Did anyone else go? I had all the food I could handle by 12:45. Most of it was good. Some of it was excellent. 3 Guys Smokin' brisket and chicken was excellent. I got one of their saltier ribs and, being on a low salt diet, it was a bit too salty for me but otherwise it tasted good.
Get there by 11am by the latest. Taster kits go on sale at 11:30 and sell out fast. There will be about 50 teams offering BBQ to the public this year. There are more than 100 teams competing.
The taster kit gets you an all you can eat lunch for $10. Beverages are available via tickets used to minimize the number of people having to handle money. (Probably also makes sure the sponsors get their cut.) BTC (formerly known as Bixby Telephone) had free bottled water and a small heater in their tent to warm you hands.
This (from Gaspar) didn't work out quite so well:
I have also ordered some fantastic weather from Travis.
But, at least it wasn't snowing or pouring rain.
And, since I haven't pestered Townsend for a while:
Mom dropped me off at the south side of the Banana Bridge on her way to the MET Recycling in Bixby. There was not a good place to just stop and let me off at the BBQ event. I hadn't walked across the Banana Bridge before. It's difficult to believe it used to be the main drag into Bixby. I remember driving across it. The need to burn off a few calories prompted a decision to walk home (2.9 mi). Our sidewalk lovers will be happy to know (if they don't already) there is trail/sidewalk all the way from 141st at the south end of the Banana Bridge to 131st on the west side. I had to hit the turf between 131st and 121st. There is a pedestrian lane, separated by a concrete wall from road traffic, on the west side of the bridge across Fry Ditch. A few spots had uncut grass so my feet got wet from the grass through the mesh top of my running shoes. Most of the way the grass was cut and the terrain was smooth. Next to the road the slope was a bit awkward so I dropped in elevation a bit to a more even slope. The ground was smooth and not soggy. North of 121st there is sidewalk for a while. It doesn't actually come to the crosswalk across 121st, which I will agree is stupid. After the sidewalk ended the turf was again easily walked. I crossed over to the east side of Memorial by the Citizens Security Bank as the quickest way into my neighborhood (and there was a break in both north and southbound traffic). From the BBQ to home was about 48 minutes or approx 16:30 per mile. It was only about 1/2 mile more than my usual lunch break walk so it was a piece of cake.
