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dr.com Fall 2013 Picnic - October 13th at Fort Hunt Park - Cancelled due to government shutdown

Ilaine

By Ilaine
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Ilaine leviathan

Ilaine

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The annual dr.com fall picnic will be held, as usual, at Fort Hunt State Park, at picnic area C-2.  I just made the reservation for October 13, which is the earliest available Sunday date.

I am organizing it, and also bringing a roast suckling pig.

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DonRocks donrocks@aol.com

DonRocks

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The annual dr.com fall picnic will be held, as usual, at Fort Hunt State Park, at picnic area C-2.  I just made the reservation for October 13, which is the earliest available Sunday date.

I am organizing it, and also bringing a roast suckling pig.

Ilaine, thank you for stepping up - it was either you or ... silence. I have no doubt that the picnic will live on in the future, but I had *big* doubts about the one this fall - it's because of you that it might just work.

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Pat donrocks@aol.com

Pat

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Oh!  Good question!  When is it usually?  Something like noon to five?

Yes.  That's the standard picnic time.  You get the site from 10-6, but we usually allow those first couple hours (or the latter part thereof) for setup and the last hour for breakdown.

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monavano leviathan

monavano

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Generally, we RSVP here and get a head count

You're asked to put some cash into the "kitty" to reimburse the cost of renting the pavilion

The pot luck is the best part! Bring yourself first! If you love to cook, show us whatcha got, or bring water, libations, other supplies... last picnic, the chips and dip were a hit1

I'm thinking golabki... maybe...

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Ilaine leviathan

Ilaine

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I will do a head count after work.  I was at Monticello Harvest Festival Saturday, buried my boss Sunday (well, I did not actually bury him, just went to the funeral), and just did not get around to it.

Pamrhess, just post that you are coming, how many people are coming with you, and what you are bringing.  It is a potluck, bring enough for several others, and if you can kick some cash money in to the kitty, that would be nice.   I fronted $200 for the spot, Don Rockwell will pay me back for what's left after the cash is counted.

As it gets closer to P-day, and we have a head count, we will see if we already have enough tableware and eatware and serveware, or whether someone can bring some of that.  Wine, beer, ice, icechests, always needed.  There is no grill at the site so portable grills can be a good idea.  We can bring one, a charcoal Weber that starts with propane.

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Ilaine leviathan

Ilaine

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OK, preliminary headcount:

Ilaine +1, roast suckling pig and Weber grill if requested;

Thistle;

bethjoan +Jason;

weezy;

22209 +1;

ol_ironstomach, science experiment;

cucas87 +Scott;

agm + NQD, pork or goat with flames and smoke;

Barbara +Dame Edna, pumpkin cheesesteak;

monavano, maybe golabki.

We are the few, the proud, the Rockweilers!

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thistle leviathan

thistle

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I have all the tablecloths & leftover plates, cups, flatware, & I will be there early for the setup-these picnics have been so much fun for me & my family-I only get to see you guys at picnics, & my DH used to ask me 'why do you go & meet strangers for food?-that was long ago, & he's attended several picnics. I'll probably smoke something, & make poundcake (so predictable)...if you're thinking about coming, you should-it's low-key, & the food is awesome, & comes in waves, you have to pace yourself. Hoping for a perfect Indian summer fall picnic....

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Ilaine leviathan

Ilaine

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Ilaine +1, roast suckling pig and Weber grill if requested;

Thistle +tableware, serveware, drinkware;

bethjoan +Jason +bethjoan's mom;

weezy +4 or 5;

22209 +1;

ol_ironstomach, science experiment;

cucas87 +Scott;

agm + NQD, pork or goat with flames and smoke;

Barbara +Dame Edna, pumpkin cheesesteak;

monavano, maybe golabki.

[Thank you again for doing this. I also want to stress to every member here, even if they've never posted before, that they are welcome with open arms, and won't be strangers for longer than 15 seconds. Many, many members here (literally, dozens if not hundreds) who are close friends know each other because they met at an event. If we have enough new members, we can do name tags if people want. DR]

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Barbara leviathan

Barbara

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Ilaine +1, roast suckling pig and Weber grill if requested;

Thistle +tableware, serveware, drinkware;

bethjoan +Jason +bethjoan's mom;

weezy +4 or 5;

22209 +1;

ol_ironstomach, science experiment;

cucas87 +Scott;

agm + NQD, pork or goat with flames and smoke;

Barbara +Dame Edna, pumpkin cheesesteak;

monavano, maybe golabki.

