RE: April Rally

[Ca-girl]

 g-whiz
Wow...it looks like another fantastic time was had by all....I m so sad we weren t able to make that one [] We did have a good time at the UC Davis " Picnic Day"  though, despite the horrendous downpour! []
 
 Thanks for posting the pics G.  It lets those of us who weren t with you live the fun vicariously.  I m going to have to see those botanical gardens one day...they look spectacular!
 
 BTW, for future reference, I don t have a problem with you, or anyone else in the group, posting pics with my kids in them.

[Red neff Barchetta]

 g-whiz
Well done all!
 Looks like another successful party was had!
 Terrific pictures and the all too familiar stories of fun and friendship.
 I am jealous and salivating at the mention and sights of the food and drink.
 See everyone in June!
 Lori - Your DS looks about the same age as our youngest.  They sure would have fun together in June.  Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.  Also, I see your husband enjoys embarrassing you like I do Amy, ha.

[griffsmom]

 Red neff Barchetta

 

ORIGINAL:  Red neff Barchetta
 Also, I see your husband enjoys embarrassing you like I do Amy, ha.
 

 Just the visual picture I get of the two of you together is reason enough why we shouldn t be going to Gold Rush![]

[champ521]

 g-whiz
Why is this page so w-i-d-e? Maybe it s just me. Glad to hear everyone had such a great time in spite of the bad weather. The DO cooking sounds truly inspiring cause I ve had one for about 2 years and have only made one roast in it. I m so jealous of Surfcal for being able to just drift around like that. Must be nice.

[Cottonwooder]

 g-whiz
Hi all, we got home around 2pm, but after washing/unpacking, I still had to go to work and then get to 5:15pm mass (normally skip it on camping weekends, but today is Palm Sunday), then caught up on news, so couldn t get to the board right away.
 
 I like long, descriptive rally summaries, so hope you don t mind this lengthy one.  If not, here s your warning to skip ahead!
 
 Otter s post on the HaHa thread sums it up perfectly:  " I feel like the mail-lady: niether rain, nor miles, nor hours, nor kids, not dogs, nor ticks will deter us from having fun.  Thanks! It was fun!!!"
 
 The !#^&!*@%^!! Rain [: (]
 The @#$%!^&*!@!!! rain started around 6pm on Saturday, right when everyone was cooking and setting up for the big pot luck.  Wagonmaster TOS was walking around in his red poncho looking looking like The Jolly Red Giant, and I asked him " What kind of fools camp in the rain???"  and he said " We do!"   Had I known it was going to rain, I wouldn t have wasted our final two dry hours by taking a nap.  Missed out on socializing during my snooze time, during/after the Pot Luck, and on Sunday morning, thanks to The !#^&!*@%^!! Rain.
 
 Backwards Sites [&:]
 A few of the sites had the hookups on the wrong side.  If you didn t spin around to face the other way, you d step out your door into the sewer hook-up.  Somehow, it fits NNC insanity!  [8D]
 
 Names [&:]
 This rally has made liars out of all of you.  What s this about every other guy being named either Scott or Larry?  " TOS"  now stands for " The Only Scott" .  He was the only Scott there (yet his name is Gregory or something).  There are others?  And not a Larry in sight, either, unless I m mistaken.  Now, as for the name " Mike,"  sheesh, there were three that I knew of, and probably others that I didn t!  It was funny, because I was chatting with Huntersmom, who said " I m Mike s wife,"  and just then my hubby (Mike) reached across for more dinner in front of us, and I said " So am I!"   Yet Mike is really Nick, or vice versa, which leads me to...
 
 The Nikoley brothers []
 They all kinda look alike, and one of the wives with her son/nephew were trying to sort them out for me during dinner.  Made more complicated by the fact that Nick is really Mike, or vice versa, which leads me to...
 
 I mentioned to Nick (Mike) how funny it was that everyone was so nice to each other face to face, yet we tear each other up on the boards.  He said it wouldn t be NNC if it were any other way!  True, true.
 
