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Reviving the Bullfrog - REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!!!
- Thread starter pslshawn
- Start date
After a year hiatus, the Bullfrog came back to life (albeit in a slightly different form)!
Thursday -
I rolled in shortly after Roman (Tic Tac) late afternoon, and after getting my tent set up, we were both hungry. The Zoo Bar was closed, so we took a ride down to Earl’s Hideaway (an institution in Sebastian). It’s essentially a biker bar and a little rough after dark, but I had the ‘Russian Mafia’ with me so I wasn’t too concerned. Let’s just say the Connies didn’t fit in real well in the parking lot (and I don’t mean from a spatial perspective).
We ordered two personal margarita pizzas, and after waiting 40 minutes, I inquired with our server/bartender about the pizzas. She informed us that the cook just walked out and ‘there would be no more food’. Although I felt bad for her, it was somewhat entertaining watching her tell a bunch of drunk bikers there was no more food for the night. Several minutes later she informed us there were two ‘giant’ slices left if we wanted ‘em. Not wanting to stop at Publix for something to fill our bellies, we said yeah. We should have stopped at Publix!
There were a couple of brief rain showers overnight Thursday, but other than that, it was a comfortable night for sleeping (ie- the temperature was nice and I was far enough away from Roman’s tent).
Friday -
We just kinda hung around the airport waiting for everyone to arrive. Everyone rolled in at some point on Friday and found a suitable campsite. We were a little scattered around due to overflow from the ‘Invasion Boogie’, but the camping area isn’t that big that it made a difference.
Most of us patronized the Zoo bar for dinner…too lazy to go out.
We got the fire going a little late, but then Douglas (and Wendy) arrived with the Mac Daddies of firewood, so we fed it until about midnight. Thanks a bunch Douglas for the firewood effort.
Saturday –
Saturday was a little gusty, but a great day for riding. Wayne (Wayniac) expressed an interest in the SEAL Museum in Ft. Pierce, so five of us rode down there and 2 more caged it. One of the guides is a friend of mine, so we got a great tour of the museum and some inside stories/humor from ‘Andy’. He has been working there for a number of years.
The riders took A1A back up to Sebastian, so it was nice ride near the ocean.
One of two (relatively minor) incidents that occurred was someone started the campfire before dark and before the jump operations were shut down. Because the fire-pit is adjacent to the manifest and packing hangars, and the wind was changing direction, the smoke was wafting thru both of the hangars. Needless to say, some of the jumpers weren’t happy. They tend to be a little egotistical. The other minor incident will go unmentioned, but suffice it to say, it didn’t involve any human COG members.
Andrew’s Sliders dinner worked out pretty good sat. night. I think everyone enjoyed them, but some were left still hungry an hour later.
These are lessons learned for next year’s Bullfrog, regardless of where we have it.
Because Douglas had a huge piece of seasoned trunk that was hollow, it worked great as a ‘blast furnace’. Doug did a great job of feeding the bottom and sides until we had a serious blaze going. Everyone retired before 1am.
It got a little chilly on Saturday night (high 40s) for sleeping, but that’s the Fla. in us.
Sunday -
Another great weather day, and a lot less windy. Although some folks cut out before lunch, several of us hung out to watch the jumpers. It was near perfect jumping conditions and there were a spit load of jumpers. From tandems to fun jumpers to wing-suiters. The sky was so clear you could see guys/gals in freefall and then deploying. There were a ton of canopies in the sky all day and we had a great viewing area, as well as watching some crazy high-performance landings.
Several of us stopped by Patti’s (Riding Librarian) house on the way home, where they were serving up grilled chicken. Thanks Patti!
Many thanks to all that registered (of which all showed up) and to those that stopped by to say hello!
Overall, I think it was a success. I'll be posting some pics from my personal computer shortly.
Thursday -
I rolled in shortly after Roman (Tic Tac) late afternoon, and after getting my tent set up, we were both hungry. The Zoo Bar was closed, so we took a ride down to Earl’s Hideaway (an institution in Sebastian). It’s essentially a biker bar and a little rough after dark, but I had the ‘Russian Mafia’ with me so I wasn’t too concerned. Let’s just say the Connies didn’t fit in real well in the parking lot (and I don’t mean from a spatial perspective).
We ordered two personal margarita pizzas, and after waiting 40 minutes, I inquired with our server/bartender about the pizzas. She informed us that the cook just walked out and ‘there would be no more food’. Although I felt bad for her, it was somewhat entertaining watching her tell a bunch of drunk bikers there was no more food for the night. Several minutes later she informed us there were two ‘giant’ slices left if we wanted ‘em. Not wanting to stop at Publix for something to fill our bellies, we said yeah. We should have stopped at Publix!
There were a couple of brief rain showers overnight Thursday, but other than that, it was a comfortable night for sleeping (ie- the temperature was nice and I was far enough away from Roman’s tent).
Friday -
We just kinda hung around the airport waiting for everyone to arrive. Everyone rolled in at some point on Friday and found a suitable campsite. We were a little scattered around due to overflow from the ‘Invasion Boogie’, but the camping area isn’t that big that it made a difference.
Most of us patronized the Zoo bar for dinner…too lazy to go out.
We got the fire going a little late, but then Douglas (and Wendy) arrived with the Mac Daddies of firewood, so we fed it until about midnight. Thanks a bunch Douglas for the firewood effort.
