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Day 1 - Race Day
  "RACE DAY!!!!!" wrote Dan in his original dispatch. "Dispatch #1 12:17 ZULU. . . The crowd is starting to build in Nova Scotia as the racers - 20 so far - make final preparations on their vehicles . . .Trivial Trivia is open for business 24 hours a day . . .sometime after 16:00 ZULU - Holli will release the first selection of Bullistic Bingo . . .Aggravating Acronyms will be posted after the start of the race . . . good luck to everyone, and remember the prime Directive, "Have FUN!!!! . . .also "Any advantages that can be found by players within the statement "how to play" but not stated may be taken ."Dispatch #2 15:45 ZULU. Judges arrive at the starting line - with these words 'Don't expect us to be this prompt and timely on other racing days - some of these racer's parties are pretty wild and last into all hours of the night and day." Let the race begin -- and our Noble Leaders (notice the caps) raised the bar -- THEY'RE OFF!! In mere seconds Dan flashed the first day's winner's name in "Dispatch # 4 - NPS first to destination -- In a blur and a flash suddenly there she was - NPS zipped across the finish line in the destination city - our only hope is that her brakes an slow her down before she leaves town! NPS earn the first 10 points of the day!" Well -- that was tasty, and I'm still vacuuming up the breakfast crumbs! . . . Another flash, " Dispatch # 5 - Donna arrives second. Suspecting a slight of hand but never the less gambling with a guess - Donna arrives second !" . . .and whoop --"Dispatch # 6 - Dale arrives a very close third. Dale - true to his claim that he'd be in the top 20 after the first day events has done so currently holding third place over all up from his 9th place starting position." Hollidan Racing Service (HRS) really on the ball with it's reporting. "Dispatch # 7 -16:08 ZULU - Rita Casually arrives" reports HRS. " Without the frantic rushing of the previous racers, racer Rita, runs slowly and casually across the finish line to claim 4th place. For the day! Good job Rita!" . . . (Do I see a little favoritism here -- with the judge complimenting Rita for doing a good job . . .so far no complaints from the other racers.) Snoopy (that's Kay to the uninitiated), groaned over Yahoo's slowness and Dan assured her that since Yahoo might lag he is sending race information to private e-mail addresses just in case. "I've added you to the YEAWHO EBS... if Yahoo get silly!" . . .BIG "yes" from Snoopy to be added to the private list. "Dispatch # 8 -16:12 ZULU - PattiK rounds out the top 5. Just 12 minutes after the start of the race PattiK claim 5th place ! All 5 first place finishes using a minimum of fuel and only 10 TP each." Donna (TM!) writes, " Is everyone looking for where we are headed or just sitting back relaxing with a cool one on the deck? and Helen answers, "Am sitting in a strange town....waiting to hear from Dan or Holli that I've landed in the right place" ...Without taking a breath DRS continued, "Dispatch # 9 -16:16 ZULU - Right on PattiK's tail Snoopy/Kay races in 6th for the day." Steady at the helm, Dan, flashed another one. "Dispatch # 10 -16:16 ZULU - Ruth the Racer Returns. ...Sputtering something about Dale - Ruth finishes just seconds behind Kay to claim 7th place for the day!" (Good ears -- to hear that sotto voice sputter!) "Dispatch # 11 -16:26 ZULU...A very cautious group of racers on this first day Vera cross into town in 8th place." . . .and while some racers headed for the hills, Bev announced she was headed for a pool party -- and not yet counted among the racers! Such optimism! . . .and Dan is searching the neighborhood for Helen's missing message sent earlier. "Dispatch # 12 -16:38 ZULU - Helen arrives...After untangling some seriously confused electrons Helen arrived - now everybody knows your name!" reports Dan. In his usual droll fashion, Dan asked Helen to "Please send a test message to Holli and me simultaneously at the same time together! Just to be sure we get it." He also noted, "WOW - this was posted at 16:06 ZULU - got here 50 minutes later - looks like the YEAWHO EBS - will come in real handy." . . .(Golly, HRS thinks of everything!) . . .and for emphasis Da Udder Judge reminded us, "WHEN YOU SEND TO DAN CC HOLLIKFT -- WHEN YOU SEND TO HOLLI CC DAN." Dale threw in one of his funnies, "It's a wonder anyone can find the finish line after all the dust NPS kicked up." Messages getting confused . . .NPS had to dash off to her volunteer docent job -- good girl! Donna (TM1) was cooling her heels, or was it a cool drink... . Aggravating Acronisms posted on the Web ready for racers to increase their TP's . . .and NPS yelped "first I heard about a secret stash. How are the newbie's supposed to figure this one out?" to which our Noble Leader replied, " .. .just had one of those harebrained ideas for every racer - if you can find it the points are yours." . . .How cute!...and DUJ (that's Holli, the Udder Judge) pops in, "Tensions are rising once again between Dale and Snoopy...Seems Dale is getting disturbing notes from Snoopy... Could this be some trick to distract Dale...??" . . .BUT, I suspect DUJ was really distracting us from her Bullistic Bingo hint just to watch us stumble around . . .her hint ended with this poem, "just relax It will be easy, so just sit back and have a cannoli!" ... Well drat -- not on my card! . . .then Dale popped in with, "If we find the Bullistic Bingo for today and it's not on our list, can we put it in the middle of the card as a free place?"