Soulriders 5.0: Legend of the Unending Games

This is just for initial planning.

Where:
Currently looking at Bay area, California.

When:
September 9/14-9/21

Residence:
http://www.vrbo.com/449386 - I have rented this place down in Santa Clara.  So I shall be sad if folks don't show ;_;

Expected Costs:
Whatever your flight costs are.
Something between 2-3000 for a rented house, split 4-8 ways, depending on crew showing up.  So 750 on the high end, and 250 on the low end.  Either way, generally going to beat hotels and I'm expecting it to generally run about 300-350 for the week.  Ideally, the trip could reasonably cost <700-750 booked well.

Recommended airports to fly in at: SJC is closest to the place, but I can do SFO pickups if needed.  Please no Oakland.

Events:
Trying out having a shared google doc for scheduling things :)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uDQQpqRWXokN75Uel2R-O0CNB35jgFkZOOKzZO1lNzU/edit

Currently expected:
Dracos - Booked
Yukari - Booked
Merc - Booked
Corwin - Booked
Xaldaran (Daytrip)
Ginrai
Gatewalker (Most of the time) - Physically around :)

I'll be updating this post with details as appropriate.

Expressin interest in Cali.

No particular preference for location or time. I should be able to show up unless anything unforseen occurs.

It'll be great to see ya again, Merc :)

I might be able to make it, depending on the end cost of the family vacation to Hawaii this year.

This isn't completely related, but Cy and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary in July.  I'm not sure yet what we have planned but if anyone is interested in hanging out as a sort of mini-gathering, it's an option!

Good lord has it really been 10 years since the advent of the ToasterCube?

Quote from: Music-chan on February 14, 2014, 12:13:18 AM
This isn't completely related, but Cy and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary in July.  I'm not sure yet what we have planned but if anyone is interested in hanging out as a sort of mini-gathering, it's an option!

I would very much enjoy that, but I don't think I trust my finances enough for three trips this year.  I raise a mug to you two in spirit.

Quote from: Yuthirin on February 14, 2014, 12:39:30 AM
Good lord has it really been 10 years since the advent of the ToasterCube?

It really has.

Ha, toaster cube :D  We still have the toaster and the Game Cube!

Hooray!

Alright, 'm slow.

How does sometime in early september sound for folks?  We can tour around the area, go through some board games, drop by relevant places as desired.  I can schedule catching up with brian's folks, or with some of the other hanger-outs in town as desired.

Present plan is to rent a house for a week to help keep the cost down for folks.  And possibly bring sleeping bags :P

Looked up some this morning that were available early september (glances around Sunday to Sunday 9/7 to 9/14) :
http://www.vrbo.com/446506
http://www.vrbo.com/338848
http://www.vrbo.com/298883
http://www.vrbo.com/449386

If you're interested, please comment to help select and see if this works for folks.

I'd be interested in coming, but given the time of year I will want to get some solid dates ASAP - September is the tail end of our busy season at work.

Yeah, with renting as well, it's idea to lock down early.

I'm really fine with 9/7-9/14 myself if others are.  That way it can get locked down and rented over the next week or so.

For us, it's actually a pretty free time of year, given all the holidays taking place. Should be fine.

As I actually live in the northern bay area I'm hoping to be able to attend this one, even if it's just driving down as a day trip.

I'm good for whenever.

Any thoughts on things to do outside of the usual board games/anime/video games?

I only recall Alactraz, boardwalk, food and Smash Bros from the 2008 visit.

I'd suggest the Computer History Museum (http://www.computerhistory.org/) in Mountain View, for folks that are interested in that kind of thing. Brian and I paid a visit the last time I was out there for an actual vacation, and it was pretty good. Not sure how much they'll have changed up since then, though.

Yeah, there's also the aviation museum if folks are into that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_museums_in_the_San_Francisco_Bay_Area - pretty much all of these are trivially reachable if folks like.

Whitewater rafting is available, but basically a full day adventure to do, since its not close by.

There's some really nice parks within driving distance, notably Muir Woods which we didn't get people to last time.

The wharf of SF is generally an enjoyed area.  Can easily be combined with tasty Dim Sum :3

Alkatraz seemed like hit or miss for folks last time.  Wouldn't recommend the bother personally.

