ECRC/LARK members going on the Foster's and Smith tour, please read here

[schneijt]

Hi guys/gals,

The tour is this Saturday!!! Since it's the week of the tour now, the time has come to figure out the finer details.

The current plan is for people to meet in Eau Claire and depart for Foster's and Smith at 8am. Because it's so early, we're going to skip seeing my tank before we leave. Instead, once we get back to Eau Claire, everyone is invited to see my tank before he/she heads home.

The place in Eau Claire to meet is my house:

Joe Schneider
3528 Sharon Dr.
Eau Claire, WI 54701

PM me for my cell phone number if you would like it, since I'd rather not post that online here.

Since we are leaving at 8am, please arrive a bit early. Nick Ebnet and I will both be bringing some hunting radios so that most of the vehicles will have a radio to communicate with the caravan. We should be taking as few vehicles as possible, so that it's easier to keep everyone together and we don't waste lots of gas driving separately. Please let everyone know if you need a ride or if you're driving and how much room you have for others in your vehicle.

The reason we are leaving at 8am is so that people can have time to shop at the retail store before the tour begins. We will try to get some retail store time in after the tour as well, but we will be doing lots of driving on Saturday, and I think I speak for pretty much everyone when I ask that we not be at DFS too much later than 4pm, which is the end of the tour.

PAYING FOR ITEMS AT THE CORAL FACILITY:

You can only pay for items at the coral facility using a CREDIT CARD or a DFS GIFT CERTIFICATE. So please don't bring cash or your checkbook expecting to buy stuff from the coral facility. More information from DFS about their tour guidelines can be found here, should you want to read it: http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/g...al_pagesid=468

The tour time is 12-4pm, so we will be there by 11am and have at least an hour in the retail store if we leave EC at 8am. After the "formal" part of the tour, we will have a chance to buy corals and stuff at the facility. I believe you can even buy Diver's Den items on-the-spot, but it may be best to call ahead and order the item and pick it up at the retail store on the day of the tour. This would make sure someone else doesn't buy the item by the time we get there for the tour.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO MEET US UP IN RHINELANDER, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. It's really important that we're not waiting for people on Saturday morning, so I need to know if you're planning to meet us there in Rhinelander. It's not a problem for you to meet us in Rhinelander if you'd prefer not to meet up with the caravan in EC. Just let me know about your travel plans, and we'll get your cell phone number so we can meet up with you at the facility or retail store up there.

DIRECTIONS TO THE FACILITY IF YOU'RE NOT RIDING WITH US:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&cl...ed=0CA8Q8gEwAA

The closest address I can get is 3400 North River Rd. Rhinelander, WI.

If you click on the above link, the red arrow in the map is just north of the retail store. The store is located about 1/4 mile north of Highway 8 on North River Road. It's a little bit West of the city of Rhinelander, right next to the airport up there.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know and we'll make sure everything is figured out ahead of time and that the whole trip goes as smoothly as possible on Saturday.

Thanks everyone!
Joe

[schneijt]

I'm planning on driving up to the facility, and I've got room for three people in my car. How is everyone else planning to get to Rhinelander?

Thanks,
Joe

[firsthesitation]

I havent emailed or called Tim yet but I think we'll be coming up from Winona through Eau Claire. So I'll have room for 2 more people in our Honda.

[schneijt]

Nick, is there any information that I didn't include in the original post that you'd like to chime in with? Since you've done the tour before, let me know if there's something else that should be mentioned.

Thanks,
Joe

[firsthesitation]

No looks good to me. The only thing I'd say is that when they open up the entire facility to you for purchasing. As long as it isnt already sold off the divers den part of their site, you can buy anything they have in the tanks.

[schneijt]

It would really be nice to hear from some more attendees about what they're planning on for travel arrangements and such...

Thanks,
Joe

[schneijt]

I just got an e-mail from Patti Berg, the manager of the retail store up at Foster's. She attached an order form for dry goods--if you are planning to pick up dry goods at the store and know what some of the things you want are, please PM me with your e-mail address so I can forward her e-mail and the form to you. We get 10% off at the retail store during the tour, BTW. She would just like to have the chance to assemble dry goods orders for people ahead of time, so you need to reply to her with the order form filled out by 11AM FRIDAY MORNING.

Thanks,
Joe

[pogodzib]

I'll be heading up there in the morning straight from the La Crosse area so don't wait around for me. If anyone from the LaX area wants to ride up with me, send me a PM. I have room for 3-4 people. The only thing bad is that I'll need to leave fairly quickly after the tour to get back home for a birthday party.

[eggerstout]

Originally Posted by schneijt

It would really be nice to hear from some more attendees about what they're planning on for travel arrangements and such...

Thanks,
Joe

I don't know who Mark and I are riding with, could anyone message me if they have room for two people in their vehicle, so we know who we'll be making the trip with.

Thanks,
Jordan

[schneijt]

Jordan, I've got room in my car if you're interested. Just let me know if you want a couple spots reserved in the Schneidermobile for you.

-Joe Schneider

[schneijt]

Brian, we will see you up there. Please PM me with you cell # and I'll give you mine as well, just in case we have trouble meeting up or something.

Thanks,
Joe

[D.J.]

3 more days

[eggerstout]

Originally Posted by schneijt

Jordan, I've got room in my car if you're interested. Just let me know if you want a couple spots reserved in the Schneidermobile for you.

-Joe Schneider

I need two spots reserved, for me and Baum89

Jordan

[schneijt]

EDIT: Joe's car is now full.

Joe's Car:
1. Joe
2. Jordan
3. Mark
4. Eric

On a side note, thanks for confirming that Mark is going--I still had him as a "maybe," so it's cool to officially be at 17 people now.

Updated attendance list:
ECRC/LARK Fosters Trip Attendance:

*For Sure*
1. Joe Schneider (schneijt)
2. Nick Ebnet (firsthesitation)
3. Eric Gerlach (diggler)
4. Zach Mattie (ZMattie)
5. Eleen Viera--with Zach
6. DJ Hollingsworth (D.J.)
7. Kim Hollingsworth
8. Tim Ottum (Timmy)
9. Brian Pogodzinski (pogodzib)
10. Leonard Maland (Maland)
11. Tracy Maland
12. Jordan Egger (eggerstout)
13. Jake Nichols (thisguy1)
14. Josh Dugolenski--with Jake
15. Robin Edwards (Robin_E)
16. Aaron Engler--With Robin
17. Mark Baumgartner (baum 89)


*Maybes*
Aaron and guest (Afish4u)
Matt Golden (Aquaman777)
Greg (Big.Gmunoz)
Matt Hanson? (hansmatt)

[diggler]

Hey Joe can I will ride with you if you have room still?