St MinneSomePlace In Paradise
| Take It Out at the Saints Game | Tully Mars Day at the Races |
| Cajun Martini and Afternoon Golf | HAMA |
| Barometer Soup | This Hotel Room Phlocking |
The Saints Game is now in the phlocking legends book and we have the evidence (thanks to Dave Appelbaum)! About 80 members and friends showed up to raise the volume and phun in the parking lot.....and we were heard and seen! Even though we had the one or two occasional neighbors who had brought along a TV that thought we were having too much fun at their expense, there were the other dozens of people who came over to find out who we were and how could they join us. Two of honorable mention are the fifth generation conchs from Key West who now happen to live here....lots of stories they told. The other was the headmeister of the winter carnival. He wants us! I told him we wanted the winter carnival...with one condition, which is, that we get to bring a band to bring the banana winds to this January event. The Peter Mayer band is available! Only time will tell. But we will be discussing our participation including creating whatever we need for the occasion....floats, castle, etc.
Don't know if the Saints won or lost but they were ahead...but not ahead of us! The game was really the parking lot which was absolutely fantastic. Great music provided by Jeff Ragatz and his ol' RCA Victrola and the big BBQ provided by Rob Winters. Street dancing and good eatin' was the order of the day! Of course, phlocking with our parrot head friends was the grand slam! Looking forward to doing it again next year.
Special note: If you are wondering why the unusual reference to the phlocking title, you have to go way back to the earlier influences of one particular "crossed-dressed" Parrot Head who ran onto the field of play during warmups put his arm around one of the players and then flashed for the paparazzi. Photo on file at the club historical library. It was a humorous moment for fellow Parrot Heads, most of the fans and the surprised third baseman and a shock for the staff at Midway Field. Since they keep lettin' us return, I am sure it was as good for them as it was for those in attendance. Just another interesting day on the island of St MinneSomePlace!
Funny Cide lost but we didn't! Besides all the personal fortunes won today at Canterbury Park, the St MinneSomePlace Canterbury Crawl winnings hit $50! Tully Mars Day at Canterbury was a great afternoon of playing the ponies and phlocking with our Parrot Head friends. (thanks to Jeff Ohlmann and Al Patterson for the work on the banner)
Over 50 Parrot Heads showed up to try their best to figure out which is more important in betting: the name of the horse or the muddy track. Didn't really matter as the afternoon went by very fast as we hustled to study the races and make out picks. It was just a lot of fun.
Dave's handicapping experience helped us all make better bets and learn quite a bit about the details of horse racing. Great to hear about everyone's betting scheme! Maybe next time he won't pick the horse with the broken leg! Having the Hendrix's snooping in the paddock to see which horse is sweating or kicking down doors helped a little with that winning edge too!
Canterbury set us up with great accommodations. Inside seating with our own monitors (next to the Tiki Bar) and outside cool breezes along the track. Perfect for us no matter if its rain or shine. Great entertainment along with at least 10,000 other spectators. Thanks to Dave Appelbaum and his planning for putting together a great afternoon,
No doubt we will do this every year. The general consensus is to repeat on the same date as the Belmont or the Friday night before. You can bet we will!
Cajun Martini and Afternoon Golf Tourney, 2003 The Champions: Heidi, Tim, Brenda, Frank with the CM&AG Bwanas, Dave and Patrick May 17, On the Island of St MinneSomePlace The weather was here, and the golf was beautiful. A wonderful day was had by all 28 golfers this year. This was probably the nicest weather we have had for the tournament, and it was nice to see the brightly dressed golfers. We had another year of close competition, but the team of Heidi & Tim Wulf and Brenda & Frank Whiteside won the event with a great score of 68. Now we have to persuade the Whitesides to return next year to defend their title. The individual event winners are:
Short Drive - Men: Mark Olson
Women: Crystal Hendrix
Long Drive- Men: Dave Appelbaum
Women: Heidi Wulf
Closest to the Pin: Jeff Hamson
Longest Putt: MaryAnn Stender
The door prizes (generously donated by Teo Leonard) were won by Wendy Bontjes and Heidi Wulf. The big winner of the day was the Alzheimers Association, who will receive a donation of $328. Thanks to all who participated in this phun event, and we look forward to another great tournament next year.
Dave & Patrick
March 22, 2003....on the Island of St MinneSomePlace....if you listen very carefully, you can still hear the fading jungle drums of the 2003 THR as it is now officially in the book of La Vie Dansante Legends.
2003 THR Phlocking
I trust your stay was enjoyable! The next one will certainly be different as the hotel plans extensive renovations between now and then...tentatively planned for March 20 or 27th, 2004. Our biggest weekend of the year just keeps getting bigger and is now in our book of la vie dansante legends. Thanks to everyone who came out Friday night at O'Donovan's and Saturday night for this, yet another, record setting event at least 271 wild and crazy Parrot Heads! The auctions raised $5,000 for ARC, People First. I am sure they will be pleased with this substantial contribution as a result of our phlocking efforts. But the best part still remains the self-rewarding Parrot Head fellowship. I trust we all got to know each other a little better.
We could not be as successful without everyone who contributed auction merchandise and Dawn the Artist for her artistic assistance....what a attractive assortment of valuable goodies. Much appreciation for those who participated in the wild bidding action too! Congratulations to the lucky bidders and enjoy the treasures! And how 'bout those outstanding creative room designs? Congratulations to the first place Volcano Krewe for a truly superlative effort!
How 'bout that musical entertainment? From Lic'car Lopez, Jeff Ragatz and his ol' RCA Victrola, our special WI friend, Jim Hoehn, and the featured band, our San Diego friends, Jer, Shaaron, Mike and Randy from Koko Loco. There's no getting to the island early with this assemblage of original, classical, and Buffett tribute musical talent. From 3 to Dark Thirty, the best show on the island! Adding in Koko Loco's Friday night performance at O'Donovan's Irish Parrot Head Pub, it was quite a freakin' weekend.
As usual, there were many people involved with the administration and organization of this event. A big FINS UP for those involved with transportation (Tim Wulf and John Sherwin), getting the gear for the band (Steve Rognrud), registration (Heidi Wulf and all the great people on the registration krewe), badges (Frank Whiteside), decoration krewe (including Mike Grogan with all his lights and Barton Beers/Mark VII/Corona who made banners), all the contributions to the Buffett Buffet, tear down krewe, the music (deCarlo Ric'card "JB" Licarr Lopez, Jeff Ragatz, Jim Hoehn, and Koko Loco), the auction (Marilyn Listvan, Carol Sherwin and both live and silent auction krewes), the room decoration judges (Dave Appelbaum and krewe), and whoever else had a hand in making us all very proud of this great event. Sorry if anyone was forgotten...your effort was much appreciated! Everyone did a great job making it easier for the rest of us to stay in the right attitude and latitude.
Everyone who contributed to the success of this event should feel a strong sense of pride. It was another great event on the island of St MinneSomePlace. But the most important factor is the people who attend this event. Parrot Heads make the event...clear and simple....from near and far, new and old salts. Buffett music is the medium but hangin' out with our Parrot Head friends in one big hotel room is the essence of the This Hotel Room phlocking! Anyone with any ideas as to how to make it even better should not hesitate in pounding the direct jungle drum to the organizers of this event. It will soon be time to pack your bags once again to check into the 9th Annual THR. Watch for further details!
"I AINT HOME, I AINT HOME, YOU BETTER LEAVE A MESSAGE CAUSE I AINT HOME....I AM AT THIS HOTEL ROOM PHLOCKING!!!"
