A lovely, lovely River's Edge day*

I woke up at 6:30am on the dot, as usual. Sigh. So much for sleeping in. I ate some breakfast, and went by to see Doug (he had invited me to come by first thing), but he was still sound asleep. Since I couldn't go back to sleep, decided to head out to try to find a flea market that I thought was around there. A friend of ours goes to a flea market every time the goes to RE. I had pulled some directions off the internet for a flea market that was supposed to be around there, but when I found it, it was closed. I headed back into town, through a yard sale, and stopped to get some paper towels and a truly excellent apple fritter before heading back to camp.

By the time I got back, there were stirrings. The Atlanta guys were headed to the pool, even though I told them it was too early. I went over to see Doug*, and we had a very pleasant start to the day (although I woke Brian up). Back at my cabin, I tried to take a nap, but again could not, so I headed down to the pool.

It was HOT. The water was much warmer than usual, but it has been 100 every day here for about a week, and today was no exception. I got to play 5 games of volleyball, and ended up 2-3, but that's OK. I just like playing. One of the regulars was giving me a really hard time. I can't decide if he's ragging on me because he knows me now, and that just part of who he is, or if there is something else going on. It makes me uncomfortable though. I know that the regulars do pick on and tease each other all the time, so I try to shake it off, but somehow it just kind of takes me back to high school. It made things a tiny bit less fun than usual, but it was still REALLY fun.

I broke for lunch with Patrick*, who then came down to the pool and proceded to tell everyone down there all about me and my business, which I really didn't appreciate.

By 4pm, the games had stopped, but people were lolling around in the pool, not really wanting to play, but not really wanting to leave either. You can't get too greedy for the fun. You have to let it come to you. Chase it too hard, and it isn't fun any more. That's the way it usually is. The alcohol and sun took their toll on everyone, yours truly included. I got out, and it was a good thing I did. A good bit of my sunscreen had gotten rubbed off after the last game, and I got pretty red. If I had stayed out any longer than I did, I would have been badly burned.

I was going to dinner with the Atlanta guys, and decided to lay down and cool off for a bit before I got ready to go. I did feel better after cooling off and getting cleaned up. We went to the Berryman House, as I like to do. The tomato casserole was as good as (or even better than) ever, but the rest of the food was pretty sub-standard this time, I have to say. The flavor had been cooked out of the butter beans, my mashed potatoes were instant, and the pickled beets were under-cooked. The rolls were store-bought. All in all, it was an unusually bad meal for there.

I rode to dinner with Patrick, who told me about his life in Atlanta, gave me a basic grounding in his life philosophy, etc. He was nice enough to me, but high maintenance. Everything from the timing of dinner to the way his friends parked at the restaurant was fair game. It was nice to have friends to go to dinner with though, and the conversation was good. I love the way you can just meet people and make friends at the Edge. So unlike the gay world at large - particularly in Atlanta.

When we got back to the camp ground, I felt like a slug. The combination of cocktails at the pool, the heat, playing all day, and not enough sleep left me feeling kind of drug out. I just decided I wanted to lay around for a while. I tried to sleep a bit, but again could not. I was dehydrated, I know. I drank several sodas, and just laid around and read. I really thought about going on home. I just didn't feel like doing anything.

About 10pm, Rob came and invited me to come out and talk to them, so I motivated myself. As usual, once I told a couple of jokes and talked for a while, I started having a good time. None of us were drinking Saturday night execpt for Danny, who apparently has the tolerance of a small Sherman Tank. Since Brian, Scott, Doug, Robert, Tommy, and Rich were right around the corner at Doug's cabin, I nipped around there to visit every so often, just to see what was going on. They weren't talking much - they had a lot going on. I realized after a while it was about 1am.

Eventually, I went over to Brian and Scott's cabin and decided to stay over there a while before going to bed. Rich, Tommy, Scott and I got really involved*, and I was really glad I went over there. I was also really surprised I was in the mood for any more fun, frankly, but if anyone could coax it out of me, it would be Tommy. That man is an artist - a genius. The campers around us may have been less than thrilled. It was about 2am, and I was doing a scene from "When Harry Met Sally".

You always hate to go to bed Saturday night, because that means it's over. But eventually, you have to. I called it quits at about 2am.