Do you mean in general or on Friday night when all the hardware will be at Dog Days?

More of, if I get in around 1pm am I going to miss a lot? I know the poker run is early but we are not part so just want to be there for the rest of the fun.

I'd say if you hit town at 1:00 P.M. on Friday then head over to Capt. Ron's. There will be a lot of hardware coming in and out in the afternoon and all the vendor tents are there.

JMO, but after that, I'd try to hit Dog Days on Friday night by sunset to catch some great hardware pulling in there. I like to catch the scene there before dark and then hang out into the evening.
The last two years, I've been late over to Dog Days due to guests I was hosting that were dragging azz. Not this year!

Correct. You want to make the move to Dog Days later in the afternoon. I'd try to get there between 5 - 6 as parking goes quick.

Perfect.....so Rons by 1pm and dog days around 5pm ish.


Also talked the girl into a rental drive up but a one way flight back as a16hr drive that's hungover and in sun would be hell.

How is the overall docking? Is it next to impossible to get spots at these bars or is it not too bad? Would like to make a trip at least once to the hotspots and definately check out Skaterfest. Do they raft off when it gets crowded or are you just SOL?

Also, made reservations kind of late and needed a slip so I'm at Kaplilana. Anyone stay there before?

I have owned a condo there for about 10 years. An older complex, but it is an awesome location by both water and land. Walking distance to Dog Days. About 12 miles by boat to Skaterfest and about 15 to the Shootout site. It is also just a few miles to Backwater Jacks, which is the starting place for the Poker Run on Friday. We usually drive to Skaterfest, as the docks are pretty full. A guy could also get a slip at Shady Gators (in the same cove) and walk around to Camden to see Skaterfest. The party at Dog Days Friday night will fill the docks for sure (reservations have been required in the past). At Captain Rons there are a few transient docks, but some of the adjoining homeowners raft boats off of thier docks ($10-$15). One thing for certain, you will have a blast!

To expand on Jeff's notes here...

On Friday morning, if you wanna see some good fly-by action (ie, both the poker run and the fun run), you can consider hitting Paradise at the 24mm and watching all boats in both groups fly by while you grab breakfast/drink/whatever. Good vantage point to watch them approach the corner and fly out of it.

On Friday night, like Jeff mentioned, I believe all slips require a donation/reservation. I believe Randy Wild will be the contact again if you choose to go that route. Without a reservation, you're probably SOL but check with him for sure.

On Saturday and Sunday, it's difficult to find an open slip at Captain Ron's. I ran the Shootout from '09 to '11 and it seemed like it got more difficult over that time since most slips were reserved. The transients have a number of boat waiting for them, FME.

Planning ahead like you are is a great idea. Makes for a smoother weekend that flows well.

Nate - you could look in to flying into Columbia, small easy airport...American flies into the local airport. LOTO is only 1 hr and 15 minutes from Columbia. Quick easy trip.