Bishopric Barbeque

So ever since I have been in young mens, there has been a traditional BBQ in the month of December for the youth of the ward. When I was a deacon, this BBQ consisted of having hamburgers at Kiwanis Park. This was fun, and we had good times enjoying various activities at the park and eating lots of food. This is how I remember the bishopric BBQ. It was always one of my favorite events of the year.

Now, I am a teacher's quorum advisor, and I got the privilege of attending the BBQ again for the first time in four or five years. Well since my last BBQ, the bishopric has made a lot of changes, to improve this event. First of all, the food. They have gone from low quality (hamburgers), to high quality (carne asada). Secondly the locale, upgraded from Kiwanis Park to Brother Jones' farm. Last big difference, there is now a hay ride.

So here is how things went. The young men, young women, and their leaders met at the church to carpool to the farm. I happily opened my truck, which has become known as the fun-vee, to Jayce and Steven. Bishop then asked if I would pick up Scott and James. So the fun-vee set out in search of some new passengers. We picked up Scott, and the dropped Jayce off at a store to pick up some snacks, while the fun-vee went to pick up James. Sadly, James was not at home so it was back to pick up Jayce and hit the open road.

Fully supplied with oreos, chocolate covered pretzels, starbursts, and gummy worms, we began the approximately 45 minute trip to the farm. As we cruised down the freeway, we joyfully rocked out to the music pumping from steven's i-pod. As we neared our destination, it became apparent to us that the fun-vee had to arrive in style, so we rolled down the windows, cranked up the bass, augmented the volume, and let everyone know that the fun-vee had arrived.

It was then time to hit the hay, and cruise around the farm. This hayride, is a trailer loaded with hay attached to a tractor which then takes us on a trip around the farm. The adults decided to enhance the ride with a little Christmas music to really allow the joy to fully penetrate the hearts of those in attendance. However I am pretty sure that it wasn't joy the persuaded Jayce to tell me to stop singing or die. Then came the time to return to where the food was, this was accomplished by driving on a main road. Needless to say the cars stuck behind the tractor were not all full of the Christmas spirit.

When we returned, the food was pretty much ready. So we had soft tacos with Carne Asada. Along with chips and salsa, and beans. The food was delicious! After we ate, we cleaned up, and it was back to the open road. As the fun-vee began to pull out, bishop stopped us and queried if we had room for Trevin. Of course we did, so the fun-vee was back at it with an extra passenger.

As we neared the freeway, we were faced with an interesting dilemma. Should we return on the I-10, the way we had come, or should we be a little crazy and follow the loop 101 all the way around? As with any fun-vee, ours was a democracy, and so it was put to a vote. 10 or 101? Well the 101 won unanimously, and we were headed home. A little while later, we pulled into the church parking lot to help unload tables and chairs, and found that we were, regrettably, a little too late. The bishopric had already finished unloading. I guess, we made the right decision during that vote after all;)

Now I will be the first one to say, that I had a good time during the evening, but it is my humble opinion, that this upgraded BBQ left a lot to be desired. Most noticeably, a park, and a good old fashioned american hamburger. The way things should be.