***Music City Mini 2012***

If you are looking to keep the mini reunion in the central Tenneessee are you might want to look at Joe Wheeler State Park on the Tenneessee River located in Rogersville, AL. It is not that far from Nashville or Huntsville. We used to have antique boat shows there.......good facilities. Hotel on water, ample docking, resturant and other marinas to travel to to eat at.

     Norris is the greatest and jbear can steer you to a campground that comes with a motel, swimming pool, and boat docks. Knoxville is also a short 40 min' drive away for Quinner, Hollywood, and the rest of the crew that enjoy the night life. Only time out of the question would be the last two weeks of July when our Ohio ski club takes over the whole place.

C-Bass wrote: I think JBear can vouch for Norris.

Nothing like it anywhere...for us at least. This July will mark our 37th straight year. Over 40 for my brother..AirTique98.

john

Love Dale Hollow but the only campground I know of is at Wolfe River. You also have to remember and Cumberland are just big hollers they dammed up. That means you usually have a long curvy ride down to the lake on a road that ends in the water.

What lakes west of there are you referring to Joe? Like Randy had said, Dale Hollow or Norris would both be really nice. They're east of Nashville however.

Norris would probably be easier for most people to get to (I-75 N of Knoxville), but I'm not sure about the campgrounds there. Dale Hollow is a little off the beaten path (1.5 hrs off I-65), but is a beautiful lake with guarenteed smooth water. Both lakes are plenty deep as well.

I think JBear can vouch for Norris.

Many thanks to those that carted and pulled me or my gear around for the weekend, as always I enjoyed seeing the old friends and meeting some new ones. It is a great group of people, the boats happen to be not too bad either. Never enough time to just hang out under the best of circumstances and unfortunately an injury /illness/ trailer mishap or two is bound to happen along the way.

Unfortunately that hurricane came through at just about the worst possible time on Friday. That is the point where we should have had all the people and boats together at the same time. We could have gotten our introductions in, and worked out our individual and group plans/meeting places for the next couple days after some of us early arrivals had seen enough on Friday to be dangerous. Instead it was every man for himself to get the boat and family dried and fed and we scattered. Not much you can do about that. As for the lake/campground a dock wouldn’t have hurt but I am sure some portion of that lake (likely way down south) has got to have some skiable water. Living in a hotel I didn’t have any real trouble with the neighborhood or campground, but as I am not traveling with the wife and kids my standards aren’t real high. It was all close to the airport and hotels and rental cars were relatively cheap. In fact I got a free cab ride home from the bars Saturday, a free upgrade on the rental car and they didn’t charge me when I returned it without filling the tank. All in all I would be up for it again as a weekend trip but probably wouldn’t commit a week of vacation and pull the boat there for that lake, just because of the watersports not being ideal. Although I hear the two lakes out west of there are pretty darn nice...

Had a blast as usual. Didn't even plan on going until Thursday morning. I am pretty sure Ryan didn't believe I was serious when I told him I was coming. But a quick flight in on Frday and a flight out on Sunday afternoon was what I needed. Sorry if I was a bit less than social on Sunday, those 1am chicken wings downtown along with the beer and sun for 2 days caught up with me. Maybe next time my 230 (or a new G23) can make an appearance.

I can't believe Tom leaked those G20 pics after we were all sworn to secrecy..

C-Bass wrote: You're not a downer Randy, you're just providing constructive feedback for future planning We hadn't been to any other CCFan events so I can't compare, but I do agree with pretty much all of Randy's points, especially the sailboat part.

Thanks Craig. It was great meeting you and I hope to catch up with you more at another CCF gathering soon.

You should consider coming out to Salt fork the first weekend of August. A huge SANDY beach where everyone can hang out, electric, water, and nice docks where you can leave your boats and gear and not worry about the locals taking off with it! I can't guarantee the weather will be good, but we will all be able to find each other and toss back a few. The lodge is great too if you don't want to camp and also has plenty of docks available.

Mojo wrote: All I can say is "ROCKS". Man the whole place was just rocks....

Rocks and no docks!

Although I had a good time and enjoyed seeing everyone and meeting new CCFans, I doubt I will ever return to PPL.There are a lot nicer lakes in TN.
I think a lot was learned about what is needed to have a successful CCFan gathering, and even more so, what's not needed.


A few thoughts:

- The campground had such secluded spots that no one knew where the CCFans were. It would have been great if you wanted privacy, but we came to mingle with other fans and that just wasn't happening on the level it usually does at these events.

- At $14 a night, the price at ARC was right, but I would have gladly paid $30 a night to have a few courtesy docks and less cockroaches in the restrooms... and how about putting some trash cans throughout the campgrounds so people have a place to put their trash? One dumpster at the gate entrance. Really?

- The neighborhood surrounding the campground was a bit sketchy. When I asked the guy at the gatehouse if it would be safe to leave our boats in the water overnight he responded with "probably not a good idea... it's not the folks from out of town we worry about, it's the locals"

- Speaking of locals, I've been to TN a number of times and have always found the people to be overwhelmingly nice and friendly. I ran into more A-holes there than I can count on one hand.(none of them CCFans of course)

- A water park on the lake is great, but only if you feel safe letting your kids go there, which I didn't... besides, who wants to go to a water park and stand in line to ride a tube when you can pull one behind your boat all day?

- An abundance of sail boats in the marinas is usually a good indication that you may be at a good sailing lake but not necessarily good skiing lake.

- Not having a plan can be fun, but when you have 50+ people all going in different directions, a game plan, even a loose one, is helpful.

I don't want to be a downer, but I think this could have gone a lot better.

OK enough bitchin. Lets see some more pics!

I quess the picture of Joe, Jerry, and myself summarizes my weekend. They busted their butts to make it run. With the exception of on pass running "north of 45", it was all down hill. Many thanks to them and gun-driver for the timing light, we were successful in ruling things out that could cuse the problems. And how lucky can a boat get: It gets to go visit Joe in NY. Many, Muany thanks.

As Paul would say,"Mama Deen", was very impressed with the peaple that are "cult members drinking the purple koolaid". She now has an appreciation for "it's not about the boats we drive, but the peole who drive them". I wish I could thank each of you personnally, but in my state of frustration, I don't remember most of it. Many thanks to all that madeMama Deen, Sister Deen, Nephew Deen, and College Friend Deen so very welcome. It truly was a Family weekend with a great group of people.

More coming in what I hope is the very near future of the trial and tribulations of "my sick 75 Nautique".

Here are a few that I did take.

This was on my camera, but I didn't take it. Your guess is as good as mine!

All I can say is "ROCKS". Man the whole place was just rocks....

While not having a great father's day weekend, yes, Carrie broke her foot while on the first block's walk downtown. Kinda set the mood for the rest of the trip....

I have to say that PPL is a beautiful body of water.. There were no issues as far as water levels that I noticed.. Even in bays etc.

Those who camped through the TN hurricane, hats off to ya.. Man it really knows how to "summer shower" down there......

It was a pleasure to meet new fans and to always share a few beers with old friends... While not having the typical reunion vibe, it was a great place to visit. Downtown Nashville is just crazy fun.. Pics of Marshall Sat night I'm sure will show up somewhere...haha..

Next time, forget the boats, we'll just meet there !!


Before next reunion notes:
1. Tower Bimini
2. Repack my own wheel bearings (bring more supplies)
3. Hide all of the wife's fancy shoes
4. Bring extra boot binding thumb screws
5. Find out what the hell type of anchor to bring
6. BRING more Beer.. I ran out soon after a problem as a result with #3 above....

Moj'