The Northeast Spring Thing Fling

Fun 181 · Post by **Fun 181** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 6:24 pm

Come one, come all to the ...

The event and will be held on Friday, May 15th through Sunday, May 17th at Harriman State Park campgrounds in New York. No trophies, awards or car show, just a bunch of Thing owners getting together for a fun weekend of camping, hanging out and talking shop with fellow Thing owners.

This event is centrally located in the North East, and will allow folks from at least 8 states to make the drive in 4 hours or less!

Providence, RI to Harriman State Park, NY is about 186 miles/3 hours 20 minutes
Brattleboro, VT to Harriman State Park, NY is about 207 miles/3 hours 41 minutes
Baltimore, MD to Harriman State Park, NY is about 221 miles/3 hours 54 minutes
Harrisburg, PA to Harriman State Park, NY is about 184 miles/3 hours 13 minutes
Boston, MA to Harriman State Park, NY is about 221 miles/3 hours 57 minutes
Dover, DE to Harriman State Park, NY is about 204 miles/3 hours 32 minutes
Syracuse, NY to Harriman State Park, NY is about 226 miles/3 hours 53 minutes

The campsites (RV,Tent,Trailer) are located at the Beaver Pond Campsite which is part of Lake Welch. The rate varies from $19 to $22 a night. They all seem to have the standard campsite stuff - fire pit, BBQ grate and picnic tables. I didn't count how many sites are available - it's a lot. I think over 100. Anyhow, there are showers, dumping station, laundry, first aid station and water fill up station. It is also noted that pets and alcohol are not permitted. Wink wink

http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=57
http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/B ... ampingSpot

The cabins are located on Sebago lake. From the reserveamerica website: "This cabin has 2 bedrooms, refrigerator, two burner hot plate, table with chairs and 4 cots with mattresses. Toilets and showers are located in central comfort stations. Campers must bring their own bed/bath linens cooking/eating utensils." The rates range from $60 a night to $96.25 a night depending on how close to the lake you would like to be (lakefront or the woods). As of today it looks like there are 34 cabins still available for that weekend.

http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkId=72
http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/S ... ampingSpot

While more expensive, the cabins can offer "camping" in the woods for those folks who don't enjoy tents. We'll be opting for the cabin. It means hauling less equipment and we would need to buy a new tent anyway. The cabin area also offers flush toilets. I'm not sure the Beaver Pond campsite does.

Both areas offer a beach, hiking, fishing, swimming (brrrrrr), biking, etc.

We are still in the planning stages, but here are a few suggestions for activities...
• An informal meet & greet around the campfire on Friday evening (anyone play guitar?)
• Bring along your extra parts for the Thing swap meet
• How about a "Thing Widows" happy hour on Saturday?
• On Saturday or Sunday afternoon we can have a Thing cruise on the many long roads that go right through the park possibly visit a few points of interest near West Point.
• Saturday night pot luck dinner
• Group photo on Sunday

If anyone else would like to volunteer to help out, suggest activities, or has any other ideas please speak up. PM me for additional details.

Please post if you will attend, if you will be coming on Friday or Saturday, and where you will be coming from.

Come on North East Thing owners (and any other Thing owner for that matter)! Bring your Thing and let's have a fling this spring!

nybug · Post by **nybug** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 7:42 pm

I hope you have good weather.

Fun 181 · Post by **Fun 181** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:14 pm

nybug wrote:I hope you have good weather.

Thanks, I hope so too. This winter has been one long and cold son of a gun. I'm really looking forward to mid-May and warmer weather.

nybug · Post by **nybug** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:30 pm

Fun 181 wrote:
nybug wrote:I hope you have good weather.
This winter has been one long and cold son of a gun. I'm really looking forward to mid-May and warmer weather.

Dittto. Enough with the snow.

Fun 181 · Post by **Fun 181** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:37 am

The central meeting place will be at Lake Welch Beach in Harriman State Park. We will be meeting there late Friday afternoon (May 15th), Saturday (May 16th) during the day and Sunday (May 17th) in the morning/early afternoon. We can iron out exact times as the date gets closer.

There are 3 large parking lots for Lake Welch. The tentative plan is to meet in PARKING LOT 3 (the last parking lot located right at the beach.). There are picnic tables and restroom facilities next to the lot, and the lake is only a short walk away. We will be able to set up E-Z Up tents, folding chairs and hang out wherever suits us.

