Okteenerfest caravan from the DFW area, Lets start planning. Options

[ClayPerrine]

We are starting to plan the trip to and from Okteenerfest.

If you would like to travel with us, just let us know. The more the merrier. Any and all suggestions, ideas, etc.. are greatly appreciated.

We have been to Okteenerfest multiple times, and twice to Banner Elk, so here are the gotchas.

1. Registration in Banner Elk on Thursday is usually 3 to 7 in the afternoon/evening. It's better to get there early rather than late because registering on Friday is a pain in the ass. It's a lot more fun to get there early enough to get settled in, meet people, and figure out dinner. We normally make Wednesday a long day, and Thursday a short day of driving.

2. The time change. Around Rockwood, TN, on highway 40, we lose an hour. It bit us hard a couple years ago.

3. Anyone who is pulling a trailer is going to need a safe place to park when we stop for the night, both there and back.

4. Leaving DFW, Betty and I are going to trailer one car, and drive another, both trying to clear Dallas morning rush hour traffic to get to I-30 headed east. A long first day favors leaving early.

Questions for the group.

What time are y'all comfortable leaving in the morning? We found that leaving at 7am works for us.

In the past we have found hotels that were running $60 to $80 a night. What is a comfortable price range for a hotel for y'all?


(IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving-girl.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[Betty]

You guys want to meet for lunch at 11 a.m. (EDT) in Knoxville? Keep in mind this is 10 a.m. CDT... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Meeting up with you and Donna in Knoxville for lunch (IMG:style_emoticons/default/chowtime.gif) would be awesome! By my calculations (taking into account the time change this time!), we'd have to leave the hotel at 7:00 a.m. to get to Knoxville around 11:30 a.m. (Eastern time zone) if that works for you instead of 11:00 a.m.? It would put us into Banner Elk around 3:00 p.m.-ish? If the others running with us are game; I know we sure the heck are! Maybe we can wait to see if Scott (and Katie) and Warren (and Karen) chime in?

Dude... I still feel horrible for screwing that up! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) In fact, I said at the time we owed you and Donna a bottle of your favorite wine for forgetting about the time change and we never did pay up - so I'll make you a deal! If you'll give me the names of a few of yall's most favorite wines (in case one of them isn't available here)... I'll send you the TWENTY ONE pictures we have of your car, and Clay and Richard Fisher putting the new door on your car!!! We stumbled across them when we were looking for some other pictures and I saved all of them; just waiting for the perfect opportunity. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif) So... do we have a deal?!?!?!

[ClayPerrine]

You guys want to meet for lunch at 11 a.m. (EDT) in Knoxville? Keep in mind this is 10 a.m. CDT... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Meeting up with you and Donna in Knoxville for lunch (IMG:style_emoticons/default/chowtime.gif) would be awesome! By my calculations (taking into account the time change this time!), we'd have to leave the hotel at 7:00 a.m. to get to Knoxville around 11:30 a.m. (Eastern time zone) if that works for you instead of 11:00 a.m.? It would put us into Banner Elk around 3:00 p.m.-ish? If the others running with us are game; I know we sure the heck are! Maybe we can wait to see if Scott (and Katie) and Warren (and Karen) chime in?

Dude... I still feel horrible for screwing that up! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) In fact, I said at the time we owed you and Donna a bottle of your favorite wine for forgetting about the time change and we never did pay up - so I'll make you a deal! If you'll give me the names of a few of yall's most favorite wines (in case one of them isn't available here)... I'll send you the TWENTY ONE pictures we have of your car, and Clay and Richard Fisher putting the new door on your car!!! We stumbled across them when we were looking for some other pictures and I saved all of them; just waiting for the perfect opportunity. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif) So... do we have a deal?!?!?!

Kelvin,

Take the deal. PLEASE take the deal. She is still obsessing over it.

Help Me!

Clay

[914four]

You guys want to meet for lunch at 11 a.m. (EDT) in Knoxville? Keep in mind this is 10 a.m. CDT... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Meeting up with you and Donna in Knoxville for lunch (IMG:style_emoticons/default/chowtime.gif) would be awesome! By my calculations (taking into account the time change this time!), we'd have to leave the hotel at 7:00 a.m. to get to Knoxville around 11:30 a.m. (Eastern time zone) if that works for you instead of 11:00 a.m.? It would put us into Banner Elk around 3:00 p.m.-ish? If the others running with us are game; I know we sure the heck are! Maybe we can wait to see if Scott (and Katie) and Warren (and Karen) chime in?

Dude... I still feel horrible for screwing that up! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) In fact, I said at the time we owed you and Donna a bottle of your favorite wine for forgetting about the time change and we never did pay up - so I'll make you a deal! If you'll give me the names of a few of yall's most favorite wines (in case one of them isn't available here)... I'll send you the TWENTY ONE pictures we have of your car, and Clay and Richard Fisher putting the new door on your car!!! We stumbled across them when we were looking for some other pictures and I saved all of them; just waiting for the perfect opportunity. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif) So... do we have a deal?!?!?!

Kelvin,

Take the deal. PLEASE take the deal. She is still obsessing over it.

Help Me!

Clay

All sounds good to me. We can talk about the wine in Banner Elk (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Betty]

All sounds good to me. We can talk about the wine in Banner Elk (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

If we wait until Okteenerfest to talk about wine..... then we won't be able to buy it and bring it. Fess up - or else I'm buying bottles of 'Tickled Pink', 'Mad Dog 20/20' and 'Zima' and will sit there expecting you and Donna to drink it up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[914four]

All sounds good to me. We can talk about the wine in Banner Elk (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

If we wait until Okteenerfest to talk about wine..... then we won't be able to buy it and bring it. Fess up - or else I'm buying bottles of 'Tickled Pink', 'Mad Dog 20/20' and 'Zima' and will sit there expecting you and Donna to drink it up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

The door (and installation) was worth much more than a bottle of wine. Maybe we can share one of our bottles of Chateau Ste Michelle Merlot with you in Banner Elk. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Betty]

The door (and installation) was worth much more than a bottle of wine. Maybe we can share one of our bottles of Chateau Ste Michelle Merlot with you in Banner Elk. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

It was the threat of Zima... right? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

Phewh...... thought I was going to have to actually try to find some 'Tickled Pink' to buy somewhere. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif)

I truly appreciate the offer of sharing the wine, but in spite of my Dad's best efforts trying to teach me to appreciate wine, I'm still just a beer or mixed drink kind of girl. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)