Without Don the Beachcomber, things are a lot different.
The Era Is Over
The writing has been on the wall for the Los Angeles Kings for a few years now. They haven’t done much in the postseason since the 2nd Stanley Cup in 2014. Heck they aren’t even making the postseason most years. And I’m on record as being annoyed that they perpetually pan to the 2 Stanley Cup banners during the National Anthem. I know 2014 was an eternity ago, especially when it comes to SPORTS.
And still, with the 3 transactions in the last 3 weeks…with the departures of Clifford, Toffoli, and Martinez via trades…it now really feels like that winning era is well and truly over. I’m used to the Kings not being good. I’m used to them trading for players that used to be good in a futile attempt to get 7% better (or bring in Friends of Gretzky). I’m used to them losing players to free agency…or not getting them via free agency to begin with. But watching fan-favorite players go in trades for futures...players who were instrumental in those magical Cup runs…that’s…new. Different. Sad. Final.
So I wish nothing but success to Kyle Clifford, Tyler Toffoli, and Alec Martinez. Enjoy playing in meaningful games in April. And none of you will have to buy a beer in Los Angeles ever again.
LEGO Chronicles 2: Y-Wing Starfighter
Why do the LEGO Chronicles start with #2? Because technically, Steamboat Willie was Chronicles 1. I just didn’t know it at the time. Then, with the Star Wars Y-Wing set in September, 2019, the floodgates had opened (as will soon be evident).
When I picked this set up, I was actually looking at the Disneyland Railroad set that had just been released, But I balked at the $350 price tag on that set. Somehow, this sub-$200 set was more palatable. Plus it had some really nice detail and presentation (including a stand). The set is just a shade under 2000 pieces. For fans of the original Star Wars trilogy, there’s a lot to like in this set. More details? Maybe in future posts on future sets. On to photos!
Puzzle Pieces 1: Mammoth Mountain trail map
After getting into the “just zone out and try to be in the present” mode of putting together LEGO sets, I ran across a puzzle I had purchased years ago in Mammoth Mountain, CA. I’d never sat down to put it together, but since the box was staring at me for the entire holiday season (due to come closet cleaning), I cracked the box on January 1, 2020.
It’s a ~500 piece puzzle of a Mammoth Mountain trail map. It look me a few evenings to complete…I finished it on January 5. Because I am fascinated by ski resort trail maps, and I’m very familiar with Mammoth’s map in particular, I figured this would be fun and not take more than a day or two. Well, it was fun but I also learned a few things about puzzles - and Mammoth. Some of the challenges were differences in the puzzle’s border size versus the border size on the box art (puzzle boxes lie!), and the fact that some (not many) parts needed 3 pieces to actually lock into place. Oh and I didn’t realize that this wasn’t a relatively current trail map. Maybe there was a chair 26 near chair 1 at some point but it certainly didn’t ring a bell for me.
Done.
Chair 26? Huh.
Surf City Half Marathon
Our first race of 2020 is in the books. Val and I joined my sister to run the Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach on February 2, 2020. The course was a mostly flat, mostly out and back route along PCH. The weather was pretty much as good as you may want for a road race. The fact that I hadn’t run more than 9 miles since early November 2019 was evident right around 10.5 miles as calf cramps set in. Outside of that, it was a fun race and motivating for both the Great Race of Agoura Hills in late March (10k) and RunDisney’s Star Wars race weekend in April 2020 (5k, 10k, and Half). Got a cool medal and a few beers over the course of the day as a reward.
Reward evening. Not pictured: nachos.
Post-race.
Pre-race.