Monthly Archives: February 2017

Nikki and I go to San Francisco

I was asked to go to a conference in San Francisco and when I told Nikki last November, she was interested in going out as well.  This was going to be her first time on west coast.  We left the house Sunday morning around 5:20 am to get the car parked in long term parking and get through security.  It was a good thing we gave ourselves that amount of time, as we got caught in the slow line in security at John Glenn International airport and by the time we made it to the gate they were starting to load the plane.  We had a layover in Chicago and were able to grab a bite to eat and didn’t have to wait too long for our next flight.  The flight to San Francisco was uneventful and we arrived shortly after 11:50 am local time.  We gathered our luggage and found our way to the Car Rental Shuttle and called the rental place to come pick us up to take us to the rental place near the south side of the airport.  We got the van and then headed back to the airport to pick up a number of my co-workers who were scheduled to arrive at 1:10 pm.  After a few laps around the terminal, they had all gathered their luggage and were waiting for us to pick them up.  After we got everyone’s luggage in the mini-van we headed out towards the Golden Gate Bridge.  After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge we headed over to Muir Woods to see the Giant Redwoods.  Even though it was wet and misting the rain held off for our visit and we were all amazed at how large those trees end up growing and realized that some of them were probably seedlings about the time Jesus was born.

After our time at Muir woods we headed back over the Golden Gate Bridge and into downtown San Francisco where we were to check in at the Park Central Hotel on the corner of 3rd Street and Mission St.  We left our luggage with some of the guys and then Nikki and I headed back towards the airport to find dinner, drop off the van and head back to the hotel.  After we dropped off the van we got a ride back to the airport via the rental shuttle and then found our way to the BART to ride back to the hotel.  On the train just as we were getting off on our exit, Montgomery Street, Nikki was told by a crazy man who sat on the other side of her that she was possessed by the devil and he could release the devil if she just let him pull her hair.  She retorted back that if he pulled her hair she would definitely see the devil!  She then got up and over to the other side of me just as the train stopped and we disembarked.  The train was so loud in the tunnels, I didn’t hear him talk to her at all or hear her response until we were out on the station platform and she told me about it.  We made it the short walk to our hotel without any other incident or drama.

The next morning we found a local place around the corner called The Grove and it was a nice little place to have breakfast as there was none provided by the conference or hotel.  We ended up liking that place so much we had breakfast there everyday we were there.  The next several days Nikki wandered around the city on foot while I was at the conference.  We would meet up after the conference for the day and have dinner with my co-workers.

Wednesday after the conference was over we took a trolley ride up to the top of Russian Hill where we got off and took some pictures from the top of Lombard Street.  The views were spectacular.  We walked down the hill to Fisherman’s Wharf and walked around there for a bit.  We made it to a beach, between Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghirardelli square, but there was a sign that said BioHazard Do not approach.  We took some pictures of the swimmers behind the sign and headed up to Ghirardelli Square, where we had dinner at McCormick & Kuleto’s Seafood & Steaks.  The food was excellent and we took the trolley back to a couple of blocks from our hotel.  The views down some of the steep hills into San Francisco were amazing with all the buildings lit up.  Unfortunately we didn’t get much notice and missed the picture taking opportunity.

The next morning we headed to the airport and took our time getting ready to leave as we didn’t want to feel rushed.  We flew into Houston and had an hour layover there before our flight back to John Glenn International in Columbus.  Our flight was a little early arriving in Columbus, so we made it back to our house before midnight.

Overall it was a nice conference and San Francisco was a nice place to visit.  Although everything was very expensive.  I would like to go back sometime and visit when I have more time to enjoy the sights and fine dining that is available there.

Rubber City Meet – Akron, OH

Jonny was scheduled to run in the 400 Meter Dash and the 4×400 Meter Relay at the Rubber City Meet held at the University of Akron.

The meet was running an hour and 20 minutes ahead of schedule and Jonny just missed the early sign in for the 400 Meter Dash, so he was added to one of the later heats and the waterfall start, which meant there were at least twice as many kids on the track at the same time as opposed to the earlier heats with one runner per lane and starting blocks.

Jonny got caught in the inside lane in the middle of the pack at the first 100 meters and worked his way out to the outside and made his move at around the 200 meter mark. With just over 100 meters left in the race he was in the lead and then he pulled a hamstring. Instead of dropping out, the competitor in him told him to finish the race, even though he was in obvious pain.  He had pulled a hamstring two weeks before the state championship.  He was going to need to rest and we hope that he will have enough time to recover for the state meet.

The University of Akron is one of the schools he is interested in attending after high school,  He was able to meet with the Akron coach and talked with him for over an hour after the end of the meet.  He really liked the coach and Akron is at the top of the list of where he would like to go to school and run.

Here is the video I took of the race.

Spire Scholastic Showcase

Jonny ran at the Spire Institute’s Spire Scholastic Showcase today located in Geneva, Ohio Northeast of Cleveland.

Jonny was going to have race against the best runners in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.  It was going to be his first real test in the 800 since the state finals last year.  He was racing against the 30 best runners in the region.  He was racing in the first heat and got off to a good start.  with 200 meters left in the race he took a chance to go for 2nd place and had 2nd place until about 30 or 40 meters left and was passed by the athlete he passed about 100 meters earlier.  He took a chance and gave himself an opportunity to take 2nd and it was great watching him just race.  He ended up 3rd in his heat and 4th overall with a time of 1:55.49.  That time puts him first in the state right now for the 800 Meter Run in Division I!  Congratulations Jonny.

Here is the video that I took of his heat.

Oiler High School Invite – University of Findlay

Jonny ran at the University of Findlay today. There was an issue with the Ohio State Buckeye Qualifier team entry and a late change of plans for the indoor track team. This is the first time we have been to the University of Findlay at the Koehler Complex.  He ran in two events today.  The 800 meter run and the 4×400 meter relay.  The first event for Jonny, the 800 meter run, was scheduled for 5:30 and the 4×400 boys relay was scheduled for 7:50 so it was going to be a late night for us, as it’s about 2 hours to Findlay.

Jonny ran in the first heat of the 800 Meter Run.  He got himself out to a good start and at the 200 meter mark he was in the lead with the group close behind.  At the 400 meter mark he was still in the lead but the group had spread out single file.  At the 600 meter mark he was well out in front of the pack with one other runner.  He was all alone at the finish and no one really challenged him to force a time that would qualify him for the state tournament.  He finished with a time of 2:01.93 and his 200 meter splits were 28.41/30.71/31.77/30.75.  He was first out of 81 runners.

Here is the video I took of the race.

Jonny ran in the 2nd heat of the Boys 4×400 Meter Relay.  The team finished 1st in their heat unchallenged at 3:45.54.  Their nearest competition was 6 seconds behind them.  I had Jonny’s split at about 54.5.  The team ended up 4th overall out of 14 teams.

I missed the beginning of the Boys 4×400 Meter Relay because the camera was doing something with the media card that wouldn’t allow me to record.  I picked up the race about 50 meters after the start.