Planning for possible SE event in March

Now retired, if Charleston is the venue we can do this , I don't know what we may have in stock to drive but that isn't a major concern. Being fron "up north" the beach area is a necessary item for Connie. Civil war, a plantation tour and harbor cruise would be fun too.

Lane,
I am in 100% short of family/work emergency.   I do work so for me it is mostly Fri-Sunday.
Charleston is good with me.
I too will email contacts here in FL and see how many can make it.
Maybe another reason for Greg to get his project done ��

Tom Lorenzo, Orlando

Given that some folks are retired some some still working it might be a good idea to call this a hybrid gathering.  We'd have two or three days of planned activities for a whole group and folks could come and go as they please to tack on more days.  There is plenty here to keep you busy.  I could (with some help) arrange some of the core activities and make recommendations for the other days.

 

Just some thoughts:

1. Kiawah is less than two hours south of Charleston with Hilton Head only a little further for those who want to make it a long trip.  Savannah is about 2 1/2 hours south and Myrtle Beach is 2 hours north.
2. There are some incredible golf courses in the Charleston area (Wild Dunes, Rivertowne, etc.) and the ones down at Kiawah and Hilton Head are world class.
3. They have cruises in Charleston harbor daily, and there is a once a week dinner and live blues/jazz cruise on Thursdays for much of the year.
4. You can take a nice ferry ride across the harbor to Fort Sumter where the first shots landed in the Civil War.   Those shots were fired from Fort Johnson on James Island.  For those who went to the Civil War Museum at the 2014 Carlisle gathering this would be an interesting addition.
5. We have the South Carolina Aquarium downtown.
6. Historic walks in old downtown Charleston are always interesting.
7. There are lots of ghost walk tours.  I've always thought these would be fun.
8. Horse and buggy rides in downtown.
9. The local plantations include Boone Hall, Drayton Hall, Magnolia (said to have spectacular gardens), Middleton Place (gorgeous), and others.
10. The beaches of Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms, and Folly Beach (where the surfers hang out).  Folly has a funky surf vibe to it, and goes by the nickname "The edge of America."

I'm sure I'll think of some others.

Tellamore and I are up for the game....  Just tell us which field we're playing in....

Charleston sounds good to me --- I can hit Amelia Island on way! Gives me 3 months - only have 40 hours of work!  Honestly I can do it!

I am liking this idea for March.  I need to find out when my kids spring break is...my wife will have somewhere for us to go I'm sure.  

 

My my car is here. its beautiful but cant drive it with all this rain!

Lane, this sounds like a great event! I hope a few southern peeps join you , as they should.

 

 

I mayhap be able to make this.

(from the FB page):

 

I just remembered a ride I used to take around the Charleston area - Nice, gently curving and quite scenic roads: From Charleston you would go south on rt 17 (semi-boring, but the only choice from Chas'tn) and then either go north on rt 303 (a favorite ride for bikers since it actually has curves AND goes by Tom Beringer's plantation home).

 

Or go a bit farther and pick up the Sheldon road (past the old Sheldon Church for a photo op) to Yemassee.   Then pick up alt 17 east through Hendersonville all the way to Walterboro (all of these towns haven't changed since the 1920's and are picturesque).

 

Then continue to follow alt 17 towards Summerville and pick up rt 61 southeast, to follow the Ashley River, and stop at Magnolia Plantation (which should be spectacularly in bloom in March) for lunch and a tour - there is ample, protected parking there.

 

Follow 61 back to Charleston past a bunch of the old rice plantations. There may be decent rides northwest of Charleston, too, but I never got up that way much. Another alternative might be to just ride up rt 61 and visit a few old plantations for a day....

We'd like to do this.

 

Mrs. Galat and I were planning a road-trip to Savannah and Charleston next spring. This might work perfectly.

 

As far as time, getting into some better weather might be preferable. Is early April better? Is it a possibility? I'd like to drive my speedster, but I'd need to get it there. Flat towing is not how I roll, and March is still winter for at least half of the drive down there.

 

Once past May 15, nothing can happen for me until Sept. 1.

March is far enough in front of May Carlisle event so as not to interfere. April starts to get too close.

 

For those trying to escape the cold - it's right on way to Amelia Island, Jacksonville, St Augustine. Now Jan-Feb are not great months but March gets nice.

OK, I guess

 

... but it seems like 7-8 weeks of separation between an early April event and would be plenty. A speedster weekend in the cold rain would be a pretty hard sell for my right-seater-- and if Mrs. Galat isn't there for the fun, we probably won't be able to make it.

I could be talked into moving it to end of March/beginning of April, but Greg is right about it starting to infringe on Carlisle.  It's tough to do long road trips that close together.  I would really like to finally meet you, Stan, so we can be somewhat flexible.

11-13 March is the big Amelia Island Concours d'elegance!  We can all swing by and meetup with Wayne Carini!

 

At this point you'd be lucky to get a room at a fleabag motel in Jacksonville, FL.  I may be going back to Amelia this year because a good friend of mine wants me to, but the cost and crowds may end that idea for both of us.  We're both cheap.

 

Still, if you've never been you need to go at least once.

 

One other idea would be to put it off until mid-April and go to the concours at Kiawah.  A friend of mine is one of the organizers and he said he might be able to put together a corral for us.  That may be a bit later than folks want, particularly since it's pretty close to Carlisle.

^ I'd do that in a heartbeat, but I'm guessing you'll get push-back.

 

First week of April is 6 weeks away from Carlisle. Just sayin'.

