POTD - Buckeye Trail 2 miles south of Xenia, Ohio

Picture of the Day - I hiked a 14 mile round trip segment of the Buckeye Trail today. The entire segment was along the Little Miami Creek on an old decommissioned railroad bed. It was cold but the sun was shining and it was good to move around a little after over-eating for the last month.

Water Tower - East Muskingum, Ohio

Water Tower - Cedarville, Ohio

New picture of a water tower previously featured. The picture was taken with the sun directly behind the tower for an interesting lighting affect.

Bob Dylan

Alive and still kicking, his concert in Columbus this week was really good. A nice mix of older and newer songs. Bob even bopped around a bit and he seemed to be enjoying himself. The first time I saw Bob Dylan, around 15 years ago, he barely moved around at all and looked to be on deaths doorstep. It is good to see he has got his groove back.

In the pictures, Bob is in the white hat on the left.

Water Tower - Cape May, New Jersey

2010 Columbus Marathon

This weekend I volunteered at the Columbus Marathon. Attracting 15,000 runners, this is one of the largest marathons in the country. The weather was perfect and many people showed up just to cheer on the runners.

Marathons are interesting events to work because you never really know what sorts of injuries you may face. There are always a few falls resulting in cuts and scrapes. Sometimes there are heart attacks - we had two of those this year. Detroit Marathon had three runners die on the course last year. At the finish line some of the runners collapse and need to be assisted. There is a quiet room set up with cots and IV lines all set up. We didn't have anything too serious that we personally dealt with, which is just fine with me.

POTD - Heron on the Scioto River

Picture of the Day - Heron on the Scioto River

Columbus Italian Festival

This weekend was the Columbus Italian Festival, going strong for 30+ years. This is a fun festival with great food and music. It takes place in a small neighborhood called the Italian Village close to downtown Columbus. The neighborhood is centered around the 112 year old St. John the Baptist Cathedral.

A highlight of the fesital is the parade down High Street. The parade is one of the best in the city in size and participation. Some of my favorite parts of the parade include:

The Knights of Columbus, leading up the parade

The Marching Bands!

The Oven for the World's Largest Meatball (more on that later)

Police and Fire

The Hare Krishnas

The food was great. There were all the foods you might expect at an Italian Festival, including Pizza, Calzones, Canolli, Italian Ice, and Pasta. Did I sample? You bet.

One notable feature of the Festival was an attempt to break the world record for the largest Meatball. The record is held by a German town for a meatball in the 740 pound range. To beat this record, a custom made cooker and over were built. Over 1200 pounds of sirloin were added to cups of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. This giant cooked for three days awaiting the glory of the weight in. Once the temperature in the middle reached 160 degrees, it was ready. Guiness was on hand to certify the results. Unfortunately, they fell short of the the projected 850 pounds. The final tally was 655.5 pounds, enough to beat the North American record. Best of luck next year!

Trdelnik

While wandering the streets of Prague I made a wonderful discovery. There is a pastry that is only made in that part of the world available in little shops in narrow alleys. It is called the "Trdelnik" though sometimes it is also called the "Trdlo".

The Trdelnik is made by rolling flat a strip of sweet dough. The dough is then wrapped around a wooden or metal stick known as the Trdlo. The stick with the dough is rolled in sugar, cinnamon, perhaps even nuts. It is then set above an open flame to rotate and slowly cook. The dough is evenly cooked because all sides are heated during the rotation. The sugar melts and gets carmelized.

Once done, the Trdelnik is perhaps rolled once again in sugar for good measure, then slid off the stick. It is then ready for eating, all at a price of around 50 CZK or $2.50.

Trdelniks come from the town of Skalica, Slovakia. They are still made over an open wood fire there, in the traditional old fashion.

The Pub, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

The Pub is the sort of place that could never exist where there are strong liquor laws. The basic concept is that it is a bar where you compete to see what table can drink the most beer. If it sounds dangerous, it is because it is.

