AWESOME

sorry got excited. didn't want to post the whole topic.

The Robinson's are in. We have site 119 from the 11th through the 19th. The lower numbered route is almost completely taken. The reservation went smoothly except they didn't know who we were. They do now! They take one nights fee of $46.54 to hold the reservation, fully refundable as long as you give them 24 hours notice.

Wish we could join u, this will be our first miss since we started coming. Dawn does not finish teaching until the end of the rally. That being said we would love to get together with some of u next year. We will probably be booking anastasia for the week after the rally if anyone wants to join us. Have a great time. Btw we extended our stay with the mouse until the fifth.

We just booked site 108 for the rally. The guy told my wife most all the low number sites are gone. SO, I'm going to list some sites we have noted. 116, 110, 99, 54, 55, 52, 53. Really most of the sites across the back are good 46 to 55 ( low number???) and 125 to 99. There are also 3 buddy sites across the back these aren't too bad IF you want to be close to somebody. Good luck.

Also the tickets for splash zone are cheaper the the camp store than they are at the SZ.

kevin

We r in! We will be on site 109 from the 11-19.

Ok guys, here is a list of available sites in loop 2 as of 07/01 at 1612 hours. There may be some lower numbers available, but this is where the clerk started at.

64
65
66
67
72
78
79
81
82
83
87
92
93
95
97
104
105



BETTER GET THEM WHILE YOU CAN!

I got site #121.

People please, these sites are going fast, so call and get your site now. I can not believe how fast they are going.


Leon

Everyone,

I have been selected/elected/volunteered/volun"told" that I am the unofficial wagon master for this rally. I hope that I can live up to past rallies engineered by the great Leon, Nick, and Lamar! I have a bunch of questions for the group that I will wait to ask. I want to give everyone some time to make reservations and get a fill for the total number of attendees. Marcy and I visited this CG several weeks ago and I have researched the area rather extensively. Let me know if you have any questions.

A few things to chew on:
Group tour by land or boat (maybe a dinner cruise for you romantic types)

Designated Beach days - the beach is about 7 miles from the CG

I have been in contact with the Chamber of Commerce and they are providing me with some good information. If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to suggest them throughout the year.
This area is rich with activities so I imagine we'll be keeping the daytime group outings to a minimum so that families can explore the area as they wish. This does not include the nighttime kool-aid sessions! We're looking forward to seeing everyone and let me know if I can help!!!

Mike

We are in Site# 104. I asked for several different #'s but this is where they put us.
Tommy O has Site# 87 (I think that's what they said). Swanny = 108?


C-

Wow! It took me an hour and a half to get through this morning! Sites are just about gone! I got site 83 from the 12th through the 19th. I really wanted the other side near the gravel overflow lot. Oh well, it sure beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!
Mike, my DW has never been to Charleston; so I was thinking that perhaps a day of touring downtown Charleston would be in order.

We reserved site 97 from June 9 to 19, however we most likely will end up canceling. At least for us the Summer Rally has always been about great people, beach and decompressing.

I keep trying to wrap my head around the having to drive 7 miles to the beach then find parking. Does anyone know if you have to pay to park at the beach?

For the two weeks at Anastasia, Dulce and I went to the beach with a bunch of kids nearly every single day. We love that about the Summer Rally. More kids and adults would come down during the course of the day and if you wanted/needed to go back to the camper you could walk or ride bike since the campground always had direct beach access. Did I mention that most of the kids really love going to the beach?

The sites at this place are nearly twice as much per day than Anastasia and the water park is another $8.99 per person per day. Seeing how successful and how the kids and most adults loved Anastasia I was surprised to hear we weren’t going back. I just don’t understand how a campground without beach access was chosen. Oh well, just letting you guys know ahead of time our reasoning if we do cancel. Plenty of time from now till then so I’ll keep the site and let ya’ll know when we cancel in case someone needs a site.

mike, on 01 July 2010 - 03:02 PM, said:

Mike send me a PM when you're ready to reserve. In case we decide to cancel Charleston we'd love to do Anastasia again. Only takes 2 for a mini rally.

We're in, site 81 June 11-19th! They are going fast.

We're going to be there this afternoon. Mike, if there is anything we can do let us know. We're going to look into places to eat that can hold a large group.

Parking at the beach is a pain. There are homes and hotels along the entire beach line and its a challenge to get one, harding when you have a big truck. If traffic is bad (and it usally is) it can take 20-30 minutes to get there from the campground. Downtown has parking issues as well, it will be hard to do anything as a group.

I tbink a scenic cruse would be great, or maybe a tour bus around downtown?

