With all the cars in the DFW (Texas) area now, should we start thinking
about having a regional swim-in in the fall? Perhaps around the "GrapeFest
time" which is Mid Sept when it starts to cool off some? Grapevine kinda
splits the difference between Lake Lewisville to the north (Steve?) and
Lake Arlington to the south (Dan?), and about midway between Dallas and
Fort Worth, and has quite a few convenient ramps and usually is oriented
pretty good for the wind and waves. Usually more sail boats than monster
wake creators.... Ron lives a mile or so from the lake, I'm about 10, Ted
is about the same and could have his car ready by then. There's also a few
more project cars underway in the metroplex. Plenty of hotels in the area
for out of towners come and visit. I was looking at the new Opryland hotel
(or what ever its current name is..) from Grapevine Lake this weekend, but
don't know when it opens and it might not have direct ramp access so one
might have to drive 1/2 mile to the next ramp. But in a typical 40 minute
cruise down the lower southern 1/3 of the lake, I swim past at least 9 or
10 public ramps on the south shore, including a nice Corp of Eng campground
and a couple marinas. All a couple miles from downtown Grapevine.
Admittedly, folks on this lake are getting pretty used to Amphicars, so
some of the traditional spectator "shock and awe" could be missing, and the
festival is not around the water itself. Besides the traditional fest car
show with some really great cars, wine festivals, there's also an Opry show
and old fashioned Steam Train to the stockyards for something different
besides just a lot of swimming. Admittedly, the festival is not as much
water oriented as Celina or Mt. Dora, but I was wondering if there was any
serious interest in getting together. The swim-in could have a little bit
of something for everybody ... shopping, entertainment shows as well as car
shows, swimming, antiques, music, etc If it were a multiday swim-in,
perhaps some Kansas/Oklahoma folks might even venture that far, or for the
Austin folks, its only about 4 hours up the interstate.... FYI: Some
visitor information on Grapevine .... http://www.grapevinetexasusa.com/,
including hotels, lake map, events, attractions, some details about
GrapeFest, etc.... GrapeFest is ranked as one of the top 100 events in
America by the American Bus Association, what ever that is worth. So the
question is .... What's the real interest in such an event? And if
interested, what would one like to do? Or alternatives? Or forget it?

Al
ABOAT*2
4 H20 2
4 SWIM N




        
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