PicnicTributePage

Darcey

Meg

Welcome to the picnic page in dedication to the 4th Annual Sr. John Denver Potluck Remembrance Day Weekend!
August 8th, 9th and 10th 2003.

This is the stream at the Saratoga Spa State Park.

The balcony entrance

This stream leads under the back of SPAC's stage. At 1 time during a Sr. JD concert some people decided to sit on some very large rocks near the stream. When Sr. JD began playing "GFB", the people from the rocks yelled, "Yeah Grandma!" John heard this and started a mini-conversation with them.

Sr. John Denver played here at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center or SPAC as it is known, for the 1st time in I think 1978. After that, he played here every other year until 1992. He came back in 1995 and 1997 his last concert here on Tuesday, August 5th 1997. SPAC is an indoor outdoor arena as you can see above.

"As always I spent some time working on this years Sr. JD weekend here in upstate NY. It is simply a time to relax and enjoy oneself while listening to John's music. " ~ Darcey

                  Thursday, August 7th, 2003 -- prep work.
    I got up and began straightening up the house. Next, I began preparing some food for the dinner. I wanted to get as much done as I could so that my Friday would not be so busy.   All the time that I was working, I made sure to take many breaks as to not tire myself out too much. I brought in all the items from the deck that were going to the picnic. I set them near the TV, ready to go outside come Saturday morning.
               Friday, August 8th, 2003 -- Dinner at Darcey's.
   I got up early and began doing some more prep work for the dinner. I made the chef salad, the drinks and part of the dessert. I waited to bake the rolls and the tart shells until just before arrival time. [All of the recipes for the food can be found near the end of the webpage.] Our deck is always ready with paper products such as plates so there is nothing to do there in the way of set up. Again I did everything a little at a time. I turned on RMH "Rocky Moutain High" 'cause I wanted to hear track #5, "Darcy Farrow." This album is nice, but it is not long playing like the CRC Country Roads Collection CD's. I also put in "Reflections of Life and Love," and the CRC disc #1. I wanted to hear "Friends With You."
    My friend Floss called me to let me know that our friend Lorraine was coming to the picnic which was great since at one point we were not sure if she would be able to get the time off from work. Floss also told me she and her crew would be at my house soon.
    My mum came home from work and we waited for our friends to arrive. I put my karaoke/CD/cassette player out on the deck with my huge double sided cassette case. [Thanx Tammy!] I put in CRC, disc #1 and then I went back in the house to bake the rolls and the tart shells.
   Shortly after I pulled them from the oven, Meg, Floss, Kayla, Floss's daughter and Jessica, Kayla's friend came in. Since I do not hold to any sort of formality, I told everyone to help themselves to the food whenever they wanted to. Kayla, and Jessica found my shelf full of board games and began a small tournament to see how many games they could play before it was time to hit the road for home. I wish we had the time to set up my huge trivial pursuit game and play, but setting it up takes a small while and playing takes even longer. Perhaps next year I will have it set up before hand. We can play a timed game and at the end of the time whoever has the most pieces of pies wins. I may even make up my own set of Sr. JD trivia.
We sat, ate, drank and listened to the beautiful music of Sr. JD. The girls played "Life" and a few other games. As we listened to the music we started talking about memories. Then our talk turned to the disco era. It is nice how listening to Sr. JD's music is a great segway into other topics. We found ourselves talking about "The Bay City Rollers." How many of you remember them? If you did, would you admit to listening to them back in the 70's? They still do tours in parts of Europe and Scotland though smaller scale than the 70's.
   I did listen to them; in fact I still do, thanx to my LPs and the Greatest hits CD. I just had to go in the house and get it so I could play some of it for us. "S A TUR DAY Night.. S A TUR DAY night. Saturday night, Saturday night..." "Shoorah, Shoorah for Hollywood..." What is so great about being a Sr. JD fan is the fact that you find many people who like many different types of music which is fine by me.
Finally we said our g'nights until the next day. Then Meg and everyone left for home. It was nice having people over as these days my mum and I live alone together and we love having company. I just wish more people would be able to come over; say make a full weekend out of the deal.
    Floss, her hubby and the 2 girls stayed at Meg's place in the 'twinkie' -- the camper in the backyard. We are still running the standard argument of if it walks like a chicken then it must be a chicken.. so while Meg does not think she lives on a 'farm', the rest of us do. After all there is the veggie garden, a goat and several chickens. From my standpoint that is a farm.
    After everyone left and we closed up for the night, my mum went to bed while I stayed up. I could not sleep and finally did so at the marvelous hour of 1a.m.
         Saturday, August 9th, 2003 -- The Potluck Picnic.
    7 a.m. and I was up. I showered and dressed. Then I began hauling things outside by our front porch to wait for my niece Sandra to come over. She was to be our ride to the picnic. I called her at 8:45 am to see if she was awake. She groggily answered yes and said she would be right over. Mum, myself and Sandra loaded up her car and off we went.
    After a quick stop to Price Chopper to get 2 ice bags, we headed up route 5 to route 50 for a straight drive there. Of course Sandra cannot live without McDonald's hash browns so we went to the drive thru to get ourselves some breakfast. The clerk handed Sandra a large soda to which she said, "Soda, nope nope George. No soda for breakfast we ordered juice and coffee." I laughed and then we went on our merry way to Saratoga Spa State Park.
