Mr Anonymous
Tire Wall
With exactly 4 weeks to go until everyone starts arriving in Memphis, it's time to get a list of NESHOC folks (really anyone from the New England area) planning on attending the convention and participating in our annual caravan.
CURRENT PLAN
The current plan is to leave at 5:00 AM on Saturday July 15th from Northeast SHO in Spencer, MA. The total trip from Spencer to Memphis is about 1300 miles and should take just over 21 hours of total driving. As of right now, we are planning on spending Saturday night just east of Nashville, TN, which is just about 18 hours and just under 1000 miles from Spencer. If all goes as planned, we're expecting to have a pre-convention bash on Saturday night at Rick Glass' house and then complete the trip to Memphis (about 3 more hours) on Sunday afternoon. Once in Nashville folks will have two options for accommodations: 1. Pitch a tent and camp out in Rick's yard (free); or 2. Stay at the local Comfort Inn (under a mile from Rick's, about $70/night): Comfort Inn Mt. Juliet. If the bash at Rick's house doesn't pan out, we'll get a plan together with everyone to see who prefers to drive straight through to Memphis in one shot and those who want to break the trip up into two days -- this will ultimately be Kirk's decision!
WHAT TO EXPECT
Our departure time is exact, or pretty damn close, so please plan on being ready to leave Spencer promptly at 5:00AM. If you can't won't make it to Spencer on time, we'll try to meet up with you along the way but don't expect us to wait around. Once we're on the road, we'll make periodic stops for fuel, food, and to meet anyone joining us along the way. One of the main advantages of caravanning together in addition to the safety of numbers is that if anyone runs into mechanical problems we handle it as a group, either finding a quick way to get the car back on the road, or if we have to leave it somewhere safe and pick it up on the way back home. Kirk will have his truck and trailer, and there may be one or two other trailers making the trip as well. For the trip home, we'll probably leave early on Friday morning. Much like last year, everyone who caravans out together probably won't end up doing the same on the way home, and we'll probably have people join us on the way home who didn't on the way out.
OUR ROUTE
Our current route takes us via I-84 from MA through CT and NY to I-81 in Scranton, PA. From Scranton, we'll be taking I-81 all the way to Knoxville where we'll take I-40 for the rest of the trip.
Even if you're nowhere near Spencer, if you're planning on going and will be traveling via the same route, you can JOIN US ALONG THE WAY! Just post here and let us know where you plan on meeting us.
"WHAT IF I CAN'T AFFORD IT?" or "WHAT IF MY CAR ISN'T READY?"
As some may remember, last year barely 2 weeks before the convention, my '97 was rear-ended on the expressway in Boston. Since there was no way to get the body work done and have the car ready for the trip, I left it at home. I started out the caravan driving a used Sable for Joseph van Oss that he bought on eBay, but the transmission quit just into NY so we left it behind and I traveled the remainder of the trip with Kirk and Cote (perfect example of how the caravan stopped until we could figure out what to do about Joseph's car). On the way to Indy, I got together with Ian and Reka and we decided to split a room. When all was said and done, the entire week ended up costing me about $500 which was a damn cheap way to have a fantastic week-long vacation with a bunch of crazy SHO people.
So, if you don't think you can afford the trip or don't feel your car is ready to make the ~2600 mile round-trip, use this thread to network with others who are going to arrange riding along and chipping in on the fuel costs as well as splitting/sharing a room with others. Going it alone, figure on about $400 round-trip gas, $500 hotel, $100 food, plus any convention activities you plan on attending (at least sign up for the banquet, even if you won't be participating in the other events -- that way you can attend the events as a spectator). For the average person going it alone, the entire weeks' vacation should cost under $1200. If you're able to share a ride and hotel rooms, this could easily be closer to $500 for the week.
If you haven't registered for the convention yet, please do so ASAP via the SHO Club website.
WHY SHOULD I GO?
The convention is a great chance to meet a bunch of (some famous and infamous!) SHO people from around the country (and Canada) including forum members, see a bunch of really nice SHO's, and have a great time! It's really a vacation spent with a bunch of people with the same interests.
ROLL CALL
If you're planning on attending the convention and caravanning with our group, please post your info in this thread. If you're looking to travel with someone and/or share a hotel room please include that as well.
