Gettysburg Trip 2014

I went last year and learned some valuable lessons that I thought I would share.

1. Do not go alone - I did last year, and while I had a great time alone, and it would have been awesome to have to have some folks to share in an adventure with.
2. Don't camp in mid-July - Gettysburg is hot and humid in July.. Also, taking the right size tent is a must.  
3. Go to a museum - Last year I went to the new Seminary Ridge Museum, the new visitors center and cyclorama, and the Eisenhower Farm. This year I want to also go to the Dale Gallon Studio in downtown Gburg.
4. Hire a Licensed Battlefield Guide - I do this every time I go. Can get a little pricey but so well worth it.
5. Take advantage of the Rangers programs - These are free guided tours and are excellent. And everyone should do the Cemetery Tour.
6. Carry plenty of water with you
7. Eat well - Stay away from the trappings of the oh too convenient McDonalds

I am going to go again this year but I have not picked a date yet. I will leave late on a Wednesday night and plan to arrive early on Thursday morning. I plan on coming home sometime on Saturday. If you want to go we need to start picking a date. If you want to go let me know soon.

What say you men?

GarCon 2014

In honor of the Adventurers favorite President JonCon announces the unveiling of its winter event; GarCon, which will focus primarily on board games.

GarCon, in honor of fellow Buckeye James Garfield (whose Great-Great Grandson created Magic:The Gathering) , will be held President's Day Weekend February 14-17. We will be kicking off Friday February 14. We are currently looking for a place to hold this event, most likely a cabin where we could all stay. Maybe a State park? I'm thinking somewhere centrally located where we can all share the expense. If anyone knows of a good cabin post it on the site or let me know.









 

Ashland Civil War Show - Reschedule to Sunday May 5

OOPS!! Guess who forgot about plans for his wife's birthday? Yup, this guy. Soooooo how does everyone feel about going on Sunday? The show runs until 3:00 on Sunday. I wouldn't be able to leave Cbus until about 11:30. Sorry for any problems this causes anyone.

Gettysburg Road Trip

 

 

 

I'm going to Gettysburg on Thursday July 19 and will return home sometime late on Saturday July 21. All are welcome to come along. I will be tent camping at the Drummer Boy Campground in Gettysburg. They do have some cabins that rent fairly reasonably but we will need to move quickly to stay in one of those.

My goal while there is to participate in several of the free Ranger programs, do a night tour, hire a Licensed Battlefield guide and tour the new Welcome Center. What say you men?

 

Ashland Civil War Show - Saturday May 4

Who is in? Check out info here

I'm going. Last year was a lot of fun. What say you men?

 

 

Something to do at GenCon this year

from the GenCon website:


Sign-ups Now Open for the Playtest Hall

Last year saw the successful debut of the First Exposure Playtest Hall, and based upon its popularity in year one, it will return in 2013 bigger and better than before! Now, in its new location next to the Exhibit Hall, it will be even easier to check out new games, many of which have never been played by the public previously!

Managed by Double Exposure, Inc. (the company that runs DEXCON, DREAMATION, and METATOPIA), the First Exposure Playtest Hall allows designers and publishers to preview and test their newest creations before they go live! Scores of all-new role playing games, story games, board games and card games will be represented in the Playtest Hall. Players will be able to get FREE tickets to try out as many as they'd like throughout Gen Con 2013!

The First Exposure Playtest Hall will be open from 8 am to midnight on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The hall will be open from 8 am to 2 pm on Sunday. That's right, you can playtest games before the Exhibit Hall opens each morning (while seats are available). Players will be able to choose a game to playtest at the beginning of each two-hour slot. Designers and publishers can review full policies for the First Exposure Playtest Hall here, and complete the form at the end of that document to register.

Players will be able to sign up for specific slots when event registration opens up on May 19. To register for events, you must have a valid 2013 Gen Con Indy badge.

Any questions can about the playtest program can be sent to events@gencon.com.

GenCon & Baseball - 2013

The baseball gods have smiled on us and scheduled the Indianapolis Indians (farm team of the Pittsburgh Pirates) to play the Columbus Clippers while we are in town. The Wednesday game is an afternoon game that starts at 1:35. Thursday and Friday have night games that begin at 7:05 and 7:15 PM. Tickets range from $15 - $35


If we hustle out of Cbus we can make the Wednesday game, pick up our badges and then game some. Or, we could go Thursday after wandering the Dealer room all day.