[Thank you again for doing this. I also want to stress to every member here, even if they've never posted before, that they are welcome with open arms, and won't be strangers for longer than 15 seconds. Many, many members here (literally, dozens if not hundreds) who are close friends know each other because they met at an event. If we have enough new members, we can do name tags if people want. DR]

Before people get all excited, I'm bringing pumpkin cheeseCAKE.

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Ilaine leviathan

Ilaine

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laine +1, roast suckling pig and Weber grill if requested;

Thistle +tableware, serveware, drinkware;

bethjoan +Jason +bethjoan's mom;

weezy +4 or 5;

22209 +1;

ol_ironstomach, science experiment;

cucas87 +Scott;

agm + NQD, pork or goat with flames and smoke;

Barbara +Dame Edna, pumpkin <strike>cheesesteak</strike> cheesecake;

monavano, maybe golabki;

John William G +1, jalapeno cheesesquares, wine;

zora margolies.

Dang, pumpkin cheesesteak, while a typo, sounds interesting.  And everybody is welcome to bring a bottle of wine, or two, or beer, or non-adult beverage.

In the meantime, I just realized that Fort Hunt Park is managed by the National Park Service, which means *dun *dun* *dun* cue scary music, in the event of a government shut down, well, you know . . . .

Treasury says the government will turn into a pumpkin on October 17, just in time for Halloween, so maybe 10/13/13 will work out OK.

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bettyjoan leviathan

bettyjoan

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We are still planning on bringing my mom, but just FYI - it is bettyjoan, not bethjoan.  If it was just a nickname, I wouldn't stress it, but Betty is my actual name (and Joan was my actual middle name, before I got married and turned my maiden name into my middle name).  :D

I'll start thinking about what to bring and post an update when I land on something yummy.

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Ilaine leviathan

Ilaine

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Phooey, indeed!

I called the National Park Service yesterday, got an answering machine confirming they are shut down.  The website does say that if our reservation is cancelled, I will eventually get a refund.

Obviously we have no idea when the gridlock in Congress will end, but my crystal ball says that they are going to roll the debate over the spending bill into the upcoming debt ceiling crisis and it won't end soon.  Whether it will end by October 13 is anybody's guess.

If not, we could try for a later date in October once the reservation site comes back online.

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Ilaine leviathan

Ilaine

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The uncertainty is starting to stress me.  I am definitely not going to plan on roast suckling pig, the lead time for ordering is such that I am afraid I'd have a raw dead piglet in my refrigerator all dressed out and nowhere to go. :wacko:

A non-Rockwell friend of mine suggested we just plan on not going forward on the 13th and go for a rain date TBA.  He pointed out that even if Congress comes to a consensus the park probably needs to be mowed, etc.

Anybody up for that?

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Ilaine leviathan

Ilaine

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I am not familiar with Pohick Bay park, so don't have an opinion either way, so am open to all suggestions.

There a couple of good things about Fort Hunt - the site we use has a shelter in case of inclement weather, and it's on the GW Parkway so convenient for people who don't live in Virginia.

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Ilaine leviathan

Ilaine

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OK, Pohick Bay has a shelter that will accommodate 100, and for me, as a Fairfax resident, the price is only $140 for a weekend, non-peak reservation.  Peak times are Memorial Day to Labor Day, so we're good to go and could change the venue for the 13th if we act now.  It looks perfect for our needs.

http://rs.nvrpa.org/shelter_details.php?shelter_id=19

On the other hand, as Bettyjoan points out, a lot of people are furloughed and don't know when they will get paid, if ever.

So that's something to think about, as well.

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Barbara leviathan

Barbara

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It would seem that there are only two choices here: 1) cancel, or 2) move it to Pohick Bay. It depends on how hard it would be to get there from DC for me to make an attendance decision.  Also there needs to be a drop-dead date for making your decision.

BTW: I would point out that, even if the gov was reopened by Friday, it is unlikely that Ft. Hunt would be in any condition for us--especially the bathrooms.

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weezy leviathan

weezy

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Another thing to consider, part of the reason that Ft. Hunt has been the picnic spot is that they allow alcohol, with proper permits.  I can forego the wine/beer, but it does add to the festivities to sample the different bottles.

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Barbara leviathan

Barbara

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Another thing to consider, part of the reason that Ft. Hunt has been the picnic spot is that they allow alcohol, with proper permits.  I can forego the wine/beer, but it does add to the festivities to sample the different bottles.

Whoops.  Check #6 on this list:

http://rs.nvrpa.org/confirmations/shelter_all.pdf

Ilaine; if this ban applies to us, you probably ought to just cancel.

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