The 2022 spring picnic was held this last weekend on May Day (May 1st) at Mason District Park in Annandale. In addition to the event being a Community Celebration Event (extended due to the pandemic) it also gave attendees the Blue Switch Day souvenir.
DePhogration and hzoi getting the charcoal hot.
There was lots of excitement leading up to the day of the event. Some of the reasons our members were looking forward to the picnic:
- It’s close to home!
- Can’t wait to catch up with my caching buddies.
- Finally an event that’s NOT on a Saturday.
- To see if the weather might be even more incredible than the 2021 spring picnic (thankfully, it wasn’t.)
- Lot’s of food to eat (including tacos!)
- Feeling less anxious about COVID compared to last year.
- First event with NoVAGO. (We had a couple new members join us. Welcome!)
- Did I win an award? (We announced awards for NoVAGO’s 2021 Best Caches)
DePhogration was our Pit Master once again. Hzoi stepped up for an emergency shopping trip to replace the weird, flame resistant charcoal that wouldn’t light. Once that was done, DePhogration soon had burgers and hot dogs sizzling on the three hot grills. The team effort continued when Effstop showed us his skills with a spatula and kept those burgers from burning. Thanks for the getting the main attractions on the table, guys!
As usual, the crowd rolled in and out during the event. Over 50 geocachers logged the event. Most of the group signed the log book and dutifully picked up their icebreaker challenge sheet. An hour or so went by as folks tried to figure out who’d had a ‘stick in the eye’ or ‘cached with a crying child.’ Eventually, someone cracked the code and the party migrated into the park to get the coveted group FTF. Eventually, they came back for another round of food. The 50/50 raffle bucket came around. The pot was $176 thank to our generous members. This helps offset expenses like burgers and buns, but also things like website fees. MrPsyduck was the winner and he graciously gave his half back to the organization. Thanks MrPsyduck! Award winners were announced and a few general announcement were spoken. We had a moment of silence for our caching friend, tmustang1, who passed away a few months ago.
The weather wasn’t looking great, but the rain held off just long enough for the event to conclude. For most of us, the usual post-event caching in the park would have to wait for another day. A few intrepid souls braved the downpour and went for those geocaches anyway.
NoVAGO Spring 2022 Picnic Group Photo