GFH3 Run #1,788; 1 January 2015: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A momentous day, run number 1,788; according to the official hash archive, Bite Me and Eat It Raw first hosted the GFH3 Hangover Hash (or GFH5, presumably), run number 675, on the first of January in 1995.  That makes 21 in a row, right?  One more reason to celebrate.

BANG!

GFH3 Run #1,732; 1 January 2014

As per, the GFH3’s bright, shiny new year started with a bang, and then got all muddy.  Paint in the Ass and Greg were reportedly hungover; the other 38 gathering for the hangover hash seemed not to be – though jury’s out on Tastycakes, who arrived wearing ‘last night’s make-up.’

Happy New Year!!

After a brief brief from the Shiny Sisters, Air Horn pulled the... fuse? trigger? string? on Rough Cut’s cannon to create a loud explosion, everyone leaped and yelped (well, I did, anyway), and then a few people started jogging slowly up the street.  Very, very gradually most of the rest joined them, running, jogging, walking – even broken-toed Norm, who made it about two houses down on his crutches and then turned back to the On In.  Speaking of busted body parts, when did the Mufti get that hip replaced?  Sometime in the late spring, wasn’t it?  And there he was, climbing over the fence into Frying Pan Park like he didn’t know there’s such a thing as a recalcitrant joint.  Blazing Straddle, aided by her cane, played Frisbee© with a chance-met sheltie named Duncan, and Suck Squeeze Bang rested up back at the On In, readying for the day she resumes kicking ass and taking names. 

Shiny and bright - don't know about new.

BANG!

Getting at least a little bit muddy.

The walkers wandered the park, meeting few or no baby cows despite the sign out front, abundant sunshine and a brisk breeze.  The runners got a longish trail with wet bits and stepping stones and gentle undulations, and finally encouraging marks that read, “BN,” “Quiche Near,” “Mimosas Near,” and “Bloody Mary Near.”  And they were all true!  Back at the house, not only were the quiches, mimosas and bloody Marys (Maries?  bloodies Mary?) abundant, but also:  breakfast bread (Eat it Raw braided dough around sausage, cheese and other stuff, to loud popular acclaim), bagels, chips and dips, orange slices, coffee, cinnamon rolls and cookies.  Way to start the new year off right.

Food!

Drinks!  And more food!

Mufti roll-called; Gale hit double 5s, Moaner got to 965 or 966 or 967, Raphael made #1.  We hope to see him again, but he lives in Lorton...  Mufti himself is at 1,489, and advised Moaner to ‘get a life.’  Hmmm.  Mufti paid gracious tribute to our swell hosts and their helpers, leading the crowd in a vigorous and well-deserved round of ‘hip hip, ON ONs.’  Nobody sang “Auld Lang Syne.”

We need a host for Saturday!  And the following Saturday!  Perhaps one of the folks pictured in the photos here will volunteer.  (The baby cow munching grass at FP Park as the hash adjourned will not.)  Mufti reports that BC3 has been scouting trail a bit, but should they really have to host once a month?

GFH3 Run #1,731; 28 December 2013

On 7 May 2008, I hosted the hash from my little house in McLean for the first time (first time at the house, you understand; not first time hosting).  It was about a week after I'd moved in to the house, and there was some confusion about finding a corkscrew.  Otherwise, all was well -- as I recall, I even had the necessary baking utensils to offer oatmeal cookies hot from the oven.  Today I hosted the hash from the little McLean house for the last time, again with decorative cardboard boxes strewn about the place.  Oh, woe and sadness, though you wouldn't think so from the weather.  Given a desire to empty a few cupboards and the late-December date, I'd planned a hot chocolate stop, which proved entirely unnecessary under sunny skies and temps in the 50s.  Gracious, it was lovely, and almost everyone at the On In stayed On Outside.  Bonus points.

So many bonuses in today's hash!

A few other bonuses:  Robin came back to the hash, albeit just because she knew I needed help with egg-scrambling.  Blazing Straddle showed up with a cane and walked over a mile despite her recent knee surgery.  Packing Pink Heat showed up with one foot in a post-surgery boot.  I set both eagle and turkey trails; the turkeys had seven water crossings, not including the five with bridges of some sort; the eagles had nine, plus three bridges.  (There were a few dampened tootsies, according to report, but no drownings.)  Jeffy Lube, the eagliest eagle, ran just over eight miles.  The hot chocolate stop included rum and amaretto and cookies.  Paddle My Candee Ass had a birthday, and Big Balls on Deck provided a cake liberally bedewed with amaretto (there it is again) and bedecked with cream.  ("This is disgusting!" exclaimed one hasher, gobbling it down.  "It's all hooch and butterfat!")  BC3 thought Rough Cut looked like crap, and he never looks bad after a run.  Jeffy Lube declared the trail, "perfect" -- but he's got issues.  Someone else said the eggs were perfect; thanks again and again, Robin!  And then...

birthday crown?

