I downloaded the Hood to Coast app on my phone in preparation for this week’s race.  It has an elaborate countdown clock reading: 4d 12h 49m 15s until race start, and ticking away like a time bomb.  I have tapered down my running workouts as instructed, but still totaled nearly 30,000 steps yesterday for a total of 13.31 miles.  The previous day of “rest” was just over 26,000 steps, compared to my longest training run the day before of just over 9 miles, resulting in just 25,173 steps. I’ve done a lot more walking than running on this long weekend in Seattle, and most of it has been up and down steep hills.  Today, I’m hoping to hold that total to under 12,000 and to less than 10,000 per day until my first leg of the race.

The IMAX presentation of the Chinese Warriors was more impressive than the actual display at the Pacific Science Center.  The Terracotta Warriors reminded me of giant chess pieces, with the real mystery of the first Chinese ruler still buried underground.  The fact that exposure to air quickly deteriorated the condition of his clay army has discouraged any immediate efforts to uncover his nearby tomb that almost certainly contains valuables greater than clay.  Ancient Chinese history is filled with as much intrigue as the Egyptian civilizations.  The movie greatly stimulated my interest to get to China, as well as Egypt to explore these bucket list destinations.

We also did a one-hour cruise around Elliott Bay yesterday afternoon.  It was such a clear and beautiful day where you could see the majestic outline of Mount Rainier in the distance.  As we enjoyed the sunshine, I was fascinated with stories of the Edgewater Hotel, the only over water and waterfront hotel in the area, where you could once fish off the balconies.  The hotel was originally planned for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, but didn’t make the construction deadline.  When The Beatle’s came to Seattle in 1964, it was one of the few hotels that gave a willing welcome during the height of “Beatlemania.”  The Fab Four posed for photos in Suite 272 with fishing poles, and helped give the hotel a unique image.  Those photos were taken 53 years ago tomorrow, August 21, 1964!  Seattle was the third stop on their U.S. tour.  Led Zeppelin’s alleged “Shark Episode” experience at the Edgewater was not so positive, as they were banned from the hotel.  I wonder if Jimi Hendrix ever stayed there?

The Tom Petty concert last night was an absolute mess.  We walked to the concert and stopped for a great Italian dinner before the show.  Our plan was to let the first wave of people into the stadium during the opening section of The Lumineers performance, and then catch the last part of their show.  Everyone must have had the same idea!  The lines were atrocious, as no bags were allowed in the stadium.  We were prepared for this, as my wife left her purse and wallet back in the hotel safe. Unfortunately, others were caught off-guard and entry into Safeco Field ground to a halt.  The lines weren’t moving, and everyone was clearly upset.  We could faintly hear the end of the Lumineers set from outside the gates, and spent more than an hour in line waiting to get in.

I’m not sure that Tom Petty was even aware there was a problem.  Nothing was said and no apologies were made, as he started his portion of the show with equally long lines to the food and drink concessions.  I’ll bet the traffic lines for the total eclipse tomorrow won’t be as bad as they were for this chaotic cluster.  Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers got off to a hot start, playing hit-after-hit, until their sound system failed forcing them to take an awkward break.  In our opinion, it destroyed the momentum of the show, when compounded with the initial security problems and a beer spilled on my wife.  After all, a show is only as good as the people around you.  (See Post #121).  We were two old geezers ready for bed.

The weekend drama did not end at the concert last night.  We were checking-in for our train ride back to Portland this afternoon, when my wife noticed she didn’t have her wallet.  They asked for ID that she didn’t have, and she, of course, quickly panicked.  In the process of preparing for last night’s concert security, she had locked her wallet in the hotel safe. and found herself unprepared to get back home. When she got back to the hotel, they had already re-assigned the room, and security officials had to open the safe.  It took a little more time than she expected, so she began to lose patience.  Since I was left to guard our luggage at the train station, It was one hassle that I was able to avoid!

We’re back home with the dogs after a very eventful weekend in the Emerald City.  There was some”heartbreak” from not getting to see The Lumineers, but losing a wallet and having to replace everything would have been a lot worse.  Just a week or two ago, we were joking about leaving our hearts in San Francisco, but going to Seattle for the Heartbreakers.  I know we left a lot of money behind touring San Francisco, at least she didn’t leave her wallet in Seattle.