Ok, there have been many rumblings on another US owners meet, but nothing concrete. Before this thread sinks, I hope some more details will be fleshed out so we can get this rolling.

Ok, so far we know it will most likely be in N. California again, possibly at the same place at last years event.

And thats about it...

I posted a poll on Riocar.org to try and narrow down a timeframe. Keep in mind it will need to be somewhat far away to allow for travel arrangements to be made for those wishing to come from far away.

Lets get this going...

We had Sinbad at the Apple party during Macworld and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith pass by our booth. Who are you going to have at this meet?

I'd love to go to CA again. Doubt I'll be able to hook anything up through work for a long while though. I'd show up in a heartbeat if it was easily driveable (even if like 8-10 hours away at high speed ) It would be cool to drive all the way to CA as well, but then I'd want to pace that over a week or two.)

Bruno

Ok, I'll help. What can I do? When we pick a date, I can go down to Woodside and arrange the same kind of deal with the owners...

What else can I do?

- Jon

I suggest we have one in southern Louisiana.

I'm from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, we can all crash at my Mom's place!

seriously... i'd wager this meet would be twice to three times the size of the last. Is Woodside gonna be big enough? I hope so, the drive up there was good times. I too can offer my help as i'm in the area. Lemme know what i can do to help Jon or anything else.

No kidding? I'm in Lafayette.

Size is something I am worried about as well, the place we went to at Woodside didn't seem big enough to hold more then the attendance last year. Once we set a date, we should be able to start getting an accurate head count.

If anyone in that area wants to check for other possible locations, that would be great.

Heh. I'm in San Francisco now... had to get the hell out of the south.... it's to F'n hot. I used to drive to Lafayette to hit up the little skate park there. Deep South reprhazeeeent. Dog.

Anyhoo... I'll keep my brain open for a bigger place than Woodside. Anyone have any ideas?

Hm. Ok, let's see. There's a lot of large restaurant type places in SF... We could get the room upstairs at "The Thirsty Bear" for example...

- Jon

Why not have a USA/Europe meet on a barge smack dab in the middle of the atlantic?

The Thirsty Bear is a pretty kick ass place. There wouldn't really be a good place to do the "check out my car" type thing though, unless you wanna do that in a parking garage. Hrm... I'll ask around... i know one guy would would know where to have something like this...

Okay, here's a few suggestions i got so far:

Mountain View at a place called Tied House. They've got a HUGE parking lot
in the back and very close nearby overflow parking in a structure. It's also
near Cal train--just a quick 10 minute walk.

Gordon Biersch in San Jose. There's a big pay parking lot across the street.

Santa Clara Convention Center parking structure is shared with a Hotel. It's
either the Marriot or the Hilton. Park on the top lot, hang out there and
the hotel bar.

San Francisco Fifth and Mission structure has a GREAT top floor that isn't
crowded until late on Saturday. An alternate to that is the Moscone Garage
on 3rd. It's NEVER packed on Saturday. Close to lots of restraunts and bars
that could be taken over.

Fault Line in Sunnyvale. Big parking, big place.

Ricky's Marriot on Palo Alto does events

More to come i'm sure...

How about taking over downtown Palo Alto and then Sake Bombs at Miyakis?

Ricky's Mariott is a pain to get to during weekdays, and is *really* spread out. It's ok for events, not great.

The SC Convention Center shares an enormous lot and garage with the Westin Hotel (there's a Hilton across the street, too). It's wonderful, and about 5 blocks from my home. It's also across the street from Paramount's Great America amusement park. There's a great (but spendy) restaurant in the hotel, and also a very nice bar.

Tied House or Gordon Biersch are fine places to eat/meet, but parking may be sparse depending on the day/time.



If you like sushi/Japanese, there's a wonderful place called Kobe in the Mervyn's Plaza shopping center in Santa Clara on El Camino Real. The same shopping center also has a Chinese place called Chop Stix. Both can accomodate large groups, and there's a big parking lot (shared) in front of both. There's also a Baskin-Robbins next to both for dessert.

