# Getting Ready For Amateur Weekend Do You Do Anything Diffrent ?



## Duanesz

I usually dont go camping on what I call amateur weekends memorial forth of july and labor day weekend. Does it sound snobbish to say this? I dont like fighting traffic for one and these weekends seem to bring out the rougher crowd. Some good friends of ours got the chance to go this weekend and we had a hard time finding a place to go where we could be together (little ones and hanging out around a bonfire 15 sites down while my kids sleep dont work to well for me). So we found a place to go and its mostly seasonal campers there. Reviews on campground were not so hot so we will see how it pans out. I need to keep a open mind and not think to much about it and have fun. its only like 2hrs from home so it wont be to bad.


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## SaveFerris

Duanesz said:


> Does it sound snobbish to say this?


Yes, it does... and I'm right there with you!









The only way I can survive camping on holiday weekends is to expect the worst from the beginning. Once I accept the fact that it is probably going to be ridiculously crowded and loud, I can actually relax a little. If it turns out any different, then it is a pleasant surprise.

Good luck this weekend


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## Nathan

So where are you going???

We typically avoid it, but we'll be out this year with the rest of the crazies....


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## Fanatical1

I don't think it's snobbish to have an opinion of the type of camping you like to do...

We usually go camping on the Holiday weekends, because I have the extra vacation day and I have not
had a "bad" experience yet. Sure the campgrounds are full, but most of the campgrounds we go to our
popular and are full on every weekend anyway. Just another walk in the park for us...

Maybe it has more to do with the campgound you pick versus the weekend? The State Parks we stay at (typically)
are busy and book within a day or two 6 months in advance anyway for holiday weekends. I suspect mostly it's 
seasoned campers that know they need to be on the internet in January/February booking sites
at 7:00 AM on a Tuesday morning?









I'm sure everything will be OK. Make the best of the situation you find yourself in.

Mark


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## CamperAndy

Then we could not go camping too often between the end of May and the beginning of September. We camp in USFS campgrounds for the most part and they tend to be 95% full every weekend. We still have plenty of space as the camp grounds are well spaced out and even when full you can hardly see your neighbor. So it all depends on where you camp.


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## brian j

i'm an amateur (just bought my outback in december) and i'm going camping this weekend. BEWARE. lol...


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## Duanesz

Nathan said:


> So where are you going???
> 
> We typically avoid it, but we'll be out this year with the rest of the crazies....


I think if I am recalling right I will be in your neighborhood. Greenwood acres jackson? It was kind of in the middle for the two parties involved. And we figured we would have better luck driving south west than north on I-75. I think I need to relax more and take it easy and pack more beer and thing will be ok. As long as they have a playground my kids will be happy there easy to entertain now 6yrs and 2yrs. They could play in a 6x6 sand box all day and have fun.


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## Lmbevard

We usually don't try to camp on these weekends either but have been camping at Nauvoo IL, helping with their Wine & Cheese festival. It's always full and we are sitting right upon each other but everyone is there for one purpose, so haven't had any problem. Only issue is that a couple of years ago IL started charging $10 per night extra on Holidays, so gets expensive. This year we are camping at Cantril, IA setting up at a Rendezvous with my DW's Native Living History display. Just got the last campsite at this little city campground. Should be interesting. At least we are only blocks away from the Mennonite store. Birch beer, yumm.


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## rsm7

Duanesz said:


> I usually dont go camping on what I call amateur weekends memorial forth of july and labor day weekend. Does it sound snobbish to say this? I dont like fighting traffic for one and these weekends seem to bring out the rougher crowd. Some good friends of ours got the chance to go this weekend and we had a hard time finding a place to go where we could be together (little ones and hanging out around a bonfire 15 sites down while my kids sleep dont work to well for me). So we found a place to go and its mostly seasonal campers there. Reviews on campground were not so hot so we will see how it pans out. I need to keep a open mind and not think to much about it and have fun. its only like 2hrs from home so it wont be to bad.