This just won't be a beach orineted trip, Tony is right about that, but the campground is wonderfull and there is much to do

tony i fill your pain brother.
i was thinking of not going myself after i found out the beach was so far away.i like the beach, i like to drink..alot.
but not drinking and then the drive back.

where are we going to meet up each day to hang out???
we booked a site so i guess were going.

but im like you.. next time we must have campground and beach
TOGETHER.... if not, it will be like the spring /fall rallys.

lamar

Hope everyone has noted rule # 7 in the Campground Guidelines...
"Alcoholic beverages are not allowed in the campground or park areas."

Have to engage the cloaking device or fly under the radar while consuming adult beverages.

Bob

having_fun, on 02 July 2010 - 11:09 AM, said:

Clayton how much is there to do at the campground and is it free or pay? Thanks for the information on the beach it sounds terrible and worse than I envisioned.

campingnut, on 02 July 2010 - 11:56 AM, said:

Don't expect to do it at the water parks as I posted below You can't bring food or drinks into the water parks. I really can't express in words how bummed I've felt all day long at the prospect of not going and being with ya'll. I certainly hope the 2012 Summer Rally selection committee has at least one beach bum/beach lover on it.

w4drr, on 02 July 2010 - 02:30 PM, said:

I called anonymously this morning about water park rates and what not. No food or drink is allowed in the water parks; however the alcohol in the campground might get you just an initial warning, if that. You can always drink stealthy in the campground, anyways, at least from what Lamar has told me.

The no taking food or drinks into the water parks I envision would be a real pain in the neck.

Charleston is a fantastic charming tourist city. With that being said, being a tourist costs. James Island Park has lots to do from biking, fishing, beach park, rock climbing, etc. Unfortunately, there is a cost to a lot of it. Heck, if you go to Disney's Ft Wilderness, everything there is even more expensive but the experience is like no other. I think everyone will be pleased with the James Island Park & Charleston once you get there. It is a different experience than the beach. I love the beach too but even I get tired of it after a 3-4 days (esp'ly the Atlantic). But that's just me - gotta mix it up. There was a lot of feedback from folks about Anastasia SP before too but I'm glad that everyone liked it and survived no sewer hookups & no cable/Wi-Fi. In Charleston, I hope we get to go on a horse & buggy ride, tour the town & old houses, and eat lots of she-crab soup while we're there but I am sure we will get in beach time as well. Mike (Rollrs45) said that he is planning for some group beach days so we can all caravan, take the trolley or whatnot so you boys can be driven and be merry. From our camping friends that have visited this park, they say it is their favorite place. I enjoy everyone's company so I hope that everyone comes. It won't be the same w/o you. Next year, make sure to put in your two-cents early. Heck, I'm missing Topsail! Can we go there again? (will the oil slick be cleaned up by then?)

Carmen

need2mellowout, on 02 July 2010 - 09:30 AM, said:

Margaret and I have been discussing this. I have to echo Tony's sentiment. I guess we did not realize that beach access was going to be so remote from the Campground. Until recent events in the Gulf unfolded, going to the beach was taken for granted, just a short drive down the road for us. I guess you do not know what you truly have till you don't any more.

Right now we are in for Charleston camping on site 105, but we are going to have to do some serious soul searching about it. Our kids love the beach and the camaraderie they experience there with everyone; spending quality time with the Southeast Group has become like the ultimate vacation each summer for our family. This is not going to be an easy decision.

I hope that everyone has a great 4th of July holiday. Be sure to cook some Pigmeat on the grill!.

Take care,
Billy

Like many of you, Marcy and I are both beach people and we look forward to hitting the surf every year. In fact, we normally take a week long vacation to Myrtle Beach around August. Next year we will be forgoing that ritual in order to attend this rally. Our decision was made because we were willing to try something different. Will we like it as much...... I hope so. There is so much to see and do in Charleston, we figured there would be plenty to occupy our time. I hope that many of you will ultimately see things that way and attend the rally. As far as planning activities, I'm open to any suggestions.

Mike

I want to apologize to everyone for being one of the handful who made the decision to pick Charleston, SC as our location for the 2011 summer rally. I did not know the campground had to have a beach attached to it. No one mentioned this requirement to me. In the future, I will not participate in any more discussions or serve on any more committees for any rally. Again I am sorry for the screw up.


Leon

Ladies and gentlemen, the rally is a year away. This area does have a lot to offer. There isn't a beach out the back door, but there is a beach. We need to think of creative way to do what we like to do. Just off the top of my head, Carpool to the beach, and designated drivers. There is parking, pay and free. The free is a short walk to the beach. While we were at this CG I didn't see anybody really trying to hide their beverages. There were a few sites that had quite a gathering, as we do. The water park is a short walk or bike ride, Just don't ride to close It would be very easy to go to your rv for lunch. The park also has many lifeguards. There are 3 bike paths loops all over a mile long. keeps a lot of the kid off the roads. I guess what I'm trying to say is, Lets think of ways to make it work. I'm NOT trying to offend anybody with my next statement. I was always taught if I had a problem with something, before i complained about it, I was to have an idea or a solution to make it work. We can ask a lot of questions in a year, and if you ask you never know what you might get.