Really, za variety of food is a favorite part of the area to me. 

Looks like the crew is mostly fleshed out on who it'll be.

Going to book a place soon, so if there's any holdouts waiting to say they're coming (or folks who are really unsure), let me know.

I might be able to come. Thinking about combining it with a trip to Phoenix.

Any possibility of pushing this out a week at this point? Just checked our schedule here at work and it looks like there's going to be a ton of stuff I'll be needed for on the initial Sunday.

I'll check.  I haven't booked yet and don't think that anyone has locked in...but rentals were way more difficult one week out, so it may be a limited selection.

It looks like 14-21 is doable.

Can you go ahead and check, especially with Corwin and Ginrai if that's an issue.

If not, I'll change it tonight.

That should be okay.

I have no issue whenever. As long as I can still buy a plane ticket, it's all okay for me!

I'd like to lock it in this sunday, so if there's any other questions or concerns, please bring it up.  Afterwards, I'll book one of the ones I linked (since no one had any opinions, I'll be booking based on number of attendees mostly).

Afterwards, we'll... something.  I forgot. :)  Oh well, I shall think of it again.

Going to book tonight.  Any last words?

No surprises from here on out, for the sake of my risky pocketbook.

Okay, starting booking.

http://www.vrbo.com/298883 - this should be a bit of a cozy fit in Foster City.  Estimating that it'll run about 350-380 for the week, so about half the cost we'd manage if we all split hotel rooms.

I'll let folks know when it's booked.

Well, that failed.

Now looking at this place: http://www.vrbo.com/449386

Waiting for the confirmation.

Okay, the place is booked.  We shall be down in Santa Clara for the duration of the gathering.  Near San Jose, it's museums, but we can of course drive wherever FATE may take us.

Since it's locked in, feel free to start setting vacation/ticket setups.

There's been some prodding about a post trip.

Maybe a drive.

Something to Las Vegas.  Then to Grand Canyon.  Then To Yellowstone.

Not sure if anyone else would be interested, cuz it be one hell-of-drive.  Prolly about 50 percent Travel time (30ish hours over the course of it).

Or maybe Yosemite. Yeah, I bugged Drac about it since spending even a day (if not a week) in one of those national parks is awesome. It won't be fun on my own, but if some others were interested it could be great! It doesn't have to be a circuit of all of them, say, but we could pick one and make a stop along the way, like Drac's Vegas suggestion? That would be less travel time, if that's a problem.

Either a post or a pre-trip could work, so even days could be flexible here.

Yosemite would be great to include, it's a 2-3 hour drive which is not unreasonable at all.

Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone though might be too far?

One possible suggestion, instead of Las Vegas, what about Reno? Reno is closer to Yosemite/San Jose, and it's also a den of gambling casinos if that's the appeal.

I guess if you did Las Vegas though (it's something like an 8 hour drive from San Jose), Grand Canyon starts being more appealing. Las Vegas also has Liddo-kun, so we could harass him?

Let's harrass liddo-kun~ :3

Also a friend has been going On and On about the buffets out there.  So it keeps being on radar.

Yosemite is just over a 3 hour drive (3.5 from where we'll be staying), but I recall it taking 4 last time I did that drive.  Maybe because it's another hourish from the edge of the park to some place one can stay.  Sort of out of day trip, but not bad as a stop there for a bit thing.  I found it sort of so-so, but I'm kinda negative anyway so maybe others will find it awesome :P

The thing with all of these is that places to stay become difficult.  So plotting that out early would be a must.

For all of the parks, I wouldn't really recommend them as 'arrive, do a day, depart that eve' because frankly, they're a pain to get in and out of anyhow.   Doing 1 day vegas, 2 canyon, 2 yellowstone might work.  Or some mixture with Yosemite.  But basically 2 day minimum per park to really make it worth the bother of driving to it.

Some other stuff to think of:
1. Would we rent a van? I doubt we'd all fit comfortably in your car (then again, I don't recall what you drive).

I suspect we won't have two cars available for the road trips (unless either Xal or Gate are coming too, but I know Gate had other stuff, and Xal was planning more for a daytrip than week's worth of stuff).

