Patterson Reunion Friday July 8

Friday was surf day. Alissa, Brian, and Paul were such pros that they just rented boards and hit the surf. Alissa had her graduation wet suit, but Brian wore Mike’s and Paul wore Grand Dave’s, which suggests that they have grown a wee bit.

PaulAlissa and new friendPaul and Brian taking off, with Zack and Alissa going over the wave

David and Zack took surf lessons for the first time, and did great. Zack looked like a pro, and Dave had two standing rides all the way in. Both want to try it again.

Zackary the Surfer ChickDave starting to standZack returns

We also had a nice visit from one of our favorite Staffords, Erin and her family. It was great to see her doing so well, as she just had earned tenure at California State University at Fresno.

The Idahodians generously installed seat belts in the Woody, which the Grands greatly appreciated, as they feared that the Suicide Doors might earn their name without seat belts.

Melissa the Mechanic

That evening we were treated to a free concert on the beach by Colin Hay of Men at Work. Sharing the stage was Cecilia Noel, who called herself the "Queen of Salsoul." (Salsa+Soul.) Honest. Although the crowd wasn’t entirely convinced of the role of this woman in a group called “Men at Work,” we think she was supposed to be a dancer. At the break, she threatened to kiss anyone who bought a CD of the band, and that was sufficient to discourage us from buying one.

That evening a few of us played Apples to Apples. Brian also made CDs of all the photos and web pages from reunions 2002 to 2005 so everyone could have a copies of everything. <>A hardier band—Alissa, Paul, Zackary, and Grand Linda—hit the Boardwalk. Things were fine until they rode Fire Ball, which made Linda sicker than any ride she had ridden in her life.

On Saturday we tried to clean the house as best we could after a week with up to 22 people and 3 dogs, and then 14 of us went to Linda’s Seabreeze Cafe for breakfast around 11 AM before we all headed home. Everyone made it home safely, with the Idadodians arriving nonstop about 7:30 AM Sunday.

Once again, in Olympic tradition, we declare 2005 to be the best Patterson reunion ever. We will need to work hard to top it next year, which we’re already making plans to do!

While we hope to see many at the Texas wedding in the spring, we call all Pattersons together for the next reunion on Saturday July 1, 2006.