We did Buena Vista again this year and the weather conspired with the cops to keep things mild on us (except for that one darn parking ticket). You have to know the tale from last year to really get either the “cops” or “weather” reference… both were shitty. This year was awesome!
Darin, Matt, Kent, Chris, Steve: These trips wouldn’t be near as good as they are without you. Planning, food, beer, gear, toys, organizing and motivation are merely the high level things you guys provide. Thank you so much!
What a great crew of dads and kids this year too. We come from all walks of life: Scientist, engineer, carpenter, sales guru, healthcare, “that guy who can do everything”, pilot and “drain on society” (that’s me — Rock on!). Everyone got along just fine and nicely, everyone could watch everyone else’s kids and apply proper parenting skills for various situations (kids ages ranged from 3 – 17).
And now that the niceties are done with, let me get down to describing what I can recall from the weekend.
First: I didn’t even put my own tent up. Strike that. I *couldn’t* even put my own tent up. I always pride myself as being one of the first to arrive, setup my camp and help others as they arrive, mostly to make them feel inadequate. But I had a brand new tent that I’m sure was designed by prison inmates as a commercial item that, if they ever got one shipped to them, would also help them build a system of escape. Whatever… I was there early but eventually Matt and Sean set it up for me. I think I’m going to throw it away and buy a regular tent (although it’s very nice once it’s setup by one of your monkeys. You should get a monkey).
It was really cool to see everyone filter in and the kids who were waiting for that certain pal to arrive. It was a lazy-ish unpacking and the kids are of age to be able to head off to the water on their own while the Dads slowly got things dialed in.
Saturday was brutally and wonderfully long. My arms are still sore from running kids on the skis or getting dragged behind Chris’ boat. Our connected spots were long enough to where the kids could take off but we could still keep an eye on them, balancing their sense of freedom with our sense of, well, “if something happens to them we’ll make more”. Really, we had a nice spread.
We had planned certain activities for the kids but in the end most of them didn’t work out. One of them was for us to help the kids paint little cans (think soup and green bean cans) that they would glue together as little trophies for the other activities. Well, the other activities never materialized because the whole “herding cats” thing would have been easier. But at least we got them cans painted. Ben still has it on his feet… hoping it’s not lead based.
We did s’mores of course but Kent’s oldest kept tradition by making little apple and cherry pies over the fire (they are insanely good!).
Gonna see if I can remember one thing from each Dad that was there. If I left you out, I apologize… it probably means you didn’t bring me any beer. Here goes (in no particular order you crybabies):
Kent:
First guy I saw at the site. I remember being devastated that your older daughter wouldn’t be there Friday night and that damn ski of Steve’s wouldn’t start at first launch. That other dude on the launch ramp lent me a tie-down to toss to you so I could tow you back. And you made me do a shot of something awful (was probably expensive). Thanks for bringing the keg!
Darin:
You were either working or relaxing the whole time. No carrying a beer and a dufflebag… it was *either* a beer *or* a dufflebag, nothing in between. Your ski worked right away and you had to bust Kent’s balls when his wouldn’t start. Thanks for launching!
Chris:
I remember when you pulled up and wondered, “where the heck are your kids?!?”. Several times on your boat with apologies for that. Friday night sucked for you because you weren’t in a tent and flies love that. Saturday night in the front of my tent… I hope you had enough space. You and Steve made the weekend for the kids, but you more so.
Steve:
You made the weekend for the kids way more than Chris, that’s for sure. Sherwin was a real bonus for my kids who were born into a dog house (Bah! Don’t say it!) and loved to be around that massive hound. You are the only man so far to bring a woman in to camp and not get significant grumbling. It’s a bloody good thing everyone loved LEEEEeeeenda.
Matt:
Without you I wouldn’t have had a tent to sleep in because Sean never would have figured it out. And your cooking facility that you always setup was truly appreciated. Not to mention your tri-tip cooking, chili and the breakfast goop I won’t describe here (this is a family blog). It’d never be right if we didn’t have your level head, which I’m sure has just swelled to roundness so, forget it.
Sean:
Matt had no idea what he was doing and without you I wouldn’t have a tent over my kids’ (and Chris’!) head. I think the last time we camped together was with Cudmore at Catalina (I can’t sleeeeeep!). Your kids were awesome; Shane made everyone happy around him. Scotty was my pal all weekend. Sarah scares me for you — Too articulate for her age and in dire need of more TV to dumb her down a bit.
Joe:
Better late than never. Wish we got to hang out more but stoked to steal Kevin for a jet ski trip. Sad that you setup your tent faster than me for the first time ever. I’ll never sleep the same again.
