Where is everyone

[calistyle]

One of my first and favorite corals was from a frag swap 15 years ago at Dave's.

I miss RC meets, trades, and knowledge sharing. I hope everyone is doing well!

 

[GTR]

Southern Idaho, Twin Falls. Having lived 60+ in SoCal I wasn’t ready to live that far north. lol

We’re high desert with a very occasional 100° day. Enough snow to buy a snow blower.
Best part is we’re so close to crowd free fishing, boating and kayaking waters. Reservoirs, ponds, rivers, natural high elevation lakes and streams.

 

[dodgerblew]

One of my first and favorite corals was from a frag swap 15 years ago at Dave's.

I miss RC meets, trades, and knowledge sharing. I hope everyone is doing well!

I sold everything off and moved into the Fort Worth area in 2021. Best thing I ever did, exception being missing my kids and their kids. California was not for me! I will be honest. I miss the friendships I developed over the 20 or so years I participated in this hobby with fellow hobbyists and hobbyists who became vendors the camaraderie of the clubs, frag swaps and trades and I miss the highs and the beauty of the reefs I created but then the politics of this hobby, i.e. Hawaii fishery, South Pacific corals, became the norm and the majority of the newer generation of hobbyists were those “all about me guys” who were not about anything but ripping people off and not about helping each other out. Between the explosion of prices due to that and the high pricing of equipment due to advanced technologies and capitalism, the hobby became just to darn expensive and I became so hyperfocused on working with what i had and not investing in more and better that all of it became an albatross around my neck and it was keeping me from enjoying the finer things in life that are far more important than a 60 gallon box of recreated ocean. I will also add that this forum in particular which was my blueprint for all information in this hobby also went way to politically correct and I got real tired of people getting booted off for legitimate or illegitimate reasons and warnings and having to do things at time secretly that I as well moved to other forums that were more freedom of speech oriented. After moving I found other things to occupy my time and attention, like my wife, and I am a content fellow. The friendships though, they were real and I do miss them. It made the hobby fun and worthwhile, like you Calistyle or and I might be mistaken, Justin. Last night, I received a text. It read “hey Rik, this still your number?” I replied yes, who’s this? Turns out it was Brent/Chefzilla and for whatever reason he was checking in even after 5 years. That’s what made the hobby great and what the hobby should never have changed from. And to Dave/O2manyfish, you were my mentor and my Mr. Miyagi. You my “friend” is what this hobby was about, sharing the knowledge, respecting the process and being generous with your time and property. Wax on wax off!

 

[dodgerblew]

Southern Idaho, Twin Falls. Having lived 60+ in SoCal I wasn’t ready to live that far north. lol

We’re high desert with a very occasional 100° day. Enough snow to buy a snow blower.
Best part is we’re so close to crowd free fishing, boating and kayaking waters. Reservoirs, ponds, rivers, natural high elevation lakes and streams.

I remember you as well. Riff right? I was at your home I believe. My daughter lives in CDA. We almost moved up that way as well. The work and pay just wasn’t there for my wife’s career so she/we instead took a transfer of her position to Fort Worth and for her it has been a blessing to her career. My business was destroyed during COVID with all the bs in CA so I had nothing holding me back.