Good Things
1) My new harness (Lookout Mtn GT) is fantastic - really good quality materials & workmanship and fits like a glove. Huge thanks go to Sunny at Highland for helping me decide which harness to get, then expediting the order and dealing with all my questions and special requirements. Also, Eileen, the lady who made the harness, is a star - on our first rain day at the comp (see "not so good things" list below!), i went over to Lkout and we went over it all, getting the butt string the right length, going through all the features and making a few minor mods. So glad she advised me about spraying it with protector to keep it looking good (i used Kiwi Outdoor Camp Dry Fabric Protector) - my first landing in it wasn't that great (nothing to do with the harness, just me) and i ended up belly down in the grass!
2) Good times at a great club with fun, friendly faces; renewing old acquaintances and making new friends.
3) Lots of very knowledgable, sharing folks around and loads of seminars on flying stuff. Dennis Pagen and Mike Barber where there, top notch folks
4) Great feeding plan by TTT - for $84, we got two meals a day for 7 days; breakfast and lunch, both good and plenty of it. This meant you didn't need to worry about taking/cooking/getting food, so we could all spend more time hanging out together. Excellent plan as the club site is like the Pulpit - a good 20-30 minute drive from the nearest town.
5) Hanging out with pilots has reinspired me to fly more
6) Camping in our newly equiped truck was awesome - it rained a lot and i was SOOO glad not to be in a tent. We built some storage shelves in the back of our truck over the summer and they make camping back there really easy and comfortable.
7) Even though the weather and flying wasn't great, it beat being at work!
Launching from the Henson's Gap radial ramp is very nice'n'easy.9) I got some useful tips to improve my launch and landing techniques.
10) Amazingly fun karaoke party on the Friday night
11) Stopped off on the way back for brisket at The Blues Bar in downtown Roanoke - if you're ever there, you have to try it. It's the best brisket i've had, including all the BBQ i enjoyed living in TX for 4 years!
Not So Good Things
1) The weather was pretty terrible all week - it effectively didn't stop raining from when i arrived (early Sunday) until the Tuesday. And then we had massive valley fog each morning to wait on (see photos on Jamie Shelden's blog, http://naughtylawyertravels.blogspot.com/). So there was almost no thermic activity most of the time. And then the wind was usually in the wrong direction, either cross or over the back.
2) So the flying was pretty limited - two sled rides and two extendo-flights (one never got above T-O, one only about 150 over...) although i did have a fun straight out glide for 2 miles on one flight.
3) Missing the Pulpit fly-in weekend - sounds like you folks had better flying than we did!
So overall, disappointing flying but a good time nonetheless. They're talking about bringing it earlier next year to catch better conditions - although that may make camping less comfortable.
Would i go again - yes, definitely.
Unfortunately, next year, i'm probably going to be on an aircraft carrier for most of August, which is when they're talking about holding it.