Should the "city meet" concept be repeated?

[A.J. Bertin]

Regardless of whether or not you attended the first-ever "city meet" in Providence, please vote in my poll. This poll will be open for three weeks.

Also, please share your feedback here, if you haven't already done so, about what you liked or didn't like about the Providence meet. I am open to all feedback. Feel free to chime in even if you didn't attend.

One thing that's a learning opportunity for me in the future is that I need to confirm with restaurants, when I'm making a reservation, whether they are able to separate checks for the patrons sitting at the same table. I was flustered and annoyed that the restaurant where we reconvened for dinner in Providence (technically Warwick RI) was not able to do this for our group. So many restaurants these days are able to split up the check. I didn't consider the possibility that some won't do that.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

[kphoger]

What's a "city meet" and how is it different from a regular meet?  If I don't know what it is, then I can't have an opinion.

[webny99]

The Providence meet thread just below this one on the main meets page gives some context: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=23413.0

[A.J. Bertin]

And here's the original thread in which my idea was first proposed last year:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=23159.0

[kphoger]

So a meet with no tour, no itinerary?  I would not personally be interested in that sort of thing.  However, I've only attended one meet, and it was in my hometown.  In fact, meeting for lunch is something I didn't do at it!

[kphoger]

(No option exists for my situation, as I never considered attending.  But I gave my opinion because you said "whether or not you attended".)

[A.J. Bertin]

(No option exists for my situation, as I never considered attending.  But I gave my opinion because you said "whether or not you attended".)

Thank you for sharing your opinion. The concept is not for everyone, but I had enough support to try it once.

[Rothman]

I would have attended if I could have.  There was a meet I attended where the tour got unorganized -- people weren't waiting for the group to get to the stops together (and watching out for everyone isn't a roadgeek's forte -- we're probably all on the spectrum somewhere).  That wasn't that great, but we did all manage to gather again at the end.

To the few meets I've been to, it has been more about the lunch or hanging out than the tour itself.  The idea of a looser or near total lack of itinerary seems better to me.

[Alps]

What I shared in person was that while I like the ability to set my own itinerary and spend as little time at stops as I like, I would prefer to spend the time with people I don't get to see often. I suggested that maybe the next meet could have one or two recommended itineraries but leave it open to people to create their own adventures if desired. At least that might get a few people grouped.

[Duke87]

We need a "Yes - I was not interested in the Providence meet, but would be interested in the same concept if it were replicated in a location I have not already thoroughly explored"

[A.J. Bertin]

We need a "Yes - I was not interested in the Providence meet, but would be interested in the same concept if it were replicated in a location I have not already thoroughly explored"

Good point!

[hbelkins]

There are probably more options that could be added than space available in the forum software. I know that personally, my situation was not a poll option.

I didn't have an interest in going to Providence for several reasons. And truth be told, as the event drew closer, several tangible reasons that would have precluded my attendance popped up.

The concept seems to work for a number of people. Should the next one be in NE North Carolina, as has been laid out as an option, I'd probably consider a trip if it worked out financially, meshed with my schedule, etc. That's closer than Providence, I prefer that area of the country for traveling, etc.

The concept does seem to have its fans, so I say "go for it."

[74/171FAN]

One thing that's a learning opportunity for me in the future is that I need to confirm with restaurants, when I'm making a reservation, whether they are able to separate checks for the patrons sitting at the same table. I was flustered and annoyed that the restaurant where we reconvened for dinner in Providence (technically Warwick RI) was not able to do this for our group. So many restaurants these days are able to split up the check. I didn't consider the possibility that some won't do that.

This happened at the diner we ate at for lunch at the Goethals Bridge Minimeet in July 2017.  I was very glad that I had quite a bit of cash on me that day considering also that some of us went to the Mets game later in the day.

[Takumi]

I'll probably attend the Elizabeth City one. As often as I go to the Outer Banks, I've only been through Elizabeth City once, and I still have yet to clinch NC 136 after all these years.

[okroads]

I enjoyed the meet and it was an interesting concept. It gave me the opportunity to decide what I wanted to see and gave me the flexibility to not make a decision until the night before. The weather was also a factor in determining what to do but thankfully, the rain was mostly in the morning. For the record, my other ideas for the "city meet time" included driving around Boston (which I ended up doing Sunday morning), clinching some Rhode Island routes, and going out to Cape Cod and see parts of that area I did not see in 2009 when I drove US 6 out to Provincetown.

While we were at the restaurant for lunch, A.J. had everybody around the room talk about what they planned to do that afternoon which was interesting to hear the different activities they had planned. It also allowed Sam Scholtens to come along with me so we could both clinch one of Massachusetts' island counties and I know a couple of other small groups formed as well.

My suggestion would be similar to Steve's above. Having a couple of possible itinerary ideas just in case would be helpful especially for those unfamiliar with the area. After seeing some other attendees' posts and pictures, there were some more things I wish I could have seen as I was unaware of them. But I am glad I had the opportunity to clinch one of Massachusetts' two island counties that I may not have otherwise had.

All in all, I enjoyed my time there and am interested in the future meets.

[A.J. Bertin]

I enjoyed the meet and it was an interesting concept. It gave me the opportunity to decide what I wanted to see and gave me the flexibility to not make a decision until the night before.

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

My suggestion would be similar to Steve's above. Having a couple of possible itinerary ideas just in case would be helpful especially for those unfamiliar with the area. After seeing some other attendees' posts and pictures, there were some more things I wish I could have seen as I was unaware of them.

