RE: Delta Rally - Snug Harbor - March 21 - 23

[6Quigs]

 6Quigs
Trailer is packed and the bikes and kayaks on the roofs.
 Only the cooler to pack.
 We should be leaving around 3.00pm, so at least arrive before dark,
 Hope we haven t forgotten anything important, like a light saber[]
 
 See everyone tomorrow

[duanefamily]

 6Quigs
Well folks... you re making me feel mighty unprepared... we haven t done a thing concerning packing... or getting ready!  I spent today doing my daughters hair and driving to SF to see my doc.  Of course I ended up stuck in an intersection with a couple hundred bicycles around my car.  Someone yelled to me " driving cars causes war!"   I ll spare you the images of what went through my head.  I do know that our minivan is out of gas and needs air in the tires and we re not sure how we re going to fit my 4 inch mattress anywhere.  A new challenge is our new dog Cody.  Cody really needs to be taken to a dog park in the morning so he can be tuckered out while he s making the trip in his crate.  We recently discovered he s not really housebroken after all. [] Most likely I was just really good at figuring out when he needed to go.  I have visions of getting there by 12:00pm... but most likely I m delusional and we ll roll in around 2:00pm or 3:00pm or even later...
 
 duanefamily mamma
 
 
 

[Hybrid Holly]

 6Quigs

Well folks... you re making me feel mighty unprepared... we haven t done a thing concerning packing... or getting ready! I spent today doing my daughters hair and driving to SF to see my doc. Of course I ended up stuck in an intersection with a couple hundred bicycles around my car. Someone yelled to me " driving cars causes war!"  I ll spare you the images of what went through my head. I do know that our minivan is out of gas and needs air in the tires and we re not sure how we re going to fit my 4 inch mattress anywhere. A new challenge is our new dog Cody. Cody really needs to be taken to a dog park in the morning so he can be tuckered out while he s making the trip in his crate. We recently discovered he s not really housebroken after all.  Most likely I was just really good at figuring out when he needed to go. I have visions of getting there by 12:00pm... but most likely I m delusional and we ll roll in around 2:00pm or 3:00pm or even later...
 
 duanefamily mamma
 
 

 Sorry about your SF incident.  Snug Harbor should be a little more calm!
 
 
 Kings game was AWESOME! Definately worth driving home from Snug Harbor to go!

[Cottonwooder]

 6Quigs
Hellooooo-oooooo-ooooooo-ooooooo-oooooooooo???
 
 :::::empty room merely echos back:::::  []
 

[Red neff Barchetta]

 6Quigs
THREE CHEERS FOR HOLLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
 Well, another excellent adventure was had by the NNC ers!  Unfortunately, I am diving right into work while the last load of laundry starts washing.  Getting home and un-packing is such a breeze now.  I think we have passed into " PU veteran"  status.  Got it down to just having to unload bikes, food, & clothes with everything else staying put in the PU which is really nice.
 Took the ferry across the Delta to get to and from Snug Harbor.  Very cool in itself!  Today, we over-took the ferry as CWB, Otter, & us all fit as well as another car.  The kids thought that was terrific!  I made a friendly wager with the ferry attendant that CWB wouldn t fit on behind Otter (we were behind the single car) as the ferry is officially a 6-vehicle ferry.  Well, this roused Tinkerbell (Fairy-lady, get it?) and she took me up on the bet (At CWB s possible expense, lol) and waved CWB on.  Needless to say, she made sure he fit.  She was a sun-soaked large burly babe and practically broke my hand as she shook it in triumph, lol.
 It was a great w/e and all of the newbies were a great addition!  I can honestly say that everyone is a pleasure to stop and chat with.  Camping people are the friendliest folks I know.  Being a single parent for the w/e kept me busy, so I didn t get to rabble rouse as much as usual (heck, I arrived with 6 Ales and came home with 3), but jumped in whenever possible.  The Ha-Ha sisterhood had their share of " Harvey-Wall-Banger s"  and I bumped into them doing a late night tour of the cg.  Ray pulled a " SurfCough"  as usual and took someone else s site upon arrival.  Although it wasn t SammySlave s site (he was prepared this time and arrived before Ray) so we didn t get to see Larry mutter around wondering what to do about that Ray character, lol.  Otter arrived pretty late Friday night and about 8 of us did an old fashioned barn raising and got her popped up in record time.  That was fun!  Tons of kids, which really makes the rallies such a joy.  ALL of the kids are terrific and very friendly.  They all seem to mimick the adults in this group and hang out with everyone.
 My parents visited and were so impressed with CWB s TrailManor that we ended up at the TrailManor dealer in Rio Vista (CWB s dealer btw) and they might be joining us soon, ha.  I ve got to throw in here that my boys truly enjoyed talking with and rousing CWB.  You are pretty high on their list Larry.
 Much more happened and as people arrive home I m sure they will jump in here.  What a great group!
 The solar cover mod. and drill worked perfectly!  Also, we had rain last night and the solar covers doubled as tarps and I had dry canvas this morning!  The only thing I threw away was my grass carpeting because it was soaked and muddy.  I ll be buying a mat from the PUT store as soon as Dave gets them, btw.
 I m bummed we are so busy until the June rally, but I guess that s life.  I am looking forward to seeing new and old friends alike.
 I guess I should mention a classic NNC group rabble rouse move.  I was the only one who had given CalState 360 a Yosemite deposit, but that didn t carry enough weight apparently because the rest of the group wrestled him to change the dates, lol.  Now we can t go, ha!  Not to worry, this isn t a rant, I really do think it s pretty funny and am making Yosemite reservations on my own today.  I just thought I d share a NNC group rousing.  Classic for this group.
 See everyone in June!