If we did it in San Francisco, someplace near the waterfront would be cool, then we could descend upon Cobb's afterwards.

Ooo, upcoming at Cobb's over the next two months are Bobcat Goldthwait and Rick Overton, two of my favorites...

What about us folks in the mid west? I'm in Chicago and I'm not gonna drive out to CA for a meet... sorry guys, meeting y'all isn't worth that far of a drive

Yeah why does everything always have to happen on the west coast. How about giving us owners on the east coast a chance for a meet and switch off every other year. That would be the fair thing to do. I can't afford the drive or to fly that far but would love to attend a meet. Maybe take a poll on how many would attend if it was here or there.

Count me in! Maryland is the perfect place. I'll even supply the hamburgers....or veggie burgers for the herbivoires (sp?)amongst us.

Err.. why don't you just have your own meet? I don't see any reason to alternate since there is likely to be little overlap in attendees.

The first meet was in the bay area because there is a higher concentration of empeg owners there than in any other single region in the world.

Rob

Though we've discussed my feelings about Cobb's "Cajun" food (i think that was on this board wasn't it?)... Bobcat... I'm there.

For the record... Another Louisianian here. New Orleans, to be exact.

Mason

Bobcat... I'm there.

But it's real soon, the week of Valentine's Day.

Well if there was a Bay Area meet count me in for sure. Don't forget Loren, those places in San Jose (my hometown) have free parking lots after 6pm and all day on weekends. But the thing is parking is limited, so I don't think we all could have our cars together and on display. San Francisco will be no better with parking, there is no way we could all park in the same place without paying a ridiculous fee. I will try to think of a good place, perhaps Palo Alto would be a good spot.

Thats it, we are having the meet in Kansas!

If someone wants to organize one on the east coast, thats fine. I'm just trying to organise the west coast one since it's the one I will most likely be able to attend.

"I'm from Baton Rouge, Louisiana"

no way! I'm in Baton Rouge too! (well, actually I'm in Denham right now, but that's just cause I work there )

Count me in! Maryland is the perfect place

I too would have to agree since I'm located in Maryland.

Unfortunately, I don't think a location will ever exist that is agreeable to everyone. Maybe have a West and an East meet or something...

BleachLPB

Well who wants to decide where to hold an east coast meet and who wants to be in charge of it? Will any of the empeg guys come if we hold one? And give us neat empeg goodies? Like bumper stickers and t-shirts and such?

Thats it, we are having the meet in Kansas!

Living in KS, that would be ideal for me!

That makes four southern Lousianians......

Maryland sounds great to me... Real near DC but far enough away to get a decently priced hotel room..

5. My buddy Josh just got an empeg a few weeks ago. He's only posted.. once i think... heh. He rely's on me for all the updates the lazy ho. He's in DC at the moment though...

Maryland/DC sounds good to me, I'm in North Carolina

Add one more for Southern Louisiana, since I'm on the coast in Southern Mississippi. Only an hour or two away!

Well who wants to decide where to hold an east coast meet and who wants to be in charge of it?

I'm in New Jersey...I suppose I could make it down to Maryland. Count in one more for the east coast meet.

Perhaps somebody in Maryland should take the initiative.

How about somewhere between Louisiana and DC, like Atlanta. No shortage of Hotel rooms/venues, and someone's GOT to live there who could arrange a meeting spot. I can get T-shirts/Polos if anyone wants (pre-paid only), empeg team permitting, of course.

Just an idea...North Carolina's probably closer to halfway up the coast, though. Just realize that the same person doesn't have to do EVERYthing.

Just an idea...North Carolina's probably closer to halfway up the coast, though. Just realize that the same person doesn't have to do EVERYthing.



There is always TN.... Nashvegas is always nice.... Plus it would be a major impetus to make sure MY install is damn good...

I'd have to second the idea for Kansas... =) Seriously tho, I'm still up for the SF meet, even if it is a bit of a drive from Colorado.

I have a feeling that it is going to be very difficult to get everyone on the east coast to agree to one place to hold it. Someone mentioned PA a few weeks ago. Or I would also go to TN or NC. Maybe we need to pick a few states and take a poll on which would attract the most members.