    We arrived there at 10:15 a.m. and in short order we were set up and Sandra went home to go back and get some more ZZZ's. [sleep] She is not a morning person.
    We got lucky in that 2 picnic tables in the area we hang out were placed together so we used them for the food tables. I put my beach mat near the front of the food tables so people could lie down or sit on it if they wanted. I brought 2 frisbees for people to use, 2 of my poetry books, 2 of my Sr. JD shirts and the sign in book for the picnic. On the far end of the left picnic table, I put the soda/water cooler. Then I set out the homemade chex mix and my pasta italian dressing salad. I set out the picnic baskets with all the paper products near the soda cooler. I put the karaoke machine and all my books at the opposite end of the right table.
This stream that you see here is behind where we hang out. Also, we are near a nice bridge which goes over the water. It is near the bathrooms which is a definet must when all you do is eat and drink all day long. The first thing I usually do is rid myself of my sneakers as most picnic goers find out, I do not like to wear shoes.
    My mum and I sat down to wait for anyone to come. Soon thereafter, Meg & crew came and that was cool! Now we were waiting on anyone else. [Most times though people do not tell us if they are coming, they just show up; all fine by us.] We waited on sort of pins and needles for Lorraine to arrive. She finally did come. She told us that she got a tad bit re-routed on her way and passed over the Hoosick river a few times. She even had a nice trip thru Troy. [yeah, right!] LOL but we do not want to dwell on that.
   It was great to see our friends and in the end there was only 9 of us in total but it was a nice group. It was me, Darcey, my mum Joan, our cousin Gabe, Meg, Floss, Kayla, Jessica, Lorraine and my best friend of 25 years Tammy. We did not do anything spectacular, but we did have alot of fun. Lorraine brought 2 digital cameras as well as a throw away camera. This kept Jessica and Kayla busy for part of the day.
       We ate, drank and were quite merry for the whole day and again not a lick of rain until we were packing to go. We listened to I cannot even tell you how many of Sr. JD's albums, but that was great. Floss even found some Sr. JD songs that she was not familiar with. At one point, we had a lady come up to us and request "Country Roads" for her little guy who always sings it as "Bumpy Roads." It was so cute. I even gave her the picnic website address for next year. She said she might come.
Many pictures were taken and I cannot wait to be able to post them. Meg may not be thrilled but I will be. I have this habit of taking very candid shots, which can prove to be very funny. I almost had one picture taken from me as Meg decided she really did not want anyone to see it. Too bad I got it back and it is not that bad.
    We had my foodstuffs along with 2 cold cut platters, rolls, green olives, pickles and a tossed salad. mmmm delicious!
    It was very warm and humid all day. Thank goodness for shorts and hair ties. The 2 girls, myself and Gabe went in the drink to cool off when we got really warm. The cool running water felt really good. You have to stand near the right bank or else you will be swept off by the current. A few people took walks around the park. I told everyone I would guard the fort.
    We finally packed up and left to go to Meg's place, but decided to forgo the campfire on account of the humidity. Meg ordered pizza. We sat, ate some more and talked until it was my turn for my crew [myself, my mum, Lorraine and Tammy] to head for home. My mum took shorthand notes for our directions for the way home. Lorraine with my mum would be the lead driver while Tammy and I followed just until we landed in Tammy's neck 'o' the woods and then she took over as lead driver.
    After getting home, we unpacked, did the garbage bit and then sat down to relax. My mum and Lorraine felt much better after a shower. Then soon they went off to mum's room for a good nights rest. Tammy flew the coop around 12:30 a.m. and I turned on the TV for some late night watching, but I soon fell fast asleep.
          Sunday, August 10th, 2003 -- Brunch & Goodbyes. :-(
    Being that I was up late, it should have been no surprise that while I knew I had to get up, I did not want to get up early. My mum and Lorraine were up early. My mum made some coffee and they sat on the deck chatting. The nice thing about early mornings out on the deck is that it is so peaceful, especially on Sundays when people are not bustling around getting ready for work.
    I finally got up to take a shower and get dressed. Soon after, we were back "on the road again." Meg and crew beat us to the Golden Corral. We did not find her car straight off so we were not sure if they were already there. We found everyone inside and got in line to head for breakfast. I had me 2 good sized plates of food before calling it quits. The thing I like about the buffet is the unlimited number of choices of food. I just had to get me some grits, spicy sausage with biscuits and gravy as well as a mini apple filled waffle. Yummy!
    After we finished eating, we sat talking until we knew it was time to head for home so everyone with their long drives could get back home again. It was nice seeing everyone and being together. It is always hard to say our goodbyes 'cause we wish we all lived closer and saw each other more often. The memories of our good times will last forever and for now that is enough to carry us on until we meet again.
Next year, in 2004 it will be the 5th year that we have held this event. Perhaps more of you will consider coming and for the whole weekend if possible to help us celebrate Sr. JD and his wonderful melodious music that will reign supreme in my heart and the hearts of many others.                                  Peace, Darcey

