Nice pics and report. Thanks for sharing them. Paul -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: Cotty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 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 > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
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