Saturday –
Saturday was a little gusty, but a great day for riding. Wayne (Wayniac) expressed an interest in the SEAL Museum in Ft. Pierce, so five of us rode down there and 2 more caged it. One of the guides is a friend of mine, so we got a great tour of the museum and some inside stories/humor from ‘Andy’. He has been working there for a number of years.
The riders took A1A back up to Sebastian, so it was nice ride near the ocean.
One of two (relatively minor) incidents that occurred was someone started the campfire before dark and before the jump operations were shut down. Because the fire-pit is adjacent to the manifest and packing hangars, and the wind was changing direction, the smoke was wafting thru both of the hangars. Needless to say, some of the jumpers weren’t happy. They tend to be a little egotistical. The other minor incident will go unmentioned, but suffice it to say, it didn’t involve any human COG members.
Andrew’s Sliders dinner worked out pretty good sat. night. I think everyone enjoyed them, but some were left still hungry an hour later.
These are lessons learned for next year’s Bullfrog, regardless of where we have it.
Because Douglas had a huge piece of seasoned trunk that was hollow, it worked great as a ‘blast furnace’. Doug did a great job of feeding the bottom and sides until we had a serious blaze going. Everyone retired before 1am.
It got a little chilly on Saturday night (high 40s) for sleeping, but that’s the Fla. in us.
Sunday -
Another great weather day, and a lot less windy. Although some folks cut out before lunch, several of us hung out to watch the jumpers. It was near perfect jumping conditions and there were a spit load of jumpers. From tandems to fun jumpers to wing-suiters. The sky was so clear you could see guys/gals in freefall and then deploying. There were a ton of canopies in the sky all day and we had a great viewing area, as well as watching some crazy high-performance landings.
Several of us stopped by Patti’s (Riding Librarian) house on the way home, where they were serving up grilled chicken. Thanks Patti!
Many thanks to all that registered (of which all showed up) and to those that stopped by to say hello!
Overall, I think it was a success. I'll be posting some pics from my personal computer shortly.
Swampcat said:Shawn said:
NASA has no trouble with pictures...
C'mon Ed, I'm sure that's your photoshop black magic at work. :nananana: :rotflmao:
Seriously though, I did not get any pics at Earl's, but that doesn't mean I can't stop there one night this week to get one...the same fugitives will be there. :rotflmao:
Shawn said:
Nope, no Photoshop on this one. I work at KSC from time to time and one day I took Shoodaben. I had to get this picture. Thought about riding out to one of the pads, but since I had no valid reason to be out there it might have been uncomfortable to explain. They're understandably sensitive about the flight-critical areas.
As for Earl's...I think I'd steer clear of that place personally.
Thanks Shawn for putting this back together. I was glad I came and had a great time :beerchug:
wayniac
Bicycle
Thanks to Shawn and Natalie for their work putting the event together and keeping it running smoothly.
Thanks to Doug for the trailer load of firewood, it's always fun trying to use it all up.
Thanks Chris for the late night pizza it was appreciated and quite good.
Like I told Shawn the size of the event turn out wound up being a plus for me as I got to talk to more people at length that I hadn't talked to much before as at the larger rallies they are usually busy with their usual entourage.
Finally I'd like to say that this should be kept alive and if it is I'll plan to attend in the future.
Until next time everyone Speed Safely!!
Thanks to Doug for the trailer load of firewood, it's always fun trying to use it all up.
Thanks Chris for the late night pizza it was appreciated and quite good.
Like I told Shawn the size of the event turn out wound up being a plus for me as I got to talk to more people at length that I hadn't talked to much before as at the larger rallies they are usually busy with their usual entourage.
Finally I'd like to say that this should be kept alive and if it is I'll plan to attend in the future.
Until next time everyone Speed Safely!!
Thanks again to everyone for the positive feedback. :beerchug:
I was at the airport yesterday and got some positive feedback from Amanda, Andrew and Jeff.
Amanda said besides starting the fire too early sat. evening, everyone was well-behaved and respectful of the jump operation and property.
Andrew said they enjoyed having COG for dinner, and like Amanda, he said everyone was pleasant to deal with and respectful.
Jeff just asked when we were coming back. :great:
Based on the price, it will be a strong venue consideration for next year again. If so, we'll have to put together a short do's and don'ts list as lessons learned from this year.
PS - This event was simple to put together, but I now have a greater appreciation for COG folk that put the big events together. Kudos.
I was at the airport yesterday and got some positive feedback from Amanda, Andrew and Jeff.
Amanda said besides starting the fire too early sat. evening, everyone was well-behaved and respectful of the jump operation and property.
Andrew said they enjoyed having COG for dinner, and like Amanda, he said everyone was pleasant to deal with and respectful.
Jeff just asked when we were coming back. :great:
Based on the price, it will be a strong venue consideration for next year again. If so, we'll have to put together a short do's and don'ts list as lessons learned from this year.
PS - This event was simple to put together, but I now have a greater appreciation for COG folk that put the big events together. Kudos.
AlwysYng
Moped
Shawn, great job with the event. It was nice to see everyone again and sit down and chat. Watching the skydivers was a plus. As with any event, we learn some do's and don't which always makes the next get together even better. The personal guided tour of the Seals museum was awesome. Thanks again for your contact there.
Next year we just keep the fire going :campfire: