Food adventure!

When I first was thinking of making this blog, long before I came up with a title, I had the idea that it would include things like trying the different pizzas from the bars in New Orleans. You know, just going out and trying foods that may have been a bad idea, because of the call of adventure. 

I did have a post that touched on food last fall, but this one is all about a quesadilla that almost defeated me. Being defeated by a single dish is not normal for me, and the only time it has happened that really sticks in my mind was a time I couldn't finish a cheeseburger when I lived in Michigan. I still don't know how that happened, I've had bigger burgers.  (That was over 15 years ago though.) 

One of the schools near where I work was hosting MEXI-Q, a Mexican food truck, and since I have a very flexible lunch break I headed over there. Now I could (should) have been responsible, reasonable, or logical with my order. Instead, I decided to order the most expensive thing on the menu, their $17 quesadilla. Three meats, two kinds of cheese, and more! I sort of blew my lunch budget for the week, but come on! 

This thing was huge. It was in two different boxes, and even looking at the menu, I still don't know what everything in the second box was! I think it was some kind of pineapple stuff, but I really don't know. I ate it with a fork, as well as the corn salsa. I don't know if I would order that again, it was almost too much for me. I had to skip dinner after eating it!  I guess I could have saved half and ate it later... 

If I come across this food truck again, I'll probably order something else. The Quesadilla Grande was great, but it was almost more than I could handle that day. 

Carmel Marathon Weekend 2021

 

Carmel Marathon Weekend is sort of a sore spot for me. Not this year so much, but my first attempt was a dumpster fire that would have fit well with 2020's year of the plague. Maybe substitute my great 2020 R'n'R Nola race weekend with this one. 

Still, this was set to be a better weekend. I packed what I needed, and I only signed up for the 5k this time. I should have signed up for the 10k, partly because I could probably push myself that far, and also because I forgot my wife was signed up for the full marathon. (To be fair, she had signed up for the 2020 Marathon, which got deferred to this year because 2020. I signed up a week before the shirt deadline.)

We got to the downtown outdoor expo, got things in place, and went to find the hotel. I would like to say this was less of an adventure than last time, but the hotel was on a roundabout and the GPS thought it was a different exit from the roundabout. We finally found the right entrance though and got checked in. 

It was still early, so we headed over to Meijer for food for the hotel room. As we were finishing, my wife got a message from the Cincinnati rep of Half Fanatics, and we met her at a Mexican restaurant nearby. It was really good and cost us a bit less than what we pay locally. For us, it is better than pasta before a race.

The 5k for me went decently enough, especially since I really haven't been running a lot recently. I had almost the same pace as a race I did last December. I am still staying sub 50, maybe one day I'll get back to sub 40 again. (My pace for this race was very similar to the first 5k of the Half course from 2018)

It took another three hours for my wife to finish her race, which was a large PR for her. We had the hotel for an extra night, so we didn't have to rush back. That was nice, other than the higher cost from it being Easter weekend. I don't know if I will return to that race, though. If I do, it will need to be for a race longer than a 5k. It did have nice medals...

Lockington attempt #2

With Spring Break arriving, I had a little more free time, so I made another attempt at figuring out the Buckeye trail near Lockington Dam. The parking lot was still closed off, but luckily, there are two parking lots. The second one was still open, but there is a caveat. It's a mile from the main parking lot, across the top of the dam.

I'll be honest, I am not 100% sure I have made that full walk between the two sides before. I did ride my bike across many years ago though. It was a great day though, so across the dam I went.

There were a few blazes near the far side, including at the picnic area. Still, I couldn't quite figure out the path from there. 

I explored some more, down onto a dirt trail, which required getting over some fallen trees. I am glad that I have the hiking pole as I climbed, even with the camera around my neck it was a great help. After about a mile and a half of hiking, I turned around and headed back to the car. I saw another paved trail to explore, but it didn't appear to be related to the Buckey Trail. 

I finally broke down once I was home and ordered the digital trail maps for the Buckeye Trail. I hardly touched it on the hike, but now I know where that is. With the main parking lot closed though, it might be a few hikes to finish exploring.