[SCCS]

 6Quigs
Hi all,
 
  Been back home for a couple of hours now.Once we hit stockton we hit rain all the way home.The trailer is unloaded and put away and like NEFF said the laundry is going.We had a GREAT WEEKEND[].So very nice to finally meet everyone in person.Holly thanks for your efforts on putting this rally together.This is a great group and we are proud to be part of it.Now I can officially say we are COUGHERS.

[Hybrid Holly]

 6Quigs
Hi everyone.
 Hope you all made it home safely.  
 Thanks everybody for making the weekend memorable.  The party tent certainly took the Saturday night potluck to a new level!  
 Great to have some new folks attend.  They fit right in!  Dave, I m sure you have heard this before, but you look so like Bill Clinton...now do you want to buy a Jayco?  
 Thanks to Madlyn and Ralph for bringing all the margarita mixins and to Tania for drinking them with me.  
 Also great to see the NCCers pitch in and help the family in the Trailcruiser!  We are truly are a great group.  
 Cookie and Bill wanted to amke sure we keep them in mind for future rallies!
 Sacto, it only took about 50 minutes from Davis, so keep it in mind for your local trips!
 

 6Quigs
Hi there!!
 
 We made it home, I snuck in my afternoon nap, and the laundry is laundering...What a great weekend!! I don t think I was able to fully appreciate the nuttiness of this group at Olema, but it really showed itself during the Wallbanging and table dancing! I m thinking that before the next outing I ll buy stock in Galliano []
 
 Hey Dave....has anyone ever told you that you look JUST like Bill Clinton?? [8D][]
 
 And Ray.....my cheeks are still sore from all the giggling....you crack me up [][8D]
 
 Thanks Holly for all the hard work organizing this crazy group, and thank you to EVERYONE for making us feel like we re a part of it!
 
 Tania (a.k.a. ca_girl_001)
 

[6Quigs]

 6Quigs
I ll post that we got home safe here also.
 
 Ray, I m sure you are working on an awesome summary of the weekend.
 To help you, here are the topics I would like to see covered in your brief summary
 
