After a week�s hiatus from the Internet, I really needed the Long Island Show to get a Chatters� fix as well. A million (well, I might be exaggerating a little) chatters were supposed to be there at the 2nd USA show of the summer. It�s been a LONG 9 months since we�ve seen GBS in these parts.
Story begins the day before. Moe arrives in NYC and we don�t get to hook up with each other because of conflicting schedules, but she says she�ll be my wake-up call the next day. Fast forward to Friday. Andi calls me at 7 AM from the hotel lobby. �Hello? Who is this? Wahoo! The party has begun." Andi came up and we finally met. Just as nice in person as online. I had to go to class at Teachers College, but she sacked out on the bed and we met up again at 3 PM when Victor and Karen picked me up from Columbia University. We went back to the hotel and picked up Andi and took off for the wilds of Long Island. Andi and Karen entertained the car by role-playing the role of siblings in the back seat � �She looked at me! She stuck her tongue out at me! She�s pointing at me! She�s breathing on me!� Made me feel like the �good old days� of family roadtrips with 4 kids. :-P I got real tired of seeing the �traffic congestion ahead� signs that greeted us at every turn of the Long Island Expressway. There is nothing "express" about that roadway! I think half the population of New York City was on the road with us on Long Island. Three hours into a trip that Mapquest promised would be 1 hour 15 minutes, we were just approaching the exit for West Sayville. Missed our turn and took a scenic detour. We thought we had missed our chance to see the b�ys up close and personal and wondered if there would be any food left.
We needn�t have worried. The b�ys hadn�t arrived � probably in the same traffic jam as we were. And there was plenty of food left! Met the great Doug Shaw. Thanks to him for setting up the event. It was fantastic! Immediately saw Jenny and Caroline. What a pleasure to see Jenny again! It has been almost a year since we visited her �Couch and Snack� in Lawn. Caroline was looking lovely as usual. Vic donned his BJMoose hat and we entered the venue. The view was breathtaking and I loved seeing Doug�s Boat � Ohmeohmy. We met a bunch of chatters. I apologize up front to those whose names I have forgotten. There were sooooo many people from the OKP there! Nick and Sarah, DaveC, Dave and Holly, Alison and Jacquie, Andi, Karen, Moe, Jennifer, Fran and Bob, Howard and Cheryl, Gordon, Marcia, �uh oh. I can�t remember the others! Argh! The food for the clambake was good � lobster, clams, salad, chicken, baked potatoes, and corn. Nick�s Mrs. Murphy�s Whiskey label looked great in person, as did his altered Newfoundland flag on his T-shirt. |
