My First Pipe Club

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eightywon

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 4, 2014
563
0
Me and the girlfriend were on vacation with her kids in SoCal and I decided to take a vacation from my vacation and attend my first pipe related meet up at the Los Angeles Pipe Club. There is already a thread about it, but I thought I’d start a new one to talk about my experience for anyone who may have skipped over it because they’re not from the area but may be interested in a club.

I didn’t know what to expect and was a little apprehensive. When I arrived there were already close to 2 dozen people smoking, eating, drinking and chatting. Great, I thought, everyone already knows each other, I’m going home. I didn’t drive all the way out here to at least have a drink though. I ordered a beer and spotted an empty chair and thought what the hell and took a seat. Being on vacation, I packed a little light, only bringing some Penzance and Escudo, and a couple cobs. I was surprised that the Escudo went quicker and the consensus of the folks I talked to agreed that the Penzance was overrated. I didn’t get a chance to meet half the people there, and of those that I did, I couldn’t remember half of their names. Sorry.

To the right of me was Jesse (Sablebrush52) who let me sample a bowl of Easy Chair- a blend no longer available but was specially made for him by Russ Ouellette. It was a delicious Balkan and he ended up giving me a hefty sample out of the baggie he brought. I think Jesse was the only forum member I got to meet besides Jascha (jdub) who organized the event. Thanks again!

I also got to meet Rick Newcombe, author of In Search of Pipe Dreams, who let me sample a mix of 14 year old and 19 year old EMP. It was amazing and I have an absolute need to stock up on A LOT more.

What I found funny is that meeting many of these people and audibly hearing their names for the first time didn’t click with me until after. Jeff from J. Alan Pipes, Nathan from Armentrout Pipes, Jared from J&J Pipes. Needless to say, there were many prominent figures from the industry. It wasn’t until I started talking with Frank, a maker of leather goods (Sorringowl & Sons) that I came to realize who these guys with cases full of beautiful pipes were.

I’m sure there were other notable figures there, many of the guys looked very familiar, but there were many new smokers too, who like me, came by themselves. 4 hours, 5 beers, and 5 bowls (I’m glad I brought cobs and would do it again!) later the last 3 of us remaining called it a night and parted ways. It was a great time.

 

goinslow

Lurker
Jul 19, 2014
44
0
Thanks for the run down! I am goign to try and attend the next meeting myself! Im new to pipe smoking so a little apprehensive to make a fool of myself but hell, Im going to dive in and maybe learn something. :P

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,832
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Thanks for the run down! I am goign to try and attend the next meeting myself! Im new to pipe smoking so a little apprehensive to make a fool of myself but hell, Im going to dive in and maybe learn something.
It's pipe smoking, not nuclear physics. Come on in, the water's fine!
Eightywon, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for the Escudo, that's a nice smoke. Glad you enjoyed the stink weed that I brought. Hope to see you again.

 

cmdrmcbragg

Lifer
Jul 29, 2013
1,739
3
Good stuff, it's pretty cool meeting people in person that you BS with on the net regularly. I met @troutface earlier this month at the Denver pipe club. Hopefully you can find one near your home that you can get out to.

 

jdub

Lurker
May 4, 2014
21
0
Los Angeles CA
I just stumbled up on this post...
Glad you could make it out and it was nice meeting you! Wish we had more time to chat. I think I was most floored at the turnout than anyone. Most of the time I overestimate but in this case I was way under. Not that I am complaining! :)
-Jascha

 
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