Category: Atlanta

On Your Mark, Get Set, and GO!!!!!!!

8/9/2013

Jet-Setting on a Budget in the New Economy

By the time we had finally unwound and were settling in to camp life up in the High Sierras, it was time to go. And go we did. We took our time, sort of, to pack up camp and head south to LA.

Cindy would leave Monday for a multi-month job in NOLA. Skye and I would be leaving even earlier, as in 3 a.m. for a whirlwind orthodontist trip to Atlanta.

But before we could embark on those journeys we had to delve into our LA storage unit, which always conjures up yucky memories and misadventures into heaps of banality.

We hit the local farmer's market to get some homegrown fortitude to help endure the storage blues. I had intended to do an interesting compare and contrast blog entry about farmers markets, but have since realized that I am far too behind to tackle that, so.....

On That Note, Off to Atlanta

A Very Expensive Orthodontist Appointment
I would say we have a lot of loose ends in Atlanta, but that implies that things could and would be tied up and honestly I'm not so sure of that. In fact, it is highly likely that we will be setting roots there, so it would be jumping the gun a bit to even begin to sever ties with this second home of ours, even though Louisiana is starting to make GA a little jealous and uneasy.

Sweet Surprise!!!

Skye got a nice little surprise on this trip.

She got her braces off. We hadn't anticipated this but boy oh boy, she was more than ready for it.

There was a bit of scuttling around to deal with the retainers and impressions but at the end of the day it was more than worth it for a wonderful, metal-free smile.

Trails in the City
I slipped out before Skye woke up and ran a few miles. So much easier at near sea-level elevations and hills instead of mountains.

And to be on familiar territory, so to speak.

Actually in the past decade, this may be my most familiar of runs, although the jog around the LSU lakes was certainly beginning to edge it out.

Coming Home to the Circus

In our typical topsy-turvy take on things, the circus is the constant and we are routinely running back to it as opposed to the more common "running-away-with-the-circus" theme.

It was great to see familiar faces and get to play on equipment and apparatus that felt familiar in a funny sort of way.

There's a theme going on here. Yes the nomadic lifestyle is begining to wear on us. This is looking to be the final leg in this particular journey I think, that said, this leg might be a stretch.

We'll see.....

We made a trip to our Atlanta mailbox, stuffed with all sorts of stuff from my local union, but no sign of the license tags for the trailer I was hoping to find there. DMV bureaucracy seems to be a constant across the country.

As does, unemployment benefits, something I decided not to deal with on this particular trip, for better or for worse.

I got checked up at the dermatologist, something I've taken much more seriously since having a life-threatening melanoma cut out of my leg a few years back.

There was a lot we didn't get done, a lot of friends I wish we could have seen, but for being there for only a day and a half we got a lot done.

And just like that we were saying goodbye to Atlanta and drudging through TSA security and jamming ourselves into seats to fly back to LA for more obligations and adventures.

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X-3 Sports

5/30/2012

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Missing X-3, Moving On, Moving Back

My feelings about our local gym, have not changed since I wrote about it in my blog posts, Georgia Sprint Spartan Race-Team X3- Sports or Nagged by Naga, so please check those out. It's just a click away.

On Saturday, Skye took her last class,(for now).

On Sunday, we all ambled over to buy some "souvenirs", aka X-3 fitness apparel. Lynsey ran out of the BJJ class that going on to wish us good-bye and Tony, who was instructing the class joined her, piling on some more X-3 swag(Thanks again.)

It was the first time Cindy and Tony had met, which still strikes me as odd but shows how even with all the melding that we've done in the last year, modern day life can be and more times than not is incredibly compartmentalized.

Saying good-bye was getting real and becoming harder.

On Monday, we were packed and hit the road, onto the next phase of our adventure.

On Tuesday, X-3 opened it's new Mid-town facility. I had really hoped to have been there for that and reading on Facebook about it, with posts asking who was going to be training there or that a friend of mine would be teaching a new kick-boxing class, hit me like when I would talk to friends and family on the phone about what was going on back home when I was on the other side of the country in college.

