Snake Gabrielson's 2002 Luau

August 10th, 2002

August is a busy time for me. This year was exceptionally busy with my surf camp, luau, East Coast Surf Championships, and my daughters wedding all planned over successive weekends.

The morning of August 10th started off early with driving to Georgetown (DC) for the 8th Annual Surfrider Clean Water Day paddle on the Potomac River. A good size group of surfers and kayakers assembled in front of the Capitol Chapter Surfrider booth at Thompson's Boat Dock beginning at 8:00 am to make the long trek upstream to the Key Bridge and then back. It was a tough paddle but the old snake still has a little juice and was able to hold off a last minute surge by one of the youngsters and make it to the bridge first. The trip back downstream was much easier. I had a chance to cruise and view the natural and man made beauty of this part of the river. It has cleaned up nicely since my last paddle several years back and certainly is a great place for boaters, kayakers and crew teams now. Several female crews were busy with early morning practice while I was there.

Following the paddle I did a short autograph and picture session for participants and visitors, plus met members of the Red Bull Energy Drink Team. They greeted us with a can of their impressive drink for a quick recharge on our return from paddling. I don't know about everyone else, but although I surf a lot, my arms and chest were seriously sore and I really needed the lift their drink provided. I felt so good after I even brought a case with me home for the party goers to sample later on.

I got home around noon and proceeded to clean up the yard and house in preparation for my luau. This late summer event started several years back and has now become the premier surfing related social event of the DC region. It regularly draws surfers and guests from all over the area for and evening of entertainment and good vibes. This was to be another classic night. Six torches and 12 candles lighted the long drive to my house. Then you needed to get past my Tiki guarding the front porch to finally reach the many guests, superb Hawaiian dishes, Snake's Surf Room, and buckets of margaritas at the bar or Watermelon punch in the kitchen.

My deck bar was well stocked and decorated with all sorts of luau things. Before the live entertainment started I played traditional Hawaiian music and sipped either my special "old Huntington watermelon fruit punch" or margaritas from a bucket. The deck is located so I can see new arrivals and the occasional deer crossing my driveway as the evening progressed.

The crowd started showing up about 6pm. First to show was one of my surf partners George Vermillion and members of his band. I haven't surfed with George, or even spoken to him in nearly a month but I knew he would go all out to ensure the luau would be memorable. George also brought some pinapple strips and pork strips that were delicious.

Next to show was Bob Black and his wife Donna. They had been at a Jimmy Buffet impersonator concert up the road and left early to get to the luau. Donna told me later she had more fun at our "concert". Bob has an interesting surf story. While I was giving a surf lesson to his son Lucus, he decided that it looked like fun and he would try it. He was just getting over an injury and couldn't walk too well without a limp. Amazingly, within a couple of hours he was up and riding.

George's band set up early and was absolutely fantastic. They played two sets and then decided to play a couple more numbers later on. Mike McCourt, Darrell Noyes and his cousin on the harmonica entertained with soul and jazz. Finally for the late night parties, Kevin Buff decided to blow us away with an epic folk and blues performance. Art Svrjcek also jumped in every now and then for some great surfing music. Art also gave me one of his "Tribute to the Beach Boys" CDs produced by his band, Still Surfin that is very well done.

I was a little surprised members of my club, Annapolis Surf Club showed up one-two hours late then left early. Several wanted to surf the next morning but it goes to show you that the "old days" are gone. There once was a time when we partied all night and still got up at sunrise to surf. Even at my advanced age I still party all night before hitting the surf. Did just that at the Longboard Challenge a few weeks back. Guess this isn't as late as Pam Farrenger though. She showed up with chicken and song books after the band had quit for the night and most folks had already eaten. Rod says he was fashonably late but come on Pam.

There were plenty of sing-alongs, dancing, and special awards activities. I used independent judges for all awards. I gave away eight surfboards for 1st and 2nd in the main dish category, 1st and 2nd in the desert category, and then two for the best female hula costumes and two for the best male costumes. It was a real shocker that my son, Jason, won the best male costume award. He never goes all out for anything I put on. However, this time both he and his brother Kevin were decked out and ready for some serious partying.

Since nearly all the other attendees except for my other son Kevin had on similar Hawaiian shirts, we decided to make the male runner-up costume award really a "lifetime costume award" so to speak. Darrell wears a Hawaiian shirt every day to both work and to social events so we decided he deserved to finally win his first surfboard. Diane Rowe breezed to first place in the female costume division with her traditional hula outfit and Laurie Fox (right) looked good with her two-piece in the runner-up spot. The picture on the left shows sons Jason and Kevin with Diane.

I was told by the judges that picking the food award winners in both main and dessert categories was very difficult as there were many great things to sample. After lengthy deliberations, first place main dish went to Kevin Buff for a tasty sis kabob while Beth Roger's Hawaiian creation (don't have any idea what she called it) captured runner-up. For disserts, Art Svrjcek's marshmallow based snack was super and Laurri Fox's pineapple upside down cake was delicious.

One pleasant surprise was a local sporting goods store owner who came with one of my wife's friends and who I've known for some time now. I didn't realize he was such a good guitar player plus a big surfing fan. He showed me a picture of his den with a huge wave painted on the wall and a surfboard at each corner. He lives close by and I plan to start surfing with him in the future on a regular basis when he can make it.

Next morning I didn't have too tough a cleaning job and by noon was ready to kick back and listen to the CD Art had given me. Great surf music. I'm still sore from the surf paddle but my luau memories from this year will go a long way towards easing the pain.