Re: Aqua's comment on the timing:
One issue with Memorial Day weekend is that a lot of people make other plans, which could translate into less attendance. People on the quarter system (like me!) won't actually be out of school. And even if you do work or attend school, you still have time to make a good weekend trip out of town.
The other major consideration is cost. If the off-season price is minimum of about $350/night for three nights, plus tax and cleaning deposit, we're looking at an event cost of about $1500. To bring the per person cost under $100, we'd need to get at least 15 people to attend. I'm optimistic that we can make that happen, but if I were taking the financial risk on it, I'd want that risk to be as small as possible.
Re: Lee's comment about why we'd want to make this so difficult!
😀
I'm hoping the SoCal folks do get a munch or two together in Jan/Feb.
🙂 I'd be reluctant to start plotting a big joint event without that happening. Lee's absolutely right: it's the easiest thing in the world for someone to set a date, time, and place, and lo and behold, you're making friends! So take a little initiative - it's well worth it!
As for us NorCal youngsters... we've been getting together about monthly for a good few years now. Our events aren't age-segregated, but most of our core gatherings group happens to be age 18-35, and if I might say so, I think we're pretty tight. Several of us have already talked about it, and there's a lot of enthusiasm for a weekend away together. It would be even better if we could meet some more new people while we're at it.
BagelFather and I planned a weekender in the Santa Cruz mountains a few years ago, and it was an amazingly fun experience: living together, cooking together, hot-tubbing and tickling for days.
I've had the idea of organizing a similar such event simmering in the back of my mind for a while, and this feels like it could be an excellent opportunity. That said, Bagel and I did get burned to the tune of a few hundred dollars the last time we did this, due to lower than expected attendance, so I certainly am looking for momentum from a few smaller events down south before taking the plunge!