ACD Forum's 4/20 Gathering 2023
Posted: Sat 29th Apr 2023 08:53 pm
Every Four-twenty is wonderful and every one is different. Even though this is the 15th Gathering I've been to, it never gets boring. There is always a mixture of veterans and first timers and the combination of people and events makes every one special.
After two years off, we went into last year's Gathering with a degree of nervousness. Planning had been a bit last minute and it was Igraine's first time after two years of listening to me hyping up the event.
This year we've been planning since at least January. Igraine is now officially a hardcore ACDer and the level of excitement is through the roof. We're ready to take Amsterdam by storm!
Sunday 16th April 2023 - Arrival
Our flight is about 30 minutes late so we only have a little over an hour to get from the airport to our 10pm appointment at the Flying Dutchman. Igraine has already developed exceptional skills in operating ticket machines and we hop on to a fast train departing almost immediately.
We've declared this to be the Year of The Tram so we have five day GVB tickets on our phones which we activate on the train. On emerging from Centraal station we pause just a moment to take in the vista and then straight onto a tram.
I leave Igraine to settle into the hotel for a moment while I dash out to grab some basic supplies. First I pop into Sativa and quickly scan through the menu. I select Lemon Cherry Gelato and, on a whim, a composite product called The Swirl. Next I power walk to the nearest Albert Heijn supermarket for Chocomel, fruit juice, water and biscuits for later.
With that it's back to the hotel to pick up Igraine and straight onto a tram to Nieuwezijds Kolk. From there it's a short walk to Flying Dutchman where we arrive just three minutes late. I'm very impressed by how much we managed to achieve in the past hour or so.
We chose Flying Dutchman to meet the other early arrivers because it's picking up from where we left off last year (when this picture was taken). It's good to be back.
Inside, I rush past the bar, waving at the barman and spluttering something unintelligible without waiting for a reply. Igraine is chasing behind me. Right at the back we find Ghost, Mike and Occasional Bowl around a little table. Greetings all round and then back to the bar. Beers for everyone, including some tasty IPA for Occasional Bowl and me.
Once we're settled in, the guys update us on their day. Firstly they tell us that this bar is now vapes only. I hand the bag from Sativa to Igraine so she can fill the Mighty vape.
Being British, conversation soon turns to the weather. It was raining when we left the UK and we were hoping for better here. The last forecast I read, a couple of days ago, was predicting a mostly dry and sunny week. Now I'm told that it's since turned to shit. Could the clothes I brought prove unsuitable?
It's certainly a cold damp evening but neither the degeneration of the Flying Dutchman nor the weather are denting my enthusiasm. I'm back in Amsterdam with a cool bunch of people and I'm buzzing!
Ghost and Mike have a bag of Lemon Cherry Gelato from Solo which we compare with the one we got from Sativa. They are completely different in look and smell, as if they are totally different strains. Both taste nice and seem to be good but it's hard to see why they have the same name.
After a while Ghost and Mike retreat to their hotel. They started earlier than us. We're not ready to stop yet and, as FD is vapes only, we need a place where we can skin up this weird swirly hashy stuff I acquired earlier. Occasional Bowl suggests 420 Café so that's where we head next.
In 420 Café we grab some drinks and Neville's Haze for old times sake.
Looking around in here I'm struck by how little it's changed in so many years. It's still the classic brown café it has been since Roman times. Even the menu has barely changed in decades. The current menu is dated 2018 but even older menus were virtually identical. This is such a contrast to those shops that add a dozen new Cali strains every week.
No longer restricted to vapes, I attempt to roll a joint with weed and a sausage of Twirl. This is really not very successful. The joint burns unevenly and doesn't taste particularly good. It's now over twenty years since I quit tobacco and my joint rolling skills seem to have degraded over years of Volcanoing.
After about an hour we find ourselves outside, surrounded by 420, the cake shop, De Kroon and The Bottle being indecisive. Eventually Igraine decides that beer is required and steers us into The Bottle. More beer and vapes.
Now we've got the munchies. Igraine and me fancy chips and mayo, ideally from Friet Point on Oudezijds Voorburgwal and eaten on the nearby bridge. Occasional Bowl is happy with this plan so off we set. I've got no idea what time it is as we steam towards the red light district in our intoxicated haze.
[According to the timestamp, it was 1.51am when I took this picture, the first I took of anything.]
