2022 Philadelphia, PA National Road Meet (August 20-21, 2022)

[vdeane]

FYI, while the last National meet was in 2014, there have been other meet weekends since that haven't been branded as such.  The Baltimore and Eastern Shore meets were a meet weekend in 2015, and IIRC Hampton Roads and Delmarva were paired together at some point.

[hbelkins]

FYI, while the last National meet was in 2014, there have been other meet weekends since that haven't been branded as such.  The Baltimore and Eastern Shore meets were a meet weekend in 2015, and IIRC Hampton Roads and Delmarva were paired together at some point.

I think "national" became a high-fallutin' way to describe a multi-day meet.

I conceptualized a multi-day Kentucky meet several years ago that never came to pass, but I don't recall ever trying to brand it as a "national" meet.

[Max Rockatansky]

FYI, while the last National meet was in 2014, there have been other meet weekends since that haven't been branded as such.  The Baltimore and Eastern Shore meets were a meet weekend in 2015, and IIRC Hampton Roads and Delmarva were paired together at some point.

I think "national" became a high-fallutin' way to describe a multi-day meet.

I conceptualized a multi-day Kentucky meet several years ago that never came to pass, but I don't recall ever trying to brand it as a "national" meet.

Any particular reason not to call it one in this instance?

[hbelkins]

FYI, while the last National meet was in 2014, there have been other meet weekends since that haven't been branded as such.  The Baltimore and Eastern Shore meets were a meet weekend in 2015, and IIRC Hampton Roads and Delmarva were paired together at some point.

I think "national" became a high-fallutin' way to describe a multi-day meet.

I conceptualized a multi-day Kentucky meet several years ago that never came to pass, but I don't recall ever trying to brand it as a "national" meet.

Any particular reason not to call it one in this instance?

I dunno. Any particular reason that it should be called one, other than the organizer choosing to call it one?

[Max Rockatansky]

FYI, while the last National meet was in 2014, there have been other meet weekends since that haven't been branded as such.  The Baltimore and Eastern Shore meets were a meet weekend in 2015, and IIRC Hampton Roads and Delmarva were paired together at some point.

I think "national" became a high-fallutin' way to describe a multi-day meet.

I conceptualized a multi-day Kentucky meet several years ago that never came to pass, but I don't recall ever trying to brand it as a "national" meet.

Any particular reason not to call it one in this instance?

I dunno. Any particular reason that it should be called one, other than the organizer choosing to call it one?

Well, I can attest that it definitely isn't a regional meet given some of the attendees are traveling pretty far to go.

[jpi]

Have fun everyone! Steph and I are going to be in the area in the days prior to this meet and we have a side trip planned while in Pennsylvania, unfortunently we will be heading west to Dayton Ohio the day before this meet,  unless yall want to chip in about 3000.00 for us to attend then we may reconsider  , that is what we could potentially make in Dayton Ohio the weekend of this meet.

[jpi]

Also keep in mind my next central Pennsylvania based meet is coming up on Saturday Sept. 24 at South County Brewery off exit 14 of I-83. I will be doing more scouting while Steph and I are in town next week.

[A.J. Bertin]

FYI, while the last National meet was in 2014, there have been other meet weekends since that haven't been branded as such.  The Baltimore and Eastern Shore meets were a meet weekend in 2015, and IIRC Hampton Roads and Delmarva were paired together at some point.

I think "national" became a high-fallutin' way to describe a multi-day meet.

I conceptualized a multi-day Kentucky meet several years ago that never came to pass, but I don't recall ever trying to brand it as a "national" meet.

Any particular reason not to call it one in this instance?

I dunno. Any particular reason that it should be called one, other than the organizer choosing to call it one?

Well, I can attest that it definitely isn't a regional meet given some of the attendees are traveling pretty far to go.

But there are a lot of road meets (not only ones that are called "national meets") that draw people from far away.

[Alps]

It falls in the typical National Meet - 2 days and broad audience in a major city. It counts. Let it be.

[SSOWorld]

Why in the name of <insert preferred diety here> does everyone have to complain about the name of a meet???

It's a friggin name.

I don't like that car dealerships call themselves "<insert name here> Motors" when they sell vehicles, not motors.  Do I make a big deal or insist people follow my opinion?

NO!  It's just a name

Opinions and preferences are respected, let's do so here.

Let's move on from this and have fun.

[Dougtone]

Have fun everyone! Steph and I are going to be in the area in the days prior to this meet and we have a side trip planned while in Pennsylvania, unfortunently we will be heading west to Dayton Ohio the day before this meet,  unless yall want to chip in about 3000.00 for us to attend then we may reconsider  , that is what we could potentially make in Dayton Ohio the weekend of this meet.

That'll be a lot of meals the rest of us will need to eat at Cracker Barrel on order to pay your bonus. 

Venmo would be easier and faster.

