Fun in CT -or- How I Realized I Don't Ever Need to Run (and am very content lying on my couch)

Hopped the train up to Stamford on Friday night with Chrissy and Kyle. Beth picked us up at the train station and we got to see their great apartment. We had a massive Italian feast (so Beth could carbo-load for the big race on Saturday) and drove up to Hartford to a hotel to get some sleep.

Up at 6:30, breakfast and coffee, then off to the starting line in the park. Lots of people, mad rush to get in portopotty lines, a crowd, a shotgun and they're off. We saw Bethy in her pink shirt ("Beth" on front and "Ain't Life Grand" on back), waved, cheered and walked over to the bridge, mile 2 and 8 (on the return trip). We staked a good spot and waited for the first runnes to come through.

I loved cheering for everyone--a few people with their names on their shirts made it easy to root them on. One guy had an "Atom Heart Mother" shirt so I said "Pink Floyd rules!" and he pumped his fists. Another girl had stopped running and slowed down to a crawling pace of a walk. I cheered her on and get her jogging again. Half the people were in the ZONE and couldn't be disturbed but most people were psyched to hear clapping and cheering.

Then Bethy crested the bridge and we yelled, held out Chrissy's handmade banner and slapped her high five. She was in great shape--exactly on her 10-minute clip and still going strong. We went back to the finish line and saw some familiar faces--scary half naked dude, the mother pushing her stroller the whole time, the couple tied together with 3' of rope. And then Beth's smile came through the arch and she crossed the finish line at 2:12:15. What a champ!!!!!

And instead of getting food or a massage or sitting down, Beth exclaims that she really wanted a beer. So we went to the beer garden and had a few Sam Adams Oktoberfests at 10:30am. Check out some of Russ's pictures and write-up at his awesome travelogue page.

Back to the hotel for some showers and down time, then off to Manchester for a yummy lunch and 9 holes of disc golf in a gorgeous park Russ found. I hit the pin twice on long drives--came really close to making some spectacular shots. Fun was had by all.

Then we made our way to Guilford to Taylor's great cottage on a hill above the water for a great bonfire. 1 keg and 2 bottles of port wine later, we drove back (DD Russ drove) to Stamford to pass out.

Sunday, Deanna and I met up at City Hall and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to the arts festival in Dumbo. Such a beautiful day to be outside. We saw a moving Katrina exhibit, a fun hip-hop retrospective, some public art in the parks on the water, and saw a ton of private artist workshops and studios in 68 John Street--they opened their doors to the public so we could see all the great work.

Then off to the promenade to sit (lots of walking! or should I say "tramping") and dinner at my place. Got to sit on my couch for the first time in a while--great way to end a marathon of a weekend.

Music Notes:
Just got the new Pure Jerry release today... mmmmm. Started the day off with some Sigur Ros and Josh Rouse. But let's all take a minute to remember CBGBs, which closed its doors last night for the last time, after Patti Smith rocked the house down with Flea on bass. RIP CBGBs

Alcoholic Notes:
This Saturday is the one year anniversary of Common Ground, my favorite bar in the city. So to celebrate, they are having an ICE LUGE and a free shot for everyone who walks in the door. Yes, that's right, an ICE LUGE!!