What say you men?

 

Gen Con Indy 2013 - August 15-18

Pre-Registration starts January 27, 2013, at noon.

Gen Con Badges

Everyone attending Gen Con Indy must purchase a badge. A badge allows the individual entrance to the show, admittance to the Exhibit Hall, Art Show, Anime events, seminars and any events happening in the public areas which do not require an event ticket. We have a number of different badge types, from standard badges (4-Day or 1-Day) to VIG badges to Sunday Family Fun badges. See below for details on the various badge types.
Badge Prices

Badge Type	Pre-Registration * (Jan 27 – Jun 29)	Registration * (June 30 – Aug 18)	Onsite * (Aug 14 – 18)
4-Day badge	$70	$80	$80
1-Day badge (Thurs-Sat)	$40	$50	$50
1-Day badge (Sun)	n/a	n/a	$30

* There is a 6% admissions tax for all badges, in compliance with Marion County laws. The same tax will be charged both online and onsite for all badge sales.

JonCon Winter Weekend

Ok it is now getting to the point where we need to make a reservation somewhere. Who is in for a Winter Weekend of gaming, gourging, and galavanting. I can get us somewhere for $99 total but we would have to travel. Do we want to shoot for President's Day weekend in mid February? Who is available?

 

Almost Show Time

What time do you want to meet? I think we will need to get there early to get a place in line. What say you men??

 

Winter Weekend

Is anyone up for a little getaway in January? January 18, 19, 20, 21 is MLK weekend. We might be able to find a cabin we could split the cost on somewhere and hang out and play some games. If you have interest let me know in the next 10 - 14 days and we will see what we can arrange. What say you men?

 

Too Soon?

I booked some rooms at the same place for next year. Just sayin'

Happy August

It's August and that means GenCon. Two weeks from today and we will be gathering in Indy. Not sure about you but I'm really looking forward to it. Here are some links to several companies who hopefully have some new games to look at:

Slugfest Games

Fantasy Flight

Z-Man Games

999 Games

Mayfair Games


I think we are going to go with just one room and save some cash since there are only 4 of us going. Weigh in and tell me what you think.

Happy July

Any interest in joining Nautallica and I on a camping trip some weekend? We are thinking about going some Friday night this summer. If we start planning now we could actually come up with a date by October!!

And, I would still love to go to Gettysburg sometime this summer. Any interest? Maybe we could combine the two events? I know a great campground in Gettysburg.

What say you men?

GenCon Stuff

The Future of Dungeons & Dragons
Calling all heroes, your presence is required!  Join us for an unprecedented look into the future of Dungeons & Dragons, including the evolution of the game, the re-birth of a fantasy setting and the next generation of art.

Wizards of the Coast is proud to host the first-ever keynote address at Gen Con on Thursday, August 16  to share with D&D fans what’s in store for the game that has changed gaming forever. Speakers include President and CEO of Wizards Greg Leeds, Senior Manager for D&D Research and Design, Mike Mearls and some of the greatest creative minds in the industry.  The keynote begins at 7:00 pm in the 500 Ballroom of the Indianapolis Convention Center and will be live-streamed at DungeonsandDragons.com/events.

For more information or to register for this event, click here. Note: A valid Gen Con Indy 2012 badge is required to register.


 First Media Guest of Honor Revealed
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Superheroes & More
Consistently Gen Con’s most requested Media Guest, Wil Wheaton returns to the Best Four Days in Gaming™ in 2012! A star across a variety of media, Wheaton first entered the spotlight as a film and television actor. With prominent roles in Stand by Me and Toy Soldiers, Wheaton endeared himself to the geek community as Wesley Crusher on the popular Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Splitting his time between acting and writing, he currently recurs as Doctor Isaac Parrish on SyFy’s hit series Eureka, as computer hacker Chaos on TNT’s Leverage, and as a “delightfully evil version” of himself on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory. He has recently appeared as serial killer ‘Floyd Hansen’ on Criminal Minds, comic book publisher ‘Miles Sklar’ on NUMB3RS, as the voice of ‘Ted Kord, the Silver Age Blue Beetle’, on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and as Axis of Anarchy leader Fawkes in Felicia Day’s smash hit web series The Guild. Active in blogging and social media, in 2009, Wheaton was named by Forbes as the 14th most influential web celebrity.

