I’d be interested, mostly to meet the other Tally/N FL Dopers. There’s about half dozen or more Tally Dopers floating around, but I rarely see any of them post, besides myself and XJetGirlX.
For the record, Orlando is too far for me, but I’d be willing to drive a couple hours toward FairyChatMom (who I’ve always wanted to meet).
Might I suggest the State Park at Live Oakas a good North Florida compromise? It’s north of Gainesville, off I-10 but near I-75, and would be central between Tally and Jax. If there are any Pensacola/Ft. Walton/Other Panhandle Dopers… y’all oughta speak up, ya know?
I think South Florida Dopers (my definition: anything south of The Mouse) should organize their own. Of course, you’d be welcome to come to a N FL dopefest… but I suspect Miami Dopers would not be willing to drive 6 hours or more for a dopefest. YMMV
Dogzilla - you’re reading my mind! I was looking at state parks north of Gainesville. The charge to get in is minimal - no more than $6 for a carload - and they’ve got decent facilities. I’ll even bring extra bug repellent if necessary!
I’m booked for Mother’s Day weekend and Memorial weekend - beyond that, I’m free so far.
I may be able to go if it’s in North/Central Florida. If it’s near Gainesville, ok for me. Of course, I have no car, so method of transportation will be Greyhound or feet. Pretty much most of the summer I’m available.
Okay – Copa and I talked it over, and I looked at the calendar, and here’s the tentative brainstorm I had:
N. FloriDope: Suwannee State Park in Live Oak, FL on I-10 near I-75 (thanks for the link, Dogzilla!) We could have it on a Saturday, maybe afternoonish. Everyone bring their own picnic, water guns, frisbees, etc. Entrance fees will be minimal.
Central FloriDope: If we want to go the State Park route again there’s Wekiwa Springs in Apopka. I’m not sure if they’ve got any special attractions or whatnot, but I figure there’s got to be picnic tables, restrooms, etc. I’ll check into that if it sounds good to you guys. I’m thinking it would be nice to have this one over a three day weekend, like Labor Day weekend. Copa and I will likely be attending both, and we’ll need some travel time. I assume also that the bulk of people will be attending this one too, and we may need to allow for more travel time. Since Orlando has a lot of sights to offer, we may want to do an afternoon picnic and maybe go to a restaurant or bar later in the evening. I’ll need help from someone in the area to scout locations.
For all of you who have posted in this thread, I’ve already compiled e-mail addresses and will be contacting you soon, but I’d like to ask that anyone interested (even if you’re not sure) please e-mail me through the link in my profile. I’ll need to know what area is easier for you to get to, and what (if any) date / time restrictions you have.
I’ll also look up email addresses for Geobabe and Unclebill in case they miss this thread. Oh, and if you know of other dopers in the area, point them to this thread!
Slooooooow hamsters. As I noted in the SDMB LJ, we would be most interested in Orlando, though if it’s after July, we may no longer be Florida residents.
I am also booked up for Memorial Day, so I’m hoping for a non-holiday weekend.
And if the timing is just right and planets all aligned properly, I may just bring along one of the IRL Dogzillas… or even both of 'em. (Dogs are allowed in State Parks as long as they are leashed.)
And yes, JBSettle Live Oak is about an hour from Tally, more if you drive slow.
Allright. So far I’ve only gotten e-mail from g8rguy, so I guess my best bet is just to send out an e-mail to all who have expressed interest. Look for it in the next day or two. So far we’ve figured out:
OrlanDope needs to be before Geobabe and Unclebill move, so June would work.
N. FlaDope can be any time except for Mother’s Day and Memorial day weekend.
Heh… it just has to figure. In about a week and a half, I’m leaving Tallahassee to go work down in South Florida for the summer. I’ll be back up in late August for school, though. Oh well, maybe another time, then… or maybe the Tally dopers could meet up sometime when I’m back in town and not in crunch time for finals.
Dopefest in O-Town? That would be very cool. I would travel if necessary.
Another park idea might be Turkey Lake Park over off of Hiawassee. There is a disc (frisbee) golf course if anyone likes that. The Wekiwa Springs is beautiful.
OK, pencil me in.
I’m in Jax - just a few miles downriver from FCM.
That park in Live Oak is nice, went with PlanDaughter to a RenFair a couple weeks ago (don’t laugh - Huzzah!).
PlanWife won’t be able to go - too much walking for her - so I gotta avoid anything around July 11 (anniversary). But most of the rest of the summer seems pretty open for me.
This post is about a month late, I know, but I’m moving to Florida June 1st and I’d love to attend any Dopefest after that date. Orlando would be my preferred location, but I might consider going elsewhere.
I was just thinking about this thread the other day - wondering if the gathering had fizzled. I’m still interested and I’ll have lots of free time once I get the kid settled in Baltimore over Memorial Day weekend.
Having read so many after-the-fest threads, I wanna be able to contribute to one. So, what’s the deal?? Paging XJETGIRLX!!
