"Tailgate" Picnic in Fresno, CA on 7-13-02 (pictures included)

7-14-02

[mtngrl@vrwc]

Yesterday in the 105 degree heat (which seemed cool in comparison to Friday's 109 degrees which was a scorcher) fifty FReepers and family got together at Woodward Park in Fresno, California for a "tailgate" picnic dinner and fun!

FReepers who attended were (in alphabetical order):

• Amerigomag
  
• BadJoe
  
• BobJ
  
• Brock
  
• COB1
  
• Chadsworth
  
• Clovis Skeptic (and his wife and daughter)
  
• Cool Guy
  
• CounterCounterCulture
  
• Diotima
  
• Diver Dave
  
• DoughtyOne (and his wife)
  
• FriendAnn
  
• Gracie1 (and her husband and son)
  
• Java Man
  
• Jim Robinson (and Sheila and Chris)
  
• JKPhoto
  
• John Robinson
  
• JustAmy (and her husband and son)
  
• Lager (and his daugher and granddaughter)
  
• Ladyinred
  
• Maccabee-AJB
  
• Mama_Bear
  
• Mtngrl@vrwc (and daughter)
  
• Notpoliticallycorewrecked (and her husband and two sons)
  
• Saundra Duffy
  
• Senorita (and her husband)
  
• SiFiPattie (and her dad and a family friend, Chris)
  
• Tami
  

I hope that I haven't left anybody out, but if I did, please forgive me AND SET ME STRAIGHT! LOL!

To sum it all up, we had a great time! A fabulous time! It couldn't have been better! We visited until the food was ready to eat, Saundra Duffy presented an award that was signed by Mike Briggs to Jim Robinson for his contributions to uniting conservatives and giving us a forum to discuss and promote our cause, we said the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer before eating, we had the most FANTASTIC meal imaginable, we played water games (hm...should I call it that?), and we played this "game" where we took turns telling a little about ourselves and then picking a slip of paper and talking about or doing what was written on it. After all of that, several door prizes were given away.

I am just summing up here you guys. The bottom line was that we had a blast! I hope that each and every one who was there will post some of their memories of what took place at our tailgate picnic yesterday.

A special thanks need to be given to JustAmy and Mama_Bear for their tireless efforts in coordinating the picnic. JKPhoto also has to be thanked for barbecuing the meat. It was perfect! I would like to thank Senorita for being in charge of the door prizes. I just know I am forgetting somebody...I hope not though!

I would like to also thank COB1 for coming here from Texas to be at our tailgate party! That's a long way to come to spend time with little old us! Several FReepers came from the Los Angeles area and from Modesto and San Jose too. You are all wonderful for making this special effort! THANKS!

[mtngrl@vrwc]

JustAmy, her son Ron, and FriendAnn:

SiFiPattie and her two adorable Chihuahuas:

Grammy Bear (Mama_Bear's mother):

SiFiPattie's dad, Gordon:

Jim Robinson and CounterCounterCulture:

Diotima:

BadJoe:

Diotima, John Robinson, and Tami:

BADJOE, Diotima, John Robinson, and Tami:

Sheila Robinson:

JustAmy's son, Ron:

JustAmy's husband Leonard:

Gracie1:

Senorita and her husband, Mike:

Chris (from Modesto) and Bob J:

Amerigomag and Gracie1's husband, Carlos:

More pictures to follow.....

[mtngrl@vrwc]

Java Man and Brock:

Mama_Bear and Java Man:

Chadsworth and his wife, Ladyinred:

Clovis Skeptic and his wife and daughter:

COB1:

SiFiPattie's two chihuahuas who really will look at the camera if you say "Want a cookie". LOL!

Maccabee-AJB:

Lager and his wife, Saundra Duffy:

Cool Guy, what on earth were you saying as I snapped this picture? LOL! I think it must have been something like, "Oh no, we are almost out of ice cold water!""

Mtngrl@vrwc:

Diotima and Bob J:

Diver Dave:

Notpoliticallycorewrecked:

JKPhoto and Java Man:

JKPhoto:

Mtngrl's daughter, Julie:

Gracie1's son:

And last but not least, Chris Robinson:

[whoever]

Wonderful pictures. My thanks to all who participated.

