Surprise, surprise, surprise!!!! (aka party time!)

Wow! I am still saying wow. Actually as some of you heard, my initial reaction was "Hoooooooooly S@#t!!!!"

This is the first time I have posted a trip report without having to go anywhere. Thanks to an idea hatched by Chris Brown and planned out by Sherpa Kroto and Carmel the webmistress, I got the surprise party of my lifetime on Saturday. It was unbelievable, and I am still blown away by how many people came and how far they traveled to get here. I just can't get over the effort put in by everyone to come to my house for the hoe down.

In true fashion of VFTT, all of the Northeast was represented: CT, RI, MA, ME, NH, VT, NY, and Montreal, Canada. Unreal. Getting to my little corner of Southeastern Mass is many more miles than getting to the mountains for most people. Long distance driving awards go to Bubba from Buffalo, Teejay from Syracuse, and Roxanne and Gail from Montreal. You guys rock! The effort of the year award goes to DougPaul - I am envious of his fancy walker, I could have used it for last 10 months. Good thing it has 4 wheel drive so he could navigate the stairs.

I had so much fun hanging out with all of my friends and meeting some new ones. It was great to see SherpaK looking like his old self. The Bluffs - SherpaK, Mad Townie, Funky Freddy, Mike, and Alpinista, rocked the house. I mean they really jammed the "low point of Massachusetts". I still can't believe there was a full band in my basement bar. It was awesome. Big thanks to all of you for hauling your equipment here and doing a great gig.

Shout outs also go out to Swamp(yankee), MEB, Yam, Perriwinkle and Jack (her better half, ha), HOT DONNA (yes, you have to say her name with emphasis), amstony, Unfrozen GRAVEman (Carmel gave him a new name), Chuck, my main Shaka brudda one kine Matt Grady, Skimom, Arm and his friend (sorry some names are hazy), Frodo, John S (keeping his streak alive!), the Hoffs, Shannon, Kerry and Tom, and Mike (the co-founder of Lexi Communications Inc ), and his girlfriend Anne. It was great seeing / meeting everyone. Carmel also did a nice job inviting the neighbors so the police didn't come! I am sure I have forgotten to name some people and I apologize for that. Did I mention that there were 2 kegs of Harpoon IPA!?!?!? I swear they put hallucinogenics in that beer...

OK, on to the pictures:

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/558358147TJOCSI

I'm sure others will have some more funny ones to share.

I would like to thank everyone for coming. I had such a great time and it it really picked up my spirits. This site always gives back to me, and I am continually stunned by just how much. You guys rock. Big thanks to Sherpa K. Huge thanks to Carmel for putting it all together. You are the best! Mwah!

Much aloha,

Darren

yea - when carmel sent this invite out way back - I knew I was going to be away on business - I was bummed, cuz this is 1) literally a stone throw for me away and - 2) I am always up for partying. with like minded folk and I see they were all there.....

I did toss a few (ok more than a few) back in nashville,TN sat night for you though.... BTW - nashville has a great nightlife

anyway, sounds like it was a blast.

Darren,
Big thanks to you for having us! I tried so hard to convince Carm that we have never run out of beer at a VFTT event, but she got last minute jitters and sent out a note to have folks supplement her beer stash. I hope you enjoy finishing the 2nd keg We'll be by at 7:00 to help BTW, note to self: Matt and I realized all too late that working on a leaking beer tap leads to early intoxication. Can't let the spillage go to waste!

Speaking for the Bluffs, we had a great time! It's hard to get the whole group together (since we cover Maine to Florida!), and we were missing bassmen ChrisB (in Hawaii!!!) and Tall Andrew, and guitar virtuoso supremo Gris (Grey Knob himself!). We were also a bit light in the vocals as SkiMom came late, Ed was in Mexico, and Townie was feeling a bit under the weather (but still playing like a champ!). Fortunately, as always, Freddy was in the zone! If you haven't heard him yet, you're missing out. Mark your calendars for "Bearly Live '07" up in Oxford, Maine, likely 7/27-29. We'll have the full "grey Knob and the Bluffs" band together then with enough equipment to rock a decent sized stadium

Bravo to DougPaul for trekking down! It was great to see him smiling from across the room while we played. Now he is a trusting soul: he allowed Arm and Frodo to assist him down the stairs so he could take in a set from the band (or was it because the beer was down there?)

