For the first time since 2003, I’m heading to New York. Later this afternoon, the boys and I will fly out to see Angelina, with a weekend of sightseeing capped off by Sunday’s performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. It should be a good time, even though there won’t be any baseball involved.
Tag / ARM
The Ever Growing 10,000 Step Club
Last year, as I was finishing up my second year with the Fitbit, I took my last look at the top 25 step days I’ve had since I first started tracking my steps way back in July of 2011. At the time, I had surpassed the 10,000 step plateau 116 times. In the past year, I have managed to add an additional 49 occurrences, raising the total to 165. With my third year using the Fitbit coming to an end last week, I thought it would be appropriate to take a new look at my top 25 step days over the past 6 1/2 years, featuring 7 new entries.
1: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps
My best single day total continues to be from my 2013 trip to Disney World. The day’s excursion to both Epcot Center and the Magic Kingdom ended up with a total of approximately 12.5 miles. And yes, it still bothers me that I didn’t get those 12 additional steps to reach 25,000.
2: 3/22/2016 – 22,493 steps
My second highest day shares much in common with my #1 day, taking place in Disney World in March of 2016. The day’s excursion started at Hollywood Studios before heading over to Epcot Center with Jeff and Val.
3: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps
My third highest total came nearly 2 months after my highest, thanks to the BTN 5K and a, for lack of a better word, misunderstanding about where I should be picked up after the race.
4: 8/5/2017 – 20,218 steps
The first new entry came last August on the first day of my trip to Boston with Danny and Michael. After landing in town, we traipsed to the Science Museum, a breakfast joint, our hotel, and, finally, Fenway Park.
5: 7/14/2017 – 20,208 steps
Our second new entry came last July, as Angelina and I took a day trip to Disney World to celebrate her high school graduation.
6: 9/19/2017 – 20,028 steps
The third straight new entry, which helped to double my total of 20,000 step days from the previous 5+ years, had a myriad of activities. First was the latest edition of the Sprint and Stride, followed by a trip to Best Buy with Val to buy a new TV, then off to her apartment to install the new TV, and, finally, Season Ticker Holder Family Night at Wrigley Field.
7: 11/11/2017 – 19,590 steps
Our fourth straight new entry came thanks to last fall’s trip to California to see Angelina skate. This day was spent in Anaheim at Disneyland.
8: 6/2/2016 – 18,725 steps
Day #8, which dropped 4 spots, comes from June 2016’s trip to Universal Studios. Our first full day at the park, we split the day between Universal and Islands of Adventure, taking in all of the different Harry Potter options.
9: 6/4/2016 – 18,617 steps
Our next entry is also from the June 2016 trip to Universal Studios. The day included another trip to Islands of Adventure, and would have ended up even higher but for an afternoon trip to the hotel pool.
10: 6/21/2017 – 18,290 steps Continue reading →
Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot
A new year is upon us! We kick off 2018 with the first photo from this year’s calendar, featuring Angelina from Christmas 2016 opening yet another head to add to her collection.
2018 Calendar
Now that Christmas has come and gone, we can unveil the cover to this year’s calendar gift, given annually to my mom and sister, made up of pictures I have taken throughout the year. Once again. this year’s calendar was produced by the good folks at Shutterfly. As in year’s past, we will unveil each month’s photo on the first day of the month throughout 2017.
This year’s cover features Angelina, Danny, and Michael at Lincoln-Way Central following Angelina’s high school graduation last June. The main picture has the three of them together, with cut-ins of her hugging both of her brothers.
Welcome To The OC, Bitch
This morning, I’ll be heading off to California for a long weekend, with Angelina’s skating competition in Anaheim being the centerpiece. Also on tap is a day trip to Disneyworld, echoing my earlier trip to Disney World this summer.
18 And Life
Angelina and I prepare to celebrate our first birthdays states apart since she was born 18 years ago. To mark the occasion, we return back to her skating championship performance from last year, where her team took home the silver medal.
A Fright Fest
As the calendar turns to October, we have a shot of Angelina from her skating performance last year at Nationals in Kalamazoo.
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
This past weekend, I finally got to use my birthday gift from last year, a trip to Boston to see the White Sox take on the Red Sox with Danny and Michael. The trip started early Saturday morning, with a trip to O’Hare to catch a 6 AM flight. After arriving in Boston, we took a bus and a train to get to the Museum of Science, where we spent most of the morning.
With food on our mind, we wandered back over towards where we got off the train and found ourselves in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, where we ended up at The Paramount, rated as one of the 10 best breakfast spots in Boston. A long wait through the oddly run restaurant, where you order and get your food prior to being seated, ended up in a decent meal.
After eating, we headed to our hotel, which was located in the medical district. We checked in and relaxed for a bit, before deciding on going for ice cream prior to heading to Fenway Park. Like nearly everywhere else we went, the ice cream shop was a little hole in the wall, but it certainly served its purpose. From there, it was short walk up Brookline to the ballpark, which was… a little underwhelming. From the outside, you could barely tell that it was a stadium. Michael even asked where it was as we were standing outside it.
The game went about as you would expect. With James Shields on the mound, the White Sox did not put up much of a fight. We were sitting down the left field line, with a good view of the Green Monster. The seats, which may or may not date back to the stadium’s opening in 1912, were not really designed for people well over 6 feet tall, so there was a lot of uncomfortable shifting as our knees were smooshed in to the seats in front of us.
After the game, we went back to the hotel and called it a night. Continue reading →
Fitbit III: Week 24
A tremendous week, as I posted my best total since late March/early April. The week got off to a great start on Sunday with a 10,000 step day, thanks to a morning walk to Dunkin’ Donuts for breakfast. Monday used an impromptu day-long meeting in North plaza to surpass 8000 steps. Tuesday nearly made it to 7000 steps, in part due to a walk over to Willow for day 2 of the impromptu meeting. Wednesday was my second 10,000 step day of the week, surpassing 11,000 steps thanks to an after work walk. Thursday was back down to 7000 steps, in part due to a post-work trip to the City Winery to see Matthew Sweet. My best day of the week (and year) came on Friday, as I flew down to Florida with Angelina for a day at Disney World. The 20,208 steps I logged are currently the 4th highest total I’ve accumulated in the 7 years I’ve been tracking. Saturday only managed just over 5000 steps as I recovered from the previous day lounging around the house before heading out to Guaranteed Rate Field to watch the White Sox lose to the Mariners.
Total steps: 68,650
Daily average: 9807.1
An Adventure
Earlier this morning, I got on a plane, with Angelina, to head to Disney World. Later tonight, we will hop back on another plane and return home. What would cause someone to something this, well, goofy? A day of adventure! Which, was my graduation gift to her.
Odds are good that it will turn out slightly better than my last trip to the house of the mouse. How much can we fit in one day? Time will tell.