Pelham Bay/ Orchard Beach to Hunter & Twin Islands-Members Appreciation

WARNING: THIS EVENT MAY BE WAY TOO EXCITING FOR MOST OF YOU!

IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST EVENT WITH US, IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOU RSVP WHETHER YOU ARE ON THE WAIT LIST OR NOT, YOU MUST SEND ME YOUR E-MAIL TO MY E-MAIL AS EXPLAINED BELOW.

This event has NOT been posted to all members yet but you can RSVP now.

I use capital letters to emphasize stuff not to shout at you!

PLEASE DO NOT CLICK ON THE RSVP BUTTON UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE ENTIRE DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT VERY CAREFULLY. I just ask that all attendees be considerate with respect to the RSVP process.

I consider this a Members Appreciation Event and it's also a bit unique. The last times we did this it was one of the best events of the year.
WE WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY MONETARY DONATIONS ON THIS EVENT NO MATTER HOW STRONG YOUR URGE TO CONTRIBUTE IS.

The wait list for this group does NOT operate in a conventional way. Those on the wait list will NOT be moved to the going list automatically.
We are also looking to add a number of First Timers to this event. However, you actually need to read the description of the event carefully.

FIRST TIMERS: IF YOU HAVE NEVER ATTENDED AN EVENT BEFORE WITH THE GROUP, I AM ASKING FOR YOUR HELP AND COOPERATION. I AM REQUIRING THAT YOU SEND ME AN E-MAIL TO bsb2@att.net AS SOON AS YOU RSVP, EVEN IF YOU ARE ON THE WAIT LIST, AND PUT YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS IN THE BODY OF YOUR MESSAGE TO ME. THIS WILL HELP ME COMMUNICATE MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH THOSE WHO RSVP. SOMETIMES MEETUP MESSAGES DO NOT GET DELIVERED FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. IF YOU CAN'T ABIDE BY THIS SIMPLE REQUEST, YOU ARE GOING TO END UP ON THE NOT GOING LIST. (NO GUESTS UNLESS YOU HAVE ATTENDED AN EVENT BEFORE WITH THIS GROUP-Your guest can always sign up just as you did.)

I WILL LEAD THE GROUP ONCE AGAIN AROUND HUNTER & TWIN ISLANDS. ("The professional is the one who can do it again."-Dizzy Gillespie said that. And Stymie of The Little Rascals said, "I don't know where we're going but we're on our way. ) The first time we did this event we were guided by the Urban Park Rangers. FEATURE PHOTO TAKEN BY THE LATE JIM WILLIAMS.

WE WILL LIMIT THIS EVENT TO AROUND 20 MEMBERS.

PRIORITY IS INITIALLY GIVEN TO THOSE WHO HAVE ATTENDED EVENTS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, HAVE FEW CANCELLATIONS AND HAVE NOT GIVEN ME A HARD TIME! IF YOU WANT TO BEING A GUEST AND HAVE ATTENDED AN EVENT BEFORE WITH THIS GROUP, PLEASE SEND ME AN E-MAIL.

YOU CAN GET THERE BY SUBWAY-THE # 6 TRAIN- OR CAR AND I WILL PROVIDE DETAILED DRIVING/FREE PARKING INFO. BRING AN OMNI CARD OR CREDIT CARD BECAUSE WE WILL TAKE A SHORT BUS RIDE BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED ONCE WE FINISH OUR EXPLORATION.
We will reschedule if the #6 does not stop at the last station on the line.

This event will be a fun, fast paced 6-7 mile hiking tour thru Pelham Bay Park and Orchard Beach which will include a hike around Hunter and Twin Islands which are on the far edges of Orchard Beach. I suspect very few members have ever been there. In fact, most folks probably have no idea these islands even exist-and they are not islands anymore! Both areas are heavily wooded, uninhabited and even a bit mysterious. A few years ago, I literally ran into a deer while scouting out the route on Twin Island.

We will meet BEFORE 10:30 A.M. Be ready to go. WE LEAVE ON TIME.

BRING LUNCH AND WATER. WE EAT AT ORCHARD BEACH.

IF YOU ATTEND YOU MUST WEAR LONG PANTS AND A LONG SLEEVE SHIRT.

MEETING DETAILS WILL BE SENT OUT VIA A MEETUP MESSAGE TO ALL THOSE WHO RSVP NO LATER THAN THE EVENING BEFORE THE EVENT.

IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO, ON YOUR DESKTOP, PLEASE CLICK ON YOUR PROFILE WHICH IS ON THE TOP RIGHT OF THE SITE, THEN CLICK "SETTINGS", THEN CLICK E-MAIL UPDATES" ON THE LEFT. MAKE SURE YOUR E-MAIL UPDATES ARE ON AND WHERE IT SAYS "UPDATES ABOUT YOU”, CHECK MESSAGES BOX. THIS WILL HELP TO INSURE YOU GET MESSAGES FROM ME. I LIKE TO THINK THOSE MESSAGES ARE IMPORTANT. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE YOUR SETTINGS FOR A SPECIFIC GROUP WHICH MAY BE HELPFUL IF YOU BELONG TO MANY MEETUP GROUPS.

AS ALWAYS, I am also going to ask that people NOT post any comments or questions prior to the event. You have more than enough information to do this once you get the meeting details. No offense, but I don’t need to know-and neither does anyone else what you are doing that day if you can’t make it or what you think the weather will be, etc. etc. You may even think you have some deep insights into something or other but I ask you to keep that deepness to yourself. AFTER the event, post as many comments and photos as you like. The comments/questions you post BEFORE an event are almost always annoying and unnecessary and I'm not the only one who believes that. PLEASE RESPECT MY WISHES ON THIS.

If the weather forecast is really bad, I will post a notice on the day of the hike by 7:00 A.M. If there is no notice, we go.

We will probably finish around 3:30 p.m. right where we started.