Yeah.. I know... I was just throwing it out there.... I'd travel about the southeast/east depending.

Went to Woodside over the weekend, and to my surprise, the place we went to for our last US meet, Boulevard, is now out of business!

Just FYI...

- Jon

Aw, damn, that was a great location.

Okay, where else?

Half Moon Bay is an excellent location. In the off-season there are parking lots everywhere, restaurant... you have the ocean at the footsteps, curvey twisty roads a stones throw from the town... etc.

Calvin

Hmm, that's another, what, 30-45 minutes farther from the San Jose area, isn't it?

I wonder if we'd be reducing the turnout if we had it there. Still, I'm sure it's a great location.

Wait, if it's on the coast, wouldn't it be cold? A lot of what we do at the meets is outdoors.

It's exactly between San Francisco and San Jose. It's 30 minutes from San Jose but 30 minutes from San Francisco and within an hour of any part of the bay area.

Calvin

Wait, if it's on the coast, wouldn't it be cold?

This is California! It doesn't get cold...

Besides, if you want you can have it here in San Diego. It's sunny and 70s right now. Pretty much is year-round.

Half Moon Bay is a pretty good idea... i don't know any places down there though. Anyone live in the vicinity?

I don't recall any particular places but sometimes I zip over there in my convertible, there's a dive near main street that serves greasy fish and chips. Yummy stuff. Tastes fairly fresh too. The rest of main street has a mix of upscale and regular restaurants and such.

Calvin

Another vote for Maryland/DC.

There are lots of venue possibilities in the Bay Area, as mentioned. To summarize some factors to consider:
1. Schedule around a date when the UK Empeg people will be in town
2. Keep the distance to within ~1 hour drive from Sonic Blue in Santa Clara
3. Select a place to eat that can easily handle all the expected attendees and has (or is near) a large open (free) parking lot
4. Try to schedule it on a non-holiday/non-special event weekend to avoid crowds and hotel issues for out-of-towners
5. Give people at least a month to make plans

Also, some place that is relatively easy for people to find and is in a nice setting would be good.

Loren, skritch and others have already made some good suggestions. Here's one more:
Roaring Camp in the Santa Cruz mountains; nice setting, open eating, big parking lot...and a real choo-choo train!

Barry

That place looks interesting.... though i think we might get distracted by the trains!

Here's their website: http://www.roaringcamprr.com/

So Jon B., Is that Woodside joint just totally closed? Does it look like anyone's taking it over anytime soon?

What about Buck's?? We could relive some venture capital memories...
http://www.buckswoodside.com/

or Alice's in Woodside?

Ok, I've stopped the poll at 67 votes (I figure thats about the number of people that might be interested), and here are the results:

Feburary 4.48 % (3)
Early March 8.96 % (6)
Late March 5.97 % (4)
Early April 5.97 % (4)
Late April 4.48 % (3)
Early May 2.99 % (2)
Late May 22.39 % (15)
Early June 10.45 % (7)
Late June 10.45 % (7)
July 14.93 % (10)
Sometime later 8.96 % (6)

So it looks like Late May.

I hearby propose the official date to be Saturday, May 25th 2002. Location is still up in the air, but having an exact date should help.

And on another note, any other poll ideas? Do the east cost people want me to post one for your date range?

Saturday, May 25th 2002

That's perfect for me. I will be in the area attending BayCon 2002 anyway. Since the filking program at BayCon is usually evenings-only anyway, I don't think I'll miss much. Excellent.

And it's Memorial Day weekend, too, so a lot of folks will have an excuse for getting out of town. The only issue will be increased traffic/crowds for many places, but not enough to be a problem for our event.

This date's got my vote.

Right now, Boulevard is just closed. I'm sure that someone will acquire it and have another go at making it profitable...

Alice's would be very cool... I wouldn't actually eat the food there (nasty sewage problem that I don't believe was resolved correctly...)

Want me to look into that?

- Jon

Don't forget Half Moon Bay. Here is a list of restaurants:

http://www.coastsidelive.com/COMMERCE/food.html

Calvin

I can post a poll for what place to have the event at, if needed. Anyone want to summarize the possible places out there real quick?

