Ashman, That does look promissing! Close enough to San Francisco for those wishing to visit, and centrally located to access Sonoma/Napa Wine country, Muir Woods, and other great attractions. We need to get some input from people planning to attend, so we can start solidifying our venues. I've also inquired about good meeting places in San Francisco, but still haven't heard back. c.i.
Cicero,
We are probably too far out to get any reliable numbers. Its hard to make a commitment that far in advance. At best you may survey to determine interest for the event. To get useful responses you will need to have the time/place pretty well nailed down. Factors important in dividing those who "want to attend" from those who "actually attend" are: schedule availability, will they be "free" at the chosen time; cost/affordability, many of us are retired living on pensions and must carefully budget just to get through each month, and; closely related to cost is distance, short distances are easier and less daunting to those nearby who are most likely to attend.
You may want to concentrate your early efforts on those who live in, or near the Bay area. If you can locate a local group, they will be invaluable in putting together the affair. That will establish your minimum expected group. Those who can attend by driving for 8 hours, or less, comprise your second most likely group of attendees. The next most likely group will be able to fly into Oakland from surrounding and adjacent States, or western Canada. Beyond those are the continental visitors who have to fly considerable distance, and who may need to go through the Customs game. Those who come the furtherest, on the other hand, need the greatest lead time to prepare and make their decisions.
To survey the group, I believe, you will need to first send personal messages to those you can identify in the various zones surrounding the meeting site. That is much more managable and effective, than trying to contact everyone within the total set. The more solid information you can supply in that first contact, the better the chance you will get usable results from the survey. When, where, and how much will it cost are absolute minumums you will need to offer early on. There will be some for whom the initial "plan" won't work, so some flexibility needs to be retained over the next few months. Refinement of the process can take place later.
You might also want to poll the principals of earlier gatherings to determine how many attended, and for "lessons learned".
Hope this helps.
As a reminder to those coming through customs, make sure and tell them the reason for your visit is to meet with a bunch of people you met on the Internet.
I do that very thing regularly, cjhsa. So far, it hasn't caused any problems.
the only 'funny' comment was from the agent last time, when i said the boy and i had been travelling back and forth for more than 2 years. she asked why didn't we get married so i could move to the states. i
and she said ' oh, so you've got a commitment problem'. 'maybe'. 'have a good time'.
Ashman, Your input is always welcome. Trying to concentrate on costs is going to be difficult; it's difficult to project the cost of transportation and lodging this early in the game. Most lodging places don't even have 2004 rates published or unpublished. Airfare is another biggie that seems to roller coaster from one week to the next. We might have about 15 people somewhat committed to come next April, but alot can happen between now and then. (I'm just trying to be realistic.) Maybe, it is too early to try and establish anything this early, and we should just keep it open for the people interested to decide on venues. I'll wait for more suggestions. c.i.
Correct, costs will almost certainly change over the next ten months. However, finding a venue is vital and prices are unlikely to vary much within the planning time-frame. Marin County seems a pretty good alternative to the high costs in the City, but those of you on the ground there are in a better position to scout the possibilities. Let us say that you, or a local committee if you feel the need to spread the decision-making, decided to use the Marin Suites (wholly hyothetical, of course). You can be reasonably sure that rooms can be had for between $150-$255 for a 2-3 night stay. You can also easily project the transportation costs between the Oakland Airport and the hotel. Count the number of meals, and estimate the cost per meal. The sum of these figures will give you a reasonable estimate of what it would cost an out-of-town participant to attend. Airfare can't easily be estimated because you don't know where the participants might come from, so leave that entirely to the potential participants to arrange.
The first step, I think, is to see who is interested and lives in the Bay area, or its immediate environs. Those folks will be your core group, and most likely participants. They can help in finding a low-cost central location for the event. Probably you will want to find a reasonable hotel where most of the participants will opt to stay. Renting a meeting hall adds costs that would have to be born by the participants, thus driving up cost. Find a hotel whose accomodations will make it possible for the group to meet in one, or more, of the participant's rooms, and you will have solved that problem (that's one of the reasons I sorta like something similar to the Marin Suites, hotel rooms that do double duty). By involving others who live in the immediate area, you have a much better chance of finding the "best" value available.
Ten months isn't a long time, and as the time grows short difficulties will inevitably arise. The more you have things lined up well in advance, the fewer nasty surprises that get out of control are likely to occur. Much of the pre-planning/decision-making can, and should, be done on the ground by the sponsor(s). The more people you expect to attend, the greater the planning challenge. Having the next door neighbors over for dinner on the patio is easy, but if you are catering a blacktie dinner as a fund raiser for a political candidate the task is just a little more complicated.
