Bash 2003 Reports Page 4

2003 Bomber Bash: Dooley's Diary

June 16-17:

Colleen and I left our home around 6 am to get a good start on one of the most anticipated and exciting trips we have ever set out on. By 7:30 we were approaching Dayton, Ohio, when the radio announced an accident on South 75 that had traffic at a standstill. Being the great navigator that I am I took a detour through Dayton, got turn around, lost and by the time I found my way back to I75 we were an hour behind our schedule. Oh well, we pushed on and enjoyed the quiet ride together (no kids screaming in the back seat: "He touched me," "I gotta go to the bathroom," Are we there yet?") We were in Macon, GA by 6:00 PM and stopped at "Applebees" for dinner. We decided to drive on for a while and stopped for the night in Tifton, GA.

We slept in a little Wednesday morning before getting on our way. While on our way we saw "The World's Largest Peanut" (it had a crown on it) just outside of "Tamfon Springs (that's for Rockin'). We got into the Tampa/St. Petersburg area about noon and as we crossed the bridge from Tampa to St. Pete it was raining so hard you could not even see the bay. This was a sign of things to come. We got to our hotel without any problems finding it at all, didn't even have to stop and ask for directions (by the way, we stayed at the same hotel as Lon and Lisa Baldridge).

I asked the front desk clerk about a possible room upgrade and we were upgraded to an awesome suite for the same rate (how cool is that?). We settled into our rooms and I made a few phone calls (Rrrrrockin' said he would be in tomorrow and Len was with his realtor and would call us later). We decided to head for the gym. We made our way north to "Lifestyles Family Fitness." We paid for week passes and went to change. Now Colleen and I are accustomed to our garage gym so we were a bit intimidated and I was nervous about embarrassing myself in a "real" gym. We threw caution to the wind and set out for an arm workout together. The only mishap was when Colleen forgot to put the additional 10# on the barbell during close-grip bench presses and I nearly broke my wrist. But I forgave her.

We watched in awe as some personal trainer was working with a beautiful young lady and had her doing the stupidest routine we had ever witnessed and screaming at her calling her the "energizer bunny" and such. It would have been funny had it not been so sad.

While heading back to the hotel Len called and we set a time to meet for dinner. He meets us at our room, blamed us for bringing the rain south with us, and the three of us head to "The Dish," what an awesome place. After dinner Len showed us around. Up to the rooftop of the downtown parking garage and out to "The Pier." We even heard a reggae version of Pink Floyd's "Homeward Bound," that's not right. We headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night. What a great start, couldn't imagine how much better things would become.

Thursday, June 19:

I wanted to play golf and you know it never rains on a golf course. So, undaunted by the overcast skies I found a golf course and called for a tee time. Colleen had never played before but the sport that she is, she decided to rent clubs and play along. By the time we got to the 4th hole 3 groups had passed us and another was fast approaching. Colleen decided to learn to play some other time and spent the rest of the time being my caddie. On the fourteenth fairway my cell rings, Rockin' is in town. I told him I would call as soon as we were done so we could meet up with Len and anyone else that might be in yet and available. While approaching the eighteenth green the clubhouse sounded to weather siren and we had to leave quickly as the lightening and rain was coming down pretty good. Wet, tired and hungry I called Len. Now this is where there is a little miscommunication. I told Len we were just leaving and to call Rockin' and anyone else and tell them we were going to grab something to eat, run to the hotel and we would meet them at the gym at 3:00.

3:00 at lifestyles, Colleen and I sit and wait. Len shows up at 3:30 and says he was tied up with the realtor and hadn't been able to get ahold of anyone. I said, "Did you call Rockin'?" And he just looked at me like I had little green aliens coming out of my nose. He calls Ken and I guess Jeannie has really run him over the coals. They're not coming now so Colleen, Len and I get a workout in and make plans to meet them later for dinner. Len was carrying his cell phone around the gym with him (woops, I wasn't suppose to tell you that) and Cajinjohn called to say they were in and we told them we would get in touch with them when we got back to the hotel.

When we got back to the hotel I found John and Dorothy's room and we introduced ourselves and let them know the plans for dinner. When everyone was ready we headed out to meet up with Rockin' and Jean. When they FINALLY arrived we all went to "The Dish" for dinner (there is a pattern developing here). Rockin' was impressed by the all you can eat meat bar, but not too impressed with the waiter's ability to remove plates from the table without spilling the remains in his lap (free dessert anyone?). We left for another round of sight seeing, back to the top of the parking garage and out to the pier and back. The only thing I really learned from this night was that if you're robbed of your shoes, don't let them have your dignity too. We said goodnight and went our separate ways.

Friday, June 19:

Colleen and I spent the morning exploring the beaches of St. Petersburg and scouting out Ft. DeSoto Park. When we got back to the hotel we park and met Len, John, Dorothy, Rockin' and Jean at a deli down the street.

