TR Forums

Here's a shot from last night of a stretch where folks don't have any beach at all...

Got a fancy sign to put by the road for the BBQ courtesy of my sister.

Also the shirts arrived today!

WOW!! Love the sign!

And thus begins hell week.

Kidding if I did not enjoy this I would not do it. Still there is a lot of work that began last night with the procuring of supplies. Prepping begins tonight!!

Yes there is currently 18 slabs of ribs sitting in my fridge.

Okay, maybe I'm not reading it, but... where is this taking place? I've never been to one, I've always wanted to, and I might be able to do it this year...

Holland, Michigan. Anyone who confirmed that they were coming received a PM with additional details from drfish. Never too late to sign up if you think you can make it, though you'll likely have to sleep on the floor, in a tent, or get a hotel room at this point.

Aaargh!

This is so much fun, but I am entertaining my sister locally, so no chance to make the BBQ. BBQ the 13th however... I'm gonna hafta make the next one!

A_Pickle wrote:

Okay, maybe I'm not reading it, but... where is this taking place? I've never been to one, I've always wanted to, and I might be able to do it this year...

LMK if you want the standard PM with the address if you think you can make it.

Meanwhile...

I converted the other two camera to mobile versions, check it out:





They will all be capable of being stationary of course (gotta make a stand for the steadicam one though) so if no one cares to take them around they are still useful. Anyone that wants to try one out can do so, just talk to me first for a couple basic guidelines to follow.

Cool sign!!

Leaving home for Erie, PA now.

See you soon!

Wow, Fish, that is the exact carpeting my workplace has. Too weird. Am I gonna have to wear a tie now?


Turns out I've been lied to. Up till this point, I thought it was superb luck that my girlfriend asked to go on a roadtrip through Michigan in August, and that it just so happened the TR barbecue fits that criteria. Turns out she knew all along and planned it that way. She's a keeper!


Fish, I'm rearranging my departure time to see if I can get in earlier, maybe even make dinner. If we leave at 6:30 am tomorrow, we can make lunch at an Indonesian restaurant in Madison just as they open at 11 am. Drive from Madison to Holland is five hours, add 60-90 minutes for traffic and gas stops and we'll arrive 6-6:30 central, or 7-7:30 pm eastern time. Is that too late for the pizza and sushi?

Good news is that this would put me through Chicago around 2:30 pm, hopefully before rush hour. Alternatively, there's a "high speed ferry" across the lake. I'm investigating the price. If I don't take the ferry, I have to think about toll roads. I'm wondering if I need to pick up loads of change and add travel time for tollbooths, or if I can just drive through them without a gadget and just pay on a website. Anyone know?

The "high speed ferry" would cost us $272 including the car and two passengers one-way. But save us mileage. My little car gets pretty good mileage per quart of rice wine I put in the tank. I'm estimating $12 in gas for driving the extra distance around Lake Michigan, plus whatever tolls cost. Surely less than $200. Travel time is approximately the same either way, but more variability driving depending on traffic, construction, and tollbooths.

I have tomorrow off so I plan on heading across state around midday or earlier. I want to visit a locale over there then get some last minute shopping done. I should be there for dinner by 6.

Hmm, I can avoid toll roads completely if I drive an extra 50 miles/40 minutes near Ottawa. Doesn't sound good for making dinner in time, but I wouldn't have to stop at tollbooths, and I'm avoiding most of Chicago (and Chicago traffic) that way. Thoughts?

Don't do the ferry if you're looking for a practical solution. It could be fun if you just want a cool experience though.

I don't think you'll have an problem arriving by 7 PM coming through Chicago - I bet that would make you guys some of the earlier arrivals.

Also, shirts!

Shirts look good!

What time will the pizza and sushi be going down?

Depends on who is here when... It certainly won't be any earlier than 7:30 or so.

My kid catches you calling her Tiny, and you're liable to get a beatdown.

I didn't know which one it was for!

