Wow! What an awesome weekend!
First off, it was so good to see everyone. Some who I haven't seen in two years, some in 7, and others in 10. Then there are the new friends from this FCW-14/FSM-2. Everyone was absolutely great. Just friendly, funny, generous, and more. A total pleasure.
And then there was the food. We were so well stocked with tasty stuff that I don't think a single pack of hot dogs was opened the whole time. I brought a couple large sandwiches that didn't even get touched until my drive home. Special mention to Karl for the huge amount of pulled pork (I had a nice sammich of it on one of your rolls after you headed out), Scott for the very nice coffee, and Stan... where did you get that bacon?! I must have more... lol. Equally impressive is the collective cooking power, and variety of equipment we brought to the table... get it?... table? Ba dum pssshhhh! We probably had the ability to cook for half the park.
And then there was the weather. This was the wettest, coldest for this time of year, muddiest, gloomiest, non-flashlightiest FCW experience one could hope for. I say that because, for me, it was the weather that turned this into the special, unique, and more intimate time it was. There was a good amount of thought, physical labor, and teamwork as well as individual efforts needed to battle the elements which became worse as time went on (ya'll should've seen Monday morning!). Our efforts were quite the success, and something to be proud of. I'm semi-spent from it, and now that I'm home, am feeling the effects. May the next event be sunny and dry so we get to play more with lights, take pictures, etc., but this time was fantastic, and wouldn't trade it for better weather AT ALL! This weekend will live on in memory for many years to come, especially for the die-hards. OOORAH!!!
More special mention (hope I'm not leaving anyone or anything out):
Bill - Through all our interaction, I kept getting distracted from highly thanking you for two things. First, the tent offer. That was cool enough, but then sticking your own neck out to help me with a potentially bad situation was an order of magnitude higher. The moment was not lost on me, and is VERY appreciated.
Dizzy - The great blue object which I'll call "The Tarp of Life" truly allowed us to withstand what was thrown at us. I'm not sure how much, or if any of this would've been possible without it.
Tim - Glad I got to see ya' for a bit. Thank you so much for putting these events together. I'm now hooked, and will be attending more.
The whole thing was a blast, and I'm so glad to have made it out there. See ya'll next time!