Yeah it does sound a little snobbish actually. Some of the amateurs are actually guests or family of seasoned campers who may decide they like it and start camping themselves. Its just people of all walks of life getting together to have fun and relax. Campgrounds in general are packed all summer anyway. You know its kinda funny but camping is far from "getting away from it all". Its just something to do and usually with other people. Trying to find a place off the beaten path with no one around is getting harder and harder to do. If I wanted be alone my best shot would be my own backyard! I live in the country and no one bothers me at all! We'll be going to a local campground where dozens of people from my hometown gather every year for Memorial Day. I kinda look forward to it and like getting together with a bunch of people. I plan to take my nieces (amateurs LOL) fishing and swimming, throw some shoes, volleyball, a hayride, and just hang out. Hopefully you'll have a great time this weekend!









If you dont then drink more beer!


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## Duanesz

Ya I guess it does sound pretty bad when I said it. I am going to look at this weekend with the glass half full


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## Nathan

Duanesz said:


> So where are you going???
> 
> We typically avoid it, but we'll be out this year with the rest of the crazies....


I think if I am recalling right I will be in your neighborhood. Greenwood acres jackson? It was kind of in the middle for the two parties involved. And we figured we would have better luck driving south west than north on I-75. I think I need to relax more and take it easy and pack more beer and thing will be ok. As long as they have a playground my kids will be happy there easy to entertain now 6yrs and 2yrs. They could play in a 6x6 sand box all day and have fun.








[/quote]
Ahh, yes, Greenwood acres..... We camped there once....









The big issue we had was that it was basically a field (There were also some seasonals that had been there a LONG time). Now, you're going with friends and they have the beach and other activities. It also won't be too hot this weekend (it was 90 deg when we went). Plus it is an easy campground to navigate. On our site, you really needed to find the hookups before unhitching so you don't have to re-hitch, so I'd suggest you do that... They weren't the most intuitive (not the worst I've seen either though).

They do have a store in the campground which sells Beer, so if you run out, there is hope...

If you want to camp locally in the future, I'd recommend Apple Creek. It's an exit East of Greenwood (I beleive) and feels more like a campground with most of it being heavily wooded. Of course the downside there is the kids will track dirt everywhere. It's about 1/2 seasonals. Nice playground, pool, old mini golf and a small pond with paddle boats. If you ever camp there, stop by site 154 and see if we're camping that weekend.









We'll acutally haul out this weekend and go up to Higgins lake. That should be a good time.


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## rsm7

Duanesz said:


> Ya I guess it does sound pretty bad when I said it. *I am going to look at this weekend with the glass half full *


Uh huh, half full of what my friend?


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## rock hill

I'd take a bad day camping with my outback over a good day at home anytime. Come to think of it, there are no bad days camping, sure sometimes it may rain, or snow, or be cold, but the outback is always dry, warm, or cooled (thank you a/c), and there is always cold brews in the fridge!!


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## ZoccNY

You don't go camping this weekend for the same reason I don't go out to dinner on Valentine's Day or Mothers Day, or out on New Years Eve or 4th of July. Food at restaurants on those days tend to be lower quality... too many drunks out on New Years... I usually have better fireworks in my backyard...

I'll be camping this weekend. I work retail and I work every other weekend. So to have a long weekend on my weekend off makes it a no brainer for us to head out this weekend. I expect the CGs to be packed, I expect there to be drunken doofuses (myself included!) bumbling around and peeing in the campfire (I only did that ONCE, I swear). But, BUT... I'll be with my family. And even though we'll only be an hour-ish from home, being away from the house keeps my mind off of all the stupid things that drive my blood pressure up - work, home improvement projects, the 2 yippy cheewowa's behind our house (Yes, I KNOW I spelled chihuahua wrong, but I don't know how to spell CHIHUAHUA), the neighbor next door who always ALWAYS mows his lawn anytime we have a bbq, the step-cat who is secretly plotting to kill me... We'll be in our Outback, no agenda, no cell phones (sorta- we bring them but only turn them on once or twice to check for emergency messages), no TV... Me, Jill, our almost 2 year old son, and our 8 week old baby girl.

