Skid marks on my darts

The consecutive win streak in the Alley Cats dart tournaments has come to an end. And it was all my fault. I drew Jerlyn as my partner. She’s a cutie but was probably the weakest player in the tournament. That’s no excuse, but I just had no expectation of winning. My initial thought was that we would likely be the first team eliminated from the tourney–that’s a shame everyone hopes to avoid. But that’s the luck of the draw, and there’s nothing to be done about it but play it out and try to have some fun.

In the beginning, I wasn’t throwing particularly well. And Jerlyn, bless her heart, was all over the board and sometimes even missed it completely. But my oh my, she might be the luckiest player I ever did see. Throwing at one number and hitting a double bullseye, for example. Or throwing for a single 20 and hitting a triple 18. She was doing that all night, and it was driving the other players wild. Hey, I’ve heard it said that it is better to be lucky than good. I had my moments as well, and by golly, we were beating some teams that should have kicked our ass. The only team we couldn’t quite overcome was Mark and Jocelyn, both very strong players.

We came back from the losers bracket to meet them again in the finals, and after a back and forth battle, we took the first match 2-1. Of course, we had to beat them again to win the tourney, so we set about getting it done. They won 501 and we took the cricket game. So it came down to one last leg of 501 for the championship.

Jerlyn left me a 32 out. I missed and hit an 8, leaving us with a 24. Jerlyn shot a 12, leaving me with a double 6 out. Not my favorite, but I can and have hit it in the past. Three shots at it, but I failed to take care of business. Jocelyn hit her out on the next throw. My failure left us with a second-place finish. Sorry about that, partner!

Still, 2nd place was a pleasant surprise. I did a post a couple of years ago called “Sloppy seconds“, also about a second-place finish with Jerlyn as my partner.

Anyway, it turned out to be a longer night than I anticipated and I was hungry after the tourney. Just so happens that The Pub is almost next door, so I popped in to grab a sandwich to take home with me.

This Philly cheesesteak hit the spot…

I managed to get a lot of steps in yesterday, the most in quite some time, in fact. Of course, I did it over the length of an entire day, so it wasn’t quite as impressive as it might appear. Plenty of breaks, even a nap, between steps.

Still, it was a good day for me.

I did get a goodly portion of those steps in during the Friday group hike. I led the group, more or less by default, on a trek that included a highway, a beach, and a mountain. The actual trail came in around 8K. Here, let me show you the pictures

Our route. Olongapo City on the right, Barretto on the left. Separated by the Kalaklan ridge in the middle.
The meet-up. A little smaller group than normal this time.
And we are off. Hiking this section of the National highway is not my favorite thing to do. Unfortunately, beach access is limited because most of the resorts want to charge us to pass through their property.
It can get a little dicey on the highway though.
Single file, folks. It’s safer that way!
Finally off the highway and down to the water…
We passed through this little village that I’ve always had a fondness for…people are very friendly. I thought about how it would be to live there as the only foreigner. Not convenient to Barretto though and no bars nearby. Not a good fit for yours truly.
On the beach. Sadly, the high tide deposited a load of trash that had been dumped in the bay onto the sand. The nonchalance about littering in this culture is something I just don’t understand.
Wound up getting my feet wet by mistiming the waves…
One storm away from disaster I reckon.
On higher ground.
Back to the highway via these stairs.
“I’m coming! I’m coming!”
Regrouping before climbing to the top of Kalaklan ridge.
The old Navy base. I had some drinks at that lighthouse bar a couple of weeks ago…
This hillside graveyard is so nice that I hear people are dying to get in. *ahem*
There is not an easy way up to the ridgeline as the climb is long and arduous. Still, going up the road is the easiest way I suppose.
A view of Olongapo City from the vantage point of the ridgeline.
Time to leave the road behind…
…and start the journey back down…
Steady as she goes, Johnny…
We are on our way, Barretto!
Civilization looms…
Liquid refreshment after the hike at Dynamite Dicks…
Giving this post a rest…

And speaking of resting, I must have the laziest dogs in town.

Where’s your dignity, Buddy?
At least your step-brother took his nap outside on the balcony.

I love them though. They’re my good boys!

Looks like I’ll be heading back to Alley Cats this evening. My intention is to do something else with my Saturdays (don’t worry, it will still involve beer), but today is Flor’s birthday, and she specifically invited me via text to come help her celebrate. No, it’s not what you think, she is in a same-sex relationship with the owner of Alley Cats. Nice gal, so I couldn’t say no. I’ve got some brownies in the oven for her.

See y’all here tomorrow for the next installment!

3 thoughts on “Skid marks on my darts

  1. So the beaches are considered private property? How far into the water does that extend?

    I know alot of places where the property line extends to the high tide point (or something similar). Below that, it is public property.

  2. Yeah, that was a big walking day for me–helps make up for those lazy days.

    Brian, yeah it is something like the high tide line here too I think. The problem is not walking on the beach itself, it is getting access to the beach. There was a time I’d just say “I’m going for a walk on the beach” and they’d let me pass. Now, it’s like that will be 50 pesos. No thanks!

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