Gulf Wars XIX: Saturday & Sunday
Eleven days ago Hubbyfink and I hit the road to spend seven glorious days in my old stomping grounds. We overnighted at Mom's house where we celebrated beaznuts' birthday (and I finally got to meet my newest nephew Jonathan). wombatgirl and rhino_boy rolled in a couple of hours after us and we all stayed up much too late considering how long our respective Saturdays had been and how long the following Sunday would be.
I was a bundle of nerves most of the way through Mississippi. I was excited (and scared) about seeing Hattiesburg and my University. The sororities have moved out of Panhellenic Hall and most have their own houses now. It was weird not seeing the Greek letters and sorority mascots on the balconies of the dorm. I was disappointed to see there was no anchor in front of the Delta Gamma house, but maybe that's university policy or something. Anyway, after my quick tour down memory lane, we got back on the interstate and found the site another thirty miles or so down the road.
Check-in was not what I had expected. In my experience, Pennsic Troll is a fairly well-oiled machine and we're able to process people in and out as quickly as the Coopers' credit card readers run. Gulf Wars Troll was much more laid back. There was no spiel about not losing (or even simply wearing) the medallion. There was no explanation of where to find one's camp. It was "Here's a medallion. String is over there. Books are on that table if you want them. If you have a car, get a hang tag off the table by the door." Oookay. Oh, wait a minute. There's no number on the medallion. "Yeah, we quit numbering them." Ooookay. Oh, hey, wombatgirl and rhino_boy caught up to us and are in the line for Troll. We waved to them and set off in search of Atlantia's camp.
We should have stopped at the land tent and asked for directions to Atlantia. On the other hand, driving around the entire site twice did give us a fairly good idea of the lay of the land. The various security people who flagged us down were all just as polite as can be -- which sort of freaked out Hubbyfink who isn't used to Southerners beyond my family -- and we FINALLY found the correct street to turn down.
Now, I'm not sure if it was fresh air, sunshine, warm temps, six hours in the van following thirteen hours in the van the previous day or what, but both Hubbyfink and I were pretty much brain dead for set-up. We managed to get the pavilion set up pretty quickly, but unloading gear and building the bed took for-freaking-ever. With Sir Tascius' assistance, Hubbyfink was finally able to complete the bed frame assembly. We got the air mattress and bedding arranged well after dark and then headed back up to Hattiesburg for dinner and a run through Walmart for various bits and pieces. I think we got back around 11 and both promptly passed out.
Thus endeth Day 1 of Gulf Wars XIX.
I was a bundle of nerves most of the way through Mississippi. I was excited (and scared) about seeing Hattiesburg and my University. The sororities have moved out of Panhellenic Hall and most have their own houses now. It was weird not seeing the Greek letters and sorority mascots on the balconies of the dorm. I was disappointed to see there was no anchor in front of the Delta Gamma house, but maybe that's university policy or something. Anyway, after my quick tour down memory lane, we got back on the interstate and found the site another thirty miles or so down the road.
Check-in was not what I had expected. In my experience, Pennsic Troll is a fairly well-oiled machine and we're able to process people in and out as quickly as the Coopers' credit card readers run. Gulf Wars Troll was much more laid back. There was no spiel about not losing (or even simply wearing) the medallion. There was no explanation of where to find one's camp. It was "Here's a medallion. String is over there. Books are on that table if you want them. If you have a car, get a hang tag off the table by the door." Oookay. Oh, wait a minute. There's no number on the medallion. "Yeah, we quit numbering them." Ooookay. Oh, hey, wombatgirl and rhino_boy caught up to us and are in the line for Troll. We waved to them and set off in search of Atlantia's camp.
We should have stopped at the land tent and asked for directions to Atlantia. On the other hand, driving around the entire site twice did give us a fairly good idea of the lay of the land. The various security people who flagged us down were all just as polite as can be -- which sort of freaked out Hubbyfink who isn't used to Southerners beyond my family -- and we FINALLY found the correct street to turn down.
Now, I'm not sure if it was fresh air, sunshine, warm temps, six hours in the van following thirteen hours in the van the previous day or what, but both Hubbyfink and I were pretty much brain dead for set-up. We managed to get the pavilion set up pretty quickly, but unloading gear and building the bed took for-freaking-ever. With Sir Tascius' assistance, Hubbyfink was finally able to complete the bed frame assembly. We got the air mattress and bedding arranged well after dark and then headed back up to Hattiesburg for dinner and a run through Walmart for various bits and pieces. I think we got back around 11 and both promptly passed out.
Thus endeth Day 1 of Gulf Wars XIX.