2. Have you already made reservations in house rental (sounded like you did)? Can you reduce it to the 2-3 days we'd be gathering just in California or is it locked now that you've made reservations? Unless people plan to pass on the road trip stuff, it wouldn't make much sense to keep the place during 5 or so days of traveling.

***

Btw, I'm not that sold on doing Yellowstone at same time as Grand Canyon. It'd certainly be cool, but do we want to spend that much time driving?

If people are willing, by all means, big adventure time is awesome. If we just head towards Grand Canyon, we'll naturally hit pretty much everything (miss 3 points: Bingham Mine/Yellowstone/Reno), with a small detour for Yosemite.

From Grand Canyon though, we can do an 11-12 hour drive up north to Yellowstone, passing through Bingham Mine/Salt Lake City. On the way back to San Jose (another 11-12 hour drive from Yellowstone), we'd naturally pass through Reno if anyone wants to do more gambling after Las Vegas.

Here's a map showing a bunch of possible visit locations in addition to those mentioned so far:
(http://i59.tinypic.com/2aac56c.jpg)

Naw, this is strictly pre or after thoughts, mainly so Cor can get more out of the trip (It's a long one for him to make)

The place for 14th to 21st is booked.  It'd be a bit expensive for me personally to change that at this point in time and I don't really want to do a traveling caravan with 6-7 people.  If 2-3 though are up to it, that might be a different story?

Aaaaah. In that case, I won't be able to take part. I'm probably gonna book for friday 9/12 to sunday 9/21.

Plan is to spend saturday with family, then sunday join everyone until the next sunday when I'd leave.

Not gonna be able to manage extra week for road trip shenanigans. Also, dad's birthday is the week after, so I'd like to be back for that.

A comment on airports since it hasn't been brought up. The San Jose airport (SJC) is 8 miles away from the house, versus the San Francisco (SFO) Airport which is 34 miles away. I don't know if it matters for Drac if he's picking up people, but it might be easier to go to SJC specially since we arrive at different times...

I just purchased my flight tickets, and I'll arrive Friday 9/12 at noon, and leave Sunday 9/21 at noon.

Arrival/departure will both be from SJC. I'll be staying with grandparents for Fri+Sat, as they live nearby.

San Jose airport is a good suggestion, even though it's been a while since I've done a pickup there.  I'll pick folks up as needed on sunday and help with dropoffs the next sunday.

It maaay be helpful if someone else rents a vehicle alongside mine (fits 4 easily, 5 with a squeeze, which is just a bit underspaced).

So we're not planning on an Alcatraz route this year and most things can be arranged as whimsy drives us but:

1)What would folks like to see on the schedule?

2)Would folks like to drive by anything Brian related?  Not currently planning on it, but I live here so...

I know I'm a month or so late, but I just noticed this.

Quote from: Music-chan on February 14, 2014, 12:13:18 AM
but Cy and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary in July

What.

Oh god we're all old. O_O

If it makes you feel better, as I was driving past a catholic church today, I saw the billboard sign in front read "Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional."

Quote from: Dracos on May 15, 2014, 03:36:19 PM
2)Would folks like to drive by anything Brian related?  Not currently planning on it, but I live here so...

Yeah. If we can swing that, Drac, that would be good.

As for Alcatraz, I'll probably just go on my own before the meet to not clutter things up too much. Unless someone else is interested in a visit?

See first post :)

This Might have been an option for me had I not gone to Disney world with my entire school music group. I sing in choir, by the way.

That's nostalgic.  It's a fun thing doing the behind the scenes stuff at Disney World.  :)

Either way, we were kind of booked this year anyway.  Next time.

Waddaya mean booked?

Hey if people still want to show up and reduce the cost of the rental home while they get sleeping bags, by all means! :p

Well, true and we'll make things work if that happens.  I meant in terms of booking an appropriate sized venue :)

Any other thoughts on scheduling of stuff? Haven't seen any changes to the schedule, and I don't have anything to suggest myself.

I did have some, but I've been alternating swamped at work and too lazy to do crap. 

I will look up some museums, and at least one day I think shall be SF City + Redwoods + Evening Wharf?