 Getting lost
 Snuggle Inn #12
 Neff?s 18 Volt Drill
 Fishing off the Dock
 Kayaks that actually went in the water
 The Big White Party tent
 Dancing on the tables
 Baileys in our Coffee
 Photos on the Laptop
 Whiz?s Scrapbook
 Homemade Kahlua
 Kahlua Truffles
 Breakfast @ Larry?s
 Harvey Wallbangers
 Hidden arcade room
 The floating plane
 Riding our Bikes
 The look on Otter?s daughter as 8 men appear from the dark and set up her popup
 Larry & Rita?s Family
 GO KINGS
 Harvey Wallbangers
 Surfcal?s stir fry
 Irish stew
 ABBA
 Neil Diamond
 Harvey Wallbangers
 Irish music
 Steak for breakfast
 The ferry ride
 Doing a u-turn with the popup on a one lane road
 Hook ups on the wrong side
 $20 toilet key
 Harvey Wallbangers
 ?Gated Community?
 5 MPH boat speed limit
 The fog horn everytime someone broke it.
 Throwing cups of rocks in the water one at a time
 Shaking yourself dry like Sophie, when you forgot your towel!
 The hammock
 Domino s
 Abelskivers for breakfast.
 The playground
 Ray?s folding bike
 No running water
 Sleeping through the rain
 Stomp rocket
 Harvey Wallbangers
 Bob the builder truck
 []
 Ralph s Tri-Tip
 Madlyn s Margeritas
 
 Kevin & Margaret
 
 

[Red neff Barchetta]

 6Quigs
Thought I would mention that the second-timer s, such as Duane Family, CA Girl, & Ralph (& families) all were so comfortable that they fit right in where we all left off last month at Olema.  The newbies, such as Champ 521 & SCCS (& families) fit in so smoothly that it was as if they all had done this before!  I am really looking forward to hanging out and having more than a passing 2 words with everybody when my parenting partner is there.
 Kevin & Margaret are such parenting inspirations.  They have a 2-1 kid to parent ratio (like I had this w/e) and they manage to actually SIT and visit with everyone!  You guys are amazing with some terrific kids and extended family.

[gsm x2]

 Surfcal
Hello from Ventura.  We have made it home.  Scraped a bit getting onto the ferry, but it was well worth it.  I can t believe how easy it was to go back that direction.
 
 Busy working with about 200 pictures that CWB and I took.  I ll get the group photo posted by tonight.  G-Whiz will handle posting others to Webshots another day....not putting her into a box that others will hold her to.
 
 So, we are safe and sound.  Each rally is different...each is better in its own way.
 
 gsm x2 and G-Whiz

[gsm x2]

 gsm x2
Group picture is up.
 
 http://www.avenuecable.com/~gsmx2/snugharborgroup.jpg
 
 And G-Whiz is over picking through photos to stick on Webshots.
 
 Getting close to bedtime.  Niters all.
 
 Oh--the best thing about today was the longer we took to pack up, the drier things got.  Turned out that we were eventually able to put the PU away dry.  Meant we didn t leave until 1:00 p.m., but the two hours we hung around to let it dry made up for the hassle it would have taken to pop back up, let dry and popped back down.  I have to thank the weather gods for helping us on out that one.
 
 gsm x2

[Surfcal]

 gsm x2
Hello and we re happy to report that NNC held another successful rally.
 
 First of all, what a blast!  In life, you can measure a lot of things, what things weight, how far one can jump and even clock the " movement"  of matter in nanoseconds.  But it s those intangible things like " fun"  that certainly defy any quantifying scale.
 
 Like what is the measure you use when the weather turns out better than predicted?  Well, we had beautiful weather.  And just how do you keep tabs of smiles and laughter throughout the whole weekend.  And the food, just how much one can stuff in the belly before the body cries for mercy.
 
 Well, all told, this was another vintage NNC rally, complete with someone taking the wrong site, to people taking the wrong routes and getting lost, but most of all finding old friends and making new ones.
 
 Clearly, the NNC rallies have become a regular activity, but each and every rally breeds a personality of its own.  To get to Snug Harbor, it is a pretty trying experience (especially in the dark), but once you turn off a lonely levee road, you come upon a community that is reminiscent of the town in the movie Deliverence.  It is a pretty backwoods and backwater kind of a place.  But, you get over that quite quickly.  That place actually grows on you once you re there.
 
 But as delightful as ever are the familiar faces and the warm smiles that greet you upon arrival.  And it doesn t matter whether it s been since the last rally you ve seen them or a couple of rallies back, what s evident is the kind of warmth and friendship that eveyone exudes, like putting on a old comfortable pair of sneakers.  It s a feeling never goes out of style nor ever loses its richness.
 