So another new thing for this year that I've wanted to do for awhile... I setup the stream to include an area for people to sit and interact with the chat. Now I don't want anyone actually using my laptop - but if you sit on the couch you will be on camera and the audio seems to work pretty well so you can talk with people that are watching the stream without messing with my computer.

As usual, I will pick up chips and some all-ages beverages. I will also see if I can get a good deal on hot dogs and buns for the Saturday night bonfire as I have done in the past.

As usual, I will have some systems for the swap meet. I have some reasonable LCD panels this year too (a 20" and a 24") and two enterprise lasers (HP LaserJet 600 M601 and a Dell Color 3110cn) and various sundries.

List updated!

Remember all that beach we had 4 days ago?

Well about half of it is gone now...




Also the water is super cold now.

Crazy lake... Double cliffs are pretty cool though.

Double cliff + the 3rd little dropoff near the water's edge is just bizarre. Mother Nature is crazy sometimes.

I have the day off tomorrow. The plan is to go through the hoard to find PC parts to sell or give away, keg a batch of homebrewed beer to bring, make a commercial beer run, and gather up all the other stuff I need to bring (beer dispensing gear, sleeping bag, tent, etc.)

Hey fishy, will there be WiFi access down on the beach this year? (This may influence my decision whether to attempt camping on the beach overnight. )

Edit: OTOH, WiFi is down the list compared to the need to haul a tent and bedding down (and up) the cliffs -- plural this year! -- and getting the sand out of everything afterwards. Will probably just camp in the yard or on the couch/floor in the cottage per usual.

I didn't end up putting any effort into getting WiFi all the way down to beach level. I have the same coverage as last hear so a strong signal all the way to the top of the stairs but not down. If someone brings a repeater or a router we can bridge from then we can set it up day of.

drfish wrote:

I didn't end up putting any effort into getting WiFi all the way down to beach level. I have the same coverage as last hear so a strong signal all the way to the top of the stairs but not down. If someone brings a repeater or a router we can bridge from then we can set it up day of.

You posted as I edited. Y'know... it is probably a good thing to not have WiFi down on the beach. I think it would kill the vibe if half of the people there are surfing on their smartphones (and you know this would happen).

So I am confirmed for coming. Woot! I work Friday night so I'll be driving in from Chicago Saturday morning.
Gotta leave early Sunday morning.

Hypothetical dumb question, but if I decided to drive in after work would someone be up to let me in around 1am?
Probably won't happen, but am considering it.

Also I think we should have a sand castle building contest.

Glad you're coming!

I'm sure someone will be awake.

See you soon!

Kharnellius wrote:

So I am confirmed for coming. Woot! I work Friday night so I'll be driving in from Chicago Saturday morning.
Gotta leave early Sunday morning.

Hypothetical dumb question, but if I decided to drive in after work would someone be up to let me in around 1am?
Probably won't happen, but am considering it.

Also I think we should have a sand castle building contest.

Awesome! It won't be locked. However all the beds are spoken for at this point so plan on either sleeping on the couch, the floor, or in a tent since it sounds like your planning on staying at the cottage.

I love the idea of a sandcastle contest! We'll have to see if we can wrangle that together or if it will have to wait for next year. It's already such a packed day, goes so fast!

Only 413 miles today and all highway (yesterday was 478 miles, 200 of which was Adirondack back roads), combined with a stop in the suburban Cleveland MicroCenter to see if I can score a reasonably-priced semi-gaming laptop for daughter. It'll give me something to do in the hotel room in de-crapifying the thing (if I find one).

Let's hope it's bacon day downstairs at the Hampton breakfast.

So my sister got 4 boxes of "junk" from her work that we're going to have up for grabs at the BBQ. I was looking though it this morning and there are a few real gems in there! A lot of the best stuff is only locally relevant but it's still cool to look through - and there's plenty for everyone!

Thanks sis! Between the shirts, sign, and goodies Graphix really came through for us!