St Pats is March 17 but we celebrated it two weeks early this year. Naming an event is mostly a way to give it character before the characters show up to camp. We set up Pala Indian Casino for this years StPats SoCal event. Tim and the caterer set the theme and decked the halls. I am so glad he likes to decorate because it sets a mood and makes the gathering warm and a bit formal. We had reserved 48 sites and expected 90 members for dinner. I had some concern that the weather would delay Friday visits and cause some of the members to back out of the event all together. I was happily surprised almost everyone made it to the event and everyone arrived on-time for Friday night Catered dinner.
Southfork catering is a BBQ specialist and we had planned corned beef but the weather threatened to be heavy rains and we changed to Italian sausages and bangers with mashed potatoes. At first I was a bit disappointed that the Corned beef was not the menu but pleasantly surprised that the Bangers were a great option that could be cooked in Southforks Temecula Kitchen and transported to the site fresh hot and on-time. The sky's never opened up that first night but the group poured over the great Irish fare.
On the menu was fellowship and fellowship was well served
St Pat, 2018
The Casino was just a shuttle drive away or less than a half block walk if so inclined. Tim and I went over twice this trip. I consider us casino winners because we don't gamble too much. Tim can have fun losing $20 while I people watch the 30 something guys courting equally beautiful dates from restaurant to bar to the casino floor. The San Diego boys did not disappoint. When straight women say to me "All of the hot guys are gay" Im gonna tell them how to get to Pala Casino.
With a Casino rewards card the buffet is $10. And well worth it. One night each week the buffet
is lobster but I understand the added cost that night offers little value as the tails are nothing to brag about. My 57th birthday was this weekend and Susie treated Tim and I to an Italian dinner and Karen and Kris treated us the other visit to the Pala buffet. We stumbled across a wine cellar under the Casino floor that had entertainment and very few customers. David the bartender was a great guy and kept Tim and Karen busy sampling wines and filling our collection for the trip back.
Tim adds his flair
Suzie came to the event a day early to help Tim set up the room and organize the event. She help with other of the activities during the entire weekend
The weekend had great weather for visiting friends. Members played cornhole bean bag toss outside, strolled the dog park, went to the Buffalo farm, swam in the heated pool, and visited with friends at the casino . We had a potluck on Saturday night the was well attended and full of an abundance of homemade dishes and great deserts.
The fellowship was overflowing. Our new policy of only grouping mutual next to requests and only offering groups of two rigs is starting to show a positive reaction. It was a bit tough to establish the policy and caused some disappointment however the opportunities to meet and get acquainted with other members is now five fold. The other great outcome is new members are included in this mix and not able to mistake the old social subgroups of long time friends as a impenetrable clique
History is of great interest to me. I don't study it, I simply appreciate the stories as antidotes to the history we make today. I feel no connection to any guilt for to the past because I feel a great pride in the accomplishments of the survivors that forge forward to pave the future. My interest in history is the actions of people who rise above. Pala Indian people are nomads by rude eviction. In 1901 they were forced into this area. History documents how the US government has recognised the wrongful acts and how the tribal members have leveraged opportunities given back to them to correct the theft of trust. I personally meet some Tribal members 30 years ago and remember their humble meager existence. It is truly enlightening to see the changes and the great advantage thie casino has offered them. Here is a link to their website with a bit of tribal history
Tim and I have 6 weeks until the next event. I hope to spend some time in my shop working on a new trailer idea I am working on.