And I made the best of it. Starting with a long hot group hike.
Up the Govic highway……then up the steps.Better at the beginning of the hike than at the end, but still a butt-kicker.My first cookie delivery about halfway upFriendly lolasJim was the only one in the group who wanted to climb Blackrock. So, he went by himself.The rest of us took the roundabout way to meet him at the bottom.Wait a minute…is something moving up there?Sure enough, it looks like Jim is thinking about taking the quick way down.Self-flagellation and reenacting the crucifixion are Good Friday traditions in these parts. And on we marched…The second part of Monday’s Hash (after Easter Mountain) will be hiking the Black Rock ridge. I’ll be doing that portion.The cows had the good sense to stay in the shade on such a hot day, and we human folk pressed on.If you build it we will come.And here we are on what used to be just a footpath.The fishpond lifeThen, we crossed the highway and headed for the beach.Lots of folks out enjoying family time on one of the biggest holidays of the year here.I’m not sure what a volleyball game would look like on this court.Bobbing heads in the waterThese friendly folks were enjoying lunch on the beach. They cheered when I gave them some cookies for dessert.Bayside dwellingsMore holiday revelersThrough the narrow streets of this bayside villageAnd onto the community basketball courtA miniature pool tableThe kids were swarming like I’d never seen. I didn’t have enough cookies for everyone, so everyone got none. Sorry ’bout that!Heading back to Barretto on the highwayAn 8K jaunt in the heat left us all tuckered out.
And that’s how I spent my morning. When evening rolled around, Swan and I decided to visit the Arizona floating bar. Yeah, that’s our Sunday thing, but this Sunday, the girls are going to have a party, and everyone gets wet, even the customers. Nope. Not my thing. So, I baked a batch of brownies off we went.
On the beachAnd on the floater.The girls loved the brownies, which made me feel good.The only thing better than a cold beer is a FREE cold beer. The manager sent this one over to me as a thank-you for the brownies.Party time!A bay viewThe sun getting ready to do its thingFetching ice cream from a vendor on the beach.Going……going……gone.
And shortly thereafter, so were we. We were headed to John’s place for dinner.
The beach at dusk was still crowdedAnd on the highway we encountered a Good Friday paradeThe view from our seats at John’s.
John wasn’t there, but we were surprised to see my waitress friend Em Jhae back. She said she had time off for the holidays and John messaged asking her if she could help out for the weekend, and she agreed.
Of course, we invited her to join us for dinner. She said her new call center job is going well, but the hardest part is staying awake at 3:00 a.m. (she works a 9-5 nighttime shift because the calls come from the USA).I dined on the delicious chicken enchiladas
Swan got a message from a friend that she was at It Doesn’t Matter for a pool tournament, so we visited there for our nightcap. And John was there playing. It was great to see him on his feet and enjoying playing pool again. How Good was my Friday? I stayed out until the ungodly hour of nine p.m.! Hey, sometimes you just have to let go and party hard!
Facebook memories included this old joke from 2012:
A Scotsman, an Englishman, and an Irishman are playing darts at Dolce Vita in Itaewon (you guys know who you are, so I won’t mention any names…).
“Y’know” said the Scotsman, “I still prefer the pubs back home. In Glasgow, there’s a wonderful little bar called McTavish’s. The landlord there goes out of his way for the locals, so much that when you buy 4 drinks he’ll buy the 5th drink for you.”
“Well,” said the Englishman, “at my local, the Red Lion, the barman there will buy your 3rd drink after you buy the first 2.”
“Ahhhhh, that’s nothing, laddies,” said the Irishman.
“Back home in me own Dublin, there’s Ryan’s Bar. Now, the moment you set foot in the place they’ll buy you a drink, then another, all the drinks you like. Then, when, when you’ve had enough drinks, they’ll take you upstairs and see that you get laid. All on the house.”
The Englishman and Scotsman immediately scorn the Irishman’s claims. But he swears every word is true.
“Well,” said the Englishman, “did this actually happen to you?”
“Not to me meself, personally, no,” said the Irishman… “but it did happen to me sister.”
Still as funny as it ever was.
Today’s Quora Q&A:
Q: How is it that amnesiacs don’t forget as much as most people think they do?
A: I don’t remember…
We are on a roll here, so let’s get to the rest of the humor.
That’s more sad than funny…But this one cracked me up.Bad timing?I find most of these crap jokes on my phone…Had enough? Me too!
Back with the Saturday report tomorrow.
2 thoughts on “About as Good as it gets”
Sure enough, it looks like Jim is thinking about taking the quick way down.
Jim’s right arm is huge.
Nice pics of the trail, the beach, the food, and the bloody self-flagellators.
My buddy Tom took a look at your blog at dinner this evening when I whipped my phone out. He’s apparently been at the top of Black Rock himself, and he saw lots of other things, in your photos, that were familiar to him.
Heh, I didn’t notice the big arm until you mentioned it. He must have been holding something is all I can figure.
It’s a small world! Glad Tom got to take a stroll down memory lane last night.
Sure enough, it looks like Jim is thinking about taking the quick way down.
Jim’s right arm is huge.
Nice pics of the trail, the beach, the food, and the bloody self-flagellators.
My buddy Tom took a look at your blog at dinner this evening when I whipped my phone out. He’s apparently been at the top of Black Rock himself, and he saw lots of other things, in your photos, that were familiar to him.
Heh, I didn’t notice the big arm until you mentioned it. He must have been holding something is all I can figure.
It’s a small world! Glad Tom got to take a stroll down memory lane last night.