Fri, May 24 2002 - Memorial Day Camping (View Original Event Details) Trip Leader(s): No Coordinators Found Participants: Dawn Cain, , , Daren Roger Mealer, Robert Morris, Katherine Martin, , Lis Diaz, Peter Mortensen, Amy Jackson, Mariella Czet, Chris Jackson, Udo Licht, Amy Jackson, David Cain

Write Up:
The most difficult part of the weekend was the carpool, believe it or not! Of course, with the Holiday weekend impending… all involved were gunning to leave work and … go figure, everyone was getting out at different times! A few brave souls took the day off and trekked down early Friday morning to check in for the group and try to get everything ready for the rest of the folks that were on the way. Phil, Dawnmarie, and Stacia arrived in Niceville around 2 o’clock Friday afternoon to check out the campsite, set up their tents and hit the beach in Destin! (Oooohhh, can we say we used LOTS of sun block!?) After coming off the beach that evening, a fire was started and the hot dogs were cooking…and cooking… and cooking…. Until Stacia finally decided it was time to eat anyway… hot or not! Slowly, small groups of people trickled in… Katt and Chris with the broilers! (that was a carful!!!) Next Victoria and Lis… then Mariella, Ryan, and Peter…. And Dawn and David! Although it was a late night in, we had early risers for coffee and breakfast! (RYAN!!! Our key coffee man on this trip, started his own early morning coffee clatch every am…) breakfast was quick, once we realized that it was WAY easier to cook on the stoves that Katt had packed into her car…. Bacon and eggs all the way around! Phil and Chris, our key breakfast makers handled everything with the ease of short order cooks! Everyone ate, oh, “Where are David and Dawn? Have they eaten yet????” Clean up was relatively quick, and sandwiches were prepared for the days outing… still being on Atlanta time we were still really early in the day (about 9am). Oh, there’s David and Dawn… “Did you guys want some eggs or bacon?” A lot of people opted for the beach for Saturday… a great way to wind down from such a busy week. We met up with a transplanted Atlanta group, CTK… specifically one of our wayward members that opted for a condo trip instead of a camping one! (BARRIGAR!!!) David and Dawn went kayaking for the day, although Mariella and Barrigar kayaked right off the beach. For whatever reason, we discovered a ton of seaweed in the water.. Which tried to make it home with us… discreetly tucked into our bathing suits! The weather was unbelievable, sunny, wonderful breeze coming off the ocean, just a gorgeous day. Several had had enough sun by around 3 ish and opted for some ice cream. Katt, always thinking… went to the store to get everyone some fresh fruit for rehydration before our night out on the town. Everyone hooked back up at the campsite early… I still don’t think that we were all used to the time change yet. Finally dressed and cleaned up, and seaweed-less… we all carpooled to the local eating establishment of Fisherman’s Wharf. Of course, it took a while to get us all seated and fed… and not much can be said about the food… but the company was lively…happy, and finally fed! A few brave souls opted for dancing, while others (obviously the non-energetic) opted for the campfire. Sunday started off a little bit later, with breakfast, sandwich making etc. The group split up a little bit more this time, with Darren also opting for the kayaking experience, and Chris and Katt opting to check out the old bayou on their raft. A large group opted for Henderson Beach…and Phil, abandoned us all for a day on a friend’s boat! Bollocks! Sunday night was the best camp dinner to date on the AOC books… thanks to Katt Martin, her broilers, and the pounds of seafood she reserved. Preparation was quick, with Peter, Phil chopping up the necessary items. A little garlic from Stacia (anyone want to get marinated?), while the group got lively around the not-yet-madefire. Half an hour later, pounds of seafood were dumped onto the picnic table and the feasting had begun! And roughly two hours later… none were left standing! A little clean up ensued, ((couldn’t it wait until tomorrow???)) and the fire was built! Chris Jackson provided some fine guitar work and the rest of us tried to sing along… especially to the ACDC!!!!! Next morning, breakfast, clean up, and everyone prepared to depart. Apart from the sunburn, a great weekend had by all! Contributed by Stacia Gessner
Written By: Stacia Gessner
Photos From: various

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