Lamonster
SpyderLovers Founder
This was one of those events that could have gone really bad or really good depending on so many things.
Help Preparing for the BBQ-
This really went well starting with BajaRon coming over the week before and helping me clean up the place a bit before everyone got here. My trees on the drive were pretty much out of control and Ron came over and with his boys and we got a ton of work done in a short amount of time. Ron has always been there for me when I needed him and I never have to really ask, he just shows up and we go for it. I'm really blessed to have him as a friend and living so close to me now. He followed me all the way from San Diego.
The day of the BBQ Deb and Brian showed up along with Butch and Carrol and they offered to help with getting everyone parked in the right spot and making sure everyone got a raffle ticket and a meal ticket along with a Lamonster BBQ shirt provided free of charge by Butch and Carrol. I couldn't have asked for a better pre BBQ team to help out.
As folks started to show up Brian got them all herded in the right direction. From there everyone did a good job of parking themselves.
It was really hot that day and I was running out of water and I had no ice. Ron brought more water and Deb and another gal (I'm so bad with names) went out and picked up some ice.
Did I order enough BBQ and will they be here on time?
When I talked to Will and Rocko we planned on feeding about 140 folks. As the time went by we picked up quite a few more folks that I didn't really plan for. Will and Rocko said they would bring some extra and it was a good thing they did because we needed it. We still ran out but we fed close to 200 folks before we did.
I was concerned about them getting there on time and getting them parked and setup. They made it on time just fine and we got them backed in okay but I had a major power problem. They really needed a 30 to 35 amp circuit to run everything and I just didn't have it. The big thing was their air conditioning and every time we plugged that in it would pop the breaker.
We had to go to plan B and that was to steal the fan from the BRP tech and give it to the BBQ guys. Like I said it was real hot and those guys were dieing in there even with the fan. Then the BRP tech was boiling up so I had to find him another fan. I did and we were all set to eat BBQ.
Will the folks like the BBQ?
I've eaten a lot of BBQ in my day and to me this is some of the best BBQ I've ever had. It's really juicy and the sauce is really good in my book. Then I started to hear some grumbling about who makes the best BBQ and what makes the best BBQ and I started to get a little worried. I know I loved it but we had folks from all over the country here and just because I thought it was great didn't mean anyone else would.
The line was real long and I would say it took over an hour just to run everyone through but as I walked around I could hear the folks loving it just like I did. That was a relief and the boys did good and everyone got a good helping of BBQ and sides.
Who's going to do the Raffle?
I was running around like a chicken with his head cut off and didn't know how I was going to pull that off too. No problem, once again Deb took the bull by the horns and recruited some helpers and went to town giving away a lot of great door prizes. We had Oil Filters donated from BaJa Ron, Gift Certificates from NoMagicNeon and ISCI, T-shirts and bags from B2K (Butch & Carol) Hats from BRP I believe and of course a SpyderLover Patch and decal from Lamont via CAT. (I copied that from Debs post)
That took a major load off of me because as it was I never got to see the prizes handed out as I was busy running around doing other stuff.
Here's a link to the folks that won stuff.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14522
Will the weather be good?
Besides being really hot we didn't get any rain. That was a real concern for me as I din't have enough roof to keep everyone out of the rain. I guess if I needed just one thing to go good that was it. The only reason any of us were wet was because we were sweating like pigs. Other than that it was great.
Will everyone get along okay?
Somebody said this was like a family reunion and it was. We had all walks of life there but we all got along just fine. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and there were no books judged by their cover that I could see. Maybe all we need for World Peace is a few billion SpyderLovers. All kidding aside I was very happy how everyone was treating each other and I'm sure some lifetime friendships were made this week. I know I feel a little closer to a bunch of you even though i may not remember your names, I still know how great you are to hang around with. Even my wife and son thought you all were a great group of folks.
Once again a big thanks to all that traveled so far for a BBQ sandwich and some fellowship with a bunch of great SpyderLovers. This is one of those life memories for me.
