Some more Gettysdope pictures: Photo Storage
We made it back to Philly safe and sound. Sorry we didn’t stick around and help clean up – but not as sorry as I would be if I were a better person…
The Doorses also made it home safe and sound.
We had a great time. Aaron loved the playground equipment; he pretended it was a pirate ship. He had a great time playing with mudgirl, too.
Looking forward to next year!
Robin
Oh, sure…take my picture when I’m deep in the throes of the knitter’s constant conundrum: “Where the hell did those stitches come from?!”
Crap. I was in Gettysburg yesterday, purely by chance. I guess I really should have checked the dates on this dopefest, rather than assuming it happened already.
You were probably within three miles of what was, for five short hours, the center of Cecility in Pennsylvania, and you never even knew it!
For some reason, I was flashing on “The Thinker” instead. Of course I must have been wrong… 
I missed out on that discussion (one can’t be in all the conversations at once, unfortunately).
But I note the preceding juxtaposition, as well as the reality that beastly-hot weather isn’t exactly an unusual July phenomenon, and humbly submit that the discussants are batshit crazy. (Not that that’s news, but you know what I mean. :))
How about the third Saturday in June instead? Much better odds of decent weather.
RT, there was some discussion of June, but in PA, school doesn’t let out until the very end of June. Now, being a Marylander, June would be fine for me, and you’re right, the weather would likely be cooler. But the PA school system just doesn’t seem to work in favor of that.
BTW, you’re not just noticing now that we’re all batshit insane, are you? 
I’m just wondering here (usually a prelude to some obnoxious point) but why is it important that school be out? It’s a Saturday, folks. You can leave your home on a Saturday and get home before school starts again, right? If you’ve got to turn this into a weekday thing, I think you’re misconceiving what a one-day weekend event means.
May and June are cool, temperature, pleasant months in which travel and outdoor activities are often desirable. July and August are hot, extreme and often unpleasant months. That’s my reason for advocating them.
Obnoxiousness over.
I’m with pseudotriton ruber ruber on this. I’d appreciate it if someone would explain to us how the PA school calendar makes a June Gettysdope more problematic for PA Dopers with kids (or for anyone else, for that matter).
Like I said, “Not that that’s news.”
Well, I totally agree with RTFirefly and pseudotriton ruber ruber. I’d just as soon the weather was cooler, and there would be fewer bugs out. I believe it was Rubystreak who was advocating after school is out. I think she (and a few others) travel a distance, requiring more than one day of time.
But the fact is, I don’t think we’ll find any one weekend that everyone agrees is best.
danceswithcats, you might consider starting another thread (with link) because the MADs who couldn’t attend this year are probably not paying any attention to this thread.
I’m one with kids and I vote for “cooler”. My poor little ones wilting were the reason we had to leave early!
I did notice that the reason that pseud’s and my arrival was greeted with enthusiasm was mostly about the coolerful of bottled water we brought…
Why are all the ads about frogs?
I’m seeing a completely different set of ads. So the ones involving frogs must be geared specifically for you, and it makes me wonder what we don’t know about you.
I’m seeing ads about frogs, too.
As to the date for the next GettysDope–I was the one who suggested during the discussion that we consider having it earlier when the weather was cooler. Or maybe later (say, late October), also when the weather is cooler.
I supported the July date, for workplace politics reasons. I generally work weekends, and taking leave in June involves more conflicts. However, the Will of the Peepul should prevail. This decision was made, and can certainly be made over again. I do believe that the more distant dopers might have been under represented, and the vote not so very overwhelming seeing that several Distant Dopers had already left.
So, let the people speak out! Here, of course. And pretty damn quick, too. If you feel that the agreed upon date is bad, wrong, and unsuitable, post it here. Since the vote was at least a dozen in favor of July, you got to get a dozen posts at least to get a recount.
Deal?
Tris
I hope I’m not being counted as a vote towards July – I was “pro-angst” all the way. I’m really not clear why we need to set a date of the “it will always be X weekend” variety – we managed to come up with a date that worked okay for a lot of people starting from scratch each of the last three years. Looking back at my OP, I mentioned June, July, and August – I didn’t mention May, but neither did anyone else.
Why don’t we wait and figure this out next year, starting in March, and throwing May into the mix?