 BTW, he s got the cutest baby! []  And his wife made one of the best-est cakes I ve ever tasted.  Nick, please e-mail over the recipe when you can.  She mentioned whipped cream with vanilla pudding, and yellow cake mix with mandarin oranges, but I forget the details.  (PLEASE include measurements.  Don t pull another vague " here s the recipe"  on me, LOL!)
 
 The !#^&!*@%^!! Rain [: (]
 On Saturday night the heavier drops falling from overhanging trees sounded like popcorn blasting off our roof.  Now we know what it feels like to be a Jiffy Pop.
 
 Food []
 OMG, I ve never seen so much food... and that was just Saturday breakfast!  Big round of applause to Naomi and everyone else who cooked that feast!  (Psst, next time you see Lori/Griffsmom, please be sure to let her know that her bundt cake needed a bit more baking powder.  [])  Dinner was fantastic.  But what meatballs... I never saw any.  Were they gone before I reached the table???  I like meatballs... waaaahhhhh....
 
 Like Wet Rats []
 That s how we were huddled under the awning and canopy during dinner.  Some of us thought they were lucky to be seated under the canopy... until water fell off it and splashed onto them.  Poor Paula/Young Moosette was baptized mid-meal.
 
 The !#^&!*@%^!! Rain [: (]
 Good food, our appetites, and comaraderie prevailed over The !#^&!*@%^!! Rain.  []
 
 Dogs  n  Kids []
 I think the dogs  n  kids outnumbered the ticks.  Off the top of my head, only 3 out of 13 campsites had neither.  Many had both!
 
 Elephant Seals []
 BEAUTIFUL, long drive out to who-knows-where.  Our 2yo was looking forward to seeing the " elephants" , LOL!  Wouldn t you know it, but typical us, we drove for what seemed like endless (30?) miles, not sure of where we were going to.  Finally turned off into one of the many scenic spots, had fun on the rocks, etc.  Drove back about 8 miles, found a ranger to ask where the elephant seals were, and discovered that they were at literally the NEXT scenic spot down the road from where we were!  Drove back 9 miles (duh!), and had a blast watching the funny, long, fat, round, bendy critters who used each other as pillows and constantly bickered amongst themselves.  They were a little pungent too. [&:]
 
 Making Merry [] (Despite The !#^&!*@%^!! Rain) [: (]
 We managed to squeeze in a little socializing between the raindrops.  
 Friday Night: While SurfCal hosted his gathering at his site, some of us (Lon and Dianne, Moose, Lori/Griffsmom, the GSMs, all three Mikes, our 9yo and I... hope I didn t leave anyone out) were over at the Otters  enjoying cinnamon cake (?) with whipped cream, and some sort of delicious chocolate sticks.  
 Saturday night: After dinner the GSMs graciously opened their door to six of us bedraggled Coughers (the Otters, the Stimpys, and us C wooders), and we listened to Abba while talking  n  laughing till they kicked us out.  It was like our Wednesday chat!
 
 Sunday Morning Wake-Up Call [&:]
 If you weren t awake by 9am, yours truly made sure you were.  Rather, our new truck did.  (TOS, could you tell that was the first time I tried to unlock the da** thing?)  Tried to start loading bags into it, but ended up switching the alarm ON instead of OFF before opening the door.  Poor ChezWay and Stimpy got the worst of the blasts, which put Baghdad s air raid sirens to shame.  TruckWay kept it company, chiming in with its own 2 cents.
 
 SurfCal []
 Portuguese and Guamanese/Guamanian (what is it???), yet he could pass for being my brother.  (Sorry Surf, but I already have three of those.)  Dontcha love what gene pool comes up with?
 
 Otter []
 Just like the wicked witch tempting Hansel and Gretel with her candy house, Otter was luring unsuspecting girls to her oven with irrisistible beach pebbles that change color in water.  She is now e-grandma to our daughters, a handy person to have when one grandmother is on the East Coast and the other is in the Far East.  Lon, bummer that Rebec never got to go bird watching with you.  The !#^&!*@%^!! Rain beat us to it.
 
