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PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:46 am
by TPMcGinty
I'm excited! My checks in the mail too!

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:57 am
by 48Rob
Thank you George! :thumbsup:

I stayed in their motel last summer, but didn't think to pick up a map...

The motel, for those not familiar, is a "1970's" model.
It is clean and neat, but quite "dated".
As with their museum, it is like stepping back in time!

Rob

Family friendly?

PostPosted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:43 am
by mki
I have a question....
Is ITG3 family friendly or not? If we get to come, it'll be with 3 kids, 7yo and under :noyes: , and unfortunately I'm not confident that I can help with much activity planning this time (but hopefully in the future?). Would love to see if we could join though! :shake hands:

Would love to have some insights or past experiences shared. Thanks! :)

PostPosted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:36 am
by George T.
Greetings from Colorado!

Family is what teardrops are all about! I am the host and organizer of The International Teardrop Gathering. My grandson, Ryan, is 11 years old and is the co-host of the gathering. As this will be the third ITG, this will also be the third ITG that Ryan has assisted me with.

As far as I am concerned, and I am sure that many others will chime in here, I cannot think of a safer place for our children to be than at a teardrop gathering. Teardroppers are a special sort of people with strong family and social values. From past experience, I can assure you that folks with dubious values don't seem to hang around for long...

To close, one of my favorite memories is of a teardrop gathering held in Southern Colorado several years ago. I believe that Ryan was about 6 then. Our gathering consisted of four teardrops [I think, C.R.S. :roll: "] and one couple [Hi Denny and Karen!]who joined us to see what teardrops were all about. Ryan had many "parents" during this special time spent on the river with new and old friends. During a stop on the way home, an older gentleman approached us and asked if he could look at our "Travel Trailer". Little Ryan, hands on hips replied with pride " It's not a travel trailer, it's a teardrop trailer!" and then graciously proceeded to give the gentleman a tour as grandpa looked on with pride.

Image

Ryan on Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado. Returning from a special gathering. It's one of my favorite photos of our teardrop adventures together...

So, to answer your question, please, come join our family.

George T.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:26 pm
by robfisher
My kids have really enjoyed the gatherings they have been to. They had fun when they were seven, ten and twelve at Shasta seven years ago and have enjoyed every gathering since. Minden has a great museum and a mini-golf course attached to the property. We've taken bikes and let them ride wherever they wanted. It is pretty low keyed and some kids probably get bored but mine never have. We live in the slow lane anyways.

Rob

PostPosted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:30 pm
by George T.
Hiya Rob!

Any chance that you and the gang can make Minden? It's been way too long!

Hugs all the way around!

George T.

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:58 pm
by TPMcGinty
I called Pioneer Village to register today and they didn't give me a camping site number. Was I supposed to get one?

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:08 pm
by 48Rob
Tim,

I don't know what "they are supposed to do", but when I registered, the fellow said he would not give me a site number because it would just be way too hard for him to try to keep track of...

I said okay, and thanked him for getting me signed up.

I frettted a bit at first, but expect that, as he pointed out "there are no bad spots". ;)

Driving 800 miles and hoping there is a "spot" for me is a little scary, but then I read about the nice lawn across the street with a few trees.
I did a map quest with overhead view, and decided that would be way better for "camping" than parking 2 feet from someone else's trailer anyway... :thumbsup:

I don't need any hookups, so it will work out great!


Rob

Thanks for the information!

PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:33 pm
by mki
Hi George,
Thanks for the warm invitation. It was so nice to see your co-sponsor too :) If we decide to go, I'll for sure show his photo to my kids to they know who to look for once we get there.
I've put the dates on "my" calendar - my husband was not too keen, but my kids seem to be a bit more interested, so we'll see.
Thanks!

PostPosted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 1:11 pm
by TPMcGinty
George T. wrote:Hi Dana!

Yes. Same format as ITG2. We will be requesting that everyone brings a teardrop related door prize for an exchange. We will also hold the "auction" as we did for ITG2. It was well received! Details forth coming in the near future...

George T.


George, I was wondering. Is it OK to bring a door prize that would be USEFUL to a person who has a Teardrop or does it have to be Teardrop related?

PostPosted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:18 pm
by George T.
TPMcGinty wrote:
George T. wrote:Hi Dana!
Yes. Same format as ITG2. We will be requesting that everyone brings a teardrop related door prize for an exchange. We will also hold the "auction" as we did for ITG2. It was well received! Details forth coming in the near future...
George T.

