Baltimore/DC area meetup

[Zeb The Troll]

Can he do that? He's already planning one in June!

He can and he is. Here's the deal. Alarra and I are going to try to host a meetup in the vicinity of Baltimore/DC (Glen Burnie specifically) on the weekend of May 9-11th. We'll be settled (mostly) in our new house by then and should be able to sleep several.

Why are we doing this? Because Alarra's graduating from her Masters program the weekend after that and we want to celebrate this accomplishment with you folks from the playground. Also we've had a lot of fun going and visiting a great many of you and we thought we'd return the favor for those willing to trek out this way or maybe live closer to here and haven't been able to make it to any of the others yet.

So that's the deal. Let us know what the interest level is and we'll get started with the more serious planning.

(Note - if you live in the area and are interested in helping out, send a PM to Alarra and me and we'll talk!)

Confirmed Coming
Ceika
Tantolain
Telonius
Dr. Bob*
LLama
Gitman00*

Interest so far
Tormskull
reorith
MeklorIlavator
wumpus*
BURNHollywoodBURN
Zaragon
Samiam
Logic
Indurain
DeathQuake*
Mauve Shirt *
Helgraf

*locals

[Alarra]

It's also my birthday! And....you know...New House! Any of which would be a great excuse for a meetup! :smallbiggrin:

[Telonius]

Well, I'm way up near Brunswick, but I'd be up for it.

[Zeb The Troll]

Yeah, that wouldn't be far at all considering how far some people go for these things.

*whistles innocently* :smallcool:

[Dr._Bob]

Sounds like fun!

[Tormsskull]

hi, interested, sounds fun, gimmie a zip code :smalltongue:

[Gitman00]

I'm all over it!

[Penguinsushi]

It would be awesome, Zeb, and we'd love to see your new place - but we probably won't be able to pull that off. :smallfrown:

I'll let you know if I suddenly learn to teleport or something though...

~PS

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

Sure, you guys decide to do a meetup after I leave Maryland. :smalltongue:

[SMEE]

I would love to, but I'll be kinda busy those days, and about 785 miles south from you all... :smallredface:

[Zeb The Troll]

hi, interested, sounds fun, gimmie a zip code :smalltongue:21060, by then.

[Shadow]

Again, just like the Tn meet-up, this is something that may be possible for me.
Problem is that I'd have to pick one, and June would be better than May for me as the new bar opens up in April.

We'll see how things go with the open before I decide which would work better for me, but I'm definitely going to try to make it to one of them. :smallsmile:

[reorith]

clarksville representing!
i'll keep the date.

[Zeb The Troll]

Again, just like the Tn meet-up, this is something that may be possible for me.
Problem is that I'd have to pick one, and June would be better than May for me as the new bar opens up in April.

We'll see how things go with the open before I decide which would work better for me, but I'm definitely going to try to make it to one of them. :smallsmile:Shadow, as much as we'd like to see as many as we can get, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if you can only make one of them, make the TN one. But we'll save you a couch cushion just in case. :smallcool:

[Ceika]

If we're still in the area (Tantolian is awaiting orders right now, but hopefully, the new orders will keep us in the area), then we're definitely in!

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

It would be awesome, Zeb, and we'd love to see your new place - but we probably won't be able to pull that off. :smallfrown:

I'll let you know if I suddenly learn to teleport or something though...

~PS

We could always carpool. :smallsmile:

[MeklorIlavator]

I could probably make this one.

[wumpus]

One more local available!

[BURNhollywoodBURN]

Yes! Hell yes! Well, maybe. I'm only 12 and my mom probably won't let me go, that and I may have plans on Sunday. But I'll consider it.

[Zeb The Troll]

Okay, just out of curiosity, if I were able to arrange it so that we could spend a few hours out on the Chesapeake Bay, either puttering around the Inner Harbor or maybe going out to a local swimming hole or something, and if the weather were cooperative that day, and if the boat's big enough to hold everyone who's actually able to make it (it's 37.5 feet, so that's likely actually) would anyone be interested in doing that?

