The Tattoos have come and gone, making their mark on the Twenty Inch Board (as well as anything else that could our would move, btw!), and now it is time for our special Group Three to make its way to the Promised Land of fish and honey! Moresoever than any prior Group, E-14’s Threes is a group of couples, six in number to be exact, and we look forward to their arrivals starting tomorrow, Friday, with veterans Martin “Mad Man” O’Malley (guru commercial realtor) and beautiful bride Cynthia “Houston” Stratton, Esq. coming in early from Houston, Texas, and rookie business succession planner and CPA Mindy Jones and beau Joe Di Naso coming in from Phoenix, Arizona.
Returning veteran 401k plan manager par excellence (and world traveling fisherman of the same caliber) Chuck “Heleena” Ballweg returns again to us this year, this time with his bride of many years Edie Klecker, and is dragging along with him (not kicking and screaming, btw, as he, too, is an avid world-class fisherman) George Choe and his new bride Mira (who is now expecting their first child—likewise an Extravaganza womb first!). New-to-Montana and coming in all the way from Massachusetts, are Don & Karen Irving, who will meet up with my long-in-the-Extravaganza son Tyler “Lefty” Clausen and his paramour Chelsea Pollack.
Having shifted from their traditional, heavy wine drinking Group One to the more mellow Group Three, we also welcome back Santa Rosa builders Jimmie “The Hawk” Hagle and his business partner Doug “Big D” Pacatte who will be joined by returning Montana MD Jeff “Doc” Georgia and Richmond, California rookie non-profit ED Jim Becker.
And then, in this august group of twenty who arrive in June and depart in July, that leaves the dreaded “Sailor Four”—a mini-group of reprobates headed up by my engineering brother Kers “Dead Drift” [so named, unanimously, last year by our guides for his propensity to fall asleep every time he sits down!] Clausen and his soul/sailor/business mates veterans (kinda, that is, because he missed half of E-13 by missing his outbound flight!) Scott “Not So Flash” Gordon and State of Washington AIA Mike Gentry together with rookie sailor and alleged fisherman Rich Deveau. My goal this year is to have all of the Sailor Fours be in the same state of the union, let alone locale, at the same time—something that never happened during E-13!!
The weather and rivers for the Threes is shaping up just nicely, thank you very much, so bring it on Threes and top the very high bars (and bottles) now left for you by the E-14 Ones and Twos!!
Best to all from the scene of it all,
Rock Creek Ron
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No sooner have the Ones departed than Dem Tattoos (so known for their prior propensity to tattoo anything and everyone that moves with our Circle C logo!) are gearing up to arrive on the scene of Extravaganza 2014…bueno, bueno, bueno!! Traditionally an all-veteran Group, the Tattoos this year consist of eleven (count ‘em) rookies thanks in large part to veteran Tattooer Al “Good Earth” Baylacq who, for the past several months, has been continually emailing me (as recently as two days ago, btw) asking “is there room for just one or two more in Group Two?” to which I, of course, replied: “Sure…bring ‘em on!”
So the Twos this year are now 24 strong—PLUS, several months ago, Al asked if his wife and girls could tag along as well, to which I, of course, replied “Yes”, necessitating the Twos to now take residence in four separate locales and to be putting fourteen boats on the water come their Day One—the most that we have put on the water any one day since 2008 when we had two photo boats to film our “Journey To The Soul” award-winning film.
Veterans of the Terrible Twos are marqueed by the Rodgers family, consisting of Papa “Squawfish” Tim of Walsh Vineyards Management fame, Mama “Shanna Banana” of Napa’s Blue Oak School and now not-so-young-uns “CT Mardi” and “Snowflake Alia”. Included in the Rodgers mix again is the official mascot of the Tattoos, head tattooer herself, Napa preschooler par excellence Lori “Fawn Lady” Ware…so, strap it on and behave, Twos, as her famous “Cry Dye” handkerchief awards are soon in the offing for the woeful Two who whines the most (verbally that is) during the nightly boat reports!
Mendocino Wine Group guru veteran Tom “Sockeye” Thornhill returns again for what I believe to be his eighth year with us, fishing solo this year but with me on Day Two (looking forward to that, Sockeye, I am!), to be shadowed by returning veterans (a) roofer and philanthropist Brian “Deerfish” McLeran, (b) Brad “Maven” Miller (to be joined this year by his now-retired father Jordy), and (c) Kevin “CPA” Mc Sweeney (to be joined this year by his attorney daughter Heather Sweeney Kirkpatrick), Gary “Big Cheese” Edwards (to be joined this year by his fishing buddy Jon Diederich). Further included in the gaggle of returning veterans is champion wine deal maker Joe “Compari” Ciatti together with his charges Adam “Iron Man” Eichorn and Greg “Goodlivin’” Livengood.
And then comes returning father-son combo of Fairfax, CA grocer par excellence “Good Earth Al” & Dakota “Son of Good Earth” and, get this, the wonderfully continuing expansion of Baylacq-conceived newborn Tattoers of second son Taylor Baylacq and then Hanson Bridgett managing partner Andrew Giacomini and now his two sons Dante and Nico, followed by a plethora of Browns: Andrew, Joe and Matt (so delineated in alphabetical order) together with Al’s beautiful wife Lisa and daughters Alicea and Andi…God help me to keep this continually and wonderfully expanding group straight!!
So there you have it all, more than thirty participants in this year’s Group Two…thanks to “Good Earth Al”, and all-Extravaganza single group record of participants…and no bus included !!!
Pack those bags, remember those rain jackets, Polarized sun glasses and gag gifts, and bring it on Tattoos…you seasoned tattooing veterans know how I love this group!!!
Best to all in the midst of it all,
Rock Creek Ron
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