I stayed at the same motel as last year...I am shy to stay at the house with everyone else for a couple of silly reasons. I spent half of Friday and most of Saturday doing my prep work for GP and taking a great beachwalk. I had missed an email from Myron, saying that he'd be down Saturday morning & asking if I'd be there. Myron, I'm so sorry...I left before the email arrived. I would've loved that chance to surf with you & maybe even get in a game of darts!

At 6PM, after a good tour of almost all the houses in Avon, I was so glad to see the welcoming Jack Daniels alt.surf banner which I had first seen flying in the classic picture from GP2000. I had forgotten to get the address from Rod's website & missed the place earlier, when all were out surfing & the banner was not yet up. Kudos To All Of Them! 
Those folks didn't waste any time, most of them headed straight for the surf when they arrived.

The first folks I saw as I walked thru the door were KC, Lana, Myron and Rod. When I saw their big ol' bright smiles, all the good times and warmth of last year's GP came back to me as if I'd just seen them yesterday. We just picked up right where we'd last left off.  KC said something like, "I'm KC, do you remember me from last year?". I said "Of Course I Do!!!". I could never forget KC and Lana, they are such great people. I apologized for not even emailing them once in the whole year just to thank them directly for all they do to bring a feeling of hospitality to this Outer Banks Palooza. KC graciously said that it was ok & that they hadn't emailed me either. He has a great sense of humor and I reminded him of a l'il joke he played on me last year. 

Lana was busy in the kitchen making her famous extra good nachos. I'd first heard about these at the GP2000, but had missed trying them last year. I timed it just right this year. (They are really excellent... thank you, Lana!!!) She had a great beaming smile on her face, gracing this year's gathering with her cheerfulness & joie de vivre just as she 
had last year. 

Then came a very special treat and real surprise. I had heard he might be there, but wasn't sure. But I knew his smile when I saw it, from pictures at the newsgroups. It was Dan 'CragTeabagger' King. What a terrific guy. Folks, I hope you all get the chance to meet him. I know many of you already have. Dan, it was an honor!

Next I got to greet Neal again. I had a great time visiting with him last year and he helped me in the surf, too. He helped me get outside on a very windy dawn patrol morning. He'll get you rolling in stitches with his good fun humor. He sometimes reads alt.surfing and it's always a treat to hear him checking in...writes great reports, too. 

I had heard mention of the Annapolis Surf Club several times in posts and pictures by Rod, Foon & Dan this year at A.S. It definitely sounded like a great group of surfing friends. But what I didn't know is that Neal is the one who started it and heads it up. It's been around just a little less than a year (I think?). But they have already done so much. 
There was a yellow 'Annapolis Surf Club' banner hanging in the dining room.  

Rod and Neal introduced me then to Mike, Robb and Kirk of the Annapolis Surf Club. Pat would be showing up on Sunday. A friend of theirs & great surfer named Chris, was there too. Since not many alt.surfing folks were able to be there this year, there was extra space for ASC folks, who live fairly close by & could easily get there. (I hope I've got that right, Rod, Foon & Neal). But what I just know is that they're excellent folks. Very friendly and positive. Dedicated surfers & full of stoke for this event. They have a real camaraderie going between them. Welcomed me (I figured out that I'm old enough to be the mother of 2/3's of all who attended this time) like I was a long time friend. Thanks so much guys! It was a delight to meet you all. 

I asked about Ferg, Lucy, Kim & SteveM who I hadn't seen yet. Rod told me Ferg was driving straight thru (I believe?) from Florida & would be in later that night. SteveM would arrive on Sunday. Some folks went out to sit on the porch while waiting for nacho-time & I pulled out a bottle of bug repellent, trying to push it on people to wear, due to my 'west 
nile fever' skeeternoia. I probably sounded like an ol' fuss budget! I had escaped day one with no bites, but I jest knew they were gonna get me that night. Sure 'nuff, it was slapdance city out on the porch. But once I got my first bite, I gave up on trying to avoid them ...it's the first bite that's the scariest. 100 bites later that night, I was cured of my fear.

Soon the scent of hot nachos wafted through the abode, all fell into place at the chowline and then sat down together at the dining room table. I love that about GP, the time when everyone sits down to share a meal and swap great stories. But I never made it to sitting at the table that first night because I was busy talking one-on-one to folks as they came into the kitchen area for seconds.

I had exchanged big smiles with Myron, but hadn't gotten a chance to talk with him yet. When he came to get seconds on the nachos, I cornered him and fired off about 15 questions in a row, trying to get in as much of a visit as I could in the short time that we got to see each other. I asked him about how his year had been, work, his family, darts & some of his stories about the first Guidopalooza. He didn't even get a chance to sit down again, but most kindly and graciously stayed in the kitchen with me, talking & eating standing up. 

He's an excellent fellow. Great sense of humor, too! Coached me a lot in dart games last year. He's a great teacher and I am a slow learner. I hope you all get to have the pleasure of surfing & throwing darts with Myroni sometime, too! His son got sick the week before and was only just beginning mend. Papa headed home after dinner to be with him. I hope he's all better now. I asked if he had any pictures of his family and he went to get his digital camera. He had a bunch of pictures of his son's first birthday, which had taken place just last week. It was a real treat to see them. What a great family! Thank you, Myron. So good to see you again!

Respectfully submitted with little proofreading, as I start writing up the next part,

DeeDeeDaSosh