Information Give and Take

In preparation for Operation Frost Family Reunion, there are a few pieces of information we need from you…and certainly some information you need from us. Please read the following and respond here on the blog or in an email. Can't wait to see everyone!

Questions That Need Answers:

1. Have you sent your payments yet? If not, please do send as soon as possible or let me know when you might be able to do that. And remember, if you have not heard from me, I have not received your check.
   
2. What are your travel plans? We need to know this to appropriately fill each house. Also, we'll post a compilation on this blog so folks can coordinate on carpooling and such from airports and train stations.
   
3. Do you have any dietary restrictions or preferences?
   
4. If you are planning to camp, do you need any equipment? I believe I will be able to procure everything anyone might need for free from friends. If not, we'll look into REI.
   

 
Logistics You Need to Know:

1. We will be meal planning in the next two weeks. At this point, we are planning to have all breakfasts and lunches covered and dinners covered for the nights of June 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th. This may change based on what we find out about travel plans. We will send out additional food costs as soon as possible. I anticipate them to be minimal, and they can be paid at the reunion itself.
   
2. We have the main house starting June 2^nd, but we also have a limit on how many folks can stay there each night. We have the secondary house starting on the 4^th. We must be out of both homes by the 9^th. Based on the estimations in the responses we received, we believe that this will be adequate. If it is not, we will pursue additional options. Also, in the very near future, you can expect a list of nearby lodging options if you intend to tack on extra days before or after the scheduled reunion.
   
3. If you are staying in a house, all linens are included.
   

 
We will soon be sending out a brochure of sorts that will include maps, possible activities and attractions in the area, a rough sketch of meals and plans, phone numbers, and any other miscellaneous information we think may be helpful. We'll also link it here on the blog so you can easily access it.


 
Looking forward to seeing everyone!

A, J and J

Rates and Dates

Hi Family,
Well, the Great Oregon Coast Caper was successful, and we came away with 2 houses and a campground that will be just perfect, we think! (And we managed not to get washed off the dune as the waves came crashing in much higher than usual due to the tsunami warning.) Lizzie was an absolute trooper during our 12 hours in the car over a 30 hour period, and we enjoyed our very brief stay at a sketchy little inn atop a cliff ---amazing views, I have to say.

The villages in the area are charming, and the views breathtaking. There are lots of things to do --- from hiking, kayaking, clamming, oystering (can one oyster?), beach bumming to cheese factory tours and museums and just plain sitting on a deck chatting or reading. We are thrilled to have found accommodations here, and we can't wait to share them with y'all. 

I am now proceeding with contracts and deposits, and in order to make sure that everything is in order, I need some more information from you. We've attached a Costs document to help break down what we are looking at here. We need a little more information from you before we can make final rate calculations for accommodations.

Please look at this document and then respond with as firm a commitment as possible around number of nights you will be staying and your firm preference on house or campground. There are a few of you who were waffling between house and campground. You may respond here in the comments section or reply to the email message that got you here.

Oregon or bust!

Love,
Amy, Jonathan, & Jeana

Oregon Coast, Here We Come!

Well, after lots and lots of hunting, calling, calculating, analyzing, we have finally found what we think will be a fantastic site for the reunion.

 

Drumroll…….

 

Camp Lookout State Park with a base camp at a gorgeous home overlooking Netarts Bay and some fun mud flats for clamming and oystering.

 

Cape Lookout is situated on the beach and has group camping, yurts (for those who prefer a solid floor and a real-ish bed), a lake, trails…among other things. It is about a two hour drive from Portland, and the house is about 2 miles from Cape Lookout. We've worked to find something that was easily accessible from the airport and which will not require too much driving on the coastal road…gorgeous, but very full of traffic during the summer.

 

Check out these links below. The first is to Cape Lookout. The second is to the house we'd like to use as a base camp and for those of you who would prefer to stay in a home with real beds and bathrooms that you don't need a flashlight to find in the middle of the night. J

Cape Lookout

Kallak 'ala Retreat

 

Here's what I need from y'all:

1. Your best estimate on how many nights you will stay (refer to dates below)
   
2. Your preference on accommodations (tent camping, yurt, house)
   

(Special Note: For those of you traveling by plane who would like to camp, we will be working on options for procuring camping gear from friends/renting camping gear from REI.)

 

Mom is here for the weekend, and we'll be driving down to Portland to check things out in person before committing. We'd love to have your responses by Saturday night if at all possible. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave those here, as well. You can either email a response to me or leave a comment here on the blog.

 

We can't wait to see y'all this summer, and we're getting more and more excited as we search and plan! Love to you all! I look forward to hearing from all of you in the next several days.

 

Love,

Amy (Jonathan and Jeana)

OFFICIAL DATES...OFFICIALLY

JUNE 4-8, 2010

Mark your calendars.

