Go fast.. turn left.. and right.. don’t barf
Tuesday night, we celebrated Heather and Dad’s birthdays (Oct. 24th and 31st, respectively) by having dinner at the Mediterranean Cruise Cafe’ in Eagan and doing some go-karting at Pro-Kart Indoor.
The food was awesome – we all ended up getting the Cruise Feast – Gyro meat, Chicken Shish-ke-bab, hummus, rice, filafel, and salad. The service was top notch, too – the owner came out and served us directly.
It’s surprising leaving the city to eat (yeah, I know.. I don’t live in the city). They still allow smoking out there. Heck, they offer hookahs for smoking in the bar. Wow, do those things smoke up the place. After 6 months of glorious smoke-free dining in Minneapolis, it just seems vulgar. Even being on the other side of the restaurant, we still stank by the time we were done. It was the only knock against what was a great dinner!
After a little detour caused by not bothering to check the map, we ended up at Pro-Kart in Savage, MN. Dad, Uncle Juan, Heather, and I each bought two eight minute sessions. Jacqie and mom decided to sit it out and watch. Dad’s friends Charlie and Hoop joined us for the fun. Of course, with three ringers with race experience in the bunch (Uncle John, Charlie and Hoop) – we had our work cut out for us.
We got our quick instruction and headed out to the track. The European 6.5HP Honda-powered carts barely fit a few of us – it was a mighty snug fit to get in the bucket. I quickly figured that what I’d lose in power-to-weight ratio, I’d make up for in traction in the corners. Since the entire track was corners, I figured this would help.
Race one was a lot more tiring than I thought – it was tight turn after tight turn. I managed to pass everyone but Uncle John. I rode his bumper for about 5 laps and just couldn’t get past him – I’m not crazy enough or something. The biggest challenge of the first race? Keeping the half-pound of gyro meat south of my larynx. My best lap was about 22.400 seconds, which put me in 2nd for fastest lap (John had one that was 22.240).
Heather nearly threw in the towel since she struggled a bit in the first race. After some pointers and some cajoling, she agreed to give it another shot. She turned out to be born again bad.. she spent the entire race mixing it up with John, Dad, Charlie, and Hoop. I ended up going out first and spent 6 of the 8 minutes trying to catch the pack. Once I caught up, I managed to pass Hoop, Heather, and Dad (sorry about the t-boning!) but couldn’t catch Tio Juan again. Grr.
Best time race two? 22.200. It even felt faster! My favorite memory of the night was the big grin on Heather’s face after race two – I’m glad she gave it another shot.
Happy Birthday, Heather and Dad!