That’s why I’m a great manager. I can delegate anything, without people realizing it’s really being delegated. You’re doing an excellent job, by the way. AutoXer, welcome or congrats on the delurking! Thanks for the suggestion of Barley’s - it had crossed my mind, but I didn’t know they had the upstairs room and so I thought it’d likely be too loud.
Since we have some from pretty far out of town (but the GA dopers and Bamadopers are certainly welcome!), Saturday the 14th sounds like it’s likely a better date than Friday the 13th.
By the way, I didn’t make it clear in my previous post but I was trying to convince you to come to the KnoxDope in case no one warms up to the Gatlinburg idea. ** //\etalhea|)**. The more, the merrier!
That and if it’s large, that’s less conversation I’ll have to make.
Making the reservation in the name of the Cecil Adams party is a venerable but useful tradition.
Nametags really are a good idea, if you haven’t built up a critical mass of people who already know each other IRL, which is pretty much where you guys are. We had nametags at the early Dopefests in the DC/Balt area a few years back; ditto the Raleigh and Norfolk Dopefests I was at back in 2000. They still use nametags at the NYC Mega-Dopefest each January.
Now that you’ve got a tentative date, the next thing is for someone to go through the thread so far, and make a list of who said they were definites, probables, possibles, or however you want to break it down.
Then people can chime in that they were left off the list, or are really a maybe rather than a definite, and so forth. But that’s the best way to work toward an advance head count, so you know what to tell the folks at the restaurant.
Gatlinburg, on a Friday (preview: or Saturday) night in June? Ah, the joys of being in an interminable, slowly crawling line of cars on the winding road into town. Knoxville may not be quite as scenic, but at least you can get there before the sun goes supernova and swallows the inner Solar System.
For the rest of it, you’re on your own. I’m hoping a whole bunch of you show up and have a great time, so there’ll be another one I can attend, sometime. I’d say with 60 posts to this thread already, you’re off to a good start.
Thanks RTFirefly for all the great suggestions. And you are so right about traffic in sevier county. I work in Pigeon Forge, but luckily I know the back roads so not too much of a nightmare for me. Saturday June the 14th sounds good for me. That will give me plenty enough time to ask off for work. Hubby has one of those ideal 8-5 Mon-Fri job so it would work for him easy. I know where Barley’s is. I think in the Old City? Didn’t it used to be the Spaghetti Factory? Anyway. Anyplace is fine with us. We aren’t picky.
Saturday’s better for us. If it’s on Saturday, we might drive up Friday night, stay Saturday, hang out with you guys, then hie over to Chattanooga on Sunday. Hmm.
Maybes: AutoXer
evilbeth
fizzestothetop
impunha
JessEnigma
Joey G
Ludo
Max Carnage
MetalHead
Morelin
Nocturne & Reinhold Messner
ShadiRoxan
Slainte
Sophie
Count me and Pun in as definites. We’ll actually probably make a weekend of it. Stay in Pigeon Forge, drive to Knoxville on Saturday and then go back to PF that night. I’ve got a Dollywood season pass and I might as well put it to use.
Sure as hell beats driving to Knoxville and back in a day.
And as for eats, whereever you guys choose is cool with us. If we don’t do Calhouns Saturday then Pun and I can just eat at the one in Pigeon Forge on Sunday.
It wasn’t a distance thing, GB’s just such a cool place. I go there several times a year and just wanted to share the experience with my fellow dopers.
Mind you, I don’t go in for the Pigeon Forge-ey tacky crap, but rather the really nifty places in town in GB and the park. We love to rent the chalets up on Ski Mountain and chill in the hot tub and look at the trees.
Oh, Firefly is right about Gatlinburg and traffic in the summertime. Nightmarish.
Barley’s is an excellent suggestion, as it contains, in addition to the back room (which if it just contains us would be as loud or quiet as we went it to be) pool tables that rent by the hour, a foosball table, and dart boards. Drunk dopers hurtling pointy objects? How can you go wrong?
Knoxville may not be quite as scenic, but at least you can get there before the sun goes supernova and swallows the inner Solar System.