                                                     Recipes
Darcey's Chex Mix
cinnamon toast crunch
fruit loops
popcorn [fresh popped]
pretzels
chocolate chip cookies
    In a large container with a cover, mix all the ingredients together.
Pasta Salad
2 pounds of shells [any small pasta will do.]
1 tomato, diced
1 pepper, diced
1/2 cup italian dressing [more if desired]
    Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. In a large container with a cover mix all the ingredients together. This is best made the day before it is needed.
Darcey's Chef Salad
1/2 pound of each: pepperoni, turkey, roast beef, ham, swiss and american cheese. [At the deli, have these cut into 1/2 pound chunks]
1 large onion, diced small
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tomatoes, diced
4 cucumbers, sliced
4 peppers, diced
1 can of garbanzo beans, drained
1 head of lettuce, chopped
Whatever dressings you like. We had ranch, french and italian.
    Cut the meat and cheese into cubes. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients very well. Serve with biscuits or rolls.
Filled tartletts
2 boxes of chocolate pudding
2 boxes of vanilla pudding
2 packages of sugar cookie mix from the dairy section.
    Prepare pudding according to directions. Place in refrigerator to set. Lightly grease a muffin tin. Preheat the oven to 350o. Slice the cookies into 1/2 slices. Press these slices into the muffin tin, making sure to cover the bottom and the sides. Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown. Just before serving, fill with some pudding.
    The 5th annual Sr. JD Potluck Remembrance Day Picnic weekend will be held on Friday, August 6th, August 7th & August 8th, 2004.