2013 SOUTH FLORIDA GATHERING (THIRD ANNUAL GATHERING) NOV. 8-10TH COME JOIN IN..............

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Hey guys,

wanted to run this by the group...

I've been communicating with Patty (the campsite director) over email and she isn't very as accommodating as i would have expect from a group like us who has a recurring event at her park and we have always abided by the rules. Not to mention we have fed her staff and park campers in the years past. Basically she said since this is a holiday weekend, they want us to reserve a minimum of 3 nights. Our event has only ever been 2 nights because alot of us have to leave work Fridays and goto work the following monday.  She said that the staff members who helped me set  up the reservation in the past have messed this up and that's why "they are no longer with the company".

Last year i found the staff slightly less accommodating then the prior year and they raised the prices on us for reservations.

So i'm a little perturbed by this. I mean the set up is great with the Group tent site, Screened Room and RV sites so close in proximity..but i feel like they aren't giving us any credit for being repeat customers.

So i wanted to get your opinions..should we continue with the same location and try to work out a better deal and/or reserve 3 nights for tents and RV's? Should we try to find a different location? Does anyone know of a similar camping area around the north Okeechobee area?
There is a nice camp in the Alafia Area. 2 Large covered pavilions close to Sweetbay Supermarket.  
 
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The months are ticking away...... Only 3 to go.... Doug, you can put me down for ribs and chicken in the comp..... When can we start talking smack..............LOL
 
Morning. I'm kinda new to smoking and this here sounds fun. I'm located in Palmetto. Any requirements to join the South Florida Gathering?
 
Hey Mike,

Only one requirement, and that is to enjoy yourself at the gathering. You can camp the three days or more if you wish. Or you can come out for a day. Some of us will arrive starting on Wednesday, some on Thursday and some on Friday. The biggest day will be on Saturday.

If your camping, we are trying basically to use sites #79 thru #89. The gathering tent will be on #88.

If you will be tent camping, I believe there are some lots already rented that you can share. If that is the case, Doug will be around to let you know.

But regardless of which way you go with the camping, we'll be glad to have you at the gathering.

Ron
 
The months are ticking away...... Only 3 to go.... Doug, you can put me down for ribs and chicken in the comp..... When can we start talking smack..............LOL
Boykjo,

Is there a time limit on talking smack. If so we are all in trouble.
wife.gif
 
Not to mention the sites at Highlands Hammock are small.  
Hey Mike! Welcome to the forum and welcome to the thread. Only requirement to be invited is to show up and have fun:) It's labeled "south florida" but we have guys coming from other parts as well as some this year coming from out of the state! Should be a great time!

This is our 3rd year going and trying to make it bigger each year. We'd love to have you and any family or friends you would like to bring. Just let me know so i can put you down on the first page with all of the info. This year we have already chosen Highland Hammock as our destination and most if not all of us have all of us have booked our spots. Depending on how this year goes we can definitely keep Alafia in mind for next year. We did the first 2 years at Fisheating Creek over your way but had a tough time with the staff and director for booking this year so made the decision to look elsewhere. 

As JckDanls07 said...i booked a extra site for anyone who wants to share a site and split costs. so if your interested in that let me know. If you'd like to book your own take a look at the map on Page 1 of where we are and you can get a spot close by.
The months are ticking away...... Only 3 to go.... Doug, you can put me down for ribs and chicken in the comp..... When can we start talking smack..............LOL
Put ya down for the comps Joe! And let the smack talking begin! ;)
 
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Morning. I'm kinda new to smoking and this here sounds fun. I'm located in Palmetto. Any requirements to join the South Florida Gathering?

Hey Mike (neighbor)... glad you found the thread for the gathering... I too am in Palmetto... The wife and I went to Highlands a month or so ago... the sites we have are pretty good size (BIG).... The first gathering is what made me sign up on these forums... I was just a lurker until Doug and Smokin Al started putting the first gathering together... It sounded like a good time so I signed up to the forums and asked If a complete noob was invited.... Without hesitation they both said "Hell Yea, C'mon over and join us"... Man am I glad I did... It was a blast and I have learned a few more tips and tricks as well.... So now we have been to both of the south fl. gatherings... plus we have been to the North Fl. Gathering twice.. and will be at the next one as well.... These things are a blast and they are Family oriented.. I have learned a lot from these guys...

