New and old friends. Learned a few more historical facts.

Hey Ben: Ask (hmm - she doesn't like her name mentioned.
Started with L. Married to an L. Hmm. Ask Rita what someone
observed about you the 1st year).

Well, at least I thought it was amusing.

Let's see, the recap.

Grey's Lodge was great. Of course, I may not be allowed in
next year. Seems I might have said something to the bartender's
girlfriend that was not considered nice.

Hell, after being told about it, I considered it a compliment.

Scoats: Any feedback on that?

We discovered a beer called Perkuno's Hammer.
[link|http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/393/1144/|http://beeradvocate....profile/393/1144/]

More. I need more dammit. Of course, one more run and the
brewery is closing, reopening to be a bar/ restaurant.

I'll be there.

The food was great as well. Did the seared tuna. mmmm.
Wings so-so, but I neglected to order then crisp so it's my
fault. Posillipo was yummy as well.

Since we got there very early - 5:30ish, we had some extra
eating / drinking time as compared to the crowd.

The night ended for me about midnight. We left the bar at
around 2PM. Those 2 hours in between are kinda lost. I gave
Ben a bottle of wine to put in the fridge for the next
day. Well, not really. I fumbled with the zipper of
my bag, couldn't really figure it out, and bman dealt
with it.

It's good not to have to drive. It's good that coffee
is correlated with protecting the liver. It's good that
I have liver enzyme tests on a quarterly basis.

When I rolled out of bed the next day I wasn't hungover.
I think in order to be hungover you have to stop being drunk.

Headed down to Beep's around noonish. Did not do the brewery
tour. Stopped off the pickup a 6 pack of Flying Fish Farmhouse
Summer Ale and some Red Bull.

Wandered in and settled down. Got the swag. Ohhhhh, the swag.
Much thought was spent on the swag. The swag was great. For
those of you who missed out this year, trust me, a plane ticket
is a small price to pay for the swag. I love my swag.

Was a bit queasy. Decided to drink very slowly. Hell, no alcohol
for a while, stick to coffee and Red Bull. Swam for a bit.
Talked, wandered, ate.

3:30, drank a bit.

The LRPDs started flying.

Jim was ill. But he dragged his ass out anyway. And that is
appreciated, at least by me. Their is a ritual connectedness
between us. While you MAY be a 'bot on this site, when I see
you are real (or as close it it is that I can't tell the difference),
it definately adds to my life.

Around 6ish I cracked the wine and had a glass. I hope someone
can tell me what it was, since I have no idea. I picked it up
at a store after tasting a bit. And now I don't know what it
was so I can't buy any more. I only had a little bit. I was
steady stating at 1 drink per hour. Just enough to taste without
noticably affecting.

Friends came and went.

The fireworks show started around 7PM. While I enjoyed it, some
were not impressed. "A festival of mediocrity" was one memorable
quote. I say we just pay the neighbors to point their fireworks
in our direction next year. They were definately better than
ours.

The ribs were really good at this point.

When it got fully dark the Glow in the Dark bracelets came out.
[link|http://www.sureglow.com/sg-store/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/144_145/products_id/592|http://www.sureglow....5/products_id/592]
Oooowwww.
Aaahhhhh.
Throw a bunch of moderately intoxicated people along with a stack
of kids bouncing around a 100 glowing sticks and the party gets
very visually interesting.

And then when the admin breaks his and starts spewing glowing blue
fluid around, and it gets a bit more twisted.

Of course, upon seeing that, Dave has to cut a green one open.
Alien blood. Very pretty.

Ok, most of the crowd is gone, and Bill and Rita can finally
slow down and relax. It's their time. Bill pulls out his Scotch
and kicks back. For some reason, I feel the need for some Pepper
Vodka. This stuff can burn a bit, but I love it.

And now, the magic moment.

I pull out the Screaming Yellow Zonkers.
[link|http://www.lincolnsnacks.com/zonkers/index_on.asp|http://www.lincolnsn...kers/index_on.asp]

Based on this web site, it SEEMS this is a live active product,
but the only place I see it around is Dollar Stores, which is
fine by me since I suspect it would cost a bit more elsewhere.

This is the crack cocaine of snacks. Most people had never
had any, and they were feeling a bit on the munchies side at
this point.

I carefully doled then out, wandering around the table, pouring
double handfuls at a time. As Dave pointed out, the 1st bite
is free, but after that, it'll cost you. We talked of breaking
into the local Dollar store for more. mmmmmmmmmm.

A few shots of pepper vodka, a few handfuls of Zonkers, life
was good.

And now, some more ribs. They get better as they age.

Time to crash.

Blow up air mattress. I neglected to bring a pump, and this
mattress is new. Never blown up before. Very odd valve. Seems
to NEED a pump. Damn, how do I get my lips that far deep into
this area, make a full seal, and blow it up?

I manage. Was not easy. 20 minutes later, and it seems I'm
fully awake. I guess hyperventilating will do that to a person.

Wander back out. Bullshit for a bit. Sip a couple more shots,
now drinking Bill's Single Malt Sctoch. Smoooooth.

Wander back in. Hit the bed. Poof - out like a light at around
4:30.

Up a 9AM.

Coffeeeeeeeee.
Coffeeeeeeeee.
Coffeeeeeeeee.
Coffeeeeeeeee.

Kick back. Rita had been cleaning for hours at this point.
How the hell does she do it? I wanna help. I'm feeling a bit
guilty. But I can't. I'll fall over if I bend too far to pick
something up.

Ah, screw it. Enjoy the morning. Amazing how fast that guilt
evaporates.

A few people show up. They had left the night before, not
intending on coming back, but had left some stuff. The
discussion turned to vomit and diarhea. heheheheheheheheh.

Well, we thought it was funny. I'll let them fill it in
of they choose.

Rita and Pete show up with bagels and donuts. Hell, not like
I'm going back on Atkins quite so fast. mmmmmm.

We hang, morning turns to noon, the burgers go on the grill.

Let's see, I wonder what Bill would charge me for rent if I
tried to stay? Nahhh.

Time to go home.

And start planning for next year.

Thank you Bill and Rita for having us.

Thank you everyone else for being there.

If I had know you guys were going to pay the tab, I wouldn't have have settled out earlier in the evening.

Someone owes me a dinner.
I'll let you know if they let me in.