I like the idea of the Tied House in Mountain View for all the reasons you mentioned. Its very centrally located for most Bay Areans. Plus it has its own brew pub with a fairly large room in the back. We've had a couple company team events there; if I recall it seats maybe 50-60 people??

Also for SF, a meet by Ocean Beach next to The Beach Chalet, also a brew pub, might be cool. Large parking lot by the beach, etc.

One other possibility is the new Chrissy Field Park area off of the Presidio. Large parking lots, barbeque area, scenery, and open space for other activites: frisbee, kite flying, and softball. Will need volunteers to cook burgers and bring a couple of kegs (I'll help). Pretty close to dowtown SF, where we can go rage afterwards....

--Andrew

A barbeque would be just perfect.

Calvin

A barbeque would be great, unless the weather goes bad. In which case, the BBQ area would need an indoor place for the meet nearby.

I much prefer the idea of a restaurant with a large banquet room, much like the Woodside meet. That worked out nicely when the weather went bad. We all came inside and all was well.

Oooo... Crissy field and Ocean Beach are great ideas. We could call the beach chalet.. i'm pretty sure they have a banquet type large area.

I am all up for any meet in the South East area. My traveling range is limited because I drive a Dodge Ram thats lifted and isnt exactly very economical on fuel, But Im in NorthEast Mississippi and would love to go to TN or New Orleans.

how long does one of these events usually last? Im interested in attending one even though it would be a long drive from So Cal.

Ah-ha according to their website, The Beach Chalet can accomodate large groups of up to 75 people. Hey, it would great to have some live music at the meet; they have pretty decent live jazz on Tues nights.

Maybe we can work with the city to cordon off some of the parking lot for our cars. My neighbor is an SF cop; lemme see what he says....

Check out the sunset (caveat emptor: no fog). Afterwards, we can get a bon fire going on the beach!! Anyone have a guitar??

--Andrew

how long does one of these events usually last? Im interested in attending one even though it would be a long drive from So Cal.

Usually, they're just an afternoon. If the empeg guys are able to come out from England, there will be some competitions with prizes (Rio swag etc.) and a Q&A session. Actually, that stuff will probably happen with or without the empeg guys come to think of it.

But there's plenty of great stuff to see and do in the Bay area, so no reason to avoid the long drive. Come up for a weekend and do the tourist thing.

If it happens on May 25th, you can come hang out at BayCon with me.

how long does one of these events usually last? Im interested in attending one even though it would be a long drive from So Cal.

Isn't the long drive half the fun with an Empeg in your car? I thought that was the point!

Sweeet. Let us know what your cop friend says. Maybe the Chalet would be willing to block some spots off as well. That place would be perfect the more i think of it. Good idea!

Is the Beach Chalet by that cool antique arcade?? That place rocks!!!

Calvin

Musee Mechanique!!! Yes, it's just up the road half a mile. I LOVE that place. The guy who maintains their machines is super nice... Larry's his name. He's helping me rebuild a photo booth (a loooong term project of mine).

This idea gets better and better!

Ooo ooo! Don't forget the Camera Obscura with the nifty holographic bowl on the inside. :-D

I used to live right by the beach there.

Calvin

Yeah, me too. I used to live on 46th and Cabrillo. We're still in SF, just up a little more past the fog, up on 16th Ave.

Anyway, I've got an appt tomorrow with the special events person at the Beach Chalet. I'll post more details tomorrow....
--Andrew

Awesome! Thanks for taking this on man. I wish i could, but by the time i get home at night from Marin it's too late to do anything. Let me know if there's anything i can do in the long run to help out.

OK, I talked to the events people at both the Beach Chalet in SF and The Tied House in Mountain View. The Beach Chalet would be a little tighter on time of day (lunch time only) because we (as a group) would be occupying their restaurant table space, whereas the Tied House's back room would be available at any time of day: lunch, dinner, evening. I've listed the pros/cons for each. Here is some preliminary info. I picked a date and assumed Saturday May 25th for the meet.

