TrackTown, USA: Though Brian fixed the leak under the kitchen sink yesterday, DT still had a puddle of water in his bicycle helmet stored in the outside bay under the sink. I phoned Brian and he returned again this morning. One look and he knew what it was - the water heater. I swear, if only I had Brian's brain... Fifteen minutes later, he was into the water heater cabinet (and there was some sort of mumbling about lack of attention of detail) while he fixed the immediate problem and routed the plumbing so we would not have the issue again. But if we do... now we know where to look and have Brian on speed dial.
After that, we read (DT is reading Carl Hiaasen's latest crime novel, Fever Beach - dedicated in memory of Jimmy Buffett) - and I needlepointed. A nice quiet morning. Before going to Historic Hayward Field, we hit-up one of our usual favorite places in Eugene near the track, McMenamin's East 19th Cafe, known for their burgers, brews, and terrible service.
McMenamin's (with a zillion locations in the Northwest) brew the most lovely beer called Ruby - because it contains a hint of raspberry. But the beer is not sweet, but just a light and super refreshing drink (with low alcohol). Nothing is better on a hot day. Except we were not having a hot day. After two beautiful warm days, Friday the 13th turned cold, cloudy and windy. Time for a burger?
Remember what I wrote above about bad service? We were seated right away at a nice table, and waited only a few minutes until our server appeared and took our drink order and within ten minutes our beers appeared (DT had their Irish Stout - similar to Guinness?). A bit later our server came by to take our order. I asked for the cheeseburger with tater tots. DT asked for the smash burger (he would share my tots). We waited. A while later the server returned with the smash burger and a huge basket of tots. Hmmmm. Kinda not what we ordered, but kinda what we ordered. Knowing the service at this locale, should we just take what they brought us, or wait until it is all sorted out? We asked for our original order.
Big Mistake. We waited so long for our order. DT did get his his smash burger and I received a cheeseburger with a scattering of tots for us to share. Whatever. At McMenamin's this is a win.
And we only had to wait 20 minutes for our check. Basically a perfect McMenamin's lunch.
Our dear friend Rita (from DC) joined us at the track tonight. Every race was a final and it proceeded at a very fast clip. Race after race, with very few Ducks (men's finals tonight) in any of the events. With 20 events scored, it came down to the final contest - the 4x400m relay - to determine the 2025 NCAA Championship. The meet ended in a tie! A tie! Between Texas A&M and USC - tied at 41. Arkansas (40) and Auburn (35) will also be on the podium. Super exciting to have this meet come down to one race determining the winner! Every fan was standing and cheering.
South Florida won the 4x400, messing up everything for the top contenders! Yeah, South Florida. Time to shine. South Florida finished the competition in 14th place. The Oregon men finished 11th. Results here.
By the time the meet was concluded, Rita and I were so cold! She raced off to her family and DT and I raced off to our RV to watch the Dodger v Giants game and/or the track meet replay. The snack plate tonight was not as exciting as the past two nights because we were not very hungry after our late lunch repast. The rest of the smoked salmon we bought in Fort Bragg, some crackers, some cheese, an apple.
Tomorrow is the last day of meet - finals for the women. The meet will be broadcast on ESPN2 tomorrow afternoon. Check your local listings, but watch/record if you can.
Until my next update, I remain, your trackside correspondent.
Campground Information: Eugene Premier RV Resort - Huge campground at exit 199 on I-5 (and I mean right on I-5). Full service sites, back-ins, pull-throughs, nice landscaping and a pons, bathhouses and laundry. Pool in season. Rally facilities. We are paying $87 per night for a front-end site facing the pond... but our back-end is really close to the noisy freeway.