I just responded to a comment that H.B. shared in the thread specifically about the Providence meet. Basically, I would have a standard set of suggested itineraries for any city meet I host regardless of the location. The ideas are as follows: 1) drive the freeway/highway network around the city, 2) drive specific highways that look/sound interesting, 3) collect new counties, 4) explore the downtown, 5) see any unique infrastructure that the city might have (bridges, for example), 6) check out any interesting retail (for those of us who are retail geeks), 7) see any interesting geographical features such as high points that might be in the area, 8) any combination of the above activities, and/or 9) anything else that the folks planning to attend might learn about the city on their own or in discussion with other people who have more familiarity with it.

For me personally, I don't need specific reasons to go to different places. Some folks might not share that mindset, which I respect. The "city meet" concept was developed as the result of me wanting to explore random places far away from home and invite fellow road geeks to join me in discovering these places too if they are interested.

[okroads]

My suggestion would be similar to Steve's above. Having a couple of possible itinerary ideas just in case would be helpful especially for those unfamiliar with the area. After seeing some other attendees' posts and pictures, there were some more things I wish I could have seen as I was unaware of them.

I just responded to a comment that H.B. shared in the thread specifically about the Providence meet. Basically, I would have a standard set of suggested itineraries for any city meet I host regardless of the location. The ideas are as follows: 1) drive the freeway/highway network around the city, 2) drive specific highways that look/sound interesting, 3) collect new counties, 4) explore the downtown, 5) see any unique infrastructure that the city might have (bridges, for example), 6) check out any interesting retail (for those of us who are retail geeks), 7) see any interesting geographical features such as high points that might be in the area, 8) any combination of the above activities, and/or 9) anything else that the folks planning to attend might learn about the city on their own or in discussion with other people who have more familiarity with it.

For me personally, I don't need specific reasons to go to different places. Some folks might not share that mindset, which I respect. The "city meet" concept was developed as the result of me wanting to explore random places far away from home and invite fellow road geeks to join me in discovering these places too if they are interested.

Those itinerary ideas fall in line with what we discussed during our breakfast in Memphis back in April. And hopefully the ideas I gave you helped shape what you saw during the meet. Hopefully you were able to collect Bristol County, RI while you were in the area.

I applaud your eagerness to roll with this "city meet" idea. It definitely allows for more flexibility and we don't have to worry as much about losing other vehicles along the way, which can happen if a guided meet tour gets too big.

[hbelkins]

...we don't have to worry as much about losing other vehicles along the way, which can happen if a guided meet tour gets too big.

Which is why I like the idea of a printed itinerary for an organized tour. Vehicles getting lost was a frequent occurrence prior to those days, when stop lights might break up the caravan. And even with printed itineraries, sometimes people make wrong turns. At my Pikeville meet, at least one car missed the turn onto SR 609 at Breaks and ended up taking VA 80 and VA 83 to Grundy instead of SR 609 and US 460.

[A.J. Bertin]

Those itinerary ideas fall in line with what we discussed during our breakfast in Memphis back in April. And hopefully the ideas I gave you helped shape what you saw during the meet.

Yes... they did.

Hopefully you were able to collect Bristol County, RI while you were in the area.

I did! It was part of the route we took back to East Providence from Newport.

I applaud your eagerness to roll with this "city meet" idea. It definitely allows for more flexibility and we don't have to worry as much about losing other vehicles along the way, which can happen if a guided meet tour gets too big.

Thanks for the compliment! I appreciate that. Flexibility was definitely one of the big factors I was thinking of when I came up with the "city meet" concept.

[deathtopumpkins]

I enjoyed it, mainly because it featured both lunch and dinner, so I got to spend plenty of time catching up with people I don't get to see very often.

I'm intimately familiar with Providence and thus used the meet as an opportunity to clinch some roads that I was still missing in RI and CT, and didn't have to worry about being bored touring stuff I see regularly. I would be a lot more interested in an actual tour in a city I'm not familiar with though - at least a suggested itinerary, for those of us who don't already know what there is to see.

[Rothman]

The idea of a list of suggested things to check out is excellent.

[Dougtone]

I enjoyed being part of the Providence city meet, even though most of what I explored was around Newport and New Bedford. It was nice to "choose my own adventure", and I think the concept enabled some folks to see a few things that they may have not checked out in a traditional meet format.

One thought I would have for the next time is to encourage attendees to post what they are interested in seeing a couple of days before the meet. You may wind up with a bit more collaboration that way.

[A.J. Bertin]

I enjoyed being part of the Providence city meet, even though most of what I explored was around Newport and New Bedford. It was nice to "choose my own adventure", and I think the concept enabled some folks to see a few things that they may have not checked out in a traditional meet format.

That was something else I had considered. Some of the ideas I had, especially the one about checking out downtown, definitely fall outside of the traditional meet format. Checking out any interesting retail would be another example, but I don't think anyone in Providence really did that... except when Sam Scholtens and I visited the Warwick Mall on Friday night.

One thought I would have for the next time is to encourage attendees to post what they are interested in seeing a couple of days before the meet. You may wind up with a bit more collaboration that way.

Great idea, Doug. I'll have to remember that for next time. Thanks!

[Dougtone]

Checking out an interesting historic site may have also been down my alley. I recall reading that one or two of the attendees checked out part of the Cliff Walk in Newport, which goes along some of the historic mansions in Newport.

[okroads]

...we don't have to worry as much about losing other vehicles along the way, which can happen if a guided meet tour gets too big.

Which is why I like the idea of a printed itinerary for an organized tour. Vehicles getting lost was a frequent occurrence prior to those days, when stop lights might break up the caravan. And even with printed itineraries, sometimes people make wrong turns. At my Pikeville meet, at least one car missed the turn onto SR 609 at Breaks and ended up taking VA 80 and VA 83 to Grundy instead of SR 609 and US 460.

Several meets I've attended have had these printed itineraries, which I appreciate. Those definitely help attendees not get lost in case the caravan gets split up due to traffic, stoplights, etc.