Afterglow 2014 - Day 1 Saturday

 

 

I'm excited to be at Afterglow. Everyone knows that. Just look at my face and you'll see that I'm beaming with joy. But even more than that, I am excited to welcome someone new to this paradise so that I can witness firsthand their experience of the things that we have come to take for granted. I'm not saying that we don't appreciate the beauty and opportunities that we have been given. Trust me, we understand how lucky we are. But we also know that not everyone gets to do this. So when someone new is allowed to spend a few days up here, I make sure to remind myself that I have had this for my entire life. This place is amazing. It was good to be back.

 

We all come up here with our respective families, but once we arrive here there is no division any more - we are all one big family. And families stick together. Beege, Tommy, Brandon and Kevin couldn't be more different. But up here they are the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We always speak highly of Afterglow and the tales that we tell are legendary. So Brandon knew what he was getting in to. He knew that he had a lot of catching up to do so he shotgunned a beer as soon as we got there. This was going to be a real long week...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On of the best parts about Afterglow is that we always come up the same week every year. It's always the last week of July. Everyone else does as well, so I've known these people my whole life. We were hanging outside and Phil came by to say hi. We had to grab a picture because it was Phil. You can't pass that up.

 

 

 

As soon as the car is unpacked and the groceries are put away, we immediately change into our swimsuits so that we can go swimming. Gail (owner/operator of Afterglow) saw us hanging out, so we had to get a picture with her too. Afterglow is a great place, but it really is the people that make it the best place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home

 

 

 

I love my family, my extended family and my Afterglow family. In some weird way. Uncle Dan falls into all 3 categories. He's not really my Uncle. In fact, we are in no way related. But I've known him for my entire life and it would be weird if I didn't address him with "Uncle" in front of his name. That's the truth.

 

We are in the water every single day in the week (regardless of the weather). But it's a little unusual for the Moms to go in right away. They must have checked the forecast. It's been a cool summer in Wisconsin but today was supposed to be real nice.

Everyone knows that the first order of business is to go swimming. That is why we picked up a few stragglers at the beach. The drinks were flowing, the smiles were wide and the rage was about to hit levels not seen in a long time. Beware.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not going to sugarcoat it - everyone was bummed out that BK didn't come to Afterglow last year. It really came as a shock because with a few exceptions from those who live far away (Gary, James + Melissa) all of us make it up here every year. It was a shock to all of us. So his mere presence meant that this was going to be a great year. And so Kevin and BK posed for their annual LP picture that missed a year in 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They have dogs at Afterglow. Lots of dogs. And it seems like every time we go up there a new dog is greeting us with love. If you are a loyal visitor to this website, you will recognize Alpine (Summit) even though she is now a pretty big dog. But the one on the right is brand new. She has another mountain/ski related name, but I didn't know what it was so I just called her Avalanche. For the record, her name is Yeti. SHE IS THE YETI!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a partner in crime and his name is Kevin. So if I ever get arrested, have the police scour the neighborhood for this criminal. Calling all cars, calling all cars. Be on the lookout for a white male, aged 24. He will be filled with rage and is considered highly dangerous. Please proceed with caution. You have been warned.