Before I continue with Day 3, let me back up to day 2 for a moment to note that I made lunch and dinner for the folks. Lunch consisted of Caprese sandwiches. If you don’t know what they are, allow me to explain. It is a snadwich with tomato, a thick slice of mozzarella cheese and basil sprinkled with olive oil between two slices of thick cut Italian Bread.  I had to slightly modify the sandwich as the local grocery store only had French bread.

Dinner was my “famous” Italian Pepper Steak. Strips of round steak with an herb and garlic salt rub browned in a pan of olive oil. From there I add crushed tomatoes, then slivers of green peppers and onions. Checking frequently to make sure the sauce doesn’t boil down. While this is going, I have rice boiling. When it finished, I served it up to 10 people (the most I’ve ever made this dinner for). Everyone liked it, some even saying they “loved” it. With full bellies we continued gaming until the wee hours of the night.

We did stop briefly so the Midget Herder coudl present us with Halo Mega Bloks series 5 figures, which I evenly distributed among those of us who collect them.

Saturday morning (the third day of the LAN) saw MidgetHerder having to leave early for a business party back in San Antonio, while RM Dexter (one of the founding members of RM) arrives.

We get started with gaming after Dex got there. Midday, Sam grilled up some delicious hamburgers and hot dogs. Not that cheap stuff either. More gaming ensued and we again played until wee hours of the night.

Sam and Dees during an epic double match:

Sunday morning saw Dees leaving

then midday saw Snowblood having to leave. With the remaining crew, we continued on gaming having pizza for dinner. Oh, I should note that Sam bought a HUGE amount of snacks and drinks for the LAN. I think he overbought though, LOL. Instead of eating a ton of snacks, I killed most of a bag of Elk jerky that his dad made. (Wow the best jerky I’ve ever had!!!)

Monday, Day 5, the last day. Sad as it was to end, I was missing my wife, dog, house and bed. Before Dex and I went to the airport, Sam gave me a ride in his SWEET AS HELL Shelby Mustang!!!

I say my goodbyes, getting in a shot with GQ:

This last photo of Sam, me and Dex is just before leaving to go to the airport:

Dex and I were waiting together at the airport for our separate planes to arrive and chatted a bit.

From there I was off again to Pittsburgh with a lay-over in Dallas again. This part was uneventful. From Dallas it Pittsburgh day changed to night and it was very cool to see from the sky as cities came alive with lights.

I landed safely in Pittsburgh…only to come off the plane and slip slightly on the metal ramp, twisting my ankle. Ah well, I had a great time and at least the accident happened at the end.

I want to give my sincerest thanks to Sam and his family for hosting the LAN. It was a HUGE success in my book and something I and those of us who went will likely remember forever. Folks, this is the kind of thing that brings gamers and groups even closer. I’ve known Dex for more than 4 years now and this was the first time I met him in person. The rest I’ve known for various lengths of time. All of them I know quite a bit about their families through talk in game lobbies while waiting to be matched up.

If you’ve never been a part of a LAN, I HIGHLY suggest doing it. It was awesome to meet the folks I’ve been gaming with for years and gaining memories that will last my lifetime.

-HFFL