Well, I have to say that I had a great time.
I think the weather was just perfect! We got to experience two opposite sides of being at the beach. If anyone has ever seen the movie The Goonies (filmed in Astoria), there is the scene where the kids are coming up from the beach to discover the lighthouse restaurant. They are all bundled up, the wind is howling and the ocean is a tempest. This was Goonies weather Saturday. The salty fog and mist and a little fall chill was in the air. Driving on the beach, I couldn't see a thing until I took my glasses off. Even then, it was a very BRISK ride. Refreshing, exhilarating. And then in the evening sitting around fire, breathing in the smoky misty air and feeling the radiant heat... the flickering fire and the sputtering Coleman lantern in the distance. A full stomach thanks to Bob and Moni. Add a really good beer and some good conversation among friends, Keith's masterful guitar playing and it was fantastic.
It was fun assembling susanne and keith's new cart!
Sunday we awakened to blue skies and it warmed up very quickly. I guess I really didn't want TWO days of nasty weather. The coast was great. This time, very warm and clear. A different side of the beach.
Martin's fish was incredible. I also think it was the best I ever had. What a cool thing to do and just what we needed after coming back from the beach. A great way to finish off the event.
So here is a link to my hastily thrown together video of the driving part of the event. No nice music track or fancy cuts and fades. I wanted to get this up ASAP. I'm sorry to say that it has only Mingus, Dancer and Kody driving, and also has no beach footage from Saturday since the lens would have just fogged up! Wish I had filmed the evening fire a little bit as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu9OJgmh-gk
Note that youtube first renders and displays a crappy low resolution video, then a higher quality version a few hours later. Check back again tonight for the 720P high quality version.
Nice meeting new people and seeing familiar faces from previous years.
Anyway, got to get back to work.
Daryl