Beach Chalet (BC)
The BC is located right on Ocean Beach in San Francisco, which cool because we could continue apres activities after lunch on the beach during the afternoon, sunset, and bon fire in the evening and into the night (provided the weather cooperates). The building itself is a SF historical landmark. There is an in-house brewery and the food is pretty good. Possible live music.

Since it is Memorial Day weekend, the BC is restricted to about 45 people (rather than 75 as usual) for lunch. They would be willing extend the hours if we chose menu#3. Total includes free brewery tours + tax + gratuity /head. All beverages are extra.
Menu#1: 11-1:30pm (soup/salad/entree) $22.40/head
Menu#2: 11-1:30pm (soup/salad/entree/dessert) $27.50/head
Menu#3: 10-2pm (app platters/soup/salad/entree/dessert) $34/head
The BC would entertain the idea of a band, but has to be fairly low key like an ambient jazz band they typically have on Tues nights. This is tentative and needs to get approved. Estimate would be about $500.
Pros: Great location, beach, especially on a sunny day w/ a pretty decent chance in May. Tons of parking along the beach, but need to arrive way before noon to occupy as a group before the weekend crowds.
Cons: As a group we're limited to lunch time, but bar is always open for random refills. Chance of fog, but may burn off by the afternoon. Limited to a group of 45 people for the group meal. Fairly pricy.

The Tied House (TH)
The Tied House is located near downtown Mountain View midway between SJ and SF. Like the BC it has comparable decent food with an in-house brewery. I calculated the costs based on the banquet information they have on their web site. I assumed the following: average entree ($16) +soup/salad+tax+gratuity+unlimited sodas= $20/head. The TH suggests approx 5 app platters (ave $40 ea) per 25 guests, so that's about $8/head extra, assuming total of 50 people.
Menu: (app platter/soda/soup/salad/entree) $28/head
Bottomless beer pint option: $5.50/head (lunch), $10/head (dinner).
Pros: We have the "beer garden" room available to a large group and flexible times for either lunch or dinner. Easy to get to on Caltrain, midway between SJ & SF.
Cons: Limited apres activities, far from the city.

For the bold and adventurous I'm also mentioning Chrissy Field as a third option, which is part of the Golden Gate National Parks Association . The possibilities run the gamut from large scale BBQ facilities near Fort Point to the more formal dining facilities at the Presidio Golden Gate Club . We've done the BBQ thing for our kids' birthday parties a couple of times, and they have had a blast. There's great scenery, plenty of parking, nice beach, space for kite flying, frisbee, bicycling, and whatever ball. The only glitch is someone has to volunteer to do the BBQ and bring the beer, and the possibility of fog (as Tony mentioned). I doubt there will be any rain in May. Maybe we can get Armadillo Willy's to cater the BBQ. Looks like about $15-$25/head. I dunno, what do you guys think?

--Andrew

wow, that's a lot of information. I'm pretty much open to anything, but I suggest The Tied House because it's cheaper and in between SF and SJ. If anyone has a problem let's hear it and set something in stone so we can all start making plans to be in the area...

later,
ajay

Tied House might be better for most people because it's cheaper and driving in MV is less of a hassle than driving in SF.

It's also nearer to Sonic Blue. Any chance for a visit to SB? If they're willing, I imagine many of us would enjoy meeting some of their team, hearing about the current music products, and Q/A'ing on the market and future directions for home/car entertainment.

The problem with that idea is that is or has been involved with the car player are based either in Cambridge or Portland.

Rob

Is there plenty of parking near the Tied house so that we can convene? Can we play music and compete without causing the authorities to show up? I think the Beach place is a little better because there are plenty of parking spots facing the sand that won't bother anyone.

Calvin

Ditto, i went to the Chalet yesterday for lunch... and man would that place be perfect. We would need to corner off some parking spots though, cause if it's a nice day that place is packed. There's a nice lot across the street, that's pretty huge... it goes the length of the beach a good ways.. but getting a bunch of spots together would be key.

