Much enjoyed your report - pics and text - so I've left it all in this reply as I never delete send messages and I'll be able to read it again later :) bookmarked the pics.
It was great to see ya and meet your old school chum.... I wonder what there is about Ohio - two of my high school buds (one of whom I acted with back in the 50's, too) are both in Cleveland. Go figure. ann Cotty wrote: >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> > > > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