...Always thinking, that Dale! . . .DUJ Holli sent a note, "Join in the festivities this evening as a celebration of Good times on our first day of the race..WE HAVE ENTERTAINMENT NITELY, "...only she forgot to say 'where.' (heh, heh, maybe we can snare a surprised answer out of DUJ!!) . . .Judge Dan headed for a brief visit with the couch advising us that, "- HUSTLE II is moored by Old Ironsides if anyone needs a place to relax before we hit the town tonight!" . . ."Dispatch # 13 -17:16 ZULU - City Sue 1st to solve today's AA! Well rested judge - returns to scoring after Shuttle flight scrubbed for the day - Citysue first to solve today's acronym - still in Nova Scotia." . . .Dispatch # 14 -17:18 ZULU - New Leader . . .City Sue has left Nova Scotia arrived at today's destination and with the addition of solving today's Aggravating Acronym has taken the lead for the moment!" . . .(note that Dan'l is off the couch.) "Dispatch # 15 -17:46 ZULU - Karen - hits town...Karen found her way to today's destination making 11 racers in the first two hours to arrive - well rested so wanted to know where the party was tonight"...she says, "The party is at the Boston Harbor - carried on to the Marriot near by. That way we can celebrate Pop goes the 4th and by doing it on the first we could have that whole area to ourselves" . . . "Dispatch # 16 -17:52 ZULU - New 2nd place...Kay -has solved today's Aggravating Acronym and has moved into second place overall!" Drat! There I go sliding to the end of the race. Must be Dale's polluted gas . . ."Dispatch # 17 -18:11 ZULU - Cheaper by the dozen. The first 12 racers have finished for the day as Esme joins the crowd!"...Dispatch # 18 -18:20 ZULU - New Leader Dale - Confident - he's not done for the day Dale has solved the mystery of the Aggravating Acronym and has moved into 1st place - how long will he stay there?" . . . Dispatch # 19 -18:27 ZULU - Esme solves AA -now in 4th Esme solves AA -now in 4th. Shortly after arriving in town Esme - offering all 26 components of the Aggravating Acronym moved into 4th place overall for the day." Dispatch # 20 -19:17 ZULU - Ruth solves AA Ruth have moved into a 3 way tie for third on the points list with Kay and Esme - all 3 only 3 points behind the leader Dale . . .Dispatch # 21 -19:37 ZULU - PattiK solves AA. PattiK has solved the AA of the day and moves into a second place time with City sue on the point chart - way to go PattiK!... "Dispatch # 22 -19:54 ZULU - Karen joins AA - er' that doesn't sound right. Karen solves the AA for the day earns 10 TP for tomorrow and moves into a 4 way tie on the points board for 3rd place - way to go Karen!" . . .Thanking Vera for her information, Dan wrote, "the race as always is a quick paced event that runs in slow motion!" . . .it is these brilliant bon mots that give the race a thrill! Meanwhile, Dale (TM2-- living up to his name), offered -- "Free: Special Blend, High Octane,Gas for any help in finding the Secret Stash." Now that the race is settling into a steady hum, some racers are getting anxious about the "stash" our Noble Leader" has tucked away! And everyone got antsy when he said, "I know two racers know where it is but haven't been back there yet! Does that help? Maybe they got lost trying to find it again!" . . .and recommends refreshing every time we go to VSRR II Web as he is constantly updating. "Dispatch # 23 -21:09 ZULU - PattyBo solves AA today. - still in Canada enjoying the festivities of Canada day!" . . .Dispatch # 24 -21:18 ZULU - NEW LEADER - Secret Stash discovered!!Donna has found and correctly identified the contents of the secret stash and has moved into first place. Way to go Donna!" . . .hmmm... Those cheers sound a little biased to me!! . . .but hold! Is Yahoo messing up? Donna wrote,"I sent you AA before secret stash.. guessing I should resend?" . . .and Patty Bo commented, "My yahoo replies to posts seem to be lost somewhere and aren't showing in current messages either. All the Florida energy must on the east coast with the Pepsi 400." . . .Suddenly cheers went up in honor of our friends in Canada -- celebrating Canada Day!! . . ."Dispatch # 25 -21:23 ZULU - Helen solves AA mystery! ---joins the growing list of AA members - er that doesn't sound right either! Moves into 5 way tie for 4th place!" . . . Dispatch # 26 -21:26 ZULU - Donna takes biggest lead of the day. Donna is on a roll -- solves AA and moves 11 points ahead of all other racers! Dale still in second but only by two points. . . Dispatch # 27 -21:46 ZULU - After a hard day at work SlyGranny hits