Pat:
I guess the trick was, my tent went up after yours, even though I was there first. Thanks for leaving me a view. And thanks for taking Ben out on the ski. As you know, I steal parenting tips from all of my brothers and I took special notice a couple of times when you and Megan sat on an ice chest and just talked, looking out over the water. That inspired me to do that later with Abs and it was a big deal in a little package. And even though it was short, I really enjoyed the football toss with me, you and Phil.
Johnboy:
You’re dumb. We’ve got all that darn food and you eat crapola on your stove. But thanks for being the coffee master and having water at the ready for me and my kids. Still not letting you off the hook for leaving your youngest at home. She’s going next year biotch.
Phil Crouse (cuz there’s two Fills):
You’re not a short man. Enjoyed the football with you and Pat but really, you need to get a tighter spiral. Luc was a blessing for Ben and therefore for me. You too are not getting off the hook for Amanda next year. Some Dads will do *anything* to get out of bringing their younger kids. Sheesh!
Phil Rosenthal:
We missed Lauren of course but Teddy was a joy. The 12-string was awesome but helping out my brother Joe on his new 6-string was totally cool. I dig on radio but nothing beats the live gig. Really appreciate all of it, even the brief doses. You need a mullet.
Brian:
Never did get my red leather underpants but I’ll let you slide. Logan seemed to be having a good time (I hope that’s how he logged it mentally) so that makes up for your presence. I miss the fact that we didn’t pull an all-nighter talking or really spend any meaningful time. Holy cow! My gay gene just reared its head. Not that that’s a bad thing but still… It’d be a bad thing for me at this time. So…
Dean:
Jenna was incorrigible and just plain mean the whole weekend, as usual. Okay, we all know you only get to come because everything she touches turns to sugar. Isn’t it silly that the first thing I think of about you for this weekend is, when I was getting ready to jump on the boat with Ben and asked about sunscreen you immediately pulled it out of your pocket and tossed it down to me in the water? Simple but sticks in my head. Side note: Ben ended up with a blister on his arm from sunburn. What did you *really* throw me? 😉
Dave Sander:
You were my ghost for the weekend. We talked, we sat under an EZ-Up, we saw each other on the jet skis but you didn’t get my cynical political views on things this year. Good for you, bad for me. I’ll get you nailed down next year for sure and your brain will never be the same!
Dave Ely:
You get the prize for the most endeavoring this year (which is bullshit because my daughter wasn’t even 2 yet when I first got into this) having brought your dynamic little one. Most of my “Ely experience” comprises of Jon and Addie (is that right?). Jon on the ski and Addie everywhere else. She’s a spitfire and what a joy to have around. Not only could I not setup my own tent, I forgot my tarp and you bailed me out. I’m a damn rookie all over again. While I was sitting by the fire Saturday evening your tent was way closer than mine and you had this cooler with Bud Lights in it so I started tapping that. I hope it made packing up a little less cumbersome for you. Or, thanks!
Tim Infuhr:
No boat — no camper? This is craziness! Me being a man who generally lives in flip-flops, I was barefoot because of all the water activity and tennis shoes not fitting the build too much. Did you miss something? I didn’t bring my flip-flops. So you came in with your cape (Pretty sure it was an Infuhr cape) and dropped some slippers I could use. The asphalt was so damn hot and the rocks are relentless on my tender feet so something needed to cover my leg piers. Like Scully, I missed hanging out with you until sun-up talking about shit we can’t change.
Tim Quilter:
The man with the wood. As the last body left you were walking an EZ-Up at half-mast from the far side of the camp towards me. As I wrapped up my camp and prepped to hit the Subway(TM) for the kids you stopped me and convinced me to make sandwiches for the kids. That extended our stay for an hour or more which gave us and the kids more lake time, blah. Just as we were loading up the girls had to go pee so we let them go (which was quite a ways) and hung out talking and watching. We stretched our leave time about as far as we could. You almost left with two little trash bags hanging off your antenna.
This makes it seem like we had 18 Dads and their various offspring. I had a great time! Next year we’ll be doing Iceland — send your checks in early to reserve a spot.
Mo and 
Hugh McDonald are discussing. 
tom are discussing. 
Dave Sander and 
Some guys revel in the kick delivered by the heavy stuff. Not me – it hurts, no matter what they say. Was at a rifle range a few weeks ago and was persuaded to empty a clip through the bore of an old Russian sniper rifle (6 rounds). Bruise marks on shoulder and bicep have finally vanished, Some were lined up for a second opportunity. I was not one of the some.
If I’d thought of using something to pad my shoulder, I’d have done it in a NY second.
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