How many of you are concerned about Spring Break and what are the dates?
We had the last Spring Rally the first weekend in April and talked about that again at the Saturday potluck. That looks like April 4, 5 & 6, 2014.
Some of the CGs listed in this recent discussion look like they are already fully booked, but they may possibly be blocked out due to the season opening on March 29. (I checked out a few using the April 4-6 dates.)
As many of us did last spring, we booked right after the spring rally for the fall rally. I sure would like to nail this down soon so I can make a reservation and get my calendar set up. I am sure Joe Camper will be able to help us with setting up and giving assistance (and prizes perhaps) if we get it together like he did for our spring rally 2013.
Thanks, Jason, for the input and insight. You are right about the recreation.gov site. I'm not worried and know there will be a way to rally together. We're all adaptable and clever campers, after all. 😉
I hope others chime in with suggested dates. I think we arrived at the first weekend in April before due to a consensus on spring break, but Al and I are open to any dates because we're retired and portable. 🙂
Al and I are open to any dates because we're retired and portable.
Does that mean that you and Al are safe to drink? Oh no, that is POTABLE. :rofl:
Now that I got that out of the way, I think the first week in April works OK for us. I will have a report on FDR early next week, but we will need to make a decision soon.
I will be happy to help in any way that I can.
[quote author=Jarhead71 link=topic=2737.msg26261#msg26261 date=1380674650]
Al and I are ... retired and portable.
Does that mean that you and Al are safe to drink? Oh no, that is POTABLE. :rofl:
Jarhead, Al and I drink safely and when we do, it's potable -- wine! 😉 Looking forward to your report on FDR. We always look for good size sites with shade, close to water if that's possible, and if there are other amenities at or near the CG if we want to head off to see new stuff.
We'll be off camping probably around the time you're gone -- to Tybee Island with a TrailManor rally. This will be our first time with this group and we are anxious to see any mods the other TM owners have made.
In my humble opinion FDR is out for a group rally. We just got back yesterday from a 4 day campout there. This was our 2nd trip to FDR. Really nice campground, big sites, clean newer restrooms, great hiking trails, nice lake, lots of things to do in the area, but.......
They will not reserve any of the areas for us. There are at least 4 campgrounds and they are kind of spread out. With this being a GA State Park, they will take reservations, but it is first come first serve. Probably won't come into play for Spring Rally, but with the COE and National Parks closed, FDR was booked solid this past weekend.
GA Judy had made a suggestion on JellyStone in Bremen. They are offering us some benefits that sound pretty good, but I will let her give you the details since she made the call.
Darrell, thanks for checking out FDR and reporting on what is the "norm" with state parks: reservations accepted but no guarantee of where! If we all reserved the same date and showed up in a continuous line and got into the park, that would be the answer. However, that's not practial. 🙁 And thanks to you and Amanda (athread678) for enthusiastically volunteering to co-moderate the spring rally as well. You both did a great job on the fall rally!
So, after speaking with JoeCamper, I called Jellystone Park in Breman (GA) yesterday and spoke with the owner, Phil Fields, inquiring about availability for April 4-6 or April 11-13. Some of our camping friends have camped at Jellystone before and had some good things to say, so FireCaptain Jim and I discussed this and we thought we would offer this as a suggestion. Here's the scoop:
Included for camping clubs at no extra charge:
- Functioning kitchen with dining room to seat up to 75 comfortably (but could squeeze in 10 more chairs)
- Use of covered group shelter outdoors; indoor room if desired or if weather is bad
- Custom tailored-to-age group children arts & crafts and activities (i.e., scavenger hunt, sack races, etc.)
- Craft projects for kids
- Evening movie night for families
...and anything else mentioned on their website: http://www.campjellystone.com/.....en-atlanta
If the weather is warm, the pool may be open. Many other activities are included per website.
Rates including tax - Adults & Children (children under 2 free):
Two (2) $33.73 Four (4) $46.47 Six (6) $59.20 [$6.37 p.p. for "odd" numbers]
This is a Good Sam park and offers 10% off the above rates per night with valid membership as well as a military (active, retired, disabled) discount.
Sites are for 30 amp service. Add $3.21/night for 50 amp service.
All sites have full hook ups including sewer, water, electric.
Mr. Fields also said he usually groups the club people by the ranger station. I am looking at the map. I had told him between 27 and 30 sites might be needed and maybe a few more, so it looks like sites 50-65 and across the road from those, sites 95-106 = Total 27 sites with addtl. sites adjacent in a row from site #106. (Jarhead mentioned the PUP sites were kind of small - but we do have common areas to use.)