the finish line in the city. After working a long day Slygranny made her way to her on board computer - punched the appropriate stuff and found her self making the Baker's dozen now at the destination city! Way to go Sly!" . . .Dispatch # 28 -21:50 ZULU - Penny hit B-town. Penny makes it 15 in the town where Red socks are fashionable - way to go Penny!" . . .Dispatch # 29 -22:06 ZULU - PattyBo leaves Canada heads south. After an enjoyable day taking in parts of Canada PattyBo heads south and makes the 15th racer to today's destination. . . Dispatch # 30 -22:08 ZULU - Dale second to find Secret Stash. Dale - after sneaking around the Old North Church and Cheering everyone while wearing his red socks has found the secret stash for day 1 and moved to within 1 point of the lead! . . . Dispatch # 31 -22:34 ZULU - Vera finds the secret stash Vera - is the latest racer while shopping to find the secret stash for the day - with the correct answer Vera moves into a tie for 4th place on the day - way to go Vera!" . . .Good grief -- secret stash, smash, hash -- who has time to go searching for secrets!!! . . . "Dispatch # 32 -22:39 ZULU - Kay secret stash- moves into sole position of 3rd place. After developing a deep and thoughtful answer to the question of the secret stash - Kay came to an elementary conclusion that lead her to the treasure. Way to go Kay. . . .Dispatch # 34 -23:05 ZULU - NPS soles AA. NPS moves into sole possession of 4th place - just over 8 hours after the race began - NPS was still out there plugging a way to find every last point she could. Will she have enough energy for tomorrows leg of the race?" . . .Dispatch # 3? -22:57 ZULU - WC Donna arrives looking for party?? WC Donna has been running errands all over the North American continent on her way to today's destination - now that she's here she anxious to find the party - whose the host for the first nights shindig anyway? . . .Dispatch # 35 -23:30 ZULU - Sly granny - joins tie for 6th. Slygranny - doing a fine job of catch up, ties with other for 6th place.. . Dispatch # 36 -00:13 ZULU - Rita solves AA moves into sole position of 5th place - way to go, Rita" . . .Dale asked Dan to abstract Donna 2 points for shouting BINGO. We're studying the abstract . . .besides, Donna did not yell Bingo!" . . Dan's reply was, "Donna - you are ABSTRACTED - why do I feel like Harry Potter all of a sudden?" . . ..PattyBo, while getting clarification on Bingo asked about "0's", and helpful Dale (TM2) replied, "PattyBo- Just draw as many O's as you want. No one will say anything." . . . Now see? That kind of stuff needs to be watched. The judges can't be everywhere! . . . Meanwhile, Slygranny called out, "DAN and HOLLI please clear the helipad area aft - I am hovering in my VTOL - coming down to help with math problems." ...solving math problems on the deck of the HUSTLE II?? . . ."Dispatch # 37 -00:18 ZULU - Allyn show up with co-pilot. Just before the sun went down over the colonial skyline Allyn and her co-pilot Kiri came charging into town after a full day out in the fields (playing baseball)- making 17 racing teams now in town!" . . . "Dispatch # 38 -00:34 ZULU - Sly Granny finds secret stash...Slygranny despite a late start has moved into a tie for 3rd place - not bad for a late start - in the VSRR it's never too late to be early enough!" (What a HOOT!) . . .Bev just got home from the pool party and wonders what happened to the message she mailed early today . . ."Dispatch # 39 -00:37 ZULU - Allyn & Kiri get AA Answer... Wasting little time to get back in the hunt Allyn and Kiri move into a tie for 7th place after day one!" . . .Suddenly it was bedtime for Dan'l (and party time for Holli!) . . .NPS insisted she had to go to work tomorrow, but stayed at the party dancing on the bar. Donna invited everyone to join in -- somewhere at the deep end of a hidden deck. Lobster dip, cheese and crackers, music, fireworks and wine . . .not to mention the staccato of NPS's heels on the bar! . . .Holli took some great pictures and posted them on the Web. What a ship . . .what a night for dancing! Susan plans to dance all night with the cabana boy --Vera ordered Mai Tai's for everyone . . . Slygranny said to be sure she gets "Equal" for breakfast . . .how silly. After all the rum what's a little more sugar!!...Dale outdid the cabana boy on the dance floor. . .Rita said he was dancing the hootchie cooch with me -- but it was Susan . . .and she saw Esme running around taking photos for posterity...(whoever he is!)...Esme had spent the early evening at the Cal Phil at the Arboretum enjoying a great concert -- 1812 Overture... Next thing you know Holli put in an order for more cabana boys... one look at the dance floor and Rita hopped into her dancing shoes... Chan stuck her head in commenting, "Its been 5 pages of posts since I posted last this morning. You guys are a rollin'." . . .but she didn't stay long enough to see just how rollin' it was!! . . . It was moving toward dawn and the staccato click of NPS's shoes were still heard throughout the ship . . .