Weekend Warrior

Two significant things happened to me this weekend: 1) I cycled more than 8 miles. Continuously. 2) I met Dan Marino.

For the former, I had the inane idea that to get to this year's Fort Lauderdale Boast Show, my boyfriend and I should cycle the 8+ miles. The original thought was to avoid the craziness of finding parking and the hike-up parking costs. It sounded like such a great idea. It really did. But about 5 miles in, it really didn't sound that good of an idea. My poor fitness and endurance combined with a near cloudless sky kind of did me in.

The worst part about it all? I didn't factor in that we needed to trek the 8+ miles back home. Arg!

Anyhoos, the Boat Show was beyond extravagant. After bypassing the yachts, I decided the mega-yachts were the way to go. Right.

Check out the newest addition to my holiday wish list:

And yes, that is a waterslide on the yacht. I mentioned to my boyfriend that kids would love that amenity. His response? "Kids?! Shoot, I'd use that slide all the time."

For the second significant event, it involved my childhood football hero, Dan Marino. Growing up near Jacksonville, Fla., I watched the Dolphins every fall Sunday. It was before the Jacksonville Jaguars became an expansion team, and the Dolphins were the closet to us. My father, brothers and I (invariably my mom excused herself Sunday afternoons) were glued to the T.V. watching Marino lead the Dolphins. Not to get all profound or anything, but I'm not sure if I'd be such a big football fan without watching Marino throw to O.J. McDuffie every week or cheering the defensive play of Troy Vincent.

So when I actually got the chance to converse with Marino, well, it was pretty awesome. We were at the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society's Founder's Dinner honoring Wayne Huizenga this past Friday. Marino was one of the event's presenters. But before the program began, cocktail hour (ah, the omnipotent cocktail hour and open bar) was to be held. And, that's where I met Dan the Man.

My boyfriend and I were at the bar waiting to order a drink (we were maybe second or third in line). And then Dan Marino walks up. Er, saunters up. I've heard stories about Dan from friends and friends of friends. Unfortunately my childhood football idol was not seen in a favorable light to them (i.e., bullying his way through traffic lanes on U.S. 1, etc.). Still, I'd like to make up my own mind about people, and tonight I was getting the chance to finally do so.

After about 20 seconds of awkwardness knowing that Dan the Man was literally 1 inch away from us, my boyfriend broke the proverbial ice by saying, "Hi, I'm Josh," and extending his hand for a shake. Surprisingly, Dan the Man shook hands with us and was a complete gentleman. We conversed. Small talk, sure, but we conversed. I even asked #13 to QB my flag football team. And, he didn't say no! "I can throw, but don't count on my to do much running," he said. Awesome. Really awesome.