Jellystone will see that we have a reserved area for up to 30 sites (more if needed) with a one-week cancellation allowance to hold the sites until they are released to the general public. We can begin making reservations toward the 30 reserved sites if Jellystone is the site chosen for the rally. The Moderators may want to check with Mr. Fields (they have his cell #) as to the process: collect names and give him a list to use for checking off when each family makes their reservation or have each family identify themselves as CANVAS CAMPERS/SOUTHEAST RALLY GROUP.
This park offers many of the activities that we all like to do but let's the folks "in charge" of some of those activities turn them over to the park folks.
We need to get immediate feedback from those interested, and JoeCamper is ready to post CG suggestions in a survey. Please don't wait to offer your opinion, and let's make this Rally just as much fun as our others, no matter where we end up!
I have always loved Jellystone Parks, and this place looks fabulous. Yes, well over our usual budget, but it has so much for the kids. And we wouldn't have to do our rain dance, because we would have shelter from whatever mother nature throws at us. We usually stay 4-5 days. So......we would just stay 3 days. (2 nights) Earl and I are in. Hoping other Rally members can see the benefits and arrange finances accordingly. And if not, we'll go wherever you all decide. But we'll put this Jellystone on our bucketlist, because we definitely would like to check it out.
We really enjoyed staying here this past Spring. The DGD's almost cried when it was time to leave. I just checked the sites that Judy mentioned on the map and they are quite a bit bigger than the site by the pool that we stayed at. I sounds like the Management is willing to please which is more than I can say for some of the State Parks. We do have a lot of kids in the group, and with the activities that they have it will give the adults a little more me or we time. The only down side is that it is a bit more expensive than McKinney, but has more amenities. We are in. Let's get some more comments from the SouthEast Group and we will make a decision. That shouldn't be a problem knowing this group. 🙂
Anyone out there? I was hoping to see some more feedback from the group or see something set up already. My calendar is filling up for the rest of the year and into 2014.
Are we going to be at Jellystone or what? Just wondering - Darrell, Amanda??
Initially, JoeCamper listed me as a moderator. Darrell and Amanda have said they are going to moderate again (they did a great job in the fall, didn't they?), and I said I would "consult" if needed. I'm hoping something will be decided soon though. 🙂
Don't know what the plans are with the rally yet, but ... on our recent trip to Pine Mountain GA we checked out a "campground" called RVC outdoor Destination. It was very nice. pool, hot tub, game rooms, full hook ups, convenient to Callaway Gardens and Wild Animal Safari (everyone needs to go there!) They cater to rallies also. Depend on the number to book, they will allow use of one of the activity rooms, they will put our group together, based on the number who book there is a discount. Just thought I would throw that out there.
I went to the RVC site and they are rather expensive for us to go for 4 nights and I think it might be for many. Other than that, I don't find the location bad and the sites look to be about as small as what was described for Jellystone in the "non-rally-group" area. With the poll that was just put up, I voted for Jellystone on the first week of April but we will go with the majority. Please, everyone, vote your choice since we have had little options and won't know what is happening with the federal (i.e., McKinney) until the nation knows!
I guess it is just strange that after each one of our rallies, we usually have chatter and then reservations within a week or so. I always like to know we are going somewhere as a group and save the date on my calendar. Don't mean to be pushy, but we've got to get some input and plan going. Looking forward to seeing y'all (and maybe some new folks plus Terry & Frann from NYS again) in the spring!
I did talk with the Rally planner at RVC and they do give discounts to rallies, seems the price might equal out to what Jellystone is offering also. The set up is not as rustic as McKinney, which I love the trees, trees and trees at Mckinney. But Jellystone is a bit short on trees too. We really enjoyed our weekend at Jellystone this past summer, and said we would be going back. It is a great place for kids to have fun as there is quite a bit to do there. I've voted for the weekend of April 4, cause that is a holiday (teacher's inservice day) for our school and Jellystone is only about 50 miles from us!
Hi guys, in case you forgot we were the newbies on the outcast loop at the last rally, but anywho, we won't be able to attend the spring rally but I can tell you that DeSoto state park isnt set up for a large group. They have some buddy site for like 2 families but their sites arent close together and there really wouldnt be a central meeting place. We stayed there Labor Day weekend and unless you like hiking theres really not a lot to do there to keep you occupied especially the kids.
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