George, I was wondering. Is it OK to bring a door prize that would be USEFUL to a person who has a Teardrop or does it have to be Teardrop related?

Absolutely!

That's what it is all about. Have you found an item that works well for you when you camp? Considering using it as an item for a door prize for the exchange. We have had just about every conceivable item contributed during the last two ITG gatherings.

And if, during the door prize drawings, your neighbor receives a left handed wat-da-ya-call-it complete with GPS locator that you would like to have and that all you received was a vintage bottle of wine, it's OK to covet that wat-da-ya-call-it and ask them if they would like to trade. Who knows, they may be right handed and not really into wat-da-ya-call-it's, but, would love to sit down and enjoy a glass of wine....

You do not have to spend a certain amount on your donation, but let's try to keep the spending to $20 or less. And yes, it's OK to provide a hand-made item. We have seen some lovely handiwork from talented teardroppers! And remember, it's all in the spirit of teardropping and enjoying ourselves. It's not a competition.

As with last year, we are also planning to have donated items up for bid to help defray the cost of the gathering. We have several teardrop manufacturers that will be contributing items as well as items that I have contributed.

George T.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 7:55 am
by George T.
Mki,

You said that you would should Ryan's photo to the kids so that they would know who to look for. That photo was taken a while back...

Image

As you can see, Ryan is active in Karate. The above photo was taken at a recent Karate tournament in Colorado. Ryan just earned his green belt last night.

There are usally kids of all ages at a gathering of this size. myself included! The dates selected for ITG3 were no accident. I attemped to plan a date when the kids and teachers [ a lot of teardroppers are in the educational field] were out of school. Both the regular school year and summer school.

I am looking forward to meeting you and your family!

George T.

handsome young man:) and a Q?

PostPosted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 10:31 am
by mki
He looks great in his Dogi too - if that's how you call it. Thanks for the photos :)

I have another question.
- Do we prepare our own meals pretty much during the event? Or are there some prepare-together meal type of things possibly scheduled?

Thanks!

PostPosted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 7:50 pm
by George T.
Hi.

Everyone is on their own for meals. We ususally have potluck on Friday and Saturday nights. One of them is focused on Dutch Oven Cooking. Um boy! The wonderful creations that come out of those black pots!

Image

As you can see, usually no one goes away hungry...

At the last ITG, we put together a sign up board so that we made sure that we had a well balanced pot luck. Folks took a look at the board to see what other folks were bringing and added dishes according to what was needed.

With that in mind, here is something that I put together for gatherings.

George T.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Pot Luck Etiquette

Cooking, Dutch Ovens, potlucks and eating.
What companions to the teardrop experience could be better?

Slowing down, the chance to kick back and relax. Wonderful smells wafting throughout the campground. Appearing to be doing nothing, Dutch Ovens emanate delicious aromas as they work their simple magic. Food cooking on the grill, pots bubbling on the cook stoves. The pungent odor of spices, vegetables, meats, breads and desserts helping to build your appetite….

OK, I’m ready! Do I have everything that I need?

Appetite.
My potluck food contribution.
Serving utensils, spoon, knife, fork, spatula, etc.
Plate, bowl, cup, utensils and napkins for each member of my party.

Thoughts

Am I bringing enough food to feed my family?
Are my food containers, Dutch Ovens, etc. readily identifiable?
Have I checked to see what dishes are needed to balance out
the potluck? Main course, salads, breads, deserts?

At the potluck

Man oh man! LOOK at all of that great food!
I’ll take a little of this, a little of that and a LOT of this. Oh boy!
I’d better take desert first, don’t want to miss anything…

… Uh oh, I can’t eat all this, guess I’ll have to toss it. Too bad…

Where are those folks going? What do you mean we’re out of food?

I had more than enough.

I wonder who’s going to clean all of this up?

**********************************************************
The moral of the story: Lots of people to feed. Take small amounts to start with, you can always go back for more. Be considerate of others.

PostPosted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 8:09 pm
by TPMcGinty
George T. wrote:Hi.

Everyone is on their own for meals. We ususally have potluck on Friday and Saturday nights. One of them is focused on Dutch Oven Cooking. Um boy! The wonderful creations that come out of those black pots!


What if we've never cooked in a dutch oven? What can we contribute to the dutch oven potluck?