We have people coming from NC, GA, N. Fl.

So the answer to your question is... "HELL YEAAAAAA... bring the family and/or friends and come join us" the only requirement would be "don't run out of libations" :biggrin:
 
I've been saving this for a special occasion... Looks like I'll be bringing it


LOL........
 
 
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Welp.. what are some of the other things people are gonna cook besides the COMP foods ? Are we gonna make some sausage (I will bring a butt or 2 to contribute) ?... Ron, are you by any chance bringing your waffle irons again ?
 
Keith, I saw your post on Mike's RC thread and you sorta said everyone would bring their own smoker and be cooking for themselves. I'm curious now how this is going to work. Is everyone going to be cooking individual meals for themselves? Or are we going to pitch in and cook together big meals to share like we did at NFL? I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to need to bring and how I'm going to fit it all in my little car.

I'm game for anything I just need to figure out what I'm going to do.

I'm in on making sausage and have some stuff I can bring and can bring some meat to if needed.
 
Dave...everybody kinda cooks what they want, when they want and then shares with others... we don't really have planned meals except for the Comps.... the only really "planned " meal is Sat. evening with the rib and special dish comp.... special dish usually being some kind of side dish... we just piece and pick the rest of the time... that's why I asked what others are cooking besides the comp meats so that we pretty much don't everybody cook the same thing... we usually will do a breakfast thing in the mornings as well.... hope this helps clarify...
 
Dave you might also ask if anybody will have extra space on their smoker as to worry about how to pack yours into your car... Smokers are usually going 24/7... I'm only bringing my Mini WSM.. as I will be out for 2 weeks and trying to keep the load a little lighter... still trying to put together a quick little smokehouse to do the sausages in...
 
Keith, I saw your post on Mike's RC thread and you sorta said everyone would bring their own smoker and be cooking for themselves. I'm curious now how this is going to work. Is everyone going to be cooking individual meals for themselves? Or are we going to pitch in and cook together big meals to share like we did at NFL? I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to need to bring and how I'm going to fit it all in my little car.

I'm game for anything I just need to figure out what I'm going to do.

I'm in on making sausage and have some stuff I can bring and can bring some meat to if needed.
Hey Dave...no need to worry ill have plenty of space on my smoker, i'm bringing the big boy and plan to keep it smoking all weekend!! IF anyone of you have a good source for wood...for now i'm trapped down here in Fort Lauderdale where its harder to find wood so if anyone can help me out that'd be great!


Dave we also all share... nobody cooks for "just themselves"...so bring anyway you might wanna cook up and there will be plenty of smoker space for ya.
 
also there  is never a shortage of food....i dont think we stopped eating at any point the entire weekend LOL.

Keith and any other knowledgeable sausage guys...what do you guys think is a "good ammount" of suplies to bring for sausage for the weekend? i have no problem contributing a butt or 2...but if keith is also brining a couple...is that to much? do we need casings? cures? i buy seasonings in bulk from restaurant depot so i'll have a bunch of that.  what else would we need? should we make a plan for the sausage making?

anyone wanna do a Sauce competition? make it there...no bringing pre-made sauces :)
 
Thanks Keith/Doug, it makes more sense to me now. I started to wonder how I was going to smoke enough food on my Mini! Since you will have that big boy Doug I will just use that. I don't think I can help with wood though since I'll be coming down in a small car.

I want to do a couple of butts of pernil inspired pork. I tried it at NFL but CallahanDave's butts got done before mine and I think everyone was stuffed before they tried mine. I'm still working on some other ideas.

Keith mentioned breakfast, I can mix up some breakfast sausage before hand, I have some Walton's seasoning that is awesome, anyone that was at NFL knows! I just need an idea of about how much we would need.

I definitely think we need some sort of plan for the sausage, I know 3 or 4 people already said they can bring grinders and stuffers but I don't think we need that many. Might want to start making a list of who is bringing what so we don't end up with a bunch of stuff we don't need and miss something we do need. If we want to do some sticks I just bought a whole caddy of 19mm collagen casings and I can bring some of those. If we need any other casings or seasonings there's still plenty of time I can place an order. I have a 5# stuffer and a #12 grinder but Joe will probably want to go bigger! I can provide some meat if needed.

Anything else we might need just let me know and if I can't fit it in the car I'll pick it up when I get there.

Just 3 more months!!!:yahoo:
 
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