison documentary. I also caught him watching alone
Jersey Boys, The Other Woman, & Magic Mike, and of course his daily go to, “Today,
Kathie Lee & Hoda”.
We survived the heat wave, and even managed an awesome bike
ride in Orting. Also, enjoyed some good meals. I perfected fried calamari, and
we even got in a dinner at the yurt with Gerald. Grilled salmon, corn, bread,
& mashed potatoes. We ended the visit with our normal eggs rolls and pho at Vien Dong.
So next up was 4th of July weekend. Road trip
with Gerald! A marathon run for Gerald in Tigard, followed by a 10k run for
Papa Ventoux, Anna, Gerald, and me in Eugene. Really thankful Gerald suggested
the 10k back in April. I actually trained up to run 6.2 miles, and definitely
would not have without the event to look forward to. Spent a couple days at
Papa V’s house enjoying family time. Lots of arts & crafts, magic show,
water fight, dog walk and birthday celebration. Pizza, grilled trout, scallops,
tacos, and ice cream cake. I did not go hungry. Said our good-byes, and went up to Portland to go shopping. Had
an hour to kill and ended up learning the definition of Forbearance. Ended the
weekend with a bike ride on the Chehalis Western Trail. We took it west to
Woodard Bay. I even managed a couple intervals on the return. That got my heart
rate up.
forbearance [fawr-bair-uh ns]
noun
3.
an abstaining from the enforcement of a right.
4.
a creditor's giving of indulgence after the day originally fixed for payment.
Then this weekend Papa Ventoux came up for a short Seattle
visit. He stayed at the yurt, ran Discovery Park, visited Pike’s Market and
then crashed at my place. Cooked at home, went out to the Tacoma waterfront,
and then the very best part, we ended up playing blackjack! It’s been a long
time since I played, and it’s like riding a bike. Mostly, it was just a lot of
fun playing, and we even saw Macklemore dealing craps. I guess 1st
Class & Papa V have a “Pay It Forward” thing going between them. Kinda like Starbucks where a driver pays for the coffee for
the next driver. 1st Class left a Ninkasi for Papa V., and then Papa
V left a can of Sapporo for 1st Class. How thoughtful.
Ended the weekend with a 9 mile jog to Seward Park at 5am
this morning with Gerald. I realize I bikerunchow with Gerald. In just a few
days, we visited McDonald’s, Starbucks, Baja Fresh, Kornblatt’s Deli, Newman’s
Fish House, Tacoma Szechuan, and the Skillet. My belly definitely likes that.
Next up? I’ve got to get my biking legs back. An August ride on Vashon Is.