[horseboy]

Sure, you guys decide to do a meetup after I leave Maryland. :smalltongue:

My sentiments exactly. :smallamused:

[Telonius]

Okay, just out of curiosity, if I were able to arrange it so that we could spend a few hours out on the Chesapeake Bay, either puttering around the Inner Harbor or maybe going out to a local swimming hole or something, and if the weather were cooperative that day, and if the boat's big enough to hold everyone who's actually able to make it (it's 37.5 feet, so that's likely actually) would anyone be interested in doing that?

Sounds great!

Though I do have to confess, my first thought was, "A three hour tour ... a three hour tour ..."
:smallbiggrin:

[Doc Leech]

a three hour tour is optimistic... hell, one hour is probably pushing it. i give you guys fifteen minutes before you're stranded on an island that's throwing distance from the shore :P

[Zaragon]

Another one?

Hmmm.

Put me down as a "maybe" for this one. My parents still live up in NoVa.

I don't know if I can get the time off work, though, or whether this will conflict with "other stuff", yet.

[Zeb The Troll]

Really? Only one person would be interested in spending the day out on the Chesapeake?

Maybe it would be better to ask again once it gets a little closer and less, well, cold around here. :smallcool:

[Samiam303]

Hey, there's apparently a chance that my family would haul over to visit some friends in the area, and I could perhaps make an appearance. That would be awesome!

[Telonius]

Cold? What do you mean? It was only 19 degrees out today (wind chill 8). That's, like, late March weather back in my hometown. :smallbiggrin: Course, we didn't go boating then, either, since Lake Erie was more than likely frozen over at the time.

[Zaragon]

Really? Only one person would be interested in spending the day out on the Chesapeake?

I'm not a fan of boats; I can't swim worth crap.

And it's looking like I may be up in PA during that time. I'll keep ya posted, Zeb.

[Alarra]

Because we would really like the lovely Ceika and Tantolain to be able to attend, we've decided to move this meetup back to May 9th-11th.

Does that work for people?

[Logic]

Provided I do not have to go to the sandbox in the May-June timeframe, I am interested. I need an excuse to take vacation anyway!

[Telonius]

Works for me.

[Dr._Bob]

No problem on my end.

[Zaragon]

Because we would really like the lovely Ceika and Tantolain to be able to attend, we've decided to move this meetup back to May 9th-11th.

Does that work for people?

Definitely not for me. I will either be working in Columbia that weekend, or on my way up to PA.

:smallfrown:

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

I'm good for the change. The new date is on my calendar.

[Zeb The Troll]

Definitely not for me. I will either be working in Columbia that weekend, or on my way up to PA.

:smallfrown:But ... Columbia's only a few miles from here. :smallcool:

[Zaragon]

But ... Columbia's only a few miles from here. :smallcool:

The Columbia in question would be Columbia, SC... and I'd say that's more than a few miles. :smallwink:

I may be changing jobs though, so who knows now.

[Telonius]

Under a month remaining - any more information about this? Still on for May 9-11? :smallcool:

[Alarra]

Yep. Still on.

Um... I don't think we've any more information right now, although I'll let Zeb answer this better once he gets to work tonight.

I'm sorry....I haven't had time to actually work on plans for this with moving, trying to graduate and planning a wedding. Please forgive me. :smallbiggrin:

[Zeb The Troll]

Holy Boop! This is right around the corner!

*must make more finalized plans*

[Alarra]

Hey...people that have expressed interest... Would you mind posting again to confirm whether or not you are planning to come? It's been several months since some have expressed their interest and I know how plans can change.

[Telonius]

I'm still planning to come.

[Dr._Bob]

I am still planning to attend.

