Attending events

[TeamsterPhil]

How far would you drive to a very high quality event? Let's make the assumption that there are no other "large" EBUFU events scheduled within 6 to 8 weeks of the event in question.

Phil Campbell
Just doing some market research.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

Well, I have flown to quite a few events. :wink_smil

[Chris Curtis]

In NH/MA, EBUFU events less than ten or twelve hours away are rare.

[MissMaggie]

It be nice if driving time were the only factor. Unfortunately, money, school and being able to get time off of work (I work evenings and mandatory weekends) is the deciding factor for me when I choose events.

[CWLady]

It be nice if driving time were the only factor. Unfortunately, money, school and being able to get time off of work (I work evenings and mandatory weekends) is the deciding factor for me when I choose events.
I hear ya Maggie! I work retail, so weekends are expected of me. However, my boss is quite flexible and if it doesn't conflict with the other workers, I'll usually get it. However, I'm limited by how far away it is too... I can't go to most events in VA (yet) because Dad (who's home I still occupy) is concerned about me driving 6 hours alone.
Rebecca Smith

[Delia Godric]

Sadly my car will allow me about 3 hours of driving before causing me worry. So, I marked upto 3 hours. But, if I can tag allong with friends, anywhere the road will go.

Anna Worden

[GrumpyDave]

While the poll is not scientific, it certianly is interesting. What I see is, there are as many folks who are not willing to drive any distance to an event as folks who don't care how far they have to drive. As the distance increases in three hour incraments, about 30% more people for each addition in 3 hours of drive time, won't make a given drive. Your mileage may vary.

[FWL]

Being from Central New England I have to drive to the Southern PA/MD/VA area, that's between 7 to 11 hours one way depending on where you are going. I try to pick 2-3 EBUFU events per year that we will go to. However as a NE reenactor I'm beginning to think I'm an exception. Many are only willing to drive to one 6-10 hour event per year or none at all. Since there are not any EBUFU events up here, I think the more campaigner minded folks either only go to 1-2 EBUFU events per year or hold their breath and go to the local events.

I think distance is a big factor. I always have to take Friday of to go to a 6-10 hour event. If I had a different job, I may not be able to do this at all,

Frank Lilley

[10TnVI]

The deciding factor for me is not the distance to an event but the distance home Sunday afternoon:-). Being a Federal in the south, there aren't many people to share rides with so I usually go solo. That limits me to about 5 hours of safe driving time. Plus it gets real boring on a 6-10 hour solo drive:-)

[LibertyHallVols]

If you want to get really scientific about this...

It would be interesting to survey the registration forms for attendees to an event like (just an example) Pickett's Mill and see how far folks actually drove to be there. Actually, PM might be the best "test case" because only folks in KY, TN, GA, and AL will be within a few hours of the event... anyone in the upper Midwest (WI, MI, MN, IA), east of the Appalachians, or west of the Mississippi River is gonna have quite a drive.

[37NC]

who needs a road just get me close to the event and I walk in. I had that problem this weekend. In college I drove truck so driving 10 12 14 hours don't bother me. I also have the perfect job my boss does not care how much time I take off.


Sgt. Dan Curran

37th NC. Co A

[crabby]

I have driven up to 20 hours for an event and imagine I would push it further to any quality event.

Crabby

[Yulie]

Just gotta go where the history takes place . . . .

The past two years have been very long trips to attend USCT events. You save wear and tear on personal vehicles by renting vans, plot out some inventive packing, shove everyone and the gear into it, make sure that no one eats beans or cabbage 24 hours before departure, and do some "creative" driving to get there before dark AND the rain or snow.

Did 12 hours this weekend: Detroit to Virginia -- Fort Pocahontas/Wilson's Wharf for the May 22-23 event.

Did 20 hours in February: Detroit to Lake City, Florida -- Battle of Olustee.

Shortest trip is 15 minutes to Historic Fort Wayne. Longest trip was from Detroit to Key West, Florida -- non-Civil War.

