Brought back by popular demand and a cry of "Carpe Diem!" – RU 2010 lives again!
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Boo to you all! Just in time for Halloween, the Three Planning Witches have great news: the last weekend in July 2010 is now open in Carmel Valley! Due to some inaccurate information we were getting, we had thought that the annual CV Fiesta was scheduled for that timeframe; instead it is the following (first full) weekend in August. So get out your pencils and mark your calendars: RU-2010 is going to be in Carmel Valley from Thursday, July 29-Sun. Aug. 1 next summer.
We have reserved the CV Community Park Clubhouse and BBQ Patio (the same area we used for our last RU) for Saturday, July 31st.
Upon checking local hostelries, we find that although we can't get a group rate in high season, all reservations are open and available at the moment. We urge you to investigate the links provided in the right column of this page, select your choice of accommodations, and if possible put a tentative hold on it via a credit card.
If you are interested in sharing a larger accommodation site with others in the group, please send an email to fran.soule@gmail.com and she will give you more data on some very nice 4-person cottages in the heart of the village – and can put you in touch with other attendees with whom you might make such an arrangement. (There are some people not on this send-list yet who might be interested in the savings inherent in a shared cottage deal.)
The next blog update will probably go to a more expanded contact list of likely attendees that includes the older grandchildren, surrogate family members, very close friends, and such.
One final caveat: we calculate that each of the 10 units of our "core group" (you know who you are, because you are receiving this send) will need to contribute $100.00 to the general fund to support this gathering. This total of $1000.00 will hopefully cover (a) the estimated cost for the Big Picnic foods ($700) and (b) the rental fee for the use of the park facilities ($350). To ease the pain of this expense, we propose to set up a PayPal account ASAP into which you may, if you choose, contribute a little bit of your share each month. (If you prefer to do it in one lump sum, the P/P account is where your money should go.)
Indeed you might want to set up your own separate savings system to cover your costs of transportation and accommodations, just to ease the pain of the expense involved in this trip. And please, if you are in need of financial or air-miles help, let our Planning Wenches know what you need and we will see what can be done to help. (If you can offer such assistance, please let us know that!)
So get ready to do the Monster Mash with all of us Grateful Undead next July!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Welcome to the RU 2010 Blog!
Greetings, Prospective RU-People! One year from now, we hope to be together for a wonderful party with all of you and all of our relatives and friends! We've created this Blog as a "meeting place" for RU news, information and opinions. Take a look around, take the poll, respond to the questionnaire at the end of this post, and share your comments!
(Editor's note: I promise that future posts won't be nearly this long. We may just Twitter the rest of them!)
Please read the FAQ below before completing the questionnaire at the bottom. These are the comments we've heard from here and there in the past.
--------------------
Why Northern California?
There are several reasons: two of this year's Gang of Three (Eileen, Julie, and Fran) live there; and many of the probable attendees are based in CA, including some of the exended-family and friends. Additionally, cross-country travel is a real issue for some of the ageing folks - in all seriousness. However we recognize that times are tough and it is not fair that all the travel expense be borne by non-CA's: so we're putting out a call for some kind of 'RU assistance funding' for the core family who really must be with us. (More on this in the Questionnaire, below.)
Why do we propose a time length of 3 days? Would people prefer 4 days? (see Poll)
In past times, the 3-day timeframe seems to have worked pretty well; and in addition, cost of accommodation is a major factor – although we have some ideas on possible cost-cutting in that area. (More on this in the Questionnaire, below.) Also many of us cannot afford to be away from our homes for any length of time, so we have positioned the dates over a weekend to help eliminate work and school problems. However, this timeframe is open for discussion, so please vote in the poll!
Is End of July the best time?
This time slot worked well last time, simply because school-age kids seemed to be able to accommodate to it. We know fares are at a premium in summer, although there may be airline price wars. (See questionnaire for possible assistance in this cost.) However, if there are reasons why this time will not work at all for you/your family, please let us know!
Who is invited?
The Blau-Soule parents and kids (you know who you are!), their significant others and their offspring; all recognized "extended family" – and for the Saturday Picnic, everybody else you love! And of course any or all of us can be free to make further plans for the Sunday after the RU or any time before or after it that they may decide to add onto a CA visit.
"When do we eat???"
The 'foodie events' of the RU are not yet settled; but for example the picnic on Saturday will be catered by the Gang of Three (via a big trip to Cosco and Trader Joe's.) The idea is simple, crowd-pleasing, easy eatin'. One eve we can all head out for a Go-Dutch meal, as we did last time at that fun Mexican place near the mouth of the valley. Actually that place was quite good so who knows, maybe we'll vote for a return gig - or find another - TBD. (If you need special diet, either let us know and we'll see if we can accommodate, or you might choose to bring your own stuff.)
