Dumping my rump on a stump @ The Place

The Place finally happened!  After a failed trip to Mohegan, we traipsed down the road to The Place, in Guilford, CT.  I did not expect it to be across the street from a Walmart, or to be waited on by the proprietor!  He regaled us with stories about the clientele and his affinity for fishing.  Of course, we ordered the fresh blue fish he'd caught earlier in the day.  We also ordered roasted corn and the roast clam special.  It was all great tasty fun.  So maybe we weren't so lucky at Mohegan, but made up for it at The Place.

Almost Third Place!

Guess who made weight for her motor AND did not finish last today?  That's right: moi!

Singer's tired too.  (Note the duct taped shoe.)

For the first two seasons, I was zooming around in a Comer with a 380 lb+ total weight requirement.  After the Comer ate some metal, he was replaced with a PRD Fireball.  Bad news? Definitely a lot less zzzzoom. That "knock your head off" feeling I used to get going down the back straight has been replaced with a steady put-put-put.  However, with the decreased power comes a much lower, 340 lb weight requirement.  Even so, I was still underweight by more than a few pounds.  A hundred twenty dollars worth of lead weights later, I was officially legal, with five pounds to spare.

The August 4 race was different in another way as well: for the first time ever, the TAG class had two qualifying heats instead of a qualifier, pre-feature and feature.  When you have two qualifiers, your first qualifying start position is determined by your draw.  For the second qualifier, the field is inverted.  In any event, I drew a 253, which put me fourth in a pack of five during the first qualifier.  P5 was a really nice guy who used to race on dirt tracks as a kid, drove at Etown for a few years, and was now returning to karting after a hiatus.  I guess having kids does that to you though.  To my surprise, I beat him in both qualifiers!  During my second qualifier, I pulled a 43.99, my fastest time yet, despite being on a slower motor and having the least seat time in years.  (I guess life does that to you too. :P)

For the feature race, I started in P4.  The start was clean, but during the third or fourth lap, I started catching up to P3 (Kart 11)!  Kart 11 was totally within spitting distance, and I saw him fiddling with his motor down the straight.  Uuunnfortunately, I got a little too excited about this unprecedented happening and broke way too late at the end of the straight and spun out.  A few bumps over the turtles later, P3 had cemented his position as P3.  :(

The good news is that I had also cemented my position as P4, and for the first time ever, beat someone!

Made weight: Yup
Drove faster than someone: Yup
Hit a personal best at the track: Yup
Beat someone for reasons not related to their equipment failure: Yup!

YEAAAAAHHH!  Maybe as a treat, I'll finally get some real karting shoes.  During my first qualifier, I could feel the wind on my toes.  I fixed the situation with a little duct tape, but I'm pretty sure the abrasion protection of duct tape is limited.

Connecticut Cheeseburger Throw Down: Ted's Steamed v. Louis' Lunch

The Contenders:

Louis' Lunch: http://www.louislunch.com/ 261-261 Crown Street New Haven, CT

v.

Ted's Steamed Cheeseburgers: http://www.tedsrestaurant.com/ 1046 Broad Street Meriden, CT

Ted's Steamed Cheeseburgers

I got one of Ted's specials, the Everything Burger (lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, pickles, onions, ketchup, and mustard, nix the mayo), with a side of their homefries with bacon, cheese and jalapenos.

Louis' Lunch

The Louis' entry was a burger with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese.  Of course, no ketchup.  Dessert was a rhubarb pie.

My thoughts?  The Louis' patty was smaller, but much better seasoned than the Ted's patty. However, the home fries at Ted's stole the show.  If the home fries had been a bit crispier, and the ratio of cheese + bacon + jalapenos to taters a bit higher, I would say that I could have done with out the burger entirely.

The verdict: a draw.  I'd return to both.

July 4 Beachtime

Oh, the beach on July 4.  My embarrassing troublemakers...  lots of barking.  Lots of embarrassing barking.

Plodding

Once upon a time, I saw a poem, tattooed on a fellow's arm that has stayed with me.  It caught my eye because it was unexpected, but stayed with me because, well, it makes me cry a little.  By Samuel Beckett, it goes something like this:

Hand in hand with equal plod they go.  In the free hands - no.  Free empty hands.  Backs turned both bowed with equal plod they go.  The child hand raised to reach the holding hand.  Hold the old holding hand.  Hold and be held.  Plod on and never recede.  Slowly with never a pause clod on and never recede.  Backs turned.  Both bowed.  Joined by held holding hands.  Plod on as one.  One shade.  Another shade.

Happy 2nd Anniversary / 10th Birthday, BoBo!

Birthday girl in the morning.

Two years ago today, we brought then- eight year old Bodacious home as a foster dog.  Actually, we brought her to the North Haven garage and... and then afterwards, we brought her home and she immediately pooped on the living room floor.

Between vet visits and dog sitters and toys (and no toys!), it's been a long road with Ms. BoBo.  But it's a road we wouldn't trade for anything.

Two years and eight pounds* later, she's clearly a foster fail, and an irreplaceable part of the family.  :)

* BoBo got the doggy equivalent of Jello salad on account of those eight pounds.  (Carrots in a chicken broth base with watermelon "candles".)  It's tastier-sounding when you're a dog.

What, what is this?

Oh boy!

A slice went to Singer.

Happy Mother's Day to Mommies of All Kinds, Past, Present and Future!

Celebrating with my favorite ladies as my own mommy is in New York with her mommy.  :)