Hey everyone from Florida and Georgia. I think we should all try to get together sometime. Why should everyone else have all the fun??? :D If anyone has any ideas...I'd be interested.

Hey, I'm game! I live in South Florida. Pompano Beach area.......

<><

Hmm....I'll have to think of something...I'm not very good at planning things but I'm willing to try. Any other takers???

I live in Jacksonville, but my dogs aren't exactly well socialized...when they play with each other it sounds like they are killing each other...

Kelso sounds that way too!!! But he is so overly friendly...He likes to sniff and lick other dogs...his sisters hate it.

Oh, man....I wish I could!! I can't travel very far at the moment, unfortunately. Otherwise, I would so be there!!

Hey, if you could plan something in the northern part of Florida, I would consider driving down to it. I am about 6 1/2 hours from Jacksonville.

I'll have to do some research and find out whats a good time for everyone and how far everyone is willing to drive. I'll drive anywhere as long as my car is working...theni'll have to find a place...let me know.

I know where we can have it . . . Atlanta! Are you all game? JK LOL Well, if it's somewhere in central Florida, I'll try to make it. I just need to know when it'll be taking place. And Mocha is getting better with her car sickness. I'll just have to remember not to make any sudden turns or I'll end up cleaning the back seat of my car.

OK, we have to wait until I get my dog!!!!!
Hogan will be here next week. In a couple of months after his shots I willing to make a trip. I'm also in South Florida (Palm Beach County - no jokes please). Apache's Mum, maybe we can get together sometime in the interim.

Maybe somewhere around Gainesville, FL . Lots of open spaces to run around.

hey thats sounds great..... Tucker just finished his last set of shots....... I am so glad we can go visiting !!!!! He's kinda going through that goofy, gaingley, long legged, getting into everything age.
I was looking at him yesterday and thought, hey when did you get so goofy looking........I guess they all go thru that, I know my 2 legged children did...lol
:p:
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hi just got my pup and he still needs some shots.i`m in gainesville.keep me posted

I'm in Titusville by Kennedy Space Center. Keep me posted.

If I'm not working -- I'd love to meet with Bartley and Chewie - they aren't too social either but they do love other dogs when we are at the vet - especially Bartley. Oops we are in Central Florida!

:drive

If it's somewhere close to Atlanta I'm in. I don't drive silly I know for a 30 year old but well it scares me. I know I'm a chicken.

Shannon

I'm still trying to figure things out. Any suggestions and help will be gladly excepted.

I live in Jacksonville as well and it seems like it'd be a nice spot between FL and GA. Has anyone ever checked out Dog Wood Park?? It's awesome! I took Bela there this past weekend and she LOVED it! It's 42 acres and has a lake, toys, washing station, and separate areas for puppies/kids/etc. Here's the website if anyone's interested in checking it out... http://www.jaxdogs.com
It's located right off I-95 and John Turner Butler so it's not far into town at all. I'm going to try and take Bela there every weekend so even if anyone's ever interested in meeting up, let me know!
PS- The only downside is that it's kinda expensive, $10 for a full day pass.

belabear -

I wonder if we contacted them they'd give us a group discount??? Hmm...I work in a hotel and people are always calling for group discounts...I should call for a doggy group discount. I think I'll look into that tomorrow!

I e-mailed the dog park in Jacksonville and explained who we were and what we wanted to do. I will let you guys know as soon as I hear anything.

Looks like you guys will have a pretty good turnout! Can't wait to hear all about it and see all pics! :)

I can't wait either! I hope to get an e-mail soon! I've wanted to go to several of the others but getting there has been a problem. So I figured, Hey! Lets have our own! I'll keep everyone posted!

Ok, so here is the email I received from the dog park:
_______________________________________________

Hello. You have two options at Dog Wood Park/Jax (http://www.jaxdogs.com ):
all your members can either come to the park just as anyone else would and
pay the regular rates ($10 for the first dog in a family, $1 for each
additional dog in the same family). If you do this everyone in your group
would be in the regular park at the same time, but you wouldn't have any
special area reserved for your use only. Now if there are lots of people in
your group, and I guess by lots I mean more than 15 families, I am willing
to give you a discount on the admission fees--the amount of discount would
depend on how many families there would be. I just got an email from a
military group that would have 100 to 200 families visiting the park, and I
told them I'd give them a 50% discount.