Cindy has more than once asked if I'm going to miss it in Atlanta and specifically X-3.

Of course I am. I could practically roll out of bed and be there. Classes with Soneca were so small, especially in the beginning, that it was like having private instruction. Skye could go to classes on her own. It was incredible.I finally started doing yoga consistently. I only wish that I had taken more classes.

That Whole Reality Thing

For the first time in over 20 years of being in IATSE, (International Alliance for Theatrical Stage Employees, the union I belong to) I ran out of the hours needed to cover my benefits. This wasn't as dire as it sounds because I am covered under Cindy's plan. She's in IA as well.

However, it did bring about that reminder that I did still do need to work, even though we have restructured our life so that neither one of us have to like we used to. So I ended decorating a TV pilot when Cindy was in between her jobs and could take over the home-schooling duties.

I only went to the gym once when I was working.

It would be easy, to fall back into the cycle we had just broken. I could work all the time and chances are as likely that Cindy would get a job that was not in Atlanta as it would be that she were to get one that wasn't, just like when were based in Los Angeles.

So in the same way that I was sure we would be back in LA, I just didn't know when and for how long; I know that we will be back to Atlanta and X-3 and Circus Arts.

I just don't know when or for how long.

And Now A Word From Our Sponsors....

I am sort of dating myself with that title, and am curious as to who remembers that common phrase from the not-so-distant past.

Kit, one of the X-3 staff, that I train BJJ with and got to know and became friends with introduced me to Thaiman Thai Oil, a product he made. I tried it one day during class and have been harassing him for a bottle ever since.

Finally and just in time he made up a batch. It has been a life-saver on this road trip. I rub it into my lower back before getting on the road and like magic, I am good for the next few hours.

Parting Shots

The new gym looks pretty awesome. One more reason to make it back to Atlanta.

To my X-3 friends and family, "Big hugs, thanks for everything and it's not good-bye but see you later"

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A Wilde Night with Goats

5/25/2012

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On Being Earnest

Actually it ended up not being so wild and no goats were harmed at the A WILDE NIGHT: After-Party at the Goat Farm.

Not because it wasn't a great party, but more because Cindy and I were already exhausted. I had purchased the tickets the week before, not knowing our schedule.

I figure that we both love events hosted at the Goat Farm, it was to benefit Georgia Shakespeare and I have always been a huge fan of Oscar Wilde, who much to my dismay didn't show up.

We must stop meeting like this

One of our wonderful teachers, Jacosa from Circus Arts was performing which was an unexpected treat.

We ran into her the other day at the Sweetwater Festival where she was at the Circus Camp booth but she merely handing out flyers, so it was fun to see her up on the trapeze.

We're All the News Now

I didn't realize until later that I managed to capture the fire-breather twice, once on my phone and then on this other spectators phone, pretty interesting.

I don't often think too much about the risks involved in fire-eating and breathing, but the other day I found out one of our circus arts alum had burned her lung playing with fire.

But it sure looks cool.

I mean hot, I mean....

And The Band Played On

Blair Crimmins & The Hookers were rocking the room with a vaudeville and ragtime kind of flavor and we would have probably kicked up our heels and joined in with the dancing, but as I mentioned we were exhausted and our feet were already wanting to go home.

We gave in and headed home after not so long, but it was fun time while there.

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Group-oops

5/18/2012

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My Groupon Affair

The first time I really heard much about Groupon was among the moms hanging out at various home-school functions that Skye was doing.

It seemed like a great idea, but i I don't often use regular coupons because they're usually for things that I wouldn't typically get or with conditions not worth the savings. So I pretty much blew of the concept.

However.....

Relatives of Groupon

I was at a restaurant and saw an ad on one of those little stand up displays on the table that said I could get $15 off just by downloading this certain App and then saying I was eating at the restaurant. That seemed simple and innocent enough. So I did and it worked.