Admittingly, I'm also down with tons of board games/video games.

Sorry, I haven't moved things forward here.  Wiki planning is available though :)

Quote from: Dracos on May 02, 2014, 04:59:30 PMLet's harrass liddo-kun~ :3

There's a lot of open desert here with cactus, sage brushes, and Yucca trees hiding a ton of secrets...  :)

Quote from: Dracos on May 02, 2014, 04:59:30 PMAlso a friend has been going On and On about the buffets out there.  So it keeps being on radar.

Did your friend mention any specific buffets?  Because, well, we've got a lot of them out here and there's quite a big difference in quality between them.  And of course there are the ones housed in the big casinos, but you also have off the Strip places like Brazilian steakhouses that are buffet style minus the gambling atmosphere, if you prefer.

Anyhow, let me know if you guys plan on swinging through town.  I've got some connections so I *might* be able to hook you up with tickets to things like a show, comedy club, or dinner if you're interested.  Don't go banking on it, but I can at least check to see what's available.

Beyond just casinos there are things like zip line venues as well.  Depending on how adventurous you are there's Slotzilla that lets you go across a strip of downtown Vegas horizontally and Sky Jump has you leap off the 108th floor of the Stratosphere vertically where you land on a giant air bag on ground-level.

You could also check out Bullets and Burgers.  I found the concept to be amusing, personally.

Link to attractions in Vegas (http://www.vegas.com/attractions/)

We ended up with heading to Yellowstone on yammering.

BUt I really should get out there sometime.

Would anyone be interested in going to a sushi bar (if they accept reservations for large groups)? The omakase menu is usually expensive (50-100) but worth it.

Actually, yes.

There are fancy ones, but I'd be interested in dragging you guys to the old sushi hangout, Higuma.  It is a hole in the wall joint, but at the same time, if we're going there on a reasonable time early on a work week, we shouldn't have a problem.  Not sure if they take reservations since I always kick in the door and sit in front of the chef.  It is expensive though.  I know others usually rack around 30-50 there and I personally usually rack between 60-90 (You don't want to be on the same sushi order as me).

We'd need to do it before Gate joins us, as that's poison for gate.

Btw, can someone who's incoming rent a vehicle so we have enough vehicle bandwidth?  I'll be handling 4-5ish, but 7ish is more than I can load.  A van that can handle 8ish would be great, but probably trying too much.

Also, encourage looking and adding, my scheduling skills are particularly crappy this time for some reason. 

Would folks like to see an Opera?  There's one available on the 19th.
http://sanjosetheaters.org/ai1ec_event/opera-san-jose-rigoletto-5/?instance_id=3543

Hit the zoo?
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33020-d249512-Reviews-Happy_Hollow_Park_and_Zoo-San_Jose_California.html

Rose garden?
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33020-d519652-Reviews-Heritage_Rose_Garden-San_Jose_California.html

Mining Museum?
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33020-d156813-Reviews-New_Almaden_Mercury_Mining_Museum-San_Jose_California.html

Anyhow, did an update pass, but the plan is still pretty bare-bones.

Questions on pickups:

My current plan is to pick people up as they group up in SJC throughout the day.  If you guys can arrange close times, that's best, but if not we'll make things work.  Nobody has shared arrival times so don't have any clue how its going yet for people finding tickets.

I'm good whenever. As mentioned, I'll be with family at first, and whenever would probably work. To be honest, I could probably just head straight to the house at that whenever worked (or meet at the airport if that worked better).

It's my first time renting a house for a week, so not sure if there's any timing concerns with the key handoff.  I'll iron out those details as we close on the date, but likely that would be alright.

Quote from: Dracos on August 03, 2014, 07:43:22 PM
It's my first time renting a house for a week, so not sure if there's any timing concerns with the key handoff.  I'll iron out those details as we close on the date, but likely that would be alright.

We've done the house rental a few times. Usually one of two things happens: they have a key lockbox somewhere around the house, they email you the code and you just open it and snag the key, or they send you the key in the mail and you leave it in the house somewhere (kitchen counter or something).

If it's the second one, you usually leave through the back door and leave it unlocked. The cleaning person usually arrives inside of 15-30 minutes after you leave.

