Real Life Get Together!!

Rlyan · Post by **Rlyan** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 7:02 pm

So, I know weve been floating the idea around for the past month or so, and at last weeks meeting I said Id make a thread on the forums about it. Darsondris asked this morning in guild chat if we were ever planning on organizing such an event. I realize that we are concentrated heavily in Michigan, and that the majority of us in Michigan have children. This is where one difficulty arises. Children are hard to travel long distances and long periods of time with. I personally would not mind traveling to Michigan for one weekend this summer, but Im not the only one who lives far away. We have a few Phillie peeps, New Englanders, Floridians, Carolinians, Virginians, New Yorkers, and Texans too that need to be fairly represented at such an event (sounds like the creation of the House of Representatives and Senate now that I think about it).

I know a lot of us feel we should meet somewhere where no one has been before, so it makes it that much more of an adventure. Also, many feel this location should be somewhere in the middle of all of our locations. I guess I am curious to see how the Michiganders feel about an event outside of their area.

Anywhere we hold such an event you know Ill be there. Im just curious to know how far people are willing to travel so I can plan plane or auto gas expenditures.

Also guys, throw out ideas! I personally want to do a Las Vegas get together!

Magdalena · Post by **Magdalena** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 7:19 pm

One thing also to consider is trip pricing... some places are going to be cheaper as far as air fare and hotel. Also, I think we want some place with plenty for us to go out and do... two suggestions I have are Las Vegas or Atlanta.

sakuragi · Post by **sakuragi** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 7:21 pm

since we are all meeting in the middle....
how about Pittsburg? that's close to middle for everyone.....or better yet....let's all head out of country...let's say..japan? lol....or we can do tennessee..i mean i hear the farm lands are good if u want a bbq...lol...mite as well set a forest fire while we are there.....where else....i also hear that the great lakes is a good place but that's too close to michigan.....won't be fair for people in florida...or we can go to florida but that wouldn't be fair to people in michigan.....tennessee it is then....granted i have no idea what's out there besides lots of farms...but we can go and do a farm tour....hehehe...

undrin · Post by **undrin** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 7:23 pm

Magdalena wrote:One thing also to consider is trip pricing... some places are going to be cheaper as far as air fare and hotel. Also, I think we want some place with plenty for us to go out and do... two suggestions I have are Las Vegas or Atlanta.

Those two are great. I would say though that it may be hard for the ones with Children to make a trip like that. Then again it might not be. I would vote for ATL if these were the two options. Another option if we are thinking cheaper air fair is Chicago. It is a major Air hub and I would assume air fair would be resonable. I would say NYC but i know for a fact it is expensive to fly there let alone stay. Unless someone wanted to put us all up for the weekend hehe.

sakuragi · Post by **sakuragi** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 7:26 pm

since it is chris' idea..let's all crash there....it would be fun we can all kick chris off his bed and computer...

RagingDeath · Post by **RagingDeath** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 9:04 pm

An excellent idea cept my wife thinks this game is stupid, addictive, bad influence, reality altering, etc.... for me to be able togo a meeting would be pretty close to impossible. However i like the idea of Chitown or Lexington, KY

sakuragi · Post by **sakuragi** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 9:24 pm

that's why u don't tell ur wife it's to meet the wow guildies..u tell her that u have made up ur mind and is taking the family on a vacation but give her no choices.....cause it's a mini vacation...weekend vacation....she can't fault u for not wanting to take the family on a mini vaca....

Post by **Messiah** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 9:33 pm

Atlanta.

Pitch a tent in my back yard. I'd offer the house, but I understand you WoW types are a ..... questionable lot, and I'd want to insulate my wife and children.

Besides, I happen to know a few places in Atlanta where you can actually purchase beer (for the light weights) and other spirits (for the more seasoned drinkers, Magdalena).

Hey, do I actually have to play WoW to vote on this?

requiemdreamer · Post by **requiemdreamer** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 10:22 pm

Sounds like a great idea. Anywhere sounds good to me. Of course, the cheaper the better, but distance and cost isn't my main problem. If this happens during the summer I will be back at home and will have to pass this by my parents who won't be too fond of the idea. I have an extremely worrysome and protective mother. I'm sure the parents in this guild can understand my situation. But I will try my best.