Maybe I should re-think this whole coupon concept.

I joined Groupon, Scoutmob, Active.com, and LivingSocial, and probably a couple others that I've forgotten about. And I have legitimately saved money buying things I normally would and going to places I wanted to go at the time I wanted to be there.

I have also ended up at restaurants at odd hours, sometimes dragging Cindy and Skye along for an evening out when we were all pretty tired and would have stayed in if it weren't the last day to use the money saving coupon I had already paid for. And we ended up at a couple events that I was just marginally interested in, which I did end up enjoying and was glad to have went.

But for the most part, I had a pretty good track record. That is until I went on a Groupon shopping spree.

It's not that I made purchases I wouldn't normally use, its more what changed in our living situation. I started working practically non-stop on Revolution and as soon as I was finished Cindy started working practically non-stop on her job and our time in Atlanta was coming to an end.

So, now with a week and a half before we hit the road with no ultimate destination and not much of an itinerary, I have a couple's retreat to a local spa, some sushi dinners, and a scuba diving certification class to cram in and test for, (when I called a couple of weeks ago they told me the certification typically takes 4-6 weeks of weekly classes and additional practice dives. I told them I was living by the month's end. They were kind enough to do accommodate me with 3 four-hour one-on-one intensive classes with me doing extra studying out of class, plus a referral letter so that I could do my final open-water exam where ever I ended up.)

Add to this equation, the fact that Cindy's job has her in Alabama and Tennessee much of this month.

Needless to say this has added to the already complicated "moving"/ nomadic living adventure/process.

The pitfalls of being frugal.

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Atlanta's Farmers Markets

5/11/2012

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Baby goats and mushrooms at Decatur

Spring Time

During the winter months, when many of the farmers markets closed, we fell into a standard routine. Wednesday we would head over to the Decatur market and on Saturday we might go back to Decatur, but usually I like to mix it up and adventure all the way up to Marietta or over to the Morningside market.

More incredible oyster mushrooms from Deep South Mushrooms , just can't get enough of them and they're so easy and quick to prepare.

However in the last couple of weeks some of our old favorites have been starting up again, which is wonderful, but does make for some ethical decisions.

You see, as much as I love the Decatur farmers market, there are some things that I prefer about some of the other markets. It might be the setting, or selection or time or a particular vendor or product, however I am a very loyal customer, especially when it comes to local, small operations.

Decatur kept going, rain or shine, even when it got pretty cold or windy. I couldn't just abandon them.

Decisions, Decisions....or Not

The solution I've come up with is to buy less at each market and go more often and eat even more home prepared meals.

For me the markets are a field trip, a way to support the local economy and food being produced the "right" way. It's a good excuse to get out and because of our regularity, its become a time to socialize as well.

Opening Daze

Peachtree Road Farmers Market is the largest farmers market I've been to in Atlanta and I had imagined that it would be the one opening that we'd all go to as a family, however as it would happen, Cindy was exhausted from the job she's on and I decided to let Skye sleep in because there was a very real possibility that she would be racing with me later that day in the Great Urban Race, (she did).

So I went at it alone and early since I needed to get ready for aforementioned race. (note;for some reason I really like the word aforementioned)

It's a good thing I did because it was insanely crowded, not in the LA sense where it is better to forgo the event, but in the, "Wow! There sure are a lot of people up early for a farmers market."

I decided to splurge and go for the market burger, with a fried farm egg and goat cheese from Decimal Place Farm; Skye's first home-school field trip here in Atlanta was out to their place, so a little nostalgia kicked in, not to mention how delicious their cheeses are.

There's nothing like knowing how and where your food is grown but actually having been there makes it even better, as close as you can get to raising it yourself.

Old Favorites

There were several vendors there that I hadn't seen in months.

Indian Ridge Farm always has a varied, interesting and beautiful array of "greens", although often they're not the color green.
They usually have several plants that we most think of as "weeds" like dandelions that might not look or taste like a traditional green salad, but are quite delectable, an adventure and experience for all the senses.

