Fort Worth Adventure- Urban Dare 4

The Fourth of December found Jonathan and I running in our fourth Urban Dare Race. It was a decidedly windy day, but the temperature was not too bad. We drove around downtown Ft. Worth scoping out potential targets for the race, just as we have for previous races. We did, however stop by the bus station to purchase bus passes and to get maps for the routes. We really were planning to use the public transportation system to shave some time (which is allowed for the races).

We then proceeded to the starting point of the race- the Magnolia Motor Lounge- a very cool new restaurant near 7th street in Fort Worth. There were a few teams there and they just kept coming. We knew right away that this race was going to be huge. Usually we stay at the meet-up location until the start of the race, but this time we headed to a nearby field to await the trivia questions that would get us going.

As usual, there was a costume contest. My question? Who wants to run around downtown Ft. Worth dresses as Avatars or Ballerinas? The winners were a couple dressed in golfing attire- their team name "Foreplay".


The anticipated trivia questions never occurred, so everyone scrambled to grab sheets of clues from the nearby helpers.

Our first clue was very familiar:
December 4, 2010 (Clue 9)Get your picture with Miro's woman addressing the public
This clue was used on the previous Ft. Worth Urban Dare. We decided to get there and get away from the crowd (which has been extremely helpful in past races. We started calling our support to help with the clues along the way (my mom and sister, Jonathan's mom and Dad- who were quite helpful yet again).


Then we headed across the street to the site of our second clue:
(Clue 7) Do you suppose he really never met a man he didn't like? Go to his statue for your wheelbarrow dare.
On the way to the statue of Will Rogers, we started to cross the street in between the museums in the art district and I was so busy looking to make sure there were no cars coming, that I didn't see the sprinkler head poking out of the grass. I tripped quite elaborately into the street, tucked into a SWAT team roll, protecting my iPhone the entire time and kept running.
We have never gotten to the wheel barrow portion of the race early. Jonathan's arms are usually spaghetti and I am usually about to fall over. So we wound our way through the cones quite quickly and were on our way to downtown for more clues.
We decided to try to take public transportation. The previously scouted out bus stop was next to a Christmas Tree Farm. We decided to make the most of our time waiting for the bus to take care of some of our photo clues.
(Clue 5) Photo Hunt- Get a picture of someone not in the race doing a cartwheel. Get a picture of 4 people not in the race posed as if they were shooting a bow and arow.
(5:00 minute bonus)- Get a picture of 3 people not in the race doing see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.





So the bus never came. We didn't wait long before we began the 2.4 mile trek to downtown. On our way we saw folks running through the park below. We were worried that we had missed a clue. We ran through every question again and did change one answer, but it was also downtown so we knew we were on the right track.

Finally after our long run we stopped at our next spot.
(Clue 6) Save the future is a sculpture of a fireman rescuing a baby. get your picture with it.



Just across the park nearby was our next stop:
(Clue 1) Go to Burnett Park for your 3-legged dare.
There were numerous teams there and we did fairly well (though typically our worst event).

Not far away was the spot of our next clue. (Clue 10) Born September 16, 1831, he is known as the father of Fort Worth. Go to his bust for your scrabble stick dare. Using the numbers on the scrabble sticks, add up the value of the word on your passport.

This is the one we changed our answer on a couple of times. One of our helpers said this was Amon Carter, but we discovered it was John Peter Smith and this statue was at the corner of Throckmorton and 10th St. I can honestly say I don't think I even saw the statue. I just saw little sticks with numbers and that totally has my focus. Our work was Mendicant (truly a word I have never heard before). We tried adding three times before we got the right amount (111) and could head to our next clue.

(Clue 2)- The name of this restaurant means the prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country. It reflects our trade policy towards Cuba. Get your picture in front of this restaurant.



I may not have known what Mendicant means, but I know our policy towards Cuba is an Embargo. Jonathan knew immediately where to find it.


There were teams running all over downtown. I knew our next clue would be near Sundance Square (and I knew what a topiary was too!)

(Clue 11)- Get your picture with a topiary featuring a cowboy on a horse.


Across downtown to the Courthouse where we found the site of our next clue:
(Clue 4)- Get your picture with the memorial for our military who were prisoners of war or missing in action.

You can't see much of the statue. One thing you can't really do is have good pictures in these events. You just have to hope they will accept it at the finish line.

We tried unsuccessfully to find the bus again before we headed towards Montgomery Plaza. I though Jonathan was going to kill me because I kept complaining on that run back towards the finish. He really acted as a guide on this race (as this was his city).

Our next clue:
(Clue 3)- Anita Eckberg played Syliva in this Fellini Film. Get your picture in front of the store that goes by the name of this movie.
The Movie "La Dolce Vita", the restaurant-- so far away. We chased the Blue Dudes for the couple of miles out of downtown.


Our final clue:
(Clue 8)- The name of this restaurant goes from the title of a hit song by the B-52's from their album Cosmic Thing. Get your picture in front of this restaurant.

I know this one is the LOVE SHACK Baby! I had actually eaten there with Jonathan a while back. Good burgers, good prices- I highly recommend it.


