This was the first year for the Interstate BBQ Festival in Hagerstown, MD, and it sure started off with a bang. The weather was absolutely beautiful and Luke decided to drive up on Thursday and head to one of his favorite restaurants in the area, Hempen Hill.
After dropping off the trailer and picking up Brian from Brown Liquor (who had had plenty of it at that point) and his gambling buddy Mark from Sauce This, the three of them headed to Hempen Hill. Everyone enjoyed a fantastic dinner and got to see more BBQ friends, Jay from 4:20Q and the Dizzy Pig family.
The weather was absolutely perfect for the entire weekend, and the OVS trailer would be a full house. We would have a judge cooking with us, the lovely Miss Wendy, and Leigh Anne was with us for the first time this season. Good times were about to ensue.
Everything went like clockwork on Friday, and we got to see a lot of great friends and make some new ones as well. On Saturday, everyone was there and the OVS machine was humming.
We also had the exceptional luck to be next to our great buddy Mark Gibbs from Checkered Flag 500. Those daredevils from Sauce This came for a visit, asking Mark for their free sno-cones. The collective group decided to pull a prank on ol’ Gibbs, which resulted in the picture you see above.
All in all, it was a good day. And it got even better when Luke’s brother showed up, all the way from Morgantown, WV. What an awesome treat.
The crew got cleaned up and headed to awards. As per usual when someone cooks with us, they got the short end of the stick and had to sit next to Luke at awards. He was a disaster.
Wendy would ask Kim, “Is he gonna be okay? He is a wreck.”
Kim replied, “Yes, it’s normal.”
The crew had a fantastic day! 10th place chicken, 2nd place ribs, 8th place pork and 8th place brisket, the teams 2nd ever 4 call comp, which was good enough for a Reserve Grand Championship! Congrats to Rockin’ Robyn’s on their first ever GC!