Sweet Savannah Shrimp was there with there amazing and almost local shrimp.
You really can tell the difference, as soon as you start shelling them. Their texture is firmer than what most of us have become accustomed to and the taste...yummy yummy.

So Many Local Markets to Choose From

East Atlanta Village

The EAV Farmers Market is probably my favorite for a few reasons.

It's in a lovely local, the only market that I can recollect being on dirt and grass rather than on asphalt or cement.

It's also very much part of the community, with several of their own planter beds and compost bins and other educational demos.

And hula hoops lots of hula hoops.

I think we first came across S&J's Wood-fired Pizza at the Peachtree Road market.

We used to have our own wood-fired oven in our backyard in LA, so I know first hand what it takes to make pizza in them, how hot it gets,(around 750 F worked best for me) how long it takes,(just a couple of minutes tops) and how amazing and delicious they are.
So whenever I see them I make sure to get me one of their latest concoctions.

I've become a big hula hoop advocate. Its a great way to get into the "flow" which is more important than people tend to realize.

Hooping and juggling, two things I think people should be doing more of.

Plus a live band and a couple of food trucks and of course local fresh veggies, eggs and all the rest.

Also the EAV farmers markets hosts several craft fairs and Eco-awareness events through out the year.

Another Opening Day

We don't often make it over to the Grant Park market because we've either been to the EAV on Thursday or one of several of the markets on Saturday or perhaps both, so by Sunday we really have no reason to go to another market.

However when schedules get hectic and we haven't able to get to the other markets, well on those occasions, Grant Park has been a more than able substitute.

The day of its re-opening however was not one of those days, although we decided to go anyway to show our support.

Crack in the Sidewalk Farm is really local and really small (1/2 acre) but always have a nice mix.

Recently we've got arugula, some spicy mixes to braise and mulberries.

But since we had just seen them on Thursday and still hadn't finished off the goodies from then, we just said hello and meandered down the path.

We did find a new mushroom source, Atlanta Gourmet Mushroom, which is good because we are fungi fiends and they never last for long at our house.

A Road Less Traveled

We trekked up to Marietta one Sunday because Cindy had heard that once its spring the market moves to a larger location and there are around twice the number of vendors.

The bit of information she missed was that was on Saturdays.

Sundays are a relatively new thing and well as you can see, not quite yet the event as its older brother.

We still haven't been to that one yet or ELF, East Lake Farmers market and I'm sure several other note-worthies.

But I did return to Your Dekalb Farmers Market which is where so many people from Atlanta think I'm going when I tell I'm off to the Farmers Market.

It is an amazing store in its own right. And if I did enjoy the experience this last time around. It has wonderfully fresh food from all over the world. So not very local, but no worse than say Whole Foods and much more affordable. If I were entertaining like I did in LA, I'm sure I would be in there more often.

And it was quite an education for Skye to see how much of our food comes from so far away.

Enough for now. It's taken me forever and a day to finally put this post together and now its done. There are many more vendors and stories and ......

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Inman Park Festival 2012

5/2/2012

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Lovely Bookends

At last year parade, we were new to the neighborhood, and the Inman Park Festival and Atlanta were complete unknowns to us.

Atlanta has become like home to us and Inman Park has become our backyard.

Last year I was titillated by the bunch of "gnomes" going for a Guinness World Record. Now I know several of them and were invited to join in on the annual rebuff.

Last year we shouldered our way to the front of the crowd to see and hear the marching band, Kelly’s Seed and Feed Marching Abominable Band. Since then we've seen them at several other events and one of the members worked with Cindy on movie and another was a teacher at Circus Arts Institute.

To the point where we were much too casual about things this year.

Around noon we walked less than 100 yards over to Park's Edge, to meet up with some friends. This was our first time to this restaurant which is more about the even closer, Barcelona.

It's been on our "bucket list" since we saw it on Chef Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, one of Skye's favorite shows and chefs.

