Pork In The Park - Salsbury Maryland My first foray into the world of Bar B Que! I say it not like it’s an adjective, but like it’s a noun. The 2 weeks directly before the "event" were a flurry of e-mails between Pit Boss, Big Dog and myself. Lists of what we needed, what we were bringing, and towards the end, when it came down to crunch time, a detailed itinerary of our schedule throughout the weekend, including minute by minute prep and turn in times. (OMG am I supposed to memorize this?)

The Tuesday night before we left I met Big Dog at Costco for supplies, 200 coffee cups and lids should do us, 12 rolls of paper towels and various other items that had our cart piled over the top and a little boy commenting on it… Again, e-mails back and forth setting up a time for him to pick me up. We’re going to be ready to go by 3, pick up Pit Boss, finish loading and be on the road by 5, great, we’re set!

I finished my nights Thursday morning and I needed to sleep because I had the 2^{nd shift to drive. I got up to go to a 2 0’clock appointment, got in my van and the engine light came on. Shit! and some other expletives!!! I stopped by the Dodge dealer to see if they could quickly put it on the computer to diagnose it. My son Matt was supposed to take his brother to a meeting, and other stuff, so he needed the van while I was away. We had also made arrangements for him to trade vehicles with Big Dog’s wife Barb, so she could go to Kitchener on Sunday. I arrive at the dealer, it’s shift change and they can’t get to it for a half hour. They give me a ride home, and assure me that they’ll pick up Matt when it’s ready. Works for me, and I’m only a little late for Big Dog.}

I get home and my stuff’s already in the truck, I just need to get in and go. I start to tell Big Dog of my troubles, only to find out he’s had a worse day than me. For starters, nobody in London had half decent salmon, or colossal scallops, and this was to be one of our entries. So a quick stop at Loblaws (because we were told their seafood was coming in at 2) and it was a little disappointing. We got our salmon, but no scallops, not much we can do about that. Let’s just get to Pit Boss’s, pick him up, and the duty free’s looking better and better.

Heading down to Pit Boss’s, I just keep telling myself, ok, deep breaths, it’s going to get better…until the familiar sound of Aerosmith’s Rag Doll tells me my phone’s ringing. "Mom, you have to call the dealer right away." I call, and it’s not good news, "could be a vacuum seal, or the engine block might be cracked", either way, it’s not leaving the dealership any time soon. A few phone calls later and the dealer’s agreed to give Barb a loaner, because Matt’s not old enough to rent, & he’ll take Barb’s van for the weekend. OK, I’m really needing the duty free now!

Down to Pitt Boss’s, pack a few more things, and we’re off, hit the Timmy’s around 6 p.m., only an hour behind schedule, pretty good considering. Big Dog got the first leg, with me & "Shirley" up front navigating, we were sure to have a good trip. We put Pit Boss in the back to sleep because he had the third leg. Looking good, hit the duty free @ 7:40, loaded up on essentials, tequila, Jack Daniels, Canadian beer for guests to our campsite, and corona for us. 8:10, going through customs, a few questions, only about the competition, our tam and our secret recipe though, then off we go, with "Shirley" programmed and me with my mapquest pages as back up. Next stop Syracuse to pick up some last minute stuff we needed to buy stateside. Hit the WalMart in Syracuse at 10:45, got most of what we needed, still no scallops, and I managed to buy 2 pair of shorts and 3 T shirts, and we were back on the road by 11:20. Big Dog was still feeling good, so he continued driving, Pit Boss settled in back, and "Shirley" and I navigating. Next gas stop was around 1 a.m. and Mike had enough, now it was my shift. We switched drivers, and I was off through the Poconos, probably a beautiful drive if it hadn’t been so dark. The boys were asleep and the moon was full, and I had "Shirley" for company…the bitch kept telling me where to go!

After about the 6th stop to pay a toll, somewhere in Delaware, Mike woke up, Pit Boss was still snoring in the back so Mike and I switched up for the last hour. One more stop to try and find parsley, then it was in to Salisbury, and we started setting up cmap around 7 a.m.