Besides, sometimes its all the yahoo's in the wife-beater t-shirts with the 2 beers strapped to a hard hat and the straw going into his mouth with the girlfriend who shouldn't be wearing a belly shirt but wears one anyways it says "WHO FARTED?" on it that really makes it all worthwhile...

Isn't it??


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## luverofpeanuts

CamperAndy said:


> Then we could not go camping too often between the end of May and the beginning of September. We camp in USFS campgrounds for the most part and they tend to be 95% full every weekend. We still have plenty of space as the camp grounds are well spaced out and even when full you can hardly see your neighbor. So it all depends on where you camp.


ditto. Not only are the state parks and USFS campgrounds often busy on weekends....it's too damn hot.

Things worked out this year for us to be arriving at our favorite Minnesota State Park (Bear Head Lake) on Thursday before most of the mob arrives. We're switching campgrounds the wed after memoria to a US FS campground (Fall Lake).. .we have the group campsite with another couple, so that will be nice no matter how busy the campground is. For the most part, even when busy, Northern Minnesota is a beautiful place to go. Even though Bear Head will probably be fairly busy on the weekend, it should be easy to relax and keep to ourselves or socialize as we get energy to.


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## jozway

Ha Ha that is too funny.









ZoccNY said:


> You don't go camping this weekend for the same reason I don't go out to dinner on Valentine's Day or Mothers Day, or out on New Years Eve or 4th of July. Food at restaurants on those days tend to be lower quality... too many drunks out on New Years... I usually have better fireworks in my backyard...
> 
> I'll be camping this weekend. I work retail and I work every other weekend. So to have a long weekend on my weekend off makes it a no brainer for us to head out this weekend. I expect the CGs to be packed, I expect there to be drunken doofuses (myself included!) bumbling around and peeing in the campfire (I only did that ONCE, I swear). But, BUT... I'll be with my family. And even though we'll only be an hour-ish from home, being away from the house keeps my mind off of all the stupid things that drive my blood pressure up - work, home improvement projects, the 2 yippy cheewowa's behind our house (Yes, I KNOW I spelled chihuahua wrong, but I don't know how to spell CHIHUAHUA), the neighbor next door who always ALWAYS mows his lawn anytime we have a bbq, the step-cat who is secretly plotting to kill me... We'll be in our Outback, no agenda, no cell phones (sorta- we bring them but only turn them on once or twice to check for emergency messages), no TV... Me, Jill, our almost 2 year old son, and our 8 week old baby girl.
> 
> Besides, sometimes its all the yahoo's in the wife-beater t-shirts with the 2 beers strapped to a hard hat and the straw going into his mouth with the girlfriend who shouldn't be wearing a belly shirt but wears one anyways it says "WHO FARTED?" on it that really makes it all worthwhile...
> 
> Isn't it??


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## clarkely

brian j said:


> i'm an amateur (just bought my outback in december) and i'm going camping this weekend. BEWARE. lol...


Whatcha Cookin


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## brian j

clarkely said:


> i'm an amateur (just bought my outback in december) and i'm going camping this weekend. BEWARE. lol...


Whatcha Cookin








[/quote]
i'll be cooking bbq pork for the group one night. the other nights i'm thinking ribs for one and a flat iron steak with a chimichurri sauce for the other. will you be there?


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## clarkely

brian j said:


> i'm an amateur (just bought my outback in december) and i'm going camping this weekend. BEWARE. lol...