Anyhow, we hung out for too long and almost missed the parade.

Almost....

My Heroes

We made it to the parade just in time to catch the Imperial OPA Circus, a group of performers that several of our "circus" friends are involved with, including
Stevens Seaberg our hand-balance teacher at Circus Arts.

The first time I saw the Box Top Hero Corp, I thought they were really cool.
So did a friend of ours, David who also takes classes at Circus Arts.

So much so that he tracked them down and became one of them. Way to go after your passions.

And of course, we can't forget.......
the video goes on for a while, because, well there were a lot of gnomes.

They are going after a Guinness World Record after all.

And the Gnomes Go Marching On

Too Much Technology or Was There?

The day was marred by horrible cell phone receptions that made finding one another and other friends nearly impossible.

Granted we hadn't formed any sort of plan, or figured out meet-up spots or even the parade route before hand, like we would have prior to Iphones, Google and the like.

Skye, who has become my event photographer, was busy playing around with our new Lytro camera, which we found out later isn't yet compatible with PC or even slight older Mac OS. So now many of our parade and festival images are essentially locked in this little box until software becomes available or we figure out how to access them in another way.

Oh well..

So this is not the best or most flattering picture of my teacher, Steve, out of focus with smeared make-up, but its the best I have. The chap in the pink skirt is another member of the Imperial OPA.

It was great to see so many gnomes in one place.

I really didn't hang out much longer.
It was hot, really hot.

I didn't need festival food, what with my "new" diet and all.

I certainly didn't need to buy any more "stuff" because I was just getting ready to start figuring out how much and what I will be jamming into the little Rav 4.

And the couple beers, I did manage to acquire hit me fast and hard due to points mentioned above, temps and empty stomach.

Will we be around for the next Inman Park Festival?

Who knows?

I thought last years' would be my first and last. Maybe I'll show up sporting a red pointy hat and a fluffy white beard.

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Fight For Air Atlanta-2012

4/29/2012

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Climbing Up Stairs for Fun and for Charity

When I signed up for Fight For Air Climb a couple of weeks back, I had every intention of actually training for it and really hadn't given much thought to fundraising.

As it turned out I didn't do any training for it and actually got into the fundraising aspect of it. And after several Facebook posts, a couple of e-mails and texts and some gentle nudging, I managed to well beyond my fundraising "goal" of $100.00 that you have to raise to participate. In the past, I have just paid the amount myself, but I decided to give it a try this time.

So again to everyone who donated on my behalf, a big thank you. I had a great time.

Southern Hospitality

I decided to bicycle to the race because it was just a couple of miles away. When I arrived at 191 Peachtree Tower, there was no sign of any event but there were Atlanta police officers hanging out at the corner. I figured that they had something to do with the climb, so I asked them if they knew where it was.

One of them pointed down the street and told me it was three blocks that way and then take a left.

As I pedaled away from downtown, I quickly realized I had just been pranked.

I went around the block and lo and behold.......

Southern Comfort

Yes, I am playing up on some of the stereotypes of the South but I got to get my licks in before I head back West. But seriously, one of the things that has been so great about being here in Atlanta is the easy going attitude and accessibility.

The climbs I've done in the past, in LA and Chicago were so much bigger, both in regards to the actual climb but even more so in the event itself. The logistics of parking and getting to the event and then waiting in line to begin the climb were so much more involved than with this one.

And Just Like That It Was Over

The climb was 45 flights of stairs, 1012 steps, which seems like a lot, but the one in LA was 75 flights and Chicago was 103, so relatively speaking....

I started out easy, having burned myself out in begining of the climb in the past. By the time I got to the 40th and realized how much more energy I had left I turned it a notch but it was too late to make that big of a difference in my time, which was around 9 minutes. They haven't posted the official times yet and my watch broke, but I was able to figure out my time from my Go-Pro footage.

Almost Like Being There

Here is a video of the climb, just imagine a stairwell full of stale muggy air being sucked up by dozens of folk racing up to the top.

