Rotterdam

So, we drove to Rotterdam last Sunday for fun, minimal sightseeing, and support for Brad and Natalia who were running 10K and 5K races, respectively. Unfortunately from the spot we staked out, Brad's 10K finish line was across the street, and somehow we missed Natalia coming across her finish line. So no pained, sweaty expressions of their misery to post, but I have a few that are "postable". Rotterdam is less than an hour away, so I'm sure we will revisit in the future to get a better picture of the city and what it has to offer. The day was a tad hectic as there were many people running in the various races offered. The headquarters for us was the Westin, as Brad works for ABN AMRO and they had special access and perks, like breakfast, lunch, and dinner served at appropriate times of the day. Serving areas were scattered between a couple of locations where one could grab a plate and take it to a table, couch, or other area to eat, drink, and talk before or after a race. Their races started at 11:15, so we had a little breakfast before they went to their starting areas. We went down soon after to find a spot where I could get some unobstructed shots in anything interesting, but the way the finish area was set up made that nearly impossible. I finally crawled under a platform that abutted the 5K finish area that had no fence or barrier, but either Natalia finished before we got to that place or we didn't recognize each other when she came across. She was already at the hotel heading to a shower when Radhika made contact with her when we figured she should have crossed the line by then. So, we ate a little lunch back at the Westin after they came down from changing, watching the marathon on a big screen projection inside the hotel. There were also roughly 30 people giving 5 to 10 minute massages near where we were sitting, so the 4 of us got massages. I got a nice 10 minutes on my back and shoulders, and then maybe an hour later got the back of my legs done. Luckily, I had on hiking pants where I could zip off the legs. Don't know if I would've shimmied down to my skivvies to get my legs done as many men did. We stayed until about 5 or so after dinner was put out. It was a fun day all around. Brad and Natalia were happy with their results, and everyone was pleasantly surprised by the extra offerings that the race organizers supplied. Tomorrow, Dolly and John come in from NY for about 5 days. That will be a story that must be told, I'm sure.