Okay, how will we fund the food above?
In a later newsletter the committee will set out a budget and ask for advance input from all of you. We're thinking of setting up an RU2010 PayPal account. In this way your portion/contribution can be staggered in small amounts per month over the year, to take the sting out of it and add up nicely by next summer. All thoughts welcome as to how we might diplomatically handle contributions to the Saturday picnic fund from the "extendeds," who can number in the dozens! They gotta be fed but we don't think we want to hit them up for their share via PayPal. Maybe we just ask them to bring particular foods/goods to the picnic.
Can we stay with Mom and John in Boulder Creek?
Sorry gang. The parental units are not going to have guests to stay throughout this period - they are getting older ,wiser and tireder! ... and also don't want to be worrying about guests when there's quite a lot to manage day to day with this many people coming and going. Sorry about this, but anyone eager to see BC (we hope you will be!) perhaps before or after the RU, especially those who haven't yet made it for a visit to the little house in the woods, can stay in local B&B/lodges/motels up there, at good rates, no problem! We might also organize a group day-trip up there to look around, during the actual reunion time -– it's only about an hour and a half drive from CV to BC.
Where will we stay in Carmel?
It need not be the same place as last time, unless you choose (the Carmel Valley Inn was nice enough to invite us back again, which was a bit of a surprise, after that raucous event!) In future blog posts, we will provide rates and ideas about accommodation – including the possibility of a big house rental for SOME of the core family (those who can handle cohabiting again after all these years...or those who can't afford otherwise.) This might provide us with a good gathering point and might work out cheaper per night than motel-hotel accom. It remains to be seen if such a thing is rentable for a short period – but we'll do the research. In the meantime, check the links on this page for the Blue Sky Lodge and the Carmel Valley Lodge, as well as 2 B&Bs that look nice.
How do I voice my opinion about the above?
Copy and paste the following questions and reply to the committee ONLY: fran.soule@gmail.com, eileenhorne.uk@gmail.com, julie@drysdaleconsulting.com. We will collate everyone's responses and use the responses to prepare for the number of people, accommodation requests, etc. While we welcome your general remarks in the Blog Comments, please email us your responses to the Questionnaire -- this will make it easier to consolidate opinions and will also keep your responses private.
----------------
QUESTIONNAIRE:
1. Will you be attending RU2010, Thurs.-Sat., July 22-24 (or with extension to Sun., July 25) in Carmel Valley?
2. How many will be in your group?
3. Would you be willing to stay in a cost-effective 'group house' if we could find such a thing for short rental? Just Y or N, please. We will send out data once we find something that looks possible, and you can then decide for or against.
4. Roughly how many 'extendeds' would you plan/hope to invite to the Saturday picnic who would actually make the trip and/or stay over Saturday night? (no lists necessary,for now – just an approx. number).
5. There will be those from further away who will struggle with costs of travel/accommodation. Can you help, for example with air miles or a monetary donation? Even a little will be useful, but we need an estimate of about how much you might be able to offer over the course of the next year; we'd need to have your total contribution by about April 1st, to make it available to the needy ones. (Please indicate if you are among that group for whom flights/accommodations will be a big problem for you and your family in financial terms .... this information will be kept entirely confidential.)
6. If you live in CA, can you offer free sofa space/guest accommodation to family in the days surrounding the RU, if needed?
7. Is there anything important that we have failed to include in this questionnaire? Do you have additional questions? Ask!
Please keep your answers simple, and to the point!
(Editor's note: I promise that future posts won't be nearly this long. We may just Twitter the rest of them!)
Please read the FAQ below before completing the questionnaire at the bottom. These are the comments we've heard from here and there in the past.
--------------------
Why Northern California?
There are several reasons: two of this year's Gang of Three (Eileen, Julie, and Fran) live there; and many of the probable attendees are based in CA, including some of the exended-family and friends. Additionally, cross-country travel is a real issue for some of the ageing folks - in all seriousness. However we recognize that times are tough and it is not fair that all the travel expense be borne by non-CA's: so we're putting out a call for some kind of 'RU assistance funding' for the core family who really must be with us. (More on this in the Questionnaire, below.)
Why do we propose a time length of 3 days? Would people prefer 4 days? (see Poll)
In past times, the 3-day timeframe seems to have worked pretty well; and in addition, cost of accommodation is a major factor – although we have some ideas on possible cost-cutting in that area. (More on this in the Questionnaire, below.) Also many of us cannot afford to be away from our homes for any length of time, so we have positioned the dates over a weekend to help eliminate work and school problems. However, this timeframe is open for discussion, so please vote in the poll!