Ok everybody thinking caps on.

Have a great 4th,

kevin

Crawfish, on 02 July 2010 - 06:58 PM, said:

Leon,

You need not apologize to anyone. I appreciate all that you have done in the past and hope to see you organize future rallies. I agree with Kevin, we still have a year to plan this thing. Heck, some of you may just have a good time despite the distance to the beach........ I personally attend these rallies for the people more than the location!

I hope everyone has a great 4th!

Mike

I also want to say we have always appreciated the help and friendship fromeveryone including leon. The only reasoon we are not attending is dawn is working till the end of that week. We understand that the committee chose the secoond week. We always love seeing everyone and that was why I posted that we will be looking at campgrounds when we get back from this trip. I never intended to start a problem. Heck we may even go to charleston on our trip next year. Again thank to everyone for the frienship and hospiltaly u all have shown us.

For What It is Worth...

I agree with Carmen and Kevin. I too love the beach and it will be a bit different. That being said, I still think this will be a great place, with lots to do and lots of our friends to do things with. We can work out details but not everyone drinks and not everyone drinks every day so there should be no shortage of drivers. Carmen brings up a great point which is basically, we were very worried about Anastasia. Then we got to Anastasia and found out we could accommodate the shortcomings. OK, I paraphrased Carmen.

KD and I are discussing this and she said she didn't realize the beach was not right at the park. She would have voted for something on the beach as well BUT she said that this would work out fine. We will just need to get there, get settled in, get our routine going, fire-up the blenders, drag the awnings and hang out together.

As for the no alcohol policy. If memory serves, that same policy exists at TopSail, Sadlers Creek, Anastasia, Veterans Memorial, and even Moonshine Creek (which is sort of funny if you ask me). Those rules exist to give the park absolute leverage if someone becomes drunk and obnoxious. They can toss their butts out and the offending drunk cannot say anything about it (not that a thing like a silly little rule ever stopped a drunk in the first place).

Like I said in my earlier post, the Robinson's go with the majority. We just like being with our friends, hanging out together, laughing with and about each other, enjoying our kids and your kids, the cooking and eating and most of all the sense of being a part of a great shared experience.

Reverie

Crawfish, on 02 July 2010 - 06:58 PM, said:

Sheesh, did I say “committee”? I wish I had Obama’s gift of the silver tongue or at least one of his speech writers. Leon if what I wrote ticked you off then I’m sorry that wasn’t my intent at all. The Rallies, especially the summer, has provided our family great times and memories so we will always be grateful to you and those that put these things together. Again I’m sorry if my words rubbed you the wrong way.

Rollrs45, on 02 July 2010 - 09:30 PM, said:

Mike I hear what you’re saying about it’s about the people and not the place. That’s why we do the shorter Spring and Fall Rally’s. However, these 1 week, or 2 weeks for us this year, I have to consider how will Jenny have fun. Keeping the kids entertained for a whole week isn’t easy but the beach has always been a great inexpensive facilitator to that end. Plus it’s important for us if we’re spending a week that Dulce and I are able to decompress/de-stress. Again the beach does that for us. We don’t get “beached out” like some of the adults do. We went 13 out of the 14 days to the beach at Anastasia. Not saying the kids at this rally won’t have fun, like Clayton said it will be a different type of fun and perhaps not as much beach-oriented.

Anyways, I’m done with coming across negative and will take Kevin’s advice. You bring up a good point about it’s getting together with everyone so I need to change my perspective. Perhaps the best solution for us to treat this like the Spring and Fall Rally and go Thursday to Sunday. Maybe drive from there and go to Anastasia for the week. We get the best of both worlds. Spending time with what I consider ya’ll the extended family and get the beach too.

Mike it was good to hear you stepped up and volunteered to be Rally Master. I think you’ll make a great one. Just want to give you a bit of advice from what I’ve seen. I’m currently staying at a County park in South Florida that also has a water park inside. I’ve noticed that certain week days there’s a bunch of School buses from the Summer Camps parked in the lot and certain days not so much. It was also sort of empty on Friday and Sunday. Could be the same situation at Summer Rally campground. I think those trips to the Water Park are arranged ahead of time by the schools or church groups. I’d suggest someone check with office to find out when their “light” attendance days might be.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July!

Reverie,

I could not have said it better! Thanks again for being what I like to call, "The Stabilizer" of the group.

