Delmarva Meet for March or April 2014 - Brainstorming Ideas

[Laura]

Mike and I have been considering hosting a Delmarva road meet for a while, and now that we know there is interest (through the areas underrepresented thread) we are looking at hosting one in either mid-late March or early April 2014. (Passover and Easter are later next year — Easter is April 20th.)

That said, we were looking at all of the various points of roadgeek interest and realized that they are spread all over the peninsula. In a traditional meet, for instance, it doesn't make sense to check out the new interchange in Christiana, DE, the construction on MD 404, and then check out some old signage near Salisbury, MD — those points are way too far apart. This means we will either need to focus on a particular potion of Delmarva (upper, middle, or lower) or think a little more non-traditionally.

While reading the thread, it dawned on me that for people outside of the immediate region, there would be interest in clinching the various highways or counties that make up Delmarva. We could host a meet that focuses on clinching with stops along the way — a Clinch-a-thon. If we did this, we could have stops spread far apart since the main goal is to either complete roads or a bunch of counties.

So I would like some thoughts on this issue. I created a poll:

• Traditional meet focused on one section of Delmarva (upper, middle, or lower).
• Clinch-a-thon styled meet focused on clinching routes (with stops along the way).
• Clinch-a-thon styled meet focused on clinching counties (with stops along the way).

Breakdown of Options:

• If we went through with option one, we would pick a central point of the peninsula (say, Wilmington, or Salisbury, or the VA Eastern Shore) and pick sites/stops around those areas. The meet start time would be around 11am-12noon with lunch and then leave for the tour.


• Options 2 and 3 would have an earlier start time based on the amount of ground we wanted to cover (9-10am). Lunch would be a stop partway into the tour. These tours would be circular like any other meet (start and end at same point). Even if you've clinched all of the routes and/or counties on the tour, the stops would be interesting enough (and the company fun enough!) to warrant coming. It would be highly encouraged for passengers to switch cars since each leg could be lengthy, and it would be good to get to chat with a variety of people on the tour. There will be enough stops to accommodate tired legs and full bladders.


• With option 2, we would pick a few routes of focus and base our sites/stops on those points. Say we want to clinch US 50 in Maryland. Our sites/stops would be near US 50. Or say we want to clinch 2 routes — DE 1 and US 13 in Delaware. Same deal, the stops would be near those routes. If they are a few miles off the route, we will circle back to make sure the clinch isn't missed.


• Option 3 would be less route focused and more county focused. Again, stops or sights in most counties. Might be holes in route clinches since the routes taken would be between stops and not necessarily tied to a particular highway.

Please share your thoughts and concerns!

[froggie]

I'd prefer Option 1, but I'd also like to point out that my timeframe for hosting a DC Meet and/or a Hampton Roads meet before I retire to Vermont also falls within next spring, unless I want to do one in the dead of winter (not unheard of, but not preferred due to the shorter daylight).  Because of immediate post-deployment plans, the earliest I can realistically do a meet now is the first part of December, or mid-January after that point, unless we want to scramble to fill the Wilmington void by doing a meet on 11/2.

[hbelkins]

For me, either #1 or #2 would be preferable since I already have all the counties in all three states that might be involved. I would be interested in attending, but main issues would be timing and finances. I'd also like to attend any Hampton Roads meet that Froggie might do, but again, timing and finances would be an issue. I'd likely have to choose one of these two meets and not attend both, if finances permit.

[Alex]

County collecting varies from person to person (some people could care less about it). I'd say let individuals focus upon that on their own.

Clinching roads is always a goal of mine, though Interstates are 1st, non-Interstate freeways second, everything else falls down the scale of importance. For a road meet, I love the meet and greet and visiting a site of interest aspect. But part of me also has the urge to want to explore as many roads as possible if the meet is in virgin or semi-virgin territory. Doing that with a group would be more enjoyable than doing it solo, though that requires segregation of various parties into separate vehicles, and following other vehicles in a procession is not all that fun, as interaction is much less.

Mini-meets (four/five or less) are probably better for clinching purposes. That way all can pile into one vehicle and clinch roads while also enjoying the comradery. A day of roadding in Bucks County, PA between myself Doug, Lou and Carter in 2004 was just like that, and it still resonates to me as a great afternoon of roads.

With that stated, since this is my home turf area, it is unlikely I'd head up that way in March or April. March is usually a crummy month for weather in DE, still cold with leaveless tress and brown/yellow grass everywhere. April can be nice if warm weather settles in early.

Usually my DE trips are based upon the holidays or summertime.

[jpi]

I am all for option 1, I already have all of Delmarva clinched but still enjoy traveling around that area. As for timing, the spring Steel City Con show in Monroeville, PA that I set up at is usually around this time of the year. If this meet falls the weekend before or weekend after then I should be a go since I will be staying in central PA around that time.

