Long weekend in the wilds of Soggy Georgia.
The 2009 PSSG - or Peach State 'Mud' Gaze.
This was the 16th PSSG I've been to, and by FAR the wettest. Normally October is our driest month - but not this year. Only Thursday was there any partial clearing, and that was only for the afternoon. Saturday was absolutely NASTY - a light to moderate rain, low clouds + fog and a temperature that didn't climb above the low 50's. It was more like a mid-January than the middle of October.
But it wasn't all that bad.
Unlike many folks at the event, I was staying at the "Llewellyn Hotel" - Shemp's astro-vacation house in the Deerlick Astronomy Village owner's area. Nothing like having TV/DVD access, a nice warm bed and having home cooked food under these chilly, soggy conditions. During the often cloudy/misty evenings - I introduced my host to the short-lived Firefly series. The only thing I didn't have was much internet access - and that was only when I setup the laptop under the PSSG main pavilion.
The skies did clear for over 4 hours on Friday night, allowing for impromptu imaging and observing for those who still had their scopes/equipment setup and under cover. After a tour of the main observing field, I headed back to the owner's area. I took some tripod images of Fall Constellations for awhile before heading off to bed.
I didn't spend too much, either - as a speaker most of my event fees were waved. I did buy a cute little meteorite (a carbonaceous chondrite) for less than 20 dollars, plus won (barely - one of the last tickets drawn) a lunar map at the door prize draw.
Overall, it was a decent little vacation - a brief lull before the big move at the end of the week.
So how was your weekend? Any vacation plans this fall?
This was the 16th PSSG I've been to, and by FAR the wettest. Normally October is our driest month - but not this year. Only Thursday was there any partial clearing, and that was only for the afternoon. Saturday was absolutely NASTY - a light to moderate rain, low clouds + fog and a temperature that didn't climb above the low 50's. It was more like a mid-January than the middle of October.
But it wasn't all that bad.
Unlike many folks at the event, I was staying at the "Llewellyn Hotel" - Shemp's astro-vacation house in the Deerlick Astronomy Village owner's area. Nothing like having TV/DVD access, a nice warm bed and having home cooked food under these chilly, soggy conditions. During the often cloudy/misty evenings - I introduced my host to the short-lived Firefly series. The only thing I didn't have was much internet access - and that was only when I setup the laptop under the PSSG main pavilion.
The skies did clear for over 4 hours on Friday night, allowing for impromptu imaging and observing for those who still had their scopes/equipment setup and under cover. After a tour of the main observing field, I headed back to the owner's area. I took some tripod images of Fall Constellations for awhile before heading off to bed.
I didn't spend too much, either - as a speaker most of my event fees were waved. I did buy a cute little meteorite (a carbonaceous chondrite) for less than 20 dollars, plus won (barely - one of the last tickets drawn) a lunar map at the door prize draw.
Overall, it was a decent little vacation - a brief lull before the big move at the end of the week.
So how was your weekend? Any vacation plans this fall?