Now back to the Magnolia Motor Lounge where we found the finish line and more people than we would have liked. We finished in less than two hours;our best race yet. My friend Julia joined us at the end for a quick bite and a beer(actually there was nothing quick about it as we needed to rest for a minute).


The Race Results
Our official time-1:56:45
We finished 32nd out of 196 teams.
Total distance traveled-6.25 miles

Unique SLANT

Today I participated in yet another service project. I did not go into it with the right attitude. You see, I have been super busy lately. So getting up early was not something I was eager to do. And I needed to start on my Christmas shopping. And I needed to get a oil change. And so on and so on. But I told my friend I would be there and so I went. Initially all I could think about was leaving early and how cranky I was. Then I was put to work.

The project engaged kids from St. Phillips School, Boys and Girls Clubs, and Girl Scouts. There were also Bank of America employees there to help out. The projects were pretty cool. One station had them painting holiday ornaments and making candy cane reindeer. Another had them making Thanksgiving cards. The third had them decorating Christmas gift bags. And the final one had them decorating bags in which we put and apple, an orange, and a granola bar. All of these gifts will be delivered with either the Thanksgiving food or the Christmas food for the Meals on Wheels folks throughout Dallas. A little love from the kids to those who can't get out and get food for themselves.
The closing had them creating a reflection of the work they did with magazines one a piece of cardstock.

Did I come around and snap out of my funk? Of course I did. And I didn't leave early. It was a cool project. I just needed to get out of my own way and remember that there is a reason I was there/here. It was only a matter of time.

Flame Throwers

Patience

Today marks the end of my fourth week working in my new position as Disaster Services Manager with the Volunteer Center of North Texas.

I was pretty excited on my first day. I had been a visitor to the volunteer center many times. It was a bit surreal to think I would be here every day. Now it's just another office building, nothing terribly special about it.

However, I am a service addict and have wanted to work in a volunteer center for many years (ok, about 13).

Now I get to work in the field of volunteer management every day. I get to work with people who work in volunteer management every day (and almost all of them are super-passionate about it).

I have a window outside of my cubicle. Now that may also seem a small thing, but to me....huge. To be able to see if it's raining, or sunny, or whatever--I love it. I now have my desk decorated with all kinds of service memorabilia. Pictures of the kids from SCA. The banner from the Wal-Mart community garden project I recently conducted (turned out to be my last for SCA). AmeriCorps pictures, post cards, and stickers are everywhere. Just happy to have my office not be the entire organization.

Thus far I have not been able to hit the ground running as I had hoped. There are pieces I am waiting for to be able to really start recruiting volunteers. But once they are up and running, I have some pretty big goals to hit. I am ready.

Some cool moments from the first few weeks:

Had a huge community kick-off for a big project day and got to see the Volunteer center team in action (both positive and negative stuff- mostly positive.)

Volunteered with a group form Johnson Controls on a project with Family Gateway. The group had the privilege of hearing first-hand from the ambassadors who had been recipients of service from the centers. It was humbling and enlightening.

Volunteered with AmeriCorps Alums at the Bridge serving food. Humbling.




Got to volunteer at the World Series. Even cooler than getting to do so myself, is that I was able to help coordinate so that Hoby students were able to volunteer as well.

Won a Halloween Costume Contest. Ok, so my costume was very simple and not terribly creative, but I enjoyed it. Plus got a $20 gift certificate.

Jonathan and I had a meeting with Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps Alums is starting to find some momentum.

Invited to speak with Hippy AmeriCorps members- hoping to be able to make it work.

Getting my feet wet in the Disaster Call Center. Ready to see it used in practice (not for real yet).

I am sure there are more things I am forgetting, but so far, so good.

Urban Dare Dallas 2010

URBAN DARE RACE MAY 1, 2010

Usually Jonathan does this blog, but with his recent engagement, busy summer with the Youth Volunteer Corps and new AmeriCorps Program...you get my summary instead.

I did not want this race to go without an awesome report with pictures. It was by far the most difficult mentally and physically. This being our third race, we decided to fuel up at the Cafe Brazil in Deep Ellum before race time. This was not a tradition for our other races and I am not sure we need to repeat it. Fuel is good, but a full breakfast may not be the best course of action.

We came as prepared as possible to the Gingerman Pub in Uptown Dallas. This time we added a pre-printed spellbound sheet to make it easier to find the letters we needed. We also had a GPS (which we never used) and an Iphone and blackberry which neither of us had the previous races. And blue tooth devices which allowed us to run and talk at the same time (very helpful). Our support staff of my mom, my friend Sue, Jonathan's mom and dad were waiting for our calls for help. Many more people showed up for this race than the others we did. Many more kids as well. Jonathan shared tidbits of information on how to run an adventure race with several "newbies" before the race got started. He seemed to enjoy sharing the trials and errors of our past Dallas and Ft. Worth races. It felt pretty good to have some experience behind us.

