Blue Ridge Update

Blue Ridge Participants:

First with the van rental here is the new budget per person for the Blue Ridge before we add any additional riders.

A couple of upfront notes:

We will still be taking the Lopatin's car with trailer on the daily route. The non-riding Lopatin and kids will have the rental van during the day. So if we all need to sag it will be done in shifts. The only drivers for the rental van will be the Lopatins and myself because it's $50 per extra driver who is not a spouse of the primary renter. I will let Brian or Cheri be the primary renter, and I will be the add on.

In the past with a much smaller group, and with less variety of expenses we just all payed a portion along the way and evened up at the end. I am not sure that will work for a number of reasons with this large a group, and with new participants I don't know well personally.

I am mulling over ways that we can work out the expenses and distribution, so that no one has to put out $3000 by the end of the trip and worry about reimbursements.

My initial thought is that a few designated (could be one) individuals cover different expenses. Every partipant would pay up-front their estimated expenses, with a small adjustment made at the end for actuals.

Here is another option. I am making room assignments, and they are mostly fixed for the entire trip. Without room assigments it would be caos each night we check into a new hotel. It could be up to the individual sharing a room to figure out how to even up each night. The van & trailer rental could be payed up front, with gas evened up at the end. In order for this to work, one individual in each room must be an AARP or AAA member, those are the rates I have gotten.

Let me know if you have another option that would work, or your comments on these options.

Once we have some consensus I will let everyone know how we are going to do this. Remember I am not a professional tour operator, and am sharing my portion of expenses like everyone else.

On that note: Please send me $100 to cover the deposits being made for rooms ect at your earliest convenience.