Columbia Relay Teams Rock!

Mark's the big guy in blue

What a day. What a weekend. We drove to Phillie Saturday morning to see Mark compete in the Championship Men's 4 X Mile Relay. Columbia was up against some of the best running teams in the country.: Oregon, Indiana, Oklahoma, Princeton, Georgetown. This made their 2nd place finish to Princeton even more impressive, two Ivies placing 1st and 2nd in a national event. This proves that brains and running talent can go hand in foot.

Mark's time was 4:03, a PR for the mile. Columbia's DMR (Distance Medley Relay) team finished 5th the day before, and their 4 X 800 team finish 3rd later on on Saturday. The Penn Relays are legendary. I'm so proud of Mark, whose hard work and determination are inspiring.

After having a late lunch/early dinner with Esther and Lenny, we drove back to New York. We listened to the Yankees lose, and watched a really bad George Clooney movie, The American.

On Sunday morning, we went to Junior's Restaurant in Brooklyn, another legend.  Junior's is famous for its cheesecake. We bought two as we were leaving. Then we drove deep into the bowls of Brooklyn and signed up for a temporary membership to BJ's a bulk shopping club. We'd belonged to a BJ's in Rhode Island, but this one was four times the size. Both Marty and I felt sick and finally walked out buying $175 worth of paper products, toiletries and I forget what else. The idea is that if I want to, I can shop at BJ's in the Catskills, which I'm sure is smaller.

Next we did a mitzvah, or a good deed. We went to visit a friend who's in a rehab center who's trying to increase his strength and lung function. We brought him a cheesecake, which he loves, and spent an hour chatting. Then, it was back to Manhattan, where we made one more stop before going home. We thought the Columbia relay teams deserved a little reward for their efforts, so we delivered a cheeecake to Mark, who also took some deodorant and toothpaste. We could have made a mint selling those BJ products from the back of our car.

The weekend was capped off by a delicious dinner at the Atlantic Grill. Friends had given us a gift certificate. We ate raw oysters, lobster maki roll. Marty had grilled shrimp and scallops. I of course had soft shell crabs, my first of the season. Yum.

It was a great New York weekend.