KAP
06-25-2014, 10:29 PM
2014 Texas Outlaw Challenge Kaps Wrap Up:
Cali to Kemah:
San Diego to Kemah this year was well worth the effort. As you all know I came out for the Tickfaw 200 and left the boat in Texas for my pending return for "Outlaw Challenge."
Well this is my third year attending this event and from the first to the third it has been a Texas Tornado of changes. All for the better of the participants, promoters and most of all the poker run attendees coming out for the first time.
Rather than tell you about my trip and planning I would rather tell you about what has changed, who the players are and what benefits resulted. Their were many people who influenced my decision to attend this years event again, and I am glad they [Paul Robinson] convinced me to attend.
Schedule of Events:
The previous schedules had the promoters and organizers spread to thin from a staffing perspective and finances. Trying to please everyone previously was really not working even more so when you have too many add on events it really hinders organization, increased costs and quality of the event. This year the process was smooth and communication with the organizer and promoter were awesome. The organization sent out individual packets to each prior poker run participant on the list and everyone knew or should have had a updated schedule and events listing. The format was greatly reduced and the focus was on centralizing the operations to make it easy for the attendees and organizers alike.
Arrival and Launch:
Communication with each attendee was paramount with direct mailings of schedules checking to make sure everyone was properly registered. The schedule is important as it serves like a menu of what is going on, where it is, what time, and the location of the venue. This year the Outlaw had a complete launch area secured under the Kemah Bridge with staff to help you launch your boat via crane or traditional launch. This was like having valet service for your boat.
They had a complimentary beer garden set-up so after you launched and had things taken care of...your crew could enjoy a cold beverage at the beer garden. Really a superb job and much appreciated effort...from parking for your trailer to providing docks and slips for those that came from out of town outstanding service. Note: The West Coast people never leave their boats in the water and we opted to launch and retrieve everyday. It is my personal preference as I do a out of water inspection. Even more so if you boat 100MPH+, a pre boat inspection is must. If your going to just cruise it really makes sense to leave the boat in the water all day.
When you arrive and you find the welcome mat immediately out. It sends a positive signal to the poker run attendee that this event is well organized and here to help you. As one out of town attendee told me he was impressed by the level of service and helpful people during their launch.
Now once you launched your boat all you had to do was either walk or take a short and I mean short drive over to the Kemah Boardwalk restaurant of Landry’s and pick up your registration packet. Why is this worthy of mentioning because you want everything close when your from out of town and easy to find. Versus driving 15-30 minutes to another location for the registration in a city you are unfamiliar with.
They had live music at the Kemah Boardwalk with local bands cranking the tunes and also a mini street show with some of the newest boats attending. The best part is you could complete registration and then walk right out to any restaurant or bar and have a great time [there were many to choose from]. Every restaurant or bar venue we went to had poker runners milling around socializing.
A new format for this year was the restaurant reservation at the arrival meet and greet. A restaurant representative from all the participating restaurants was stationed at the event and you were given a $50 dollar voucher per person [for every registered person]. So if you paid for a crew of four people you received $200 dollars of restaurant vouchers. This was awesome they made the reservation for you time and name and all you had to do was show up. If you were unable to make the reservation time you could submit the voucher anytime Saturday. Note: The voucher was only good for Saturday it would be nice if we could use it on Friday as well. We went to Saltgrass Steak house both nights Friday and Saturday.
Previously, the organizers put on a catered dinner this was far better as it allows the participants to choose which restaurant they want to go to with credit towards your bill. This is a win/win for the organizer, staff and participants it’s easy and lets the attendee pick what they want steak, seafood, salad, your choice. All top notch restaurants on the Kemah Boardwalk.
Friday:
This day is composed of the GPS shootout runs for the Top Gun of the event. It allows for controlled running of high speed boats on a closed course. You can visit the Texas Outlaw Challenge Facebook page for many photos of the participants. The reason I mention this part is for the majority of poker run participants they will most likely not participate in this but can boat out to the course and watch some high speed runs.
Once the high speed runs are done everyone heads to Kenny Armstrong’s home for the most amazing poker run stop anywhere. I challenge anyone to find a better poker run stop than this one. It is wild and over the top but the host is always humble down to earth and his hospitality is as big as Texas.
You can see videos to the party on You Tube or the Texas Outlaw Challenge Facebook page. Now from an insiders perspective Kenny Armstrong and his family provide nothing but the best from food to drink. Robert from Topwater Grill is the master of the tastiest food put out for the “entire” poker run crowd. There was no head count or ticket needed Robert made sure everyone had seconds, thirds just as long as you were full. Robert said “I ain’t letting anyone go hungry here.” I believe he lived up to that statement and then some. Plus, Roberts food is the best hands down.
