Wednesday, December 21st

The New, Improved Gym!
It looked exactly the way it did last Friday ... the check-in desk, the hallways, the stairwell..

The surprise came when we took the last steps upstairs and rounded the corner.

Gone were the various machines; installed in all of their previous space was a long, tall upside down, V-shaped piece of equipment with straps dangling off of it. It reminded me of the monkey bars at my grade school.

An explanatory class had apparently just begun because there were 10 guys, five to a side, standing there holding the straps - done in a chic black with Day-Glo yellow stripes on the strap ends. The guys were all in their 20s to 35s and so were the other guys standing around, staring.

The instructor held the straps tightly and, feet firmly planted in one spot on the floor, leaned back as far as he could toward the floor, spine straight. Then he pulled himself back up. That was it.

When I finished my bits, I asked the desk clerk what the hell that was? And he beamed and said it was "core exercise." Now as far as I know, my "core" contains my spine and various innards. The only muscles in this mass would be peristalysis which, if you have a good enough appetite, doesn't require exercise. So I consulted the distinguished Dr. Raffish, elbow-deep in a patient, or so he said; probably more likely elbow deep in a yard of ale. He said that they mean your back and abdomen.

So - hot tip: get yourself a piece of longish rope, take it to the park, attach it to the top of the monkey bars and have at it, baby! Except for the rope this is a totally free workout -- and anyone can manage to "borrow" a neighbor's clothes line rope, I think.

Spur of the Moment
Passing Captain Kidd's just before lunch, we decided to stop and have a shrimp cocktail. I was hungrier than just a shrimp cocktail so I also got sides of potato salad and cole slaw and we shared them. Five prawn-sized shrimp with a wedge of lemon and some cocktail sauce, $6.50 Two sides, at $2.5 each for a tab of $18 and enough sides left over to make it worthwhile bringing them home.

captainkidds.com (Previously reviewed)