Everyone's different, though, but that's been our experience.

Yeah, I expect it to be something reasonable like that.  It's not a first time home renter on the other side.

If I take the morning flight I would arrive at SJC at 10:15PM. Is anyone else arriving around that time?

I should be fine to pick you up then or near then regardless. :)

Just checking:
Anyone else planning on having a vehicle at this point?

Just purchased the tickets. It sucks that the only direct flight arrives so late (but it's also a hundred dollars cheaper than any flight to San Francisco).  The return flight is an overnight one. It's anyone else going to be at the airport around 11PM for their return flight?

As for renting a car maybe we can decide what to rent once we all meet up on the 14?

I was not planning on car. We'd be 5 normally without Xal and Gate since they're not full time attending, which -should- fit in one car (if not super comfortably for the ones in the back)? With 'em, I'd assume extra cars would be available as well?

Unless more people are planning on coming besides those in the first post.

Though I really dont want to be renting a car personally.

Xal is driving in I think?

Gate doesn't have a vehicle.

We'll see what we can do.  :)

Just noting: final payment is being made now for the rented house, so no vanishing on me :P  As far as splitting costs and whatnot, we'll do that on the last night for any shared things.

You have a credit card swipe machine, right? :p

Hey, Drac, you asked in IRC to post a list of games I might bring (and for others to post that too).

Given that you, Gate and Xal are the locals, maybe you guys should post your list of games first?

Right now, I'm thinking probably sticking to card games (or generally games without boards), since those would occupy less space in my bags.

Games I am considering:
7 Wonders - Will probably bring. Can play anywhere from 3-7 players so we could play when Xal and Gate are around as well as when they're not.
DC Deckbuilder - Not sure about bringing it. As the name suggests, it's a deckbuilder, themed with superheroes. Not the best with 5+ though, and can't be broken up to play in separate groups.
Smash Up - Possible bring. Plays 2-4 players, but there's no reason can't play 5 besides increased downtime between turns. Could also split up into two separate games, particularly if we have 7 people.
Race for the Galaxy - Unlikely bring (unless requested). It can be a pain to teach/track that people are playing it correctly when learning, and it's easier to play online.
Nile Deluxor - Might bring. Card collection/Set matching game, plays up to 6.
8 Minute Empire - Might bring. Territory control game for 2-5 players, and fairly short (not 8 minute short admittedly).
Love Letter (Paper Mario version) - Definite bring. Super small deduction/luck game, and I have an extra set that I can give away if someone wants it. We could split up into two groups if we have 5-7 people, since the game is 2-4 players.
Resistance: Avalon - Unlikely bring (unless requested). I recall Drac doesn't like games with traitors. This is a deduction game with 1-2 hidden traitors (depending on number of players) where everybody's trying to figure out everyone else's identity.

I don't really have any preference for what to bring if people want to chime in on preference or mention that they already have one of those. If someone wants me to bring a specific board game, I can do that too. I'll update my BGG page to provide links on what the games are like, but for now, I did post recently a picture/list of my collection:
http://www.soulriders.net/forum/index.php/topic,101865.msg1051611.html#msg1051611

Merc, I was considering buying 7 Wonders but if you have it and no one else does, can you bring it instead? I can bring Ascension instead.

Also, has anyone else updated the google doc?

Quote from: Merc on August 08, 2014, 07:23:23 PM
You have a credit card swipe machine, right? :p

No?  Prefer checks really :)

I shall bring CAH, Lords of Waterdeep, Deadwood Studios, and Chrononauts.

Who knows, if I find another I might bring it.

If Epic Resort arrives in time, I shall bring it too.

All stated on the shared Google Doc for planning :)

Re: Smash Brawl

So Wii can be brought, though is kind of a nusiance to wrap up and bring?

Options:
1)Hey, we just do it for some few hours once during the gathering...over at Dracos house.  Get to see the den of iniquity in person, and also enjoy a cozy area to get your ass kicked by him, probably repeatedly.

2)Bring it, and we play a bit there.

3)We make it an evening chaos of regularity during the gathering at the rented place.  This would lure me more, but I think would exhaust folks, and Dragon's Crown or Co-op games might be more fitting? :P

Also, as PS3 will be there with sufficient controllers, anyone who wants to bring a 4 player game, feel free.  Those fit easy in the bag yah?