Shaka - you're looking good, and it will soon be kayak/hiking/biking season. Keep on keeping on, and adversity will all soon be a distant memory...

... but the party will go on forever in the minds of those who were there.

Thanks everyone!

Darren,

Really bummed I couldn't make it.

I was ready to 'decloak' at the surprise party, but a combination of family issues and out of town business travel much of the previous week killed any chance of getting there.
Can't wait to hear more about the fun from those who were there.

Alan

Hi Darren, Nice pictures, it was great to see you and everyone else! I had a great time and it's always nice to see so many of my VFTT friends again and meet new faces! It's always strange for me to come back to NYC after such a great time, like coming back to earth from a dream.

It was a lot of fun to play in your basement, maybe we should do it again when you get back from Hawaii I have to thank Lisa/Alpinista for giving me a ride and my band mates for putting up with me, lol! I also want to thank all of our friends who drove such long distances and helped to make it such a great weekend!

I hope your leg heals up soon and you have a great year in Hawaii. Thanks again for a great time and having such a great website! I have hiked, partied, kayaked, played music, etc. with so many wonderful people over the years that I have met through this site...... I really don't know how I could ever adequately thank you.

So sorry I had to miss this. I knew it would be a blast and sure enough you guys didn't disappoint. Glad you had fun Darren. You sure do deserve some smiles after the past couple of years of struggles. Off to see the pictures, now. Maybe we can catch up before you head back to Hawaii.

sli74

Thank You so much everyone!!!

I want to thank everyone for coming to see darren and join in the festivities! I really can't thank you all enough!

i have to say, i was really nervous, especially the week leading up to it!!! darren and i never had "that conversation," ya know, the one that goes like this, "would you kill someone if they had a surprise party for you (nevermind at your own house)?"

anyways, as soon as i saw his HUGE smile when he pulled up in the driveway, i was a VERY happy girl!!!

i almost spilled like ten times the week before and on top of it...darren has been admitedly a little bored with his injuries and sitting on the couch...he's always trying to figure out what i'm looking at on the internet or on my cell phone, and i couldn't open up my laptop without something about the party popping up on my screen and almost killed him because he would be like "what are you looking at, what are you doing??" plus, i'm really bad at keeping secrets from him.

i had a great time and i really enjoyed meeting a bunch of new people and hanging out with the old ones. i really enjoyed the Dougpaul open forum question hour hosted by Hot Donna, with topics such as...are any of them allowed on the board????

i also got a kick out of one of our very good, but un-named friends, had to pee, and i saw him walk out the door when there was an inch of ice/snow/sleet on the ground (the mens bathroom was outside) with just his socks on!!!! He comes back in with soaking socks, and all i hear is "slosh, slosh, slosh" and see big footprints across the floor!!!! Trust me, I don't think he noticed!!!

i can't thank you all enough for coming, it meant so much to darren and also to me. you definitely made him very happy and lifted his spirits for sure!

you are all welcome to come back ANYTIME!

Carm

p.s. thanks bubba for dragging my hungover bum on that nice Audobon walk, i posted those pics too (oh yeah, and for driving all the way down here)!!!

Okay ya all...there's some really bad a*s pictures of me on this post...just want everyone to know I really didn't look like that...those pictures have been tampered with (okay...maybe not)...

And for the record, 1. Thank you DougPaul for the hosted hour...you are awesome and 2. That hour was really hosted by Carm and I was only her aide....

Fun time, Darren glad you had fun, we've been missing you.

Happy hiking and all kinds of outdoor fun stuff.

Thanks to Darren for "hosting", SK and Carmel for organizing.