[jeffandnicole]

As we approach the Philly National meet, just a reminder that I will gladly host a pre-meet Pool (no p in the ool) party Friday evening for anyone in the area!

If you have not done so yet, please let me know if you are thinking of attending - Feel free to post publicly here; dm me privately via the forum message option, text or Facebook.  We are in West Deptford, approximately 10 - 15 minutes from Philly.  I'll provide my exact address to those who respond they are coming.

I'll firm up everything the week of the meet, but for now I'll say the start time will be about 4pm, and we will probably offer something in the way of snacks or light dinner, waters and some soda.  While I'll be more specific the week of the party, if you choose to bring your own food, we have a local convenience store chain (Heritages) a few blocks away for hoagies and sandwiches and non-alcoholic beverages; about a 1/2 mile away is a liquor store for beers, seltzers and your other favorite spirits.

I do want to throw out that we will keep an eye on the weather forecast; unfortunately we don't have a large house so poor weather may have us finding alternate plans.  That said, unless it's gonna be cool and stormy, the party will be on!

[roadwaywiz95]

As we're less than two weeks away from Meet Weekend, I'd like to remind folks once again that Meet Notes from both days have been posted above and that any/all inquiries regarding the Friday evening Pool Party should be directed at "jeffandnicole". His house, his rules. I have not seen any on-topic complaints regarding the meet notes that have been posted, so I assume that means folks have a good idea of what's going on and what to expect. Of course, questions regarding any facet of the weekend, other than the Pool Party, can be sent my way any time.

I would also like to see folks RSVP their attendance for the weekend if you have not already done so. I don't mind if people remain "interested" on the Facebook event pages for the purposes of keep up with posts and whatnot, but I do want to see a more definitive count emerge this week as far as who's in for either day. If you are not on Facebook, I welcome your RSVP either in this thread or you can reach me via private message on this forum. The purpose of this is to mainly finalize a number of people for lunch and to get an idea of how many cars we're going to have on the driving tour. (More on that in a moment.) I don't necessarily need this for the pre-meet events, but just know that those events will start promptly at the times listed, unless you hear otherwise from me. (In other words, please do not be late. )

I suspect we're going to have a very large group for the main event on Saturday - perhaps a group the size of which we've not seen in this community in a very long time. Given that possibility and the urban nature of parts of that day's drive, carpooling and efficiency at stops are going to be keys to success for the day as a whole. We're going to have to keep cars to a minimum on this day, so I'm going to state here that folks are going to have to triple/quadruple up in cars in order for this to work properly, and to ensure that there's even enough parking for everyone along the way. Additionally, even though we tend to be a slow group while on tours and we like to chit chat at stops along the way, a group this size can easily get out of control and it's going to be important that folks help shepherd themselves to the next points of interest when the time comes. It's very important that people recognize that even though I may be the official host of the proceedings, I cannot do my job effectively with a group this large without your collective cooperation.

That's the update for this week. I appreciate your forthcoming attention to the matters described above and look forward to an awesome weekend!

[PHLBOS]

I believe I chimed in on FB but will do so here as well. 
I will be attending both days; I already messaged Dan that I will be going to the post-meet game as well.

J&N, I'll send you a note on Messenger for your address.  If I don't get out at work too late; I should be able to attend your pool party.

[Brandon]

I'll be there for Saturday, but I'll pass on both Sunday and the ballgame.  However, I do plan at being at the pool party Friday night.

[PHLBOS]

From the Day 2 Itinerary with regards to Hog Island/Fort Mifflin Roads:

Fort Mifflin Road loops south
and east around the river side of the Airport; if you're lucky, you'll get to see aircraft take-offs and/or landings close
-
up from this area, but PLEASE DO NOT STOP along this stretch of road.

FYI, and this area is not too far from where I live; there's no issue with regards to stopping/parking along the road to see planes land or take-off (typically east of UPS and the Air Traffic Control Tower) as long as such is done along as the opposite side of the airport fence per this example.  Vehicle parked is that of long-time PHL spotter/photographer Paul Kanagie who manages the PHL and Area Discussion FB page.  He's traded in his silver RAV4 for a silver Corolla a couple years ago.  One might see him parked during our meet.

Shameless plug: while riding along Hog Island/Fort Mifflin Roads; one will pass by and/or ride along several PHL-based projects I worked on over the last 25 years.

[akotchi]

I am presuming that the Oregon Diner will have space to be able to leave vehicles to carpool during the meet tour.  I would rather ride than drive.

I will be attending Sunday's main event only. 

I cannot make the Friday pool party or the Saturday events.  To those who will, absolutely enjoy!  Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Since my brother is coaching his first football game next Friday night, I, along with my dad, will be driving straight to Philly through the night to meet you guys at the place to eat. Anyone is welcome to carpool with us (we'll have one if not two seats open in the back of our car on both days of the meet). Even though I won't be attending the pool party on Friday or the baseball game after the meet on Saturday, I am looking forward to meeting y'all in person as well as having fun exploring a city that we've never been to before!

