Tuesday, February 4, 2025
After over 50 years of Laurie's cajoling, I finally took the big step and booked my first ever pedicure for today.
I had a 1:00 p.m. appointment for this, as it turned out, enjoyable experience at the OKá Peluquería-Unisex Estética.
I say experience because the one hour pedicure turned into a lot more than the toe nail clipping and foot massage that I expected.
First, our key players . . .
Ana and her daughter, Katina
Ana is the owner of the shop and is seen here, on the left, working hard to restore my feet to health.
Katina acts as her mother's multi-tasking, do-it-all assistant and is friends with our Mariners DE par excellence, Matteo. They both have worked security at events throughout the city.
 |
| DE Matteo |
The three of us were involved in what I thought were witty, introductory conversations about ourselves while Ana was at work.
Then things took an interesting turn.
About half way through my delightful pedicure, the door opened and in walked Hurricane Raquel.
She regaled us with all sorts of information about the machinations of her extended family's life and intrigue, treating me as if I were her long lost cousin.
It was like I was an active player in one of those awesome telenovelas that are so popular on Spanish television all over the globe.
I was told to return in about six weeks for another pedicure but I don't know if I can wait that long without knowing how Raquel's family drama is progressing.
Oh the fun people one meets in a Gijón west end peluquería estética shop.
Truth be told, I had never walked any farther to the west of the apartment than this shop. When I mentioned this to Ana, she told me that there was lots to see if I continued in a westerly direction.
So I did.
A stately old warehouse near the docks
Yes, Gijón has a rich seagoing tradition
Mariners QB Spencer Moore going DEEP?
Japanese food I deduced
That stone building in the foreground
hosts not one but two restaurantes
of interest, one a pulpería
A pulpería is a restaurant specializing in octopus dishes, another staple of Asturian cuisine, which I thoroughly enjoy.
Asturian Gaitero statue
A gaitero is a bag pipe musician and is linked to Spain's northern coastal ties to the Celtic culture.
I just liked the looks of this sign
Marking one of the west end's
main thoroughfares
No idea what this building houses
but it certainly stood out
Centro Oceanográfico de Gijón
Given our grandson Jacob's penchant for all things sea related, I just had to enter.
It turns out that this is only an office building for the oceanographers of Gijón.
I was informed by the delightful receptionist that there are no displays in this facility but to be sure to visit all of wonderful exhibits at the Bioparc Acuario de Gijón which is just a short walk from my apartment.
A new beach for me,
Playa L'Arbeyal
Playa L'Arbeyal is next to this cove
After the recent storms, lots
of seaweed had washed ashore
A large swim stadium by the beach
I continued exploring.
Of course, they sell fish
Security Guard Service
Not sure about that snake.
It was laundry day at
my apartment too
Must be the home of one our
Mariners Ultra-Fans
In the evening we held a practice with neither our head coach nor any offensive coaches in attendance.
Our Defensive staff was 100% on the field but we were hurting for those all important "big uglies" that play in the trenches as only two defensive and two offensive linemen showed up.
We worked them hard for about 30 minutes doing tackling drills and one-on-one pass blocking/pass rush drills before letting the linemen go home as any sort of team work was out of the question due to our low numbers.
After our DB/LB and QB/RB/WR core had their 30 minutes of individual technique time, we spent about 45 minutes doing open field, half field 7-on-7 and goal line 1-on-1 drills.
We got some much needed work
accomplished in the passing game
for both sides of the ball
Crossing routes can be difficult
1-on-1 Goal Line competition
#47, Calde, is a tremendous WR
who runs precision routes, has
great hands and is fearless
It was not the practice that we had planned but we still accomplished lots of goods things in making individual improvements.
The current Serie A standings with the
Mariners tied with the Coslada Camioneros
for Third Place in the Western Conference
Sad but somewhat strangely
true come to think of it
Life in Spain was good again today, now if Laurie would just arrive . . .
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