^radar awoke. Car in dry storage until after 4/1

Do as I will probably do, drive out BMW 328XI , any ride will work just get there ~

 

In order to keep this from getting into an endless "which date works?" discussion I will mandate that we pick the date within the next week.  Who is ok with April versus March?  I don't want the proximity to Carlisle to be a problem.

Stan - Savannah in March is spectacular.  It seems like the entire city explodes in flower blossums and temps are well into the 70's.  April begins to taper off in the number of blooms.  Avoid St. Patrick's day in Savannah like the plague - way too many Redneck drunks.  Charleston is a lot different than Savannah - Bigger and busier but just as historic if you go South of Broad Street.  Both towns have trolley tours of the historic districts.  We've taken them both many times and they're all great.  

 

Beaufort is halfway between them both and is a small version of both and quainter than both.  They, too, have a tour, bu tit's a horse-drawn carriage tour.

 

PM me for suggestions and hotels and such.  It's a great part of the country.

I'm just sitting on the sidelines here until something is firmed up.  For me, a later date is better if I want to drive the Speedster down there (we have Winter up here :-).

 

But I'll see what happens re: the date.  We've always wanted to drive down that way, and then head to Florida afterward to visit a good friend.

Mid March is best for me Maybe the 18th through the 20th. --April does bump into Carlisle which is a bit of concern for me.

 

Also, Lane--rather than trying to guarantee a certain number of rooms maybe try to work a deal with the venue that each person is responsible for his own reservation and payment. Give a short window for making reservations.

 

How many bedrooms do you have at your place?

Lane  always best to minimize group choices as you can't accommodate everyone's choices and schedules so IMHO, you pick the venue ( Charleston:~) and date...Ta da!  

 

If you're worried that 7-8 weeks isn't enough, here's something to chew on.

 

The two west coast events this year were at the beginning and end of the summer season - July 11th and September 12th - nine weeks apart.

 

That was more than enough time to make repairs, settle the court cases, and pick all the bugs out of your teeth.

 

I think the real measure of what's enough time between events should be how long it takes MusbJim to crank out one of his videos. He should have the final say.

 

 

Lane, if the majority wants March, that's what you have to go with. There is still snow and salt on the roads in March for us up North.  It would be dangerous for us to drive our cars through the mountains in sub 45 degree weather too.  What is the weather like in SE Tennessee and North Carolina that time of year.  This one is a tuff call for the Yankees.  Plan B would be to drive the Miata up from Florida. 

Lane,

Tonight I checked on hotels (I have IHG and HHonors) to see what property rates were for week of 3/18-20, 3/25-27 and 4/1-3 just to sample rates and availability in Charleston Area.  Weekends of March 25th (Easter Weekend) and April 1st seemed to be most expensive rates or NO available rooms in a given property. Normally I read this as supply vs. demand conditions in a given area?

Easter is the 27th of March and I know that our other halves may have a hard time with that weekend due to family gatherings.

Your call, together with the democratic process, only wanted to offer a bit of information from my research.

Let me know how I can help you, when you are ready, send me a PM.

Tom L.

I might be tough to get hotel rooms in or very near Charleston over the Easter weekend - they don't call it the "Holy City" for nuthin.......They have more churches there than in Heaven......

I did not know there were churches in heaven

It is spoken that there is but one church in Heaven~

Sounds like either mid-March or mid-April.  I'm looking into a couple of things and will have a decision in a few days.

Ok, eliminating the end of March/start of April due to hotel costs does narrow the dates.  We can either do the weekend of April 16-17 and go to Kiawah or we can do it March 19-20.  The April weekend is 5 weeks before Carlisle.  Weather may be better then, though, and we would have Kiawah.  I am happy either way.  I suppose that we could also do April 9-10 as well, which would eliminate Kiawah but add an extra week before Carlisle.

 

As for hotels, I believe that leaving each of you to your own devices would be best.  There are so many different sorts of places ranging from your typical Hampton Inn to some true five-star accommodations or charming B&Bs.  I will be happy to make some recommendations.  When you are looking at lodging choices, consider places in Mount Pleasant as well as downtown Charleston.  The variety is pretty broad, as are prices.  Leon Chupp knows a really nice B&B in the Old Village area of Mount Pleasant.

 

Weather here in the spring is changeable.  It could be warm and sunny, cool and drippy, or seriously stormy.  There's no way to predict at this point.

 

So, it seems that we need to pick a weekend.  Our three choices are:

1. March 19-20
2. April 9-10
3. April 16-17
4. Any of the above

Please vote for one.  I choose #4.

 

EDIT: One thing about Kiawah...  We could make that a day trip from here, so lodging down there is not necessary.

4

My vote #4
I would favor the later April date to help our friends to the North be able to have a safer trip and more participants. My 2 centavos.
Tom L.

Should the date be close to Carlisle, some may not have an interest in attending Carlisle so soon after this gathering...certainly not a good thing, so with that in mind, might want to seriously consider doing a Fall gathering.

#3. I'm not going to Carlisle either way, but I'm not going to drive a speedster through the slush in March.

Whenever it happens, if it's raining, I won't be in the Spyder.

I'll take that as a '4', Carlos.

I've done some thinking about dates and realized that the reason the hotels are all booked up around the end of March/first of April is for the Cooper River Bridge Run, which is capped at 40,000 runners.  Needless to say, it's a big weekend (April 2nd this year) and the whole area is filled up.  The next weekend, however, would be perfect.  That would be six weeks before Carlisle, so hopefully it would be far enough away for those that want to do both.  It is likely to have better weather than the March date, although the 26-27 weekend is still an option.

 

Please let me know ASAP if you have a preference.  Not only will that help solidify the weekend, it will give me an idea of the interest level in the whole thing.

Lane,
I am IN for the weekend of 4/9.