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Once upon a time:
Aside from having our trailers in common, we also share a common interest in
the well-being of Pop Up Times Magazine and Website. For this is where all of
us met, the virtual national campground, a place where we digitally gathered to share ideas and get to know one another.
And on one fateful day, in June of 2002, our initial gathering was held at
Bodega Dunes State Beach just north of Bodega Bay. About seventeen groups, strangers
to one another, gathered for a rally and after a magical weekend, went away as good friends.
From Online
to On-the Road:
But above all, it is the friendship experienced that keeps us coming back. We first started just knowing people by their internet handle, 6Quigs, Y-Guy, CWB
and etc. But soon enough, Ab Diver became known as Dave, SactoCampers as Brian. And we renamed people. K9Holly became
transformed to Hybrid Holly. Mnikoley is now Nick.
That kind of progression happens only with people who have grown comfortable
with each other, like putting on an old pair of jeans, giving each other nicknames and giving each other a hard time, all
in jest. It is the grand manifestation of a connection made through a faceless
medium which resulted with people gathered around the campfire under a canopy of a dark sky filled with stars.
What's in a name?
A rose by any other name is still a rose.
And so it goes with Nick-Neff-Cough, a unique name that traces its roots to a slow day on the Pop Up Times message
boards. A few of the camping friends spontaneously shared their boredom on the
net and after a number of exchanges the idea of naming an unnamed group became a reality.
(See the History of Nick-Neff-Cough)
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"Popup Trailers: Camping's Best Kept Secret"
-A Wise Popup Camper
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It takes a village:
It became evident that camping as a group has a lot of advantages. There is strength in numbers. Rally camping or RVing, as others
will term it, is like being part of a traveling circus with all kinds of entertainment value provided by every other member.
During a rally, at any given moment, from the time you wake up to when
your eyelids can no longer hold up, there is the constant opportunity to converse with someone, to listen to the cacophany
of childrens' laughter and games, to inspect unique trailer modifications and demo another camping accessory that you don't
need but end up buying anyway.
Carry On, Rally Onward:
The unifying element we all share is the love of camping. And a close second to that is our love to bring all of our junk along with us and the trailer does a fine
job providing that. Nick-Neff-Cough has brought a new dimension to the experience,
by promoting goodwill, a solid camaraderie and an unfailing confidence that the Saturday night potluck will leave no one hungry.
We look forward to many years of rallying, colonizing certain campgrounds for
days at a time in fulfillment of our nomadic lifestyles. Woody Allen once quipped
that he wouldn't be a member of a club that would have him as a member. Many
of us are that way, but as life would have it, we formed a club anyway, the Nick-Neff-Cough.
And so, if you're in our neck of the woods, come join
us. It's a great group of folks.
Are you from Southern California?
Connect with our sister club:
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