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TSD 2015 Planning Thread

6379 Views 68 Replies 15 Participants Last post by  marvins_dad
We are 19 days out from meeting Friday, the 23rd, in Poteau, Oklahoma. Participants usually arrive around 6:00 PM or so. Most of us are staying at the Days Inn. Ana, Tim, and baby Holley will be down the street at the Best Western. In past years, we've had supper at Western Sizzlin Steaks, but I'd be open for other choices. Saturday morning, we get up around 8:00 and have breakfast, probably at McDonalds or the Continental at Days Inn itself. After breakfast, I suggest that we pick up sandwiches at Subway to eat at some stop on the cruise. Then we head to the car wash, where hopefully, any locals with Beetles will see us and join in. We then depart for the Talimena mountains about a half-hour away. We'll end up in Mena, Arkansas afterwards and take a faster highway route back to Poteau. We usually go to Braum's when we get back for burgers and ice cream. Next, many people go the Days Inn hot tub. Somewhere in the mix, I've mentioned that I'd like to park the Beetles for an hour or two and have an informal "show." I'm open to ideas, and it would all depend on how early (or late) we get started Saturday, unless....we could do this on Sunday before we part ways. Some people do the run again on Sunday. To my knowledge, we have:
Mike Levy
Ana Hanmore
Antoine De Hon
Jason Diamond
Randi Dawson
Tom and Lisa Reich-Arnall
Patrick Sills
Bill and Shirley Jinkins
Bobby Ferrill and Sean Mack Page are "maybes."
If you feel so inclined, come and join us, or if you're located further east, Back of the Dragon also takes place that weekend. October 24-25, 2015.
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We could print a logo of Kevin posing with carhops on rollerskates. It'd be perfect! :D

Seriously, I too would be open to any and all suggestions and input. I want 2015 to be bigger and better!
Get a different job so we can have it in November :p
I haven't ruled that possibility out, believe me. It's not only this event where I've been cut short twice in a row now, but also the potential for other NB/12+ GTGs. To put this another way, if Oct 11-12 hadn't happened to be my normal weekend off in the rotation, I would have been SOL altogether. If I keep the job I have, though, for 2015 it'll be a different weekend, probably the one before that or after. I was also wondering about later due to fall colors. We're at peak up here right now, but down that way, it occurs later, doesn't it?

However, I may indeed be looking into switching to a different department where I'd have a normal M-F 8-4 gig with accumulated vacation time that would NOT be yanked out from under me. The catch is about a $1 an hour pay cut. Keep posted for further developments.......I will say my wife favors the idea. I'll get my current department through the holiday crap, then start seriously pondering this in January.
I haven't been a drinker for years, but I would assume that if Mena is dry, it would also be illegal to drink there in public. There would have to be other restaurants in Poteau, too. Or maybe we could do something like the ToD crew does: collect for a bunch of catered Pizzas.
I'll remember that, Ana. If I end up staying at my present job, November would still be out, anyway. I'll wait to see how the employee situation is after the holidays are over. I won't let myself get screwed again in 2015!
I feel guilty here because I'm just now seeing posts from around Christmastime, and I've been the one complaining about how nobody comes to the Org anymore and just does the Collective! :eek:

At the moment, it looks like my scheduled weekends off in October would be the 3rd and the 24th. Would either of these work for anyone else? I ask because I've had a hell of a time the past 2 years just getting there even on my regular weekend off let alone switching with someone else. It's bad karma, but every time Talimena has rolled around, that's when a bunch of people decide to quit at my workplace and I get screwed.
So far, me, Dustin, Chuckie, and Ana/Tim like Oct 24th. Don (******) pointed out on the Collective that this will be the same weekend as Back of the Dragon, but I really don't think this affect the TSD crowd. Does anyone else?
I also now have Randi and Tonia on board for the 24th. Next, I'll be messaging Kat. I'm not sure if BoD is a water-Beetle-only GTG or all-VW. Either way, since I'm one of the TSD founders, if BoD is always around the same time, TSD would have to be my thing.
We're still shooting for the weekend of Oct 24 for this. I still hold the very same job and all I can hope for is that I don't get screwed for a 3rd year in a row where I have to drive 840 miles one way after doing 2 shifts that are spaced only 6 hours apart. That's getting tough on my 55-year-old constitution, but as always, I will if I have to, because I do have that weekend off. NB/12+ Beetle-only GTGs are well worth it to me, and in fact, for the regular VW show season of 2015, ( a very short time in Wisconsin) I plan on scaling back and not going to as many all-VW shows. They're all very predictable: Either you have 90% air-cooleds or a bunch of 20-year-old tuners with Golfs/GTIs, Jettas, and Audis that don't acknowledge our cars. I find OUR kinds of gatherings much more enjoyable. ;)
Right now there are 3 main GTGs for New Beetles/2012+ Beetles:

Talimena Scenic Drive (this one) is the newest and was started by myself and 2 other Orgers, Oh Randi, and Matty D 2009 back in 2012. Only 3 of us made it that first year, but the following year, we were up to 10. Last year saw a slide back down to 6 Beetles, but the weather was lousy and a lot of people had other obligations, but I'm hoping to bring this up for 2015 and beyond. This GTG was started to complement the other 2 main events for our cars. Modern Bugs don't get much respect at all-VW shows and those of us who drive them are also much more civil and family-knit. This is what it says: a scenic cruise through the Talimena Mountain range of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. We are also exploring the idea of a very informal 'show' where we just park our Beetles for an hour or two and socialize.

