In a year of #baungartnering, Curiosity on Mars and Gangnam-style everything this was a really fun year. Forget the political bashing, the fiscal cliff and the bladder stones that one little dog had and overall it was another awesome year.
This list encompasses my personal favorite memories, posts that were well commented on or saw more than average traffic. The order is from my perspective and you are welcome to disagree with me. Some of the items near the middle were really hard to rank. Was the Kirby Derby really better than the St. Patrick’s Day Parade? Did I forget something big?
Let me know in the comments below.
10. Magnificent Mile – this was an equally fun and challenging race. Part of the allure was running with (and far behind) local greats like Bobby Mack. The atmosphere for this race was great and my time was better than I expected. No – I didn’t win but I didn’t expect I would.
09. BobG & EdG in the N&O – more press? Never a bad thing. I really should buy BobG a nosvc.com banner. This was front page coverage. Best part – a colleague at work asked me if I knew those people from the race. My response? Bob and Ed made the front page? Awesome. Yes – it was.
08. New River Camping Trip – down from last year but still on the Best of list. The trip may have calmed down a little bit but at least we didn’t get visited by Noah or Golf Cart Jesus this year. Yes – I fell in the river. Yes – Chloe and Brian won the trophy. No – you can’t find out more than that unless you go with us. As always – a big thank you to Nick S. for putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and making it a great group trip.
07. St. Patrick’s Day Irish Disco – this year’s float was as many before it was f’n epic – maybe the best we’ve done. We once again voted ourselves the “MOST FUN FLOAT” and while not yet recognized as anything but a pain in the rear by Official Parade Committee we are pleased this year’s effort by the NOSVC all-boys choir and co-ed dance team. This fell from the number 1 spot last year all the way down to number 7. I don’t think it was any less fun – I just think we may have done everything with the St. Patrick’s Day parade that we can.
06. Monster Dash – It’s a bird – It’s a plane – It’s the LEAGUE OF SPEED. For me this was huge because our team won. I never thought I would ever have winning in a post about a race but we did. Our prize? A $25 gift certificate that we promptly redeemed for 25 $1 beers. LEAGUE OF SPEED became LEAGUE OF AWESOME almost instantly. Yes – just like always – add beer and we because awesome.
05. Beer Bourbon & BBQ – this has been an annual tradition for a few years but cracks the Best of list this year for one reason. THE. PARTY. BUS. If you weren’t there you can’t understand it – if you were there you don’t remember it. The Mayor of South Carolina showed up at this year’s event. I’m not sure why and not convinced he won’t try to invade again next year.
04. Kirby Derby / ZOMBHNTR1 – had we known the day of the event that we were handing out soon to be extinct Twinkies we may have looked that things differently. No – we probably wouldn’t have. Another event that we have attended before but just started participating in this year and is making its debut in the Best of list. The ZOMBHNTR1 was a great vehicle and while this may have been a one and done – it might be something we participate in again. Only 2013 knows for sure.
03. Diving in Key Largo / Miami, FL – Our trip this year to Key Largo and riding around Miami was awesome. Not only did CaraDMc and I get certified to dive but we got to see a very interesting parade in South Beach.
02. Kennedy Space Center / SpaceX – We headed south to see the first commercial space flight to dock with the International Space Station launch. For some reason they thought it would be a good idea to do this at 3:44AM. Also got to tour the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center which recently opened to the public. I highly recommend this trip – the rocket garden is amazing and you learn about the heroes of the space program.
01. 10th Anniversary Cruise – This year marked a decade of CaraDMc and I being married and to celebrate we decided to head south for a week-long cruise. It was nothing short of awesome and while most of these items have a single post or two this trip this one had a barrage of posts. Some of my favorites? St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, St. Lucia and Barbados. A great way to finish the Best of list and a great way to cap off an amazing decade.
Thanks to everyone that came along for the ride. We’ll keep pushing to make 2013 better than 2012.