Survey outward from what you expect to be groud-zero. In the closest zone your probability of getting firm commitments and actual attendance is greatest. Those probabilities steadily decrease as the distance increases. You can't control the statistics much beyond insuring that the venue is affordable, easy to reach, and attractive to potential attendees.
Don't put off beginning the planning process. Once you made the decision to hold an event, the process DID start. Don't drop the ball, and everything will go well.
BTW, personally I still would find it better for Natalie and I to stay with our youngest son in the City. If we are able to come, I expect we will stay for upwards of a week ... perhaps two. I always like to visit the Hudson River collection of paintings over in Golden Gate Park. We've gone east to visit the older boy and his family a number of times since retirement, and we don't want the youngest son to think we are tilting more toward the East Coast than the West. Of course, if they'd just get married and start having grandchildren to lure us, we'd spend more time in one of my favorite cities in the world.
Well, folks, I think hotels in San Francisco are a distinct possibility, since public transportation is very good in the city. Here's a link with many hotels and their rates. If we can settle on San Francisco, I'll take on the responsibility to find a location for our group get-togethers. How about it?
http://reservations.8002hotels.com/cgi-bin/chkrates?SID=G36&Dest=SFO&LKF=G96&LANG=en&PROD=HOTEL&DispCurr=USD&ITRK=dbU&Year=03&Month=06&Day=29&Nights=02&Adults=02&Children=00&Beds=1&Smoking=N&Year4=2003&minRating=ALL&priceSort=0&sx=1
c.i.
As I said before, San Francisco is our preference since we would probably stay with our youngest son.
San Francisco here I come, that's where.......... I left my heart, in ........ c.i.
Just looking in.
I yam interested in this.
Last time I was in Frisco was 1977
McT
McTag, You're way overdue for another visit; but make sure it's in the first week of April of next year. Look forward to seeing you and Fiona - and all the others we met at the London Gathering. c.i.
One thing to consider is that homeowner's associations and large apartment complexes often have a community meeting room they rent out for parties. That could be a cost-saving alternative to expensive hotel meeting rooms if someone local has access to that option.
You might be able to add a barbecue to the site and have a pot-luck picnic or two.
Speaking of picnics, there are also quite a few public and private sites often used for company picnics. Tilden Park would be a nice one.
Stearn's Grove has free concerts too. c.i.
My daughter was born in SF in 1989, and we left almost immediately thereafter. It would be good to go back -- and between now and next April I can probably shovel a bit of money together. I'm a cheapskate, tho, and would probably stay at a hostel... wherever this meeting is, please let there be some public transportation in the vicinity!
I lurked around Abuzz for a long time, now I'm a member here, and I'd love to know you better!
Wy, Nothing wrong with being a "cheapskate." We all have our idiosyncracies on how we wish to spend our limited money supply. I'm kind of a cheapskate on hotel rooms, but don't mind spending a dollar on two for a good meal. Look forward to meeting you in San Francisco.
c.i.
How I would love to come, but not sure of finances at this point. I agree with ossobuco that the Sacremento airport is very convenient and easily navigated--even better than Oakland--if you are going in that direction anyway.
So now there is a definite time and place? San Francisco, April 2-4 (Fri-Sun), 2004? If so, now the serious planning can really get into gear.
The dates are set: April 2 to 4 as the 'primary' dates. I know some people coming to San Francisco will wish to spend more time here, and I'm ready to provide some transportation to the wine country, Muir Woods, the (Charles Schulz) Peanuts Museum, Jelly Belly Candy Factory, and Sausalito (to Rae and Mom). I will not be able to devote full time, because I may be impaneled this month to the Civil Grand Jury, but am willing to extend myself as much as I can to make your trip here pleasant and memorable. I sure could use some assistance from anybody that lives in California (Yes, I said, California) and/or those that are planning to drive here. c.i.
I have explained from early on, very early, that I can't be there until late on the fourth. I am still interested in helping, even though I am out of the newly described area of immediate helping zone.
I think Asherman's links are useful, and I do agree that we need to figure out whether we are staying in the city or surroundings.
I plan to be there. Because of my own detailed needs, I will try to link up with the group on the days I can, if it isn't over when I get there, and may go off wading around some dunes after that.
Otherwise, I am glad to meet people between my home on the other side of the redwood curtain, or closer, in Napa, or Sonoma, etc.
Let me know if I can help in any further way.