I was going to say to bring the Wii with Brawl since it would be fun late night... But a PS3 with four controllers should be just as good. I have a few fighting games that I can bring over. Does anyone have Rayman Origins? I remember that being a lot of fun with four players.

Also, as I mentioned in the google doc, is anyone else going to bring their handheld systems?

I don't have any party video games that other people don't already have, so I don't plan on bringing any.

No plan to bring a DS either, possibly a laptop I guess, but I probably won't be loading it with games if so.

As an aside on the sushi thing (since i'm only now really looking over google docs), not a sushi fanatic myself. Though I do like fish in general, and I have no issues with going to a sushi place especially if they offer something more on the cooked side of things? =)

Also, sure thing on 7 Wonders, I can definitely bring it along.

Things have been a bit tight recently so I'll likely only be able to drive down for one day as it's a bit of a drive (2-3 hours if there's traffic). I'm thinking either Tuesday or Wednesday as those are typically my days off. I've requested access to the Google doc so I'll make a determination once I see what's listed there.

It'll be good to see you, Xal.

Quote from: Merc on August 10, 2014, 01:02:03 AM
I don't have any party video games that other people don't already have, so I don't plan on bringing any.

No plan to bring a DS either, possibly a laptop I guess, but I probably won't be loading it with games if so.

As an aside on the sushi thing (since i'm only now really looking over google docs), not a sushi fanatic myself. Though I do like fish in general, and I have no issues with going to a sushi place especially if they offer something more on the cooked side of things? =)

Also, sure thing on 7 Wonders, I can definitely bring it along.

They do.  I remember it being okay before it became my perpetual sushi joint. :)

Brazilian BBQ:

Currently planning on reserving this the first week of september.  Probably also making reservations for the sushi place.

Any concerns about time of meal, or worries over dinner pricing (http://www.fogodechao.com).  The brazillian bbq will run folks 35(+tax/drinks) at lunch and 55 at dinner.  I have only been there at dinner so can't say if its a reduced set.  It does require +1 week reservations to get in from my experience (1 trip).  I lean toward dinner myself, say a 6 pm or 6:30 pm sit down?

Sushi will run between 10 and 70 bucks, depending on what you get.  If you're not going off the sushi menu, pretty sure 10-15 is around what a dinner platter will run you.  http://higuma1.web.fc2.com/  there will be non-sushi options.

Having eaten at Fogo de Chao in Texas both for lunch and dinner, I will say that there is no difference between the lunch and dinner menu.

The difference in price tends to be in the fact that people will typically eat less at lunch due to not wanting to fall into a food coma, often because they need to return to work or have other things to do later in the day. Also, more people out in evening, so fewer available tables make it a demand vs supply thing.

That said, food does typically cycle faster during dinner time, so you're more likely to quickly get the cuts that you want in the rarity that you want. Dunno if it's worth the extra $20, since if we did food coma, we could always just turn it into a night of gaming once we un-coma'ed. I still don't really have a preference, and happy to go either at lunch or dinner.

Should we go to the barbeque on Monday since the sushi bar won't be open then? And would anyone be in the mood to go to another sushi bar place during the week?

Looking at the proposed schedule I'm leaning towards meeting everyone in San Francisco on Wednesday then heading home from Muir Woods that afternoon.

If anyone coming is able to pass by a Toys R Us tonight, apparently a board game called King of Tokyo is ringing up as $2 in some stores, and free (well, $0.04 but with a discount of $0.04 if you buy anything else) in others.

It's a fun enough party game, though it does have party elimination. And you can't beat the price, given it's normally $45 retail price.

Other games may also ring up on clearance.

Quote from: Ginrai on August 10, 2014, 10:10:40 PM
Should we go to the barbeque on Monday since the sushi bar won't be open then? And would anyone be in the mood to go to another sushi bar place during the week?

Well, I can swap those around.  I could've sworn I double checked that.