 Duanefamily []
 Naomi, where did you find Jasper?  (How " far"  was the distance?  Lon came across a woman who was lying about Jasper s whereabouts?? [])  We had literally just gotten back from elephant seals when you were looking for him.  Thank you for hosting the meals around your site, and all the cooking you did.  Sorry that Rebec never got to play with Myla or anyone else.  Just when she was warming up to the other kids, The !#^&!*@%^!! Rain let loose.  BTW, how did your new mat do with hosing down and being folded away?  We need to get a big mat like that.
 
 The !#^&!*@%^!! Rain [: (]
 No huggy goodbyes on Sunday morning, no last-minute photos, no nuthin  but quick getaways.  It rained, from varying degrees between light and heavy, the entire morning when everyone was packing up  n  popping down.  (And pretty much our entire trip back home.)
 
 The !#^&!*@%^!! Rain [: (]
 Did I mention that it rained?  [:@][: (] [:@][: (]
 
 Conclusion
 I don t like the rain when we re out camping.  (Mike didn t mind at all.)  I HATE everything getting wet like that.  But the rally was so much fun, the food was so incredible, and everyone was so nice to chat with, that we d do it again in a jiffy(pop).  [][][][][][]

[Cottonwooder]

 Cottonwooder
Holy guacamole, that took an hour to write!  Let me at least get a Flip out of it.  []

[Cottonwooder]

 gsm x2

For you who were there, and especially for those who were not, here s the crazy group that made " The Great SLO Escape"  this weekend.

 Great picture!  Trophy goes to Dave/Griffsdad!  Now, what punishment would be suitable for those who did NOT make a goofy face?
 
 BTW, we don t mind Rebec  n  Karen s pictures in any of these, be it the Web or your scrapbook.  In fact, I ve already sent G s and Surf s links to my family in HK, since it will be time since I develop the rolls of film and scan them... y know, the " old fashioned"  way, LOL!
 
 Forgot to mention G s scrapbook in my Rally Review.  If you haven t seen it, make a point to at your next rally.  It s a priceless overview of NNC s shenanigans that will only grow more precious with time! [8D]

[Civil_War_Buff]

 g-whiz

 

ORIGINAL:  g-whiz
 
 Some of the pictures taken over the weekend are now up on my Webshots page.  I did not post any pix with children unless it was with a group where they were not identified or I already knew it was okay to post them.  Please let me know if you feel any should be deleted.  Also, I have some family shots that include children and will post them if you send me an e-mail saying it is okay.  Maybe I should add this onto the information sheet so I don t have to keep asking!  [8D]
 
 http://community.webshots.com/album/69544437AmyICW
 

 
 Great pix g!! It looked like everyone had a great time at SLO....in spite of the weather.  The last 2 have been 2 for 2 for rain!  But, as many have stated, you can get NNCers wet, but you can t dampen their spirits!
 
 Cheers.

[griffsmom]

 Cottonwooder
Our pictures are up now as well!
 
 http://community.webshots.com/album/69554671oHILzL
 
 Ditto as G-Whiz said; if your child is in one of the pictures and you d prefer that it not be up on the Internet, just let me know, and I ll take it down.[]
 
 

[Hybrid Holly]

 Cottonwooder

It must have stormed here sometime because we arrived to a fallen gate.
 

 Hope you all had fun...and Otter, yes it did rain in Santa Cruz.  We were camping there with our other camping group.  Great weather on Friday and cleared up for a great Saturday evening.  One of the other groups camping there had a wedding on the beach.  Fortunately for the biggest downpoor we were enroute (via car) to the brew pub!
 
 
 
 
 

[SactoCampers]

 Cottonwooder
A few pictures of the rally plus everyone s summaries are on the NNC website:
 
 http://nick-neff-cough.org/nnc/id63.html
 
 I have also posted links to G-Whiz s and Griffsmom s pictures in the private " Photo Album"  area of the website. Private Mail me or Nick for the ID and password. For future reference, links to all the photos from previous rallies are in that area too. That way you don t have to go digging through pages of chatting to find where people have posted their pictures.
 
