Living in the Scoot Utopia

(I didn't post about Urban Walk #3 -- that was last weekend where I did an 11-mile loop walking the Urban Living Tour.)

Sunday, May 14, 2006

As I hinted late last week, I decided it was time to do something extreme. So, at 10:48 this morning, I was dropped in the parking lot of the Bally Total Fitness at 119th & Strang Line in Olathe, KS. 7-1/2 hours and 42,900 steps later I arrived at my home near the City Market in Downtown Kansas City, MO --
completing a 22-mile walk.

Before I get on with the pictures, a few notes about walking in Johnson County:

1. I was able to find sidewalks pretty much everywhere. There were a few small gaps but nothing major.
   
2. The exception was Mission Hills. I never saw a single sidewalk in Mission Hills.
   
3. Every crosswalk I eencountered required a button to be pushed to get a walk signal.
   
4. While crossing Quivira at a crosswalk I began speedwalking as soon as I got the walk signal and I still had 2 more lanes to cross when the cross-traffic got their green light. There's no way an old person or a family could possibly get across.
   
5. While crossing 95th near Oak Park Mall the crosswalk displayed "WALK" and "DON'T WALK" simultaneously. Then, 3 lanes into the crossing, both displays shut off altogether. I did a quick 270-degree scan then dashed the remaining way across.
   

I'd also like to say a little bit about the walk itself. Not since my teens have a felt as good, physically, as I do now at the age of 36. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it could very well be that getting caught with diabetes -- and doing something about it -- has been the best thing that has happened to me. The thing today that really brought that home was that part of my route took me along an old walking route I used to use 10 years ago when I lived near 85th & Switzer. That particular walking route used to wear me out back then. Yet, on the map above of today's walk, that route barely even registers as a blip just to the left of marker #7. Amazing.

Now, on with the pictures!

Looking back at my starting point...

The first of many parking lagoons I'd cross...

Crossing I-435 at Quivira...

Arriving at Oak Park Mall, where I took a short break...

Crossing US-69 (Overland Parkway) at 91st...

Taking a break in a part at 85th & Switzer...

As I approached 83rd, the homes all took on a funky '50s look...

New roundabout under costruction on Santa Fe
at the south end of downtown Overland Park...

Overland Park Farmer's Market...

The gallery that burned dowwn a couple of months ago. :(
You can still smell the soot...

Massive amounts of flowers landscaping a yard
on Tomahawk just east of Nall...

The most pedestrian-friendly thing I saw in JoCo:
Pedestrians get a nice bridge, cars drive down into the creek...

Brush Creek...

Prairie Village Shops...

This sign completely blocked the sidewalk at the entrance
to Mission Hills. Just beyond the sign the sidewalk ended.
I never saw another sidewalk until I reeached KCMO.

This is the closest thing Mission Hills has to sidewalks,
a painted white line reserving the curb for pedestrians...

Pretty much all of Mission Hills was under construction...

Looking north on Belinder at Tomahawk...

Roundabout (or traffic circle?) at Belinder, Tomahawk,
and a couple of other streets...

Meyer Circle Fountain...

The Church of the Rich Christian...

Filthy stinking rich...

Arriving at Loose Park, and various Loose Park shots...

Civilization! Heading north on Wornall towwards the Plaza...

New tower...

Another new tower... this one north of the Plaza...

43rd & Washington...

Relaxing at the Westport Sunfresh...

Southwest Trafficway, around 38th...

Penn Valley Community College...

31st just east of Broadway...

First full view of the skyline...

From here on out I didn't really take any more pictures because
it's all stuff that's been seen before on my previous walks.

However, I did take this shot to show that the facade of the
Bartle expansion is now going up...

Finally, the best walking shoes I have ever bought...

Posted by ScooterJ at 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (1)

With the weather warming up, the panhandlers are back out in full force. Now that I've lived downtown for 3 years they don't really bother me any more, they are just an occcasional nuisance slightly below junk mail and telemarketer calls in irritation level. (The only thing that bugs me about them any more is when I see them pester suburban visitors, because visitors don't realize how harmless the vast majority of them are.)

