- Location
- Harrisburg, NC
Last year, Nick (cnickgo) and I planned a weekend camping trip to Carolina Beach (just south of Wilmington NC for those who don't know). We had such a blast that we vowed to make it a yearly event, and even though we put the notice on 
for others to come, we've also vowed to make it bigger this year.
One of our jobs this year to help out the SEC is to try and plan more events to get the people of NC, SC, and the rest of the SEC out and meeting each other. So we got to thinking, why not make the summer camping trip a meet and greet? The date we have in mind right now is the last weekend of July (29th-31st). The location will be Freeman Park which is on Carolina Beach NC. This event will be more of a Meet & Greet/Camping event versus a wheeling event. You are allowed to drive up and down the beach all you want (you have to have a good working 4x4 or AWD system to even get onto the beach).
This is going to be a very family friendly event...we encourage you to bring any and all little ones that you have. This event is a great opportunity to get a last minute beach vacation in before school starts back for the little ones as well. Adult beverages are allowed on the beach and will be allowed for this event, however due to the family friendly atmosphere, they will need to be kept in moderation (i.e. no college style binge drinking or anything of that nature...but nothing wrong with sitting around the campfire chatting and enjoying a few brews). Any and all alcohol will be provided by you, and you would be responsible for cleaning up after yourselves. We're all adults here and I know it probably doesn't need to be said, but taking care of the land you're using (whether it's wheeling in uwharrie, exploring roads in the mountains, or camping on the beach) is one of my pet peeves. Can't stand to see a nice piece of land trashy.
Entrance to the park is $20/vehicle per day. You pick this up at the entrance to the beach. You are allowed to enter and exit the beach as much as you'd like through out the day, and it is your responsibility to get a new pass each day. They do have officers that patrol the beach frequently, even during the night, looking for valid passes and watching for people getting out of hand or driving too fast on the beach. I will look into seeing if perhaps we can set up a group discount if we get enough people committed. Camping is also first come first serve. You park right along the line of where the tide comes in and set up camp. Driving below the high tide line is absolutely prohibited and carries a hefty fine ($500 if memory serves..saw somebody get that and ruin a brand new Tacoma last summer when the tide came in a swallowed his truck up). If we can get enough interest, I will also look into seeing if a section of the beach can be reserved.
As for food, it would be primarily provided by yourself. There is a grocery store within minutes of hitting the pavement and we will obviously have a fire going to cook with. We had talked about pitching in and doing a hot dog style dinner for Saturday night (maybe with the help of if there's money in the budget).
For those people who don't like the camping atmosphere, but still want to come hang out, drive around on the beach, and meet some cool people there are plenty of affordable hotels within minutes of the beach.
So now, here's where the rest of the SEC comes in. I know this is literally half a year in advance, but every time an event is planned, everyone always says they didn't have enough notice. 6 months it plenty of notice, so it's not an excuse this time. Obviously if you have other committments (work, personal, whatever) that's completely understandable. Ultimately we'd like to see less of the "divided" SEC that we have now, and more of a united SEC. I understand that for many of you (especially in TN, GA etc) that it would be a long haul for a weekend event, but Ed has already confirmed that he is planning to attend this event. That's an 11 hour, 600 mile ONE WAY trip for him. I'll be the first to admit that I haven't attended any events outside of the few in NC, but I plan to change that in the coming months.
As usual, none of this is set completely in stone just yet. Looking forward to hearing any and all feedback.
Just to give you an idea, this was our set up last summer:
for others to come, we've also vowed to make it bigger this year.One of our jobs this year to help out the SEC is to try and plan more events to get the people of NC, SC, and the rest of the SEC out and meeting each other. So we got to thinking, why not make the summer camping trip a
meet and greet? The date we have in mind right now is the last weekend of July (29th-31st). The location will be Freeman Park which is on Carolina Beach NC. This event will be more of a Meet & Greet/Camping event versus a wheeling event. You are allowed to drive up and down the beach all you want (you have to have a good working 4x4 or AWD system to even get onto the beach).This is going to be a very family friendly event...we encourage you to bring any and all little ones that you have. This event is a great opportunity to get a last minute beach vacation in before school starts back for the little ones as well. Adult beverages are allowed on the beach and will be allowed for this event, however due to the family friendly atmosphere, they will need to be kept in moderation (i.e. no college style binge drinking or anything of that nature...but nothing wrong with sitting around the campfire chatting and enjoying a few brews). Any and all alcohol will be provided by you, and you would be responsible for cleaning up after yourselves. We're all adults here and I know it probably doesn't need to be said, but taking care of the land you're using (whether it's wheeling in uwharrie, exploring roads in the mountains, or camping on the beach) is one of my pet peeves. Can't stand to see a nice piece of land trashy.
Entrance to the park is $20/vehicle per day. You pick this up at the entrance to the beach. You are allowed to enter and exit the beach as much as you'd like through out the day, and it is your responsibility to get a new pass each day. They do have officers that patrol the beach frequently, even during the night, looking for valid passes and watching for people getting out of hand or driving too fast on the beach. I will look into seeing if perhaps we can set up a group discount if we get enough people committed. Camping is also first come first serve. You park right along the line of where the tide comes in and set up camp. Driving below the high tide line is absolutely prohibited and carries a hefty fine ($500 if memory serves..saw somebody get that and ruin a brand new Tacoma last summer when the tide came in a swallowed his truck up). If we can get enough interest, I will also look into seeing if a section of the beach can be reserved.
As for food, it would be primarily provided by yourself. There is a grocery store within minutes of hitting the pavement and we will obviously have a fire going to cook with. We had talked about pitching in and doing a hot dog style dinner for Saturday night (maybe with the help of
if there's money in the budget).For those people who don't like the camping atmosphere, but still want to come hang out, drive around on the beach, and meet some cool people there are plenty of affordable hotels within minutes of the beach.
So now, here's where the rest of the SEC comes in. I know this is literally half a year in advance, but every time an event is planned, everyone always says they didn't have enough notice. 6 months it plenty of notice, so it's not an excuse this time. Obviously if you have other committments (work, personal, whatever) that's completely understandable. Ultimately we'd like to see less of the "divided" SEC that we have now, and more of a united SEC. I understand that for many of you (especially in TN, GA etc) that it would be a long haul for a weekend event, but Ed has already confirmed that he is planning to attend this event. That's an 11 hour, 600 mile ONE WAY trip for him. I'll be the first to admit that I haven't attended any events outside of the few in NC, but I plan to change that in the coming months.
As usual, none of this is set completely in stone just yet. Looking forward to hearing any and all feedback.
Just to give you an idea, this was our set up last summer:
