RE: Massachusetts CGs
I love Salisbury but wouldn't recommend going there in a pop up, there is NO shade and it can get HOT. Years ago we had friends in a pop up there when we were there and they spent the whole time in our A/C. I didn't mind at all, but they were bummed out that it was so hot that they couldn't even enjoy their own site. I guess days that get that hot are rare and they were just unlucky. It's such a cool place, close to everything, and they take DOGS, Hampton State Beach (and most NH State Parks) don't.
RE: Move from PNW to New England
Hey Grim, yes that was hub and I, we would have stopped to give a proper welcome but we were rushing to get bricks someone was giving away for our fire ring. The joy of free stuff! Next time :)
If the kiddos are of the younger variety, I have a babysitter for you. If they're of the teen variety then I have a ready-made friend for them. My daughter is 13 and we're there pretty much every weekend.
Gary-I was freaked out the first 2 times your daughter walked by with a BABY! The 3rd time I noticed it was a doll. Phew! School project?
I won $10 at bingo!
RE: Move from PNW to New England
Funny quick story about the speed bump--we didn't know they unscrew it from the ground and take it out for the winter-did you?? The weekend my golf cart broke down hub just coasted down the hill with the dead cart, I about wet my pants waiting for that BUMP b'c he wanted to keep enough momentum to make the corner and get the dead cart onto our site...NO bump! Then the next weekend I was like, oh, smooth sailing, they took the bump out, that's right...KA BANG! The BUMP! It's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! I had no idea it was removable, I just figured it was gone for good! Nope. And the worst ones are the guys that drive the CS trucks, they don't even slow down for the bump, we hear KA BANG, sounds like a bomb going off and I expect to see car parts in the road...it's one of their trucks and the driver (usually Dave!) is unfazed! Too funny...
Don't remember flower boxes but the rocks are smart, keeps ppl from cutting the corner and going over your site.
See ya soon.
RE: Old Orchard Campgrounds
Before we went seasonal we stayed probably 10+ times over a couple of years at Paradise Park and LOVED it. If it were a bit closer to home we'd have gone seasonal there. There are a few prime "water front" sites that you can get if you call early enough. The water is a cute pond, here is a pic of the view, can't remember if this was from site 2, 3 or 4, we've done those and others.
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg252/Jungle--Jane/ParadisePark32005.jpg
We like it there because they are so close to the beach, literally a 5 minute walk to the top of the boardwalk, a 5 minute walk down the boardwalk to the beach, and there's a Dunkin's on the boardwalk, huge plus for me! It's a very family friendly beach and boardwalk with lots to do and see. You would never know the campground is so close to the action because you cannot hear any of it from within the campground. They take dogs, another huge plus for us. There is a pool and 2 hot tubs, one designated as adults only. There are paddle boat rentals, fishing derbys for the kids, laundry on site, a small camp store, lots of nice places to walk within the campground. The only sites I don't like is 39-51, it's like a parking lot and is TIGHT. Here is a link to their site map so you can see what I mean.
http://www.paradiseparkresort.com/interactive-site-map.shtml
To me and my family this place is a 10 as far as campgrounds go. Couldn't be cleaner and the ppl who work there are very friendly.
RE: Move from PNW to New England
I do not play bingo much at all, maybe twice in 7 years. My wife plays from time to time but we get our fill at kids bingo.
THAT's WHO YOU ARE! AHA! It was KILLING me, I was squinting at your pic trying like heck to figure out where that site was! I totally know who you are, and your kids and wife and cute poofie dog! We're right down around the corner from you! We have definitely waved and said hello. That corner must drive you nuts, the road is so narrow. Ppl fly around that corner, it's sooo tempting. But not me, no, never, nope, noooooooo Suicide drives me nuts, at least once or twice a weekend I end up going out there with band aids for some weekender kids who don't realize how that hill can be.
I am a kids bingo junkie! OOps, I didn't say that, I really only sit there with my daughter, honest She made out like a bandit at back to school bingo last year.
Next time I see you I will introduce myself, and you'll say AHA too!
RE: Move from PNW to New England
I heard a couple different things but I think it was a disagreement with the owners but not sure. I think Anita who had helped him will do the calling. We saw Jimbo the weekend before camp opened, he stopped by to say goodbye.
I figured as much b'c he'd made a few vague comments last year but nothing terrible. I'm sorry I missed him to say goodbye. I know Vicki and Linda were tight.
I haven't seen Anita one time yet this year. She'll need help, I'm sure there will be plenty of folks who will want to help out. I am a bingo-holic :)
RE: Move from PNW to New England
grimmwit, glad things are good other than the black flies. The site did look nice and level, they do a good job with that.
