AARoads Forum

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Quote from: froggie on October 09, 2013, 01:09:23 PM
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.

Quote from: Alex on October 09, 2013, 01:43:52 PM
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.

Quote from: getemngo on October 09, 2013, 07:53:15 PMAnd 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.

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.

I'm good with #1 or #2.

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

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.

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.

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.

Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on October 09, 2013, 09:00:45 PM
I'm good with #1 or #2.

Same. And I'm almost certain to attend.

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.

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).

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.

Quote from: getemngo on October 09, 2013, 07:53:15 PM

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!

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.

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. :)

Quote from: Laura Bianca on October 21, 2013, 10:16:00 PM
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.

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.

Quote from: CanesFan27 on October 25, 2013, 01:28:38 PMI 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 (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=9498.0)

Quote from: PHLBOS on October 25, 2013, 02:31:52 PM

Quote from: CanesFan27 on October 25, 2013, 01:28:38 PMI 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 (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. 

I learned a lot about meets by attending those that Adam and Jeff hosted.

I'm a little bit late to the discussion, and my contributions might be received as unwelcome "wild cards".  I hope not.

I just read this entire thread for the first time, then read the tutorial on hosting road meets, also for the first time.  Everything said in the tutorial is good valid advice, but there are other options not covered.

The idea of two-day meets has faded or fallen into disfavor, but I don't know why.  The "National Meet" in Pittsburg a few years ago was great fun, with organized evening activities (Pirates game, boat ride on the river).  The Indianapolis meet was really good too, Day One for new I-69 south into Kentucky, Day Two for the old National Road west into Illinois.  Not everyone was along for both days, and that's OK.

The discussion so far has been that a Hampton Roads meet would collide with a Delmarva.meet.  Maybe it doesn't have to.  If both were scheduled for the same weekend, it would double the draw value for me.

Laura mentioned the possibility of starting a bit earlier than usual, maybe 10 AM, and getting in a couple hours before lunch.  I would like to endorse this option.  It worked very well for the meet in Michiana.  We met at a classic old very-early 20th century bridge, explored some abandoned alignments and a brand-new route, then went to lunch.  Not everyone participated in the early portion, and that's OK. 

A two-day meet, with optional segments each day, would allow individual participants to choose what is of interest, and what their personal time constraints would allow.  It doesn't have to be one-size-fits-all.

Quote from: brianreynolds on November 10, 2013, 10:29:02 AM
Laura mentioned the possibility of starting a bit earlier than usual, maybe 10 AM, and getting in a couple hours before lunch.  I would like to endorse this option.  It worked very well for the meet in Michiana.  We met at a classic old very-early 20th century bridge, explored some abandoned alignments and a brand-new route, then went to lunch.  Not everyone participated in the early portion, and that's OK.

One reason why I like meets to start with lunch is that if some people run a little late, they might have to rush their lunch but at least they can connect up with the rest of the group before the group hits the road.  Laura's suggestion has the advantage of giving the stragglers a second chance to connect with the group.  Up to her whether to let stragglers try to join the pre-lunch tour in progress, or tell them to just go straight to the lunch place.  If I were hosting, I'd lean to the latter, to minimize the hassles of trying to coordinate with the late arrivals at the same time I was managing the pre-lunch tour.

Quote from: brianreynolds on November 10, 2013, 10:29:02 AM
The discussion so far has been that a Hampton Roads meet would collide with a Delmarva.meet.  Maybe it doesn't have to.  If both were scheduled for the same weekend, it would double the draw value for me.

A double-header meet would have to start on Friday (which means for most people taking another day off), or end on Sunday (a problem for people going to church that morning, or who want to use Sunday as a travel day so they can get to work on Monday).  Even before I retired, I was sometimes OK with multi-day meets (like the Chicago national meet of 2008, Thursday evening-Saturday evening, with Thursday and Sunday as my travel days), but that's just me and some others.

Quote from: brianreynolds on November 10, 2013, 10:29:02 AM
Laura mentioned the possibility of starting a bit earlier than usual, maybe 10 AM, and getting in a couple hours before lunch.  I would like to endorse this option.  It worked very well for the meet in Michiana.  We met at a classic old very-early 20th century bridge, explored some abandoned alignments and a brand-new route, then went to lunch.  Not everyone participated in the early portion, and that's OK.