 From Larry s gourmet like cooking, to CWB s stories of reenactment (where people are apparently shot one day, but they come back to fight again the next day, go figure), to Neff s enthusiasm for the pop-up, one can never really exhaust all the tall tales and the yards upon yards of yarns spun.  It is like camping out on steriods.
 
 There are stories that will be told in future rallies, like the night when Georgeanne and Rita ended up dancing on the tables in their drunken stupor.  Or the time that Pete passed out, a rabid Lakers fan, we took pictures of him with a maksshift sign that said GO KINGS, a little prank for which he was none too pleased when he woke up in the midst of camera flashes.  Or when we filled the big tent with enough smoke to gas the Nick-Neff-Coughers away because the pit was in the wrong place.   To Madlyn s signature Margaritas that proceeded to intoxicate everyone.
 
 And the time when Ralph assigned CWB to take care of his tri-tip while it was cooking on the grill while he stepped away for an errand, but by the time he came back, Larry, Pete and I had all but consumed every bit of it.  And that p*ssed Chef Larry off again because he didn t get any.
 
 And Kevin and Margaret proudly presenting their Irish stew for dinner, only to find out that the potatoes weren t quite done.  And they started cooking that stuff since ten tar-tee in the mar-neeng in a crockpot.
 
 I guess you have to be there to really get what I m talking about.  But for those that didn t make it, it s just a glimpse of the shenanigans and sentiments of another unforgettable weekend.  It is an unparalled experience, a bunch of folks whose bonds were first initiated by the rolling rigs they have in common, but what transpired was something more that what canvas walls could contain.  It is a spirit of childlike innocence, the pursuit for wholesome fun and some pretty prime rabble rousing.  Axe Me About My Weekend was a terrific rally.
 
 And so, just how do you measure fun?  You just can t and it s something you ll just have to do in person.  And for those who were there and our friends who couldn t make it, here s some photos that capture the memories.
 
 http://community.webshots.com/album/67386972dySnLC

[Hybrid Holly]

 gsm x2

Kevin & Margaret are such parenting inspirations. They have a 2-1 kid to parent ratio (like I had this w/e) and they manage to actually SIT and visit with everyone! You guys are amazing with some terrific kids and extended family.
 
 

 I am costantly amazed at how great ALL of the kids in this group are.  From 5 and 6 year olds who say please and thank you, to teenagers who enjoy talking to us old folks!  What great parents and grandparents you all are.
 
 Ray, the pictures are great!
 

[g-whiz]

 gsm x2
Here are the TOS photos from Snug Harbor.  No pictures of children are posted, but will be used in the scrapbook.  If you make it to the SLO Escape Rally you ll get a sense of what the weekend was really like.  
 
 http://community.webshots.com/album/67396638nvdjrI
 
 As for me, I had a fabulous time starting with our pre-rally night spent with Larry and Rita.  What a way to unwind.  Friday morning could not have been more beautiful and peaceful.  Coffee on the dock where we warmed ourselves in the morning sunshine " like lizards on a rock"  as someone described the scene.  The never-ending food offerings kept up the Nick-Neff-Cough tradition that there should always be WAY too much.  Thanks to Larry (Sammyslave), we totally danced off all that we ate at the potluck on Saturday night.  And the Harvey Wallbangers quenched my thirst quite nicely.  [8D] Thanks Kevin & Margaret!  Even the rain couldn t dampen the spirit of this rally.  Can t wait for SLO!
 
 Thank you Holly for your wagonmastering skills.  Even under pressure you kept a cool head!
 
 Ray, your photos are excellent!  
 
 Little did I know that the Harvey Wallbangers that I was introduced to by Kevin 6Q were really a way of pumping me for information on our fellow Snickers.  Not to worry, Cottonwooder, I took precautions and taped our conversations.  Nary a negative comment was uttered!  It was ALL good. []
 
 The only downside, as you already read, was that Rocky went for a swim and never returned.  I m making some inquarries about his disappearance and hope that I get some concrete answers soon.  I m a bit heavy-hearted this morning. []