[DeathQuaker]

*needs to read "friendly banter" more often*

Hm. I know I don't interact with y'all specifically much, but if you don't mind a friendly neighborhood DeathQuaker popping in to put faces to names, that sounds lovely.

Put me on "maybe." I can't confirm definitely as I'm having surgery a couple weeks before, and depending on how it goes, I might still be recovering. Probably not, but I have no idea.

But please keep me posted. I live in Baltimore City (who knows, maybe I've seen some of y'all at Legends if any of you live on that end of the state).

[Telonius]

Minor update, I will only be able to make it on the 10th and 11th, due to wife's work schedule.

[Mauve Shirt]

May 9th to 11th, eh? Hm...
Well, I live in Ellicott City and don't go back to school til the 18th, so it's CONCEIVABLE. It really depends on whether or not I can get some sort of ride.

[Alarra]

Erm...you're less than 20 minutes away from us. If nothing else, we can come pick you up. :smallsmile:

[Mauve Shirt]

I may have to take you up on that. I'll see what my parents say to me meeting a bunch of strangers from the internet.

[Gitman00]

Confirmed! Also, I'm a local, so let me know if you need help with anything.

[Zeb The Troll]

Okay, we're only two weeks away from this thing and we're really looking forward to it.

What I'd like to know from you guys is what kind of things you'd like to do.

What normally ends up happening is that a bunch of folks will get together at a predetermined place (in this case our house) and open up the floor to a lot of games and general just hanging out and having a good time. Not much of a schedule is kept.

However, since there are likely to be some folks from out of town we'd like to see if there's anything you guys would like to do that you can only do here or would simply like to do with a bunch of people you've maybe never met before.

Things that will likely happen at this meetup: video games* (including Rock Band), Munchkin, OotS Adventure Game, Kuub, Curses, Apples to Apples, and more.

We were thinking about calling around to see what bowling bargains will be going on at the time because that was fantastically fun in Cleveland when we did it and we have three or four within 5 miles of us. Thoughts? Interest?

We also thought about taking folks on the ten dollar monument tour of DC. Two points here. One, it can and will eat up the better part of the day, however if you haven't done it, it'd be a shame to come this close and not at least see the Big Ones like the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, et cetera. Two, we'd try to find a way to play Kuub on the National Mall. :smallcool:

Any input would be appreciated and considered.

*we have an Xbox 360 with GHIII, Rock Band, and a couple of compliation games discs that allow multiplayer play. We also have a PS2 and an N64 that we can hook up if folks want, but experience says that Rock Band will likely be the game that stays plugged in most of the time.

[Telonius]

Bowling sonds great! Haven't done that in years. I'm less enthusiastic about the Monuments, since I commute into DC every day, but I'd have no objections if other people would like to.

Could you PM me your address?

[Gitman00]

>.>
<.<

Chili Cook-off on Saturday, anyone? Huge rock concert with Seether, Live, Staind, Chevelle, and Finger Eleven? $40 per ticket (and selling out quickly) but worth every penny.

Link: http://www.dc101.com/pages/chilicookoff.html

[Mauve Shirt]

I'm a huge supporter of rock band and apples to apples!
I'm horrible at bowling but it's fun so I would definitely join!
Also less enthusiastic about monuments.

[Gitman00]

Bump!

Since this is only a week away, seems to me we should get a plan together. Anything set in stone for activities? If we're in an outdoorsy mood, we could go up to Great Falls for some hiking. I'm liking the Kubb-on-the-Mall idea, too. Let's get brainstorming, people! This is DC!

Also, does everyone know where they're staying? I've got a bed, a couch, and floor space at my apartment if anyone needs it.

[Alarra]

We have a fair lot of space here and I don't think there are that many people coming in from out of the area.

I wasn't sure what local people were planning on doing though. Going home each evening? Or crashing with us? I guess it would probably depend on how things are going and how many people are there.

