The Quest for the Perfect ExerGame

My coast to coast journey across the US started in Baltimore in the east and finished in Santa Monica in the west. I completed the last three miles west, on foot of course, to reach the Pacific. It was a beautiful evening and as the sun was setting in the east, the air was heavy with sweet floral scents.

My goal was Santa Monica pier. It was almost 10 years to the day I had stood on the very same pier on route to a conference in San Diego. As a teenager in the 80’s (might explain a lot), Santa Monica resonates strongly with me for a number of different reasons. As I walked past an arcade, one of Bruce Springsteen’s hits blasted out into the night air and the memories came flooding back.

Yet I was even more struck by the fact that 10 years previously, I would never in my wildest dreams believed things would have worked out the way they have. There in front of me were a couple of DDR’s set up at the entrance to the arcade. Some people stopped to look, others passed by, but for me it was a whole lot more.

I continued on to the end of the pier and took some photos of the setting sun and looked out to sea. I had arrived at my destination and completed the level…

I returned back along the pier as it was beginning to get dark. It appeared as if the setting sun was the signal for the performance to begin. A small crowd began to congregate round the DDR stages as the performers took to the floor. They moved with skill and vigor worthy of any athletic performance. Clearly they were physically exerting themselves, but it was more than just exercise, it was at another level entirely.