Whatcha Cookin








[/quote]
i'll be cooking bbq pork for the group one night. the other nights i'm thinking ribs for one and a flat iron steak with a chimichurri sauce for the other. will you be there?
[/quote]

Yes we will be there







.... a bird or a bee







may have told me to bring some rolls and side dishes









I am not sure whats on our weekend menu....i told the wife to pack shrimp, Steaks, chicken or pork...... we will see









I know she was planning on making a crock pot of a summer chili..... chicken/bean chili.

we will be heading up that way mid day tomorrow. when are you heading up?

I am excited to be having a "barbecue guy" along


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## brian j

clarkely said:


> we will be heading up that way mid day tomorrow. when are you heading up?


best case is mid-day on friday. i have a 10 am concall friday morning that requires my attention so i can't take it from the road.

i sent a pm to joonbe but i think they've already left. am i supposed to give a name or something when i check in?


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## clarkely

brian j said:


> we will be heading up that way mid day tomorrow. when are you heading up?


best case is mid-day on friday. i have a 10 am concall friday morning that requires my attention so i can't take it from the road.

i sent a pm to joonbe but i think they've already left. am i supposed to give a name or something when i check in?
[/quote]

I sent you a message


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## hottubwilly

I look at it this way, we were all amateurs at one point. Go out, have fun and be safe!


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## SaveFerris

For me, it doesn't really have anything to do with camping with "amateurs". Those holiday weekends just draw a different crowd in general. The problem is you tend to have a lot of people out there who aren't really interested in camping, it's more of a once-a-year outside party that lasts all weekend. A full campground can still be a great experience, as long as everyone is polite and considerate of their neighbors.

I have found it depends a lot on where you go, too. Around here, the national park campers tend to be some of the best behaved. On the other hand, the campgrounds near a big city on a lake without motorboat restrictions - forget about it, it's party-central, all summer long.

Nathan


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## ZoccNY

My cooler got jacked last night! Not the one with the sodas and juice boxes.... THE cooler - the beer, the rum, the RedBull! Apparently ours was not the only one. Two sites down someone else had theirs heisted. Another weekender mentioned a golf cart driving slowly around 330am. Only the seasonals are allowed golf carts here... hmmm...


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## Duanesz

Well the weekend went well. Lots of golf carts with the seasonal crowd. Campground is very large had a new playground for the kids. I never set foot in the bathrooms but my wife went to the lady's and she said it was gross toilets plugged up shower curtains ripped down toilet paper all over the floor. We had a full hookup site and I needed 40ft of dump hose to get to the dump spot for my site. All of the seasonal folks had pvc run to there dump spots. We camped with some friends and it was fun but I would not go back with just my family. The weather was awesome and I got it the truck pulled out of our site and the first rain drops fell on the windshield. If I would have been 15min behind in packing up I would have been soaked. Well now tomorrow unpack and and clean and get ready for hocking hills Ohio on Friday.


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## Nathan

Duanesz said:


> Well the weekend went well. Lots of golf carts with the seasonal crowd. Campground is very large had a new playground for the kids. I never set foot in the bathrooms but my wife went to the lady's and she said it was gross toilets plugged up shower curtains ripped down toilet paper all over the floor. We had a full hookup site and I needed 40ft of dump hose to get to the dump spot for my site. All of the seasonal folks had pvc run to there dump spots. We camped with some friends and it was fun but I would not go back with just my family. The weather was awesome and I got it the truck pulled out of our site and the first rain drops fell on the windshield. If I would have been 15min behind in packing up I would have been soaked. Well now tomorrow unpack and and clean and get ready for hocking hills Ohio on Friday.


Glad to hear it was a good time. Yep, sounds like not much has changed in the past 2 years....


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## Duanesz

Ya there was lots of people watching thats for sure. My neighbors were seasonal and super nice lent me a rug so I did not track all kinds of sand in the camper. They even made us some margaritas in there cordless margarita mixer.







The camping this weekend was fun because we were with some friends and it did not matter where we camped. Well time to get the camper cleaned and ready for hocking hills ohio.


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