A View From the Top...Sort Of

We didn't climb all the way up to the top, but the view was spectacular.

Not What I Was Expecting

In LA, you climb to the top and are outside on the rooftop.

In Chicago, you get to the 103 floor observation deck where can step out onto glass balcony and look straight down to the city street more than 1000 feet below.

In Atlanta, well let's be generous and say they're in the middle of a remodel.

I was actually pretty surprised to be unloaded into an unoccupied and unfinished floor; a sign of the economy I would think.

Racers, On Your Mark, Get Set

There were several teams, but the most creative as far as names go, had to be Cougars and Kittens.

I passed several of them on my climb and I'm pretty sure it was a cougar that was in the lead.

I met several nice people before and after the race. There was the guy who had driven down from Tennessee and is planning to do the Willis Tower later this year. Some one who had biked in and lives pretty close to us. I swapped race stories with a guy who had done the Georgia Tough Mudder and the Atlanta Marathon.
Like so many other things in Atlanta, its smaller and more accessible.

Fire Fighters Are Awesome

I was struggling for air in that stairwell and I was in shorts and a tank-top. To march up those steps in full gear including gloves, helmets and those heave boots, that is intense.

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Two Tales Retold

4/27/2012

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Family Outings

We went to see The Three Stooges on opening weekend because Cindy had worked on it and because Skye is a die-hard Stooges fan. We went to see Rua/Wulf because I thought it would balance the Stooges slapstick low-brow humor.

Little did I know how right I was and on how many levels.

Mixed Reviews

I was pleasantly surprised by the Three Stooges. I am sure that to a great extent this was due to low expectations, but it was also because it made me laugh.

The Farrlley brothers and the new stooges really got the spirit and tone of the original while putting it in a modern day setting. It was crude and rude to just the right degree. The timing and physical clowning worked. There was a sweet story and a wonderful supporting cast; Jane Lynch as the Mother Superior, Larry David as Sister Mary-Mengele, and Jennifer Hudson, as Sister Rosemary, not to mention Sofia Vergara, the guy from the Old Spice commercials and some of the cast from “Jersey Shore".

I really didn't think I would find it that funny. as the original Three Stooges were never my cup of tea, even when I was much younger. So all in all I had a great time. I could easily recommend this film.

I was going to add, especially if you have kids, but Skye gave it two thumbs down. As far as she was concerned, compared to the original it was a downright bore. I must say that I was surprised. Apparently there was too much of a story line in the movie version, she prefers non-stop nyuk, nyuk, nyuks, eye-poking and head-smacking.

An Evening at the Goat Farm

Just a little west of downtown Atlanta lies the Goat Farm, a sprawling complex of historic buildings on around 12 acres of land. It used to be an old cotton gin factory built in 1898, and now is an artist community of live/work spaces that hosts concerts, theatrical performances, dance performances and the like.

We've seen two other performances there and love the space and energy. So when I heard that they were doing an avante-garde retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, I was quite curious.

From the trailer I saw, I could tell it would be dealing with the metaphor of sexual awakening and teen-age rebellion and even though it did say it wasn't "kid friendly" , I thought they meant the 10 year old and under crowd.

I assumed that Skye would certainly be mature enough to handle the material.

You know what they say about assume.....

"NO MAN IS A WOLF UNTIL HE IS MADE INTO ONE"

With a tag-line like that I should have known it might get a bit racy.

But it started out so innocently at Little Red Riding Hood's aka Rua's house with her mother giving her very specific instruction and warning her about not straying from the path through the forest to grandmother's house. Heck we, the audience, were even given a guide to make sure that we didn't stray as we followed Rua on a journey that would meander around and through the buildings and grounds of the Goat Farm.

We started on our way just as the sun was setting. Our "guide" was a plucky impish little sprite who definitely pulled one into the almost interactive quality the performance had.

We would soon meet the "wolf" or would we or was he.

The interaction between Hemming, a man perhaps in his 30's maybe older and the young Rua were wonderfully creepy and yet not. One could see how this could go in any number of directions.