Len and Jane, right around the corner from you. I know someone left last year up near 4 site drive and Jimbo was pulling out one of the last 2 weeks so lots of changes.
Anyway I am sure I have waved to you and will stop by and say hi when I am up there, we are across the street from the dam.
Hey I heard Jimbo has gone to Maine?? What made him go? I would have thought he'd be one to never leave. He used to tease me when I'd go to bingo-I'd be sitting alone and he'd say "Wow, you here with all your friends??" He was good to me tho', I spent the end of last summer with my hand in a cast and he always saved me some good sliders for bingo. I'll miss him :( Who'll call bingo now I wonder?
RE: Move from PNW to New England
Hello, and thanks again for all the replies.
I didn't notice anyone broken down. I got here Thursday afternoon, and was worn out. I spent the weekend just getting situated and taking it easy.
Feel free to stop by if you see signs of life. So far work is keeping me away more than I'd like - but not more than expected. The wife and kids will catch up with me the end of June - the site will be considerably more active then.
In response to another post in the thread - the site is fine. They put in some fresh gravel and the site is nice and level. I was thrilled to discover that the site had phone service AND that fast DSL service was available. Being an IT guy by trade, I need access often, and the wifi service from the campground doesn't reach out here.
Ugh - the bugs. I don't know if they are mosquitoes or what, but they are voracious. Mosquitos at home rarely bothered me - too bitter I guess. But when I was setting up, I got eaten alive. I was in shorts, and at one point looked down and there were five bugs munching on me. I'm hoping that as the weather warms up and dries out, that will abate somewhat. Fingers crossed.
As always, thank you to all for the input and posts.
Grimmwit
My friend, welcome to New England and black fly season. These buggers will be buggering you from now till Father's Day. The bf season is generally from Mother's to Father's Day. It's the females that bite, they need your blood to feed/lay their eggs. The bites start out like a mosquito bite but at least on me get much more swollen and itchy. And a mosquito bite might bother me for a day or so but the bf bites usually bother me for 3 or more days. Keep plenty of bug spray on and keep cortisone cream on hand for if (ok, when) you get bit! After mid-June you most likely won't be bothered by bugs. I've never been bothered by mosquitos down at our site so hopefully you won't be either, and hopefully after bf season is over you will be bug free.
RE: Move from PNW to New England
We are at the bottom of Suicide Hill, a cardinal 5th wheel. You didn't miss too much this past weekend, other than gorgeous weather and free mother's day pancakes :) But hardly anyone was there for seasonals. I was surprised at how many transients were there. Even saw a couple of tents!
A long timer has pulled out of the W's up in grimmwit's area and I was amazed at how different it looks up there, they even added a site up in that 4 lot corner.
RE: Tying out vs. containing dog
DavesWife: thank you :) We think he's kinda cute too. He's a good boy and very sweet. I acutally did win a local photo contest with this pic.
Susan: stay works great for him indoors or when no new people are around, but when other dogs come around or new people he just can't help himself and no amount of "stay" commands work for him in that kind of situation. Trust me, over the past 6 years we've had him we've worked extensively on this. Not every dog responds every time to every command, and every dog is different. He is very obedient in general and at home, but at camp it's a whole other story with so many other dogs, critters, new people all the time, etc...
The leash loop thing is what he gets himself tangled up in, he goes in out and around the chair legs and no one can relax. Being in the pen is really the best thing for him in our particular situation. He's not in there 24/7, he gets regular walks and is free to roam when inside our camper. But when we're all outside, say around the fire or whatever, the pen is the best place for him and he's very close to the action and coming and going areas so he doesn't really seem to feel isolated. Trust me, he is well loved and adored and has tons of company visiting him at his pen at all times. Some of our neighbors know his name but don't know ours!
RE: Tying out vs. containing dog
Wonder why places won't let you?? It's not like they're permanent or would cause a hole or anything. Strange. We looked at the baby gate kind of thing, white plastic enclosure, he could push that over in a second and it was much too small.
I do know what you mean about ppl leaving dogs out alone to bark and be lonely. The one time I tied him out at home I was a nervous wreck and when I went out to check on him, sure enough there was a hawk or something circling over head, and I don't live out in the sticks or anything that would be considered hawk territory. No more tying out since then. That's just not for us. He's very much an active part of our family. If he wouldn't pull so much when he sees other dogs or when people come to visit we'd just keep him on leash, but I'm so afraid he'll choke himself or at least hurt himself trying to pull pull pull. Plus he manages to tangle the leash up under and around everything in sight. Having him penned is so much easier on everyone, including him.
