Just as the birds fly south for winter, the adventures of yours truly start in a place I truly feel at home.... California.

Not that I wouldn't feel at home in say Bora Bora, but I don't know any BOTL's in Bora Bora and my travel budget probably wouldn't allow for such a trip :-) So I packed my bags yesterday and hopped on a plane for sunny San Diego in a trip orchestrated by my wife (Le Petite Amour on the board) and all my brother's in the SoCal area. It would be a time of extreme debauchery I was sure so I made sure to pack my very best birthday suit and an extra bottle of lube LOL.

As I got off the plane I was escorted from the airport by my good buddy Pnoon or as I like to call him, Barbara. I've known Peter for many years ever since the day I first met him at the Las Vegas HERF many moons ago. A better host you will not find as five minutes after stepping through the door to his house, we were two Vodka martini's in. Peter knows the way to my heart usually involves Vodka so he wasted no time in getting me good and buzzed right off the bat.

From there we met up with a few other members of the San Diego crew for my favorite food, Sushi. Galaga, SDBeerman and BeerBob joined us at the dinner table where we consumed COPIOUS amounts of fresh sushi and more adult beverages. It was a beautiful time and by the end of the meal we were all better off. And yes MrReindeer... we had Uni LOL.

Our bellies full of the finest sushi we moved the party over to Larry (SDBeerman's) house. If you've never been to a S.H.I.T herf its a sight to behold. No matter where the party is they've always got tons of food, drinks and smokes to go around. So we sit down and Larry pours us all drinks of our choice and brings out the munchies. Larry truly has a good history in the alcohol department as the drinks are great and he knows what good bar food looks like haha. So we dive into the cigars and many great smokes are passed around and lit up and more and more alcohol is consumed. Eric (GoatLocker) joined us a short time later after many missed calls to Peter's cell phone (all in all dear old Barbara missed 9 calls last nite ROFL). About an hour into the festivities we proceed to start drunk dialing our inmate friends. We managed to interrupt Robert (Tw3nty) watching a movie with his wife, we interrupted Tom (IceHog3) mid coitus, and we bothered the SoCal boys at the Deck herf LOL.

I must just take a moment to say that anytime you herf with the S.H.I.T. boys its truly a pleasure. They make you feel like family immediately and you've never met a more jovial bunch of guys. So a big thank you goes out to Peter, Larry, Bob, Rick and Eric for the food, drinks, clothes (yes I got clothes), cigars and warm hospitality. A visit like this makes you not want to go home at the end of the trip.

So, very late in the evening we literally stumble back to the Poon household to lay our heads down and dream of naked Bea Arthurs dancing to the soothing sounds of Death Metal

Stay tuned my BOTL's and SOTL's as this is only day 1! The debauchery continues today with even more SoCal inmates joining us. After a wonderful breakfast at the Poon house, I feel refreshed, relaxed and only hung-over to the slightest degree :-)

Dustin
XXX
[Reply]

Great food, great drink, great cigars and great people. Sounds like it can't get much better....but like you said it's only day 1! Enjoy yourself Dustin!
[Reply]

Oh and I must add that when Tom called us back and informed us why he couldn't answer the phone, it was one of the most classy lines EVER! He says, "Sorry I didn't answer. I had to see about a girl" :-)

VERY suave Mr. Good Will Hunting :-)
[Reply]

We decided to skip the bloody marys for breakfast.
Protein and caffeine was the preferred intake.

Soon it is off to obtain some last minute provisions as Day 2 of the herf begins in about 3 hours.
[Reply]

All I wanted to know Dustin! :-):-)

Sounds like a phenomenal time and I'm very very sorry that I have to miss it!!

Enjoy the rest of the festivities fellers and know I'll be there in spirit as this mrreindeer prepares for his busiest time of year. I'll be over in the corner doing squats, jump rope, maybe some suicides.
[Reply]

Add me to the list of people wishing they were there! Have a great rest of the weekend
[Reply]

the "Hog" is truly a class act!!
[Reply]

Have fun again today Dustin and all, and feel free to give me another interruption. :-)
[Reply]

sounds like you had a wonderful time. Ask your wife if she is willing to send you to Amsterdam next year :-)
[Reply]

I'm not quite sure we needed visual aids, Tom..........




Sounds like a blast, Dustin, I still think that getting completely set up and blasted with this surprise is one of the best things I have seen in a while.
[Reply]

Don't hate the player, Pete....hate the game. :-)
[Reply]

Day 2 :-)

The smell of friendship has a smell all its own. And in our case, it smells like the delicate aroma of multiple cigars being smoked at once.

I must say that I did not go into this trip expecting to learn anything but I've come out with a broader understanding of what friendship really means. Friendship means opening up your home to your brother and making him feel as comfortable as possible. Friendship means cooking and preparing lots of food and bringing it to the HERF just so your buddy can enjoy it. Friendship is driving two hours after a long day just to sit down and have a smoke with a buddy from out of town. But more importantly, friendship is what you feel when you are sitting with a group of cigar smokers and the conversation is no longer about cigars, its about life and happiness and how glad everyone is to see each other.

