Cinco Completo

The Cinco de Roasto caught a major weather break this year.  Up until two days beforehand, the forecasts were calling for a complete washout.  But late Thursday night, things began to change a bit.  First the all-day rain was going to peter out later in the afternoon.  By Friday morning, it was going to end by 3.  By Friday night, the weather said it would stop raining by 1.  Come Saturday morning, things were about as good as we could have hoped for; before we were even back with the pig, there were patches of blue poking through the clouds, and by eat-time, there wasn't a cloud to be seen.

Turnout was off this year (only about 110 people). It seems there were a lot of folks that had family obligations going on this year (family in town, kids graduating, etc.), but that's ok, we still had a great time.

Tim and Lynner arrived Friday around 3:30 - not too soaked, but more than happy to clean up and dry off.  Around 5, we headed over to the Post for laughter and chatter.  No sooner did I have a beer in my hand than my phone started ringing - it was Myszka, and he was standing in my driveway!  (I'd asked him a few times if he was joining us this year, but he'd not sounded promising, so I hadn't been expecting him.)  Anyway, the poor guy had just finished riding 10 hours in the rain, so I shot over with the Jeep to pick him up.  From there it was back to the Post, then later, on to Chickie Flynns' for dinner, then back to the house for cards until late-thirty in the evening.

Saturday was the normal; up early, meet up at the farm to collect the pig, then off to breakfast, then back to the house to get things going.  Before long, the fire was going, the pig was cooking, and the drinks were flowing.  As the day moved along, folks came and went and it was awesome to catch up with so many faces that I don't get to see often enough.

After the feast, we continued on with the revelry, had the Moment of Silence, then the Toast of Life, and then just kept on keepin' on until quite late again.  Tim, Lynner and I were the last three up and when we noticed it was 4am, we figured it was time to call it a night.  The luge remnants were tossed onto the fire, the lights were turned out, and Cinco de Roasto 13 was in the books.

It seemed like I'd just closed my eyes when I heard a motorcycle start up in my driveway.  I quick glance at the clock; it was 7am!  I bolted up and out to try and catch Myszka but just missed him as the tail end of his bike rounded the corner of my driveway and the sound faded off into the distance.

We collected the remaining souls from the house and hit the cafe for the customary breakfast & parking lot pic.  Hugs and handshakes after that, and then Tim & Lynner were disappearing toward the horizon, and home.

Back at the house I was very grateful for the cleanup help from the boys and girls, and before too long, the backyard was all set.  Inside wasn't bad, but the floors would need a thorough washing.  Certainly not a problem at all.

Pics!

Here's the jacket the crew gave me last year; mounted with pride on the wall in the basement.

The forecast had been looking pretty bad for Saturday...

Thursday wasn't too bad, though, and some folks came early to set their tents up.  McCarthy also came by with the trailer and cooking implements.

Thursday night pre-celebration with McCarthy, Nelly, Ziggy and Drea.

Me and Tim cleaned out the liquor store of BL's...

Friday dinner at Chickie's.  Matt called for a round of Glenlivet...

Customary Saturday morning at the farm...

Followed by customary breakfast...

Roasting Pig!

Eddie' bobbed Triumph - LOVE this bike!

Artwork in the driveway, courtesy of the kiddo's...

It's hard to make out, but there are 5 bikes tucked into my garage.  And they were even lined up in the proper order of departure.

The luge saw some damage as the night wore on...

And there was quite a selection, as usual...

Bob showed up with a whole box full of custom-ordered koozies.  How cool is that!

Sunday morning during cleanup.  I should have left these guys alone...but didn't...

There are many, many more pics on Facebook, which I'm sure you've probably seen by now.  It was another great year and for those that didn't make it, I hope you will next year!

Now I just need to get caught up on my sleep...we roll toward DC in 4 days!!