This was definitely an Epic Weekend In Pictures, even for me! Every year this is one of my favorite weekends here in Sussex County, New Jersey. The first Friday after Labor Day is always Tee It Up For The Troops at Crystal Springs, the first Saturday after Labor Day is always New Jersey Taco Festival at The Sussex County Fairgrounds, and Sunday is well, FOOTBALL is back! The weather cooperated much more than we were expecting which was a pleasant surprise. We'll start with Tee It Up For The Troops!
Tee It Up For The Troops and everyone involved with them are simply amazing. Over the past 15 years or so, I definitely have spent a little more time researching before donating to charities. I really want to prioritize those who give the highest percentage of what they raise for our intended recipients who can benefit from help. The percentage from Tee It Up For The Troops is phenomenal. I don't know the exact percentage off the top of my head, but when learning a few years ago that it is in the high 90s? That makes me even more excited to contribute in any small way I possibly can year after year. Our friend Michael Guidice does such a great job running this event every year and takes great pride in how much Tee It Up For The Troops raises and goes to The Troops. We had gorgeous weather. A little windier than usual on the Crystal Springs course that day, but all good. The wind actually helped us with lower humidity than expected. This was my first time golfing in 11 months. Most swings, I definitely looked every bit of someone who hasn't picked up a golf club in 11 months. Towards the end I did make some good shots though. Every time I golf, one of my first stops is at Walmart. I always buy a 15-rack of new golf balls for usually around $20. I'm not worth spending more than $1 per golf ball with the high rate of me losing them. At least with the cheaper golf balls I get, it's not even worth our time to search minutes on end for them. It's still frustrating when I hit those rare good shots and we still can't find my ball, but that's for another day. I'm so excited that we had a record breaking 320 golfers at Tee It Up For The Troops! I really also hope that helped us break some records for how much money we raised too. Overall, this is one of my favorite days all year. The opening ceremony is such a moving experience whether you're golfing or not. The chorus singing God Bless America, the flyovers, the parachute stars skydiving down with an American flag. Totally moving, every single year. I already can't wait for next year!
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Saturday was yet another one of my favorite days all year, New Jersey Taco Festival at The Sussex County Fairgrounds. Am I the one who rarely eats tacos, empanadas or burritos? Correct! Yet I still absolutely LOVE New Jersey Taco Fest! 10th annual New Jersey Taco Festival at The Fairgrounds, and there's more happening at this event far beyond tacos. It's a fun experience for many! I ended up eating bacon on a stick, Jersey Pickles Firecracker pickles which were tremendous, and french fries with spicy salt that came in our VIP Swag bags. The weather forecast wasn't great, so we made sure to get there early. There were taco, empanada and burrito trucks as far as the eye could see. The scents at New Jersey Taco Festival are like no other. With so many food trucks competing at feeding us the best, this is a case where seemingly everyone wins! I had such a great time with besties. Some of whom I see every year at Taco Fest, some it was fun seeing their first time experiencing it. Hanging under the tent with besties Turner, Carrie, Brooks, Christine, Chris, Roy, Denise, Jasen, Brendan, Craig and Steph. Girlfriend Brooks and I immediately had some fun at The Tito's photo booth, where they immediately gave you a polaroid picture. How fun is that throwback? We were expecting rain, which did start after the 1pm hour when I felt mother nature spitting on me. This rain only lasted about 3 minutes, then we were dry the whole rest of our way! We had yet another wonderful time at Taco Fest with several fun memories!
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Sunday it was time for the first football Sunday all year! I was excited to pull up YouTube on TV, and watch my New England Patriots. They looked in the first half of our game to be improving, then it seems like they took a nap during halftime and never really woke up from it. I was still happy to have football back in my world. My fantasy football teams both have a decent shot at winning! Going 1-0 isn't usually too bad of a feeling. Hopefully the injuries some of my star players had end up being minor and not major.
In the morning, I took out some NY Strip steaks that we were looking forward to grilling during the 4pm games. After the Pats game is over, I can allow myself to be grilling paying less attention to football for a little bit. I sprayed my PAM grill spray on and turned on my electric grill. It starts to smell pretty good. I go back in the living room for a second, take a sip of my beer, and then started waving and motioning to Brooks. It was definitely one of those "use your words, Steve," kind of moments. Right after I swallowed my sip of beer, she could then he me tell her "BEARS WE GOT BEARS!" All of the sudden you look out and see a Mama Bear with 3 cubs. They were definitely all adorable and a pleasure to see in person. It was the first time Brooks had seen bears by my deck and she loved getting to see them. I hadn't put steaks on my grill yet, but was definitely motivated to wait until after they made their way a little further than 10 feet or so away from my deck. The Mama Bear kept walking directly towards me and my grill. All I had to do was clap once, then they all shifted gears and switched directions without any issue at all. One of the many fun parts about living here in Jersey where we do.
I then got a little too cocky while grilling, calling my Dad Padre to vent about the Patriots and catch up on their day. This let me get too distracted, which led to our steaks being grilled to medium. We definitely prefer rare to medium rare. This was totally acceptable and even delicious / preferred for many. Our steaks were still delicious, but I was definitely annoyed. All good. They're not all going to be grand slams.
Thank you for taking the time to read my Epic Weekend In Pictures. Time to start planning next weekend. I'm planning on doing a Facebook Live preview video at The Sussex County Fairgrounds for Sussex County Day Sunday morning, and then we will have fun with that!