Last Saturday was “my” day, so I decided we should sleep in. Once we were up and rolling, we got in the car and headed over to Summit Mall in Akron to have brunch at First Watch, a breakfast place with great hot chocolate. As we were waiting to be seated, Mer saw our friend Dubbs, who was with another teacher, David, and two former students. As luck would have it, the host sat us in the booth right next to Dubbs’ booth, so she was able to amuse herself by throwing things at me. It turns out that Dubbs, David, and the two former students meet for breakfast monthly to discuss a book. Mer and I were just there to eat, and the food was good.
After brunch, we headed next door to Massage Envy, a national chain for massage. I had hurt my back and shoulders several weeks ago, and they still hurt. My chiropractor had done well in getting my bones back where they should be, but the knots in my muscles would not go away. So, on the eve of my marathon attempt, I decided to try a firm massage to see if I could get my back and shoulders to relax. This was to be only my second professional massage ever. Mer was along just to get a relaxing massage – if I was going to get a massage, she thought it was a good idea to get one too.
It turns out that Massage Envy is quite nice. The receptionist was helpful, and the place was very clean. The massage therapists were attentive. Mer went for a whole-body relaxation massage, and I asked my therapist to work just on my back and shoulders. She spent the entire hour on those sections, and it did seem to help – I hurt quite a bit less than when I had come in. Mer was pretty much a puddle of relaxation; she certainly enjoyed her experience.
When we were checking out, the receptionist asked if we wanted to become members. Members pre-pay one massage/month, and in exchange for that, they get reduced rates ($45 and $35 for one-hour massages). Since we no longer have the two houses, and since I have started to hurt more in the last year, I made the impulse decision to sign us up. Mer was surprised, but went along with it. If it helps keep me from being in pain from my back problems, it will be well worth the $80/month for us to be members.
After our massages and a quick trip home to change, we headed over to the Kendall Lake Park area. I wanted to take Mer on a trail that I had run but that she had not been on before. It was a very pretty fall day out, but a little ways out I started to need a bathroom pretty badly. So, we veered off the new trail and walked the mile or so up to the Ledges Park, where there were restroom facilities. On the way back out of the Ledges buildings, we ran into one of our colleagues, April, who was there with her husband and their very cute toddler daughter. They were having family pictures taken. It was a great setting for that. We chatted for a few minutes and then Mer and I headed back toward the trail that would take us back to the car. We took a short detour to go to the Valley overlook area of the Ledges. It is not quite at the full fall splendor yet – that will be in another week or two. It was still quite pretty.
Once we did get back to the car, we headed to Bob Evans to get supper. Mer just ordered a bowl of chili since she was still to go out with some friends later in the evening, but I got a full meal. That made me fairly sleepy, and since I was going to be up at 4:00 am to get ready for my marathon, I went right to bed (in the spare bedroom so Mer could sleep undisturbed) when I got home. Mer went out to meet her high school friends. Sadly, my drifting off to sleep was interrupted by Tava fighting with Emma, and I had to get up to break that up. I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard Mer get home, so at least I knew she was home safely. I still had a rough night’s sleep, which is pretty normal for me the night before a marathon. Good thing I had gotten some relaxation in during the day.