Rally at a "No Alcohol Allowed" facility?

[Sean]

Not being able to have a glass of wine or a beer with dinner would be a show stopper for us, Mike.  Lots of comments here about drinking inside the rigs, but I would assume that a rally would have one or more (or all?) group meals, and I just can't see having a dry dinner, say, three nights in a row.

JMO.  Which counts for very little since I can't really commit to coming at this point anyway.

If you needed me there to do a workshop I'd find a way to work around it, but I would not be happy about it, especially if we can't sit out around the campfire after class chatting with a beverage of our choice in hand.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[Ron4104]

We have a no alcohol policy at our campground. We also know that sometimes people discreetly consume some. That is our intention in the first place. If you want a policy to be followed you make a rule beyond what you actually want to have happen. The sign reads NO ALCOHOL but we have never had to police it because anyone who is consuming is doing it discreetly. What a person is doing in their own camping unit is none of my business. If they are bothering other people because it has altered their common sense it becomes my business. We would like to have a rally and this has been my concern whether people would be turned off because of our sign. Not against drinking but too old and tired to babysit anyone thats drunk and unruly. Strictly my opinion, but I'm allowed as long as I pay the taxes and insurance. KEEP ON BUSIN'!

[white-eagle]

Mike, my experience is that most parks that say "no alcohol" really don't care what you do as long as it's not obvious.  walking around with a beer would be a nono, but your favorite coffee mug filled with something else would be ok unless you advertise it.  No one checks coaches and rigs.  at least i've never heard of it.


no drunks, no trouble.

however, i am like a lot of the others in that i probably can't make it.  we'll still be working out west.

[luvrbus]

Ron, in all my years of rallies only one time have I ever saw Bus people get out of line with drinking and he was not really a bus owner but a guest of a owner so the bus owners put him in his place quick.
Quartzsite is a huge rally and it never happen but the one time and this year the guy came back and he was a totally different person,me I can kinda deal with a happy drinker but the obnoxious and loud ones I have a problems with even in a restaurant JMO. Then I have a problem with paying money for a spot and cannot sit under my awning in a lawn chair and have a cold beer if I chose no way would I try and hide it is just not my nature

good luck

[bubbaqgal]

I cannot imagine anyone staying away from a rally just because they can't drink in public.  I feel that anyone that can't go a few days, or meals, without alcohol has a problem they need to look at very seriously. 

[luvrbus]

That is why we were all created different Kat me I drink very little none right now lol but I don't have a problem with people that do drink the problem I have is someone trying to dictate to me what I can do when I paid for that spot and fwiw I have never been thrown out of a RV,State,Fed or County Park that had the signs " No Alcohol" never happen but it may someday

good luck 

[rv_safetyman]

Like a few other replies, we probably could not make the rally anyway.  All of our plans are on hold while our daughter fights her battle with cancer.

That said, I have very mixed emotions about the rule.  About the only time of the year that I have a drink is at a bus rally.  Somehow, it just seems to feel like a special time to have a good scotch during social hours.  So, in my case it is not being able to go a few days without a drink.  It is sitting around with good friends having a happy hour.  Quite different in my mind.

Jim

[Bill 340]

 Well sometimes there is a way aroung GENERAL RULES, seems that this year because of county rule  changes and the change in Rally hosts, The Arcadia rally was almost cancelled for the same problem, Seems when there is a   Management change then all grandfathered rules were out,But after several meetings with the county commissioners and the center, all alchol problems were eliminated  along with lots of other policies. alcohol will be allowed as always at Arcadia 2012.  We wish to thank all the Drinkers for their excellent record at  the Arcadia rallys.But to answer the original question, The NO ALCOHOL RULE, would devestate any  rally not just Busses,

[Sean]

I cannot imagine anyone staying away from a rally just because they can't drink in public.  I feel that anyone that can't go a few days, or meals, without alcohol has a problem they need to look at very seriously.

Kat, that's a really judgmental comment.  There's a difference between "can't" and "don't care to" -- I would hope you could understand the distinction.

I taught motorcycle safety for the CHP for nearly a decade, and I can probably recite from memory the spiel about separating activities like riding a motorcycle (or driving a car, or a bus) from drinking.  I can separate drinking from anything; I don't care to separate drinking from socializing around the table after hours, when I don't have to drive (or operate heavy machinery).  Lot's of events call for my time around the country, and I have standing invitations in almost every state to spend some time and enjoy myself with friends.  Why should I go out of my way to attend an event where my relaxation is constrained to fit someone else's morals?  If you like a cup of coffee in the morning, would you go to a rally where coffee was forbidden?  How about a rally where women and men must sleep in separate beds?  A rally where women should have to cover their faces at all times with a burqa?  Surely you can do that for a few days, right?  So because you can do it, if you choose not to, you must have a problem you need to look at seriously, if I understood you correctly.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[Barn Owl]

No alcohol a deal breaker? Really? Come on guys, the world has more to offer than that. I know why those rules are there. Has anyone ever camped around a bunch of drunken rednecks? It only takes once to see why a campground would just ban it outright. Folks that get by on one glass I tolerate, the minute I sense the alcohol talking, I'm done. There always seems to be one that just doesn't know they have become unwelcome. Now, if they ban chocolate milk, then I boycott.

