As finances are a concern for people.. something to keep in mind. During Spring Break, plane ticket prices go WAY up, unless they are bought early.

Its too early for me to plan that far ahead, so either is possible.

Sounds like fun. I can drive for that.

Who wants to lend me their floor in Chicago?

voted for both, because afaik either is doable.

I am totally planning on going, already looking forward to it :)

Most likely bringing the bf with (who *is* a tfp-er, just a new one ;) )

not sure how we'd get there yet ... but i'm certain we'd need some cheap accomodations.
we're both small, woudn't take up too much space ;)

SiNi, our place is cheap...it's free even. I don't think jj would mind if you guys crashed here. :D

The red couch isn't taken yet ;)
Oh yea and we have an air matress and a futon. We can easily sleep 5 people in our place.

I'd like to reserve a space then, Shesus, if you still have spaces open. PM sent.

ok even thou i have spring break i still probbaly have to work in the weekend. but i will try to find someone if possiblely sub me i hope i can find someone to do that . weekend means sat or sunday ?
both are ok with me since i will be in chicago anyway :) love to go heheheh but i am not 21 yet find something to do for me ! please lol i have 6 more months to wait on

once you guys get a date, I can book my ticket. I love getting free flights :)

I must amend my vote. I did not consider the babysitter possibilities before voting. It seems Dei37's parents will be free the weekend of March 18-19th. This does not mean that we could not make it on the second weekend but it will take more work to find a sitter for that one.

As long as we can plan this long in advance she SHOULD not have any trouble at all. We are looking forward to getting to meet some of you in person.

So, I took a peek at my bank account.

Unless I make a whole lot of money before then, I can't make it to either weekend.

Alright, the poll has been open for nearly 3 weeks and the votes are in! With the exception of just one person (sorry ruggerp11, hope you can still make it!), everyone who voted for the second weekend also voted for the first, bringing the vote count, effectively, to 13-1 for the weekend of March 18-19! (You can see this by clicking on any of the links for the number of votes in the poll if you've voted since I made it an open poll.)

Now it's time to move on to the other details. Who will definitely be there, who wants to make it but needs to carpool, etc. Also, what will we do?! :crazy: If anyone has suggestions on good locations to meet and hang out, now is the time to start letting us know. There are many different ways in which we can do this, and that's why we're having the discussion now, 3 months in advance, so that we can explore many ideas.

So, I'll start off by saying that onodrim and I will definitely be there. As for where to meet....that's going to take a bit more thought :)

Yea! I can't wait until March now. I'll start looking for affordable places to go and things to do.

As for a meeting place, we are right in the middle of downtown. We can secure a guest suite for about $125 a night and it sleeps 4 people, but if people don't mind crashing on the floor, it could sleep more. This is cheaper than a hotel for the most part and can be split up affordably. JJ and I also have room for 4+ people although SiNi has already requested the red couch ;)

I know that a couple people have asked already so jj and I will decide later who will crash here. We have a futon and an air matress. You can PM me if you are interested in the suite or our place.

Ideas are super and fun times are had in Chicago. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

As far as things to do, I rounded up a few possible dinner options ranging in type of food and price. They all are generally friendly to big groups and a lively social environment. Rather than describe each one myself in detail, here are the websites, take a look for yourselves. I'm definently not trying to say these are the only options, there is so much more of course! Just wanted to get a feel out for what people are maybe looking for. :)

http://www.fogodechao.com/
http://www.cafeiberico.com/
http://www.maggianos.com/
http://www.sopranosrestaurant.com/

and as far as i know, i'mma still planning on using it, so keep my spot reserved, please :D

Ono, all of those with the exception of Soprano's are within walking distance from our apartment. That's very cool. I like any type of food with the exception of Inidan and sushi...I know I'm a weirdo. :o So we will let the visitor's decide once we get the tentative list :)
There are also other steakhouses closer to us if that's the consensus of the group. Some other places that could be an option too. I hope I don't overload the choices here :)

Ben Pao: http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/d...0,753299.venue
Rock Bottom: http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/d...,7770251.venue
The Kerryman: http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/d...,3970316.venue

Oh and SiNi, I put the no reservation sign up for the red couch ;)

http://www.blendchicago.com/fogodechao.html
A review of Fogo De Chao because I've always found it to be an intriguing place. On one hand, it may be a bit pricey for some people (including ono and I) at about $50 per person for dinner. On the other hand, if you read the review you'll understand why - it's all the meat you can eat!!! :crazy:

EDIT: Because I was apparently not clear, I don't really think this place would be a good idea ;) A Bit expensive for a meetup. I forget which one it is, but shesus suggested a place below that sounds like it might be good. Decent prices, pool tables, etc.

