Dave's DOG Blog

Friday

Hopes faded early this morning for a repeat of last years’ fantastic weather, as the Weather Channel talked repeatedly about high and low pressure systems that were building for what could be the worst Northeast storm in recent memory. From my view the little arm of “Severe Thunderstorms” seemed to reach up just to include us out at Beaver Lake.

The morning started early at 5AM as we prepped a few last minute details and planned the shopping and catering numbers to feed everyone over the weekend. On-line tickets had us anticipating only about 30 divers on Saturday and 15 on Sunday, while the Participation Forms from the dealers foretold of an additional 15 to 20 divers over the weekend. Unfortunately, a slew of last minute phone calls confirmed that divers seemed to be waiting for reports on how the weather would turn out. Our rental mini van was packed to the roof.

The tents went up under heavy showers and some pretty impressive lightning. <G> it was hard not to laugh once under the protection of the tents, when Danny (Dick’s grandson) commented, “Now that I can’t feel the rain, it makes me notice that my face is frozen!” The wind was whipping by at an impressive speed, and at a character building 38 degrees.

Joining us for his first DOG Rally Dave Smith (our new Midwest Rep) set the pace. I must admit, he was fairly inspiring drenched with rain, dressed in his “Gorton Fisherman’s gear”.

Bubba’s BBQ was a welcome site as we pulled in for dinner. The bowl of Cheerios and a Red Bull for breakfast were a distant memory. Many thanks to Pat for his recommendation and the great company of friends over dinner.