SF Bay Area Meet (Aug. 6th?)....CANCELLED!!!

[RabidPony]

Any ideas on a location yet?

[ron]

Any ideas on a location yet?

Like to see what others would like to suggest. There's still time. But, we should get some ideas flowing so we can narrow it down when we get closer to the date. My suggestion would be to meet somewhere scenic like Treasure Island (out in the middle of SF Bay) where we can take pics of the line up. Where we eat could be anywhere across any of the bridges. Any suggestions/input would be welcome! rudy

[ron]

btt...

[Riff Raff]

Ron--- I've coordinated many VX events before, and it's best to just take the lead yourself and set the agenda in solid stone. Then, people will either make it or they won't according to their own personal schedule. Asking input beforehand is fine, but it normally turns into a total cluster-F and nobody's schedule will be a perfect fit no matter your best intentions.

I highly recommend YOU just go ahead and pick the "restaurant" of choice (with a diversified menu so everyone's happy) as the primary meeting place FIRST, and that it is also within close convoy commuting range to Treasure Island. By meeting at a nearby SF restaurant first will enable everyone to meet, greet, & eat. It will also allow pre-coordination/departure line-up for the VX "convoy" to Treasure Island (this is extremely important, so no one gets lost or misses a critical turn into Treasure Island). Treasure Island should be the FINAL & LAST stop of the day's event, and then VX'ers can depart at their own leisure afterward to go back home. The parking lot location on Treasure Island (for VX line-up) should be thought-out well in advance, so VX's can quickly park in convoy sequence order as they pull into the parking lot location without any mumbo-jumbo or conflict.

Again, just set the agenda in stone and have everyone meet at a designated SF restaurant FIRST in close proximity to T.I., and then convoy as a VX group to Treasure Island LAST for pictures, etc.



http://www.yelp.com/biz/treasure-island-san-francisco



Have fun, and take lots of pictures to share with us here on VX.Info. Cheers!!!

[nfpgasmask]

I've never been to Treasure Island, driven by many many times. Would be cool. Hopefully I can make it over for this.

Bart

[AlexVX]

Treasure island sounds great - never been there either!

[ron]

Ron--- I've coordinated many VX events before, and it's best to just take the lead yourself and set the agenda in solid stone. Then, people will either make it or they won't according to their own personal schedule. Asking input beforehand is fine, but it normally turns into a total cluster-F and nobody's schedule will be a perfect fit no matter your best intentions.

I highly recommend YOU just go ahead and pick the "restaurant" of choice (with a diversified menu so everyone's happy) as the primary meeting place FIRST, and that it is also within close convoy commuting range to Treasure Island. By meeting at a nearby SF restaurant first will enable everyone to meet, greet, & eat. It will also allow pre-coordination/departure line-up for the VX "convoy" to Treasure Island (this is extremely important, so no one gets lost or misses a critical turn into Treasure Island). Treasure Island should be the FINAL & LAST stop of the day's event, and then VX'ers can depart at their own leisure afterward to go back home. The parking lot location on Treasure Island (for VX line-up) should be thought-out well in advance, so VX's can quickly park in convoy sequence order as they pull into the parking lot location without any mumbo-jumbo or conflict.

Again, just set the agenda in stone and have everyone meet at a designated SF restaurant FIRST in close proximity to T.I., and then convoy as a VX group to Treasure Island LAST for pictures, etc.



http://www.yelp.com/biz/treasure-island-san-francisco



Have fun, and take lots of pictures to share with us here on VX.Info. Cheers!!!

Thanks for the input RR! Really appreciate it! Unfortunately, TI doesn't have any nice restaurants on the isle from what I remember. Just thought it would be a great place to meet first for the scenic view and photo op. There's lots of open space around the isle w/ scenic backdrops for photo ops. Still need to decide which side of the bay we could find a place to eat and accommodate all (including our vx's) in a safe and beautiful area.

I was also thinking about starting at TI and taking a trip to the Marin side of the bay across the GG bridge. Another photo op right after crossing the GG. Then head over to Sausalito for some lunch. I've yet to work out the details. But, will try to figure something out before I leave town for a couple of weeks.

rudy

[nfpgasmask]

Sausalito would be great. Lots of great food over there. Man, I hope I can make this meet up!

Bart

[Riff Raff]

Glad to help, Ron. Yes, I already knew T.I. did not have any restaurants after reading the Yelp review comments. The main problem of meeting at T.I. first is trying to have a perfect line-up of VX's side-by-side without other civilian ya-hoo's getting mixed in between and screwing up the photographs. A T.I. meeting first could not ensure that all VX's arrive at the same exact time, and it would turn into a hodge-podge VX lay-out with VX's scattered all over the place (not good). In addition, some VX'ers may be new to the area and miss a critical turn and get momentarily lost and arrive late or even get totally frustrated and simply go back home (yes, it's happened before).

