Weekend at Great Wolf Lodge offers an energetic ‘mini-reunion’
Randall Johnson ’01, his wife, Sarah ’02, and their daughter attended the past two Great Wolf Lodge Alumni Weekends, where they were joined this year by their infant son. They plan to keep coming back.
“We definitely have a good time at that event,” said Johnson, who lives in Concord. “We like to play in the pools and water slides. It’s just fun family time.”
(clockwise from the top) Lily Kate Charlish, 3, daughter of Mary Charlish ’04, and Landon Burgess, 3, son of Tom ’01 and Joelle Burgess ’02; Molly Johnson, 4, daughter of Randall ’01 and Sarah Johnson ’02; and Silas Perkins, 4, son of Paul and Nicole Wright Perkins ’05, enjoyed Elwood and getting wet at the Great Wolf Lodge Alumni Weekend.
Another alumni family who attended the event the last two years were the Mays: Sally ’02, Ryan ’01 and their two daughters, who live in Mechanicsville. Sally and Ryan like to reconnect with Longwood friends.
“We meet up with four or five families and make it our own mini-reunion,” said Sally. “We usually spend one night, order pizza, catch up and let our kids grow up together. We are looking forward to next year.”
First-time attendees this year included Joelle Burgess ’02 and her husband, Tom ’01, and their two sons. They were accompanied by Mary Charlish ’04 of Sterling, Joelle’s best friend and sorority sister, along with her husband and their two sons.
“We had a great time,” said Joelle, who lives in Ashburn. “It was awesome to let the kids play together and to see the Longwood tent in the water park and to get a discounted rate for the night. We will definitely go back next year.”
More than 100 alumni, family members and friends attended the 2015 event, which was held in March in Williamsburg.
Alumni can learn more at longwoodlink.com about the 2016 event, to be held March 4-6. Use “Longwood University Alumni” for the group name and 0316LONG for the booking code. The reservation cutoff date is Feb. 4, 2016.