2009 Michigan Fish In-Need your input!

[sewdrapes]

This year's Fish-In will actually start in the middle of the week, Wednesday, July 1 and run for the usual week, ending July 7th. ( I may have originally said the 8th but Bill made me realize that totalled up to 8 days-not that any of would hate being in paradise for that long!)

There will be one big difference this year. Our outstanding chefs of the past three years have decided they want to just play this year. Soooooo, I am open for suggestions for what we can all do to get together on July 4th (which is on a Saturday this year, hence starting the Fish-in on Wed.).

If there is someone who would like to step up and take over the dinner, that would be great. Otherwise, I was thinking about maybe having everyone get together at a local restaurant that evening. I'm taking suggestions and would really appreciate any and all input. If everyone is interested in going to a restaurant, how far are you willing to drive? I'm canvasing the Grayling area restaurants to see whom has enough space for us. Please post and let me know your thoughts.

[MikelC]

Jean,

Might I suggest a pot luck dinner on July 4th? If you don't hink that would be suitable, I would be up for a nice luncheon at some local restaurant.

Mike

[MikelC]

Btw, just wanted to let you know that I will probably show up on Weds. evening and stay till the following Mon. Hopefully, I can find a campsite at Canoe Harbor. See ya there !!

Mike

[Jack Hise]

I don't blame the chef's as they put in some very long and hard days preparing the meals for the cookout.

A pot luck dinner with bring your own meat would be fine with me.

I'll bet tim will have his charcoal grill along and be glad to share it.

[Mato Kuwapi]

Btw, just wanted to let you know that I will probably show up on Weds. evening and stay till the following Mon. Hopefully, I can find a campsite at Canoe Harbor. See ya there !!

Mike

We'll be camping too....though I'm going to go have an eyeball of Canoe Harbor before I commit to camping there. It has been our favorite spot but they went in and logged the snot out of it this past November so I may just decide to head over to Keystone instread. If I see the cut at Canoe from my favorite campsites and it looks ugly ....you get my drift. I'll be heading up around the 24th of June I think.

Pot Luck sounds like a nice idea to me...but prep from a campsite has it's challenges but I'm sure it can be done. I'll go along with what ever the masses want. How about making sure there is a good bed of coals going in the fire pit and just bringing our own meat in to cook on it along with a side for the Pot Luck part? IF there is an oven up in the board room, I'd like to lay claim to some space and cook up some killer baked beans. I could do that in the AM if the demand is high for the oven. (Need about three hours).


I'll even volunteer to get the fire going and get that ready.

[scubatim]

Pot Luck sounds like a nice idea to me...but prep from a campsite has it's challenges but I'm sure it can be done. I'll go along with what ever the masses want. How about making sure there is a good bed of coals going in the fire pit and just bringing our own meat in to cook on it along with a side for the Pot Luck part? IF there is an oven up in the board room, I'd like to lay claim to some space and cook up some killer baked beans. I could do that in the AM if the demand is high for the oven. (Need about three hours).


I'll even volunteer to get the fire going and get that ready.

Now Deb I think that is a great idea and sounds like a load of fun.

[sewdrapes]

I had tried to talk Joe, the Bread Man into pciking up the cooking chores this year, but his daughter is getting married that month and is not even sure he will be able to attend this year.

Unfortunately, there is NO stove in the Board room, only a microwave, the fridge and sink. The first year of the Fish-In we did a pot luck and I heard quite a few complaints about how hard it was to bring something good coming in days before the potluck. Besides what the guys cooked we actually ended up with a LOT of deli salads and chips at that one, because no one actually had access to a stove. That is why I had suggested going to a restaurant instead.

I'm willing to do whatever the majority want, but I was thinking sitting back in comfortable seats in air conditioning might be nice, too, or staying out of a pouring rain.

I do know one thing, I can hardly wait to get back to the Bear's Den for a calzone! :>)

[scubatim]

Jean after last year I do not want to hear that four letter word RAIN is no longer in our vocabulary while talking about The Fish In.

[Joe Valencic]

Adverse weather is always in the back of out minds, so outdoor cooking can be quenched in a hurry. Has anyone thought of having the meal catered? I'm talking about having a local restaurant make up food that can be brought to the Board Room and set up in heated chafing pans. We do this for my FF Club's Christmas party, and it works out to something like $8-10 per person, with food often left over. You can get something like fried chicken, sausages with onions and peppers, some sort of potato, a side of mixed veggies, tossed salad, rolls and a simple dessert like a cookie tray or a cake like has been done in the past. The combinations are endless, and if someone contacted a couple of the Grayling dives they might find that they do catered events. How about Spikes? Maybe Rusty might be able to do something right there as long as it doesn't interfere with their daily traffic. This takes the burden from the participants who are going to pay for a meal one way or the other, and we would be supporting the local businesses as well. Catered buffets are always cheaper than a sit down restaurant, and the Board Room has enough room for people to move in and out in shifts. Heck, if it's a nice day, it could be setup on the picnic tables like we've done in the past, and enjoy the Aluminus & Bikini hatches all afternoon.

Here are some memories from 2008...










That's my 2 shiny pennies.

[Kaboom1]

Joe

I like your 2 shiny pennies!

I also liked the meet and greet we had last year.

By the way, when I left Gates last year, I thought that the dates were set from June 29 to July 5. Did I miss something?

Brad