RE: Tying out vs. containing dog
No, the ex pens are allowed, it's anything erected that would be considered permanent like regular yard fencing that isn't allowed. Even our pen that we made that is staked into the ground is ok, we found this out from the neighbors who asked mgmnt before they did it. I guess b'c it's so easily removed and takes just a small amt of space it's ok.
I hope you weren't insinuating that I leave him without companionship by penning him or tying him out. I don't leave my dog without companionship. When we leave he either goes with us or he goes in his kennel indoors. He is never left out alone if no one is around. For his safety he is penned or tied and b'c I am responsible and abide by the laws/rules in our area and don't just let him run free. He is the kind of dog that people would steal, and he could easily get hurt if allowed to run free. He is happy in the pen, happy when tied out, is just a happy go lucky dog.
RE: Move from PNW to New England
You made a good decision! Actually my golf cart broke down right in front of your site last Fri night-you may have seen me and my daughter pushing the stupid thing, but it was pretty dark...darn corosion on the battery terms so it wasn't getting the full juice on plug in!
Anyway, I am glad you chg'd your mind from Mile Away, nice enough place but CS has so much more for your kiddos. I may stop by and say hi :) NOT A STALKER!
RE: Tying out vs. containing dog
Johnny R-that is the sweetest pic!
Thanks all for the ideas...I had actually never seen or heard of ex-pen before, but I figured something like that had to exist. Being 5'2" and having a little little dog, that wouldn't work b'c there's no door...I'd have to get the highest one so he wouldn't jump out (little dude can JUMP!) but wouldn't be able to reach him in there to scoop him out.
Happily, the solution we came up with works great, we just did it this past weekend. We made him en enclosure using chicken wire and stakes. Copied the idea from some neighbors. The chicken wire has no metal ends sticking out for my guy to get hurt on, it's flexible enough for me to bend into it to scoop him out but high enough that he can't jump out of it. It's perfectly safe, he LOVES it and it's worked out to be a great solution.
Thanks for your ideas and I loved the pics as well.
PS I have finally found a harness that is working well for him-fits properly and he hasn't been able to Houdini out of it and no more choking!
Thanks again! Spyro says thank you too! http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg252/Jungle--Jane/Spyro071b-1-1.jpg
-Jane
Tying out vs. containing dog
Wondering if anyone has any ideas... we have a 7 pound Yorkie terrier and in the past have tied him out to a 20# weight. He loves being outside, but he's a playful little dude and once in a while the neighbors dogs come just near enough that he just about chokes himself trying to get to the other dogs. We tried the harness but he's so small he wiggles out of it so he has to stay on a collar/leash tied to the weight. I'm toying with the idea of some kind of enclosure. Can't be more than 6ft x 6ft which believe it or not is plenty big for my little guy. Campground rules dictate no erecting of fences of any kind so that is out. Was going to get one of those kiddie corale things but my little guy is a jumper and he'd knock that over in a minute. The ground there is rocky so would be hard to secure it by driving stakes into the ground, not sure I'd be able to get far enough down to be able to do that.
Any ideas on how to let my guy be outside but not choke himself on that weighted tie-out? Teaching him not to strain is not an option, he's a friendly little dude and wants to get at anyone and everyone who approaches. We used to use a 10# weight but he could pull it!
RE: Who Here has Thier Reservations all Set for 2008?
Reservations? No way!
Any place that requires reservations six months in advance is NOT a place I want to be, I HATE crowds. I also DON'T camp on holiday weekends for the same reason, I HATE crowds.
My "off" season is Memorial day to Labor day. I do all my camping while the rest of you have all your rigs winterized. Unfortunately, my camping season is about at an end.
But you all have fun in your packed-like-sardines campgrounds now, hear? :B :B :B
Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine! LOL!
RE: Move from PNW to New England
If you can wait till May 1 to come out then I'll second the nod to Cold Springs. In your situation you can get a site at a monthly rate. Now is the time to contact them to arrange something before the place books up. It's very quiet during the week, weekends can be busy but it's pretty quiet at night during "quiet hours". Lots of nice ammenities, everything in the campground is easy to get to, and very friendly seasonal folks :) A small grocery store is a 2 minute drive, a few larger chain grocery stores are about 10-15 mins away. Laundry on site and Manchester down town is maybe 20 mins away.
http://www.coldspringscampresort.com/
As for bugs, I don't find Cold Springs area to be particularly buggy for some reason. We have a screen house there and don't often feel the need to be in there.
I will also agree that Pine Acres is a dump! Friendly Beaver too! Not sure about Autumn Hills, it's right down the road but I never hear anyone talk about it.
I know of no other camp grounds in the Manchester area.
Good luck with your move! Welcome to Manchester!