Since it's a good 3 months away I can't really say what I'll be doing right then, but school pending there's no reason I won't be there considering in live in the dang city an all :)

Although I can't say for certain quite yet, I would be very interested in meeting up with you guys face to face.

I am located in Green Bay, WI - so if anyone needed a ride, I'll probably be taking I-43 South to I-94 East. If you aren't too far off the beaten path, I'd be happy to pick you up. However, a warning - my car is pretty damn small, so if you have a ton of luggage, it probably won't fit. Also, although my car technically seats four, anyone sitting in the backseat would likely be very uncomfortable, so if more than one person wants to come that'd be fine, but don't say I didn't warn you :D

OK, I thought I'd make a preliminary guest list:

Spectre, SecretMethod, Onodrim, Toaster, JumpinJesus, KonichiwaNeko, Toaster

Possibly: SiNi, Analog, Tecoyah, VitaminH, NoSoup

If anyone else is interested PM me and let me know your plans. It's going to be on the weekend of March 18. Hope to hear from you soon....
Also, SiNi, Amonkie, and KonichiwaNeko are the only ones I know of staying here. Let me know if you need a place to crash...

Everyone should note Shesus is so excited to be meeting me she put my name twice. :)

:lol: Oops. Actually one of those was supposed to be amonkie, but due to multi-tasking (aka chatting) I must have made the error. Not that I'm not excited to meet you.

True, but I got top billing. :D

Okay, i'm tenatively in. :)

woot, i can't believe i'm going to fly halfway across the country to meet people... but what the heck, you're all so damn cool :D :icare:

trying to see if we can still crash on shesus's and j.j's couch :)

sweetpea

if bear hug sweetpea is going, I'll ask the crush if she wants to go and meet you guys :) I'm still in.

holy crap! you must, i insist. we'll be nice to her i promise... we won't tease her too much ;) :D

yeah! i'm looking forward to finally meeting you Koni!

sweetpea

Thanks to the lovely Shesus and J.J. for letting us crash at their place... (two of the nicest people in the world!)

I'm coming ! :D so excited, can't wait to meet all of you!!! :icare:

:)

sweetpea

Looking forward to meeting you too sweetpea. :)

I know shesus tried to start this a few posts ago, but it would really be helpful to get an accurate count of who is coming, who is not, etc.

From both the poll and thread this is who I have as yes atm:
amonkie
analog
asaris
JumpinJesus
kylie
Latch
maleficent
onodrim
reanna74
SecretMethod70
shesus
SiN plus 1
spectre
Toaster126
Konichiwaneko
VitaminH
NoSoup
sweetpea plus 1
and a maybe for UsTwo.

So - please reply and say one way or the other. :) And also if you still need car pooling, a place to stay, advice on how to get here, etc.

You are the second beautiful woman to have told me that today :icare: :)

Also... it's sweetpea plus 1 :)

sweetpea

I'm still looking to make plans for a place to stay so if anyone wants to discuss that with me, feel free to PM me.

We have a good group coming. Can't wait. :)

Looking forward to meeting you all; it sounds like fun!

Okay, well, i just bought my airline ticket... spent an arm and a leg... and they also asked for my first-born child ;) ... however... it's just money and i'll make more :D

I'm showing up on friday afternoon and i'm so thrilled to be able to meet all of you who are coming! :icare:


sweetpea
sweetpea

Sweety, where do you fly from? And what time are you getting in.

I'll probably be getting a car and flying into midway so if you guys need a ride I don't mind. I'm about to book my flight also.

We're getting in at 1:45pm C. time ... and yeah, we can ride with you if it'll save J.J and Shesus from picking us up :D

sweetpea

Sweetpea, you're going to look kind of funny missing an arm and a leg, but I'm glad that you can make it. ;)

And if neko can pick you up that's fine, but we really wouldn't mind the trip if necessary.

What a birthday weekend I'm going to have :D I get to spend it with some of my favorite TFPers.

I feel special :icare:

Yes indeedy, thanks for reminding me... you Need to tell us what you want for your birthday! :)

sweetpea

Silly Shesus you are special. In a non mental way. argh...that was meant as a compliment!

Anyways. Sure thing. Actually Sweety is it O'hare or Midway you are flying into? Airtran only flies into Midway so if that's the case then SheShe will have to pick you up.

I'll be renting something that can break through the ghetto of the midway area...while also stopping at a 7eleven for some random item.

drat. i'm flying into O'hare :/ so Shesus, you'll have to pick us up puullleaaasseeeee :D :icare:

sweetpea

hey now, onodrim or I can meet people at airports too. I'm pretty sure I'll be free then.

okay, let me rephrase and i was just going off what shesus said, i didn't know anyone else was free... getting picked up would be great, doesn't matter who and i'll buy you lunch :)

sweetpea