Friday, August 08, 2008

Rest Amidst a Storm

Guess where I am? I'm in Vegas. Place is crazy as always. Lots of construction going on actually. I counted at least 5 construction sites on the strip. You know the last time I was here I remember enjoying it, like all the other times, but this time not so much. I've changed I guess. All these fake environments, large crowds of people, connstruction, noise, gambling, overt advertisements for sex and pornography and free flowing alcohol don't quite agree with my spirit this time around. It's hard to miss the urban scenery but I've been admiring the mountain range in the distance. Yesterday a thunderstorm rolled through and I got to see a few bolts strike the valley from a hotel window. Since KM100 I've never felt the same way about lightning:)

One thing that is good though is the food. Las Vegas is the no.1 destination for people from Hawaii and there's this hotel in the old downtown that is frequented primarily by Hawaiian patrons - The California Hotel. It's like someone took a piece of Hawaii and crammed it in a hotel. The two restaurants inside serve Hawaiian food. In particular there's a type of chili that can only be found in the islands. It's unnaturally orange and a bit on the runny side but it's so good, if you spent some time in Hawaii you'd know exactly what I was talking about. I hear the Island's Pidgin English spoken and I see aloha wear everywhere.

I'm here for a wedding and ironically I've been spending my personal time resting and laying about. A bit backwards really. When you come to Vegas you stay up, party and sleep on the plane ride home. Well my life has been more exciting than a Vegas show lately and I need this ptime to catch up on rest:) It feels good to lay around in a hotel bed, watching tv and indulging a bit on some good food. When it comes to food I will apply the famous Vegas tagline, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". My scale doesn't need to know the details. Tomorrow I leave early in the morning for my flight back to San Francisco. I'll catch up with Olga who is crewing and pacing her guy Larry at the Headlands Hundred in the early afternoon. I'll be on pacer duty myself for the second half of the race. Now that's the kind of play I'm looking forward to. I'll be on the trails when the sun goes down over the Pacific and I'll get to enjoy some night running again. Like I said, I guess I've changed.

I'll leave you with pictures from the San Francisco Marathon Expo from last weekend.

DSCN0060.JPGHardworking and very hard to miss Catra Corbett.


DSCN0061.JPGWith Glorybelle at her booth. Running skirts are uber popular these days.


DSCN0062.JPGI saw this woman working at a booth with a green Western States 100 shirt on and I said "did you run that race?" and she replied "which one?". My eyes quickly traveled down to her waist and saw the big ol Badwater buckle. Haha, yikes! We talked for a bit and she introduced me to one of her friends who crewed for her. Turns out she knew Mark Gilligan and Mark was talking with Julie Fingar just on the other end of the booth. Here they are; Marie Bartoletti, Mark Gilligan and Julie Fingar.


DSCN0063.JPGLooping back to Catra's booth I ran into Jonathan "Gundy" Gunderson. He too ran Badwater and is 3 for 3. I'm primarily a mountains and single track runner, I've no desire to ever do Badwater but I have much respect for the event, admire the runners and celebrate their accomplishments.


Alrighty then. Well I still have a pair of black shoes to polish and a best man's speech to practice. Have a great weekend everyone.

16 comments:

  1. I LOVE the California Hotel!!

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  2. You are famous!! Glad you are getting some rest!

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  3. Anonymous3:39 PM

    Great post Rick.
    I'll be in Vegas next weekend for the ET midnight marathon.

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  4. You're talking about Zippy's chili, right? Mmmm... I'm also a former Hawaii resident in SF.

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  5. yaiann: Love it!

    j~mom: Awww not really. Yup rest and hopefully more tonight before the race this weekend.

    roadbunner: You got it! Zippy's. I crave it when I haven't had it in a long time. I haven't found it in San Francisco. The rest of my island cravings I can satisfy with L&L and Hukilau, even Pacific Catch makes a great Ahi Poke. Welcome.

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  6. Hey Rick,

    Kailua boy and GGTC member who moved to SF from Colorado in Feb. Been following you thru a friend and thought I'd say hi.

    I'll see you on the trails and don't forget to try Eva's on Clement. A spin off concept store from LnL.

    Broke da mouth!

    As for Zippy's -- I KNOW I'll take some heat for saying this but having lived in HI for 20 years, I don't miss it. LnL was another story completely.

    See you on the trails!

    -Dave

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  7. Look at you chillin in Vegas ;-) What do you have to worry about the scale for? Dang!!

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  8. I am not a big Vegas fan either. Very cool the people you ran into at the expo. I hope the Headlands went well for your runner.

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  9. Anonymous12:59 PM

    Hey Rick,

    I just returned from Vegas this morning. Wish I knew you were down there. I went on a couple awesome runs up to Mt. Charleston with a buddy of mine. Surprisingly, Vegas has some great trail running.

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  10. There's a store in Japantown which sells Hawaii stuff. They're right next to a restaurant called, Blue Honu's, I think. I'm pretty sure they sell frozen Zippy's chili. I remember they had lau lau, kalua pork, guava jelly, etc. I tend to stuff myself silly whenever I go home and bring back up frozen kalua pork, lau lau, and saimin. It helps my parents visit often and bring up frozen food for me. I never heard of Hukilau. Will have to check it out.

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  11. Hope you had a great weekend in Vegas, Rick! I've never been there myself, but I hear it is an eater's paradise. Did your scale find out what happened in Vegas? :)

    Hope it was an excellent time!

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  12. Dave: Welcome man. Eva's on Clement you say, never heard of the place, thanks for the tip. Yeah I've got it in for the Zippy's chili. Well if you ever see me in one of our club functions say hello.

    Marcy: I can eat like a horse.

    Rob: Hey it was Donald who I ended up pacing because my runner was injured and dropped at 50. Yeah as you know by now he did great. I got to live through him the finish I wanted for myself last year.
    It was a great night of running.

    Roadbunner: Sweet tip. I'll check it out along with Eva's. Here's a link for Hukilau.

    Jean: My scale this morning said "why are you heavier?" and I said "huh really" and I walked out of the bathroom.

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  13. Glad your getting some rest...anxioius to hear about the pacing assignment. Rock On!
    dave

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  14. Man, all this talk about Hawaii chili has me thinking. You know, those Texans I lived with all those years might give Hawaiian chili a happy guffaw, but I'll reserve judgment until I see some of it myself. :)

    Meghan

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  15. Mark: No worries man. I didn't have time anyway it was all about the wedding and poof I was gone. Hot though huh? Running there I mean.

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  16. Steve: I missed your comment, good luck on the ET midnight marathon.

    Meghan: Uh I don't think Zippy's would hold up to a Texan Chili but it's what I grew up with so I crave it. Mmm...wish I had a bowl of it right now.

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