My mom’s family used to do family reunions & in their heyday, they alternated between the US & Germany. The last couple have been in the US. It’s getting harder & harder to find someone to ‘host’ which entails finding accommodations, a place big enough to meet, arrange food for the group when they eat together, have some extracurricular activities nearby, etc. LOTS of organizing.
It appears someone in the family who lives in SC is talking about hosting a reunion there & some ‘survey’ emails have finally gone out (would you attend, how many, etc.). So far, they have been ‘all talk, no action’ for the last 2 years.
When we moved here, mom wanted to have a large family group get-together and we did talk rather extensively about what it would involve. With the SC plans ‘popping up’ yet again, I told her to wait & see if they do plan something - if she mentions doing something here, SC will get dropped like a hot potato!
If we put up a big tent in the yard & got outdoor ‘facilities’, we could do some things at the house & I am sure the church would loan or rent us their fellowship hall. Being a tourist destination, there are plenty of hotels & B&Bs, cabins, etc. What makes our area a tourist destination would also give folks things to do - in past reunions, we would meet in the morning & folks had the afternoons free.
At the moment, after the last year of being on the road moving, driving to SC is the last thing I want to do - would love to stay here, but hosting a reunion would be a ton of work & I know who would end up with the brunt of it (guess who!).
Good luck with your vacation plans!
Ahhh, family reunions! Fun for those visiting! Not as much fun for those hosting the reunion. It is a LOT of work!
I think I am still not forgiven for the last family reunion that was planned in 2005 or 2006, which we didn’t attend but helped plan as best as we could from far away. (We had already accepted a wedding invitation for a family friend that conflicted, and my family KNEW this when they picked the same date, anyway.) I had thought since we had told them of our conflict, when they decided to use to same date, that our absence would be forgiven. It was not, by one person in particular.
Every now and again, I am still reminded of that time. Sometimes you try, and it’s still not good enough.