Unlike some of the more aggressive panhandlers, today I had a pretty laid back experience with one who was relaxing on a bench that I passed within about 50 feet of as I was walking home from work. He never got up from the bench nor even flinched from his relaxed pose.

Panhandler: How's it goin'?

Me: Having a nice day, How about you?

Panhandler: Just fine. Say, can you help a brutha with any spare change you have?

Me: Sorry, not today.

Panhandler: That's cool. Have a good night, bro!

Me: You too!

Posted by ScooterJ at 12:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last Friday, Cinco de Mayo, the long-awaited Dos Hombres in the River Market finally opened.

We arrived around 8:15pm to find that only 2 of the 3 dining rooms were being used and there was a 45-minute wait. So we put our names in and went across the street to Vivace and had our appetizers there.

We returned about half an hour later and sat at the bar, where I got my Guiness and my companions ordered the house peach margarita. We were then seated promptly at 45 minutes.

My companions each took a sip of the peach margarita and found it to be bitter, watery, and completely lacking in peach flavor. It's a frozen drink but instead of being made with slush it was made with crushed ice, whicch made it difficult to drink and likeely contributeed to the wateriness.

The bar... and the offending drink...

The waitress took the drink away and returned with a sangria instead. One of my compantions throught the sangria was excellent, the other thought it was so-so.

Chips and salsa came quickly and frequently, and I liked that I was able to mix the salsa to my own prefered level of hotness.

We all ordered fajitas. There was some confusion at first because the menu doesn't offer combinations and I wanted chicken & shrimp while my companions wanted chicken & beef. Everything worked out though. The fajitas were rather good -- the meat was plentiful, tender, juicy, and flavorfully seasoned. My only complaint was that the rice was somewhat mushy. (Plus, I hate corn in my rice -- luckly it was sparse enough for me to pick out.)

It was clear they were not prepared for as busy as they were, and from other reports that I have read about how lunchtime went, closing the third dining room was probably a good idea. Once we got past the initial wait for seating our service was good. I'm hoping the bugs with the bar work themselves out with some time -- the experience was satisfactory enough to be worth trying again to see how things improve after they settle in.

The dining area.... and the aftermath...

Posted by ScooterJ at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This past Tuesday my buddy Brandon and I took the afternoon off and decided to go barhopping at various dives up north.

STOP 1:  We began the journey in Riverside at The Jockey Club, where we sat in an empty bar for about 3 or 4 minutes before the proprieter came in through the back. Beer selections were limited to what bottles he had in the big tub of ice on the bar.

As you can see from the photos above, the Jockey Club looks as prestigious as it sounds. Fact is, it's not really a club and we didn't see a single jockey. It did kinda smell like horse. --Brandon

STOP 2:  After 1 beer each (total cost, $3) we moved on to The Runaway.

At first glance, the name Runaway almost sounds like a warning. But for those of you who are willing to ignore this foreboding sign and belly up to the bar, you will find cheap beer and a wall covered in pictures of drunken bar patrons. That's just good advertising. --Brandon

Another beer down each. I forget the cost but I think it was $4 total.

STOP 3:  Then we went to Shooter's, home of the $4 pitcher. So we committed our first violation of our 1-beer-per-place rule and got the pitcher.

The bartender at shooters was incredible. We ordered a pitcher of Miller Lite and she gave us a pitcher of Coor's Light. How did she know we really didn't care what kind of beer she served us? Amazing. --Brandon

STOP 4:  We then went across the street to Moxie Bar & Grill, where we got a beer each for a total of $4.

The Moxie- "Home of the Big Red Ashtray" (it's on their uniforms) --Brandon

STOP 5:  Moving south into North Kansas City, our next stop was Pat's Pub.