[Laura]

I'd prefer Option 1, but I'd also like to point out that my timeframe for hosting a DC Meet and/or a Hampton Roads meet before I retire to Vermont also falls within next spring...unless we want to scramble to fill the Wilmington void by doing a meet on 11/2.

Sorry about that! I forgot about Hampton Roads being this Spring. I can easily move this meet back to later in the year - your meet is more urgent than mine.

If you wanted to move the Hampton Roads meet to the 11/2 slot, Mike and I would attend, but that is entirely up to you since you a hosting!! If you think you can get it together in time, and other people can attend, then that would be awesome.

[getemngo]

County collecting varies from person to person (some people could care less about it). I'd say let individuals focus upon that on their own.

Exactly. You also have to worry about the folks who don't believe in crossing the line and immediately turning around, so you'd need to satisfy everyone's criteria. Leave it to the Extra-Miler Club. Clinching routes, on the other hand, is pretty acceptable to roadgeeks and happens at a lot of meets.

For what it's worth, I was the person who said you'd get two people who'd attend for the opportunity of clinching counties (Brian Reynolds and myself). But I didn't really mean that as an activity at the meet itself. Brian usually goes and gets the counties he needs either the day before the meet, or after the meet officially ends, like at Ashland. And unfortunately, with my monetary situation, I almost certainly won't attend any meets in 2014 outside of the Great Lakes area, except for St. Louis and New York. Even those will be a stretch.

[hbelkins]

And unfortunately, with my monetary situation, I almost certainly won't attend any meets in 2014 outside of the Great Lakes area, except for St. Louis and New York. Even those will be a stretch.

Tell me about it. No raise in six years, an actual reduction in income during two of those years, rising health insurance costs and local occupational taxes have all combined to probably cause me to seriously reduce my meet attendance henceforth.

[vdeane]

Indeed.  Next year I'll be giving careful consideration to all roadgeeking activities, partly because NYC will be expensive, and partly due to life circumstances.

[Dr Frankenstein]

I'm good with #1 or #2.

[NE2]

Seems like the best would be to pick some interesting routes to clinch. Old bridges, nice scenery, alignment history, whatever.

[Alps]

I've thrown route clinches into meet routings, basically #1 as the framework and then cram in as much #2 as I can. (Yes, that's a poo reference.) I haven't really ever thought about #3 in a meet context, or even in a personal context beyond logging my travels (I only care about state level and above, hence my planned visit to Jervis Bay), but I would be open to rerouting a meet to clip a corner.

[Dougtone]

I'm certainly interested in attending a Delmarva meet, either for the traditional road meet or for a route clinch-a-thon.  While I already have some routes clinched that are scattered throughout the peninsula, it would still give me a chance to possibly clinch some routes that I haven't gotten a chance to check out yet.  Also, with a clinch-a-thon, there still is the chance to fit in some neat things to check out along the way which could also be featured in a traditional meet.

[1995hoo]

Depending on timing, I'd be interested in either of the first two options. I don't keep track of counties, and I think the point about how it's impractical to honor every individual's practices in that respect is a compelling point.

[Takumi]

I'm good with #1 or #2.

Same. And I'm almost certain to attend.

[Duke87]

The problem with just clinching a bunch of roads is that you really can't effectively plan that without being sensitive to what attendees have or haven't already driven. The motivation to attend is lost if most of the mileage isn't new for you. Furthermore, an early morning start time complicates matters for people who are close enough to do an ordinary meet as a day trip but too far away to be there that early without doing some driving the previous day and getting a hotel room.

[froggie]

IMO, #2 and #3 are better handled at the personal level...we've seen this with some in the hobby already, where they said they took this route or that route to/from the meet to clinch a route or clinch a county.  If they can be accommodated into #1 for part of the meet (especially brand new roads i.e. the Maryland ICC meets), go for it, or if there's something interesting along a given road.  But by no means do I think they should be the priority for reasons given by others (namely what Duke87 said).

[PHLBOS]

I was the first one to vote and I opted for Option #1.  My reasons echos what others have already mentioned.  Route/road Clinching (Option #2), IMHO, should be a by-product of the meet and not necessarily the primary goal/objective.  Some here may view me as a heretic for stating such. 

County clinching (Option #3) is a bit too abstract and could be more subject to interpretation.

I've been to four meets thus far and the traditional model has worked well IMHO.

Given, this meet's location (not too far from where I live) and as long as there is no previous nor family-related event scheduled (Easter weekend is automatically out for me); I am interested in attending.

[Laura]

For what it's worth, I was the person who said you'd get two people who'd attend for the opportunity of clinching counties (Brian Reynolds and myself). But I didn't really mean that as an activity at the meet itself. Brian usually goes and gets the counties he needs either the day before the meet, or after the meet officially ends, like at Ashland. And unfortunately, with my monetary situation, I almost certainly won't attend any meets in 2014 outside of the Great Lakes area, except for St. Louis and New York. Even those will be a stretch.

