What Fun. The event wet off well. This was one of the events where it was truly a group effort. My highlight was the Italian dinner. I know the
We arrived at the Park on Thursday with Glenn Morris and Ron. Shortly after we made it there, the crew from Bigtop Tents showed up to set up two party tents. We have in the past priced purchasing party tents for the club but I think not. The crew of 5 took almost 3 hours to set up and the same time on Monday to deconstruct. There was not much for us to do on Thursday so we relaxed with the may early bird members who arrived from states as far as Minnesota. Glenn&Ron , Jim&Chuck and Tim&I Had dinner in the Casino Thursday Night. Great Food, Great Conversation And a wonderful surprise treat.
Friday morning Tim pushed me out of bed at 5:30 to start some coffee. Tim keeps a spreadsheet of quantities for future planning and budgeting so I knew not to sneak a bagel or scoop too much coffee into the 60 cup makers. Over the last 6 years morning coffee and beagles have become a favorite for members to plan their day and meet new members. Typically everyone starts working the toasters around 7:30am but this crowd was full of early risers and we we having fun and laughing together at 6am. Victorville Motors one of our club sponsors set up Valentine gifts for welcome treats to arriving members and we moved our attention from the Coffee pots to the Check in Pool area.
We had anticipated long lines of rv's and set up a plan to move some members to their sites with a request that they walk back to the centrally located check in at their convenience. This seemed to work well because rarely were there any more than 6 rigs parked at the office waiting to check in and start the weekend. Glenn and Ron kept things rolling along and proved to make sure members fond their way. Tim did his Wine County offering with a bottle to each rig. I am not a wine connoisseur but I herd a member say that the wine was Chateau' Latrine? that takes me back to Rutgers 1984.
Friday night club members gathered at the community room and tents for a Meet and Greet. We set this meet and Greet up just like a cocktail party and tried not to create a flow or potluck line. I like the way this system went off at Beth and Elias Borrego 2011 event and am glad we repeated it. This kept members on their feet and the atmosphere was like a Hollywood A list Party. Gathering members together is a core objective of these events. Booze and food are often the excuse but the intention is always conversation and fellowship. Pechanga2012 Meet and Greet was a perfect BYO Cocktail party. I met several new members
We left the Cocktail meet and greet area and moved off to an endless visit of rig after rig. the Casino offered two comedy shows for members at
Up again at 5:30 Tim opened the Continental Breakfast buffet at 7 am and we had a great gathering. I bet there was over 150 members making conversions and exchanging stories of the previous night. Beth and Elia helped Tim t up the Rainbowrv store and members flocked to get the latest club apparel. I am glad to say we are close to financing a new smart phone app. The sales will help make the app a reality. This app will be free and allow members to upload smart phone photos in real time. Soon members across the country can share in the fun as it happens. I hope we have it set up for Chip of Florida's chapter Disney world gay days. I
Tim and I went back to clean up the Breakfast area only to be shocked that everything was put away and organized by our loved Ester and Maria. Saturday Bingo was fun. Darleen pulled the balls, Cyndi called the numbers, and Tim plotted the results. Roseanne won the big $500.00 jackpot. The boys did well winning Paper wrapped prizes that that proved to be worthy of great Bingo finds. Fun Fun stuff with big bows. With just enough time to stretch and put the 20 or so prizes back in the winners rigs, a mid day seminar began featuring the loquvam law firm representatives. The duo gave insite on lgbtg issues in regards to wills and trusts.
Sunday was another fun filled day. We started out with 150 members for breakfast conversation. Beth and Elia once again set up the Rainbow store. ScottC organized a Hiking trip to a remote waterfall some place off the beaten path. I didn't make the hike out of fear of a repeat of poison ivy that I got at his last Pechanga hike. I understand everyone had fun. Chris and Brian took to the streets and organized a LRC game for 2 pm that was a blast. several games and winnings over $100.00
We reserved the entire park again for next year and will soon decide on how to proceed. Fees at the park went up for next year and they no longer offer one price for all sites. we are contracted to pay as much as $20.00 more per night for premium sites. I will wait to contact the casino to see if they can offer us any perks to come back. I will try and make next years event a Friday Saturday event with Sunday a turn off option. three night events are more fun but it seemed like more than 20 members didn't stay Sunday night .
Greg