Bonsai + Bee + Booze = Fall Fun Fest

Fall Fun Fest participants=ramshackle group of hooligans


Four Square Team Photo

Urban Lake Kayak Race

Race Champions (James' face is priceless.)

(James...this post is for you my friend.)
"We are contractually obligated to attend Fall Fun Fest," I told Shannon.
Blank stare.
"What I mean by that is,...we should go...it'll be fun."
Blank stare.
"There's going to be kayak races and kick ball."
I knew this was the hook, line, and sinker.
Shannon's eyebrows narrowed and she got that look in her eye. "I'm holding tryouts for my kickball team," she told me. I knew she'd probably make me try out and I also knew that she was 'in'.

Shannon and I were Fall Fun Fest newbies. What is Fall Fun Fest you might ask? After participating in one, I'm still not sure that I can answer that. I think if you could pinpoint Fall Fun Fest on an evolutionary chart it would be somewhere between boxed wine and a bulldozer. Fall Fun Fest is your best friend and your worst enemy (Carrot Top). To the best of my recollection Fall Fun Fest involves a season somewhere between summer and winter, lots of friends, lots of friends drinking, and some activities (all of which do not involve Nathan Todd). Oh, yeah, and there are lots of references to things from North Platte, Nebraska. Okay. That should clear up any confusion about Fall Fun Fest.

Fall Fun Fest was to be held in Oakland California and being hosted by my long time friend James. Fall Fun Fest worked out perfectly for Shannon and I as we had been making our way down the West Coast. Fresh from wandering through the Redwoods and escaping DEA helicopters (another story), we arrived in Oakland greeted by beers, yelling, hugs, and laughing. We fell asleep with visions of an urban lake kayak race dancing in our heads.

The morning of Fall Fun Fest dawned like any other except you could smell the anticipation in the air (and by anticipation I mean booze.) Shannon, new to the phenomenon known as Fall Fun Fest, showed up in true form donning her bumble bee costume. "Yes!" I thought. Then I thought about it some more, recalling previous experiences with Shannon's alter ego 'The Bee.' Then I thought about my previous experiences with this group of friends. I suddenly wished I had a helmet, a saline IV, and a lawyer.

We all made our way to the urban lake where an impromptu game of four-square, a trip through a bonsai garden and an intense kayak race ensued. James and I captured victory in the kayak race (you really can't argue with raw, untapped talent and athletic ability), 2/3rds of us aquired avian bird flu from the lake, and the bonsai trees looked on with disgust. Much to Shannon's dismay, the game of kickball never materialized. Instead, we returned to the apartment where we learned just how many times Bryan Mohr could play the Husker Tunnel Run song before someone ripped their hair out. The rest of the day will forever remain a secret...even to the participants.

The morning after Fall Fun Fest, Shannon and I said our goodbyes and received our "You Survived Your First Fall Fun Fest" merit badges. (Okay, that's not true...but come on James...how about some patches this year!)