WyattPalooza- A reclama…

Well, I decided since I had nothing better to do yesterday (other than the tickets to Darlington), I’d take a nice relaxing little drive up to Philly and meet up with Wyatt and some of the Philly bloggers at WyattPalooza. Doing the math, I figured 154 miles, so to be on the safe side, I left an hour early, figuring “how bad can it be, it’s Saturday”… little did I know, sigh…

It was just a tad bit windy… blowing 30, gusting to 40-50 depending on which radio station you were listening too.

Anyhoo, it took me an hour JUST to clear DC!!! Idjits were out and about (and breaking down) everywhere! So I ‘finally’ get to Baltimore tunnel right at 2 hours, thinking it can’t get any worse (stoopid, I know)… through the tunnel and pop out onto 95, and damn near come to a dead stop…

Finally back up to speed, plus a bit (hell, I was doing 80 in a 55 and getting passed like I was sitting still!), started around a semi pulling an empty box and was mesmerized by his rear trailer wheels, as they were only occasionally hitting the ground! At one point, they literally stopped!!!
The honking since I’d slowed down to 75 brought me out of my trance, and I passed him, only to have to slam on the brakes again (you in the @#&* little Honda, you ALMOST became a hood ornament when you cut in front of me)…

So, between the 20mph stretches and the 80mph stretches, I finally get to the restaurant a half hour late after a 4 1/2 hour drive (so much for being early, or even on time).

The restaurant, obviously expecting trouble, had put us outside on the patio and promptly locked the doors… Wyatt, Captain America, Bitter American, Sebastian, Bob (Either Orr), Mr. and Mrs. Robert B., Smite A Hippie, Cemetery, Bitter and Mrs. Crankipants were already there, the ONLY person I beat there was RT… At least she had a good excuse!

Oh yeah, and the WIND was blowing, and it got cold- Guess the restaurant figured they could get rid of us pretty quick that way… NOT…

I ended up sharing a corner of the table with RT, and got to listen to Wyatt and CA bicker like a couple of brothers from a different mother… That neighborhood has GOT to be interesting, if for nothing more than the byplay that goes on… 🙂

Mrs. Cranki and RT both proved to be ‘quiet’ ladies, but with rapier wit; and Wyatt was catching it from all angles! His whine about running and ‘trying’ to play lacrosse with his son’s team had me rolling on the floor, then he lost yet again in the who’s is bigger category to a 70 year old from Florida!!! Pretty sad Wyatt… pretty sad…

Smite was working his way through a beer bong, Sebastian was either contemplating his navel or that was a REALLY good Mohito, Bitter American, CA and I got into a discussion of the fire service and issues, and how political correctness is @#&* up this country…

The food was not bad, and it was at least warm! Although that was some of the WORST coffee I’ve ever had… I mean, it’s bad when gas station coffee tastes better!!!

And the conversations ran the gamut as always… Guns, movies (I obviously DON’T watch enough), food, family, jobs, politics, general bitching, etc… There were always at least three different conversations going on, so you had your choice 🙂

Sadly, I had to slog back to DC, so I had to leave a bit early, but I did get a chance to see CA’s ride; and it IS a beautifully restored 70’s Firebird! NICE!!!

It was great to put names, faces, and reality with some of my favorite bloggers, so all in all it was worth it! It was truly a pleasure to meet these folks, and once again it just proved that these folks are the salt of the earth!

The drive back was about as screwed up as the drive up (I swear I drove 4000 miles to Blogorado last year and had LESS drama than these two ‘little’ trips). Finally got home at 2330, and plopped into bed.

Oh yeah, one note for South Philly DPW- Um… folks didn’t you ever hear of putting SANDBAGS on your !@#&*) port-a-potties??? That is NOT the thing I really want to see in the fast lane on I-95 (not once, but TWICE)!

Note to self, go smooth out cushion in driver’s seat today…

kthxbye

Comments

WyattPalooza- A reclama… — 10 Comments

  1. Yeah, it took me over an hour to get to the restaurant, almost half of it I spent literally less than a mile from it. It took me about a half an hour to get back home (not counting the stop at the grocery store).

    It was a pleasure meeting you and everyone else. Wyatt’s like my brother, so picking on him comes second nature. 🙂 Glad you made it home safely, even if it was really, really late.

    The only part of the ride I hate when I go to TN is going throug Baltimore and DC…I wanna cry.

  2. Again, you came all the way up here for this???

    Seriously, it was great to see you again. Thanks so much for coming.

  3. RT- At least yours had less drama (I Hope)… And agree on Baltimore and DC!

    Wyatt- Thanks! I ‘might’ even do it again 🙂

  4. You mention coffee, bad coffee…

    In 1971 or thereabouts, I had to make a trip covering a number of airbases in Alaska, Canada, Korea and Japan. I was based out of Richards-Gebaur AFB (south of KC) at the time. R-G was also home to the 442 Military Airlift Wing (Reserve) that flew really old C-124s and C-119s. The aircraft were so old and beat-up that one of the C-119s lost an engine landing at March AFB. By lost, I mean it fell off the wing while the C-119 taxied to the Base Ops.

    Anyway, the reserve pilots needed some flight time and my boss didn’t want to approve my flying by commercial air (we had budget problems then too.) So he finagled the CO of the 442nd to have a crew fly me around in a C-124 and transport some palletized cargo at the same time. The C-124 was the C-5 of its day. There were bunks on the flight deck and a small galley.

    The crew chief was in charge of the galley. He made the coffee and distributed sandwiches around for the crew. When the sandwiches ran out, we ate C-rats. The entire tour took about 2 1/2 weeks.

    Around day three, I began to suspect something about the coffee. It grew worse and worse, each day more bitter than the previous day. It seemed whenever the coffee got low, the crew chief just poured more water in the pot along with three tablespoons of coffee and let it sit on the warmer. As the days went on, the sludge in the bottom of the pot grew deeper. By day ten, even the crew chief wouldn’t drink it. Sometime on the twelfth day between Pusan and Osaka, the copilot came back while the crew chief napped and tossed the entire pot out the rear hatch.

    We drank tea from that point on until we got back to R-G.

  5. Dude it was way cool meeting up with you. Really I can understand the ride to have lunch with me, but Wyatt??? Seriously?
    Hope we can meet up again and do some shooting. I may be heading down your way over the summer so I may be looking you up! Awesome time!

  6. It was a pleasure to meet you and hear your stories in person! I’m glad you could make it.

    Sorry about those Port-a-Potties- you can be sure I’ll be making some phone calls on Monday morning!

  7. YOU WERE IN PHILLY ON SATURDAY???? I was down there on Friday and I could have stayed an extra day if I’d known!!! Let me know the next time you come up this way again. You have my number still, right??

  8. Wow, that’s a great point and a great idea — !

    A meeting of local bloggers of a like mind, to get together, to create a consortium, so to speak, of like minds?

    That is a FABULOUS idea.

    I wonder if I could start one for Northern Fornicalia?

    I mean, imagine it, all THREE of us together in one place!

    BZ

  9. Crucis- but yours was on an airplane, THIS was a so called restaurant… 🙂 And yeah, I’ve had my share of ‘airplane’ coffee too! 🙁

    CA- Looking forward to it!

    Mrs. C- I “think” they will have been used up by Monday am… 🙂

    Wai- yep, I ‘thought’ you knew about the blog meet!

    BZ- Um.. yeah… Kalifornia??? 🙂

    Bitter- You’ve got some good ones too! When you’ve been in ANY business for a while, there are ALWAYS stories. 🙂