If this was the meet that featured the lunch at the sporting goods store in Edwardsburg, then I drove up just for the lunch that day. This was before I got into making multi-day trips to attend meets. It was raining that day, and there were some real concerns about flooding in Kentucky that day. I drove up to Edwardsburg via I-74 and US 31, then back after lunch via basically IN 29, US 421 and I-65.

In fact, the first few meets I attended, I just came for the lunch and didn't do the tour afterwards.

If the construction projects in the Lexington area that I expect to start next year actually do begin, I'm planning on doing a tour-lunch-finish tour meet for that one. And as I alluded to in your roadtrip post, I've toyed with the idea of doing a western Kentucky meet that would be a loop tour that would include lunch en route. If the US 68 Kentucky Lake bridge goes to bid later this year and construction gets started next year, this would be a good meet since it would allow us to drive over the replacement span for the bridge that got taken out by a ship last year.

Quote from: oscar on November 10, 2013, 11:32:55 AM
A double-header meet would have to start on Friday (which means for most people taking another day off), or end on Sunday (a problem for people going to church that morning, or who want to use Sunday as a travel day so they can get to work on Monday).  Even before I retired, I was sometimes OK with multi-day meets (like the Chicago national meet of 2008, Thursday evening-Saturday evening, with Thursday and Sunday as my travel days), but that's just me and some others.

Hello, Oscar.  I wanted to be there, but I was not able to make the 2009 Chicago meet because of family obligations. 

It is true that only a limited number of people would be able to take in all of a two-day meet, but the same could be said of a one-day meet.  A two-day meet (and possibly two segments each day) could offer choices.  Participants could opt in or out of segments based on individual resources, time, and interest.

Options are good.  Complications are bad.  Ultimately, the hosts should make the decision. 

I dare say that Hampton Roads itself has enough points of interest that it could be conceivably turned into a two-day meet. I joked the other night in the chat that I could create a meet just looking at bad signage in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Suffolk.

QuoteI joked the other night in the chat that I could create a meet just looking at bad signage in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Suffolk.

In part because it'd take on a full day just to drive to it all.


Back on subject, I can see where there would be some appeal to having back-to-back meets on adjacent days in adjacent regions.  But I think Oscar's spot on regarding the disadvantages to this, especially for those who travel longer distances to attend meets (which is the norm moreso than the exception).  To use yesterday's Burlington meet as an example, of the 11 attendees, only 3 of us had what was less than a 3-hour drive to get there (or get back afterwards).

Yeah, but Vermont isn't exactly a population center. A two day meet would be more appealing if you did it in a place where more people are semi-local. I believe the planned NYC meet next year will be like this which is dandy because there are plenty of us within a few hours' drive and also plenty of other things to do if someone non-local wants to make a full vacation out of it.

The other thing is, you have the option of attending one day but not both if that better suits your schedule.

As for the specific case here, I'd definitely be up for Hampton Roads on Saturday and something else further north on Sunday.

Vermont may not have been the best example, but it's the first one I thought of since we just had it.  As I recall, we've had both SEPA and Raleigh meets where the majority of attendees came from several hours (or more) away.

Quote from: froggie on November 12, 2013, 08:09:18 AM
Vermont may not have been the best example, but it's the first one I thought of since we just had it.  As I recall, we've had both SEPA and Raleigh meets where the majority of attendees came from several hours (or more) away.

At Pikeville, I was the only "local" there and I was two hours from home. Next closest was Michael Summa, about 3 1/2 hours away.

Quote from: hbelkins on November 12, 2013, 11:08:00 AM

Quote from: froggie on November 12, 2013, 08:09:18 AM
Vermont may not have been the best example, but it's the first one I thought of since we just had it.  As I recall, we've had both SEPA and Raleigh meets where the majority of attendees came from several hours (or more) away.

At Pikeville, I was the only "local" there and I was two hours from home. Next closest was Michael Summa, about 3 1/2 hours away.

When I did Wausau, the closest anyone not me was 1 hour away (Appleton) with a couple from 3-4 hours away (Milwaukee and Chicago).  The reset were from 6+ (some because they'd have to swim otherwise. ;)  For the Dubuque one earlier this year it was more of a local mix (1-3 hrs away) with a handful from further out. because of the proximity (I kind of liked it better since I didn't have to overnight).

Quote from: Duke87 on November 11, 2013, 08:46:56 PM

The other thing is, you have the option of attending one day but not both if that better suits your schedule.

