Wiffle Ball and KayakFishing, REPORT SPD 8/20/14

What do they have in common?

 Well, today…  Much, as it was all about fun,  just kind of perfect all the way around,,  one of those days where actually catching a fish,

               gets in the way… 

 Good thing too as the bite was a bit off…  Just beautiful, did I say perfect conditions,,,  OutStanding Job by Everyone Once again,

and fond talks of Mooch on an Awesome day…

  More to come,  Just want to get the thread going…

Awesome form Raydon!!!

the scene…

  Some of the volunteers...

more of making it happen…

Last pic

 bmb 2.0 under the intense spell of his daughter….   

Thanks Everyone….

WE got somewhere around 30 Veterans, plus therapist and family out on the water, and by the looks, Everyone had a Good Time, Even the guy who said " He's The Ass#@$! of the group"… 

jumped in for this group photo…  behind story on this one is really unbelievable,  but just one of those things where,

Ya just have to be there...

   Fun, Awesome, Mellow Day….

Another Shout Out To San Pablo Dam, and The Rocky Mountain Concessions…

  Perfect Host, So Easy to work with and true Supporters of what were doing with HOW…

The VA also gives it's thanks, says were basically " The Best "…

Think those Tacos are just that good….

It was a great day at SPD.   The sky was clear, wind was gentle, weather was warm, and the food was terrific as usual.  The only thing lacking was fish.  At our HOW events, the most important factor is the brotherhood and sisterhood that occurs.  Catching fish is a bonus when it happens.  Special thanks go out to Don, our leader for making this happen almost overnight.  Jack who is  recovering from elbow surgery, directed and participated in the food all day long.  The breakfast and lunch tacos were out of this world.  Jack even got his family involved as his daughter Cheri and wife Drew spent hours the night before cutting up the vegies for today's events.  The cookies, and brownies which were amazing were made by Jack's friend Korren.  Nice job on both accounts.        Oscar, ohhgee for making the trip down from Vacaville, Travis Air Force Base.  I don't believe he ever left the kitchen yesterday.  DG, he likewise was kitchen duty bound.  He is fast becoming a staple (pun) in Jack's kitchen.  Ben, Guitarzan was there early and help all day long, he even set up special buoys to hook up to.  Bmb, helped loading and unloading vets in the water, and was there to and assist.  He brought Christy, his  daughter, who put close to 5 miles of walking in. Vk used his expertise in setting up kayaks  and guiding. Racin Rob brought kayaks,  help deploy the vets,  and guided. Kathy and her daughter from Delta Kayak brought kayaks and helped deploy vets.  We used the most tandems yesterday than we ever had previously.   AFCM took care of those vets who did not want to yak by driving  them around in the pontoon boat.   They actually caught a trout on a panther martin.  Sarge was there and helped unload, load and did anything he could.  And new to  our HOW group was Midwest, aka Kyle.  Thanks to all our NCKA members and forgive me if I forgot to mention you. 

Some pictures of the event.

On a sad note Pam who has been coming to our HOW events for three years, , told me Cynthia, one of the female vets,  shown here at the LODI HOW event,  wearing  the white lens sunglasses, passed from ovarian cancer earlier this year. I was looking for her yesterday.   She was a cheerful woman and I got the pleasure of spending time with her.  Prayers and  thoughts to her family.

More Pictures

Right-on guys. I just posted a long summary on the wrong thread(the other SPD thred) maybe mods can move it to this thread or you can read it there.

Right-on guys. I just posted a long summary on the wrong thread(the other SPD thred) maybe mods can move it to this thread or you can read it there.

probably my fault for not making a clear title for this report,

2nd the TACOs and the crew inside dedicated to the mission,,, totally Awesome…

lots of new volunteers today and thanks so much Raydon for breaking it down….

I'll merge the topics later to get everything in the same spot

Thanks again everyone,  Stellar Day!!!

Thanks for all the hard work everyone. Ran like a well oiled machine. Wiffle ball was a great idea Don. I did not see one bit of complaining all day long. It was my first day all year I got to report a skunk too, and I did not care. Food was out of sight. I think it was the best ever. Jack's crew did and amazing job. All the guides did what they could to get our guests on fish. Skunks happen, although too much at our events. Just being on the water ws good enough. The pontoon was a big hit. I hope we can do that more often. Our pontoon guides were great! WTG! I think I saw more thank you's than ever before. I came up short in the photo department this time. We had more tandems on the water than ever and it was great too. I believe that helped get more on the water this time. The reluctant ones headed out because they could do it with a buddy and not feel awkward by themselves. I think I saw 5-6 tandems this time. Again, great job everyone. Thanks to all you newbies. Looking forward to your help next time. In closing I will say I missed Joel  at this one. So many stories from HOW at San Pablo about and with him. His spirit will always be with Nor Cal HOW.

I will say I missed Joel  at this one. So many stories from HOW at San Pablo about and with him. His spirit will always be with Nor Cal HOW.

  So true, I don't know about you, but it kind of felt like he was there,,,  Everything was so perfect and calm,  almost surreal with the strange slightly humid weather...

just a real peaceful, fun event..

  Your so missed  Bro, You'll always be with us….

Joels tackle box will always be there, along with his spirit! He loved the Vets and wanted to be sure we had rigging for anything, thanx Mooch!

man o man do i miss the mooch. He was like a soft warm blanket on a cold lonely trail.

I neglected to mention that Jed, from Adventure Sports was there all day.  He did anything we asked.  He showed us old guys how to carry and load a kayak with ease.  (forget it)