[Spinster]

I limit drive time to six hours--that is if Sister or I are the ones driving. If someone else is driving, we're game for most anything, wake me when we get there.

Just as interesting though, is the ability to get to an event by a reasonable sort of public transportation.

I keep trying to go to some of those eastern events by train, but still haven't managed to find one close to an Amtrack station where I can get a taxi out to the site and back.....

And I haven't ridden a long distance bus since Daughter was a babe in arms--and it was not a good idea for a woman alone even then, 23 years ago.

[Hank Trent]

A lot of it for me hinges on the definition of a high quality event. And as a secondary consideration, the degree of confidence I'd have that the event was indeed going to be of the quality that was being advertized. The higher the quality and the higher the confidence, the farther I'd go, with no real upper limit (do they do reenactments in Australia?). But there's definitely a risk-reward ratio to be weighed before traveling, because I hate to travel. Blegh. If there's something really great at the other end, though, it makes it all worthwhile.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[MissAnnaMae]

If you want to get really scientific about this...

It would be interesting to survey the registration forms for attendees to an event like (just an example) Pickett's Mill and see how far folks actually drove to be there. Actually, PM might be the best "test case" because only folks in KY, TN, GA, and AL will be within a few hours of the event... anyone in the upper Midwest (WI, MI, MN, IA), east of the Appalachians, or west of the Mississippi River is gonna have quite a drive.

I'm in Indiana and up until yesterday, was going to attend. I've participated in events there several times so the 8 hour drive is within my tolerable range.

[KentuckyReb]

Have musket, will travel. Carpooling is becoming a lot more common among the guys in my outfit right now for obvious reasons, which has really given a lot of us 'longer legs' when it comes to how far we'll go for an event.

[Huck]

In the old days living in Virginia, a 4 hour drive to an event, I thought was a long drive, and from time to time, my pards and I would travel across over into Tenn for an event. I was always glad that those events were few.
But now living in Nebraska, anything under 12 hours, that's nothing!

[uwezankl]

Hello everybody

Within Germany, where I live, the normal events are within 2 to 5 hours away. Due to the fact that there are very few really good events here we sometimes fly to England or even to the US! I think the quality of the event is what makes me want to go there, the better the event the more miles I am willing to do, the more money I am willing to spend...

cheers

Uwe Zankl

[hireddutchcutthroat]

I have driven to back to a few events on the East Coast, Perryville, Franklin and GBurg. I have driven well over 10 hours to events in Oregon and San Diego.

[1stMaine]

Comrades,

I'll travel to wherever I need to to go to a quality event, especially if it's somewhere i haven't traveled to before. I have some fond memories of road trips during the 125th series as well as the following "anniversary' mega-thingies. By far the easiest way to attend a far-off event is to get 30 or so fellows who want to attend to hire a bus and driver and hit the road. I've done this several times and each time it was well worth the effort and expense, which is actually less than you might imagine. Most of the time the cost was around 50-60 dollars per person, but you could sleep, watch a movie, listen to music, talk, whatever, and especially get up and walk around or use the bathroom without having to stop. It's worthwhile for a unit to consider for a long trip, because you arrive much fresher and ready to go, and you can simply get your gear on at the bus and march in to wherever you need to be. Everyone arrives together, and the driver will be back to meet you after the event is over.
respects,

[JEBminnesota]

From MN we find are selves driving a least 6 hours to a decent event and 15+ hours to a national event in the west and 20+ hours to an event out east.
It sucks but if the event is good it's worth it.

Joe Beedle

[pvtbigbottom]

well boys,
I have to go to school but if its a weekend i'm there

[Rear Rank 2]

I will go east or south for an event, no problem. The trouble is getting any of my pards to go. A one man unit just aint much good. But if I find a unit to fall in with then I will go.

Andy, you need to sign your full name to all posts per the rules. This is your second reminder. - Mike Chapman

[wheatstigers]

as for tavel most of our events are in the mid west however i live in dubuque iowa and drove to charlston sout carolina for the hunly funeral 1,200 mi one way and it was well worth it

Robert, please sign all of your posts with your full name - Mike Chapman

[Matt Caldwell]

Just a reference, Kris Cobel and I did the Dayton Ohio to Pt. Gibson drive last year (980 miles) and it took us two days, one way. We actually had more time in travel than in the event itself. Twice the amount, actually.

