by Teresa » Aug 17, 2008 10:37 pm
As one of the alleged "8" tents in the campground, we did not have a good time. With the constant traffic, headlights, noise from I-75 all night, and terminal dampness, it was perhaps one of the worst camping experiences of my life-- even worse than 1994 in Bracketville. (My feet did not dry out from Tues. to Friday a.m.)
Tuesday, probably because of the intense rain, our tent was invaded by fire ants. I got about 25 - 35 bites, when I went to bed down (tent was zipped; apparently they ate holes in the floor, because there were no holes when we left Missouri.) Broke a canopy (2nd in 2 years at convention) on Wednesday, and had to miss the "campground party"-- not held at the campground because the stage had been ripped by winds-- while we put camp back together. Never had insect bites draw pus almost immediately like the ants did-- they still itch and are weeping. Thursday night, my husband lost his wedding ring chasing frogs after the photo salon; we packed up Friday to get a metal detector, and in the drive from campground to campus, our car's serpentine belt broke. After we left the auto repair shop, spent most of the early afternoon looking for said ring, which he found in the frog pond, having been pointed that way by a little green guy named Gollum.
Like others who had already broken camp for the long ride home, it was a hot and sticky wait for the banquet on campus since every building I could find had been locked at 4:30. Our serving line ran out of 4 of the buffet items, so we just scrounged what we could find.
The springs were nice, and the beach at South Talbot Island SP, and other Florida SPs we visited, as were the people both at convention and in the environs, but I can't say Florida has much else to recommend it in August. Never saw an alleged tourist area (like St. Augustine) which shut down so early in the day...even Branson stays open later.
Convention staff were wonderful; but all the last minute room changes meant that both my husband and I missed some sessions simply because rooms had gone walkabout, and we weren't in the know where they were. I never did find the newsletter editor's session, nor could he find the biology section lunch.
Hey, I've been there, on the other side of the registration desk; I know nothing is ever perfect. We're home and still alive, so I guess that is a good thing. But there are lots of NSS members who simply cannot afford to hotel it and many did not come; there is a divide between the haves and the have nots-- but it's getting really old to lose brand new camping equipment and sleep with fire ants because one is not wealthy enough to ignore such things. We know about the foul weather curse, but we're going to consider not attending future events unless we can be reasonably sure that decent camping areas are being provided.