My initial entry into this thread was one of fun and frivolity and just general XXX'ness. But now, two days into my adventure, with two HERFs in a row and two cups of coffee in me, it means something more. So I take a more introspective look into this little world we've created here and I realize that this stopped being about cigars for most of us long ago. Here's an example, I was given many great cigars this past two days, but the level of excitement at receiving a good cigar pales in comparison to how excited I was every time someone walked around that corner who I hadn't seen in many months. The smile on my face at seeing my brothers in person again overshadows any cigar that could be obtained at any cost.

So now that my introspective ramblings are over let's get down to the good stuff!

I woke up yesterday morning feeling refreshed and full of life as previously stated. Peter made me some great breakfast and some strong coffee and we started out the day on the right foot. Rick came over later and the three of us went to a VERY popular Japanese market to pick up some supplies for the HERF later that nite. Needless to say it was a very busy place so we quickly relocated to another market in the area. After some good shopping and good conversation we went to a Thai restaurant for lunch were we dished about all things in general. Oh and just for some information for when you go to San Diego, apparently ordering something in a Thai restaurant at a "7" means its going to burn the ever living hell out of your mouth :-)

So we part ways with Rick as we go back to the house to begin all the preparations for that evenings events. We get the back patio set up and Peter and I have some great conversations and good smokes while picking limes off the lime trees and loading up the cooler with adult beverages. Everyone begins to arrive and smokes are passed around, drinks are poured, food is served and the debauchery begins.

At this point I feel it necessary to point out that any specifics will have to be left out as what happens in San Diego apparently doesn't stay in San Diego but ends up on YouTube LOL. No in all seriousness a lot of fun was had last nite, many laughs shared, a few even shed tears (we were also watching the Pacquiao/DeLaHoya fight) and overall a GREAT time was had.

Breakfast is currently almost served at the Poon house so I will sign off now but will update you inmates on day 3, tomorrow morning.

Your friendly neighborhood XXX,
Dustin
[Reply]

Thanks for telling us about your trip Bro.
That the S.H.I.T. crew did all this says volumes about you my friend :-)
[Reply]

I could not have said it better myself Dave. :-) Thanks for sharing your experience Dustin.
[Reply]

Thanks for sharing...i love to hear BOTL getting together for a good time:-)
[Reply]

Day 3

Ah, back to the grind. As I write this I currently sit at my desk at work dreaming of my past three days in Paradise, or as its known by its common name San Diego. The whirlwind of this past weekend is a blur of friends, cigars, drinks and experiences all of which leave a smile on my face. I don't think I ever appreciated a break from life as much as I did this weekend. A re-energizing trip that gave me a fresh outlook on things.

So day 3 began, however it began differently than the past two days. Day three began with sleeping well past the time that I usually get up. I'm sure this is due to the extreme relaxation I was feeling as well as the alcohol. But wake up I did, strong coffee followed (as is customary). Then Peter and I did a little cleaning up around the patio from the previous evening's debauchery. After the clean-up we headed to the grocery store in search of sustenance as I tend to eat a lot of eggs in the morning. So thoroughly stocked and supplied we headed back to the house and cooked up a feast to get us started in the day. Oh and just in case you were wondering, nothing beats fried meat LOL :-)

After we finished up with our late breakfast we headed over to Larry's house to watch some football and relax on the deck. Prepared as always with lots of varieties of alcohol and munchies, Larry greeted us and poured us a drink. We watched the KC/Denver & Cowboys/Steelers games while smoking great cigars and just enjoying the afternoon. A slower pace than the previous two days but a relaxing one as well. A well needed one if I may say.

After the games we parted ways with Larry and gave my most sincere thanks to him for all his hospitality. We headed out to pick up some dinner and returned to the homestead to enjoy the spoils of our outing. We ate good, we chatted about the board in general and what a great place we think this is. The members here contribute so much and in my opinion place us in the top three in the Cigar Board world in terms of quality. You guys and gals are the bees knees :-)

So after our meal and some packing I bade goodbye to my hosts as I was dropped off at the airport. The bittersweet moment was enhanced by the lateness of the evening and I must say that the walk to the terminal has never been a longer one for me. I looked back on the beautiful city of San Diego as the plane lifted off and said a thank you to all my friends who made this trip possible. It was the best surprise I've ever received and one that I won't soon forget. The kindness and generosity of the SoCal guys is un-paralleled and a true sight to behold. I feel proud to call all of you my very best friends.


The plane touched down in Phoenix a little past 10pm. We had hit some snow in the air and the turbulence was most unnerving. However all in all it was a good, quick flight. I made the long trek to the long-term parking lot and continued my way home. The drive from the PHX airport to where I live is about two hours so I had plenty of time to relive the moments and events of the past three days. It was a wonderful time and one I hope to have again soon.
[Reply]

Wow... seems like a hell of a trip Dustin. Glad you got to get back to the crew for a while. Big ups to all of the hosts.
[Reply]

Sounds great!! Nothing like some good times with the BOTL's
[Reply]

and, for those of us who weren't there, there is nothing like making that call in the middle of the herf and getting the phone passed around. Made me want to drive like a madman to get down there, but cooler heads prevailed. Thanks for the narration, Dustin, made me feel like I was there.
[Reply]

Sr Mike & zemekone
Image

SD Beerman, galaga, Sr Mike
Image

last_ace, LasciviousXXX, SD Beerman
Image

LasciviousXXX, SD Beerman
Image

LasciviousXXX, zemekone, Beerbob's wife Cindy
Image

Goatlocker, gabebdog1
Image

XXX Sausage :-)
Image
[Reply]