Memories from the weekend;

As has long been the norm, Thursday night was the kick off to this year’s get together organized by Daryl, aided greatly by the generosity of Mowbs. Which means the festivities got started at Farnient, what’s fast becoming the AOTW Clubhouse in Collingwood.

The first night attendees were Paul, Rod, Cruiser, Leo, Beaups, Guy and Harper. A fairly tame first night it was, with pizza, and the other usual party aids (beers, smokes, red wine, scotch, BC herb). Much was made of who the golf teams would be and the nature of the game, but intoxication, ego, and plain silliness prevented any kind of coherent plan. That would be worked out the next day when calmer heads prevailed.

Saturday morning was mostly consumed with breakfast and a discussion of an apparent “truck stop” on in Leo and Beaup’s room. Also a point of conversation concerned Guy’s book, Divorce Dollars: Get Your Fair Share. A lot of advice was offered to our latest victim of marital fallout, much of it unwelcome, but tolerated in the spirit of friendship.

Golf was thankfully arranged at a much more civilized hour, allowing for Dines and Floyd to arrive in time. The three teams headed out, with the usual bravado. Updates throughout the day were as usual over/understated with the intent of misinforming the competition, lullying them into a false sense of security. In the end, this author was not on the winning team so details of the outcome were not recorded due to a lack of interest as well as poor sportsmanship. Of special mention was Dines’ strong performance, ensuring a higher ranking in next year’s event

Johnny “The Hammer” Halley, and Rob joined us later that night at the Dam Pub in Thornbury. The big development – aside from the good food enjoyed in our own private room – was the electricity between Rod and pub owner, Stephanie, who flirted shamelessly with each other, and ended with her commitment to assist in our Scotch tasting event the next night. Guy, with some officious comments about historical building permits, managed to insert foot in mouth to a sufficient degree that his running for AOTW was assured. We all went home with full stomachs and an anticipation of the next day’s main event, with Rod suffering the additional experience of blue balls syndrome.

A bon fire was had that night, with two new concepts - Donkey Punch and Shooting hoops - occupying a disproportionate amount of talk. Wine has taken on a larger role in the drinking department, so beer farting was kept to a minimum, a bonus for those of us who always end up in the bunk bed room.

Following another excellent Daryl inspired breakfast, the group headed off to Eco Tour and the scenic caves http://sceniccaves.com/ where we got suited up for some forest canopy walks and zip lining. Everyone managed to come in under the 250 lb limit, although there was some rumour of a member or two being “assisted” on the weigh scales to ensure compliance.

After a walking across the suspension bridge, it was time to get serious. Following a practise session, we partnered up and climbed the ladder to begin our canopy walk on the wobbly six inch plank which was suspended by some questionable looking wires. It all worked out as we headed to our first zip line (300 feet) which was a prelude to the 1000 foot jobby that awaited the end of the tour. But not before we had a look at the cave known as Fat Man’s Misery which Mowbs had the pleasure of experiencing with his daughters some time back. On our decent from the escarpment, various interpretations of “letting go” were displayed. Those who brought up the rear were unfortunately showered with crab apples, an indication that a healthy dose of asshole still resides within all of us.

Back at Club AOTW, Scotty M and Steve Cook showed up, which completed the record turnout in many years. Drinks, stories, verbal sparring etc. ensued as everyone settled into a nice alcoholic and/or drug induced haze. Following that, everyone got gussied up in anticipation of our female dinner guest. There was some question as to whether she would keep her word, but to everyone’s delight– especially Rod’s – Stephanie appeared and partook in out catered meal.

Then it was down to the business of tasting scotch. Five of the 13 brands were selected for the taste test. Stephanie, purveyor of 450 scotches at her pub, provided an interesting set-up to each scotch, educating us on the what and how to’s of drinking it. A dram of water proved to be the secret to enjoying this amber nectar. While a few wussies faked their way through, most embraced the experience and were better for it, if not from a knowledge basis, then at least their mental state. The final exercise was a taste test to see who learned the most, with Scott Cruise proving to have the most refined palate.

Another bonfire was already underway, and the two love birds cooed while the rest of us traded stories, discussed a broad variety of heavy and light topics such as psychological well being, our children’s progress in the world, retirement, and the art of jacking off into your own mouth.

By Sunday morning, there wasn’t a whole lot of gas left in the tank, so we were content to kick back, drink coffee, and puff on our final cigarettes.

Voting proved to be closer than some of us anticipated with Guy edging out Leo for the honours to organize next year’s event. After the final tilt of the scotch bottle, it was time to hit the road and mentally prepare a debrief suitable for the ears of wives and children.

Attendees:

Everyone except Mel :(

Voting totals:

Boomer gave Guy a challenge but in the end it was Guy!

Golf Champions:

Leo, Mowbs, and Dines