For me there's really three concerns:
1)One I tend to spend a lot, so multiple sushi trips in a week are generally a no-no.  the BBQ will be a lot too, but at least that's two different 'specials' :)
2)Gate dies from fish.  I have no desire to kill gate, so we're limited to before gate arrives.
3)I figure we will grab some kind of fishy meal on wednesday in the city.  I wouldn't recommend sushi be that meal though as I'm used to the sushi joints up there costing roughly 1.5-2.0 times as much.  It's the city afterall.

Quote from: Xaldaran on August 11, 2014, 05:54:28 AM
Looking at the proposed schedule I'm leaning towards meeting everyone in San Francisco on Wednesday then heading home from Muir Woods that afternoon.

That works.  We'll likely grab dim sum, so we can arrange to meet there.

Make sure your phone number is gotten.

In fact, I'll add a section for that on the Google Doc, since its only those of us on the trip that can see it.

Two folks have gladly updated info on Fogo De Chao.

We'll go for lunch and save everyone some money.  I'll reserve a 12:30 thing or something.


Just to confirm my counting:  It'd be reserving for 5 of us?  Me, Corwin, Merc, Ginrai, Hal?

Is that right?

Quote from: Dracos on August 12, 2014, 12:26:05 AM
That works.  We'll likely grab dim sum, so we can arrange to meet there.

Make sure your phone number is gotten.

In fact, I'll add a section for that on the Google Doc, since its only those of us on the trip that can see it.

Added a section for phone numbers and entered my own.

Thanks, Figment :)

Brian related activities:

So options, and I'll fully admit, not the best at arranging this stuff.

Brian doesn't have a grave, as he was cremated and spread over the pacific ocean from a bluff in Davenport beach.

I was thinking we could swing by his family's place, as a 'here's where Brian's family has lived for years and years, himself for some of that'.

We could head out to Davenport beach itself, but I admit it's a bit of a drive and I'm not sure how much it would mean seeing a beachfront that you've never been to?, so not much planning on it.

Thoughts from others?  Not trying to be heartless, but there's also just not a convenient grave to drive by.

Hadn't kept up on Brian's thread near the end, so hadn't realized there was no grave.

I'm personally not really that attached to any of the other options, honestly. Up to the others though if they do think they want to do something with that front.

hum.

We could drop by to see brian's cat?  That's also a thing.  Again, not sure what one does in a non-grave situation.

I'd vote for going out to Davenport. It is a bit of a drive, but it's the closest thing we have to a grave, and it's a place that definitely meant a lot to him.

Added my airline info to the document. The departure time the following Sunday is a bit of a pain in the arse, but worst case I can live with being dropped at the airport the night before.

Heyo all,

So Corwin spotted an option for theater I've overlooked.  It'd probably be best when we are in san fran, doing it as an evening thing after dinner at the wharf?

Anyhow, two options, both at the Orpheum:
Phantom of the Opera - looks like it'll run 200ish a person with tax.
Motown - looks like it'll run 175 a person with tax.

The Orpheum is not the best of theaters or crew (small seats and rows, poor angling), but they can put on a decent show and use a background video screen in my experience.

Interest?

I'd be interested in either.

I'm so-so on the orpheum, but I haven't seen Motown.  Have seen Phantom and therefore would rather go blindly to one I haven't.

Motown's the one that sounded more interesting as I've seen Phantom before as well.

I've heard Motown is great. Also included my contact info.

What is the weather like there mid September?

<-- Never been west of Pittsburgh before Phoenix after tonight.

Ginrai:

Light jacket weather at worst?  I don't think it really gets all that cold here in my opinion, but take that with a grain of salt.

Everyone:
Got the final details on the house.  We can head in around 4 pm that day.  Also, 3 hours housecleaning is included, but they ask we strip the beds afterwards to try and speed things up.  They add to the bill if it takes longer.  Bleh~.

Sure, no problem. Also, it sounds like we'll check out Motown?

I'm thinking of trying for a daytime Alcatraz visit on my own (night-time is booked, and I'm more interested in the day, really), probably before everyone gets there. Unless someone else is interested in making the trip?

Dracos

So shorts and t-shirts should be fine?

I would recommend pants and possibly light jacket.  Most days will be fine for shorts and t-shirt, but don't want anyone to feel too cold.  We're close anyway, so you can check the temperature on weather or google.

