After reading the excellent reports published already, there's not much to add really. So here's a few random thoughts, in chronological order...
I really don't like bad turbulence - on a flight. I think I'd rather have bad turbulence of the 'I've eaten too much' kind any day. Fortunately everything went to plan and my trip was otherwise good. Nice to be back in the USA where nobody gives a shit ;-) I learned to drive when I was 15 in California at High School, so I'm not shy of left-hookers. However, piloting a 25 foot camper in the evening rush hour on the Beltway between the 66 and the 270 near DC was akin to having bamboo inserted up the fingernails. Luckily I got that hang of it and was soon cutting up all the mo-fos that had cut me up. The maxim 'give way to larger vehicle' does actually work. I drove to Germantown and met up with Christian. Great to see you again mate. We popped out for dinner to the Dogfish Brewery where loud waiters proclaimed their undying love for our occupancy of their table, repeatedly offered deals and sweeteners, swung by constantly in case there was anything we needed. "Hi. I'm Carl and I'll be guiding you on your journey..." I'm British. I'm used to being ignored in restaurants. We had beer. Well, it was between 9 and 18 percent and was served in brandy glasses, but they said it was beer. I found a 3.5% called Lawnmower Light and struggled not to ask what was in it. At least I could chug it down to combat temps in the 80s F and high humidity. Cesar, Stehen Moore, and long-time ex-lister Tom Van Veen (tv) joined us and so we sat and laughed at Christian's haircut all evening. I had a good time, thanks guys. Christian and his wife Kerry were perfect hosts for my pre-GFM sojourn, and despite my protests gave up their bed for me. This was above and beyond the call, but I relented and slept like a baby: I kept waking up and was sick everywhere. Christian was amused when I poured sugar on my Weetabix the next morning. Dude - California in the 70s, I keep telling ya! Cesar joined us for coffee and we sat on Christian's back porch where birds of every kind flew in for a nibble, Christian's Darkside 500/4 at the ready. That guy has a good eye for the birds. Cesar thoughtfully brought some ballast for the RV: 12 bags of gear. Why strain with indecision when there's all that room, right mate? After saying ta ta to Christian, we hit the morning rush hour traffic on the Beltway again. I don't think my driving had that bad an effect on Cesar. He was very quiet for the first few minutes, until I realised I was supposed to keep *between* the dashed white lines. 9 hours and several stops later we reached GFM about 6.30pm and met up with the occupants of PDML West (Cory's camper). Thanks for all the help setting up things like shore-lines etc (these campers are so big they have to be moored). Non-lister Bruce Metcalf waltzed over from his RV and insisted I borrow some levelling chocks for the rental RV. This theme of helping out set the tone for the whole weekend and people would simply come up to you and give you things. Being a Brit, I would just go up to people and apologise. This was Thusday, and so folk were slowly making their way up to the mountain. Great to see old friends once again (Cory, Annsan, Nico, Graywolf, Tom Reese, Doug, Mark, Bob, Don, Scott, Charles, Bill and Phyllis - the list is endless), and some new ones (Scott, Dave Brooks, Dave Savage, Mat, Mark Cassino, Ken Waller, and more - the names swarm in my mind). Please forgive me if I have left you out, it must have been the Lawnmower Light. Weather was cool and rainy, with dry spots in between. (Perhaps I should go on 'Mastermind' - specialised subject: Stating the Bleeding Obvious). The scenery is simply breath-taking and nobody who goes there can fail to be overwhelmed by the beauty of the place. Think then of my anticipation as I awaited the arrival of a very dear friend who I knew at school back in CA in the 1970s. Brian Kavanagh lives near Cincinnati and upon hearing of my trip, had decided to drive down to meet me. He duly turned up in his bright blue VW bug (too long a trip really for his Triumph 900 monster although it would have only been 6 hours instead of 8...) and we hadn't met in 28 years. It was quite a moment, and we soon discovered that we basically were carrying on where we had left off all those years ago. To be doing this at GFM was simply the icing on the cake. Great to see you guy, and now we'll keep the interim down to years, not decades! Saturday saw us hiking up GFM, huffing and puffing in Mark's dust as he rocketed up the mountain with a respectable crowd in tow. Kudos to Cory for keeping up with the Mountain Goat On Crack. Cory later kissed the car park tarmac on his return. You laugh, but he likes a Frenchy I gather. Rick and Mat made MacRae before Brian, Scotty and me, and that was far enough. It's quite a climb, and the sight of Scotty taking a break between sweaty inclines with a cigarette in his gob was too much! It was a great way of getting to know people. We helped each other out - especially Brian's vertigo which gave me some great shots. Thanks guy ;-) Alas, there actually was a photo competition on, and I figured I might squeeze in the winner after the mountain hike. I went into the undergrowth later with my 5:1 macro lens and ringlight. The bloody thing acts like an air pump (variable extension tube type) and sadly I must have pulled in a ton of shit when I was trying to get a flower bud in the frame - up on the Mac, all I could see was dust! I had little time left, and it would have taken hours to sort it out so I bailed. In fact I just spent several hours spotting pics in PS for the gallery, so it's okay now, but there ya go. The hike was the highlight for me. Others have reported on the auditorium presentations, and just like to echo those that hailed Mark Cassino's show. Great pics, and very informative. Mark, you inspired Brian - he's going to seek out a decent camera/lens to do some close-up work on the wildflowers in his pasture at home. That's a nice touch. Brian and I cut a few of the talks, late Saturday night and Sunday morning, in favour of more civilised activities like wine and cheese in the RV, and bacon and eggs with coffee, respectively. The evening wasn't too late, as Don had made it plain that apparently some people strangely like to sleep. I kinda missed Mark yodelling. Brian had a long trip back, so left about 11am while everyone was picking up travelling tips from a guest speaker. He told me to say ta ta to all those present and convey what a great time he had. I think he was pleasantly surprised what a good bunch you guys were. Yeah, well you *can* be ;-) Sunday's presentations were great fun - you read about the 'Doug and Mark' show and it's justified. Those guys put in a lot of work, and it shows. What a hoot - thanks Mark and Doug. I said my good-byes and at the last, I was chatting to Helen Hopper for a while. She is the GFM official photographer, and boy was I hooked. She's lovely. Which about wraps it up - except to say a special thanks to Don Nelson for making me feel so welcome. I am astonished that he has strength to drive there, do all that, after a year of Hell on chemo. I have to take my hat off to the guy. Don, thank you from the heart of my bottom. And finally to Cesar. My travelling companion for this trip, I think I would have gone nuts without someone to talk to, well - let me re-phrase that: someone to listen to ;-) Cesar can talk for the USA. What a star - thanks mate. You made a good trip great. I owe you big time. Come over again and see us when you can. And so it's back to work and thinking maybe popping back again in a few years. GFM kinda does that to you. My son wants to come along, and that would be fine, as he's 13, and so am I :-) Sorry! Pictures! <http://homepage.mac.com/cottycam/PhotoAlbum6.html> -- Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________ -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