Now you say what is so great about a pool party? Well its really the meet and greet for this event everyone is in one place for the entire day. All the boats 245+ tied up for the Armstrong pool party. You can walk around talk with everyone, socialize catch up with friends...everyone is super friendly and gracious. Devin Wozencraft a first time participant [meaning with his own boat] stated “ he loved the party because it made everyone feel inclusive.” I couldn’t agree more no egos just everyone having a good time eating, drinking and socializing.
Side note: On a personal level Kenny Armstrong does not have to do this but he does it because he loves it. Thank You to the Armstrong family! One of the big reasons I come to Texas.
[B]Saturday:
Is the actual poker run day at the various poker run stops listed on your card. The attendee is rewarded with more cards if they go to all the stops. This promotes participation by the attendees and really gets you motivated to go boating to all the card stops. The best part of Saturday is the run to Harborwalk. This is the longest run of the day but well worth it and a fun run. Harborwalk is great because of the dual pool aspect for those that want a family environment the pool on the right is great for families. Devin Wozencraft was attending with his children and really enjoyed the family pool area. You could wander between the two but you knew immediately which one was the adult pool. For those that want an adult oriented pool event the pool on the left had good times and cold beers flowing.
This poker run stop [Harborwalk] was also a social stop where everyone was together and you could shake hands and talk to people you had seen earlier. This stop is one of the must go to places if you plan on attending Outlaw. The water was very calm and virtually any sized sea worthy boat could make the trip. So do not be intimidated by the distance and opt not to go.
Lastly, having the event hub in the Kemah Boardwalk area was a huge success. I certainly believe Paul Robinson and crew did a fantastic job this year "a six shooter success". A big ten gallon hat salute to all the volunteers who are my friends and your hard work did not go unnoticed. From the stamped bags to the registration packets you awesome ladies know who you are.
To all the Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma poker runners and boaters near and far it was a pleasure to meet you all and hope to see “Y’all” on the water real soon!
KAP
P.S. During this run one theme was over riding all others. My poker run/boating friends are becoming my best friends even though we live in other states and cities.
God Bless and be safe this summer!
Cali to Kemah:
San Diego to Kemah this year was well worth the effort. As you all know I came out for the Tickfaw 200 and left the boat in Texas for my pending return for "Outlaw Challenge."
Well this is my third year attending this event and from the first to the third it has been a Texas Tornado of changes. All for the better of the participants, promoters and most of all the poker run attendees coming out for the first time.
Rather than tell you about my trip and planning I would rather tell you about what has changed, who the players are and what benefits resulted. Their were many people who influenced my decision to attend this years event again, and I am glad they [Paul Robinson] convinced me to attend.
Schedule of Events:
The previous schedules had the promoters and organizers spread to thin from a staffing perspective and finances. Trying to please everyone previously was really not working even more so when you have too many add on events it really hinders organization, increased costs and quality of the event. This year the process was smooth and communication with the organizer and promoter were awesome. The organization sent out individual packets to each prior poker run participant on the list and everyone knew or should have had a updated schedule and events listing. The format was greatly reduced and the focus was on centralizing the operations to make it easy for the attendees and organizers alike.
Arrival and Launch:
Communication with each attendee was paramount with direct mailings of schedules checking to make sure everyone was properly registered. The schedule is important as it serves like a menu of what is going on, where it is, what time, and the location of the venue. This year the Outlaw had a complete launch area secured under the Kemah Bridge with staff to help you launch your boat via crane or traditional launch. This was like having valet service for your boat.
They had a complimentary beer garden set-up so after you launched and had things taken care of...your crew could enjoy a cold beverage at the beer garden. Really a superb job and much appreciated effort...from parking for your trailer to providing docks and slips for those that came from out of town outstanding service. Note: The West Coast people never leave their boats in the water and we opted to launch and retrieve everyday. It is my personal preference as I do a out of water inspection. Even more so if you boat 100MPH+, a pre boat inspection is must. If your going to just cruise it really makes sense to leave the boat in the water all day.
When you arrive and you find the welcome mat immediately out. It sends a positive signal to the poker run attendee that this event is well organized and here to help you. As one out of town attendee told me he was impressed by the level of service and helpful people during their launch.
