I'm considering opening up the schedule a bit next year. I'm sure the meet will grow even larger next year so keeping everyone together will become more difficult.
Here's what I know:
Thursday is the big question mark for next year. I'm not sure if I would rather it be more of a free day or schedule an activity. I've come up with a list of possible Thursday activities and would like to see if anyone is interested:
Here's what I know:
- We will still be rafting on the Nantahala on Friday. I wanted to try the Ocoee in southeastern TN but the dam only relases on weekends in Sept. and I don't want to do rafting on Saturday.
- Saturday will probably remain about the same minus the exhaust shoot. In my opinion, this is the day that brings everyone together.
- We will have pool and ping-pong tournaments. (Sorry, beer pong tournaments will not be officially sanctioned but you are welcome to start your own) I might do the ping-pong tournament on Friday night and the pool tournament on Saturday night.
Thursday is the big question mark for next year. I'm not sure if I would rather it be more of a free day or schedule an activity. I've come up with a list of possible Thursday activities and would like to see if anyone is interested:
- We could ride Smoky Mountain Jet Boats again. I think it was fun to do once but some people may not have gotten to ride them and might be interested. Also, maybe those who rode this year may feel it is worth it to do it again.
- The Biltmore House is in Asheville, NC. Biltmore is about a 2-2-1/2 drive from Tapoco and may be a little too pricy for some people. 2008 rates are $42 for online tickets and $47 at the gate. However, it's an all-day experience with the house itself, gardens, and winery. One possibility would be to stay in Asheville on Wed. night so we don't have to make a 4+ hour round trip.
- The Fun Factory in Franklin, NC is about a 1-1/2 drive from Tapoco with some nice roads on the way that we haven't driven in any of the previous meets. They have games, mini golf, go-carts, laser tag, and bowling.
- If anyone is into hiking, we can hike the easy 2-mile loop in Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest which is about a 20 minute drive from Tapoco. I took some pics from there in August: http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/past-dragon-meets/113655-pics-joyce-kilmer-memorial-forest.html
- We could possibly meet at some point on the Blue Ridge Parkway and drive to Tapoco. This could also include a stay on Wednesday at another location.
- The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is about a 4-1/2 hr train ride through some great scenic locations in the area. 2008 rates are $49 per person.