Duane

Travel Resorts of America was the one we used to belong to.... The park in NC is between Sanford and Pinehurst and about an hour or so south of Raleigh. Its a nice park, but basically out in the middle of no where. They do a lot to keep the park up and most of the members that go there seem to really enjoy it. Their sister park (at least when we were members) was up in Gettysburg PA. It was also a somewhat nice park (at least in our opinion). But the neither park was fully full hook-up (meaning they had water and electric). All sites did not have a sewer hook-up, which was not a good thing for us.

Again, whichever membership deal you choose, if you decide to move forward, make sure you know what is involved to get out if you end up not liking it, or if other circumstances pop up. When we tried to sell our membership, we go absolutely no bites. I listed it with one of those timeshare resellers, again absolutely no bites. Even tried to give it away but again, nothing. But all along had to pay the dues each year. The way we finally got out from under it was to call the TRA and tell them that we had not darked their door for about 3 to 4 years and that we wanted out. They basically told us that if we sent them one year's dues in full, they would cancel our membership.

For any membership that you decide on, check to see actually where the parks are located that are in their system. Once you get the names, go over to RV.net, or [email protected] and ask for people that have ever been there, or are members there. Ask them that if they were "outsiders" how were they treated at the park they were visiting. This was another thing that turned us off from C2C. Whenever we visitied parks other than our home park, we were placed out in the back of the park, in some of the most undesirable sites. We ran into things like exsessive slope, poor drainage, and high grass. I thought I would turn over our trailer at a park at Kerr Lake in NC while trying to back in.

Now on the other hand, we visited the campground that Camping Pixi has mentioned on here just outside of Charlottesville VA, it was a beautiful park.

I guess what I keep harping on, is to do your research! They want a lot of money for these memberships if you buy directly from them. The dues are what keeps up the parks and them in business. The parks insist on you paying the dues, therefore they make it hard for you to get out if you don't like it anymore. If you buy in and like it and more importantly USE it, then its a win win for all. But after you sign that contract, pay your upfront money, and later on you decide that you are not satisfied, those dues invoices are gonna keep coming in regardless...

I will shut up now, and go back to my corner.

We used to belong to Coast to Coast. Used it a couple of times, then figured out it wasn't for us. It seemed that all of the campgrounds in the system were located a long ways out from where we wanted to be.

Not sure how 1000 Trails works, but C2C was a reciprocall thing As long as you stayed at your "home" park, you were treated well and got the "good" sites. When we visited the other parks in the system other than our home park, we were placed out in the "not so nice" sites.

The biggest thing that I would look at if I were you is how do you get out of it if things don't work out, or you just plain don't like it. Some of these things go on forever and the only way that you can get out of it is to sell it or "will" it to someone.

Yearly dues is something else to look at. Make sure if you can to get the dues capped at some amount and not something that can go up and up and up.

And like some of the others have said, don't buy new... look around and buy from someone who wants out. Sometimes you can find deals where folks will give you the membership, they just want you to take over paying the dues. There will be most likely some sort of transfer fee associated with it, but that is better than paying thousands of dollars for something you can get for pennies.

Right after I saw that marker, I saw something.

This:

It's an old wagon.

And boy is it falling apart!

I guess that is fine.

I think that's the point.

This is supposed to look like that.

Maybe the Fort Folks are waiting for this thing to totally disentegrate, then they can move in the old water wagon that used to be down by the Settlement....

So, I continued on.

I noticed these signs nailed to the trees around this part of the trail:

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it ironic that WDW is telling us that it is managing this forest by nailing a sign to a tree with a couple of huge nails?

Man I hope Cupcake don't find out about this little tidbit... :cupcake: or else there will be hell to pay.... Although I don't think we have anything to worry about, you know those are magic Forest Management nails. They would never hurt a tree. :rofl3:

Hey Dave, since you guys are over at Epcot, did you happen to venture into Innoventions East (the one on the side of Mission Space and Test Track)? They had this cool new ride in there that I haven't seen before. I think it is called the Sum of All Thrills. Its basically a BIG robot that you can design your own thrill ride and then ride it out on the robot. Ashleigh and I rode it, and its pretty cool ride. Did you guys get to see it or try it?

This may would have come in handy after consuming all of those pretzels, fish, beer, school bread, and beer.

Scot,

I need a little help here.... I do realize that I am slow, and being from NC doesn't help much either, but could you help me decode this picture? A thumb in the way, image out of focus I can handle, but for the life of me I can't figure out what this is supposed to be. I even wondered if it was one of those pictures that if you stared at it for a while, some blazing image would pop out at me....

Duane

I enjoy this nativity display. You don't see one of these in many places other than churches these days:

I applaude Disney for not caving (at least yet) to all of the wackos around the country who every year trys to water down or even eliminate the true meaning of Christmas. For a business to be as large as Disney is, and for the amount of folks from all over the world that is hosted at Disney, I for one am thankful that they are still standing on some principles and not letting the voices of a few spoil things for the many....

Now on with the show....

Alright Dave, your last post said it was done 6 minutes ago, and by my trusty clock below its 8:37 PM EST. You had better be git'n up and working on that next installment, or there are gonna be a lot of "P O'd" women on your case.... Work has been over for a while now....

Just sayin'

Duane

From here, you may have guessed that the first stop will be Trail's End for some coffee. I had my coffee maker along with some quality coffee to make, but for some reason I cannot resist drinking that awful swill they serve at Trail's End. I really don't like that Nescafe' coffee, but at the same time I can't help drinking several cups of it every morning. Weird.