Ahh okay!! That makes sense. The only meet that I've hosted so far was one of the Maryland ICC meets, which focused on driving/clinching the new route plus seeing interesting points from the roads around it.

I'm so glad you all replied. I didn't want to give my bias, but I also like either 1 or 2. I think for most of us, county clinching is secondary to route clinching. If there are counties I need, I will try to clinch a major route in that county or swing by and grab it if I happen to be close to it.

I like the idea of a route clinch-a-thon, but I think that if I went that direction, that I would have to figure out the majority of the guest list first and then figure out the top roads that people would want/need. And of course you can't go wrong with the traditional meet, which is most likely what Mike and I will do, but we'll see as time gets closer and we set an actual date. Knowing that Froggie's meet will be first this spring, we may push this back further. But it's always fun to get ideas now!

[Takumi]

I'd prefer March, because April is the start of car meet season (yes, I went there), and anything later than that gets into tourist season. But putting this meet's date too close to the Hampton Roads meet date could negatively affect attendance.

[A.J. Bertin]

It's amazing how quickly the 2014 calendar is filling up with road meets! So exciting! I just voted on a date for the St. Louis meet (I voted for March 22), but I'd love to attend the Delmarva meet if possible. However, I'm trying also to attend the NYC meet in June (?) and would love to attend the Minneapolis/St. Paul meet if that happens (July?). I'm pretty sure it won't be possible for me to attend all of those, but I'd certainly like to try.

In this poll, I also voted for Option 1. I hope I can make it ... whenever it ends up being scheduled.

[hbelkins]

I like the idea of a route clinch-a-thon, but I think that if I went that direction, that I would have to figure out the majority of the guest list first and then figure out the top roads that people would want/need. And of course you can't go wrong with the traditional meet, which is most likely what Mike and I will do, but we'll see as time gets closer and we set an actual date. Knowing that Froggie's meet will be first this spring, we may push this back further. But it's always fun to get ideas now!

Mike was talking a little about this proposed meet in the truck with me Saturday. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not into clinching routes other than interstates and US routes. He mentioned a number of things that would be appealing from a traditional meet sense, including the dualization of 404 (which, from what I understand, is sorely needed). I have all the counties and all the US routes on the Delmarva (Virginia, Maryland and the lower end of Delaware; I need parts of US 13 and most of US 40 in the Wilmington area, plus whatever is really US 202) so I'd be more likely to attend a conventional meet.

Mike mentioned Easter as a date to work around. It's April 20 next year.

[CanesFan27]

Maybe a suggestion instead of route-clinching how about a tour of the Ocean Highway (US 13) or another interesting road with stops at various places.  One of the SWPA meets Jeff did was a Lincoln Highway tour.  We went from Greensburg to as far as the Flight 93 site, IIRC.

I would also recommend keeping any long drives at a certain time length.  Not as many are going to be as enthused as you, Mike, or some others will be.  That's a tough part of larger meets keeping everyone engaged and interested. And since meets now attract a variety of interests and a larger amount of people - it is something you'll want to manage.

I think sometimes meets focus on trying to see every single thing all at once.   If others want to go on a route clinch, sign hunt, or whatever odd thing they want to find let them do that on their own.  But that's my personal opinion. 

Meets can get tiring after awhile and it's good to keep that in mind and recognize where that tired point may be.

[PHLBOS]

I would also recommend keeping any long drives at a certain time length.  Not as many are going to be as enthused as you, Mike, or some others will be.  That's a tough part of larger meets keeping everyone engaged and interested. And since meets now attract a variety of interests and a larger amount of people - it is something you'll want to manage.

I think sometimes meets focus on trying to see every single thing all at once.   If others want to go on a route clinch, sign hunt, or whatever odd thing they want to find let them do that on their own.  But that's my personal opinion. 

Meets can get tiring after awhile and it's good to keep that in mind and recognize where that tired point may be.

If you haven't already done so, there's a bookmarked thread at the top of this forum that gives tips and guidelines for planning & hosting meets that you might want to check out. 

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=9498.0

[CanesFan27]

I would also recommend keeping any long drives at a certain time length.  Not as many are going to be as enthused as you, Mike, or some others will be.  That's a tough part of larger meets keeping everyone engaged and interested. And since meets now attract a variety of interests and a larger amount of people - it is something you'll want to manage.

I think sometimes meets focus on trying to see every single thing all at once.   If others want to go on a route clinch, sign hunt, or whatever odd thing they want to find let them do that on their own.  But that's my personal opinion. 

Meets can get tiring after awhile and it's good to keep that in mind and recognize where that tired point may be.

If you haven't already done so, there's a bookmarked thread at the top of this forum that gives tips and guidelines for planning & hosting meets that you might want to check out. 

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=9498.0

I'm familiar with it - I am adding my personal opinion.  Jeff Kitsko and I together or independently have been putting together roadmeets in PA and NC since 1999.