Top of GA rally?????

[addisons]

Hi ya'll. My wife and I just purchased a new airstream and love it! We would like to start meeting other airstream owners so we joined the WBCCI. We were planning on attending the top of ga rally.

After reading some threads on the forum, I am kind of reluctant to go to the top of ga rally on Oct. 8-10. We are in our mid 20s and are under the impression that the WBCCI rally is very structured and geared for retired folks... This fine, but we would like to kick back and relax and got to Octoberfest in Helen for a while. I don't really want to pay to got to a rally and then not go to the events. However, I would like to meet some fellow airstreamers.

I haven't seen any posts on this rally. I was wondering if anyone is planning on attending this rally, or has in the past. If so, could you share some of your experiences with us?

We were very interested in the Cloudland forum rally later on in Oct, but I have heard that the campground is full.



Thanks for your input

Scott

[swebster]

Scott,
If you're close enough to Cloudland Canyon why not stop in and visit while we're there. I think a few people are parking somewhere nearby and then driving into the campground.

[uncleneal]

Scott,
The Top of Georgia Unit and Park have gotten a bad reputation as not youth and children friendly on this forum, and I believe a bum rap as well. Two or three years ago, one of the forum members was at the Top during one of our rallies. During that time his children were riding bicycles in the park. One of the board members (not the president as reported), said something to them or their parents about how fast they were riding, and that there were older people that could be injured if run into. On the basis of this one incident we have all been painted with a broad brush as being intolerant of children and anyone who is not a senior citizen.

I assure you that this is not the case. In the 5 or so years that I have been in the club, I have never seen any children beaten, killed or otherwise abused by club officials or members. Since July, we have added 40 new families to our membership, a number of them well under the age of 50. We do indeed have "seasoned citizens" among our members, some in their 90's, but we also have a good number that are much younger, some in their 20's and 30's.

Our rallies generally consist of games, meals and an entertainment program on Saturday night. At the Spring Rally in April, we had children participating in the games, and their pictures are in the newsletter. We serve 3 breakfasts and one other meal during the rallies. The entertainment is family oriented, usually musical or comedy acts.

Our rally activities do not dominate our time while we are here. Especially during the Fall Rally, people like to ride around and look at leaves and the mountains. Our rally fees are also low, usually ranging from $8 to $12 per adult, children are free. Parking with full hookups, including cable tv, is $6 per night. The park is open year-round. One of the best bargains in the mountains.

There is plenty of time for trips to Helen, and to Hiawassee, Blairsville, Dahlonega, Clayton, Murphy, and Hayesville. The first couple of years that I was in the club, my wife and I spent most of our rally time riding around looking at houses and property. We now live in Hiawassee.

If you would like some first-hand information, send me an email at uncleneal@brmemc.net.

Neal Warren

[addisons]

Thanks for the info. Neal. It sounds great! We will see you there.

Scott and Amy.

[uncleneal]

Scott,
My wife, Myrna, and I will be in the Squarestream trailer near the host trailer. Come by and see us. Glad to have you,
Neal

[ViewRVs]

I don't know about TOG but my kids were playing soccer and busted a water pipe at Mystic Springs (just before the WBCCI rally there was to eat dinner). My kids apologized and the older folks were very kind and got the water pipe fixed (delaying their dinner a few minutes) and never said a bad thing to us.

[smily]

I have been to Rallies that actually allow the families with children to be first in line for the meals. At large rallies this is a huge benefit.

Secondly, I have a newborn. It is a huge help at rallies because it seems that everyone wnats to take care of our little one.

A lot of the families planning to attend a Rally often call me ahead of time to see if we are bringing our ten year old son. They are asking so that they may have some entertainment for their children and or grandchildren.
The older kids, (teenagers) often take care of the younger kids while the adults do a little evening outing.

Our unit has children from two months to eighteen years.
It is safe to say that children are welcomed and enjoyed by most attendees. If there are a few that are not comfortable with children, they typically keep it to their self.

Smily