We'll see you on the Oregon Coast.

Stay tuned for more details.

Survey Says…

We want to make sure that we choose a date that the most people could attend.  We realize that all may not be a probability. After looking at the data we feel that the June 4-8 option would meet this requirement even though it may not be everyone's ideal time period.  Let us know what you think! Maybe with all the great minds out there, we can put something together. Remember that if you would rather reply to the e-mail, your comments will find their way to the blog.

 

1. Which of the following set of dates would work best for you? Note: If none of these dates work for you, skip this question.
   

 

Date	Number of Responses	Percent of Total Responses
June 4 – June 8	13.3%	2
June 9 - June	20.0%	3
June 16 - June 20	13.3%	2
August 6 - August 10	13.3%	2
August 11 - August 15	40.0%	6

 

 

1. Which on the following dates could you absolutely not attend? You may choose as many choices as apply. (NOTE: 3 respondents skipped this question.)
   

 
 

 

Date	Number of Responses	Percent of Total Responses
June 4 – June 8	1	6.7%
June 9 - June	3	20%
June 16 - June 20	4	26.7%
August 6 - August 10	3	20%
August 11 - August 15	3	20%
Any will work	8	53.3%

 

 

1. Choose any holidays which you would be able to attend a family reunion.  (NOTE: 3 respondents skipped this question.)
   

 
 

Date	Number of Responses	Percent of Total Responses
Thanksgiving	9	60%
Christmas	7	46.7%
Easter	10	66.7%
No Holidays will work	3	20%

 

 

1. Additional Comments
   

• These dates are all very much "possiblies." As I said before, we will be very difficult to plan around, and even dates I am stating are possible will still be difficult. Probably only one or two of us would be able to attend any of them. It is just that time of life for us. So please just do what is best for everyone else, and we will try our best to get as many of us as possible there. And thank you for the great and impossible job you guys are doing in organizing this. Love, Uncle Dick
  
• This coming Christmas (2009) will not work, but otherwise, any of the holidays should be OK. Travel at holiday time, though, is a bear, and probably more expensive. On the whole, now that we've retired, our schedule is quite open.
  
• These are (somewhat conservative) guestimates. I know I will be in school June 13-Aug 6, and will need a few days of transition on either end. Jeroen's schedule is both totally unpredictable and relatively flexible, so he can most likely work around whatever works.
  
• We might be able to pull off a Holiday if that's the only option, but will be tough.
  
• We're not sure at this point which dates will work best, and it's hard to plan holidays this far ahead. We're probably more flexible than most people.
  
• Holidays are much more difficult to plan around. And, with travel constraints, the dates mentioned might prove impossible - but with advance notice, should be able to negotiate.
  
• We have tentative plans, but nothing cast in stone about dates, for next summer. We will be as flexible as possible. We are unable to say definitely anything about dates, but would probably appreciate either the beginning or the end of the summer.
  
• Because my orientation for residency will most likely start sometime around June 15, it would be much better if we could have it before residency starts. Paul is also more likely to be free then because he should get back from his deployment sometime in May and thus be on leave. Also, that is the week that my boyfriend has vacation, and since he's already in residency, his schedule is pretty non-negotiable.
  
• We are quite flexible and can likely make any time or any place work.
  
• Thanks, y'all. If the reunion is any time between May and October, Justin won't be able to come, but the girls and I can probably make it (unless it's late May or early June, or late August). Our schedule is tricky so it's best to plan around others' and we'll see what we can do.
  
• I based my "any of these will work" reply on the assumption that this will be on the West Coast. If it's elsewhere, then June 4-8 won't work because my kids are still in school. (It's my last choice in any case, but if it was what worked for everyone else, we could do a long weekend if we don't have far to travel.)
  
• This is, of course, pretty much a guess as we are a little in flux here....and we'll know more as it gets closer-- we will do our best to make it work. Holidays are tricky-- lots of family commitments on both sides and never enough time in addition to it being a more hectic/pricey time to travel! Other dates to consider might be memorial day weekend or another 3 day weekend that could become a 4 day weekend for some? thanks for all of your efforts and organizational skills! :)
  
• Though I would be able to make a holiday reunion work, that would not be my preference.
  
  

Survey #2

Given the new facts with regard to available dates next summer, we have put together another survey that will help determine when the best time is for hopefully (but not likely) all.

We are asking for your name or family name in this survey. This will allow us to contact people directly to see if there is any wiggle room for dates anywhere. Please only respond once per household. The survey will be open until Saturday, August 1.

Here is the survey: Survey #2

Thanks for everyone's participation!

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We would love to have as much participation as possible on the blog, but we realize that there are some out there that interacting with the blog is not ideal for whatever reason. This is why Jeana will be sifting through Frostlist e-mails and making sure any pertinent information or comments find their way to the blog.

Happy Commenting!