Meet Up 2015

[Morganna]

Sorry, had to edit because I pasted the wrong link in!

Hello My Loves!

So, since the Great Lakes Pod and the Pod of the Midwest are so close and overlap, I figured I'd post it here too!

We are starting to plan out 2015 Meetup. The thread we are discussing it on is here:
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?10425-Meet-Up-2015

Feel free to join in. So far the places we are trying to decide between are:
1.) The Wisconsin Dells
2.) Chicago
3.) The Indiana State Park
but we are still taking suggestions!

We also have not even really started talking about a date yet.

Please swim on over and join in the convo! We's love to have as many people there as possible!!!

[Mermaid Menanna]

I would be VERY interested in the Wisconsin Dells location. That's the only one on the list I would have access to, but will depend on when. I can only do such things on weekends. Since I live so close to Wisconsin Dells I will make mention for those who aren't familiar with the area... they have a mermaid themed hotel there and in the instance of bad weather, I'm thinking it might just be possible to get them to donate some free pool time for a pod of mermaids if the pod would be willing to interact with the guests and such as a "feature appearance" to promote the hotel. I have stayed there before... rooms are reasonably priced, clean, and good size and they have a large indoor pool as well as an outdoor pool. I am hoping that once I get used to my tail I can work a deal with them to trade me for weekend pool time in exchange for my appearance as their "resident mermaid" to promote the hotel.

[Morganna]

I would be VERY interested in the Wisconsin Dells location. That's the only one on the list I would have access to, but will depend on when. I can only do such things on weekends. Since I live so close to Wisconsin Dells I will make mention for those who aren't familiar with the area... they have a mermaid themed hotel there and in the instance of bad weather, I'm thinking it might just be possible to get them to donate some free pool time for a pod of mermaids if the pod would be willing to interact with the guests and such as a "feature appearance" to promote the hotel. I have stayed there before... rooms are reasonably priced, clean, and good size and they have a large indoor pool as well as an outdoor pool. I am hoping that once I get used to my tail I can work a deal with them to trade me for weekend pool time in exchange for my appearance as their "resident mermaid" to promote the hotel.


You are talking about Atlantis right? I was actually thinking about doing the same thing, but not until I got my new tail (It was finally started!) and get used to it. Silicone is MUCH different than fabric.

As far as Atlantis Water Park:
Here is the website for those who haven't heard of it: http://www.theatlantishotel.com/
In June, the average price for a 2 queen bed room with sofa (in June) is about $130-160 a night. So really not that expensive and honestly if money is an issue for anyone, I'd be willing to share a room and I'd bet a couple other people would too. If nobody has any objections, I can contact the manager about if we can make any deals.

[Morganna]

Well, why don't we pick a date first, then we can contact a few places to find the best deal.
I vote either:
Fri June 26 - Sun June 28
Fri July 3rd - Sun July 5 (I know this is over Independence Day, but the Dells has some amazing fireworks displays)
Fri August 14 - Sun August 16
Fri August 21 - Sun August 23

Personally, I vote one of the August dates. It is late enough in the season that it won't be overly packed, it won't be unbearably hot, and it's far enough away that we can plan and people can get off work.

I am super excited about this!

[Mermaid Menanna]

Independence Day weekend won't work for me, but either of the August dates would be great. If this is happening in the Dells I can probably get my husband to take a day off of work so that I can attend all 3 days, which I would love! Anything before August 1st and I would be limited to Saturday only.

And yes, the Dells has some awesome fireworks for anyone who does wish to attend them. Let me look up the hotel to verify the name of the one I stayed at and I'll get back to you here later today. I just distinctly remember everything having a full fledged mermaid theme, including the room names. We walked in the front door that first night and the very first thing I saw was the big mermaid fountain in the entryway and I started to squeal, lol.

[Mermaid Menanna]

Ok, yes, did some checking and it was the Atlantis hotel that I was thinking of. It has been years since I've been there but from the photos I have seen online it looks pretty much the same. I should also mention that the Neptune Bar & Grill, which is poolside, had some awesome food at fair prices. :) I was there in the winter so didn't get to enjoy or explore their outdoor pool situation, just the indoor pool.

[Mermaid Menanna]

Just doing some research and I'm wondering if another location in the Dells wouldn't be even better? I found the Sunset Bay Resort, which is located on the beach of Lake Delton, not quite as busy as the bigger resorts/hotels and also a bit cheaper. I saw room rates as low as $78. The more I think about it, August is the busiest month in the Dells and is usually swarming with kids. Pools and water parks get crowded and can be quite expensive if you want any kind of real variety, and I am noticing that a lot of the water parks have turned things more into a theme park than actual free swimming available situations. This may not be conducive to a pod of mermaids... but Lake Delton is beautiful, it's clean, and it's large... and it's walking distance to most of the water parks in the Dells area.
Is just my thoughts on it. I'll keep looking to see if I can find other areas in the Dells that are conducive to a mermaid pod having a great weekend without spending their life savings or getting trampled by hoards of people, lol.

[Mermaid Menanna]

Lake Delton also has a public beach, no lifeguards on duty, which means probably fewer people with little kids during peak season. (at least til someone spots a pod of mermaids, lol... that would probably turn the pod into a tourist attraction of it's own)
http://www.lakedelton.org/modules/web/index.php/id/120

[Mermaid Menanna]

More info to share about public swimming beaches near/in the Dells area...
http://wisconsinstateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/mirror-lake-state-park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=WI&parkId=60026

http://www.devilslakewisconsin.com/activities/swimming/

[Morganna]

August usually isn't any worse than June or July.

Well, since August works for the people who have chimed in, why don't we plan for: Fri Aug 7th - Sun Aug 9th. Then we can start contacting places and seeing if we can get deals. If we go Fri - Sun, we can go to multiple places to swim. (One place Fri night, one sat morning, one after lunch, and one sun). NO need to be restricted to one place!

[Mermaid Menanna]

That sounds good to me except I'll have to skip morning swims. I can't be away from home overnight, too many animals here to care for. I'd have to come home at the end of the night and go back next day. I'm about 1 1/2 hrs from the Dells.
Will there be some kind of written/printed itinerary to follow so I'd know how to find everyone the next day?
Hubby & I are planning to spend the summer scouting all of the lakes I've found in the area for swimming. There are quite a few locations I want to check out that are about 10 - 15 min from the Dells in any given direction. I will be sure to post updates and pics when I can get them of the different locations in the area as summer progresses. I am most interested in places where the fees are minimal or it's free since I am always on such a tight budget. I will also keep track of any park fees, etc. that I may have to pay to get to any of the locations so everyone has a head's up well in advance.

[Morganna]

Ummm. I don't think we really need to make a hardcore "Itinerary" but maybe like a loose plan. I mean, if we make a deal with a specific place we need to make good on that deal. But hopefully this will be FUN, not work. :)

Well, lets tentatively plan for Aug 7 - 9. I will make a FB page and start contact to contact a few of the lodges to get some ideas of where would be ok and where is a definite no.

[Mermaid Menanna]

I'm hoping you can find somewhere that still has openings available. I just joined the fb group, waiting for approval. :)

[jvry8c]

I'm open except for independence day. Will be very awesome to swim with a group in my new tail. Also I think the beach would work better than the water park.

[Morganna]

Just so everyone knows, we have moved this convo to FB since it seems more people are more active there :)
https://www.facebook.com/events/971357822895397/