And it did. In fact, at one point the audience was split, one group would follow Rua and hear her story and the other, the one we were in would follow Hemming and see things through his perspective. And then we'd all reunite and enjoy an intermission and a tea party with wonderful cookies that "grandmother" had made.

Remember the Grandmother in the story?

So up until this point, it had been awkward for Skye at time, what with a foul-mouthed guide and Rua testing her temptress allure. But it was still the right amount of awkwardness, we were still at the PG-13 level. That was going to change and how.

Turns out grandma wasn't so innocent and may have had a hand in the making of the "wolf" Hemming had become.

When we followed the wolf into grandmother's house, well, grandma was in lingerie and the wolf, was not.

The wolf had shed his clothes, yep naked. And the centerpiece of the set was an enormous bed. Now were it not for being with our 13 year old daughter, this venture into experimental theater would be right up Cindy and my alley, however....

Grandmother's bedroom set as risque as it was, tamed in comparison to when we ventured into the belly set.

Skye had pretty much checked out at this point and Cindy was doing a fantastic job in buffering her from the intensity of the scene. Meanwhile Hemming's naked butt was a mere couple feet from my face and his howling, was loud and heartfelt and disconcerting. The scene was intense on its own, throw in the weirdness and guilt and confusion on my part for dragging our daughter along on this cultural experience and it heightened it.

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. I wish we hadn't taken Skye. That said, I think there were "teachable" moments and opportunities and then some aspects that we'll just let be.

See Rua/Wulf if you can, but

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Sweetwater 420 Fest--3rd Time's a Charm

4/24/2012

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It's All in the Timing

I ran the 5k in Saturday morning, collected my race T-shirt and wrist band that got me into the festival and a free beer only to find that the festival didn't open for another 3 hours.

Cindy, Skye and I headed back several hours later. The walk was a bit longer and the event was much more crowded than any of us imagined. Regardless we paid for our wristbands, yes, I somehow managed to lose mine, but hey it's for a good cause.

We grabbed a couple of beers and then we both realized that we had all just committed that morning to trying to trim down a bit. As we looked around at the food, typical fair food, not at all conducive to losing weight, scanned the packed crowds and saw how bored our 13 year old daughter was, we agreed that under different circumstances we all might be having a better time.

The Green Zone

The one area where there was no crowd at all, was the area with the Environmental Awareness tents. I spotted a sign for biochar, which is something I had heard a little bit about but was certainly interested in learning more about.

They (bioponica.org)were using biochar, (really another name for charcoal when it is used for particular purpose, such as a soil amendment) in re-circulating water and soil-less garden beds, similar to hydroponics and aquaponics, but a little different.

So that was cool.

We went to the Kids Zone which was for kids not teens. The Circus School tent was pretty much about face painting. Again not for a teen, especially one there just with her parents.

So when I showed them an escape out the back of the festival where we could avoid going through the crowds, they went for it.

We were probably at the festival for less than an hour.

Two Step Forward, One Step Back

I had started my fitness routine again and showed tremendous restraint in the caloric kingdom and the thing I was most interested in at the festival was at 2 pm on Sunday. Cindy wanted to go into the office to do a little catch up work and Skye, well any excuse to not be under parental authority; so I was cleared to go and enjoy the Cask Ale Tasting.

Willy Wonka Starts Playing with Beer

Yes, "Nuttin' Butter" tasted like peanut butter, not a little, a lot, it was like drinking a peanut butter beer, which is amazing in a "wow, that's pretty crazy" kind of way, but not something that you want to have too much of, which is why the 5 oz. samplers were perfect. Grab all 5 for $15 and it is a bargain and a trip for the taste sensations.

Chubby Chocolate Bunny tasted like chocolate and seemed like chubbiness would be the outcome.

The juice beer, tasted, yes like a fruit beer, which I don't like and didn't like so much this time around either.

The King Pin which was an IPA with hop additions and black pepper was by far my favorite.

