Allen,   As a EAS member,hobbyist beekeeper,and lurker on Bee-L;I feel I must
respond to your posts concerning the EAS 2003 meeting in Maine.I urge you to
attend,if not for your sake,then for ours.The benifits of a meeting such as
this are not the scripted lectures that so many meetings seem to have but the
shared beekeeping stories and experiences.Most of the sesions are informal and
everyone is encouraged to participate.Its like Bee-L only in person.Having
visited your web site and read your posts,I know you will have something to say.I
,and I'm sure Jim( who,although quite an accurrate shot,tends to shoot from
the hip)Fischer,would love to hear it.
     The 25$ usage fee(which also covers the noon meal) is for people like
me.I have camped for the last two conferences and what I save in dorm rates more
than pays for the short course.(Whites Beach Campground-90$ for the week-tent
site-supposedly 10 min. away)Each meeting venue has its quirks,and i"m sure
this fee could have been tacked on to the conference registration instead.I'm
sure we can find room for your camper (land yacht) somewhere but they probably
won't let you sleep in it.If you stay at the campground,just hang your thumb
at the exit with your cardboard EAS sign and if I don't pick you up,some other
beekeeper/camper will.
   Enjoy your trip East at any rate.I recommend Acadia National Park in
Me.for you flatlanders,but stay on the east side of Somes Sound to avoid the
crowds.Somes Sound View Campground in Somesville used to be good  but reservations
most likely will be needed.On PEI there used to be a beautiful Provincial
campground on the S/E shore.And then there was that campsite on the bluff over
looking the Atlantic in Cape Breton..................
     And an aside to Jim Fischer.Your comparison of an EAS meeting to a
Grateful Dead concert I think is a stretch.The vendors are sanctioned,their wares
are legal,the traffic isn't tied up for miles,and that sweet smell in the air
is the honey barbeque sauce in the dining  hall.

    Jack Grimshaw    who enjoys Dead shows and EAS meetings

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