Reading the thread of how people got hooked got me thinking about probably the best time I've ever had smoking a cigar. I was sitting outside my hotel room on the banks of the Danube River, looking across the water at Yugoslavia. My wife and I were in a tiny village about four hours outside of Bucharest, Romania to pick up our adopted daughter. It was the night before we were going to meet her in person for the first time, and I had brought along a Montecristo especially for the occasion. I sat there in the moonlight watching the water and thought about my impending fatherhood. It was one of the greatest cigars I've ever smoked.

Anyone else?

Eggman

Great story, my friend!

I'd like to hear more of the story. How long ago did this happen? How old was your child?

Give your daughter a kiss from her Great-Uncle Steve.

I went out to Washington to see my son who just return from the Iraq war on the Abraham Lincoln. I had 2 isom partagas petite coronas that we torched up on the balcony of his apt.

We talked and smoked. Life doesn't get any better then this. That's the best cigar experience I've had.

Steve, thanks for the kind words. This was in May of 2001, Mother's Day, in fact - how appropriate. Anastasia was literally one of the last kids to get out of Romania before they shut the entire adoption system down to "re-work" it...to this day they haven't re-opened their borders and thousands of kids are still in orphanages and foster homes in one of the most economically destitute parts of the world.

Eggman

oops. She was 2 at the time and is now nearly 5 and knows e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.

Great story and it's funny how a special moment will enhance a cigar. BTW,No cigar story I have even comes close to yours. X

I've had a few of those perfect moments in my lifetime. Those moments that, even while you're experiencing them, you realize that life just doesn't get any better.

My retirement from the Air Force was one such occasion. During my career, I avoided personal ceremonies as much as possible. I did everything I could to have my decorations and promotions handed to me in the office rather than pinned on in a ceremony. While most guys would have formal reenlistments presided over by their commanders, I simply went to the personnel office and had the officer on duty administer the oath. I nearly opted not to have a formal retirement ceremony but was finally talked into it. I agreed to a small ceremony in our conference room.

Truthfully, I don't remember a lot of the details of the ceremony. It's mostly a blur. I've attended so many others that I'm sure it went something like this. Citations were read, certificates were presented, the national anthem played and a flag was presented. I said a few words and it was over. What I do remember is how honored I felt as I stood in front of everyone. My brother, sister-in-law, and mom all came down from Pennsylvania to attend the ceremony. My wife and two kids were there along with a few friends and co-workers. Following the ceremony there was a small reception in our office. My wife gave me a pewter canister humidor and my son gave me 10 Montecristos.

Later that day, I had a party at my house. I remember sitting on the porch with my friends and family, sharing those Montecristos with my brother and son and a couple of close friends. Reminiscing about the previous 20 years, enjoying the company of my family and friends, watching the sun set and looking forward to my future, what could be better?

I was at a local sports bar puffing away and this hot waitress aksed what I was smoking. I told here it was a Partagas Lusitania. She (Sarah)said she had never smoked a cigar and aksed if she could try it. I said sure! She then took the cigar from my mouth and slowly placed it in hers. As her lips sealed around the sides of the cigar my imagination went wild. She slowly drew on my cigar, her cheeks indenting inward as she filled her mouth with smoke. She held the smoke in for just a moment and blew smoke rings in my face and we both laughed.

She was at my table several times over the course of the evening, and a few times brought other waitresses by to say hi. They all wore those ass cheek exposing shorts. Dayum they looked nice.

As the evening drew to a close, Sarah asked if I wanted to go out after closing and if it would be ok for her to bring one of the other waitresses (Melissa) along. I told her that sounds like a great idea. I figured her not knowing me too well she wanted to bring Melissa in case I was a nut case or something.

The three of us left the bar around midnight and went to a night club that didn't close until 2am. We drank and danced until closing. Just when I thought the fun was about to come to an end Sarah asked if I wanted to go to her place for a night cap. I could hardly keep back the huge smile, and said "great, lets go"

To my surprise Melissa came along. When we got there I lit a PAM 1964 while Sarah opened a bottle of wine. We must have gone thru a few bottles that night. I excused myself to go to the restroom. When I got back the two of them were kissing on the couch and were half naked. So I did what any man would do I got on the couch with them and they immediatly turned their attention to me.

