fla swap meet

[larry harding]

i got back from the fla swap meet a few days ago and want to air a few opinions. the new show grounds are sort of o.k., at least until friday. that thunderstorm friday afternoon left my space under 4 to 6 inches of water. i was in a tent. we had set wednesday up on the right spaces according to the map the managers had. a guy pulled in on thursday saying we were on his space and made us move over on to the space next to ours. luckly it was a friends who was ok with sharing. someone made a mistake on setting up spaces. by friday night the cabbage patch was rocking out (30 years ago i would have been over there with them) now i had to put in ear plugs to get to sleep. we drove up to eustis to see what was at the old show grounds, only a hand full of venders. i hope that by next year the powers that be will get their act together and have one swap meet at one good location instead of two. i really liked eustis, nice small town away from the daytona insanity, plenty of good eating places nearby, just a better atmosphere. i don't mean to be a whiner as i enjoy swapmeets, i just miss the old eustis grounds.

[Sargehere]

i got back from the fla swap meet a few days ago and want to air a few opinions... i really liked Eustis, nice small town away from the Daytona insanity, plenty of good eating places nearby, just a better atmosphere. I don't mean to be a whiner as i enjoy swap meets, i just miss the old Eustis grounds.

Thanks for posting, Larry. I am sure that for many concerned, you hit the nail on the head.

[BNSONS]

Larry
I agree with Sarge thanks for posting. To the folks that put there owe slant on things I appreciate your enthusiasm but I think you do the membership a disservice with bias reporting.

Regards Dave

[TimR]

Larry,
Thanks for your posting. In my view you are not being a whiner by voicing your experiences.

[fabercycle]

I got back from Eustis last week.....had a great time. The vendor count was lower than a usual Eustis but the atmosphere was great, and I was the first guy to buy up a few smokin' deals on bike parts. The buyers were strong, and it was better than average for our sales there. The "manufacturers exhibition" part of the show had even my foundry guy handing out my business cards, and when we got home we were bombarded with emails for a ton of orders. No rain there except for a few scattered drops. We got to have some nice socializing with our friends, It was good to See Bruce Palmer, Eric Smith. Butch Baer.....the list goes on. The promoters did a nice job of boosting the AMCA, by having a full page in thier swap meet program, on the benefits of being a member, and contact info of how to join. Police patrolled security, It was a first class operation all the way. Thanks again to the guys who made it happen.

[Slojo]

I spent time at the new event it rained so much that I didn't dare ride over to Eustice.

Personally, the new venue is a nice place if you are showing horses. Without a single paved road, my bike which I spent two days cleaning and polishing prior to the meet was first covered in sand and after the rain, mud. The rest rooms were minimal, unkept and out of the essentials often. Few trash cans were provided so I found myself carrying trash around.

I know of four people who were hassled and ticketed by Volusia County police within a quarter mile of the event. Traffic was backed up for miles from the south bound side of the road and made it difficult to exit south bound.

On the other hand the best chicken on a stick I have ever had and plenty of good people/friends.

The bright side of the event for me was not getting arrested again in V. county, turn your motorcycle headlights on.

joe

[Paul G Bergeron]

so folks according to jail house joe people did get hassled by the man over at volusia county there was lots of rain and mud and dust and traffic problems . did anybody else notice that there seemed to be a lack of space lots of confusion, campers and venders all mixed up . where would the hundreds of cars visiting eustis on friday and saturday have fit at silver sands lucky for chapter there was the meet at eustis with its 12 to 15 venders have fit many folks were disapointed that they hadnt got word about move I would like to thank the folks who tried to run meet in eustis most of the venders did well there I was only camper in eustis sat night and it did not rain at eustis paul g bergeron minot maine

[LouieMCman]

To keep it straight, no one was hassled AT the meet, I was vending and NO one even mentioned TAXES or anything else. What was the people ticket for outside the meet? The vendors at Eustis worry's seemed to be unfounded. Yes there were some problems but most were associated with any first time meet. I'm glad it didn't rain in Eustis, but was the meet profitable? Or did you even cover expenses? Next year?

[Slojo]

The V. County men hassled AMCA members who were "outside" of the meet within a 1/4 mile or less from our event. One ticket issued for 55 mph in a 45 zone a K model HD . Two tickets issue for idling motorcycles on the wrong side of the road due to the congested traffic conditions. A fourth citation issued to a camper truck trailer driver without a CDL, he was also hasseled for all CDL requirments. An RV not a commercial vehicle. I don't know if citations were issued to other AMCA members.

jail house stayed out of trouble, and jail this time.

joe