Here's the link to the pics and videos if you missed it.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14476
Help Preparing for the BBQ-
This really went well starting with BajaRon coming over the week before and helping me clean up the place a bit before everyone got here. My trees on the drive were pretty much out of control and Ron came over and with his boys and we got a ton of work done in a short amount of time. Ron has always been there for me when I needed him and I never have to really ask, he just shows up and we go for it. I'm really blessed to have him as a friend and living so close to me now. He followed me all the way from San Diego.
The day of the BBQ Deb and Brian showed up along with Butch and Carrol and they offered to help with getting everyone parked in the right spot and making sure everyone got a raffle ticket and a meal ticket along with a Lamonster BBQ shirt provided free of charge by Butch and Carrol. I couldn't have asked for a better pre BBQ team to help out.
As folks started to show up Brian got them all herded in the right direction. From there everyone did a good job of parking themselves.
It was really hot that day and I was running out of water and I had no ice. Ron brought more water and Deb and another gal (I'm so bad with names) went out and picked up some ice.
Did I order enough BBQ and will they be here on time?
When I talked to Will and Rocko we planned on feeding about 140 folks. As the time went by we picked up quite a few more folks that I didn't really plan for. Will and Rocko said they would bring some extra and it was a good thing they did because we needed it. We still ran out but we fed close to 200 folks before we did.
I was concerned about them getting there on time and getting them parked and setup. They made it on time just fine and we got them backed in okay but I had a major power problem. They really needed a 30 to 35 amp circuit to run everything and I just didn't have it. The big thing was their air conditioning and every time we plugged that in it would pop the breaker.
We had to go to plan B and that was to steal the fan from the BRP tech and give it to the BBQ guys. Like I said it was real hot and those guys were dieing in there even with the fan. Then the BRP tech was boiling up so I had to find him another fan. I did and we were all set to eat BBQ.
Will the folks like the BBQ?
I've eaten a lot of BBQ in my day and to me this is some of the best BBQ I've ever had. It's really juicy and the sauce is really good in my book. Then I started to hear some grumbling about who makes the best BBQ and what makes the best BBQ and I started to get a little worried. I know I loved it but we had folks from all over the country here and just because I thought it was great didn't mean anyone else would.
The line was real long and I would say it took over an hour just to run everyone through but as I walked around I could hear the folks loving it just like I did. That was a relief and the boys did good and everyone got a good helping of BBQ and sides.
Who's going to do the Raffle?
I was running around like a chicken with his head cut off and didn't know how I was going to pull that off too. No problem, once again Deb took the bull by the horns and recruited some helpers and went to town giving away a lot of great door prizes. We had Oil Filters donated from BaJa Ron, Gift Certificates from NoMagicNeon and ISCI, T-shirts and bags from B2K (Butch & Carol) Hats from BRP I believe and of course a SpyderLover Patch and decal from Lamont via CAT. (I copied that from Debs post)
That took a major load off of me because as it was I never got to see the prizes handed out as I was busy running around doing other stuff.
Here's a link to the folks that won stuff.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14522
Will the weather be good?
Besides being really hot we didn't get any rain. That was a real concern for me as I din't have enough roof to keep everyone out of the rain. I guess if I needed just one thing to go good that was it. The only reason any of us were wet was because we were sweating like pigs. Other than that it was great.
Will everyone get along okay?
Somebody said this was like a family reunion and it was. We had all walks of life there but we all got along just fine. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and there were no books judged by their cover that I could see. Maybe all we need for World Peace is a few billion SpyderLovers. All kidding aside I was very happy how everyone was treating each other and I'm sure some lifetime friendships were made this week. I know I feel a little closer to a bunch of you even though i may not remember your names, I still know how great you are to hang around with. Even my wife and son thought you all were a great group of folks.
Once again a big thanks to all that traveled so far for a BBQ sandwich and some fellowship with a bunch of great SpyderLovers. This is one of those life memories for me.
Here's the link to the pics and videos if you missed it.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14476
