This was our first trip to Rochester.   This is easily the most beautiful contest venue we attend.   We had a spot right on the beach, with a great view of Lake Ontario.  Since a competition team (Good Smoke) helps organize this event, it's well run and a lot of fun.

Up til now, we had been sleeping next to the smokers, or sometimes spending half a night at a hotel, and half at the event, switching off tag team style.  For this trip, we decided to rent a motorhome to see if that might provide us with a little more comfort and sleep during a contest.  We were thinking of buying a used motorhome, but wanted to try it the whole concept first.  We did only 3 contests in 2008, and in 2009 we were going to attempt 8.   Each contest seemed to take a lot out of us, so we were hoping a motorhome would make things easier.

Having the rented moterhome did seem to help out, though the cost of renting them (which includes mileage costs) would make it cost prohibitive to rent.  After the success of the experiment, we would end up buying a older used motorhome this season.

What wasn't a success was the barbeque.  We were trying out some new recipes for this season, and the first results seem to indicate that these flavors were not what the judges were looking for.

Roc City Rib Fest