And a personal thanks to: SK for "lynching" me (down to the party, of course...). Stan for driving my semi-functional carcass down and back. Arm, Frodo, JohnS, (and others) for helping me up and down stairs. MEB and others for fetching me food and drink, etc

'Twas an enjoyable evening out with music and friends.

Doug

PS. They are all lying... I deny any recollection of hosting anything...

DougPaul said:

PS. They are all lying... I deny any recollection of hosting anything...

Click to expand...

It was something about "elections at elevation", and "crampons and pom-poms", but then again, my hearing is not that great Suffice it to say that Doug's topical knowledge never ceases to amaze. Forget Wikipedia: we have DougPaulepedia!

SherpaKroto said:

It was something about "elections at elevation", and "crampons and pom-poms", but then again, my hearing is not that great

Click to expand...

Lets just say there were some rather loose interpretations made of one of my statements... (Naturally, I deny any responsibility here too...)

Suffice it to say that Doug's topical knowledge never ceases to amaze. Forget Wikipedia: we have DougPaulepedia!

Click to expand...

You can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time... (Still working on all of the people all of the time.)

Doug

Super fun time everyone! I just wish I didn't have to leave so early....DougPaul let me know when you'll be hosting another DougPaulepedia session....from what I hear it sounds like I missed out on a very informative discussion.

-MEB

Carmel and SherpK: well done organizing this very fun event! It was a blast to get the band together again for some jammin' _ but it was especially priceless seeing Darren's reaction as he hobbled up the driveway, lined with a gazillion cars.

As always, it was great playing some music with FunkyFreddy, BigLoop, MadTownie and SherpaK.

HOT Donna: Your dirty dancing was the, um, cherry on top! (Though I'm not sure I can forgive you for pantomiming "Feed your head" at the end of the White Rabbit tune. How could I possibly carry on with that visual going on!)

DougPaul _ seeing you come downstairs was equally impressive. And of course that conversation about "elections/erections/derelictions on Everest" was, um, interesting (is that the word???)!!!

Hot Donna...

sounds like someone has a new nickname.

oh yeah, and CHrisB we missed you, hope you are enjoying Hawaii....

carm

alpinista said:

DougPaul _ seeing you come downstairs was equally impressive.

Click to expand...

Standard technique--all you need is a sturdy railing and a helper. Been using it for the last 5 or so weeks to get in and out of my house.

Getting on and off the outside porch was much harder--narrow stairs, no railings, and not much room for helpers (2 req). Add an inch or so of slushy snow and it becomes real fun...

Doug

I don't ever recall meeting/re-meeting so many cool people in one place at one time.Thanks Darren, You the Man!

I meant to ask DougPaul if he was familiar with the state fish of Hawaii. That's a fun one.
Happy Times Steve-o aka Arm's friend.

Oh yeah, because I find this thread off-topic and does not pertain to hiking, everyone will get a red square!

Sorry I missed the party. Looks like you had a great time as usual.

Yup, that was a ripper! Good times...good times...

Did anyone else see that sword fight those two peeps were having? WOW

Darren, nice meeting you finally...hope you were serious about that whole Hawaii thing - think I need a vacation!

Hot Donna, nice dancing with you as always

Gail and Roxanne - thanks for the lift!

Everyone else - thanks for the lift!

Oh, and nice job on the food everyone - as always my a$$ thanks you for helping it grow

Great Party!

Typical VFTT event – half old friends, half new friends, rain/snow, plenty of food, everybody drove hours to get there and all had loads of fun. First time I saw the Bluffs and it won’t be the last. Big thumbs up to Carmel and SherpaK!

Darren: Aloha…..and come home without the crutch!

Darren's post party quotes....

1) "I wish we could have the party again next weekend, can we have another one?" -Sunday night

2) "ya know, it really is too bad that the party's over. It should have been two days, ya know, started Friday night and then we'd have had all day and night on Saturday to party...yeah, next time we'll have to do a two day party."-Monday night

he's getting demanding, but it sounds like he had a great night. next time we'll know he wants a TWO day SURPRISE party...unfortunately i don't think i could handle the stress...

hee hee.