Yeah, I drove by the Chalet around 11am both on Sat & Sun. There was still plenty of parking at the beach lot on both days. I still haven't had a chance to hook up with my cop neighbor to find out about reserving parking. I think I'll call the National Park Service tomorrow about reserving some parking as I believe the beach technically falls under their jurisdiction.

The events person at the Tied House got a crease in her undies when I mentioned that we would be getting together out in the parking lot after lunch. I tried to tone it down a bit, but she warned me about "cutting into their revenue" by staying too long. Oh please, shoot me now....

Overall, the Tied House would be simpler, we meet, eat, crank some beers, meet, and everything is taken care of. I just think the Beach Chalet would be a blast, especially on a sunny day like this weekend.

--Andrew

Today I talked to a person in SF City Parks and Recreation about the possibility of reserving some parking for our event near the Beach Chalet. They evaluate each situation on a case by case basis and asked that we submit a letter with our request. The lots tend to fill up by noon, and her gut feeling is that we would have no problem if we showed by by 10-11 am. I tend to agree; if everyone arrives by 11ish, we would have ample parking.

--Andrew

I much prefer the idea of a dedicated space, a private business' parking lot that we can more or less guarantee will be ours. We wouldn't want latecomers to arrive to find no parking.

The Woodside meet worked really well for this, it was the perfect location. Surely we can find something like it?

The beach lots are really quite open Tony.

Calvin

I live in SF and work in RWC. Either place is good. Beach chalet is going to be crowded or the weather will be foggy (or both). Generally the Beach chalet is PACKED no matter what.
An alternate to the parking lot at the beach is to cruise into GGpark, it's right behind the Chalet and there are areas that can be reserved....Chrissy field is totally redone and VERY cool but there may be space issues and the cafe is rather small.

God...I better get my Empeg installed before the meet, wait...I need a tuner (stupid single DIN M3)...FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SOMEONE MAKE A TUNER FOR THE EMPEG ;0)

I'm not sure what you mean by "packed". If you read my earlier posting, the plan would be to rent out most of the restaurant space at the Beach Chalet for our use. From my experience, the Ocean Beach area only gets packed in the afternoon. But you're right, the soccer field parking behind the Beach Chalet is yet another alternative.

The only glitch I could forsee is accomodating those who arrive later in the afternoon.
--Andrew

Hey Calvin, I was going to recommend one of the places on your list called the Moss Beach Distillery , located between HMB and SF on Rt 1. What a kick-ass place! I was there a couple of years ago. Its off the beat and track, less crowds, good parking, maybe more suited for the Empeg users meet. I just talked to them on the phone and they have a separate dining room separate from their restaurant. Their events person is off today, but the hostess said they probably could accomodate out group. (There's a 360 pano virtual view on their web page; I counted at least 50 seats). What a great view, heaps of beer, good food, parking. C'mon guys, what else do we need?? Any interest?? Lemme know and we can start pursuing one of these places....

--Andrew

Nice place, but it looks a little small for our purposes, based on those 360 views. If the Woodside meet were held in that place, we wouldn't have fit.

I'd be interested. Can you inquire as to the size of the dining room area (seating size) to appease Tony's worries?

Calvin

How many people should we plan for?
--Andrew

A LOT. There were what... like 50 at the last meet? I'd guess at least three times that now with the huge influx of users. Or would that be overestimating....

I can't figure out how to get the Riocar.org poll back, but I would guess (wild guess) we should plan for more than 50. And remember that most people will come in their own car, so if you have 75 attendees, then you need room in the parking area for 75 cars.

OK, so I'll plan on 75-100. That pretty much eliminates a few places like the Beach Chalet and Moss Beach Distillery. I have a couple other places in mind...
--Andrew

Loren,
If we're talking about 150 people, I think eliminates restaurants, which limits us to a large hall somewhere with catering as an option for food. I don't know of any restaurants that can accomodate a group of 150 people especially on a busy Memorial Day weekend.
--Andrew

I have another idea. How about the Boat House in SF at Lake Merced? I stopped by this place today and talked to them. They can easily accomodate at least 75 people as they have a separate dining room, outside porch area (see attached picture), and regular restaurant area with a large bar where people can spill over to. They seemed very casual and eager to accomodate our group if people show up at different times.