At the center of every table is a beer tap with a computer controller. Before drawing a beer, you enter your number and the computer keeps track of how many liters you have had. This is aggregated by table and projected on the wall. It gets pretty roudy, with each table trying to outdrink the other tables.

When I was there we were in serious competition with a table full of Germans and a table full of Czech teenagers. Hard competition and we would have lost if we stayed long. The teens started strong but then slowed down. The Germans started strong and just kept drinking more and more. It was obvious they were going to come out on top. Unless of course another group showed up to challenge them.

So there you are drinking to compete with these other tables when tables from other cities start appearing. The Pub is a chain and there are locations throughout the Czech Republic. So, you not only compete with the people in the city you are in, but also with tables of drinkers throughout the country.

Sadly, the last time I was at the Pub they no longer served food and it appeared that the beer tanks had been removed. It looks like the location in Karlovy Vary is going our of business. Just as well, I made our team look bad anyway with my measly totals.

The Salt Cave, Birdie Hotel, Pardubice, CZ

Every once in a while when I am traveling for business, I run into something really unique. Sometimes funny, sometimes confusing, sometimes just a great picture. Last week I was staying in the Birdie Hotel in Pardubice, Czech Republic. It is a small place with about 20 rooms, a decent restaurant, and a golf theme. Odd, considering that there is no golf club in the area that I saw. There is something very unique about the Birdie though. It has a Salt Cave.
The Salt Cave is a man-made room with salt encrusted on every surface. Some strategically hung strings of Christmas lights complete the atmosphere. Apparently it is pretty popular. So popular that I never got in to see it since there was always someone in treatment. I stole these pictures from the hotel web site.
You may be asking, what exactly do you do with a salt cave. Good question. You are supposed to sit inside on the lawn chairs for a 45 minute treatment. The idea is that it is healthful like sitting near the ocean. It is supposed to be good for your skin and lungs.

From the web site: "The combination of serene music, the sea air, and colored lights amid glittering salt crystals from the Dead Sea, the Black Sea, Pakistan, and Polish Klodawa will do wonders for your body and soul."
"The cave, covering an area of 70 square metres, was created using 40 tons of salt. It is equipped with 17 adjustable French beds, inhalation fountains, and salt-falls. Just 45 minutes, which is the time of one session, has the same beneficial effect as 2-3 days spent at the seaside."

"Salt is more precious than gold, and we are ready to provide you with the conditions you need to relax and restore your vitality for the next day. The unusual place and atmosphere will restore your health, vitality, and mental and bodily condition."

Open every day from 10am to 7pm. They even have a little gift shop selling salt crystals for healthful healing at home.

Two crutches, One leg

About three weeks ago I started having severe pain in my left knee. It was a sharp pain accompanied with some grinding feeling. It all started when I went out for a run and couldn't go more than twenty steps. Knee pain is a fact of life for me, so I mostly ignored it, waiting for it to get better. I stopped running but I still rode my bike to work, walked miles on the weekends to the farmers market and baseball game. I carried on as usual expecting quick recovery.

The problem was that my knee didn't get better, in fact it got worse. I finally agreed to go see me doctor and he immediately sent me for an MRI. A few days later I got the news that my tibia is fractured as well as got only knows what other soft tissue damage. All from running!

The treatment is basically to stay off my leg to let it heal. So, for the time being I have a brace and I am hobbling around on crutches. I have a follow up appointment to see what comes next, but hopefully with care it heals on its own without any more aggressive intervention.

On crutches, I am still doing most of the things I normally would. My boss was nice enough to let me work from home for a few days. Last week I was on vacation, so mostly I sat around and took it easy. We went with my family (parents, sister, brother, their families) to Cape May Point at the southern end of New Jersey. Despite being on crutches, I still got some fishing in and went to the Wildwood boardwalk.

I am thankful to not be in a cast. I am hoping for fast healing since one of my main hobbies is to walk and I am starting to feel cooped up. This coming weekend I am scheduled to go to the Czech Republic for business, a trip that will be much harder on crutches.