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

[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

[nfpgasmask]

I'm gonna through in a couple suggestions from my POV, take em or leave em.

What about having a meet-up outside of San Fran proper? Say, somewhere east of the Bay Bridge? This would allow folks (like me) travelling from other areas the opportunity to avoid going into the city, thus saving time, money and (for those not used to driving in San Fran) the difficulty of negotiating the streets in the city. This would also open things up from a parking POV. Sausalito is fantastic, love it there, lots of good food, but if memory serves, parking ain't easy. I typically park in one of the pay lots while I am there. During the summer, as many times as I have been there Sausalito has been a mob scene pretty much. Either way, still a great place to eat and enjoy the weather.

I think I could potentially come over for the day of the meet, but in all honesty, I hope that the number of folks will be at least 5 or more. No offense, small meet-ups are fun, but for me, the 4 hour drive over the hill and over to the north side of the Golden Gate might just be enough for me to not come, that is, unless the gathering is big, which makes it more worth while in my opinion.

So anyway, knowing San Fran and the surrounding area, I guess I am just thinking maybe this meet up will have more sucess if it is located in a more central, easy to access, less crowded area of the East Bay. There are plenty of nice State Parks which would make for fantastic, easy photo shoot locations (ex. Mt. Diablo). And the food is good pretty much everywhere in Northern California, so finding a good lunch spot to meet at shouldn't be too hard.

Anyway, I'm hoping to make it over either way, still don't quite know yet, but I just thought I would throw this out there.

Bart

[Riff Raff]

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

Ron--- Damn, that format sounds absolutely perfect!!! I wish I lived closer to make the event. Remind people to bring a jacket, as it gets a bit chilly along the ocean waterfront. Lock it in stone and make the official announcement here in this thread after you decide on where & when to initially meet at which specific restaurant. Try to reserve a restaurant that has its own dedicated parking lot (very important) and a private banquet room for your group (it makes a huge difference and let's people become more relaxed and willing to participate in the festivities).

Bring a pair of charged-up "Walkie-Talkies" for you and the Caboose of the VX convoy to maintain communication in case the convoy gets seperated by traffic, a red-light, or possible mechanical break-down/accident. With you in the lead-- your 2nd most experienced person should be in the very last VX (Caboose), maybe riding shotgun passenger in the last VX. If the convoy ever gets seperated in 2-groups, then the Caboose VX should be ready to take the lead of the 2nd wave on a moment's notice without hesitation. Enroute communication between the lead VX (you) and the Caboose VX is extremely important and a requirement to eliminate any possible SNAFU's during transit.

Another great idea is once you have the established route in mind (by address/location), is to print-out a paper "MapQuest Route-Plan" and make extra paper copies as an emergency hand-out to give to each VX'er during the initial restaurant meeting. The paper "MapQuest" print-out will serve as an emergency back-up in case anybody gets lost or seperated from the main group as a single individual VX and must re-join the group in solo mode (yes, it's happened before as a single VX might get pigeon-holed by adjacent traffic and forced to take an unwanted "exit-only" lane to never-never land). With a paper "MapQuest" hand-out, they'll be able to double-back/turn-a-round on their own and then follow the "MapQuest" directions to the next scheduled stop location in solo mode without panicking. Those members that have Cell-Phones should have the cell phone number to You (leader) & the Caboose VX. In which case, the Caboose VX can act as an emergency shag vehicle and help guide/bring any lost VX's back on track to the next scheduled stop location.

If possible, try to have a Proton as the Caboose VX-- Proton's are very easy to spot along the highway and will help aid a lost VX visually recognize the important Caboose VX amongst other traffic.

Cheers!!!