Is End of July the best time?
This time slot worked well last time, simply because school-age kids seemed to be able to accommodate to it. We know fares are at a premium in summer, although there may be airline price wars. (See questionnaire for possible assistance in this cost.) However, if there are reasons why this time will not work at all for you/your family, please let us know!
Who is invited?
The Blau-Soule parents and kids (you know who you are!), their significant others and their offspring; all recognized "extended family" – and for the Saturday Picnic, everybody else you love! And of course any or all of us can be free to make further plans for the Sunday after the RU or any time before or after it that they may decide to add onto a CA visit.
"When do we eat???"
The 'foodie events' of the RU are not yet settled; but for example the picnic on Saturday will be catered by the Gang of Three (via a big trip to Cosco and Trader Joe's.) The idea is simple, crowd-pleasing, easy eatin'. One eve we can all head out for a Go-Dutch meal, as we did last time at that fun Mexican place near the mouth of the valley. Actually that place was quite good so who knows, maybe we'll vote for a return gig - or find another - TBD. (If you need special diet, either let us know and we'll see if we can accommodate, or you might choose to bring your own stuff.)
Okay, how will we fund the food above?
In a later newsletter the committee will set out a budget and ask for advance input from all of you. We're thinking of setting up an RU2010 PayPal account. In this way your portion/contribution can be staggered in small amounts per month over the year, to take the sting out of it and add up nicely by next summer. All thoughts welcome as to how we might diplomatically handle contributions to the Saturday picnic fund from the "extendeds," who can number in the dozens! They gotta be fed but we don't think we want to hit them up for their share via PayPal. Maybe we just ask them to bring particular foods/goods to the picnic.
Can we stay with Mom and John in Boulder Creek?
Sorry gang. The parental units are not going to have guests to stay throughout this period - they are getting older ,wiser and tireder! ... and also don't want to be worrying about guests when there's quite a lot to manage day to day with this many people coming and going. Sorry about this, but anyone eager to see BC (we hope you will be!) perhaps before or after the RU, especially those who haven't yet made it for a visit to the little house in the woods, can stay in local B&B/lodges/motels up there, at good rates, no problem! We might also organize a group day-trip up there to look around, during the actual reunion time -– it's only about an hour and a half drive from CV to BC.
Where will we stay in Carmel?
It need not be the same place as last time, unless you choose (the Carmel Valley Inn was nice enough to invite us back again, which was a bit of a surprise, after that raucous event!) In future blog posts, we will provide rates and ideas about accommodation – including the possibility of a big house rental for SOME of the core family (those who can handle cohabiting again after all these years...or those who can't afford otherwise.) This might provide us with a good gathering point and might work out cheaper per night than motel-hotel accom. It remains to be seen if such a thing is rentable for a short period – but we'll do the research. In the meantime, check the links on this page for the Blue Sky Lodge and the Carmel Valley Lodge, as well as 2 B&Bs that look nice.
How do I voice my opinion about the above?
Copy and paste the following questions and reply to the committee ONLY: fran.soule@gmail.com, eileenhorne.uk@gmail.com, julie@drysdaleconsulting.com. We will collate everyone's responses and use the responses to prepare for the number of people, accommodation requests, etc. While we welcome your general remarks in the Blog Comments, please email us your responses to the Questionnaire -- this will make it easier to consolidate opinions and will also keep your responses private.
----------------
QUESTIONNAIRE:
1. Will you be attending RU2010, Thurs.-Sat., July 22-24 (or with extension to Sun., July 25) in Carmel Valley?
2. How many will be in your group?
3. Would you be willing to stay in a cost-effective 'group house' if we could find such a thing for short rental? Just Y or N, please. We will send out data once we find something that looks possible, and you can then decide for or against.
4. Roughly how many 'extendeds' would you plan/hope to invite to the Saturday picnic who would actually make the trip and/or stay over Saturday night? (no lists necessary,for now – just an approx. number).
5. There will be those from further away who will struggle with costs of travel/accommodation. Can you help, for example with air miles or a monetary donation? Even a little will be useful, but we need an estimate of about how much you might be able to offer over the course of the next year; we'd need to have your total contribution by about April 1st, to make it available to the needy ones. (Please indicate if you are among that group for whom flights/accommodations will be a big problem for you and your family in financial terms .... this information will be kept entirely confidential.)
6. If you live in CA, can you offer free sofa space/guest accommodation to family in the days surrounding the RU, if needed?
7. Is there anything important that we have failed to include in this questionnaire? Do you have additional questions? Ask!
Please keep your answers simple, and to the point!
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