We had an absolutely wonderful time the entire week of NAUCC. I’m sure there were hiccups along the way but only from the perspective of the organizers. From our perspective, it was extremely well organized and a lot of fun.
Our fun started during the trip up to Minneapolis. As our home was only three miles off the Drummond’s trip route, John and Amy and family stopped in for a respite, then we all caravaned up together. Our cars and campers were all painted up with our destinations and intentions which opened up quite a few conversation opportunities with other travelers during our pit stops.
When we arrived in Minny, we parted ways with the Drummonds and headed for the “Unknown Campground” (Lowry Grove RV Park). The campground was only 10 minutes north of Augsburg but no native Minnyites seemed to have heard of it. (It’s on the corner of Stinson and Lowry behind Bremer Bank, guys).
Both Augsburg and St. Thomas were beautiful facilities. Knowing how difficult and expensive it is to land facilities, thanks to TCUC for the great venue sites! Many more thanks to the crew for choosing two sites within reach of a Starbucks. I know that was the first priority in choosing the sites.
It was so great to see everyone again on Wednesday night. I heard more than once during the week that these conventions are more like family reunions than a convention. Now that this is our second convention, I wholeheartedly agree! I especially enjoyed putting faces with newsgroup names…Lewis, Chris, and Tommy, Steve DeKoekKoek, Nikki and so many others. It was as if we’d first met long ago and were just getting together again for another round of fun. The downspot of the week though was Bill Gilbertson’s garage fire. Our hearts and our prayers went out for Bill and his loss.
We enjoyed the parade and weather in Centerville immensely. It was an honor to ride with the independant group IN BACK OF THE WHITE VAN. Let’s just say that this unkempt group was “entertaining”. Also, thanks to Jerry Gruss for my pre-parade ride on his Penny-Farthing.
And then for the off road time in the woods…I rode in my first Muni event to the delight of my wife and the chagrin of my body. Thanks to my riding mates, Reed and Keith, for the challenge of just keeping up. I managed to finish! I actually thought I had finished last but found that I had vanquished two 6 year old girls who had briefly become lost in the woods. That brought back some of the competitive fire in me knowing that I actually had beaten two superior riders.
Another great time was the uphill and downhill slalom. We loved the downhill wipeouts that almost put NASCAR to shame. But the best for Mom and Dad, though, was watching Ben power all the way up the hill for both of his official uphill runs. Way to go, Legs!
Again, the track and field venue was superb! I observed Dana Schneider marching around the field with necessary authority keeping the events moving. Thanks Dana for a great racing event.
The final party was great! Too bad I didn’t have room for seconds on strawberry shortcake. John Drummond and I had been itching over the past year for a chance to do some pickin’ and grinnin’ together and we were finally able to pull it off in a corner at the final party. John’s a durn tootin’ good banjo player if you didn’t get the chance to hear him play. Maybe next time, we can gather up some more instrumentalists for a great jam session.
All in all, sky-high kudos to the TCUC organizing team and the many unknown others that enabled the rest of us to enjoy a fantastic week. Mary and I and the boys are already looking forward to the next reunion. Our encouragement goes to those who weren’t able to be there this year to make plans for 2004. See you there!
Brucetoad and the rest of the toadettes