I have been in contact with the Lake Welch park office and am happy to report that since the event will be taking place before Memorial day there are no fees for parking or admittance to the beach. No swimming is permitted before Memorial Day weekend, but the water may still be a bit chilly anyhow. Also, no permits will be needed as this is not a public car show, and no vendors will be setting up and selling merchandise (a small swap meet between us is fine). As we will be there before the start of the season it shouldn't be too crowded either.

Kubelmann · Post by **Kubelmann** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:54 pm

How did your show come out?

Fun 181 · Post by **Fun 181** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:18 pm

Thanks for asking, but the Show is still scheduled for May 15th through May 17th.

I guess I should have specified that on my last post about where we are meeting. Time to use the edit button on my post.

Fun 181 · Post by **Fun 181** » Sun May 03, 2009 7:39 pm

Well, I finally got my new rear disc brakes installed, replaced my CV boots and bolted my rear axle back on. So I'm ready to roll!

Update... please note that the meeting area has changed from parking lot 1 to parking lot 3.

Note that we now have a central meeting area - PARKING LOT 3 at Lake Welch Beach in Harriman State Park (The big parking lot at the beach) . See the second post of this thread for more details.

The Lake Welch staff have encouraged us to show up as early as possible in order to get enough picnic tables together. (I'll try to reserve as many as I can) If we can't beat the crowds and get enough tables located at the area indicated above, then just drive around the lot until you see us set up (we'll be the ones with the VW Things!)

We did another recon mission to the park last Sunday and were able to check out both Lake Welch beach and the cabins at Sebago Lake. The camping area at Beaver Pond doesn't open until this weekend. After checking out the parking area at Lake Welch beach we felt that Parking lot 3 was a lot better place to meet than parking lot 1 as the condition of the asphalt isn't as bad as the staff had originally indicated. There are quite a few picnic tables set up near where we can park our cars. The beach and bathrooms are nearby and there are charcoal grills with the picnic tables.

I was told that the gates to the beach will be open from dawn till dusk, despite all of the signs that say the gates close at 4:00pm. Check in time at the cabins is anytime after 3pm. Anyone wanting to caravan down from CT on Friday afternoon, send me a PM so we can coordinate.

Fun 181 · Post by **Fun 181** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:55 pm

To be on the safe side I'm bringing my E-Z-Up canopy to shield against rain or sun. I bring it to every car show I go to, and it's always a great way to beat the elements. If you have one, bring it. Remember, the event is held rain or shine (please shine, please shine, please shine).

OK, here are the details...

We'll be leaving CT around 1pm on Friday afternoon. It's about an hour and a half ride from the Rt. 8/Rt.15 intersection. We should arrive at Sebago cabins just in time for check-in and then head up to Lake Welch to hang out at the central meeting area by the beach. We'll hang out there until dusk when they close up the gates.

Saturday we plan on being at the meeting area pretty early (before 9am) and try to reserve both parking spots and picnic tables at the area indicated above. Again, if the area indicated above isn't available then just drive around the parking lot till you find us. It's a big lot and there are at least 5 large picnic areas around it.

We'll be at Lake Welch all day on Saturday to hang out, meet fellow Thing owners, swap/sell some parts, grill up some good food and talk about the greatest automobile ever produced. Don't forget to bring any Thing toys you have so the kids can enjoy a Thing toy car swap! There are also plenty of trails for the kids to explore as well as the giant sandbox - a.k.a. the beach. In the late afternoon the wives are invited to a "Thing Widows" happy hour (note that alcoholic beverages are not permitted in the park so we'll need to keep this one on the "down low" wink, wink). The happy hour will be followed by a pot-luck dinner. Nothing fancy. Just bring along something good to grill up and share - in car racing terms it would be called "run-what-ya-brung".

Sunday is always the busiest day at the park when it's nice out, and we'll all need to pack up and check out. We'll be at the beach at Lake Welch around 9:30/10:00am, to organize a small Thing cruise and make any last minute parts swaps. If enough people opt for the cruise then we'll depart at 11:00am and cruise up through the park and into West Point. If nobody is into the cruise then we can hang out at the beach. It's not a very long drive by most cruise standards, but I think it will give us a chance to see some nice sights and be a great way to end the event.

If anyone has any other suggestions, or would like to convoy down from CT on Friday afternoon, then PM as soon as possible.