[mtngrl@vrwc]

If anybody would like to be added to or deleted from my ping list, please let me know.

TO EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED THE TAILGATE PICNIC, PLEASE ADD YOUR COMMENTS!!! We want to hear what you have to say!

[Saundra Duffy]

Great photos! We had a blast!!! Cool Guy has some explaining to do . . . For victory & freedom!!!

[lager]

Great pictures Mountain Girl! See you next time.

[Saundra Duffy]

Yahoo! Wasn't it fun?!!! I just wish more FReepers had been able to make it. Thanks again for the photo gallery. For victory & freedom!!!

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks for the great photos. Sandy and I had a nice time up there. You all were so hospitable. The Freep and dinner on Friday afternoon and evening were enjoyable. The picnic on Saturday was nice. All around, we had a great time in Fresno.

Sandy loves the scarf and I the WTC pin. Thanks so much.

D1

I'll post some photos later tonight.

[mtngrl@vrwc]

I missed getting any pictures of you and your wife yesterday! I am so sorry! :-/

I did get a couple of really good ones Friday night though. And I am sure JKPhoto will have a bunch to add.

Can't wait to see yours!

[lager]

By the way, jkphoto cooked up the best tri-tip I have ever had in my life. Thank you Jeff.

And, thank you God for the great breeze that kept us comfortable on a very hot day.

Cool Guy had a good time, as usual. Only someone as cool as Cool Guy could pull off all his antics and still be alive.

Counter Counter Culture and his wit was indeed a plus. Alan is the greatest.

[Saundra Duffy]

Looking forward to seeing your photos. I am anxious to see photo of the Assembly Resolution for Jim Robinson! For victory & freedom!!!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

I've been waiting all day to see these.
ALL of you are some of the best people in the world.
Thank You for making a difference.
God Bless You All.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"Tailgate" Free Republic Picnic in Fresno pictures PING!

[Saundra Duffy]

I wish you could have been there, pal. We even had great decorations - banners, patriotic stuff, etc. And the food!! Best you ever had. My macaroni salad was great but that tri tip. Good Heavens! To die for. For victory & freedom!!!

[Billie]

Wonderful, and wonderfuller, mtngrl! All of you should take a bow - all I've been reading on the FR's Finest thread today (and last night) is how wonderful you FResno FReepers are!

Did I say you are wonderful?! Thank you SO MUCH!

[Jim Robinson]

We all had a great time! Thanks to you, JustAmy, Mama_Bear, JKPhoto, Senorita, Saundra Duffy, Lager, FriendAnn, Gracie1, PoliticallyCorewrecked, Brock and all the other members of the FResno Central/Valley Chapter who made these events happpen. Thank you Cool Guy and Counter Counter Culture. And thanks to the victims for being good sports. And thanks to all who attended and especially those from LA and the Bay Area and other surrounding areas who drove in to help us. And thank you COB1. Hurrah for Texas! Great to see you! Special thanks to DiverDave, SiFiPattie and friends from Modesto. I counted 42 people present at one point. Great turnout! Great meeting you all and having an opportunity to visit with you. FReepers are the greatest!

[Jim Robinson]

And I see I missed a few in my unofficial count. I see mtngrl has listed 47 people who attended. Thanks again to everyone for making this a very enjoyable and memorable occasion. I think we did receive several votes, though, for holding next year's Fresno/Central Valley Summer BBQ over in Monterey. I think I could go for that.

[Bob J]

The LA Chapter reps had a great time and looking forward to the next one! Thank you all for being so hospitable!

[diotima]

It was great to meet you and meet everyone!

The Fresno/Modesto chapter is fantastic, thanks to all the people who put time and effort into the event. The food was delicious.

Extra thanks to Cool Guy for pouring that ice cold water on me, GRRRRR. ;^)

[Mudboy Slim]

BTTT...looks like a hoot!! Way to go, Fresno FReepers...MUD