Tony,

I'm glad to hear you guys will make adjustments and try and attend. I always look forward to seeing you and Dulce at the Fall Rally. If I may......... you won't be too far from Myrtle Beach. I can make a few suggestions for that area if you would like. There is lots to do for you and the kids. Though, the sites are a tad bit higher then Anastasia. You'll also want to book them in advance; they're extremely busy this time of year.

Everyone,

I'm glad to hear the initial shock has worn off. I don't think anyone expected not having a beach attached would carry so much weight. Lesson learned. Maybe a little more group discussion is in order next time.

This is my first time organizing a summer rally and I was worried it was going to flop before it ever got off the ground. I've only been to Charleston once, so I'm learning as much as I can about the area in order to plan. I've taken advice from the veterans and won't be planning too many activities, and I'm also open for suggestions. I expect there will be the usual daytime/nighttime socials and plenty of blenders working overtime. The potluck is a given, and a few beach trips are definitely in order. The one thing I know for sure; I can rely on this group to have a good time no matter where we're at. I look forward to seeing everyone!

Mike

p.s. I have found a restaurant named "Gilligan's". Any takers...........LOL?

Rollrs45, on 03 July 2010 - 03:50 PM, said:

Now I'm LOL, we ate there. It was really good too.

kevin

Hunting Beach near Buefort SC has a great campground an 1.5 hours away from Charleston. Right on the beach, really nice and quite, but its very natual, no pads, no sewer, but a 5 minute walk to the beach. Stores are a good ride away. Look it up. Maybe there could be a mini rally the week after at Hunting state Park. Reservations there are 11 months out so there is still time.

Mike, my family lives in Charleston (I'm here now) and gave me serveral suggestions for places to eat. I'll get a list. They know the area very well so we could bounce ideas off them as well to see what might work.

having_fun, on 04 July 2010 - 03:25 PM, said:

Sounds like a great idea. Let them know we'll take any suggestions. Thanks!

Mike

We're in. I just reserved Site #76 for Tuesday 6/14 to Sunday 6/19. We are arriving a little late due to the fact I am working on a beach reservation at either Edisto Beach or Hunting Island SP. The reservation window isn't open yet for the dates I want. Hopefully there will be some sites left after the 2-week, early reservers have gobbled everything up. Shades of Topsail.

Bob

That's great Bob. Looking forward to seeing all of you again at a summer rally.


Leon

At exactly 9:00AM EDT, when the window opened for June 8th, 2011, I jumped in and grabbed one of the precious few beach sites left at Edisto Beach SP. There were only 5 sites available, and one of which was only 10 feet long, so make that only 4 that would be suitable. An hour later, there is only 1 left, and it is only 15 feet wide, making it less than desirable. This is worse than Topsail!
Anyway, we got Site #74 for 6/8 to 6/14. Then on Tuesday, the 14th, we make the hour or so drive to James Island CG and check in there. So after 6 days on the beach, the fact that James Island is not right on the beach won't be such a big deal.

Bob

We are on site 123. We won't be with you the whole week because Nathan graduates on the 18th, but we will be with you from the 11th-14th. It sure will be good to see you all again in one of my favorite cities.

Tony, there is so much stuff to do for free or for a nominal fee, you won't mind. Just walking around in Charleston is amazing in itself. The gardens are beautiful and the food is to die for. Low country cooking is the best!

Darlene

Looks like the rally is gaining numbers!! If anyone is on the fence over whether they will attend, I would suggest you go ahead a make a reservation. Its easier to cancel then to be put on a waiting list!!

Mike

Beware of the low trees leading into the park!!!!!!!!

this is a review that I have seen posted.

Very nice campground. Tons of stuff to do in the park for all ages. We don't have young kids, but were impressed with all of the activities available for the youngsters. There was a water park, climbing wall, kayak rental, paddle boat rental, fishing ponds and lakes, and bike trails. I enjoyed the running trails and the dog beach was an awesome place for our dogs. I only have 2 minor issues with this park that kept it from being a 10. First, is the approaches to the park. All of the roads have low trees, making it a bit of a white knuckle experience for tall rigs. My rig is 13' tall and several branches knocked into our front A/C unit. Once inside the park, all the clearances were OK. The other minor point is that many of the sites are close together and not very private. Be prepared to see and hear your neighbors in most sites. Beyond that, I'd highly recommend this park to anyone. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.

Thanks for the heads up Clayton. You all coming?


Leon

Crawfish, on 12 July 2010 - 06:52 PM, said:

It all depends on if we have Linda`s mother with us or not.

BOAT MAN, on 12 July 2010 - 07:36 PM, said:

That is a fairly accurate review. We used both roads in and out of the park. Our rig is 12.5 feet high, we had no issues. The lady at the camp store said some of the class A's have complaints.

kevin