I was welcomed by several friends before I even stepped foot into JBS's home with a handshake and a warm hug from his lovely wife (Leslie) and daughter (Ashley). As I entered the house the hospitality continued as with a full bar and a help yourself attitude. The drink of the day in this house was Crown and Ginger Ale, which is quickly making it's way up the scale to "drink of choice."
It was Thursday and I knew I had a solid day of recovery time before I was going to represent RDP at the infamous "Sag. " I figured, lets tie one on tonight and get "HAMMERED!" By the time you read this I'm sure my escapades of drinking will have been well documented on the site. It's no secret that I like to drink and have a good time, and after all, I am on vacation.
It would be a disservice to the members on the board not to enjoy the weekend and wake up with a slight hangover! After a few drinks and a shower to get cleaned up we ventured over to meet up with Headshothills, Ultra Babe,460,Outdrive1, and their much better halves at a sushi joint called "Sushi Brokers." Great Sushi, good friends and as it turns out an early night seeing how the Phoenix locals all had to work the next day.......
Come Friday, I was desperate for a haircut, to say I was looking quite shaggy to say the least. Unfortunately I haven't found a hairstylist in Havasu that could handle my mop. JBS was nice enough to take me to his country club to get a nice haircut and a good lunch. I can't remember the name of the country club but I can remember that the grilled Chicken Sandwich on Pretzel Bread was nothing short of amazing. After the great lunch and a cocktail or two at the club we ventured over to the mall to seek out a nice shirt and kill a little bit of time on Friday. I had another engagement (1st date) to attend that night while I was in town. JBS' lovely wife was nice enough to help me pick out a nice shirt for the evening.
Unbeknownst to me, JBS was was arranging meeting up with another board member from the Phoenix area while the RDP crew was in town. That member happened to be "Rodney King!" So we left the mall and headed over to a small bar called "Tee Pee'' Mexican food. It's best described as a hole in the wall with good beer on tap and quite a few well drinks to choose from.
We met up with Rodney and over several beers shot the shit about boats, The Enduro, our background in boating as well as our respective careers and personal background. Turns out, Rodney King has a vast knowledge of an array of subjects one being boat racing. He even offered to cover the entry fee for Team "Out in the Woods" for the Enduro if we could get a boat together !!! Stand by for that, I'm on the hunt to make that happen !!!!
The Yard is quite possibly the coolest place I have ever been, in qualifying that I will say, I grew up hitting the Hollywood scene, Huntington Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa, Pacific Beach in San Diego as well as Ocean Beach and a host of other ''Hot Spots'' in So Cal. Live music, corn hole, a bike rack, cocktails and slew of other cool amenities made this a drunk amusement park! It was bad ass and my favorite spot I visited while I was in town. I can't wait to get back. I met up with Milkmoney, Lori, OD1, Char,Ultra Babe, James, JBS,Leslie, Ashely, 460 and the infamous Pink Taco! We had a few drinks and talked about DS and other events both future and past. 460 was adamant about getting to the lake around 8:00 A.M. So under threat of the potential rath of his toothpick, we opted to get home at a decent hour. Which led to fireball shots at the house, something I would later regret.
Saturday morning we began our journey to the SAG. OD1, Pink Taco, Ashely and departed the house at around 7:30. JBS opted to stay back with his wife and we left to meet 460 and the rest of the crew at the lake. No problem right? WRONG!!!!!!!! The Sag set up is complete bullshit and a pain in the ass! Who wants to show up at 7:00 A.M to get on the lake? It's the weekend, you're suppose to sleep in from a long weeks worth of hard work and enjoy you're day off. First you have to get a "Tonto Pass" whether you are bringing a boat or not and you can't get them at the lake. It was about a 45 minute drive from JBS's place to the lake itself. We get there at roughly 8:30 A.M and arrive with our Tonto Pass to hit the lake and see what it's all about.
The Sag was already full of boats (At 8:30 am?)and this pompous member of the staff tells us we can go to Canyon Lake and some other local one or we can wait in the holding lanes. Obviously we were there to support 460's ''Unofficial Sag RDP get together'' and that was what we were going to do. So we were put in a parking lot to wait for our turn hit the lake. We made the best of it by cracking a few beers in the parking lot for the next hour and a half. Finally after what seemed an eternity, the stars aligned, we hit the winning lottery #'s, or maybe Pink Taco through some of his charm towards the lady, it was our turn to launch.
I'd like to thank Cave, 460 and the rest of the east side crew for the welcoming and the hospitality to have us ''Out of Towners" in their stomping grounds and inviting us to party at their sandbar. (Apparently people are quite territorial over that beach, LOL.) The lake is somewhat narrow with some snake turns that remind me of Parker, with tubers and other boaters enjoying the lake on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. As we entered the no wake zone heading towards "Party Cove" we are surrounded by huge mountains and beautiful scenery. If you have never been and are in the Phoenix area I'd highly recommend hitting the sag at least once as the scenery itself is worth it. As we approached the sandbar, I noticed probably 15-20 boats lined up on the shoreline, music blasting, EZ Up's everywhere, and everyone was partying like college days. Anything from a Bayliner to a cool old school Skater with twin 300's rigged out back was represented. 460 waived us down as he had gotten there on time and had a spot for us to beach the Taco. It's roughly 11-11:30 A.M and the party is on tilt and while I consider myself somewhat of a party guy the theme of the day was "Frat" party. Butt Chugs , Pasties, Body Shots and good times were not waiting for anybody, doesn't matter if it's still morning. The revelry rivaled the Sandbar in Havasu of the old days just on a smaller scale. The ''East Side Boys'' know how to have a good time with hotties in tow! The experience quickly reminded me of the care free days when you didn't need a 32 DCb, Eliminator Etc... to have a good time at the lake. None of the regulars cared,what kind of boat you arrived on, the theme of the day was good times with good people.
All in all I had a great time and I look forward to being a fish out of water at the Sag again. I'd like to thank 460 for putting this whole deal together, Pink Taco for letting me tag along in the Taco all weekend, JBS and his family for the generous hospitality and showing me around.
Video by 460 / BluByu
[video=youtube;gKWWaY_cXMQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKWWaY_cXMQ[/video]