Here's the list of people who will be caravanning and I'll edit it to keep it current as needed:
1. Kirk and Cote D.
2. Chris A.
3. Ian M. and Reka Z. (meeting us in Scranton)
CURRENT PLAN
The current plan is to leave at 5:00 AM on Saturday July 15th from Northeast SHO in Spencer, MA. The total trip from Spencer to Memphis is about 1300 miles and should take just over 21 hours of total driving. As of right now, we are planning on spending Saturday night just east of Nashville, TN, which is just about 18 hours and just under 1000 miles from Spencer. If all goes as planned, we're expecting to have a pre-convention bash on Saturday night at Rick Glass' house and then complete the trip to Memphis (about 3 more hours) on Sunday afternoon. Once in Nashville folks will have two options for accommodations: 1. Pitch a tent and camp out in Rick's yard (free); or 2. Stay at the local Comfort Inn (under a mile from Rick's, about $70/night): Comfort Inn Mt. Juliet. If the bash at Rick's house doesn't pan out, we'll get a plan together with everyone to see who prefers to drive straight through to Memphis in one shot and those who want to break the trip up into two days -- this will ultimately be Kirk's decision!
WHAT TO EXPECT
Our departure time is exact, or pretty damn close, so please plan on being ready to leave Spencer promptly at 5:00AM. If you can't won't make it to Spencer on time, we'll try to meet up with you along the way but don't expect us to wait around. Once we're on the road, we'll make periodic stops for fuel, food, and to meet anyone joining us along the way. One of the main advantages of caravanning together in addition to the safety of numbers is that if anyone runs into mechanical problems we handle it as a group, either finding a quick way to get the car back on the road, or if we have to leave it somewhere safe and pick it up on the way back home. Kirk will have his truck and trailer, and there may be one or two other trailers making the trip as well. For the trip home, we'll probably leave early on Friday morning. Much like last year, everyone who caravans out together probably won't end up doing the same on the way home, and we'll probably have people join us on the way home who didn't on the way out.
OUR ROUTE
Our current route takes us via I-84 from MA through CT and NY to I-81 in Scranton, PA. From Scranton, we'll be taking I-81 all the way to Knoxville where we'll take I-40 for the rest of the trip.
Even if you're nowhere near Spencer, if you're planning on going and will be traveling via the same route, you can JOIN US ALONG THE WAY! Just post here and let us know where you plan on meeting us.
"WHAT IF I CAN'T AFFORD IT?" or "WHAT IF MY CAR ISN'T READY?"
As some may remember, last year barely 2 weeks before the convention, my '97 was rear-ended on the expressway in Boston. Since there was no way to get the body work done and have the car ready for the trip, I left it at home. I started out the caravan driving a used Sable for Joseph van Oss that he bought on eBay, but the transmission quit just into NY so we left it behind and I traveled the remainder of the trip with Kirk and Cote (perfect example of how the caravan stopped until we could figure out what to do about Joseph's car). On the way to Indy, I got together with Ian and Reka and we decided to split a room. When all was said and done, the entire week ended up costing me about $500 which was a damn cheap way to have a fantastic week-long vacation with a bunch of crazy SHO people.
So, if you don't think you can afford the trip or don't feel your car is ready to make the ~2600 mile round-trip, use this thread to network with others who are going to arrange riding along and chipping in on the fuel costs as well as splitting/sharing a room with others. Going it alone, figure on about $400 round-trip gas, $500 hotel, $100 food, plus any convention activities you plan on attending (at least sign up for the banquet, even if you won't be participating in the other events -- that way you can attend the events as a spectator). For the average person going it alone, the entire weeks' vacation should cost under $1200. If you're able to share a ride and hotel rooms, this could easily be closer to $500 for the week.
If you haven't registered for the convention yet, please do so ASAP via the SHO Club website.
WHY SHOULD I GO?
The convention is a great chance to meet a bunch of (some famous and infamous!) SHO people from around the country (and Canada) including forum members, see a bunch of really nice SHO's, and have a great time! It's really a vacation spent with a bunch of people with the same interests.
ROLL CALL
If you're planning on attending the convention and caravanning with our group, please post your info in this thread. If you're looking to travel with someone and/or share a hotel room please include that as well.
Here's the list of people who will be caravanning and I'll edit it to keep it current as needed:
1. Kirk and Cote D.
2. Chris A.
3. Ian M. and Reka Z. (meeting us in Scranton)
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