2024 National Road Meet - New Orleans, LA (February 17-18, 2024)

[SSOWorld]

Yes diecast toy shows have been a top priority for me but so is meeting up with friends I have not seen in a few years and the fact that my inventory has been slimmed down in the past year too, I will still be doing shows just not as many as the past 10 years.

Road meets became secondary - as the trips on the bucket list have destinations outside the USA.

[SSOWorld]

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

For those looking for added activities on Friday...
Evidently there are still some diehards that are decorating their houses for Mardi Gras (outgrowth from the COVID years)
https://www.offbeat.com/news/house-floats-return-under-new-leadership/
Google map showing participants:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1z9hBXUNxUNPRPG7Qbw-mI0g5rHH-0kg&usp=sharing

[jasonh300]

For those looking for added activities on Friday...
Evidently there are still some diehards that are decorating their houses for Mardi Gras (outgrowth from the COVID years)
https://www.offbeat.com/news/house-floats-return-under-new-leadership/
Google map showing participants:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1z9hBXUNxUNPRPG7Qbw-mI0g5rHH-0kg&usp=sharing

Carnival Season ends February 13, so these are going to be few and far-between.  Then again, some people still have their Christmas displays up...

[jpi]

Just a heads up on the weather situation for this weekend, I have been watching it closely, looks like possible rain on Saturday but Sunday is looking nicer, also chance of rain Friday evening. I will be spending the night Thursday in Tuscaloosa, AL then coming down I-59 from there on Friday and plan to do some Parrish clinching before the Friday meet up. Might want to make sure you have hats and umbrellas handy. 

[Rothman]

Just a heads up on the weather situation for this weekend, I have been watching it closely, looks like possible rain on Saturday but Sunday is looking nicer, also chance of rain Friday evening. I will be spending the night Thursday in Tuscaloosa, AL then coming down I-59 from there on Friday and plan to do some Parrish clinching before the Friday meet up. Might want to make sure you have hats and umbrellas handy. 

The possible rain looks more like definite rain and a decent amount of it (quarter inch or more).

[roadwaywiz95]

The revised versions of the itineraries for the weekend are now available at the links below. These links are also reproduced on the post at the top of this thread. The most significant changes were the change in the "halftime" lunch location on Day 1, and an adjustment to the driving directions in the area of the Belle Chasse Bridge on Day 2. The Pre-Meet driving directions did not change.

I consider these versions to be the final ones, unless you hear otherwise between now and Saturday:

Day 1 - February 17

Day 1 Full Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4g15ymiilcc1cghi46lut/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-1.docx?rlkey=e243ag1qz8pnv003e9x10gyo3&dl=0

Day 1 Printer-Friendly Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/w4zn5tudy68nut07r7441/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-1-Printer-Friendly.docx?rlkey=ewajni4e7l9tjr7wqa3b9w5x5&dl=0

Day 2 - February 18

Pre-Meet Tour Full Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/k3jpolufig1pa3pb3zt2i/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-2-Pre-Meet.docx?rlkey=vf3ndoof1zolijtce65wths1r&dl=0

Pre-Meet Tour Printer-Friendly Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/u5teu3eay7lvw9qkvf5y3/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-2-Pre-Meet-Printer-Friendly.docx?rlkey=c1p2tie0ywu2f89qmchrvzu2u&dl=0

Day 2 Full Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ywrt7uamsw8ebf194p0ja/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-2.docx?rlkey=vos3af2mcy1xqz3lvs8hy7lk6&dl=0

Day 2 Printer-Friendly Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/s1vergqaxj2s56rz1f7h1/New-Orleans-Road-Meet-DAY-2-Printer-Friendly.docx?rlkey=cbqp2t5qyxks4j0aa8oq6ztj8&dl=0

[cjk374]

I'm afraid I will have to back out of this one. Not enough funding is available. Y'all be sure to have lots of fun down there, and be very careful driving.

[jpi]

I'm afraid I will have to back out of this one. Not enough funding is available. Y'all be sure to have lots of fun down there, and be very careful driving.

[roadwaywiz95]

Some final notes & instructions on the eve of Meet Weekend:

When you arrive on Saturday/Sunday, please feel free to fill out a name tag! There will be plenty for folks to use if they wish. These are just one  of the goodies that will be available on both days - window/bumper stickers and *new* business cards will be among the other items.

My thanks to Jason H for printing the copies of the itineraries for the weekend. There should at least be enough for there to be one per car, hopefully we have a few extras for those interested.

The weather for Saturday is expected to be unseasonably chilly, so please be prepared for that. Either way, I don't think it's anything we can't handle. The forecast does improve for Sunday as of this moment.

Lastly, thank you all in advance for coming this weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing all of you. I hope everyone enjoys their stay and has a great time!

[Brandon]

I won't be there either due to scheduling conflicts this month.  Please accept my sincere apologies.

[SSOWorld]

I won't be there either due to scheduling conflicts this month.  Please accept my sincere apologies.

[roadwaywiz95]

In case theres any confusion, the meeting begins at 10 AM central time. Any times you see listed on the itineraries for the weekend reflect the local time in NOLA. Thanks and see you later!

[roadwaywiz95]

This is the first chance I've had since the weekend to chime in on things after the fact, but I want to take a second to thank all of you who came down to New Orleans this past weekend and took part in perhaps the largest road meet gathering on the Gulf Coast in the last 25 years. So many of you came from so far away to be a part of the weekend and I truly appreciate that each one of you wanted to  be there and took the time to make the trip. I sincerely hope that each of you who were at the various events that were part of the weekend walked away from this weekend feeling like it was well  worth your while. If I decide to do something along these lines again some day in the future, I hope to see you all again in attendance!

I'm currently still in the midst of a two-week trip down  south but I hope to upload a photo album about the weekend in the coming days, so keep an eye out for that.

[Rothman]

Thanks for another great meet (despite us not being able to attend more than a quarter of it)!

[jpi]

I got back to Lebanon, TN fine on Monday evening, thanks Dan for hosting a fun weekend long meet!  :)I got to see lots of New Orleans metro I probably would not have normally seen and managed to clinch 5 new parishes while on this trip, great seeing everyone and made a few new friends too. Hope to see a lot of you at Cody's meet and Jeff Kitsko's meet, I hope to make it to A.J. city meet too but will wait and see on that one.

[jasonh300]

Video of the New Orleans Road Meet, Day 1, for anyone who wants to relive the day, or for those who couldn't attend in person.  Sorry for the crap audio quality.  Next time I do this, I'm going to wire Dan for sound with a deadcat to get rid of the wind noise!

Jason

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpDexKKxEg0

[jpi]

And for those who follow me on Facebook, I just posted my pics from the road meet last weekend on my page.

[roadwaywiz95]

The Day 2 "Pre-Meet" driving tour was filmed and has been uploaded to YouTube as of the other day:

Jason H also filmed the Day 2 driving tour for his YouTube channel and that video is now available for those interested:

[skatcher]

Dan, thanks for putting together an awesome road meet! As I had never attended a road meet before, I did not know what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy spending the weekend with everybody I met. The Day 1 video Jason posted looks great, and I can't wait to check out the other vids from the weekend! I look forward to many more road meets in the future, and who knows, maybe in a year or two I might want to host one!