Now, its definitely not as fancy as the other places; In fact its a bit divey. Its your typical bar and grill joint, but with many pluses. Ample parking, beer, 6 pool tables, beer, air hockey, beer, view of Lake Merced, beer, fishing, beer, boating. The separate dining room has a stage so we could look into the possibility of a band.

What do you guys think...
--Andrew

PS: Did I mention they have plenty of beer.

I think the Cattlemen's in Roseville near where I live could do 150, and it has a huge parking lot. Is there one of those in the silicon valley area?

They are usually open only for dinner, so they might be OK to do an afternoon's worth of guaranteed business for special occasions. Maybe they actually do those kinds of things...

Ummm, there's a Cattlemen's (something) off of 237 & Mathilda in Santa Clara. We there recently for some work team dinner. Kinda small place, small parking, and food tastes like ass.

There's a Cattleman's steak house in Petaluma on 101 (45 min north of SF), but that may be out of the way for most.

I'm running out of ideas guys.
--Andrew

I'm referring to the chain of big steak houses. So if the only one in the area is north of San Fran, then it's out of the question. Too bad.

I'm sure the one I'm thinking of it can't be the same as the one where you said the food tastes like ass, because Cattlemen's really rocks as far as food is concerned.

Yeah must be different. I've eaten at the Cattlemen's in Petaluma several years ago - not bad.
--Andrew

How about the Pyramid Brewery (pyramidbrew.com) in Berkeley? According to the web page they can handle groups up to 200 people. They do have a fairly lage parking lot, but I doubt it would be big enough or empty enough for everyone to show off their great installs.

What we could do is adjourn to one of the UC Berkeley parking lots, which are usualy abandoned on weekends, especialy durring finals. They do charge $5 per car to park for the day, buf if we're all there with our cars you never know if they'll make us pay or call the cops to break it up. It's not a perfect solution, but parking is scarce in the bay area in general.

haha yup im in petaluma.. my friend used to work there

well if we are going to do cattering.. we should get a paypal donation thing up.. to get things covered by this gathering..

Just to clarify, the chain is Cattlemen's, which is pretty good. The place I mentioned in Santa Clara is Cattleman's. Slight difference in name, major difference in experience. Stay away from the latter, be afraid, very afraid...
--Andrew

Yeah Berkeley sounds good too! Check it out....

Tony,

I am very interested in what the decisions are going to be as to where we will all meet in NoCal. However, this thread is huge and I don't know what decisions are being made. Could you start another thread that brings us up to date on what is happening with this meeting?

Has anyone yet assumed the mantle of "Con Chair" for this meeting yet?

Could you start another thread that brings us up to date on what is happening with this meeting?

Since I am not the one who will be organizing and putting on the meet, I don't think it's appropriate for me to start a new thread. If I did, people would think I was putting on the meet, and I'm not.

Unless everyone wanted to come to the Cattlemen's in Roseville. Then I'd put it on. I'm craving ribs now...

And on the subject of "Cattlemen's", I did a web search to discover that there's about a billion steak houses with that name all over the country. They are all completely different and not affiliated in any way. Some of them are chains (there seems to be more than one chain with that name), some are independent restaurants. Makes it hard to explain to someone what you're talking about.

The one I'm referring to is a specific chain of about half a dozen restaurants in No. Cal, including the Roseville and Petaluma locations.

I'm worried that this would end up being one of those situations where everyone has a different idea of where to meet, and a different idea of how many people will show up, and it will come to nothing. How about posting up a poll to gauge the numbers. Based on the numbers, pick a place and a date and stick with it. Typically what happens is if 100 people want to attend, the place and date ends up excluding quite a few. The important thing is laying down the law and if you can't make everyone happy, so be it.

Calvin

The poll was already posted on RioCar.org, it ran its course, and was removed from the main page.

Drakino, could you please post the results of that poll?

Let me help summarize most of the feedback. These are the main factors that play a role is deciding the place where we meet:

Meet Date Poll Results: Saturday May 25 (Memorial Day Weekend).