Dayton to Pickett's Mill this past weekend, 9 hours and well worth it.

[Kate Vogel]

It was approximately 12 hours, each way, from Hartland to Pickett's Mill. Due to some difficulties, we didn't start the event until early morning on Saturday and we were finished early on Sunday. Our drive time evened out with our time in the jungle of Northern Georgia and I must say it was entirely worth it. Carpooling (also known as "Katie pays for half the gas and sleeps the whole way-thank-you-so-much-Chad-Fuller") is a beautiful thing.

[RebelReefer]

I currently live in the 9th ring of hell....south east alabama, but i am moving to Boston soon. I have to drive 6+ hours just to get to good quality events.

[79th N.Y.S.M.]

A few years back, members of the Cameron Highlanders of the North West went to Washington D.C. and areas around that From Portland, Oregon.

28 of us went from the West coast to the East coast to give a crack at those big events we always hear about. (a little too big for me)

[BobSullivanPress]

Basically, it doesn't matter how far the event is away from me. The real factors involved in how I pick events are:

1. Time of year. If I have a family obligation, I'm not going no matter what. Family first.

2. The event's proximity to a historic site. If I've never been, and the event looks to be a good one, and I can take in some history in the bargain, I'd go. Perryville in 2002 is a good example. I went there because I'd never been there before, and I wanted to see the battlefield and the area. Also, the event sounded like a good one (it was) so I was hooked. And say what you want about Gettysburg, but I've been going to that town since I was a kid, and after 40-odd years of going there, I still get a kick going around that battlefield. So yes, I go to Gettysburg more often than not.

3. The reputation of the organizer(s). There are some folks that just can't run an event. If I know they're involved, I'm not going. Conversely, there are other folks that run a well-organized event, and all other factors being equal, I'd go to their events.

4. Potential sales. Yes it's different for me than for you guys, but the reality is, my family depends on the income from Sullivan Press. If I think I'll lose money at an event, then I won't go. And any event that involves such distances that I would have to stop at a motel on the way there and back is basically a break-even proposition at best. So I went to Perryville, but after gas, motels, expenses, and so forth, it was a break-even event.

The odd thing about potential sales is, that if you guys make up the majority of the participants, it generally isn't a good selling weekend for me because: (a) you don't come in to the merchant area and (b) you generally buy stuff from me before you go. The campaigners lament about so many bad sutlers at events, but since you guys don't really shop at events, we wonder why the good sutlers should pay the fees and set up when their target customers don't visit them? I like the events where the event is good enough to make people want to go, but the battles are bad enough to make people want to skip them and go shopping instead. :)

[Lone_Rebel87]

I am always up for the drive as long as it's not alone for a very long distance(me bing 16) but am always willing to pay my way in gas and help with the driving shifts so yeah if i can hit 'em I do.

Jordan Davis

[ArtilleryNick]

I live in Central Pennsylvania so alot of events in the Eastern Theatre of War are within 8 hrs of driving, which is reasonable. But, I agree with a common statement that so long as the battle is a good one, the time travelling might not be so big of a problem. You can drive for 3 days to an event, but unless it's a good one, you'll have just wasted that week.
But with factors such as work and all the other commitments people have mentioned, I think that to know you'll be attending a really great event, travelling time wouldn't be too big of a problem. So long as someone else is paying for the gas. :D

N.Keen

[David Lanier]

I'd drive up to nine hours solo. More than that, I want to go with a group (safety's sake, you know).

[EvilRob]

About 8 hours for me. As long as I can get the time off of work and Iam not alone. But if I can pull that off, whats another few hours gonna hurt.

Rob Michael
Frockhead Mess

[ElizabethClark]

Sorry, gang--this was one of the 2+ year old threads we hadn't yet closed.