The other option is to rent our one acre special events are for your
gathering. The cost for non-members to rent the acre is $25 for the first
hour and $10 for each additional hour. But if your members want to also go
into the main park there would still be that admission fee to pay. But if
the group is ok with just spending time in your private acre, then you could
have any number of people and dogs for the flat rate of $25/first hour and
$10/additional hour.

Oh, and as for the question about being willing to have you--we'd love to
have you!

Let me know if I've answered your questions. Thanks! Lynn

_________________________________________________

The lady seemed REALLY nice! I also e-mailed her again this morning and asked if the dogs would have a swimming area if we rented the private space. Unfortunately, the only way the dogs could swim is if we used the main park. So, I guess now, we all need to decide who is definitely coming, if this is an ok spot, and when we should go. Suggestions???
~Nikki~

NIkki,

that sounds great!
I think the open areas of the park sound like more fun, since they'll have access to the lake. What do you guys think?

I'll post a poll to see who's in...guess we'll have a better idea then.

I really hope this comes through!

How cool! So looking forward to pictures from Lab Fest South!

Hey Nik.. I am going to stick this for you for a little while to keep it up top- Can't wait to see the turnout!!

I'm definitely in and I think paying the $10 general access fee will be fine. The lake is definitely a bonus and a lot of the dogs tend to hang out there. I guess the only thing we need to do now is try to plan a date/time? I am usually good for Sundays but could do a Saturday as well. We'd need to plan on how to meet as a group as well. And after taking a minute on that one I realize that we are all lab owners and that would pretty much be the distinguishing feature (sorry- it's Monday)! And thoughts on dates??

Thank you Miss Lisa!!! Appreciate it!

As for dates...I'm open for suggestion.I know one member was thinking Thanksgiving weekend but that seems to be a diificult time for families to get away. What about the weekend after???

Nik,

I guess Thanksgiving weekend fell through the cracks (which is totally understandable!). How can I have the poll I posted deleted?

I'm game for any given weekend, so if others feel like the weekend after TG would be a good time, then I'm in.

Only thing is we have to set a date quickly so we can start making arrangements (activities, lodging, etc).

Saturday, December 4th would be the next tentative date, then.

Alright guys. Here is our new question...December 4th (Saturday) or December 5th (Sunday.) Do these dates work for anyone????

That Saturday or Sunday works for me! I started Puppy Kindergarten with Bela last night and there was another lab puppy in there as well so I'll have to invite her when we get the dates. I'm so excited!
PS- I noticed someone mentioned lodging...there are a couple of main hotels very close to that area. The main roads are John Turner Butler (JTB), Belfort, and Salisbury. The beach is also just a short 20 minute drive down JTB and there are plenty of lodging and dog-friendly activities down there.

Belabear - Thanks so much. You've been a lot of help! I think that Saturday might be a great idea.

Miss Lisa - You are around the board often ;) so I thought I'd ask you a question. What do you think would be the best way for me to get teh word out??? PM'ing people or starting a thread in the General Chat area? I know that for the longest time I didn't even notice that this part of the board even existed. Then one day I found and was like, WOW! Why should everyone else have teh fun?!? So any input from you would be absolutely awesome. Thanks to everyone for their help!

aventuracci - You have also been an awesome help. I'm glad to have your dedication in this little adventure.

ZenCat on a previous post suggested LAB FEST SOUTH, and I say we stick with it.

Now it's time to start making plans, people!
We need all the help we can get to get the word out, so don't be shy!

When: December 4th, 2004 (hours - TBD)
Where: Dog Wood Park (http://www.jaxdogs.com), Jacksonville, FL
Who: Own a Lab? Love Labs? Know someone who owns a Lab? Then come by!

Look for a new thread - "LAB FEST SOUTH 2004" for more details, and to RSVP.

Hope to see everyone there!

I will put a thread in Gen Chat for you - more people will see it that way... :D If you know of certain members that are in the area, PMing them might not be a bad idea either... :D

Good luck.. Lab Fest South will be great.. you all better take LOTS of pics!! :D

I am going to unstick this one and sticky the new one that aventuracci made... :D

New lab owner here..........that sounds like a super idea. I'll keep checking the board!