Priorities:

• accomodate 75-150 attendies, seated as a group
• centrally located in the Bay Area, roughly between SF & SJ
• large parking lot, cars together as a group
• good food, good beer

Secondary Priorities:

• good view, scenery
• apres activities
• low expense

Did I miss anything?
--Andrew

Edited "cold beer" to "good beer".

Good summarization, except that I recommend changing

good food, cold beer

to

good food, good beer

The results are here, in this current thread. Keep in mind it was a "What timeframe" and not a "Can you come on May 25th?" poll. I could post a followup one, bit even better will be a registration database. Expect that in about a week tops.

I have some more details on 2 places that seem to fit our criteria.

The Tied House in Mountain View:

Their beer garden back room can accomodate 100+ with overflow at the bar. They are normally open on Saturdays so our group would be sharing the facility with their normal Saturday traffic which might limit our fun both inside and outside in the parking lot.

The Faultline Brewing Co. in Sunnyvale:

This place is another possibility. I talked to them today. They can also accomodate 100+ people. The good news is that they are closed on weekends, so we would have the entire place to ourselves, which gives us a lot of flexibilitty on space and time w/o worrying about their normal restaurant business. Convenient location right off of 101 & Lawrence. Of all the places I've looked into, this place gets my vote!!

Any thoughts?

--Andrew

Faultline gets my vote. But will they take our group on Saturday? Will we need to pay an admission fee or anything to cover that day if they're going to be there on their day off to feed us? How's parking?

Edit: It also gets my vote because it's very close to the convention I'll be attending. I could almost walk to the meet from the con...

I should hear back from the events person tomorrow morning and get specifics on pricing. I only talked to one of the assistant Mgrs today.

I haven't been there for a while so I'll have to drive by and check out the parking. I try not mention our parking needs in my initial conversations with these places as it raises all kinds of red flags. We want to at least give off the impression that we are law abiding citizens.
--Andrew

The faultline brewing co has a lot of parking, plus, it is next to several hotels, like the Hilton which has large parking lots as well. I haven't been to Faultline, but I've been to Aruba Grill in the Hilton, and they used to have a pretty mean hot sauce. The cook there left, so they don't seem to have anything more than the bottled stuff.

Calvin

I talked to the events person at the Fault Line this evening. Man! I'm liking this place more and more. No extra fees to open the place on Saturday especially for us, but their minimum revenue is $4000, so $40/head @ 100 people ($30/head @ 133 people). Add about $10/head for tax & tip. I am told $4000 would go very far including apps, drinks package, and choice of entrees. They can also arrange a buffet style dinner since they do quite a few weddings on weekends. We would have the whole place to ourselves for 5 hours which is a lot better than all the other places I checked into. I should be getting more details on menus and pricing packages faxed over within the next couple days. Copious parking, virtually guaranteed great weather in May, cold beers, and Fry's just across the street for you out-of-towners.

Whaddaya think??

--Andrew

Since the last meet didn't have a minimum "cover charge" (we just paid for our meals), I would suggest finding a way to gauge interest to see if everyone is willing to pay to go to the meet.

I know that I would do so without hesitation ($40.00 is about what I pay to go to most of the conventions I attend), but I can't speak for anyone else.

Perhaps a brand new thread with a poll. And sell it in the poll, give links and descriptions of the place, make sure to include the date, etc.....

Good idea, I'll have some details on food options and pricing by the end of the week, and set a separate thread with a poll next week.
--Andrew

Any other Rock-Climbers on this BBS, in the Bay area?

I might fly out for the meet, if I can find someone to go up to Pinnacles or somewhere with.

Cheers

Err.. scrub that.. Pinnacles is kinda far away. So it'll have to be Yosemite valley instead. My leading maxes out at Valley 5.10 or so.

Cheers

I have rock climbed once, ever. It was a lot of fun. I did an indoor climb, and I'm pretty out of shape and can only do the kiddy wall. :-D Ugh, gotta get back into shape!

Calvin

BTW, I started a new thread w/ a poll and some pricing options.
--Andrew