We were having a great time when Len's cell phone rang, Maggie was in. Rockin' and I agreed to go pick her up and bring her back to the deli. She wasn't to sure about getting into a car with two strange men. How right she was, two strange men. We got back to the Deli and finally get a hold of Dave and Laree who come down from the sanctuary of the Vinoy to have lunch with us. We had a ball and before we knew it the time had come to get ready to head for the gym.

Upon arriving back at the hotel to get ready we discovered that our room keys no longer worked. We had paid for the room in cash, for the week, the night before and were rather perplexed and I was just a little put out by this. So I went back to the front desk and interrupted the desk clerk who was checking someone in. He apologized for the trouble, rescanned our keys and as I was about to head back to the room the man I had so rudely interrupted ask, "Are you with the Draper group?" I said, "Yes," and introduced myself. He told me he was Bill Neylon, that he had read many of my posts and that I looked much bigger in person than I did in my pictures. Wow, that made my day (thanks Bill). I told him that we were getting ready to go to the gym and we would meet him in back the lobby 10 minutes.

We all met back in the lobby, John, Dorothy, Bill, Colleen and I and waited for Rockin' and Jean. As we were getting ready to leave we spotted a couple who should be part of the IOL group and called out to them. It was Lon and Lisa Baldridge. Cajin drove with Dorothy, Bill, Colleen and I. Rockin' and Jean followed us and Lon and Lisa followed them.

We got to the gym and a crowd had already amassed at the top of the stairs. We shook hands a greeted most and went to get ready. Colleen went off with Maggie and I went off with Rockin' and Bill.

We did some back work and then Bill N. and I began a killer chest routine (it was a love/hate friendship from the get-go).

Laree and Colleen were taking pictures and we pursued our workout while others were talking to Dave and trying out the "Top Squat."

When we were done we made our way to the squat rack and took our turns with the apparatus. This is the second time I had been under the "Top Squat" and was very pleased with its performance. I helped Colleen change some weights and she showed us all how it was supposed to be done, followed by a rousing ovation from the gathered crowd.

Colleen's gym notes:

After getting dressed I waited for Maggie. We warmed up for a few minutes and decided to work chest and shoulders. I suggested we do some bench presses and Maggie wanted to know how much weight I used. I said, "75 pounds" and she said she couldn't do that much. I told her you never know until you try. She pushed herself and did a great job. We did a couple more chest exercises and then went on to our shoulder work.

The first thing I showed her was the "Arnold Press." As we were working on our second or third set Cajin came over and complimented our great form. We finished our shoulders and spent some time talking about other exercise and techniques and made our way over to the "Top Squat." As we stood there watching someone said, "I haven't seen any of the ladies do it yet." "Colleen, why don't you try." Dave said it was a guy's toy which made me even more determined to do it. I did my set and the "Top Squat" felt really good. I was surprised when there was a round of applause when I was finished.

Tim's back in control of the keyboard:

After leaving the gym we went back to the hotel to get ready for our dinner at TooJays. When we got back to our room there was a message waiting for us. I called the front desk and the manager said she wanted to let me know that two of the $100 bills we paid with were taken by the bank and turned over to Secret Service (Treasury Dept.) as possible counterfeits. My heart dropped to my feet. She said there was nothing to be alarmed about but wanted us to be aware, notify our bank and check the other bills we had. We checked them, as did the manager, and they all seemed to be okay. At the time of this writing we haven't heard anything further.

We made it to TooJays and had a wonderful time. We made more friends that night. Getting to know Lon, Lisa, Dan and Aimee better was a blessing and meeting and talking with Henrik was great.

We talk for what seem like ever and then collected money from everyone so we wouldn't all have to stand in line and I went down and bought the tickets for the "Hulk." The movie was great, the only distraction was Corey's multiple trips to the bathroom and back. I sucked it up (the diet coke, literally, no Bill, I didn't have on a feed bag) and waited till it was over. After the movie and a considerable time in the bathroom ridding myself of the diet coke we left and went back to our room. Another GREAT day!

Saturday, June 21:

We got up and met Len, Rockin', Jean, Bill, Cajin, Dorothy, Lon and Lisa at the hotel lobby for breakfast. We talked a little about everything and had a great time. We got ready to leave for the Bash picnic and seminar. Lon and Lisa rode with Colleen and I and Cajin, Dorothy and Bill N. followed us. I tried to lose Cajin but you just can't shake the old guy.

We got to the Bash and started meeting a lot of other people we hadn't met until now. We met Payton (proteinsponge) and his girlfriend, Ashley. Payton is a huge young stud and has great potential. Once the seminar started he asked the first, and greatest question. "Did you ever train with Arnold, what kind of workouts did you do, and why are you so much cooler than he is?" This got a great round of applause.