As with the previous Dallas race, we walked ot a nearby parking lot where there was a costume contest prior to race start. Oompa-lumpahs, the Skipper and Gilligan, and some all-american superstars. I have to say I have forgotten who won, but there were some brave souls out there on the course, we saw them all over the city as we raced about. After the Costume Contest we then had to arrange ourselves for the trivia questions. The question was about some musicians with a history in Dallas and we had to chose one of four coned off areas (A,B,C or D). My logic this time was that they wouldn't have the group in the back win the question as they would have to run through a bunch of people who got the question wrong- so that left us with a 50-50 chance. Luckily we got it right on the very first question and were off to get our clue sheets. Last time in Dallas we were in the "everybody has left so you can go" group.

We started calling our support people right away. We always try to get away from the pack and it usually serves us well. On our way to Victory Plaza we came across the spot for clue # 8- This drink it traditionally served with three flies. Okay, so they're coffee beans. Get your picture in front of an establishment that goes by this name. (Sambuca 2120 McKinney)

After that we knew we were heading to the second spot for clue 10- Go to the oversize pair of owl statues for your spellbound dare. (Hooters near American Airlines Center). Our word was Discombobulate which was found on the back of our race card. The letters were very close together on a small grassy area, so they were easy to write down. Then it was off to dowtown Dallas.

When we crossed over Central Expressway into dowtown we found a small group of high school students with chaperones. We felt this was a good time to knock out three important tasks from our list #6. Photo Hunt- Get a picture of someone not in the race doing a cartwheel. And get your picture kneeling to propose marriage to someone not it the race. AND the 5:00 Minute Bonus- take a picture of a six person human pyramid. They must be non-competitors in the race.

Jonathan got good practice for his proposal to Amber by proposing to one of the chaperones and one of the girls was all too eager to do a cartwheel. The students event lines up for our pyramid.

We then ran to the Bank of America Plaza where we were looking for the plaque from clue #7. When we got there we did not find the plaque, but we did run across the Legalize Marijuana Protesters. We tried to ask them to help out, but for such open minded folks, they were surprisingly not helpful at all. We decided we would move on to the spot for clue # 1. "Build the news upon the rock of truth and righteousness. Conduct it always upon the lines of fairness and integrity. Acknowledge the right of the people to get from the newspaper both sides of every important question." Go to the park across the street from the building that bears this quote for your 3-legged dare. (508 Young Street). This was the park right in front of the Belo building.

We were better at the three legged race this time. We were even able to walk past one group of racers using our left, right, left, right mantra, only to be passed by another set of racers who were actually able to run while being tied together by the ankle. A little demoralizing, but we managed. After we left there we headed to the Erik Johnson public library still looking for the plaque from #7. On our way we came upon individuals who were participating in the huge protest against the new immigration law passed in Arizona and the protesters of the protesters- several thousand people participated in these protests. All shouting and carrying signs. And no plaque. So we decided to move on to another clue.

Clue #11. This song begins, "Now I don't hardly know her, but I think I could love her...." Get your picture in front of the Dallas store that goes by the name of this song, but spells it differently. (Crimson in the City 1514 Commerce) . This one was not too bad, but we later found there was another store that also would have worked in Uptown.

By this point, everything is a blur to me. We stumbled over to the spot for clue #9. Get your picture with the mosaic by Millard Sheets that graces a downtown building. (1810 Commerce)

We decided to give #7 another try. "Get your picture with a plaque where the (CCXIV TIMES IX) Republic Bank one stood." Our sources over the phone told us to try Thanksgiving square. We thought it was a good sign that there were a couple other groups in the area. But after quite a long time looking we had no luck. We ended up trading a clue with another group and finally found our plaque.

Our next stop took us to the West End for clue #3. The hand he was holding when he got shot playing poker is known as dead man's hand. Get your picture in front of his store. (Wild Bills Market 311 Market Street)

We found some nice tourist to take our picture there then we headed back across central expressway to the other side of downtown for the long trek to clue #2. Get your picture with the art installation at the intersection of a John Steinbeck story featuring Kino and a 1994 film featuring Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer and James Spader. (Pearl and Wolf)

Another long jaunt to our wheel barrow race spot # 5. He once said, "I like whiskey. I always did, and that is why I never drink it." Go to his statue for your wheelbarrow dare. (Robert E. Lee Park Turtle Creek and Hall st.)

We then made our way to Uptown for our final clue #4. Shelly Hwang and Young Lee got together and collaborated in creating a new product that always featured one principle flavor- Original. Go to their store and take your picture receiving a sample. (Pinkberry 3839 McKinney Suite 157) . I would say that it was great to eat something cold, but the taste of dairy was not good at that exact moment. It would be nice to go back when not in the race. We decided to catch the trolley on the way back to the Gingerman pub as public transportation is an allowable for the race. We waited for a few minutes for the car to show up, then we were joined by other racers on later stops. The trolley driver thought we would be funny in asking a few folks to get off as the trolley could not make it up a big hill. I thought he was serious at first and my feet were seriously protesting any kind of movement. So when he said he was joking I was so happy. I did not think the driver was funny, but I was willing to let it slide because I did get to sit for a minute.

Finish- Go to the Gingerman Pub for the finish.
Our third race complete, a difficult route and some tough clues.
Race results- 3:25:35 approximately nine miles traveled. 33rd our of 114 teams.