On arrival at the chip shop we find it closed. A little further on, House of Fries on Damstraat is open. Suitably fed we decide to call it a night. Igraine and I say goodnight to Occasional Bowl and stagger back to collapse into bed.
A very satisfactory first night!
After two years off, we went into last year's Gathering with a degree of nervousness. Planning had been a bit last minute and it was Igraine's first time after two years of listening to me hyping up the event.
This year we've been planning since at least January. Igraine is now officially a hardcore ACDer and the level of excitement is through the roof. We're ready to take Amsterdam by storm!
Sunday 16th April 2023 - Arrival
Our flight is about 30 minutes late so we only have a little over an hour to get from the airport to our 10pm appointment at the Flying Dutchman. Igraine has already developed exceptional skills in operating ticket machines and we hop on to a fast train departing almost immediately.
We've declared this to be the Year of The Tram so we have five day GVB tickets on our phones which we activate on the train. On emerging from Centraal station we pause just a moment to take in the vista and then straight onto a tram.
I leave Igraine to settle into the hotel for a moment while I dash out to grab some basic supplies. First I pop into Sativa and quickly scan through the menu. I select Lemon Cherry Gelato and, on a whim, a composite product called The Swirl. Next I power walk to the nearest Albert Heijn supermarket for Chocomel, fruit juice, water and biscuits for later.
With that it's back to the hotel to pick up Igraine and straight onto a tram to Nieuwezijds Kolk. From there it's a short walk to Flying Dutchman where we arrive just three minutes late. I'm very impressed by how much we managed to achieve in the past hour or so.
We chose Flying Dutchman to meet the other early arrivers because it's picking up from where we left off last year (when this picture was taken). It's good to be back.
Inside, I rush past the bar, waving at the barman and spluttering something unintelligible without waiting for a reply. Igraine is chasing behind me. Right at the back we find Ghost, Mike and Occasional Bowl around a little table. Greetings all round and then back to the bar. Beers for everyone, including some tasty IPA for Occasional Bowl and me.
Once we're settled in, the guys update us on their day. Firstly they tell us that this bar is now vapes only. I hand the bag from Sativa to Igraine so she can fill the Mighty vape.
Being British, conversation soon turns to the weather. It was raining when we left the UK and we were hoping for better here. The last forecast I read, a couple of days ago, was predicting a mostly dry and sunny week. Now I'm told that it's since turned to shit. Could the clothes I brought prove unsuitable?
It's certainly a cold damp evening but neither the degeneration of the Flying Dutchman nor the weather are denting my enthusiasm. I'm back in Amsterdam with a cool bunch of people and I'm buzzing!
Ghost and Mike have a bag of Lemon Cherry Gelato from Solo which we compare with the one we got from Sativa. They are completely different in look and smell, as if they are totally different strains. Both taste nice and seem to be good but it's hard to see why they have the same name.
After a while Ghost and Mike retreat to their hotel. They started earlier than us. We're not ready to stop yet and, as FD is vapes only, we need a place where we can skin up this weird swirly hashy stuff I acquired earlier. Occasional Bowl suggests 420 Café so that's where we head next.
In 420 Café we grab some drinks and Neville's Haze for old times sake.
Looking around in here I'm struck by how little it's changed in so many years. It's still the classic brown café it has been since Roman times. Even the menu has barely changed in decades. The current menu is dated 2018 but even older menus were virtually identical. This is such a contrast to those shops that add a dozen new Cali strains every week.
No longer restricted to vapes, I attempt to roll a joint with weed and a sausage of Twirl. This is really not very successful. The joint burns unevenly and doesn't taste particularly good. It's now over twenty years since I quit tobacco and my joint rolling skills seem to have degraded over years of Volcanoing.
After about an hour we find ourselves outside, surrounded by 420, the cake shop, De Kroon and The Bottle being indecisive. Eventually Igraine decides that beer is required and steers us into The Bottle. More beer and vapes.
Now we've got the munchies. Igraine and me fancy chips and mayo, ideally from Friet Point on Oudezijds Voorburgwal and eaten on the nearby bridge. Occasional Bowl is happy with this plan so off we set. I've got no idea what time it is as we steam towards the red light district in our intoxicated haze.
[According to the timestamp, it was 1.51am when I took this picture, the first I took of anything.]
On arrival at the chip shop we find it closed. A little further on, House of Fries on Damstraat is open. Suitably fed we decide to call it a night. Igraine and I say goodnight to Occasional Bowl and stagger back to collapse into bed.
A very satisfactory first night!
