Alrighty folks, I'll apologize up front for the novel. We have done a lot of interweb searching and I did a scouting trip on a couple things last fall for activities. I am hoping to get in at least one other scouting trip this spring pre-rally to finalize the main events at a minimum. As Rob said we are tentatively looking at the traditional get together/pot luck/ show and shine on Tuesday. So I'm going to start laying out a tentative schedule of events. As with the last few years, please don't feel like anything is mandatory, but also don't be afraid to jump in either. We understand it's your vacation and we are just here to try to help it along.
We are in the process of putting together a welcome packet that has contact info and such for Rob and I in case you have issues. It will also have things like closest fuel, groceries, hospitals etc. All good things to know. We will include the campsite map so you will know roughly who is where as well.
All that said here are top things we are looking at.
Saturday- Arrivals. I will be there as close to check in time as I can. I know several folks will be rolling in then too. If you beat me there and we haven't met, feel free to come introduce yourself. No organized activities.
Sunday- More arrivals. Same drill. No organized activities.
Monday- TBD. There will be a fair number of folks by then. We may do something.
Tuesday- pot luck/show and shine/ etc. We are still deciding on a format for the pot luck but we have a couple ideas. Before anybody gets scared by the show and shine... don't.
. Typically in the past we try to get a picture of all the trucks lined up regardless of make, model, or condition. Don't think you have to polish your trucks all up to compete for exciting prizes.... there aren't any.... It's just for fun. Being who we are, we will all be wandering around poking heads under hoods anyway. Might as well just go ahead and set aside a little time for it. I'm not sure where we will park at the campground. May just have to do it at the campsites but we are all pretty co-located so if we need to bunch together a bit to minimize distance we can. If we don't get the chance for a good picture at the campground, we have a couple other opportunities. I would imagine this will be an afternoon event but we will nail down if we are doing lunch or dinner or heck maybe both. We shall see.
Wednesday - TBD
Thursday - TBD
Friday - TBD
Saturday- Some departures. There is also a truck pull fairly close for those that are departing on Sunday or want to hit it on the way out. It starts at 5 and is in Madison, VA.
Sunday- Final departures.
So we have some TBD's to fill in. Here are some of the activities we are thinking would fill those. We would like to get some feedback and see which things most folks are interested in so that we can focus on those to make sure we can get accommodations.
Option 1. Luray Caverns/ ******'s place.
https://luraycaverns.com/
Luray caverns is a pretty short drive up and over the mountain. There seems to be a lot of stuff to do on site there but I have not been to the caverns yet. I listed ******'s place along with it because it is on the way to Luray. They have a General Lee (albeit in pretty rough shape) and several cars but it's not a place to go spend a day. Some fun things for us older farts to look at.
Option 2. VMI Civil war museum.
http://www.vmi.edu/museums-and-archives/virginia-museum-of-the-civil-war/
This is very near the campground. We stopped by and talked to the folks there when we were on the last scouting trip. The gist of it seems to be you watch a movie in the auditorium, look at the inside exhibits and then there is a walking tour of the grounds. If you are a history buff, this would probably be interesting. The lady I spoke to had indicated it would be around $8 a person in a large group but that would all have to be confirmed again by now I'm sure.
Option 2a. Right before you get to the VMI museum, there is a smaller war museum that is reminiscent of the Patton museum for those that ventured to it at the last rally. I believe it was 12$ for adults but that pass is good for the entire week. There's a lot of guns and weaponry to look at. It was a pretty cool way to kill a couple hours and it was air conditioned.
Option 3. Virginia Transportation Museum.
http://www.vmt.org/
This looks like it could be a blast for kids young and old. They have big trains and all sorts of stuff to look at. The down side is that it would be quite a hike from the campground down I-81 to Roanoke. If enough people are game for the trip, I'll try to make it happen but it is a long drive.
Option 4. Wine tour. We will be in VA wine country. Joe and Erica have volunteered to head up a trip for a wine tasting or something of the sort. I will let them fill in details once they decide what exact form it will take.
I think I'll just list out the other things on the list here:
Belmont Farm Distillery
https://www.belmontfarmdistillery.com/
This is where ****** Moonshine is made for you fans of the Moonshiners show. It's over in Culpeper not too far away.
Fasttrax go-carts and arcade
http://www.fastraxfun.com/
Looks like the standard issue family fun park. About 45 min from the campground in Waynesboro, VA.
Also in Waynesboro is East Side Speedway.
http://www.eastsidespeedway.biz/page16.html
They do test and tune on Friday night so we could probably get in on that and turn in the slowest time slips they have ever seen.
Massanutten tube slide
https://www.massresort.com/play/family-adventure-park/attraction/summer-tubing/
Rob checked this out and approved. Said it was a good time. They have other things but being a ski resort, it's not exactly a cheap outing but two trips down the mountain were like $8 so not horrible. Where else do you get to go tubing in the middle of summer??
There are a lot more things on the list and we will include all of the info for them in the arrival packet. These were the ones I thought would have the broadest interest.
So let us know what you think would make the best group outings and we will fill in the schedule as we get closer.
PS: I have a tshirt design that we have passed around a bit that folks seem to like. Once I figure out how I am going to do that process, I'll put up a post on it.