EVENT: Heartland Chapter Rally: NC, Rutherfordton - 4/15/2011 to 4/17/2011

[trdeal]

Well, we are on site 12 again. WooHoo!!!


RALLY-HO!!!!

That is great Larry.Looking forward to it.

 

[trdeal]

Randy,
The fenced dog areas are great! Santha can drop you off in the "Big Dog" park and know just where to find you when she needs you! Look forward to seeing you again.
Phil

I guess I need to get my reservations in! I think I'm going to change sites since my trailer broke last time.

Phil, are you sure it wasn't your neighbors, from the last trip there ,that made you want to change sites

 

[Jim & Harriet]

hummm... Trailer broke? Site #? Need to avoid that one...

 

[SouthernNights]

hummm... Trailer broke? Site #? Need to avoid that one...

Jim, it is not the sites fault...so who does that leave?...

 

[Phil Smith]

OKay, I will be on site 14. Next to Terry & Rene again!

 

[trdeal]

That is a really good site Phil. You will have your pit crew near by,just in case.

 

[Phil Smith]

I hope to have everything repaired this weekend on the slideout. Shouldn't take long and the slide should go in an out with out the snap, crakel and pop!

 

[trdeal]

I hope to have everything repaired this weekend on the slideout. Shouldn't take long and the slide should go in an out with out the snap, crakel and pop!

That is great news Phil.Glad you are going to get i fixed.

 

[Randy]

Phil, Santha said the big dog park was a good idea to keep me under control.
What does she mean? Randy

 

[Phil Smith]

Randy, When you see the "Big dog" park, you will know exactly what she means. The good news is that it is an off leash area so you might even enjoy a little extra freedom!

 

[Lazydaze]

Eric, Tater and I will be there for sure. Tater loves making new friends and spending time with old friends....hmmm....just like his mom and dad.

 

[trdeal]

Eric, Tater and I will be there for sure. Tater loves making new friends and spending time with old friends....hmmm....just like his mom and dad.

That is great guys.We are looking forward to seeing you again.Tell Tator Sammy hey.

 

[Hudson]

Wow, I just found & read this thread. And so, as you all know why, we won't be able to attend this rally. Oh well, we'll see you all a couple of weeks later at Cherokee though! Have fun

 

[Jim & Harriet]

so - why not?

 

[SouthernNights]

so - why not?

Jim, this campground doesn't allow children under 14 because of the dogs. They found in the past that the children aggravate the dogs and this is a doggie campground.

As well behaved and mature as Hudson's daughter is you wouldnt think there would be an issue, but I think it goes back to insurance.

 

[Hudson]

Yep, that's it. Sadly, five or more affected rally-going families in the VA and NC/SC chapters are affected and three are dog owners. Ironically, one such family (the other 42' Cyclone) has one of the most involved dog "activists" I've ever met -- she would otherwise love the CG. But kids are in only 10-20% of rally rigs whereas at least 50% of rigs have dogs and usually it's more than 80%.

Picking a rally CG is hard. You don't get to pick just because you want to go there: it must meet the needs of the group. There will be folks who won't like it, due to distance, style, price, etc. This time an added kicker was the "adults only" rule. At least it isn't during the school year -- non-homeschool families might not have been able to come anyway -- and Cherokee is only a couple of weeks later.

 

[Jim & Harriet]

guess we did not read the "small print."
i understand about the kids and dogs and there are lots of other
rallies that will meet everyone's needs.

 

[trdeal]

Larry is right about the campground and their insurance. As you know the location for this rally was posted long before we went to the fall rally in Mt.Airy 2 weekends ago. After hearing some disappointment from Heartlanders with children under 14, because they could not attend with their children,we called the campground and ask if they could make an exception for us.We told them the ages of the children that could be attending, and that they were very well behaved and watched over by their parents.4 Paws Kingdom told us they were sorry but because of their insurance they could not change the rules. Please believe me this was not an effort in any way to keep families with children from attending.I am a parent myself and know full well the joys of watching your children camp. Now for all you Heartlanders with furry kids,this is a great campground with different areas for your dogs to run and play and to make new friends. There will be dog training classes for those interested and other pet related activities.I believe we will have a great time.We are looking forward to seeing you there.

 

[ncrebel8]

Have fun guys. We wont be able to attend.

 

[Hudson]

Larry & Terry:

I hope you didn't think my message was complaining about the choice of CG. I was disappointed at not being able to attend but not upset. In fact, I went out of my way (I thought) in my last post to make it tough for others to complain. (The stuff about people who don't come to a rally because the CG is too far, or too expensive, or there's no pool, ...) If you always excluded the same people, there'd be room to complain. You picked this CG in a year the Easter Regional was in your state so there is a kid friendly rally in NC already. But I figure this CG is one you might only choose once a decade for state rally. NC is the only chapter who has this special "dog experience" CG as a choice so go for it and see how popular it is. If people love it then a "campout" (or whatever PA called Pine Grove) can be scheduled any time.

I was not aware that you'd actually asked the CG for exceptions. I wouldn't have gone that extra mile myself even as the parent of a <14 child ... to me rules are rules. But that was extra considerate of you to try.

If it sounded like I was complaining, then that is my fault for not writing my last post as well as I'd thought. As I said, I was actually trying to defend the difficult job of picking a rally CG.