Hang on. First, the trails:  all the walkers decided on the two-mile, sidewalk, out-and-back that includes the garden tour at St. Dunstan's.  Most of the runners chose the roughly four-mile turkey trail.  Under threat of burnt offerings, several decided to eagle, which gave them a bit less than six (of true trail, anyway).  Then, the food:  brunch = bagels, salmon, scrambled eggs and mimosas, although enough people drank beer that there was only one left.  Warm cookies; birthday cake.  Mufti on roll; Lori hit 88, the double eights, ooooh.

And then... about 15 minutes after the last hashers departed, the doorbell rang.  Double Breasted Booby and Rick were on the stoop!  They had raced down from Long Island hoping for a few minutes of hash time, but got hard ciders and a short visit with just me instead.  Zipperhead phoned while they were there and said he'd just realized the hash was at 11:00, not 3:00, and had turned around and gone back home.  So silly.

I don't usually get many photos when I host, but the ones I did get are right here.

No, you do not get credit for the run.

GFH3 Run #1,677; 1 Jan 2013

The new year dawned -- but who could tell with all that cloud cover?  Clouds or no, the temperature was fairly friendly, and the breeze light, and while there are no rules, there are a lot of traditions, and one of the best is New Year's Day at Byte Me! and Eat it Raw's.  So a whole bunch of hashers (I counted 45; there may have been a few more) convened in Herndon for the ceremonial cannon-firing.

On on!

The walkers are always happy with a stroll through Frying Pan Park, but the runners had to follow directions.  The trail started in the park, but then steered them through the local culs-de-sac, bringing them home through the back yard in about an hour.  Rrocks Starr, deciding to short cut a bit, was the last in.  All that time in California has apparently disoriented him for east-coast streets.

I heard one runner comment that the trail was "a death march," but I'm pretty sure none of the GF regulars would agree.  Anyway, whatever effort you expended was more than rewarded with the Hangover Hash tradition of Bloody Marys, mimosas, vast quantities of quiche in many flavors, a bagel bar, homemade cookies, and so much more.

The Mufti called roll with BC3 commenting, far in the back, that she marvels every time he takes 'control' of the Hash, as "he's nothing like this usually."  There were loud cheers for Byte Me!, Eat it Raw and their several friends who aid in the preparation of this annual extravaganza.  As well, there was a birthday caterwaul (can't call it a serenade) for Paddle My Candee Ass, who also celebrated 111 runs (whoooo), plus a few shouts of "99 to the cup!" for one or two or three newcomers.  Kent showed up for his second run, and there were all sorts of other good people and stuff but it was a big crowd and I can't see everything.

The Mufti called Goes Down on Trail to the front of the room for a moment of deep solemnity:  his 200th run (or 201st, but you know the Mufti Math).  You may have missed that solemn moment; it passed very quickly.  Then there was a great deal of hilarity over the bullets dodged, which included Pantyhose, because the Oral Advocate admires GDoT's legs, and Twitchy, and something about wenching that may have been supposed to be about wrenches; I am really not sure.  However, the final approved name was The Manic Mechanic, to which TMM drank a toast of mimosa, beer and water with way less grimacing than most people would have provided.

He just never seems manic to me...

Okay, I did something deranged and deleted most of the wonderful photos from the trail and the On In.  I am so sorry.  There are, however, pix of a Herndon backyard full of dinosaurs and other fanciful creatures, plus a few hashers, if you click here.

GFH3 Thanksgiving 2012 (run 1,670)

Having to think about this almost a month after the event -- hmmm... the weather was gorgeous, and we had about 21 people and three dogs for a short run out of INDY and my house, with INDY and Hasher Flasher setting the trail along Pimmit Creek and into Arlington, for about 80/20 pavement/trail.  I set the walkers' trail, and made it a nice, near three-mile jaunt in an attempt to help folks balance caloric intake and output for the day.  Walkers went along Pimmit Creek, too, but a different section (no danger of Arlington for our walkers!), and probably had about 70/30 pavement/trail.

The great special guest star of the day was Chip Off the Old Dick's baby girl, appearing well-bundled in her trail stroller for her FIRST RUN with GFH3.

Can't really get more bundled, can you?

My recollection is that Easy Strider finished the run first, but I could be wrong.  In any event, certainly Goes Down on Trail (she typed, fingers crossed in the hope she's got the name right) and Greg would have given him some competition.

Victory of sorts.

Back at the house, in the newly-refurbished, ground-floor hashing suite, we poured mimosas and got through more beer than you'd think.  Despite the carbo-loading to come, hashers made impressive inroads into the bagels, finishing all the salmon and capers, as well as a strata or two.  We missed the Mufti, but Associate Mufti the Oral Advocate did his usual stellar job as substitute.

For photos, click here.