Magdalena · Post by **Magdalena** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 10:50 pm

Req, anybody can understand that... though I'm sure there's not going to be an issue with this group, we should meet in a public place for everybody's best interest and meeting as a large group like this makes it better too...

Trixster · Post by **Trixster** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 2:44 am

I really dont care where we go as long as we can get us all together!!

I think the idea mel had behind the first 2 selections is that air fair and hotel is dirt cheap, thats cuz they want you to spend the money in the casino, that we would all have to avoid.

i think i heard there are like group houses in or near disney world may be another idea, and when i say group housing its like a group of houses together, for like family get togethers. No way i am going to share a bathroom with req or chris

but may give the ones with kids things to do with then during the day, and we can all have fun when the kids go to bed.

Post by **Bombastick** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 3:54 am

Scratch Las Vegas, it is not cheap anymore

I just came back from there yesterday. Albeit, the trip was paid for by my company. Room at Luxor (not that great of a hotel) was $300/night. My buddy from LA came and got a room on the Freemont street (cheaper area), still $150/night.

Fenavian · Post by **Fenavian** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 5:13 am

Good idea but.... Concidering gas prices are like $3.00 a gallon migh tbe best to wait and see if it goes down. Gause no matter how you travel, something requires gas, (well except trains but there aint a trainstation near me.. so...), and because things require gas, all forms of transportation will go up in price conciderably.

Rlyan · Post by **Rlyan** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 3:15 pm

haha Steve, I hate you. I was reading you posts in the middle of my poli-sci lecture, and I burst out laughing as the professor was talking about starving children in Sudan. 300 people all looked at me and I sunk into my seat so low, I could feel the coolness of the floor tile on the back of my neck.

Atlanta would be sweet. I also like the idea of Disney World! And Jack, who the hell would want to share a bathroom with you? It's a privilege to share a bathroom with me! Ask Weili; she'll tell you all about it.

If we want, my family owns a few properties in Charlottesville, VA (hometown of UVA and rated best large town in America many years in a row). I could try to convince my mom to let us party in one of our houses there. It might take some convincing, but I'm sure I can figure something out. It's just an idea.

DISNEY WORLD, though! Great idea, Jack! That's my new vote.

Once again, I hate you STEVEY. Go put your potato head in the blender.

Bladesinger · Post by **Bladesinger** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 3:19 pm

Atlanta would be a great location. Both Delta and AirTran have significant hubs there. With the new aquarium and other family friendly things it would be a better choice IMO than LV.

Charlotte's also not a bad choice either. It's smaller and cheaper than ATL, has a large amusement park, great kids and adults museums/activities, and has better BBQ than Kentucky.

For the record, I still think TX has the best BBQ in the world.

Chi-Town would be fun too. Then again, so would Seattle.

Rlyan · Post by **Rlyan** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 4:24 pm

Charlotte is expensive for airfare though. It is one of those cities that is big enough to have a major airport, but not in as much demand (so the airliners can charge whatever they want). It's only a 4 hour drive from here, or a 8 hour drive from home, so no major objections for me. I also don't want Phil to be the beneficiary of a lack of travel expenses. HAHA.

Chinatown? Which Chinatown? I'm lost. Besides the food, what do we do? Every major city has a Chinatown. Who the hell suggested a Chinatown? DC's and Baltimore's aren't even that good, so we need to move from here.

Disney World! I want to go see Donald Duck!!

lili · Post by **lili** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:33 pm

how about y'all come to philly when I get a break from the hospital you can come and pick me up.

Bladesinger · Post by **Bladesinger** » Mon May 01, 2006 4:32 am

Chi-Town = Chicago

I'm all about driving to Atlanta if that's where we pick. That would be a load of fun!

If it's a flying trip I'm going to have to decline in favor of an aquarium association meeting in SanFran in Nov. Poor student and all.

