Hunting at Dr. Bill's - 2013 Edition

I just returned from a weekend at the annual Dr. Bill Pheasant Open for St. John's Grads and Wayward Others.  Actually, it was less than a weekend for me, as I got the flu while down there. I drove down on Thursday night, hunted all day on Friday, but after the hunt, while sitting on the truck tailgate having a beer, I developed a bad chill.  I went inside and sat on the couch to warm up and catch up on the NCAA tourney, but my chill only got worse.  I decided to take a hot shower, but by then the trembling and shaking had started, and despite the hottest water temp, I could not get warm.

I ended up throwing on a bunch of clothes and getting into bed to try and warm up.  As the designated camp cook, I was not up to my duties and needed to make a call to the bullpen (thank you, Dave).  

I eventually made it down for dinner, where we had an excellent fish fry with Dr. Bill's dad stopping over.  I managed two whiskeys, but continued to feel terrible.  I went to bed early in the hopes that some sleep would make things better, but had a very fitful night and awoke feeling even worse.  I had breakfast with the boys (again, thanks to Dave) and did not go out for the Saturday hunt.  Instead I went back to bed, and slept another three hours straight.  

I awoke, and realized that I wouldn't be hunting the rest of the day, so instead of sitting inside and feeling miserable, I'd make the four hour dash home after lunch and be able to sleep in my own bed.  And, cutting my stay a day short, that's exactly what I did.

I felt lousy doing it.  Some of these guys I only see on this trip.  Some I see even less.  And I felt it so unfair that I wasn't able to enjoy our typical time together.

However, somewhere south of Sheboygan it hit me - at dinner on Friday night we talked about two SJU classmates that had recently died.  While I was cheated out of part of my weekend, in the grand scheme of things, it was hardly being truly cheated.

Despite my limited time there, I did get some good documentation of our Friday hunting.

Here's Fuzzy:

And Joe:

Here's the newest member of the YDP with two veterans:

Post-field recap:

Another recap:

Enjoying the 40 degree day at hunt's end with a cold beer and even colder stories

I also captured some video.  Adult content warning: the language here is not suitable for kiddos.  You've been warned:





Thanks, Dr. Bill.  I can't wait to do it again next year.  Hopefully I'll be there the whole time.