[Mauve Shirt]

My sister's driving me, so I'll probably only come one out of the three days. Not sure which one yet, except she wants to take me to a protest on the 10th. I'll see what she's willing to do.
As for staying the night, I'd probably go home and come back.

[Zeb The Troll]

Well, we haven't really firmed up too much. Like I said earlier, we were kind of going on the "play it by ear" plan of attack with a couple of things lined up in case we stalled out. I think we'll probably do the bowling as an ice breaker on Friday night (which reminds me, I need to call around and see what deals there are) though we could as easily do it on Saturday when we're likely to have more attendance.

I'd really like to do Kuub on the Mall, but frankly I live here and can do that any time. We were just thinking that some of the professional Kuubers out there (LLama) might like to do it while they're in town. :smallcool:

If anyone has anything that they'd like to ensure that we plan for, please say so.

As an aside, we're pretty excited about the idea that there are a few forum goers that live nearby and we are hoping we can make a couple of short range contacts that we can plan to have game nights or something with occasionally outside of planned meetups. :smallbiggrin:

As for sleeping arrangements, currently we have the following arrangements that are not already spoken for...

futon in the basement, where most of the fun is likely to be centered
two recliners in the basement, very comfy and recline fully
two not uncomfortable sofas in the living room on the main floor

I think we even have enough blankets and pillows for all of those, so we can house quite a few. The only concern might be that we would have to space out the showers, which isn't really a problem as long as we plan for it in advance.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

Well, I gotta have some Rock Band.

Bowling is good fun.

I'll bring Curses and the Big Box O' Games. I suppose I'll need a place to sleep. How about one of those uncomfy sounding sofas. I don't need comfort. Or better yet, maybe a nice sound proof vault for the sake of everyone else.

[Emperor Tippy]

I may or may not show up. My b-day is the 9th so my weekend is mostly spoken for but I live about 20 minutes away, so if you don't mind if I just show up drop me a PM with a phone number and/or address and we will see what happens (for all I know my birthday party could take all weekend or be over with in a day.)

[Zeb The Troll]

LLama, your Big Box of Games will be most welcome (especially since we don't yet own any Munchkin (we know, we're ashamed of it :smallsmile: )).

Also, you have one of the beds already spoken for. Fear not, we've got you covered. Least we could do for loaning me one of your stables last year. :smallcool:

For those thinking about coming...

413 Rogers Ave
Glen Burnie, MD
21060

If you show up and we aren't there, we will leave a cell phone number on the door so you can call. If you'd rather have a phone number to call beforehand, I'll gladly PM it to you.

[Telonius]

My wife and I will probably just be there on Saturday, so no need to reserve a couch/bed/floor.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

Okay, I'm getting ready. I've been listening to Rock Band songs on You Tube, so I won't be surprised by any sudden guitar solos. I actually handled some vocals pretty well at FWA even, although a ...I think he was a wolf, but it was kinda hard to tell... had to come over and help me out on one of them.

Umm....have you downloaded any songs for RB, Zeb? I need to know if I should prepare for that sort of thing, as well.

As for monuments, well, they are nice, but they aren't half as fun to interact with as with other OOTS'ers. After all, Abraham Lincoln has never scratched me behind the ears.

Oh, I'm going to be leaving Thursday night around midnight. I expect to make it approximately 1 hour before I need to rest, but that should still have me arriving sometime Friday afternoon. Do I need to bring a PS2 4 player adapter or anything??? Oh, and I should have my copy of "Grave Robbers from Outer Space." That's a great card game if you like bad B-Movies!!

Have we heard anything from our naked emperor???

[Zeb The Troll]

We've not downloaded anything for Rock Band, no. No surprises there.

LLama, you're only about 6-7 hours away or so. If you can at all swing it, I'd recommend trying to be nearing DC sometime after 10am but before 2pm to avoid the worst of the traffic. Either way, we'll be here.

If you've got room and any games that require a 4 player adapter, bring 'em along. I don't happen to have any.

