Woke up rather early, before anyone else. Tried to creep around without making any noise only to hear someone knocking at the door: Patrick Hill arrived and then everyone started getting up. Showers were started and Natasha came down and made us breakfast � fresh fruit, coffee or tea, cereal. We set out about 10 AM, but we had to make a few stops before getting onto the highway: the Beverage Warehouse for beer/alcohol � I found a 6-pack of Woodpecker cider and some Jack Daniels coolers (Down Home Punch and Wild Berry Jack) which I would share with Morgan, then to Wolf Photo so that Dave Horrod could get a battery charger for his new digital camera, which they didn�t have. We then set off in a caravan of 4 cars for the long journey: Dave B., Steve W. and Morgan in a rented Buick; I joined Patrick in his Saturn so that he wouldn�t be alone for the trip, Tom G. was with Roger and Deb in their Subaru wagon, and Dave and Marion Horrod in a rented Neon.
I don�t know what the others were listening to in the other cars, but Patrick had brought along his mp3 player. While we listened to a few TD concerts, a Node album, a live concert by Dweller at the Threshold and some RMI, Patrick and I spoke about a lot of things, but mostly about our jobs, families and EM (not necessarily in that order). Now, it was very strange for me being around other fans of TD and Electronic Music. It has almost always been a private thing � most of my friends are into other genres. That others are as fanatical, if not more so (Vic�s collection! Wow!), about this music, spending several days with them � not just in some concert hall for a couple of hours while we watch the musicians perform � was a new experience. I was in a state of shock and disbelief. [More on this later.] One of the things that I have liked about the musicians is that they are so approachable. They�re honored to sign CD�s; they are willing to listen to their fans� high praise, while also feeling humble; and they don�t see themselves as celebrities, while they are to me in some way� I couldn�t play a tune to save my life, but I certainly love the music!
We stopped for gas and lunch � the spicy chicken fillet I had at Popeye�s was, indeed, spicy. Much more so than what I�ve had at Wendy�s. While getting back to the highway, Patrick and I were almost run over by a house! Well, the truck that was carting it anyway. Got to Valdosta about 4 PM and followed the other cars around for a while looking for the supermarket. This being my first time, I had no idea where we were going. They stopped a couple of times for directions when we found the Winn-Dixie. I think I even made some comment to Patrick about guys asking for directions.
Because Dave H and Patrick were designated drivers, they stayed in the parking lot. The rest of us split up into three groups: Tom and Steve W. went for the barbecue stuff; Dave B, Deb and Marion went for the vegetables and a few things for lunch; while Morgan and I took care of the breakfast list. This took nearly an hour and half to get all of the stuff on the list. We had to get enough food for 25 people for at least 8 meals (4 breakfast, 4 dinner), so it took us some time. We filled three carts and racked up a little over $400 for groceries. Just about to leave when Vic and his son, Patrick, showed up with John and Peter. I never thought I would be seeing some of the band members of AirSculpture walking around in a supermarket � If anyone would have suggested such a thing, I would have thought they were crazy, but there I was and it was happening. I know they have to eat too, I just didn�t think I�d ever see them this way.
So on we went to Stephen C. Foster State Park, which was another half an hour away. I didn�t know what time the gates closed � we would have had a long walk to carry everything from the cars to the cottages � but we all made it in time. Several other people had been unpacking their cars when we arrived � Roger Smith, Robert Grabowski, Dell Outland, Lars Jones and his two sons (Burnell and Kieron), and Jerry Wutzke all got there before us. Beds seemed to be going fast and I was a little concerned about getting one. I plopped my suitcase next to a (double) bed in Cottage #2 and I would have felt bad about taking it all for myself. I think I wound up switching with John Christian, as the cot on the porch he was going to take in Cottage #1 was not going to work for him. Whether he ended up there, I am not certain. It was a little chaotic when we got there, giving the musicians first crack at beds and then trying to make sure that all who paid for one got one. In the end, I wound up sleeping on the couch in #1. The screen door for the porch did not close all the way and I would have been eaten alive by mosquitoes and who knows what else would have come to visit during the night. Besides, it was much cooler inside.
With that taken care of, it was time for dinner. I had promised to call Beth if I got the chance, but when I tried to use the sole pay phone in the park, it was in use so I ran back to the cottage. We had Antelope Bolognese on spaghetti prepared by Roger Smith and Dell Outland - it was very good. There were some small antelope steaks that Roger told me to try - I only took half of one in order to give someone else a chance to try it - as well as some smoked sausages of deer meat (these were delicious!!).
There was a small problem though � no water! Well, no water pressure to speak of. The faucets only dribbled out a small stream and the toilets were empty. This was not good news.
Cottage 3 was designated as the Music Room, since this was where it all started a couple of years ago. The musicians all set up their equipment here and almost all of the music that was performed took place here. Cottage 2 and 3 also had most of the food in them. Cottage 1, which was taken up by Steve and Jens of SSO, Peter R and Dave B, Dell and myself, was very quiet. We only really used it for sleeping and taking our showers. Cottage 4 housed the couples and we did the grab-bag/gift exchange here on Saturday night (more on this later).
After dinner, the musicians set up and did a sound check. There were cables everywhere!
I couldn�t help thinking (and even mentioned this to Vic and Morgan) that if this was what was in store for us and this was merely checking the equipment, then all of us were in for a real treat! During a break, I took a look at what instruments they were playing. You�ll have to forgive me here as I might get something wrong, as I am not familiar with the equipment and I was trying to ask questions and write quickly as the break wasn�t very long.
We hung out for a little while and, some time around 2:30 AM, many of us went for a walk down to the swamp. After all, what TD fan could not visit the swamp and try to make it to �3 AM at the Border of the Marsh from Okefenokee.� There�s a boat launch and a parking area, and we walked down to the end of the paved road until we could go no further. I looked up at the stars (of which there were many), listened to the frogs and insects sing, and talked a little with my newfound friends. As we were walking back to the cabins, we heard a big splash in the water. Several people who hung back said they saw two alligators swim nose to nose and veer away. This was the noise we heard. So the rest of us looked out hoping to see some more and I got to see my first gator outside of a zoo or on television. It swam right over to us, as if it was hoping we were going to feed it. Or maybe it saw us as food! Eventually, it sank below the water and disappeared from view. Creepy!