As for the specific case here, I'd definitely be up for Hampton Roads on Saturday and something else further north on Sunday.

Me too.

At each of the two-day meets I attended, there was some measure of attrition along the way.  The second day was attended by roughly half the number as the first.  However, in both cases, I enjoyed the second day every bit as much as the first.   

The number of attendees is an obvious way to measure success, but not the only way.  Sometimes, less is more, especially for the host.  Herding a few cats is easier than herding a few dozen.

Quote from: brianreynolds on November 12, 2013, 10:04:44 PM

Quote from: Duke87 on November 11, 2013, 08:46:56 PM

The other thing is, you have the option of attending one day but not both if that better suits your schedule.

As for the specific case here, I'd definitely be up for Hampton Roads on Saturday and something else further north on Sunday.

Me too.

At each of the two-day meets I attended, there was some measure of attrition along the way.  The second day was attended by roughly half the number as the first.  However, in both cases, I enjoyed the second day every bit as much as the first.   

The number of attendees is an obvious way to measure success, but not the only way.  Sometimes, less is more, especially for the host.  Herding a few cats is easier than herding a few dozen.

I never considered this idea before, but I really like it. It makes the most sense to me for the Hampton Roads Meet to be on the Saturday and for Delmarva to be on Sunday. I know this favors the northeastern crowd, who would be heading in that direction on Sunday anyway. Unfortunately, this setup would not favor the southern crowd, and would see an increased drop in numbers from those people.

I guess if Froggie and I set dates for a double meet and there was a huge attendance drop for Sunday, then the Sunday Delmarva portion could just be postponed for a Saturday in the future. Unless you are super opposed to this idea, Froggie?

Quote from: hbelkins on October 22, 2013, 11:15:41 AM
Mike was talking a little about this proposed meet in the truck with me Saturday [Oct 19].... 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).

Yes indeed. There's a good amount of stuff to see from a traditional meet sense. We were looking at the central part of the peninsula, where 404 is, and have accumulated lots of good ideas for meet routes and stops.

I'm not averse to the idea if there's enough of a "following".  Timing of when to hold the meet is still very much up in the air though, between winter weather, my retirement preps, planned leave, etc etc.  At this point, would also like to hold out for more daylight plus more visible progress on the Midtown Tunnel project.

Quote from: froggie on November 14, 2013, 09:17:23 AM
I'm not averse to the idea if there's enough of a "following".  Timing of when to hold the meet is still very much up in the air though, between winter weather, my retirement preps, planned leave, etc etc.  At this point, would also like to hold out for more daylight plus more visible progress on the Midtown Tunnel project.

Regarding daylight hours, I agree.  In the spring, later is better.  In the fall, ... well, you can do the math.

Quote from: brianreynolds on November 12, 2013, 10:04:44 PM

Quote from: Duke87 on November 11, 2013, 08:46:56 PM

The other thing is, you have the option of attending one day but not both if that better suits your schedule.

As for the specific case here, I'd definitely be up for Hampton Roads on Saturday and something else further north on Sunday.

Me too.

At each of the two-day meets I attended, there was some measure of attrition along the way.  The second day was attended by roughly half the number as the first.  However, in both cases, I enjoyed the second day every bit as much as the first.   

Part of the challenge I face with the NYC National Meet is making the second day different enough that it draws the same crowd. That means more than just different roads or a different side of the river. This may be where I debut the "road rallye" style of meet, where cars have cryptic directions that need to be solved, questions answered, and scores to beat. Another option is to do a walking trip or a transit day pass on the second day. The Indy meet had one day that went in a long loop to Evansville, and another that stayed around the city.

Metro-North to Poughkeepsie and the Walkway Over The Hudson?

Laura, if I did Hampton Roads on 3/22, would a Delmarva meet work on 3/23?

Quote from: froggie on December 19, 2013, 06:06:53 AM
Laura, if I did Hampton Roads on 3/22, would a Delmarva meet work on 3/23?

Yes it would!

Quote from: Laura Bianca on December 19, 2013, 07:18:33 PM

Quote from: froggie on December 19, 2013, 06:06:53 AM
Laura, if I did Hampton Roads on 3/22, would a Delmarva meet work on 3/23?

Yes it would!

Can/should I mark this on my calendar?  Are you ready to commit to these dates?  I am really looking forward to this.

I've penciled in something for the 22nd, whether it be DC or Norfolk.  Can't commit yet, but I'd say it's pretty likely.

