Looking ahead...

As I continue to recover from NRA (a pallet finally landed back in WA this afternoon) and continue to bask in the glow of happy memories from that frenzied fest of networking and fun - and perhaps a wee bit of sheer exhaustion.  That significantly senior colleagues snapped back rather faster than a couple of us younger sorts seems distinctly unfair, but amongst us whippersnappers we're theorizing that they are simply in far better training for this kind of adventure than we are as comparatively travel amateurs. Still not fair, but more likely than the mutant alien theory.

That said, I'm already looking forward to upcoming events. I want to hit Phlegmfest but between dollars and timing, I have doubts of my success - I haven't given up, but a Friday night flight out of Seattle for DFW puts me in at 0500 and fairly wrecked before the festivities even begin...and only a month after NRAAM, the wallet has yet to properly recover. Grrr. Others, more local, may have rather better luck.

Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno (September 5-8) planned by the ever-meticulous Mr. Completely promises to be another opportunity for networking, sharing, and exploring the direction things are going on gun issues, gun blogging, and technology - all while supporting Project Valor-IT.

The Gun Rights Policy Conference in Houston (Sept 27-29) looks a fair amount more promising - I'm anticipating that it'll be even more frantic than NRAAM (this will be my first time attending both) with speakers and the opportunity to meet and break bread with a folks ranging from the leaders of the firearms rights community and on to manufacturers, bloggers, grass roots activists, legal experts, historians, economists and more.

Then, to buoy my spirits before the holidays, comes Blogorado - a wee private gathering of Gun Bloggers and associates in an odd corner of the universe known only to a lucky few. I'd say a good portion of the camaraderie found among gun bloggers today originates in this little gathering and Gun Blogger Rendezvous, and at similar events around the country.

NE Bloggershoot in August is on the list of "things I'd like to do" but given what September and early October look like, when considered in light of "20 was a long time back", I think wisdom and fiscal prudence dictate that I think of it in terms of 2014.