Oktoberfest! Das Gut!

A short post about our visit to Oktoberfest last night. This is an annual tradition in several locations around LA, but we like the one at Alpine Village near our house. They bring in an authentic "Oom Pa Pa" band from Germany, serve the sausage, saurkraut and potato salad dinners and, of course, plenty of beer under a huge tent filled with picnic tables and thousands of people. It is loud, but lots of fun.

Laurie with, from left to right, friends David, Steve and his wife Beth.


Things are now rolling good (around 9pm), and the band members come and play on your table top while ladies stuff dollar bills in their socks and lederhosen. Believe it or not, the girls with him in costume are not workers, but attendees. Lots of people really get into it and dress the part. Steve jumped up and joined the trio, clearly having a good time!

Try as we might, Steve and I just could not beat the young girls back. They were all over us! Actually, this group happened to sit next to us for the evening, and we had a lot of fun. It always facinates me how in a place as big as LA, people create community wherever they are. We were all fast friends for the evening by proximity, and may never cross paths again. It's very cool. We had a single (male) friend who was supposed to come, but didn't make it, so we asked the girls to pose with us so we could show him what he missed. They were happy to oblige, and we were happy to be obliged : )

OK, more soon. Our love to you all. . .Mark