Booking motown:

I hear 3 'ayes' for motown.  So we'll do it.  Wednesday night at 8 pm.

Would folks like me to buy 5 tickets, and be paid back?  Or would they be able to book themselves?

Figment, are you in as well?

Should probably have you buy them together just so we're not spread out from each other.

What Merc said. We can just add the ticket fees to what we already owe you for the house.

Adding my vote to doing it that way, yeah. Can you tally up how much you expect I would need to pay you back for everything and PM/email me with that, Drac?

I won't be able to join you guys for either show in the evening.

Is the plan still to hit up dim sum then Muir woods in the afternoon?

I got 2 airline times.  Updated with some information on when we can get in the house.

Mentally planning on picking hal up at the airport.  We'll do a run for you late Ginrai.  Cor will be with me already. 

Merc, want to just drive in to my place that day and head down together to the SJ location, or meet us there?

Quote from: Xaldaran on August 31, 2014, 12:01:32 AM
I won't be able to join you guys for either show in the evening.

Is the plan still to hit up dim sum then Muir woods in the afternoon?

Yes.  We'll head into the city early, wander china town a bit, have dim sum, head up to Muir woods from there, enjoy the scenery, come back down, head to the wharf, have dinner probably there, then go see motown.

Assuming that doesn't become impossible via time constraints.

For total, not quite locked down, and yours is being calculated separately for both trips.  I'm listing the shared costs, so with this it's looking like the week will run about 685 a person.

Okay, so Hal is out on the motown.

Buying 4 tickets tomorrow morning, so if anyone else can't make the cost, let me know.  Don't feel forced, just getting out here is a big expense :)

Motown tickets booked.

I will make reservations for dining stuff tomorrowish.

and then likely see you all in 1.5 weeks.

Travel safe.  Stay gaming.

Merc:
If you have any expansions for 7 Wonders can you bring those? Also can you being Innovation?

I also added a few more games I'm bringing to the doc

I can bring innovation. I dont have any expansions for 7 wonders though.

Is anyone interested in going to a comedy club one night? That could be fun.

Should we buy the tickets for Six Flags now? It's usually better than having to wait in line for it, though that could be a problem if it rains on the day we bought it for.

Yes, it's better to buy in advance, but I think the theme park outing is the least well slotted bit, so we should see what happens first.  If we're paying 10 or 15 more, that's better than having tickets for a day that's awkward to go.

So I somehow managed to fit in all of the following games into my carry-on luggage:
Innovation
7 Wonders
Endeavor
Power Grid
Smash Up
DC Deckbuilder
Boss Monster
Nile Deluxor
Resistance: Avalon

Flight should arrive at San Jose around noon tomorrow, though I'll be visiting family in the meantime. My phone's on the google doc, and I'll toss Dracos a call as well. I can group with you guys whenever on Sunday and we can figure out how to join up when I call Drac.

Awesome.  Cor and I fly back tomorrow, and so shall be doing laundry and pickups on day 1.  The house is available at 4 pm, so we'll be grouping at my house before then.

If you're flying tomorrow, I'll call in the evening then, to figure how to meet up with you guys.

We'll be getting in pretty late, but sure.

If you're getting in pretty late, I can call sunday morning then! =p

On the Jetblue flight to San Jose. Should see you guys in around 6 hours!

We have gathered! (Except for Xal, but he shall come!)

Day 1 involved going out to get a van to be able to travel all together at once. This took most of the morning due to needing to drive up to San Francisco airport during rush hour. Afternoon and had some video gaming and board gaming, and a stop at supermarket for drinks/snacks to last us for a while.

Museums were a wash due to all the driving, so pretty much rest of evening will probably be even more of video games and board games. Museums might shift to tomorrow after Fogo, or later on in the week.

So, to try and coordinate meeting up tomorrow. Any idea where we're going for dim sum?

Yarr, was good to see ye all. :)

We should probably fling pictures around.

Just give us some time to edit our Figment stand-in in.

Photos!

[/spoiler]

http://v2012.mangapark.com/manga/Pokemon-Adventures

I recall someone wanted to read this and seeing Gin pop into #sr reminded of that!

I did.  Others may have as well.

So be it.  The reading commences.