Thus, it is best that a T.I. visit is accomplished by a VX "Convoy" only. All of the VX's would arrive at T.I. in convoy sequence order and be able to quickly park side-by-side like fighter jets parked at an airport. No VX's would get lost either and accountability could be maintained.

It's best to meet at a nearby restaurant first (across the bridge) so VX'ers can meet and chit-chat in a quiet environment and enjoy conversation without the distraction of beautiful ocean scenary or chilly wind coming from offshore (everyone should bring a jacket as T.I. gets chilly-- see Yelp comments). Just pick a SF restaurant that has a big parking lot and a diversified menu (in case you have a vegan in the group), and is in close commuting proximity to T.I. Never, never pick a restaurant with a flavor theme (i.e., no Mexican, no Chinese, no Italian, etc), as you will not be able to please everyone's food preference. See if you can find a restaurant that has a private banquet room available for your VX group so each VX'er can introduce themselves to the rest of the group without disturbing the general public that's also in the restaurant. Just talk to the restaurant Manager in advance of the event (make a reservation), and they'll be glad to accomodate your group with a private setting.

After dining, you will be able to coordinate the VX departure line-up for the convoy to T.I. Try to separate same colored VX's away from each other in the convoy order line-up, so you have a good mixture during the photo-shoot. You don't want all of the Proton's or Ironman's bunched-up together and parked next to each other as it will make the picture unbalanced and look weird. So, mix-up the colors during the pre-convoy line-up before departing the restaurant as that will be the same order as they park at T.I. for the photo-shoot. YOU will be convoy commander and lead the convoy into T.I. By arriving at T.I. last will enable each VX'er to set their own departure time to eventually go back home (this is very important, so each VX'er can return to their own routine schedule of life).

A bit of pre-planning and organization will make your event a great success and can often turn it into an "annual" event for many years to come (much like MOAB). I hope this info strategy helps in some way.

[ron]

Glad to help, Ron. Yes, I already knew T.I. did not have any restaurants after reading the Yelp review comments. The main problem of meeting at T.I. first is trying to have a perfect line-up of VX's side-by-side without other civilian ya-hoo's getting mixed in between and screwing up the photographs. A T.I. meeting first could not ensure that all VX's arrive at the same exact time, and it would turn into a hodge-podge VX lay-out with VX's scattered all over the place (not good). In addition, some VX'ers may be new to the area and miss a critical turn and get momentarily lost and arrive late or even get totally frustrated and simply go back home (yes, it's happened before).

Thus, it is best that a T.I. visit is accomplished by a VX "Convoy" only. All of the VX's would arrive at T.I. in convoy sequence order and be able to quickly park side-by-side like fighter jets parked at an airport. No VX's would get lost either and accountability could be maintained.

It's best to meet at a nearby restaurant first (across the bridge) so VX'ers can meet and chit-chat in a quiet environment and enjoy conversation without the distraction of beautiful ocean scenary or chilly wind coming from offshore (everyone should bring a jacket as T.I. gets chilly-- see Yelp comments). Just pick a SF restaurant that has a big parking lot and a diversified menu (in case you have a vegan in the group), and is in close commuting proximity to T.I. Never, never pick a restaurant with a flavor theme (i.e., no Mexican, no Chinese, no Italian, etc), as you will not be able to please everyone's food preference. See if you can find a restaurant that has a private banquet room available for your VX group so each VX'er can introduce themselves to the rest of the group without disturbing the general public that's also in the restaurant. Just talk to the restaurant Manager in advance of the event (make a reservation), and they'll be glad to accomodate your group with a private setting.

After dining, you will be able to coordinate the VX departure line-up for the convoy to T.I. Try to separate same colored VX's away from each other in the convoy order line-up, so you have a good mixture during the photo-shoot. You don't want all of the Proton's or Ironman's bunched-up together and parked next to each other as it will make the picture unbalanced and look weird. So, mix-up the colors during the pre-convoy line-up before departing the restaurant as that will be the same order as they park at T.I. for the photo-shoot. YOU will be convoy commander and lead the convoy into T.I. By arriving at T.I. last will enable each VX'er to set their own departure time to eventually go back home (this is very important, so each VX'er can return to their own routine schedule of life).

A bit of pre-planning and organization will make your event a great success and can often turn it into an "annual" event for many years to come (much like MOAB). I hope this info strategy helps in some way.

Thanks again, RR! Yeah, I can see people miss the sudden exit turn into TI from the bridge in both directions. It sounds like it would make sense to reverse the trail with maybe Sausalito being the place to meet (and eat) then head to Golden Gate bridge for a photo op, go across to head over to Ocean Beach for another photo op, then cross the bay bridge to TI for the last scenic photo op.

rudy