For a second weekend in a row, SMT was back on the BBQ trail. Weston, Mo hosted a rare Saturday/Sunday contest with 50 teams. This was the first year for Weston 
Smoking Along the Rails. The contest was held down by the old Weston depot which is now City Hall. Every 15 to 20 minutes a train rolled by. This made Gary feel right at home since he works at the railroad.
After set up, SMT enjoy a rare night out on the town. The team spent a few hours at O'Malley's Irish Pub to enjoy some great Irish music. O'Malley's is located in a wine cellar below the restaurant.
Saturday morning, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at the Weston Café and shopping the stores along Main Street. This is such a unique town, and several of the stores have items from Ireland. After a relaxing morning, it was back down to business prepping for the contest.
Sunday morning SMT had an unexpected early wakeup call. Thunderstorms were on the way and we had to batten down for heavy rail. Around 7:00a.m., a first round of thunderstorms rolled through Weston. Heavy rains made the final prep for turn-ins a challenge. Some of the teams were ankle deep in water. But around 11:30 the sky cleared and we were back down to business.
At the end of the day, SMT took home 5th in ribs, 9th in pork and 9th overall. This was our first top 10 finish this year. It was great to meet a few new teams and hope to see them along the BBQ trail.