We love Pat's because they have condiments right at your fingertips. For those of you who like a little Worcestershire with your beer - you are home. --Brandon

And here's Pat herself!

I forgot to take the phone off camera mode and went to go use the bathroom. While in there I checked to see what time it was and as a result have one additional picture from this place that I will not be sharing.

STOP 6:  After we left here the alcohol was really starting to kick in. Our next stop was Bar 12, which I thought was centered when I took this picture but is actually to the left.

This was the fastest bartender we had all day. This picture was taken with a Canon EOS-1D Mark II with 8.2 megapixel CMOS Sensor and 40 frame JPEG image burst capability. As you can see, she's still a blur. We called her "Flash"; she seemed to really take to it. --Brandon

From here on out I can no longer say for sure what was had at each place. Neither of us ever paid more than $2 for a drink though, and we found $1 draws and $4 pitchers at several places.

STOP 7:  I am not sure what this place was, it was slightly further south on Swift:

There was a little mop dog walking around inside, and this was the kind of place where when I tried to tip the bartender for the beer, he was dumbfounded.

By this time we started getting a little tired, so the bartender let us take a nap in his camper. --Brandon

STOP 8:  Our next stop was over on Choteau at a place simply called The Bar.

As you can see above, The Bar is the home of "Great Bucket Specials". We saw one of the buckets, and I'll have to admit, it was pretty nice. --Brandon

This was probably the busiest of our stops today.

STOP 9:  Next door to The Bar was Harry's TS Corner Bar & Grill.

Harry T's is located right next door to The Bar. The sign on top states that they have "Daily Lunch Specials". As you can imagine, the closeness of these establishments has led to a lot of tension between the two. The argument of the "Great Bucket Special" versus the "Daily Lunch Special" continues to this day. --Brandon

STOP 10:  After here we went to a town I'd heard of but never seen before, Avondale, where we found Depot Saloon.

With a name like "The Depot Saloon" we knew there had to be some great history tied to thebuilding. We figured it must have been an old train depot at one time, so we asked the bartender and she replied, "I don't know." So, that was pretty interesting. --Brandon

STOP 11:  Our final stop was back in North Kansas City at River Aces, where we succumbed to the temptation of another $4 pitcher.

The crowd at River Aces enjoys cold beer and Wheel of Fortune. It's a team effort, so if you think you know it, go ahead and shout it out. If you are too drunk to read, then just shout out anything that comes to mind. --Brandon

We then went bowling (last night of league night this season) where I bowled horrifically, stumbled over the ball return, and was slipped a tequila shot and a gin & tonic.

The night finally ended at Harry's Country Club, where I sipped on water and ate the first food I had had all day. Not eating on the day of a planned pub crawl was dumb. :)

Amazingly, I got to work on time the next morning!

Posted by ScooterJ at 07:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Today was an interesting day. After a rough day at work I left early in order to deal with potential problems with our league's scores at the bowling alley. But after I called and learned that at the very least they had the lineups and handicaps right, I went out drinking instead. I've been drinking pretty much continuously from about 4:00 until a little bit ago.

I started out at Grinders, where Brandon and I had a couple of slices and a couple of Guiness. We then went to The Brick, where we learned that just because a door is unlocked and ajar doesn't mean that a bar is open. From there we went to the Bulldog where we managed to get one more beer in before it was time to pick up Seth and head to bowling.

Bowling of course means a non stop supply of beer.

After bowling we went to Harry's Country Club, where the European sex couple from "Super Troopers" were present and the woman shoved her tongue down the throat of a guy in our group before asking him to join their "orgy pile". (Later the same woman removed her top briefly.)

As I left Harry's the first time, around 11pm, we saw someething hilarious -- a bum pushing a shopping cart down Missouri Avenue -- the shopping cart containing..... a Christmas tree. He stopped in front of Vivice and was quickly shooed away. I tried to get a picture but by the time I figured out how (new phone -- haven't read the instructions yet) all I got was this blur:

I went back to Harry's about 20 minutes later where I attempted to calculate bowling scores while drunk. I finally decided that calculating bowling scores while drunk is a very bad idea and came home. :)

Goodnight all!

