Got back yesterday from the LOA Camping Trip. Had a fabulous time, but at the same time it was great to get home and see my wife and son. Rather than write the whole blog post, I will just copy my post from the LOA Forums.

Walking up to the campsite for the first time was a surreal experience for me. Kamui and I walked up and Methus was there right away to make us feel at home. Got our tents set up and lamented at how small mine was (I had tent envy all weekend, but thanks to FireEyes I don't think mine was the smallest). With my tent set up, I turned around and there was Solf with some happy juice. (I was amused at the name happy juice until saturday morning when I decided that happy juice and myself were no longer friends)

Friday night was lots of handshakes, more than a few laughs (McLovin...heh), and I failed/shamed my fellow canadians by heading in for some sleep before everyone else. (America 1, Canada 0)

Saturday morning came much faster than I expected, the fire was already going by the time I crawled out of my tent. More conversations went on while I stared at the flames trying to wake up.
Saturday afternoon came around and it was time for River Wars 2008. We headed down and I got into the raft with the Geek Squad (Patent Pending). We were weaponless, had 4 people, 3 paddles (one of them broken), but that wouldn't stop us from getting into the fray. For the first bit, we approached a heavily armed raft and began the attack. (Jerith|Tony fell out during that exchange, and Livvy got some pictures so I imagine they will surface eventually). We beat a hasty retreat, and decided that the lead boat needed to be attacked. We headed down river to begin the attack, and felt the pain of not having any weapons once again. We decided that there was only one thing we could do, and headed back to the other rafts to call a truce and see if we could procure a weapon or two. We got a little more wet (i'm not sure how that was possible) and Kamui got pulled overboard but Demeth's boat was nice enough to lend us a weapon which we immediately put to use by attacking them (i got a little talking to for that so we decided to put our new weapon to the test against the lead raft again). The attack was successful, with Brimstone almost losing an eye thanks to a well placed shot by Kamui. I could go on and on with this but take my word when I say it was a blast.
Back at the camp we dried off and hung out until poker. Our table moved the action around an awful lot and I took the early chip lead (it didn't last). We were sure Brimstone was going to be sporting a new cowbell before the night was through, but he slow-played it like a pro and spent as much time as possible away from the table, and managed to just be second out. Kayelle was collared and took it all in stride, I didn't last too far past that point either. The cards were amazing quality (thanks Brim).
Saturday night was more drinking, some more shots, and a great time. I went to my tent around midnight to take a little break and woke up at 8 in the morning on Sunday. (America 2, Canada 0)

Sunday was bittersweet for me. Seeing people pack up and head out, it was hard to deny that the trip was coming to a close. Thank god we had creed playing all morning to lift our spirits (or "Take Me Higher" as some would say). Brimstone saved the day with his Durango (my hero).
Went for a swim and got to show off my amazing football skillz (was it just me, or were there far too many warm pockets of water?). After that it was drying off, lunch and then Jerith|Tony ran his 1st Annual Dungeons and Dragons adventure. It was great fun, and everyone who played got some nice trophies. (Dice, dice bag, clipboard, character sheet, pencil, and power cards...everything a gamer needs).
I learned how to play dominos and 4 wins later I was just about ready to proclaim myself domino grand champion of the words. I was put in my place though.
After that was hanging around the camp fire, telling jokes (horrible, horrible, jokes...) and just generally hanging out. I made sure to not head to my tent until absolutely everyone else had head in to theirs though (America 2, Canada 1)

Monday we took off, and the drive home seemed so much longer than the drive there. Can't wait for next year.

Some other memories:

- Pamela becoming the new offical spokesperson for Alexander Keiths India Pale Ale
- As soon as the Beer Bitch was named, Brimstone yelling "I'M ALL IN!"
- Those two people at the campfire making out and groping each other. (they were going at it so long I thought they were paid entertainment)
- Kamui's face when he was first named McLovin (and every other time he was called McLovin for that matter)
- Those potatoes sunday night, I don't know who cooked them (Lady A? Livvy? Pam? FireEyes? God?) but whoever it was, TEACH ME!

As usual with this sort of thing, I brought a camera but didn't take a single picture. I would just much rather be out there having fun than hanging back with a camera. As such, no pictures yet, but I am collecting all the pictures I have and I will upload them to Picasa in the next day or two.