Dave modestly answered the questions and then replied, "Arnold's still pretty cool." To which Payton retorted "Well, I do'¹t see him standing here answering our questions." This brought another round of applause. Dave is the man! Tom I. was awesome and Colleen said, "Isn't it amazing what a sound mind and body can accomplish?" I told Laree that I pitied anyone who would try to transcribe all he had to say, yet he made it so simple to understand. For more than three hours we sat, asked and listened, leaving with this simple equation "Consistency and Intensity." You'd think they could have said that in less than three hours, huh?

Click here for the seminar file download page

The catering was great and Colleen and I escaped off to the beach for a little while. We were disappointed when we returned that Rockin's equipment was put away and a lot of people had already left. We sat and talked and got some more information from Tom and Dave. Corey gave Colleen an adjustment and in lieu of a bill asked me to pray for him, glad to do it.

Colleen spent a lot of time talking to Hugo, Lena and Chad. What a great family and Hugo is a great bodybuilder. We had an impromptu pose-down with Hugo, Corey and Chad (I think Chad was the winner). Then, as Colleen was saying goodbye, Hugo made her trip by telling her to keep up the good work she was doing, turned to Corey and said, "Look at her, her legs are fantastique!!!!!!!!!!!" Then Colleen, Lisa, Len and I were off to explore "Fort DeSoto" (a.k.a.: The Sand Flea Hotel). It was really cool and what a beautiful view out into the Gulf from the top.

When we got back to the hotel Rockin' called and wanted prime rib, and if Rockin' doesn't get what Rockin' wants, look out! We told him, after searching the hotel directories, that there wasn't any prime rib in St. Pete. But decided to go to Julian's on the corner.

It was late when we arrived and everyone showed but it was worth it. It was not only one of the finest (and most expensive) dinners we have ever had, but it was also one of the most enjoyable. Thanks to the great company of new friends we were with (Dan, Aimee, Len, Jeanie, Rockin' (at the head of the table no less), Lon, Lisa, Colleen and I). Len was enjoying the view (the hot young thing sitting behind us) but not as much as he would enjoy the poor breakfast Sunday morning (Miss Florida, meet Len Romano). As we were leaving Bill N. came walking down the street, walking off some bad Mexican food he had eaten and Colleen and I, Rockin', Jeanie and Bill all went to Dan Marino's. We were starting to realize that our time was winding down and we didn't want it to end.

Sunday, June 22:

We almost overslept and were thankful for the wake-up call from Bill N. We rushed around and the three rode together to the Hilton in Bill's car. And It was really raining hard. Colleen and I didn't give much thought to how we would get back since Bill was leaving from the brunch.

We ate, talked, took pictures, shared goodbye, promised to stay in touch and before you knew it, it was over. Laree was kind enough to give us a ride back to the hotel and we sat in front and talked for a long time. Have we mentioned how wonderful a lady she is?

Anyway, we (Rockin', Jeanie, Dan, Aimee, Henrick, Colleen and I) had decided to meet at the gym at 3:00 to get another workout in. I got to use a cool new homemade pull-down bar that Lon gave me and go some spots from Dan and Henrik doing "french presses." Did you know that you can't hide a Henrik?"

After the workout we met at "The Dish" (again!) at 6:00. Those who were left (Dave, Laree, Len, Dan, Aimee, Henrick, Bill S., Debbie, Rockin', Jean, Colleen and I). We sat for hours, ate and talked and close the place down. We left to find a Karaoke show going on. It had to be some of the worst singing I have ever heard. At one point some old dud is murdering some indistinguishable tune when Henrick leans down and says, "I used to like this song." Classic!

So Rockin' steps up to the microphone and shows everybody how it's suppose to be done, Jeanie follows and then Colleen brings down the house with a version of Bonnie Raitt's "Let's give 'em Something to Talk About" that was better than the original (I'm not kidding).

Then we all went downstairs and said our goodbyes . . . I mean "see ya laters." Then we stood and watched as Dave and Laree, hand in hand, walked off into the night. No one wanted this evening to end, so the handful of us who were left (Rockin', Jeannie, Dan, Aimee, Bill S., Debbie. Colleen and I) went to have one last drink (make that two diet cokes for the preacher and his wife) at Dan Marino's. We talked and laughed and savored every last moment. Then we all just kind of walked away.

We awoke Monday morning to a beautiful sunny day (figures!). We checked out of our hotel and headed home. We spent Monday night just south of Cincinnati and got home Tuesday about 11:00. The kids came running to see us and we were glad to be home. But we are already looking forward to seeing each other again. Arnold's Classic in Columbus is in February and we are already thinking about our plans for Bash 04 in NYC. Thanks to Dave and Laree for all they do and to all of our great new friends for sharing in this time and making it so special.

Love and Health,
Tim and Colleen Dooley

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