Now that Froggie has scheduled Hampton Roads for March 22, I'm looking forward to the details of this meet. If my tax refund come in time, this is very do-able for me. I just need to figure out how much ground I can make westward on Sunday after the Delmarva meet and if I need to plan to be off work on Tuesday as well as Monday.

At the moment it's looking like I will be skipping Hampton Roads but attending Delmarva. Were it not the weekend before Nashville I might consider both.

Quote from: Alps on November 19, 2013, 08:55:54 PM

Quote from: brianreynolds on November 12, 2013, 10:04:44 PM

Quote from: Duke87 on November 11, 2013, 08:46:56 PM

The other thing is, you have the option of attending one day but not both if that better suits your schedule.

As for the specific case here, I'd definitely be up for Hampton Roads on Saturday and something else further north on Sunday.

Me too.

At each of the two-day meets I attended, there was some measure of attrition along the way.  The second day was attended by roughly half the number as the first.  However, in both cases, I enjoyed the second day every bit as much as the first.   

Part of the challenge I face with the NYC National Meet is making the second day different enough that it draws the same crowd. That means more than just different roads or a different side of the river. This may be where I debut the "road rallye" style of meet, where cars have cryptic directions that need to be solved, questions answered, and scores to beat. Another option is to do a walking trip or a transit day pass on the second day. The Indy meet had one day that went in a long loop to Evansville, and another that stayed around the city.

Perhaps a good thing I intend to buy a week-long pass ;)

A challenge with NJ Transit (esp the trains) is that week-long passes only go for the calendar week. and I don't see the option for busses. (I would prefer to avoid busses in the area.  DISCLAIMER: I can't make any assumptions not knowing the area ;)

Quote from: froggie on November 20, 2013, 08:25:42 AM
Metro-North to Poughkeepsie and the Walkway Over The Hudson?

hmm - a nice thought (I did miss the Poughkeepsie meet held back in (2009).  Are NY commuter trains frequent enough to allow for flexibility? (also I did the plan on MTA's site and it looks like 2 hr one way (1:47 to be exact) and fare of $17 from GCT.) :ded:

anyway - back on topic...

Quote from: Laura on December 19, 2013, 07:18:33 PM

Quote from: froggie on December 19, 2013, 06:06:53 AM
Laura, if I did Hampton Roads on 3/22, would a Delmarva meet work on 3/23?

Yes it would!

I would love to do these - but having committed to NYC, I can't do this one :( (or these two ;) ) as I'm saving vacation time for the former.  I've also already committed to Starved Rock (IL - Day trip), and considered St Louis, but it's not likely that I'll go to that one.

Awesome. Mike and I will be scouting this meet over the coming weekend and will post an itinerary shortly afterwards.

Quote from: Laura on February 10, 2014, 12:24:07 AM
Awesome. Mike and I will be scouting this meet over the coming weekend and will post an itinerary shortly afterwards.

:clap:

As of now, do you have a general idea of what part of the Delmarva you'll be focusing on?

The notice to proceed for the MD 404 widening in Queen Anne is scheduled for next week.  Maybe there will be some ground clearing done by 3/23.  I say that in case the tour passes by that area.  This was funded by the gas tax increase.

http://apps.roads.maryland.gov/WebProjectLifeCycle/ProjectSchedule.aspx?projectno=AW896225

Quote from: BrianP on February 10, 2014, 01:19:24 PM
The notice to proceed for the MD 404 widening in Queen Anne is scheduled for next week.  Maybe there will be some ground clearing done by 3/23.  I say that in case the tour passes by that area.  This was funded by the gas tax increase.

http://apps.roads.maryland.gov/WebProjectLifeCycle/ProjectSchedule.aspx?projectno=AW896225

Yep, I've been keeping an eye on this!

We are currently torn between two different regions of Delmarva. Our initial thought was to focus on the area around 404, but there's also a lot to see in and near Salisbury. And we really can't combine the two because they're a good 50 miles apart!

Quote from: Laura on February 10, 2014, 10:03:21 PMAnd we really can't combine the two because they're a good 50 miles apart!

You say this, and you were at the Pikeville meet. ;)
I doubt you'll get anything for MD 404 if they're only now getting the NTP. Probably some stakeouts and beginning to prep the staging areas. May as well ignore that project and do the other stuff around Salisbu.

See Delmarva Meet: Sunday, March 23, 2014 (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=11693.0) thread.