Dear Friends and Stampers everyone,

I cannot remember a finer time than we had at the Norcal Event, Sept
16, 2003. As I told Double Sag as we left, "You folks set the bar
pretty darned high!" That goes for everyone who was there.

An event like that takes planning, coordination, and service from the
folks who "run" it. From securing the park site to getting that
mailbox, carving and planting the boxes to making sure there was
charcoal, med kits, and water there, all those things needed the
locals' attention. Further, all the folks who showed up we so darned
friendly and helpful, too. That was evident. We had toddlers to
seniors out there enjoying the day.

As JugglerMouse put it, "It was like we were at a family reunion with
cousins we had never met." I put in, "Yeah, but nobody got drunk,
mad, or made inappropriate come-ons to anyone."

Okay, we did not feel free to cheeserace there. You have seen the
polls (posted in the polls section of this site.) You know how split
the vote is. If only more of you had voted! IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO
VOTE, you know. You may vote even if you have no intention of cheese
racing and none of being at the SLO Stamping in the Meadow, Oct 4th.
It is like the California Recall election: it is free to the voters
(okay, not true about the recall), it has a lot of silly choices, and
will probably be meaningless overall. See? You should vote or you
will have no excuse for complaining - and no one wants that!

I put some photos up in the Photo section on the site (the Nor Cal
folder had already been created.) Surely there were more pics of
individuals. Come on, folk! I apologize for forgetting the names of
the lovely trio wearing the black hats (and the blonde baby). Can
someone help me there? I will ammend the caption under "Group with
Double Sag" once I get that.

Here are somethings to look for at SLO Stamping, Oct 4th:

Easier terrain - if hard hikes are your thing, we do have some stamps
nearby that will challenge you, but the event site is wheelchair
friendly.

An Event Stamp - Emily Rose has promised us a double-sided one, too.
I understand that the other event stamps will get here, too.

Randomized Clue List - since the park is so small, we will most
likely have the boxes in differing orders so more folk can get the
thrill of decoding them by themselves.

Food - we are still encouraging potluck fare but we will have at
least hot dogs (probably chicken dogs) and a few veggie entres. Those
attending should consider bringing other things. There are soda
machines on site.

Fake rock display - I will bring some examples and may well carve
some for you.

Juggling lessons - JugglerMouse has promised to teach anyone
interested. She is a very good teacher and very encouraging.

Lots of Exchanges

A local list of boxes fairly close to the site - now if they are
boxes which need decoding, such as my Middle Earth series, I would
advise you to have them worked upon already. No gimmes; you would not
respect me for that, would you?

BTW, if you can show me two of the Redwall series, I have Urthstripe
the Badger to stamp in your book. If you can show JugglerMouse two
from Redwall, she has a new Martin the Warrior. Both are countable as
finds.

Thanks, again, to the NorCal gathering. Y'all come on down South to
San Luis (pronounced "Lewis") Obispo on October 4th.

Merriest of Meetings,
Sir Balthazar