Roswell is a bi-annual event held every odd-numbered year in the beautiful New Mexico desert. This was once a huge New Beetle event back in the early 2000s, but for reasons that still puzzle me, the fanfare of the re-born Bug only lasted a few years, and those of us who still do Roswell are the Die-Hards. There used to be over 200 NBs that would make the pilgrimage to Roswell, but for the past few GTGs, the number has steadily been around 40. It's a blast, anyway. We have a show at night and do a parade down Roswell's main drag after it's over. All the while, we tie in the alien theme to the cars.

Tail of The Dragon is another big event that's growing fast. This is held in North Carolina the first weekend in May every year. It's a challenging road rally through an 11-mile stretch in the Smoky Mountains with over 300 curves. Lots of other car enthusiast groups and even bikers do "The Dragon" all throughout the warm months.

All 3 of these are an excellent way to bond with other like-minded people that love modern-day Beetles. You will make friends for life. I guess the easiest would be to start with whichever GTG is closest to where you live. I drive hundreds of miles to all of them, but I'm unable to do Tail of the Dragon this year. I do Talimena and Roswell every time they come around.
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No problem. At this point, I'm in limbo with the Beetle axing stories. One option would be to open TSD to all VWs, and as I said, if the Beetle gets axed or even if I'm convinced it will be, I'll be back in a Passat, anyway.
I'm much better now and snapping out of limbo. Another Orger got a very positive reply from VWoA in regard to our Beetle, so if something doesn't happen where I get screwed out of my vacation time, everything is still a go for me for both Roswell and TSD. Ana, as Holley will be only a few months old by October, I have no problems at all if you & Tim wish to bring the GTI instead of a Beetle. I know a 4-door would make life a lot easier.
As long as I an employed where I currently am, November won't work for me because they don't allow anyone to have time off in Nov-Dec as it's our busiest time of the year. I also only have every 3rd weekend off, so for October, that would be either the 3-4th or the 24-25th. It's too risky to schedule this on a weekend I'm supposed to work because we're always so short as it is. I would be open to move TSD to September if that would work and anyone's interested. My sole weekend off then would be the 12-13th.
I would like to stick with the 24th, so I hope you can make it this year. The weather last year didn't help, either. We had rain and dense fog.
I don't blame you. I know the GTI would be easier. Plus I know you're a Beetle owner already! lol :D I miss my Passat when my wife sends me for $200 worth of groceries!
I still think Tim should have bought another Beetle :D, but if you guys came to a Beetle event, you'd probably be together in Laycee, anyway. If you can find a way to fit a baby seat in Laycee, that's great, but if the GTI is easier, don't worry about it.
The problem with me is that I HAVE to schedule TSD on whatever weekend I have off in October to ensure being able to go, and even then, I still run the risk of being screwed out of the Friday/Monday surrounding it.:mad: The only other weekend I have off in October is the 3-4. Randi has suggested moving it to November in the past, but where I work, nobody gets time off in Nov-Dec. Well, except Christmas Day.......
I would like to start a TSD Group on the Collective, but I need help with pictures, etc. Hope to see lots of Beetles in October!
It's still a bit early, but this thread needs to be bumped, anyway:

Here's what's going on for those who have done TSD in the past and those who have never experienced this GTG:

I made an attempt to start a TSD Group on the FB page, but I really don't know what I'm doing. It's a closed group that I'd like to have open, so I selected members : Randi, Bill Jinkins, Antione, Kat, Ana, Tonia, Bobby, and Dustin so far. Of these, I'm not sure who's going.....:eek:

This is a water Beetle event (except for Ana, who has become a new mother and will be coming in a 4-door GTI) that will take place on the weekend of Oct 24-25 in the Talimena Mountains of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Three of us started this event in 2012 to complement Roswell and Tail of the Dragon because there are so few water-Beetle-specific gatherings as it is. Anyone reading this is invited to come. It's a Saturday cruise and we base ourselves in Poteau, Oklahoma. There is a Days Inn and another motel next door called the Black Angus. If enough people are interested, I'd like to add an informal parking and socializing time slot that would be visible to the public.
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I like your ideas, Dustin, and Ana, that would be awesome to take Laycee, but if Staycee is easier with Holley, I will understand. When I was a baby, I rode in a 1957 Oval Window Beetle, but child seats were unheard of back then. :p

I need to get planning going on this as it's 83 days away. Both here and on FB, I'll try to get a list of attendees in the next few days.
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