Hey everyone LOOOOONG!
I attended as well. I met a bunch of great people. I forget names because of the amount I met. Everyone was generally nice and well mannered.
This was the first ever for me. I have only been to one other seeded hunt and that was through a Metal Detecting Club I was a member of.
My experience is as follows.
Thursday-I arrived and checked in. Once in my room I noticed it was still decorated from the 1960's but I though it was clean (until I happend to drop a coin and it rolled under the bed) UGH! Disgusting. I even witnessed a bunch of hair under there (like someone had chopped a chunk of hair off and left it). They definetly need to do some major updating on the decorations. My A/C was blowing crisp cool air the entire time. I actually had to use the blankets from the second bed to keep warm at night. But I like the air cold so I can breath easier. I visited another room in a different building and it was recently updated. But their A/C did not cool. The bed was firm but springy. I compare it to a board on springs. But I actually slept faily well.
That night I hit a few of the mapped sites that were given at the check-in counter. First one I decided on was the "Old Mill". I could not find parking and it was in the woods. I wish they would have warned me of this. I was not prepared for this type of detecting. I decided against it and went to another site. The next place I forget the name of but it was a horse field. And yes the horses were still in it. I decided to leave when the Alpha horse came nosing around me. I know they are just curious and harmless but I did not feel comfortalble bending down to retrieve tagets with a full grown horse beside me. It was getting late so I decided to go back to resort, clean up, and eat. I turned on the shower and no hot water. I took a cold shower because I really needed to clean up. I called the front desk and was told the water was cold because they just did laundry in my building and that used up all the hot water. I can forgive this. I proceeded to the bar/lounge to order food. The bartender was quick to take my order of 12 hot wings. The wings were served in minimal time. I thought the wings were good and have no complaints.
Fri- Breakfast was served Friday morning (all you could eat) and then we were off to hunt. Two full size buses and a short bus full of people and a few followed in their own vehicles. I will agree with what was said in previous posts. I think way too many people in sometimes small areas. Personally I think they should have just taken the buses to their own individual location. That way it would have limited the number of hunters to around 30. I enjoyed detecting at each site and found a couple ok finds. I remember going to five locations not three. There was the location with the brick appartments near the liquor store, The white house that use to be a hotel, Another white house, the field behind the fire department, and the last was a Yellow house with a barn. The fed us all you can eat lunch amongst these hunts. Once back to the resort we had all you can eat dinner and 9PM night hunt. Quarters with numbers on them. Like mentioned in other posts. I found one. It was good for "junk in the trunk" I chose a hammered aluminum plate.
Sat- I woke up at 0530 and went to one of the authorized sites called the Yellow Houses. I found an 1889 Indian Head, a 1943 War Nickel, a no date Buffalo Nickel and a early 1900's pad lock. I went back to resort to eat breakfast. Again all you could eat and then the first hunt. It was Scavenge for Silver or so said the flyer but again clad quarters with numbers taped to them. Then you redeemed for corresponding prize. I found one again. I got a 1983 proof set. Not silver
....Lunch was BBQ food and I thought it was very tasty.The second hunt was the Relic hunt. I found one again and got an 1906 Indian Head Penny in exchange. Dinner was Chicken or Steak. I chose the chicken because someone told me to avoid the steak. Chicken was pretty good. I went to a few of the authorized sites to freelance detect. I did not find much beyond clad.
Sun- I woke up a little late and went to breakfast. After breakfast was the gold hunt. But like all other hunts quarters with numbers on them. I managed 4 this time. Two of them were junk in the trunk, one was for a Silver Half, and one was for a worn 1917 Merc.
For the most part everyone left after the gold hunt. Very few took advantage of staying the extra night, but I did. I hunted the resort
Now you would think there would be nothing to find considering there were 80+ people visiting with metal detectors.
I found $9 and some change in clad, a sterling silver St. Peter charm, and a 925 silver earring. Not too bad in my opinion. I may have found more but I was not alone and it did rain a few times.
I left early Mon morning for Albany airport and flew back to NC. My overall experience was satisfactory. Sure there is room for improvement but if you calculate cost vs enjoyment i feel it was worth the money.
-Food was plentiful and overall very good. 5 meals at any all you can eat buffet @ $8.00 each for a total of $40
-Even the cheapest hotel will cost you $40 a night take that times 3 nights and $120 just for the room.
-They transported us to 5 different locations Fri so consider gas @ $15.00 if you were to take your own vehicle.
$120 plus $40 plus $15= $175. I paid $286 (or very close to it) total. That means for the 4 hunts I paid under $30 each. I feel that is very fair in my opinion.
-Changes I would make=
1. Limit the number of tokens each person finds. I talked to many that only got one or two the entire weekend. I am sure that discourages them from returning.
2. Update facilities
3. Penalty or removal for not filling holes during hunts
4. WIFI in all buildings
5. Plant a few silver coins, relics, or etc along with the tokens in the hunting field.
I plan on being there next year. Will they make changes? Time will tell