What I’m proposing is nothing nearly as organized or “official” as a Dopefest: there are a bunch of us in or near Northern Virginia, and every now and then I see one of us say “we should get a beer sometime,” so … let’s get a beer! Of course, any Doper from anywhere is welcome to come, but the focus will be on NoVa.
I’m thinking Saturday, November 19th @ 7pm, at Jimmy’s Tavern in Herndon (big bar, lots of tables, good food). It’s SO- and kid-friendly, but it is a bar.
Anyone interested?
(reply in this thread, please :))
Well, certainly not a NoVa Doper, but by strange happenstance, I was going to start a thread near the end of the month of October to see if any of the locals wanted to have a beer. I’m flying in on the 18th, and have CNN “On The Story” tickets for that night, then I begin my museum / zoo / monument adventure. Saturday night, though, no plans. If anyone can give me reasonable directions from the Marriott Washington, (I do believe it’s near M and 22nd NW), involving the Metro from Foggy Bottom / GWU, and then the MetroBus, I’d be interested in joining in.
According to the wmata site, the bus goes at least near Herndon.
I’m up for it, tentatively. I have a final exam that Monday, but I hope to be able to spare a few hours. I’ll ask the Kangaroo_in_Black if he wants to go too. If he doesn’t go, I don’t either since Metro doesn’t hit Herndon.
Well, if nobody chimes in with directions for me, if the two of you can get to the aforementioned “Foggy Bottom / GWU” metro stop, I’d be willing to share a cab. Email in profile, and I’ll post the cell number a few days before I take off from here.
With the price of gas I’m not sure if I can afford a jaunt into the city from Culpeper right now (er… where’s Herndon?) Put me down as a “maybe.” If I wait for a Central Virginia Dopefest, I might be waiting a loooong time.
Mcott and BlueKangaroo: I hope you’re both able to make your way! I don’t want to make any promises at this point, but I might be able to pick one/both of you up at the Vienna metro station if necessary. Let’s see what everyone’s able to work out in the next few weeks.
Hello Again: Herndon is a little west of DC, but still a good drive from you (Yahoo Maps estimates 57 miles). This map link worked when I tested it, so hopefully it will work for you – it’ll give you an idea of where you’d be going. If the link doesn’t work, just throw Culpeper and Herndon into your favorite mapping app.
FYI for everyone: There is a big, free municipal parking lot directly across the street from the bar. The street address is 697 Spring Street, Herndon, Va. (they used to have a website, but I can’t seem to find it anymore).
Well, since I’ll be in the District anyway (gotta see pandas sometime), one way or the other, I’ll be there.
A ride isn’t that important to me, but as posted above, can share a cab, or will take the bus - It can’t take too long*. :rolleyes:
Says the guy who once took the bus for a three hour tour of Calgary trying to find a brewery to buy a “factory fresh” beer to impress someone at work*.
Weeell…normally, Roanoke’s a teeny bituva long jaunt away from D.C. to justify just popping up for a drink, but I do happen to be planning a trip up north sometime in the next month or so. We’ll see how things work out; maybe that weekend will coincide with my journey, in which case a night in NoVa doesn’t sound so bad.
(This is especially true considering that a NoVa get-together is the best chance I have at meeting other Dopers IRL; the only other Southwestern VA residents I was aware of – iampunha and robertliguori – both seem to have left the building. Whence the Roanoke/Lynchburg/Blacksburg Doper candidates?)
Hmm, I was going to say my health isn’t up to going anywhere, but coincidentally I live in Herndon. I go past Jimmy’s all the time. It’d be a shame if the Dopers came to my town and I missed it. We’ll see if I’m feeling better by Saturday.
As for SW Virginia, my daughter just moved to Blacksburg the other day. She doesn’t have a Doper account, but I know she reads the SDMB.
You realize the date is a month away, right? November 19th*. I hope you’re feeling better by then – it really would be a shame if we were right in your neighborhood and you couldn’t join us!
*Yes, it feels very far away to me, too: I’m not in town the first two weekends in November, and I figured anything this month wouldn’t be enough notice. So, November 19th it is.
Oh yeah, I noticed it was November after I posted. Side effect of the medication: my brain is starting to miss stuff (more than usual). Who knows, I might be feeling better by then, time will tell. I couldn’t have Dopers coming to my town and not join them, even if for just a bit. I don’t drink alcohol, but a stein of ginger ale would suit me just fine.
I don’t know why you think this wouldn’t be a Dopefest. If it’s a gathering of Straight Dopers, then it’s a Dopefest. The fact that it’s in a bar instead of a home or a restaurant doesn’t make it any less a Dopefest. There are some places in the world where the Dopers who live there think that a Dopefest can only be held in a bar. When I was in London in August and went to a Dopefest there, the Brits at the Dopefest were astonished when they learned that American Straight Dopers held Dopefests at home or in restaurants. The Brits believed that the only possible place for any social gathering was in a pub.
Furthermore, you might as well have just said that this will be for MADopers (i.e., Mid-Atlantic Dopers) in the thread title. Herndon isn’t that long a drive for people in D.C. or in much of Maryland (and possibly for people in West Virginia). You’ve already got people from Maryland and D.C. responding to the thread.
mcott, it’s way too far to take a taxi to Herndon from Foggy Bottom. I think it’s also a really long bus ride too. We need to arrange for one of the local Dopers to pick you up and take you with them to Herndon.
You say this event “is nothing nearly as organized or ‘official’ as a Dopefest”. Have you been to a Dopefest before? This is precisely as organized and official as any other Dopefest.
This is actually less organized than most dopefests; we usually have to worry about who’s gonna bring food and beer and all that stuff. I don’t really care what we call it, but let’s not fight about it, huh?
