89 replies to this topic

[Crawfish]

Southeastern Family Camper's 2011 Summer Rally

Charleston, South Carolina

James Island Campground

June 11 - 19, 2011

This event has been cancelled due to the economy and high price of gas and fuel.

We all want to thank Mike for all the hard work and long hours he has put into this rally.

Let's hope we can have a summer rally next year.

[swanny]

AWESOME

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

[Reverie]

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.

[mike]

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.

[swanny]

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

[Outback DeLand]

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

[Rollrs45]

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!

[Crawfish]

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

[Rollrs45]

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

[Mrs CampingNut]

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-

[Joe/GA]

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.

[need2mellowout]

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 - 02:02 PM, said:

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.

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.

[having_fun]

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

[campingnut]

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

[w4drr]

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

[need2mellowout]

having_fun, on 02 July 2010 - 10:09 AM, said:

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.

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

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 - 10:56 AM, said:

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

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 - 01:30 PM, said:

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

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.

[Mrs CampingNut]

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

[jambalaya]

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

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 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.

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

[Rollrs45]

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

[Crawfish]

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