 
 

[griffsmom]

 Cottonwooder
Hey Surf,  
 
 I forgot to mention, there are a couple of pix of your rig on my webshots page, so everyone can see your free-spiritedness this weekend.[]
 
 btw, it s pouring down rain here this morning!  Glad we were able to pop up and dry out yesterday when we got home!!![]

[6Quigs]

 Cottonwooder
Great write ups and photos of the rally.
 just wish we could have been there,
 but, alas, we were camping in Seacliff,
 and we got a bit of rain too.
 Actually, friday was lovely, but we woke up Saturday to rain.
 It rained pretty much all day saturday, but cleared up in the evening.
 Saturday night, nothing but heavy rain and strong wind,
 and we were camping right on the beach!
 but we stayed dry, and the awning never moved.
 Those 10 lb weights did the trick, and having the awning tilted, worked.
 Sunday was a beautiful day, a few clouds, but plenty of sunshine,
 and looks like the same for today.
 Margaret & the kids are still camping, and I have to work today & tomorrow,
 before joining them for the rest of the week.
 
 Dianne,
 we are in site 17,
 though I believe Surfcal had no problem finding us on Saturday???

[duanefamily]

 Cottonwooder

Duanefamily
 Naomi, where did you find Jasper? (How " far"  was the distance? Lon came across a woman who was lying about Jasper s whereabouts?? ) We had literally just gotten back from elephant seals when you were looking for him. Thank you for hosting the meals around your site, and all the cooking you did. Sorry that Rebec never got to play with Myla or anyone else. Just when she was warming up to the other kids, The !#^&!*@%^!! Rain let loose. BTW, how did your new mat do with hosing down and being folded away? We need to get a big mat like that.

 When I looked for him, he wasn t within site from the foot of the bridge... I think he must have gone to the botanical garden and then came back to the playground just as I was getting in the car to drive to the botanical garden.  Boy did those few moments ever turn my stomach!  There was a woman who must have walked passed Jasper by virtue of where she was on the path and the timing... she claimed she didn t see him and Lon said it was hard to tell if she was completely on the up and up as her behavior was strange.  Lon found Jasper at the playground.  
 
 I m sorry Rebec didn t get to play much either... hopefully that will change as she warms up to people and it stops RAINING!
 
 Our mat was ggggggggreat!  We packed it in a sodden muddy heap... but when we got home it hosed off more easily than we expected and was dry in about 15  to 20 minutes.  A very good investment.
 
 Lastly, I m Mike s wife too![]
 
 duanefamily mamma

[SimiRich]

 Cottonwooder
Hi All!!
 
 Just wanted to add our 2 cents. This was our first time out with part Northern & part Southern Cal. groups and you re all AWESOME!!![]
 
 We were greeted warmly & kindly by everyone and it was greatly appreciated. Everybody is so well seasoned & has such great ideas about camping that we learned a lot - Thanks!! We are looking for ways to participate more in the upcoming May Temecula Rally.
 
 Since this was our second time out with our (new to us) Pop-Up, we learned how to close up camp in the rain. It was an experience that I think Nick (my son) will never forget. He had a blast getting soaked. This was also our first experience on how to CLEAN up a muddy/wet Pop-Up. Oh joy to be home & dry[]
 
 The food was fantastic![] Thank you to everyone. What a great variety and to top it off with Hot Peach Cobbler & Upside Down Pineapple Cake - Moose you re fantastic!!
 
 GSMx2 - sorry about the letdown with the ice cream[&:] I ll make it up to you. I really didn t want to ruin the flavor of Moose s cobbler[][8D] BTW - thanks for timely suds on Fri. night. What great timing!!
 
 Paula & Lori - thanks for the inside the popup hints you gave to Tamara. She already went out today & bought storage bins and she wants us to figure out how to put up some shelves in our tent. More honey-do s!
 
 Our pup Max had a great time with Cody & Sadie. He was one pooped pup. He got a great ear likin  from Vader. I think his ears were wet all day Sat.
 
 Surfcal - great talking to you. I love the gadgets. We ll tinker more with them when we get together again. Thanks for the bag. Tamara was using it right after you gave it to me.
 
 We hope to get to Temecula a little earlier & leave a little later to get to know everyone a little bit better. Nick & Luke are already looking forward to playing with Gregory.
 Thanks all for a great time & the great pictures. You re all awesome!!![]