I had originally intended to have the Sloth Hash today which would have entailed tubing down the Alafia river. I was there three weeks prior for a river-cleanup, however in that time the water levels had dropped considerably, to the point where a majority of the tubing would have involved walking and tube dragging.
I was able to quickly switch gears and subsequently organize the Glutton Hash of my '7 Deadly Sins series'. I wanted to fist use Weedon Island due to the great area, but since no open flame was allowed and I hear they were militant on beer, picnics, and such, finally settled on Picnic Island in south Tampa.
Angie was instrumental in helping me get stuff organized as I began to get a tad stressed with everything I had to pull together. I had food on order from the Honeybaked Ham company, kegs and supplies to get, coolers to fill, shelters and materials to grab, etc. Everyone was encouraged to bring something to share with the group, after all one could not be a glutton without mounds of food being around. All the shelters had been reserved for the day, however I found a nice spot towards the end of the park where we wouldn't be bothered and had some shade and place to lay out.
I was still busy much of the day, but a lot of people really stepped up and gave a hand throughout the day. I brought the canoe out so people could paddle around if they wanted, however the winds were pretty strong throughout the day, so it didn't get a lot of use. The trail was pretty short and just went around the park. We hung around until it was really starting to get dark with the best part of the day just being able to sit around and laugh, tell stories, and simply relax for a little while.
Pics from the event can be found here:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=vnlbugz.5a38ssyv&x=0&y=gyoqbe
After taking dad to the airport at 5:30 in the morning yesterday and spend the rest of the day working on the rental house, I was ready for the weekend. This first event this morning was a picnic at Edward Medard Park just east of Brandon. The organizer of the event did a great job with planning all the events and food. Most of the expected summer games, such as water-balloon toss, kickball, tug-of-war, and the unfortunately named cornhole, were there. There was plenty of food available and it provided a good way to relax and read for a little while while watching everyone else move around; 'never leave camp chair'. Before heading out I walked around the picnic area a little bit to get some shots of the park. Though I'm not much into fishing, this would be a pretty convenient place to bring the fishing kayak sometime since the stocked reservoir is fairly large and easy to paddle.