Wheaton will sign autographs Thursday through Saturday, August 16-18 at the Autograph Area in the Exhibit Hall. More information regarding signing times will be made available via signage at the convention.

Gen Con

73 days until we make the pilgrimage to Indianapolis for GenCon. We have 2 rooms at the Fairfield Inn East. I looked at the True Dungeon feature event but there is very little room left to get in.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what will be there that wasn't at Origins. Wizards of the Coast and Fantasy Flight should have a huge presence. Hopefully there will be some newly released products that weren't available in Columbus.

I am planning on taking a cooler and a grill and saving some cash on the food bill. We will need to figure out who all is going and who is rooming with who if we need to keep the second room.

Gettysburg Road Trip

Ok there has been some talk about a two night trip to Gettysburg this summer. We would need to get a date that would work with our schedules. A couple of us think that a mid week trip would be easier to plan. I am thinking maybe arriving early Wednesday morning and staying Wednesday and Thursday nights and heading home sometime on Friday.

It seems like camping is the preferred method of accommodation. Not sure if anyone wants to bring a camper or we all just can tent camp. I know of a cool campground, Drummer Boy Campground, that is close to the battlefield.

I checked into some pricing:

Campground (tents): $50 per night
Visitor Center: $12.50 per day
Licensed Battlefield Guide: $75-90 (depending on how many people go)
Haunted Gettysburg Tour: $11 per person
National Civil War Museum $10 per person

depending on how many people go it would be approximately:

$59.62 per person for 4 people
$49.70 per person for 5 people
$45.58 per person for 6 people
$40.50 per person for 7 people

** or**

Campground Cabin: $250 per night
Visitor Center: $12.50 per day
Licensed Battlefield Guide: $75-90 (depending on how many people go)
Haunted Gettysburg Tour: $11 per person
National Civil War Museum $10 per person

depending on how many people go it would be approximately:

$152.12 per person for 4 people
$121.70 per person for 5 people
$103.91 per person for 6 people
$89.07 per person for 7 people


** or **

Hotel in Gettysburg: $144 per night per room (2)
Visitor Center: $12.50 per day
Licensed Battlefield Guide: $75-90 (depending on how many people go)
Haunted Gettysburg Tour: $11 per person
National Civil War Museum $10 per person

depending on how many people go it would be approximately:

$185.00 per person for 4 people
$148.00 per person for 5 people
$126.00 per person for 6 people
$108.00 per person for 7 people

**or**

Hotel in Chambersburg (22 miles away) : $99 per night per room (2)
Visitor Center: $12.50 per day
Licensed Battlefield Guide: $75-90 (depending on how many people go)
Haunted Gettysburg Tour: $11 per person
National Civil War Museum $10 per person

depending on how many people go it would be approximately:

$135.00 per person for 4 people
$108.00 per person for 5 people
$92.50 per person for 6 people
$80.00 per person for 7 people



So far The Wallet Draining Lich, The Hairy One, The Sage of Southwood, Nautallica, Durwaine, and myself have been in the discussions. My brother-in-law, The Postman Who Only Rings Once, would probably go if we can give him enough notice. Hotel rooms are based on 3-4 per room. The total would be less if we only book 1 room so these are just guesstimates at best, based on last seasons prices.

What say you men??

200 days to Indy!!

Ok Boys. 200 days to GenCon Indy. Who is in?

What say you men?

The week that was 7 Jan thru 13 Jan

It was an interesting week for our group. It started with the World's oldest living Adventurer, the Sage of Southwood, the great and all knowing Keithstradamus, reaching a historic age. He turned the old double nickel, 55, on the 7th.

Condolences, thoughts and prayers then went out to the family of the great Wallet Drainer from Medina on the passing of his father. A pilgrimage was made to Norwalk where, while it was good to see everyone, it was a part of life we all dread when that time comes. Looking back it is so reassuring (to me at least) to know that your true friends will be there when you need them the most.

I can't wait until the next time we can all get together. Gettysburg in the Summer boys?

Ready or not we are Indy bound

Well it looks like a few of us will be heading to Indy in a few hours. Not sure about the Sage of Southwood now. He may be coming later but he won't be making the caravan in a few hours from now. Anyway, bring on the days of bad eating, gamer funk, gamer foot, the opening day cattle call, black t-shirts and GenCon!!