Squash blossom

We got into San Francisco late yesterday afternoon after a rather long day of travel. After we got settled into the hotel and got unpacked, we headed over to a plaza in the Financial District to the Open Squash Championship.

Whaaaat? Why?

Well, Friend Todd (a former coworker of Ken’s and a lovely human being) has been into squash for many years, both as a player and as a spectator, and we were going to meet up with him there.

We bought our tickets and found our seats at the side of the glassed-in court. Great seats with great views of the action! We got there just in time for the championship game and it was amazingly fun. Somehow I knew more about the game of squash than I realized. How did that happen? I have no idea. Maybe we learned a little about it in Phys Ed in high school? Squash isn’t an Olympic sport (yet), so I wouldn’t have watched it there. Did I just read about it somewhere? I certainly didn’t know all the rules, but I wasn’t completely clueless about it, either. Kind of a mystery of where I absorbed that knowledge along the way!

It was so fast-paced, and with sitting so close, I had to physically turn my head to watch the action. I’m sure I looked like this.

It has to be brutal on the players’ knees and ankles and they were obviously lean and fit. I told Todd at dinner that I was also amazed by how they have to be spatially aware. Not only does the player have to watch what is happening with the ball, they have to pay attention to where their opponent is and get out of the way in order to let them make the play. It was really kind of fascinating and I enjoyed it. I told Ken, “To quote Mitt Romney, I love sport!” While it is not an Olympic sport yet, I agree with Todd that it should be. It’s fast-paced and fun to watch, the athletes are obviously in great shape, and Todd said that it has a huge international following. I don’t plan on picking up a racket myself, but I would definitely watch it in the Olympics!

After the match, we went to dinner with Todd and I had some delicious seared tuna. I don’t normally do desserts, but they had Key Lime Pie! I had to have a piece. Although my favorite dessert is native to Florida, this San Francisco restaurant did a very delicious and authentic version of it. The filling was nice and custardy, and most importantly, NOT GREEN! Don’t put green food coloring in Key Lime Pie, people. It is an abomination! The only difference I noticed from the traditional KLP was that the graham cracker crust had a hint of cinnamon in it and seemed to have a little coconut in it, as well. It was quite tasty.

It was a fun first night and today we will be meeting Todd in the afternoon for a little walking around and just some general camaraderie and sightseeing. I have already scoped out a genuine tiki bar in Nob Hill, one that opened in 1945, so that is on my list!