YES! Bring Skippy the Wonder Dog. We don't have any of those games yet either. (Damn, we really need to hit the game store...)

Sadly, the Nekkid One wasn't able to get the time off away from the Court so he won't be able to drop in for this one, but we've had reassurances that we WILL be seeing him this summer, either in JC or at GenCon, possibly both.

[Mountain_Faerie]

We really wish we could come to your meet-up. You guys are going to have so much fun! We want to hear lots of stories and see lots of pictures when everyone gets home. Can't wait to see you all in June...

[Mauve Shirt]

OOC, when are we technically supposed to get there each day? When do the activities start?

[Alarra]

Well.....generally activities last late into the evening, so next morning activities tend to start a bit later, although really, no one much sleeps at meetups.

If you're only planning on coming for one day, I would recommend Saturday, as people, especially those from out of town, don't usually show up until afternoon on Friday, and tend to leave on Sunday.

[Telonius]

Okay, so we'll probably be there around 10:30 AM-ish on Saturday. Sound good? Anything we should bring, food, drink, spare d20s?

[Zeb The Troll]

Yeah, that sounds good. You don't have to bring anything, but we wouldn't be disappointed if you had some food, drink, or a game you want to play with you. :smallcool:

[Alarra]

*bounces around excitedly cause people will be coming over tomorrow*

Okay...current plans are that the folks coming from out of town will be arriving around mid-day tomorrow.

Will any of you locals be coming by Friday afternoon or evening?
We'd been tossing around the idea of bowling, which could be a fun thing to do Friday night if people wanted to.

We've plenty of games, snacks, and sleeping space, so even if you do live nearby it might be fun to consider staying over the whole weekend...get the real 'meetup experience' if you will... :smallwink:

[Gitman00]

I'll be around this afternoon. Don't know when I'm going to show tomorrow, 'cause I'm also going to the DC101 Chili Cookoff. I'll be in and out all weekend though!

[Mauve Shirt]

Never mind. :smallannoyed:

[Zeb The Troll]

There were a few people who we apparently missed. I hope it's not because we didn't answer the door or anything! To those who couldn't make it, we missed ya! To those who did (Gitman00, Telonius, LLama, Ceika, and Tantolian) it was a lot of fun and we're glad you could all come. I think there are a few pictures that'll be posted linked by some who showed, and hopefully one hilarious video of Alarra and Ceika chasing our dog, who'd stolen one of the Kuub sticks making it very challenging to play. :smallamused:

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

Pictures should be up Thursday evening at the latest.

In the meantime, thanks again to Zeb and Alarra for teaching me sooooo many awesome card games. I really had a great time and I was able to watch Ceika create a llamatar. I actually got to sit in on her muse at work. It was breath-taking.

There were a lot of great memories that will be cherished, and maybe I'll be less cowardly about the vocals on Rock Band next time.

Hehe. Remember that time, Gitman couldn't talk but had to try to tell us what card he was playing, when he couldn't show us the card.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

I have pictures and a video!!!
First up is a video of the daring "El Puppeto" stealing a Kubb stick.
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n141/maskedllama/th_RandomCamerastuff016.jpg (http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n141/maskedllama/?action=view&current=RandomCamerastuff016.flv)

Next up is a Zeb, Alarra, Tantolin, and Ceika all playing Bang
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n141/maskedllama/RandomCamerastuff002.jpg

Behold the battlefield on which we inducted 2 new members to the Order of The Kubb.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n141/maskedllama/RandomCamerastuff009.jpg

Its the traditional game of OOTS with Telonius and his wife.
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n141/maskedllama/RandomCamerastuff008.jpg

Troll attack!!!
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n141/maskedllama/RandomCamerastuff012.jpg

[Mountain_Faerie]

Yay! Pictures! It looks like you guys had a great time! Sorry we missed it. Maybe we will be there next year.:smallwink: