Another American Royal BBQ has come and gone.  Aside from a less-than-favorable spot in the final standings, I’d rank it as one of my favorite years.  I got down to the site on Thursday afternoon nice and early.  I hadn’t planned on going until Friday but I guess I was ready to get things started so I took the day off and got the event under way.  On the downside, I was about 1/2-sick all weekend.  I had a pretty good cold going and never did quite shake it.  (I’m no medical doctor but maybe spending three nights outdoors wearing shorts in 30 and 40 degree weather isn’t a good plan for getting well?)  Thursday was spent getting the spot all laid out and set up for the weekend.  For dinner we grilled up some cheeseburgers with good cigars for dessert.  (Again with the questionable cold-treatment methods…)  Friday we got up to find some great weather.  We spent the day getting ready for the big party;  Finalizing the booth setup, getting all the food ready, etc.  Not my favorite night of the event, but it was a good time all the same.  Saturday everybody got up and decided to take a short break.  We all left the site for a few hours to get some actual sleep and much-needed showers.  By about 1:00 we were all back and feeling refreshed, and it was time to get going on the actual competition.  Beans got turned in at 3:30, then we enjoyed some bbq’d frozen pizzas and it was time to get the longest night of the weekend started.  I was a little concerned about not being prepared for the first frost of the season that was being forecast.  I had a light jacket and a stocking cap with me, and that was about it for my cold-weather preparation.  Turned out to not be a factor.  Kevin had brought down a huge trailor, and we set up a TV in it and watched movies all night.  Still spent the whole night in a lawn-chair, but at least it was warm.  Sunday was the usual blur of activity;  Getting all the BBQ finished and turned in while cleaning up the site and trying to get out before the long lines started.  I must say, I was a bit disappointed in our showing.  It’s not like we expect to win, but come on, it was better than that!  Oh well, I think an event that big is just a crap-shoot anyway.  Our usual goal of not coming in last was met, anything above that is a bonus.