Hotel rules?

[cyclops 55]

Yeah I agree with WAKWIB. It depends. If you want to move fast, it takes time to break camp, at least for our guys. We've done it that way plenty of times but on occasion, if the trip limit puts us in an urban area, we've stopped at a motel with a swimming pool as well. My favorite is heading to the Keys and stopping at the springs areas and other great parks in Florida. The travel becomes part of the overall adventure experience. But if time is tight, OTOH......

[Beavah 205]

Yah, only once can I remember doin' the hotel thing with a group.   It was a few years back when da Federal Government was gettin' shut down, and the group got evicted from da federal campground the night before an early mornin' airline departure.   Could have done da shuffle with local scouters to find a church floor, but the notice came so late and there were other "group dynamics" things goin' on.

 

I'll confess Uncle Beavah quietly paid for da hotel and dinner that night.  It wasn't the lads' fault, since they aren't old enough to vote yet.  Figured one of us who was responsible for electin' da schmucks should take some personal responsibility.  

 

Didn't have any need for "rules" though.  These were scouts, eh?  They were better behaved than da other guests.  As I recall, one room even asked da front desk for a vacuum to clean up some stuff before they left.

 

Beavah

Edited August 20, 2016 by Beavah

[Hedgehog 334]

 Maybe the closest I have ever come to sleeping in a hotel on a Scouting trip, just to show how far it was from sleeping in a hotel, was when we went to the Battleship New Jersey (now a museum ship in Camden NJ) and we slept in the same spacious accommodations the sailors used back in the day:  Bunks stacked three high, three or four stacks of bunks in a room.  I think my face was about 6 inches below the bottom of the bunk above me, and there wasn't room to sleep on my side, so comments about my snoring were heard from some of the other men the next morning.

 

 

Wait, that was you snoring?    My head still hurts from being startled and trying to sit up in the middle of the night.  

[NJCubScouter 1389]

Wait, that was you snoring?    My head still hurts from being startled and trying to sit up in the middle of the night.  

Heh heh, anything's possible. Actually, during my "adult leader camping career" I heard comments about my snoring at (or after) just about every trip. Sometimes from my tentmates, but often from neighboring tents as well. Most of the guys had a sense of humor about it. Not all, though.

[qwazse 4342]

Wait, that was you snoring? My head still hurts from being startled and trying to sit up in the middle of the night.

Thanks for the memory. When son #1's den crossed over, one of the dad's was proud to share his new "Taj Mahal" of a tent with another dad and I. Not my style, but given our general excitement and pride that our boys were all on their own, I agreed to join them. The other dad was concerned about the low temps that night, so I explained how I usually stripped down to my skivvies to warm my bag a little more quickly. The guy said he'd give it a shot. Well, between the tent owner and I, his poor fellow got the stereo effect of alternating snores! Sure the tent owner was woke up by me snoring once, and I by him a little later, but for the guy in the middle, it was near continuous.

Finally, at some wee hour, he shouts "I'm sick of this {insert not fit for scouter expletive here}!" And sits up! However, forgetting he was all but naked, exposes himself to near-freezing air. In a futile huff, he slams himself back on the ground and throws the bag over his head.

He somehow managed to endure the stereo barely-suppressed snickers from tent-owner and I until wake up time.

Edited August 21, 2016 by qwazse

[SpEdScouter 6]

I think for me is if the boys have everything packed for a campout, I dont want them opening up their backpacks before we get to the place.

 

Let me explain. I have taught the scouts to carefully pack for a trip by making a list, laying everything out, carefully pack their backpacks, and then seal that sucker up and dont touch it. This way they know exactly whats in it and where it is. If they have to do a campout halfway then they might mix things up, damage something, or lose something.

 

Now sleeping on the floor of say a gym would be a good compromise.

[qwazse 4342]

I think for me is if the boys have everything packed for a campout, I dont want them opening up their backpacks before we get to the place.

 

Let me explain. I have taught the scouts to carefully pack for a trip by making a list, laying everything out, carefully pack their backpacks, and then seal that sucker up and dont touch it. This way they know exactly whats in it and where it is. If they have to do a campout halfway then they might mix things up, damage something, or lose something.

 

Now sleeping on the floor of say a gym would be a good compromise.

We train our scouts that a module of their backpack should be a "go" bag. That smaller bag (with toiletries, change of clothes and maybe a laundry bag) is what would go with them to their hotel room. On our backcountry trips, the go bag is suitable for carrying only what they might need for a day hike -- in case they settle on staying at the same campsite for a couple of days. Needless to say, if the boys are into climbing or caving or swimming, the contents of those go bags changes drastically.

 

Depending on the location and how secure the parking lot is, you may want to ask for storage for your gear. Or plan on stacking the packs in a couple of closets.

[SSScout 1615]

Possibilities:

1)  Time the trip so the bus is traveling during the night.  Scouts sack out on board during the trip.  Save the daytime for sight seeing and activities.

1A)   Wash up?   Check franchise restaurants.   F'instance, Cracker Barrel is very Scout Friendly.   You may not get a shower, but hands and face and teeth brushing. 

1B) Same idea, find the train that goes your way...  AMTRAK discounts for youth groups.    

2)  Associated churches ,  military bases, Scout camps along the way.  Call and ask.   Internet stuff.  Whom do you know?  

3)   Friends and relatives along the way.  My Quaker Camp regularly walks the route of RELee retreating from Gettysburg, and often stays along the way in basements and backyards of various Friends.  One acquaintance is a retired safari organizer , and his stories and wall decorations (!) are worth any discomfort. 

4)  Hostels International.  Not too many around the USA, but if they are on the way, inexpensive accommodations. A bunk, roof, showers, shared kitchen, shared common room, shared chores to upkeep the premises.  See https://www.hiusa.org/       

5)  It is an adventure, yes?   Save the expensive stuff for mom and dad to provide, I say.  

 

See YOU on the trail...

[Stosh 3452]

If done right one can actually do well for various situations. Currently I am doing quite well with a carry on bag and a small back pack that will fit under the seat. I will be gone for three weeks. Not all nights are in hotels. Hopefully the boys will eventually learn to go from two check sized luggage to a small back pack for summer camp.