Go Play PDX at the beach 2010

[Jake Richmond]

Here's my proposal. This could either be separate from Mikes Nerdly event or the same thing. Either way is fine with me, but this is what I want to do. Important: This is for 2010, not this summer!

What: Story Game Camp.
When: Summer 2010, most likely August.
Where: Cape Lookout State Park
Accommodations: Yurts ($30/per night. Sleeps 5), Cabins ($66/per night, sleeps 5), Tents ($16/per night). Also has a reservable group hall and picnic shelter.

My fantasy: Cape Lookout is about an hour and a half from Portland, right on the ocean. We can drive down in groups, with people coming and going as they need to. We reserve a mess of yurts for a weekend or week. We can share yurts, and spend our time enjoying the beach, cooking, goofing around and playing games. Each yurt site has a picnic table, as well as a small interior table. Nick and i explored the camp site last summer and we think it will be perfect.

Cost: The yurts are $30 a night. Split that between a few people and you get a pretty cheap weekend. Food and gas are costs we have to consider, but we can save money by carpooling and group cooking. Or not.

Showers and real toilets: The site has both!

Programming: I'm seeing this as a pretty casual event. Bring your kids and your non-gamer family and friends if you want. Those of us who want to game can play as much as we want. Maybe we can organize and schedule some stuff beforehand if we want. Those of us who just want to camp can camp. I'll be looking forward to playing at least two games every day! And riding my bike. And fucking around in the ocean.

What we need to do:

-Figure out who is interested. Let's see a show of hands.
-Decide on a date. I like Gencon weekend.
-Reserve the space. Yurts can be reserved 9 months in advance, and they go fast.
-Decide on how long we want to stay. I'd love to do an entire week, and let people come and go as they please.
-Talk about how we want to handle food.
-Talk about transportation.
-Talk about what kind of experience we want, and how to get it.

Okay? Okay!

Here's the Cape Lookout link: http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_186.php

And the yurt info (scroll down the page): http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/rustic.shtml

[icyravens]

Gaming + ocean + camping + hanging with my buddies? This sounds freaking awesome. Really. :}

I'll help plan/organize through the fall/winter if people are interested in doing this.

[Jake Richmond]

Gaming + ocean + camping + hanging with my buddies? This sounds freaking awesome. Really. :}

I'll help plan/organize through the fall/winter if people are interested in doing this.

You're hired!

[Jake Richmond]

Also, we can have t-shirts.

[Skull]

Never done a summer camp before. sounds fun. Can we sing the Salute your Shorts theme song?

i am interested in this though, i will bring it up with my wife.

[elegua]

My partner, myself, and my dog are all in.

I'm thinking I would prefer to swing a Thursday through Monday shift and would be interested in sharing meal preparation with people.

[Skull]

I just realized that i might not be able to do this since i will be in school during that time of year. If it was in july then maybe, but Augest is a little harder to do.

[Julian]

Unless something really important comes up, I'm so in.

[nemomeme]

I switched from MLC to Fernwood halfway through 6th grade so I got to do Outdoor School twice and then go back in high school as a counselor.  Did the OMSI camp thing too.  I am so down for at least four nights.

And I've always wanted to stay in a yurt since hearing about Laurie Anderson's experience with them.

[NPC]

Fuck. Yeah!

I'm so in.

My own groups have been debating doing something like this for years.

EDIT: Although, if you do it on the GenCon weekend, I might not make it. I've been dying to go to that Convention for years, and next year is my target.

[Jake Richmond]

We'll see about Gencon weekend. If enough people feel the weekend is bad (you and Skull so far) then there's no reason we can't do it another time.

[NPC]

We'll see about Gencon weekend. If enough people feel the weekend is bad (you and Skull so far) then there's no reason we can't do it another time.

How about earlier in the summer, when it isn't quite as hot?

[Jake Richmond]

I'm hesitant about early summer for a few reasons, mostly because of Origins and Go Play NW, which many of us attend. But this is totally open for discussion. Gencon weekend was just an idea.

[elegua]

July and August are the best months to avoid rain on the coast and also the heat makes playing in the admittedly frigid water a bit more tolerable. I very highly suggest doing this during the heat of summer for these reasons. Coast temperatures will probably be in the 70s F (Low 20s C), so it should be a break from the inland heat which so frequently happens during this time.

Avoiding July 4th, GPNW, and PAX I think are important considerations. Straddling a weekend is also key. I'm curious about how avoiding school time is going to work out.

Here are the weekends to base things around. If folks know how to find these dates already, please say something.

June 26, 27 (GPNW?)
July 3, 4 (holiday, probably out)
July 10, 11
July 17, 18
July 24, 25
July 31, August 1
August 7, 8
August 14, 15 (probable GenCon weekend?)
August 21, 22
August 28, 29 (school starting for some?, possible PAX 11?)

[NPC]

Personally, if we're in a yurt, i'm not overly concerned about Rain. Maybe I'm alone in this sentiment, but I find that rain makes fantastic gaming weather. Hell, inclement weather of all types inspires the mind - or at least mine =)

Why avoid July 4th? I think BBQs plus Gaming plus not having to be surrounded by crazy redneck fireworks sounds fantastic!