You know, last Saturday I stopped by TE and had me a cup of that brown liquid they claim is coffee. I swear that stuff tasted like it was left over for the morning before. As I took that first swallow, I wondered if this is the coffee that you always get when you're out on your morning scouting missions.... I guess I'm spoiled on that artsy fartsy Keurig coffee from the camper...

And just think Lou hasn't even shown up yet to put in his $.02...

Also, I am thankful that my drive to the Fort never involves driving up or down any mountains.

Aww come on Andrew, you know you have to travel up and down some of those Florida mountains from time to time.... aka on and off ramps :rofl3:

Ah... you left on Friday... No wonder we could'nt find you. I probably missed all kind of scenery around the Fort because I was looking for your pop-up and Ford SUV. We were staying over at SSR but we rented a cart for the day to check out the Fort for the Christmas decorations. We got there Friday afternoon and turned the cart in on Saturady morning. We did get to meet Jen, Lorna, Richie, and Donnie though...

Oh well, gives me another goal in life....

WooHoo, A trip report that I am actually keeping up with... That is I get to the end and have to wait patiently with everyone else for the next installment.... Unlike other times, having to read pages and pages in one sitting.... Really enjoying the TR Dave.

I will go back to patiently waiting....... :suspense:

Check out Nicholas in this photo. He got tired of watching the dogs, and found something more interesting:

It's a stick! How fun! He quickly tried to whack a couple of dogs with it. Just as quickly, my sister jumped in to stop him. What a funsucker she is!:

After reading Nicholas' intro to the cast of characters... and after seeing that first picture, I thought he was gonna whack that dude in the shin, or even worse trip him up.... Priceless!

From one Living with the Land dork to another...

I too enjoy Living with the Land... Not only is it pretty interesting, I love the fact that it ticks off my 15 y/o daughter to no end when I drag her into that boat...

Lou has obviously never had chiggers, as nail polish will stop the itch

I wish I would have read this sooner Stef, as I have your back..... In my part of Nawth Carolina, we used to use nail polish all the time for chiggers. Clear, colored, it didn't matter... It worked for me...

Once you have had chiggers on your cajones you will be more vigilant against them.

Amen to this.... don't ask me how I know....

Hey FWG, if you want to escape the "Myrtle Beach" in the mountains, drive back to Gatlinburg and drive down the main drag and take a left of Airport Rd, I think it is stop light #8. Why they named it Airport Road, I'll never know... But anyway, follow Airport Rd until it ends, and it will put you at the entrance of the Roaring Fork Motor Trail....

If you have ever been to Cades Cove, or heard anyone talk about it, its basically the same, a one way, paved road that takes you on a self guided tour of an old mountain commmunity.

In a matter of minutes once you are on the trail, you won't even know that there is a tourist trap town below you....

Stop and the entrance and pick up one of the guide books and head off at your own pace.... If you like to hike, there are several foot trails off of road... Its a good way to get away from it all....

Duane

Ami, I am so sorry I called you Kim... I was just reading off of the post before mine... I guess I'm just a big 'ole lemming. I would follow anyone off the edge of a cliff in a minute.

Duane

We have the transferable SunPass as well... Keep it in the MH on the way down and back home, and just move it to the tow car while the MH is parked. I love not having to squeeze through the toll booths and having to stop and start all the time.

Since we take 417 around Orlando to avoid the I-4 downtown area, there are several toll booths along that route. It was well worth the money and time savings.

Kim, did you stay on the hotel or DVC side of the resort?

We are saving our points up to take the DD to celebrate her HS graduation in 2 years.... Hopefully all of the kinks will be worked out of the place by then.

Who knows, maybe in two years they will have completed the bridge over from California so we can just drive the MoHo over. :rofl2:

Duane

You know you have enough stuff when you walk into Camping World and walk out empty handed while thinking to yourself, there is really nothing in there that I can't live without...

We too were on our way back home from the Fort the day this happened, but we didn't get caught in the delays. It's really sad this has to happen to anyone.

I-95 through NC has been in need of repairs for a long time. Its too narrow in some places, and the pavement is just in bad shape in others. There are numerous reports of folks wrecking between the NC/VA line and the Fayetteville area almost every other weekend. There has been talk of making I-95 a toll road the entire length of the state to fund its upgrade, but like everything else its hung up on red tape. Maybe someday it will get fixed.

Don't eat yellow snow.... :rofl2:

We park our galvanized tow dolly in the overflow lot when we're at the Fort... I don't have an issue with parking it there. I do lock it up and get a parking pass from the front desk for it as long as its parked in the overflow.... The way I look at it, locks just keep the honest folk at bay. If a thief wants something, they are going to get it whatever the cost...

Tell Ed to enjoy it and do it often because she will grow so fast.

Donnie is so right... We have been going to the Fort since our daughter was 4. She has now just turned 15, and those "female tendancies" are really beginning to peak. She is still very much into camping and going to the Fort, in fact, she ususally comments on how she can't wait until the next time we are back. She claims she will always go with us when we go, even when she is older.... time will tell. A price can't be put on all of those memories that are made....

Well enough of that... Hey did you guys get to go see the Nemo show at AK? If not, next time, make a point to go see it. It's a pretty cool show....

You know, if you follow enough message boards about Disney, you hear alot of negative things about un-caring or rude cast members... I'm sure this day in time with the "it's all about me" society", I'm sure some of it is true. However, when you hear things about what the Chef did at the lodge, and the other cast members not taking any money for it, it just wipes out all of that negative stuff in one quick swoop!