Now once you launched your boat all you had to do was either walk or take a short and I mean short drive over to the Kemah Boardwalk restaurant of Landry’s and pick up your registration packet. Why is this worthy of mentioning because you want everything close when your from out of town and easy to find. Versus driving 15-30 minutes to another location for the registration in a city you are unfamiliar with.
They had live music at the Kemah Boardwalk with local bands cranking the tunes and also a mini street show with some of the newest boats attending. The best part is you could complete registration and then walk right out to any restaurant or bar and have a great time [there were many to choose from]. Every restaurant or bar venue we went to had poker runners milling around socializing.
A new format for this year was the restaurant reservation at the arrival meet and greet. A restaurant representative from all the participating restaurants was stationed at the event and you were given a $50 dollar voucher per person [for every registered person]. So if you paid for a crew of four people you received $200 dollars of restaurant vouchers. This was awesome they made the reservation for you time and name and all you had to do was show up. If you were unable to make the reservation time you could submit the voucher anytime Saturday. Note: The voucher was only good for Saturday it would be nice if we could use it on Friday as well. We went to Saltgrass Steak house both nights Friday and Saturday.
Previously, the organizers put on a catered dinner this was far better as it allows the participants to choose which restaurant they want to go to with credit towards your bill. This is a win/win for the organizer, staff and participants it’s easy and lets the attendee pick what they want steak, seafood, salad, your choice. All top notch restaurants on the Kemah Boardwalk.
Friday:
This day is composed of the GPS shootout runs for the Top Gun of the event. It allows for controlled running of high speed boats on a closed course. You can visit the Texas Outlaw Challenge Facebook page for many photos of the participants. The reason I mention this part is for the majority of poker run participants they will most likely not participate in this but can boat out to the course and watch some high speed runs.
Once the high speed runs are done everyone heads to Kenny Armstrong’s home for the most amazing poker run stop anywhere. I challenge anyone to find a better poker run stop than this one. It is wild and over the top but the host is always humble down to earth and his hospitality is as big as Texas.
You can see videos to the party on You Tube or the Texas Outlaw Challenge Facebook page. Now from an insiders perspective Kenny Armstrong and his family provide nothing but the best from food to drink. Robert from Topwater Grill is the master of the tastiest food put out for the “entire” poker run crowd. There was no head count or ticket needed Robert made sure everyone had seconds, thirds just as long as you were full. Robert said “I ain’t letting anyone go hungry here.” I believe he lived up to that statement and then some. Plus, Roberts food is the best hands down.
Now you say what is so great about a pool party? Well its really the meet and greet for this event everyone is in one place for the entire day. All the boats 245+ tied up for the Armstrong pool party. You can walk around talk with everyone, socialize catch up with friends...everyone is super friendly and gracious. Devin Wozencraft a first time participant [meaning with his own boat] stated “ he loved the party because it made everyone feel inclusive.” I couldn’t agree more no egos just everyone having a good time eating, drinking and socializing.
Side note: On a personal level Kenny Armstrong does not have to do this but he does it because he loves it. Thank You to the Armstrong family! One of the big reasons I come to Texas.
[B]Saturday:
Is the actual poker run day at the various poker run stops listed on your card. The attendee is rewarded with more cards if they go to all the stops. This promotes participation by the attendees and really gets you motivated to go boating to all the card stops. The best part of Saturday is the run to Harborwalk. This is the longest run of the day but well worth it and a fun run. Harborwalk is great because of the dual pool aspect for those that want a family environment the pool on the right is great for families. Devin Wozencraft was attending with his children and really enjoyed the family pool area. You could wander between the two but you knew immediately which one was the adult pool. For those that want an adult oriented pool event the pool on the left had good times and cold beers flowing.
This poker run stop [Harborwalk] was also a social stop where everyone was together and you could shake hands and talk to people you had seen earlier. This stop is one of the must go to places if you plan on attending Outlaw. The water was very calm and virtually any sized sea worthy boat could make the trip. So do not be intimidated by the distance and opt not to go.
Lastly, having the event hub in the Kemah Boardwalk area was a huge success. I certainly believe Paul Robinson and crew did a fantastic job this year "a six shooter success". A big ten gallon hat salute to all the volunteers who are my friends and your hard work did not go unnoticed. From the stamped bags to the registration packets you awesome ladies know who you are.
To all the Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma poker runners and boaters near and far it was a pleasure to meet you all and hope to see “Y’all” on the water real soon!
KAP
P.S. During this run one theme was over riding all others. My poker run/boating friends are becoming my best friends even though we live in other states and cities.
God Bless and be safe this summer!