You can use your imagination on how the rest of the evening went, but to give you some closure, I did make them breakfast and lunch later on that afternoon.

Wow

Lotsa good experiences

I've had some, but not nearly as exhilarating

However, my fist isom comes to mind

I was in Canada, bought an inexpensive tubed parejo

I sat outside smoking, watching the moon rise over the Rockies

Had a few more expensive habanos that trip, but somehow the moment [later at Whistler, N of Vancouver] wasn't nearly as special

However, did enjoy taking cigars with shopkeepers, learning their opinions of the habanos -- which mostly were too expensive to consume themselves

Good old USA -- good legal cigars, relatively low taxes!

Hey RDC...

Is this the CBid Forum or the Penthouse Forum ???

I had to go back and check... LOL

Low

RDC,

I was going to post a similar experience but then I realized we were looking for extraordinary experiences and hell that kind of thing happens to me all the time. lol

That's easy....the LGCM I smoked after my son was born.

Every year the men in my family take off for a long weekend and drive up to a lake on the back side of Yosemite National Park to fish the opener of the trout season. The weekend is usually spent fishing, drinking, eating well, smoking and catching up on each others busy lives.

We each have our specific spots along the shore to dunk bait, never really talked about, but mutually agreed upon. My spot looks over the lake and onto a vista of young mountains with craggy orange peaks that are so incredible that they actually look fake, like something out af an artist imagination.

I had always smoked cigars, but it wasn't until last year that I really started appreciating a good cigar. I had gotten good cigars because my first child had been born, not knowing that many smokers, I had handed out relatively few, and had a good amount left.

Even though we go up to the lake in April, you can never guess what the weather is going to be like, we have had weekends that started out in short sleeve t-shirts and ended up digging out of 8" of snow. This year was a cold year.

The lake elevation is so high, that when clouds appear, they are moving FAST, wind is usually whipping. As you can guess we don't skimp on the clothing, and since most of the men are not only avid fisherman, but hunters, we have great quality clothing, and love to be out in ANY kind of weather.

So I have a cigar in, wind tugging at it, wind blowing whitecaps off the lake, the spray is freezing on the rocks giving them an ice coating, high spotty clouds are whipping over the amazing orange-colored peaks, across the lake, sunlight is shining through the spotty clouds and the snow they carry, giving the snow this surreal backlit glow, I am sitting in my lawn chair, warm and comfortable, my face the only thing exposed to the environment, and all of the sudden realize that I have a wife, a kid (two now) and a big family, everyone is safe and happy, I have no cares in the entire world but watching the windblown tip of my ice-laden fishing pole, and keeping my cigar lit.

I was grinning like a f-ing village idiot...

RDC What happend to the Midgets!!!!!!!

WOW!!

gdurfor!!! Your son and I spent many nights within miles of each other, though we didn't know it. I was in that battle group for the same 9 months he did. The joy of our impending journey home... the sadness when we hit Australia and they told us to hightail it back... the night we first launched our Strikes... and the one gloriously beautiful night before we returned home to our loved ones that I sat out on the fantail of the ship (the a$$-end)looking at the stars and the water and smoked a ISOM Punch Corona and was told I got promoted to E-8!! That homecoming was very special to me. It was also when my wife realized my hobby was a complete obsession by then...

wow, many many truly wonderful stories. thanks for sharing those, guys!

archi, i've had moments like that -- tsalagi call it "being on the beauty path." loved the way you described that!

Yeah, I tried this guys stick....yummy...and if I told you the rest, I'd have to kill ya...

...then I changed my name from Sarah to Marla...

Oh, damn! I should have read ALL of the posts before posting...

;)

I thought I recognized you Marla. That was some lost weekend huh?

Memories.....

When I lived in Syracuse back in the 80's we used to occasionally do a weekend in Toronto. I used to love to go

to Dunhills. Lots of ISOMs , but most were not in my budget but I did have a few. I was a nobody with a very limited resources but they always treated me like I was Donald Trump. I went there maybe twice per year but they always remembered you from your previous visit.