The Birthday Bash 4

The Birthday Bash has become an annual tradition for our family.  Going into this year's rally I was thinking that maybe next year we'd take a year off and do some stuff with our actual family.  This year being perhaps more low-key than in past years (that's not a bad thing by any means!) and I liked it the best yet of the Bashs; and I've been to them all.  I remembered quickly why I (and my family, of course) love going to the Bash.  It's a different family than my usual one for 4 days.  It's an extended family that I tend to see more often in a year than just at the Bash and usually it's more often than my own extended family.  There's some repeat attendees and as usual, there's a few new ones.

Although I love breakfast, and the spread that is put on by the rally hosts and volunteers is amazing, I'm happy to report that my family managed to sleep in too late to attend two of the three breakfasts during the rally.  That means we had a really good time the night before and the kids wore themselves out enough to sleep in late, too.

We've been graced with the presence of a BBQ master at this rally before.  I'm glad he showed up again this year.  Not only did he share some drinks with me, but some BBQ tips as well.  His cooking efforts were the main event during Saturday's dinner.  I'm happy to say that I got to be one of two people standing at the end of the table cutting tri-tips for the buffet line.  I ate almost nothing but BBQ meat for that dinner.  It was great.

It's difficult to put into words what it's like to go to the Bash and be at the Bash.  Something things I'd like to convey I can't describe in words and I couldn't take pictures of.  Get your minds out of the gutter...it's because it was dark.  OK, bad reason...it was because pictures don't take well around a campfire or at an outdoor movie screen.  Which we had both of.  Thanks to Jim, if you're reading, for bringing the movie screen.  I think nearly everyone was there watching RV.  I hope it becomes an annual tradition to watch it at the Bash.

For the other few thousand words I can't come up with, there's pictures:

The view from under our awning.

Can you see the Airstreams from the trees?

Happy hour under the tent.

Hosts and volunteers cooking the "cookout" dinner.

Piles of kid paraphernalia are common at the Bash.  Kids tend to learn to ride a bike at the Bash.  This year there were at least two (one of them mine, woohoo Mason!) that mastered it.

Is it me or is this a common theme?

When there's birthday cakes (yes, 2) to be eaten, there's no time to take off one's bike helmet.

Potluck setup...and maybe some Airstream discussion.

Did you guess the common theme yet?

Model rocket building and launching has become a tradition at the rally.  Some people are REALLY getting into it.

Front and center at the smoker.

The happy pit master.