[Sean]

No alcohol a deal breaker? Really? Come on guys, the world has more to offer than that.

Laryn, that policy is not a deal breaker for me when I work for the Red Cross.  It's definitely not a deal-breaker for me when I'm driving, or working on 12,000 volts.  It's not a deal-breaker when I visit friends who have a dry house, for whatever reason.  But when choosing how I will spend completely discretionary social time, yes, it is a deal breaker.  And, yes, the world does have more to offer -- specifically, rally venues that do not have this proscription are offered.

Remember, Mike simply asked if anyone would not attend due to this policy.  People are trying to give honest answers, which is unlikely to happen if what they get back afterward are either (1) judgmental comments implying they are alcoholics or (2) a bunch of people trying to talk them out of their position or opinions.

I would venture a guess that after the last few comments here, many (most?) people who might have posted they would not attend will simply keep that to themselves now, to avoid either being seen as having a drinking problem, or an argument about it on the board.  By contrast, people who don't mind coming to a dry rally, or those who don't drink at all, will continue to post.  So Mike won't get a good answer, because the results, non-anonymous as they are, will be skewed.

I know why those rules are there. Has anyone ever camped around a bunch of drunken rednecks?

I know why the rules are there, too.  Mike didn't ask, though, if we wanted to come to a redneck gathering -- I think he was talking about a bus rally, which, if I understood correctly, would be a complete takeover of the facility.  I'd like to think we bus folk could police ourselves on such matters without need of a city ordinance.

It only takes once to see why a campground would just ban it outright. Folks that get by on one glass I tolerate, the minute I sense the alcohol talking, I'm done. There always seems to be one that just doesn't know they have become unwelcome.

Well, OK, but then I would ask: how often has this been a problem for you at a bus rally?  Again, we're not talking about camping with the Tappa Kegga Bru fraternity from the community college down the street here.

Now, if they ban chocolate milk, then I boycott.

Really? A deal breaker?  I thought the world had more to offer than that?  But as long as they have regular milk, I see now I can make a ton of money selling 8-balls of Bosco under the table.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[HighTechRedneck]

Let's please keep it friendly.  The goal here is to get a feel for how people feel about it.  So as to make it anonymous, I am going to add a poll to it.  Please vote according to whether you personally would attend a rally at such a facility.

Doing some research on State Parks and alcohol, I found this on the Maryland gov. site:

Do other state and county park systems ban alcohol consumption?

• All Maryland county park systems either ban the consumption of alcohol or require an alcohol permit with the rental of a picnic shelter.
• Alcohol is banned in 19 state park systems: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
• Alcohol is banned without a permit in five state parks systems: Delaware, Florida, New Hampshire, South Carolina, West Virginia.

I tend to agree that park rangers usually aren't concerned about people having a drink privately or discreetly.  Their concerns are behavior based.  As is the case in most matters of law enforcement, they get enforced when it becomes a nuisance or the get complaints.

[happycamperbrat]

I too like a little "nip" now and then. I dont like a bunch of rowdy drunks, but I would like to sip a beer or a glass of wine and not have to worry about breaking rules. Deal Breaker? Maybe!

[Barn Owl]

Sean, I did use a broad generalized brush, but the intention was not to sweep you up or make you wrong. I had mine written, and I posted on your heels and I hope it wasn't taken as a response to your direct preceding post. You are not the problem, and I agree that those who are in the bus conversion community are not either. There have not been any bus conversion rallies here in the Appalachian mountains where I live, but there have been many redneck "lets drink 'til were stupid rallies". The camp ground I am thinking of is Lake Moomaw, run by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. I don't know what their policy is, but I know what goes on there, and that is why I don't camp there anymore. It only takes one to mess it up for the majority who are respectful. How is a campground going to distinguish? They don't, and in taking out the least common denominator, they affect even the good guys. I just hate to see some good people not show over what I see as only a small temporary nuisance. BTW, I know what it is like to be a problem and have rules created thanks to those like me. After seeing my bus, campgrounds quickly enact the "no ugly camper rule". On more disclaimer, at this time of night, I am the only one that understands and appreciates my stupid humor. For anyone else reading this, my opinion doesn't make your opinion wrong, it just makes us different. I think we are closer to agreement than I know how to communicate it.

This is what I get to camp next to:

Netflix link if you have it.


The Trailer:
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

[Dreamscape]

We more than likely will not be able to attend, as we'll be in the Northwest.

If we were able to attend, and it's a non alcohol function, we'd still attend. It's no biggie one way or the other.

Cheers!