Planking Across America: From Crater Lake with Love

I cannot do this breathtaking specimen justice with mere words*:

Planking Across America
Bros from other Mo's

I'd like to dedicate this guest planking of Crater Lake to the Dunning and Benjamin families. You clearly did a bang up job raising Dan and Nick. Congrats to the Dunnings for the arrival of a beautiful baby girl, and thanks to the Benjamins for putting me up while in Easton, MA. This planking is for you.

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*Though if I tried, it would look something like this.

One or More Things I Did Today ("Dang, It's Hot Here!" Edition)

And Let It Be Known, that on July 26th, in the year of 2 thousands and 11, I was up to this:

• Friends.
• This is a special edition of One or More Things I Did Today
• Had a lot of fun on this here day.
• Made it down to lovely and meat-markety Barton Springs. But before all this, I went for a run on the hike and bike trail, something I did but not once when I actually lived in Austin (for 20-some-odd years). Hot! And invigorating.
• Upon return to Barton Springs, a dip I had.
• A perfect plan: I'm able to get some exercise, get some sun, and clean up with a shower before dinner appointment.
  
• But not just any shower...
• A shower in the fabled (for me) men's quarters at Barton Springs.
• Quarters which can be described as "European".
• Which is to say, visiting this place as a youth virtually guaranteed a bushel of giggles.
  
• Which is to say, lots of old naked dudes.
• An old naked dude is something I aspire to be one day.
• But for now, I'll have to settle for being just a naked dude.
• Wow, just thinking about this day. Lot going on.
• About this time, I wrapped up things at the Spring, stopped by Flipnotics to feed this insatiable gorilla that is the WIDWINW blog, and headed to Barley Swine to meet my buddy.
• Pete Olah. Champion of Hungary, Pride of HomeAway, And Soon to Be Married (congrats, Pete!). Also noteworthy, for the purposes of this blog: dear friend. Also, Texas 4000 Brother in Arms.
  
• Barley Swine? An epicurean delight. Pete's done it again!
• We part ways, and Dani and I head to Ky and Sue's for some Tuesday night climbing.
• Tuesday night climbing?
  
• The Harkey's have climbing holds on three walls of their dirt-floored garage.
  
• That night, we sip beers, guffaw, and watch our pals cling and swing. A particularly noteworthy chat with Sue, and Ky burns the midnight oil with us into the low hours.
• Wonderful.
• Picture of the day*:

He didn't remember falling asleep in this position.

Feel free to use this pic in your wedding thank you cards, Pete.

As they say, "It was a Day".

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*Dang, y'all! Two PoTD for the price of one!!!!1!!!!&

Lovely Cora.

My friend and host in Morrisville.

Cheers to the Churches for raising such a stellar pooch.

One or More Things I Did Today (Monday in Austin Edition)

And Let It Be Known, that on July 25th, in the year of 2 thousands and 11, I was up to this:

• Hey, this whole catching-up thing gets easier with each post!
• So, let's see what I've got in the memory banks...
• Hm, no, that's a past life...
• That one, too...
• And that's a Michael J. Fox movie I saw when I was 9...
• Wait...
• Ah, no - that's a telepathic impression from the dude sitting next to me at Starbucks.
• Well, dang!
• Oh, might have something here...
• Yep, bingo. These things actually happened to me:
• Woke up.
• Um, don't remember much about the rest of the day. I imagine I ate some lunch at some point, as I often like to do that on Mondays.
• Really, the first solid memory was meeting up with a high-school chum I hadn't seen in a decade.
• It was great to catch up with Ashley. She looked and sounded great, a life in full bloom. And after hanging out, she was kind enough to ferry me east to "The Fabulous White Swan"*.
• "Fabulous" is something of a relative term these days, apparently.
• Usually, a Monday night in Austin would lend itself to a visit to The Fabulous** TC's***.
• Tragically, TC's was, as of a week prior, no more. And apparently White Swan was the successor for the diaspora, so to there we went.
• Good to see all y'all: Ky and Sue, Paul and Kate, Cory, Liz, Kelsey. In short? Wrecking crew.
• And so we danced and drank Lone Star and Stone IPAs.
• And we chatted.
• And when we left, we found Paul's window had been smashed out and his glove compartment sacked.
  
• Seems those piles of broken glass I noticed like prairie dog mounds on every street from I-35 to White Swan were telling us something.
• Picture of the day: I'm failing here.

As they say, "It was a Day".

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*Or something like that. Honestly, all I remember about this place was the corner it sat on, which happened to be the corner that featured a robust crack trade that we'd pass every morning while driving to Junior High. 12th and Chicon, stand up!
**Ed's note: Italics added.
***What can I say about TC's? And institution. A movement. And something I can't squeeze into this edition of One or More Things I Did Today. Maybe I'll write about this place later, because it deserves a eulogy within this blog.

Planking Across America: From the Archives, Planking SF Pt.1

California,

The Golden Bear State, rival to Texas and Alaska in the big-and-populous-state categories, land of Gold's Gym, home to 4 NBA teams, motherland of many of my best buds, She of Berkeley and Beverly Hills, of Bill Walton and Huey Newton, home to lots of fruits and fruit of geological antiquity, replete with fault line, Yosemite-d up, and, most importantly, an impeccable canvas for planking.

Planking Across America.
A two part installment from my June and July visit to San Francisco

Their Eyes Were Watching Planking, Photo courtesy Beef Reavey

When you plank the pride parade, you better be prepared to be upstaged

I'd like to dedicate these two S.F. planking photos to my pal Shelly Kamboj. Peerless hostess, better half of Brian, and fan of beers, Shelly also has a mother that invented Indian food*. Shelly, thanks for the fun. This plank's for you.

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*Conjecture. Claim may not be accurate.