Thousands of people descended onto Rohner Park yesterday, to drink a ton of beer, eat some good food, and share a handful of porta potties. If this isn't enough to entice you, how about the though of a super hot date with your own favorite erotic novelist, Jen at the Redneck Romance Writer? Thought so - sealed the deal for me :-). I know Jen will have her own version of our drunken stumble through the back field of Rohner Park, but here's my top 10 (in no particular order):

1. You have to work really hard to get drunk at Hops in the Park. I know this because Jen and I broke a sweat getting our beer sample and dashing to another long line to get the next sample. Combine long lanes and small glasses and you have drunk failure.

2. Do not breathe deep near the stage, under the tents, by the food booths, next to the beer serving, or adjacent to the porta potties. There was a ton of cigarette and pot smoking. Yuck. Why couldn't they restrict the cancer stick suckers and potheads to a smoking area rather than letting them intermingle with the rest of us?

3. I don't care what you say, but crab cheese puffs and teriyaki chicken sticks rock, after a good beer buzz.

4. Don't ask the drunk guy how bad the porta potty was. He's the one who just peed all over the floor and seat so his views will be a tad bit skewed. Porta potties give me severe anxiety. Thank God for Jen who talked me off the ledge and from finding a tree to relieve myself. She gave me the cleanest of the bunch and made sure I washed my hands. I think I'm in love :-).

5. It is insanely fun to make the sweet little man in the frozen banana booth, take pictures of you and your drunk buddy, doing inappropriate things with the banana he just sold to you. All the little fellow could mutter yesterday, hands trembling as he was squeezing the roller ball on my phone, "This is so dirty!" Yes, Jen and I are going to hell for that one.

6. The Moonshine Bandits rocked. Not so much for their music but because of this:

They graciously signed these two MILF's CDs, gave me a hug and then BAM! Jen makes one kiss ass comment about the drummer and he gives her his freakin' sticks! Can you tell I'm a tad bit jealous? And she wouldn't even share. I got to hold them on the way home but that was it. Here they are if you've never heard of them:

7. I found my next ride:

8. Friends come out with ingenious tricks when the beer buzz hits. My friend, J, quickly showed me how multi-talented she was:

Hands free drinking:

Temperature testing via a good lick:

9. Did I mention the beer? Cold beer, lots of different flavors and colors - good times. I'm still torked we missed out on the raspberry ale but there is always next year.

10. Ok Jen, this one's for you. Perhaps my house is not exactly 1/8 of a mile from the park - maybe not even 1/4 of a mile - but then again, my judgment was probably based on the way a crow flies since I'm a bird fan. However, you just can't create memories like stumbling home, fighting over drumsticks, and listening to my constant threats of finding a tree and having you be my lookout. Good times, lady! Good times!

Did you go to Hops? What did you think?

** Edited to add a link to Jen's hilarious version. **