I’m gonna check out airfares in the next week or so. Too many other things to focus on at the moment.
Add me to list list of folks that would need driven from Chicago. (Maybe we should chip in and rent a van or something - might as well all go down at the same time. :D)
Oh yeah, anyone canceling will have the misfortune of being entered into my personal logbook of people to flame.
[sup]Wouldn’t YOU like to join David B? :::snicker:::[/sup]
PS, You better be coming, saph! 
Put me on that For Sure list. 
p.s. Can I bring my girlfriend?
Tibs.
for ol’ Mundi. Won’t be definite for a week or so, but the stars appear to be in alignment. That means I will be in Chicago with a rental car and willing to provide a ride to any who need it (especially someone who knows where we are going – that might be a good thing ;))
Hell, yeah. The more the merrier!
–tygre
I can probably give you a ride to and from the airport, if it comes to that. However, if you could carpool with someone from St. Louis coughAuraseercoughcough* that would make a lot more sense.
Check back with me in mid-March.
Flyp, You left me off your list.
MikeG and other Chicago area dopers, I can drive if we need more room. Lets figure out exactly how many people are going and derive the number of cars needed from that. Should someone send Gaudere an email? She doesn’t check MPSIMS much.
{Hey Mike, I was going to call you just now but I realized you’re probably at work and I can’t find that number here at my office. Give me a call on the cell if you wanna throw some darts tonight. Others are, of course, welcome as well. Mark II on Western, around 9pm? I’ll buy the first round.}
Actually, I didn’t leave you off, VO, I just made a joke with your name. A lame play on words that quite obviously fell flat on it’s face, but what do you expect, I’m a weiner.
Anyway, you’ve been counted among the attendees.
I just arranged dog-sitting for my boy at the doggy spa for that weekend. (It’s not actually a spa; he’ll be staying with my close friends who have four wonderful rotties.) I am officially free and clear for the weekend.
Who do I get to carpool with? MikeG snubbed me. ;)I will leave the sex toys behind if space is an issue. 
Actually, if I ever get off my ass and get my car to the detail shop to get rid of the massive amounts of dog hair on the back seat, I can take my Jeep and three other dopers if needed. Hmmm, this is also incentive to my car’s fucked-up audio system replaced…
Flyp, any ideas on a hotel yet?
You can add not one, not two, but three more Dopers to the confirmed list.
Drain Bead and myself are, of course, a package deal these days.
And we managed to have SanibelMan’s mom give in to repeated threats and he is coming as well!
Here’s the deal: I will be driving from Columbus to St. Louis, where Sandy is flying to from Florida that Friday evening. We get him in St. Looie, and then head up top Springfield for the event.
We will stay the night there and on Sunday, we will drive Sandy back to St. Louis for his flight home and we will head back to Columbus.
Out of the way? Well, sure. But it’s for a poster I love dearly and have wanted to meet for some time. I shall spare no expense…
I have room for one more person in the car. If anyone fron either place or directly along the way (not too out of the way, for the love of Allah) needs a lift, e-mail me post haste.
Also, I am picking up Sandy’s hotel room Saturday evening. If anyone would like to share his room with him and the tab, let us both know, please!
Flypside: Please do let us know where exactly this will be and I’ll try and get cheap rooms somewhere nearby.
Looking forward to seeing all of you!
Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually going. But there it is, ticket reservations from Yahoo! and a hotel room from Satan. I’d like to thank Brian and Libby for wanting me to show and going through the mess of reservations, as well as my parents, for being super-über-cool (though Dad won’t know until morning). Oh, and I have to call my aunt in Edwardsville and tell her I need to stay at her house on Friday night. But I’m going to Spiffled, baby!
FYI, I talked to Flyp yesterday in chat. As soon as the restaurant/bar is chosen, that will determine the hotel. Shouldn’t be a problem getting rooms - Spiffled isn’t exactly the vacation capital of the midwest. 
Flyp? Do me a favor and email me…I’ve trieed twice to send something to your new email address, and I don’t think it went through.
Okay, I called my Aunt Peachy, and she will be in town and will pick me up at the airport on Friday. And my Aunt Leah will be flying in that weekend to help Peachy with her garden, so I’ll probably need to leave around noon on Sunday so I can get back there and spend some time with them if possible.
SanibelMan
We can manage that.
The real question is Who wants to have sex with SanibelMan?
SPIFFLED is as good a place as any…
Sani, I am SO jealous right now. I wish I could fly out to another Doper Gathering!
Okay. Apologies for the absence, but I was away from the MB this weekend. Next, I have pretty much come to the conclusion that we’re going to be eating at a Cheddar’s, for several reasons.
[ul]
[li]There are two hotels near it-a Comfort Inn within spitting distance, and a Crowne Plaza no more than a half-mile up the road. Also, there’s an Outback Steakhouse, a Hooters, and a Red Lobster very close by, for those people who are coming in on Friday and don’t want to eat at the same place both nights. I figure Cheddar’s is the best choice for allowing people a variegated menu, as well as a semi-reasonable price. Again, I apologize for the abundance of chain restaurants, but for this large of a group, Spiffled doesn’t have much in an affordable price range. I will, however, remain open for suggestions from my fellow denizens of Spiffled. Dyno, Tibs, rasta, if you guys have any other ideas, let me know before, say, Wednesday @ 5. I’ll start making calls to the hotels then to see about discounts.[/li][li]It’s right on I-55. There’s no way you couldn’t see the sign.[/li][li]The underagers will have no problem getting in.[/li][/ul]
I’m going to go update my email address right now, and I apologize for the outdated one being up so long. I’d have sworn I changed it, but apparently I’m a bigger dumbass than I thought. If everyone would, email me (so I feel important) and I’ll put together a list. Falc, I’ll mail you, since @Home seems to be gorging itself on your mails (and only yours-I don’t get it). Anyone needs anything else, post here or mail me.
Thanks.
Put me down as a definite maybe. I’ll have to sit down with a calculator and work it out, but it’s looking good.
If anyone wants to share a room or needs a ride from DC, let me know
Robin
Here are some links to help Dopers out.
Cheddar’s Casual Café
3151 Horizon Drive
Springfield, IL 62703
(217) 525-3820
Cheddar’s Casual Café Homepage
At the homepage, you can see the menu and pictures of the place. Seems like a great place for a Dopefest, Flypside. Good call! It may be a smaller chain, but I’ve never been to one and I’m sure I’m not alone.
(Still, when I was looking for information on the place, I couldn’t help but think that THIS PLACE would have been better… :D)
I could not get any of the online mapping programs to show us exactly where the place is. Even at its Yahoo page, it says “This exact address cannot be found,” for some unknown reason.
In any event, I was able to put the intersection it is near at MapQuest. Close enough for government work, at any rate.
Also, for driving directions to Cheddar’s, you can click here and input your starting address.
I am VERY MUCH looking forward to meeting everyone!! As is Drain Bead!
To quote what I said to Flyp last night, when he asked for complaints:
“Flyp, does this place have alcohol?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s FINE.”
:D:)
D’arcy’s Pint is also a good restaurant. From what I understand, they have a room in the back for large parties. The prices are reasonable and the food is good - the horseshoes are fantastic, if anyone wants to try some native food.
Saputo’s downtown is good and a really good, really great price Mexican place is Xochimilco (so-she-mil-co).
Flyp, want me to help out with some arrangements? Lemme know. You can e-mail me at: TibsTanglewood@aol.com.
Tibs