That said, so glad to have sampled the rest, a bunch of Everlasting Gobstoppers, as far as beers go.

Funny Seeing You Here

Just as I was finishing my last fermented fantasy brew, I saw a friend from the West Coast, who like so many of us in the film business, finds himself everyplace but home.

He actually stayed with us for a while when he worked in LA; he's from San Francisco. And he and his family returned the favor when Skye and I were racing in one of those Urban Dare/ Great Urban Challenges, can't remember.

Anyway ran into him and a couple of his co-workers and hung out for awhile before grabbing a couple of "local" and delicious fish tacos and then sliding out before I got into trouble, caloricly or .....

Jumped on my bicycle and pedaled on home, burning off a few of my indulgences.

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Great Urban Race- Atlanta 2012

4/23/2012

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Last Minute Entries

That was our official team name, for a few reasons. The obvious being how late I found out about the race and then signed us up for it.

The other being that Skye didn't want to run the race. Initially, I used her name as a place holder, fully intending and thinking that it would be easy for me to find someone to take her place. But I dragged my feet and even posted the wrong date when I was looking for a teammate. So the night before the race, I told Skye she was indeed going to be my race partner. As well as breaking it to Cindy that she would be spending a goodly part of her day off next to a computer and a phone, and that I hadn't found anybody else to help her out...yet.

OKAY Fine, But Where Are My Shoes

Typically, I set out all my gear the night before, put together a strategy and loose game plan and make sure I have my technical team put together as well as what might seem obvious, knowing where the race starts and how long it takes to get there. On race day I am there an hour or earlier before the start.

I, however, was out of sorts, still dealing with the TV show and not myself at all.

I didn't lay out my race gear, in fact I decided to go to the Farmers market and then swing by the office to pick up some of my things, which turned out to include Skye's running shoes. (I also managed to recruit, wonderful co-worker Chloe Lipp to help on internet support team.)

I had taken her shoes and mine to work to clean them up from the last mud run we did. I cleaned them out once but there was still sand and silt, not to mention they still looked pretty funky. So Skye had to scramble for a pair of back up shoes, which we would learn pretty early on were a bit too small.

We also had a tough time finding a "team outfit", in the end we ended up with our Circus Arts Institute shirts, which seemed apropos.

You Call These Clues?

As always the clues are devilishly difficult, which is why it is essential to have a support team manning the phones and the internet.

OK quick run-down on the rules and objectives: Run around town completing various tasks and making it to various check-points, using only public transportation or your peds, (running and walking). You can and should get help from the outside world to help solve clues, as well as help map and figure out when public transport is a viable option and when it is more trouble than its worth.

That last bit can be a tough one and more often than not depends on the racers themselves. More on that later.

Let's start from top left and move on down; we got a picture of 3 strangers drinking Coke, eating a cookie, doing cartwheels, with our Salsa teacher, threading beads

Doing the actual challenges are a breeze, getting to the checkpoints in an order that doesn't have you backtracking too much, that's the challenge.

We did end up backtracking a couple of times and there were definitely better routes. All told we probably ended up walking/running/limping around 8 miles.

This is an example of one of the clues. I had to put on a dive hood, snorkel and mask and then run down the sidewalk around 25 yards and back carrying a dive tank. Skye in the meantime was supposed to chow down on some dried squid.

Some Things We Picked Up Along the Way

We ended up with a bag of brochures and flyers from various check-points as well as a couple of MARTA day-passes, a funny wrist-sweatband and a little mouth wash that we bought as part of one of the challenges.

We ended up skipping a few of the check-points because we had to get back to the finish before the 5 pm cutoff, which means were had been out on the course pounding the pavement for 5 hours and it was sunny and warm.

It was tough and at times stressed us all out, but we persevered and had a pretty cool time after all was said and done.

Thanks to Skye for being my race partner and big thanks to Cindy and Chloe for being our support crew.

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Great Urban Race- Atlanta 2012

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