Posted by ScooterJ at 12:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight while driving on a 4-lane road the idiot in the left lane decided to make an unsignaled right turn even though I was in the right-hand lane going straight at the time. The dumbass had the gall to blare his horn at me after nearly ramming into me. (And his whole reason for turning from that lane was an attempt to cut in front of a long line of cars that had been waiting their turn.)

In honors of that stupid moron, here's my list of some of my "favorite" places in KC to see idiot drivers...

Continue reading "Moronic Drivers" »

Posted by ScooterJ at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

After walking from the Plaza to City Market two weekends ago, I decided I needed to up the ante. So this past Saturday I took the MAX to Waldo (74th & Wornall) and walked a 14-mile course that I had plotted back to the Missouri River.

The journey took 4-1/2 hours and consisted of approximately 23,500 steps.

I could teell that I was in better shape than my previous trip, making no stops for rest or for additional water. However, a day later, I definitely feel the burn.

I took numerous pictures along the way, here they are for your enjoyment...

1. Part 1 - Waldo, Brookside, Crestwood
   
2. Part 2 - UMKC, Stowers
   
3. Part 3 - Brush Creek, Art Gallery
   
4. Part 4 - Gilham Park, Hyde Park
   
5. Part 5 - Union Hill, Hospital Hill
   
6. Part 6 - Jazz District, Crossroads
   
7. Part 7 - Downtown Loop, River Market
   

Posted by ScooterJ at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It was a nice sunny 70s day today so I took my dog for a walk Downtown for about an hour. Here'a a few pictures of her while we were at Case Park.

Posted by ScooterJ at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I noticed this "No Smoking" sign in one of the men's restrooms at the City Market tonight:

A "No Smoking" sign is of course a perfectly normal thing to see in a restroom. What cracked me up, however, was what I noticed on closer inspection:

This of course led me to a thought:

How would a blind person know to feel for a sign there?

Before I could think that through, however, my pondering was interrupted by a terrifying/amusing and somewhat offensive thought:

A blind person attempting to use one of these urinals

Now I know why public restrooms always have a drain on the floor. :)

(My apologies to any blind person who reads this has this read to them.

Posted by ScooterJ at 08:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I'm always on the lookout for fun ways to get my exercise. This past week I decided to issue myself what seemed at the time like a challenge: to walk from the Plaza back home to the City Market.

The direct route is a straight shot, and only a little more than 4 miles long. That was too easy. So I plotted out a course that would take me to several interesting areas and double the mileage.

On Saturday afternoon I took the MAX to the Plaza, fired up my ipod, and started walking my pre-planned route. About 3-1/2 hours later I arrived at the City Market and sat down to a nice burnt ends dinner. Depending on the tool I use to measure the distance the total mileage was somewhere between 9.1 and 10.4 miles. It took 18,113 steps to complete the walk.

The walk proved not to be very difficult at all, and I'm glad I took a twisting route because I think the ease of the straight shot would have been disappointing. I only stopped for water twice (Sun Fresh in Westport and Union Station) and the closest thing I had to a nervewracking moment was getting barked at by a rottweiler. The weather was a little chilly but pleasant, and though it was only about 45 degrees I was far from the only person I encountered in shorts.

Other than being very sleepy last night, I feel great. No soreness whatsoever today. Because this was so easy I now have an even bigger urban walk in the works that I'll embark on in an upcoming weekend.

I took lots of photos of the walk, click the links below to see them:

1. Part 1: Country Club Plaza to the art galleries
2. Part 2: Westport to Penn Valley Park
3. Part 3: New Federal Reserve to Crown Center
4. Part 4: Union Hill to Convention Center
5. Part 5: Convention Center to City Market

Posted by ScooterJ at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)