[tckma]

I believe I marked "Going" on both FB events.  I need to check with my wife as to attendance, but I think I'll be there for both days and the pre-meet on Sunday.  I'll probably skip the ball game and pool party.

My sister-in-law is visiting now and will be leaving early next week, so that solves that potential conflict.

FYI, I live about three blocks from the Manayunk Bridge (site of the Sunday pre-meet).  A lighting installation project is nearly completed there and the contractor has started to clean up the construction site as of this past weekend (power lines removed from the construction company trailers, for example).  The bridge was previously only open from 6am to 9pm (closed by a gate), but with the new lights having been installed, it will be open 24/7.  I assume 24/7 opening will start once the construction site is fully cleaned up.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

For those previously unaware, work screwed me out, so I'm done.

[PHLBOS]

I am presuming that the Oregon Diner will have space to be able to leave vehicles to carpool during the meet tour.  I would rather ride than drive.

Ask and you shall receive.

[signalman]

I am presuming that the Oregon Diner will have space to be able to leave vehicles to carpool during the meet tour.  I would rather ride than drive.

Ask and you shall receive.

Based on aeriel imagery it looks like there's sufficient parking to stage unused vehicles next door.

[roadwaywiz95]

Well, here we are - it's down to the last few days. Looking forward to seeing everyone and perhaps meeting some new faces as well over the course of the weekend. I have a list of items for attendees to consider below:

A few words about parking/carpooling/etc: to make things easy, folks who plan on driving during each day of the weekend should leave their cars at each restaurant location; those who are planning on carpooling should leave cars at adjacent parking lots nearby. There is ample parking on both days for folks looking to leave cars. For those this applies to, on Saturday please look for parking in the area of Ikea/Lowes near Miller's; on Sunday, please look for parking in the Whitman Plaza (Shop Rite/Burlington) on Oregon Avenue. Sorting out the car situation off the bat will save us a decent amount of time each day and I appreciate everyone's forthcoming cooperation with this.

I will be bringing about 20 copies of the Meet Itinerary on each day of the weekend. I will also have a few copies of notes for each Pre-Meet location for those who are interested. That said, there will likely not be enough copies for everyone, especially on Saturday. If you would like to ensure that you'll have your own copy without waiting until the weekend itself, please feel free to bring your own. (I will prioritize those who are driving/navigating with the copies I'm bringing so if you don't fit in either of these categories, please keep that in mind.) I know that a lot of you may not be attending all of the events across the weekend: if you're going to be in the area for a lengthy period of time, I would recommend you check out the other locations to be featured in the weekend on your own time. Either of the two pre-meet locations, and a lot of the locations featured in the Sunday drive are really neat in their own right and I definitely recommend you check them out, even if you can't join us for them directly.

I've already spoken with a few of you about this but I'll address the group as a whole in case I miss anybody. If you're attending the Phillies game on Saturday, please make sure you have a way of getting in the ballpark - this can be accomplished by utilizing the MLB Ballpark app on your phone or by tagging along with me at the gate when we arrive. I'm going to start distributing tickets this week to those who have reserved a spot, so be on the lookout for that. (We actually still have two tickets that are unclaimed at this time, so I can accomodate a couple last-minute additions to the ballgame roster if you're out there...)

I did a "dry run" of both days of the weekend the other day. The results were very good, except for one thing that could possibly be an issue as far as streets/roads that might/might not be open along the Saturday route. With this in mind, I'm going to put together a sort of alternate itinerary for that segment of the drive in question, should we need it. (It would replace/supercede the Leg 1 segment of Saturday.) Look for this to be posted here in the next couple days. There's no guarantee that we'll actually need it, but in a city like Philadelphia with a large crowd of people going on this Saturday drive, it's important to account for all the possibilities we may encounter.

Early forecast for the weekend looks really good. Seasonal temperatures (upper 80s), with minimal chance of precipitation across the weekend. All things considered, I think we're in good shape across the board. Keep those RSVPs coming if you haven't already done so. 

[jeffandnicole]

Hello everyone!  I believe I have contacted everyone with my address who RSVPed for Friday night's pool party gathering.  If you did not receive it, please let me know.  If you decided last minute to come on over, we will love to have you!  For food, we will have a hoagie tray and hot dogs and chips.  We will have water and soda.  Down the road is a beer/wine/liquor store (Liquor Land) should you wish to enjoy any of those offerings.  Looking forward to seeing everyone who can make it!

[vdeane]

With this in mind, I'm going to put together a sort of alternate itinerary for that segment of the drive in question, should we need it. (It would replace/supercede the Leg 1 segment of Saturday.) Look for this to be posted here in the next couple days.

Is this still coming?  I know I'm at the point where I have to print off the itinerary tomorrow if I want it at the meet, and I can't imagine I'm the only one.