WHAT: MDSS Fall
Meet -- Cruise, BBQ & Camping.
WHO: MDSS
members. Members of other forums are
allowed/encouraged to tag along provided that they
become an active member on MDSS as well.
WHERE:
Shenandoah National Park/Skyline Drive in Luray,
V.A. (approx. 1.5 hour drive)
WHEN:
Mid October. The date will be decided by the
vote of the majority. PLEASE DO NOT VOTE IF YOU
DO NOT INTEND ON ATTENDING!!!!! These dates are
the only remaining openings and are being booked
obnoxiously fast so I would like
everyone's input by Monday, August 25th.
Hopefully the sites won't be booked before then.
Possible weekends:
- Saturday, October 4th -
Sunday, October 5th
- Saturday, October 25th -
Sunday, October 26th
HOW MUCH:
Roughly $25 (entrance & meet fee) + the cost
of your lunch at a restaurant and roughly a tank of
gas. The entrance fee is collected at the park
gate. The meet fee is to cover the cost of food for
the BBQ at the campsite AND the cost to rent the
campground for the evening.
Details are as follows:
Pre-meet:
We will meet behind Arundel Mills mall at 10 a.m. in
the overflow lot between Wal-Mart and Medieval Times
(see map below). Departure is at 10:30 a.m. prompt.
If you are late, please call Jason or myself. Please
arrive with a full tank of gas and make sure your
vehicle is in good mechanical condition WITH AN
INFLATED SPARE TIRE. We're not planning pit stops
for fuel or food and we'd like to prevent break
downs if possible. If you sign up on the site, I'll
print out MapQuested directions and contact phone
numbers in the event you fall behind of the pack on
the way to the park.
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Directions to the Park: We will be using the
North Entrance.
- Travel west on R-100
- Merge onto Interstate 95 South.
- Take 495 West/Capitol Beltway via exit 27
toward Silver Spring.
- Merge onto Interstate 66 to Front Royal,
Virginia (62 miles).
- Take exit onto Route 340 South and follow
signs for Shenandoah National Park and Skyline
Drive.
Arrival/Lunch:
We should arrive in the area around 12pm. I figure
at this time we'll be restless from the long trip
and probably hungry. Stopping for lunch will give
the stragglers enough time to catch up in the event
someone missed the pre-meet. There are numerous
restaurants in the area. I'll leave it up to
everyone to vote on where we get lunch together. I'd
like to avoid chain restaurants that we're used to
and experience something new/unique to Front Royal,
VA. I'll let you guys decide. The choices are:
-
Knotty Pine Restaurant One of the
oldest restaurants in Front Royal, Knotty Pine
Restaurant specializes in breakfast items.
-
L Dee's Pancake House
-
Main Street Mill Restaurant and Tavern
Situated in a renovated 1800s feed mill complete
with chestnut beams and hand-painted murals they
specialize in mouthwatering pastas, steaks,
seafood, and desserts.
-
County Seat Pub & Eatery
-
Apartment 2G Upscale and contemporary
-
South Street Grille 50's, 60's and
70's diner featuring some of the best hamburgers
in town.
-
Dean's Steakhouse **Situated only 200
yards from the Skyline Drive Entrance, this
steakhouse offers a wonderful varied menu which
includes mouthwatering steaks, appetizers,
soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, as well as
seafood, pork, chicken, and pasta entrees.**
I'm leaning towards Dean's Steakhouse since it's
so close and has a wide range of food offered.
My assumption is we should be wrapping up lunch
around 1:30-2p.m. given the amount of people
attending/rate of speed the restaurant serves.
Entrance Fees:
$15.00 per private, non-commercial vehicle pass is
valid for day of purchase and the following six
days. Pass is valid for passenger cars, pickup
trucks, RVs, vans, and converted buses. I would like
to collect the entrance fee upfront from everyone at
the pre-meet or by the latest at the restaurant. In
return, I will hand you a brightly colored paper
with our name on it for your windshield once we
arrive. The leader of the pack (Jay or myself) will
pay for everyone at the gate and we'll all cruise in
together to save time and prevent us from getting
separated while each individual car pays.
The Cruise:
We will be traveling Skyline Drive South through the
National Park to our campground. The cruise is
approximately 30 miles long and is estimated to take
45 minutes. There are plenty of rest stops that will
allow for us to pull over and take group pictures or
individual shots. Ideally we'll have someone capture
a few rolling shots as well. I intend on bringing
both my digital and video camera. I encourage
everyone else to bring theirs as well!
Map of the park:
Loding/Dinner:
It is not mandatory to spend the night at the
campsite although I recommend staying. We will be
camping at Big Meadow's group camp site, located
dead center of the park. Big Meadows is close to a
myriad of facilities; a lodge, dining room, wayside,
camp-store, a taproom, motor fuel, and numerous
hiking trails 3 waterfalls within walking distance
and the Byrd Visitor Center. Plus, it has plenty of
restrooms, hot showers ($1 for 5 minutes) and good,
well-kept sites. Out of the three larger campsites,
Big Meadows is not only the most convenient BUT it's
the only site that accepts reservations AND offers
showers + other amenities.
We'll unload/unpack, set up our tents for the
evening before it gets dark and begin to unwind.
We'll BBQ for dinner (hamburgers, hot dogs, a
variety of side dishes, chips & sodas/water) and
probably set up a campfire to roast
marshmallows/make smores over once night falls. For
those that are of legal age, alcohol is BYOB. Anyone
that consumes alcohol will NOT be allowed in a
vehicle.
The cost for food is to be determined based on how
many come. Once an amount is set in stone, you are
encouraged to Paypal the money to
support@mdstreetscene.com. (Highly recommended
-- and you don't have to have Paypal to do this. You
can use your credit card.)
By RSVP’ing to the thread, you are signifying
that you WILL pay the amount whether you show up
or not. We are buying food the day before
for the exact amount of people on this list.
Once we're at the campsite, everyone should remain
together unless there's an emergency. I will be
bringing my tent that accommodates 8 people. If
anyone else would like to bring their tent, feel
free to do so. Once we have a list of attendees,
we'll be able to figure out sleeping arrangements as
far as who is sleeping in which tent. I suggest
bringing comfortable shoes, sun/bug screen, extra
clothes, a jacket, an extra bag to put trash/clothes
in in addition to whatever toiletries you may
desire.
Please be aware that this is bear country. All
unattended food must be kept INSIDE your vehicle.
You can be fined for leaving a cooler unattended.
For a complete list of rules and detailed
guidelines/campground map visit:
Big Meadows Campground Info. Also, as with any
other MDSS meet, we have guidelines we'd like to
uphold; please use common sense and your best
judgment before acting.
**For those that would like to attend but prefer
not to camp outdoors, lodges MAY be available. I
highly suggest booking one NOW as this is their
busiest time of year and the majority of them are
already sold out until next season. I do not suggest
trying to get a group into a lodge, space IS
limited. Their locations are:
Morning after/Departure:
We will pack up, clean up and head out for breakfast
if enough people are interested. We will be
departing via Rt. 211 which will lend the
opportunity to amazing views and an awesome drive!!!
Ideally, once we hit the main road everyone will
cruise back together and split off at our own
exists.
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What
I need from interested participants:
Please copy, paste and respond to the
following information.
Date that works best for you (please choose
ONE):
- Saturday, October 4th -
Sunday, October 5th
- Saturday, October 25th -
Sunday, October 26th
Restaurant you're interested in stopping at for
lunch: (please choose ONE):