ScarletRahl · Post by **ScarletRahl** » Tue May 02, 2006 5:34 pm

Chicago would be fun and not that bad of a trip of us Michiganers with kids.....LOL. It is a wounderful town with lots to do and Most of it is in walking distances. We might have to sneak Ragingdeath with us but it is something we need to plan

Rlyan · Post by **Rlyan** » Tue May 02, 2006 6:40 pm

I'm thinking Chicago is going to be our best bet to largest amount of people together as possible. After all, it is our wish to get together and enjoy the company of each other. While other options may seem more exciting or closer in distance, we need to think about the purpose of our getting together.

Like Liz said, we need to start planning. Maybe we should get a few polls up. Vote on a few destinations, then maybe another to narrow the choices down, and then do a number count to see how many people would indeed attend an event if it were to be held in the cities we narrow it down to. We also need to know everyone's summer schedules. What month, week, and days are our ideal? Price range for accomodations and other excursions? I'm not exactly sure how to setup polls to do this.

I'm willing to take a leading role in this, but I'm not sure if I can do this alone. I'm thinking of a few people with leadership credentials (or maybe someone who can simply talk louder than all the rest) lol.

Let me know! I've got to get back to my paper. Summer is almost here! Just one more bad day to get through, and then the rest of the school year (one week from tomorrow!) will be smooth sailing!

RagingDeath · Post by **RagingDeath** » Wed May 03, 2006 2:08 am

Yup thats gonna be the only way i can go if Jerm and liz smuggle me away hehe. Will just be a Jerm family (special) trip. Only gotta make it One day if possible.

requiemdreamer · Post by **requiemdreamer** » Wed May 03, 2006 5:42 am

Well, flights from Syracuse to Chicago aren't looking too bad. And only a 1 hour flight

. Between $200 - $300. Deffinitely in my price range. Which would make the only problem left to be convincing my parents this summer. The more details I have the better I can present my case and the higher the rate of success I have. Also, the sooner we know when we are going to do it, the sooner and cheaper we can get our plane tickets, for those of us flying.

So we know it would have to be on around a weekend, for thos of us working. Maybe just for a Fri., Sat., Sun. thing. I'm also thinking that some time either late June, or early July, depending on which works best for everybody. I would just need to notify my internship ahead of time if I am taking any days off, which would be no problem. So I, personally, could go whenever, just need to know early.

Are we thinking of all staying in a hotel in Chicago? I'm sure we'd all want to reserve those ahead of time to try and all be on the same floor at least. Would anyone be driving there? What would we be doing for transportation, if we need any.

I could take a road trip. But the 11 hour drive doesn't sound too appealing to me.

Rlyan · Post by **Rlyan** » Wed May 03, 2006 3:00 pm

I kind of want to take a road trip, but it wouldn't be as much fun driving by myself. Sean should drive the 6 hours here, and then we'll head to Chicago together :-P. Oh we could meet in Phillie and pick up Weili and Steve, and then head west! Oh wow, I'm excited.

I'm still waiting on to hear what Phil, Jack, Mel, Steve, Weili, and Mark think about Chicago. Fri, Sat, and Sun thing would work best for me as well, but hopefully driving won't take too much time away from those three days. Maybe leave on a Thursday night? Who knows? Let me know!

Padishar · Post by **Padishar** » Wed May 03, 2006 5:08 pm

Chicago is a good idea.... Still need a few more opinions on the matter, but Chicago seems to be looking good so far.

Couple more people and we can try and focus on a date and location....

Magdalena · Post by **Magdalena** » Wed May 03, 2006 5:51 pm

I think ya'll are trying to freeze us out... checked that city's lows... I believe I've stated below 70 is freezing... the average lows at night range in the 60s even in peak summer time... highs of 85.... you won't be able to see me because every night we go out I'll have a closets worth of blankets over me.

Seriously though, I'd say not to plan around us, job fronts aren't exactly stable right now so its not something we can really go out and book flights or anything. Some place in driving range would be a lot more likely this year, but that puts too many others out... we'll try no matter where it is but probably won't know until very close to time to go...