ECM 2024 planning thread

[m sprank]

@boxkita  Spent some of the 4Runner profit upgrading my "car" with Fanatec.  Shhhhh, dont tell the wife.

 

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by m sprank

[boxkita]

@m sprank need to start saving for a full motion rig

[m sprank]

1 hour ago, boxkita said:

@m sprank need to start saving for a full motion rig

Oh, the thought has passed my mind a time or two....   I work for Philips lighting, so I am already looking into syncing Hue ambient lighting to mimic the sun.  Working on a speed controller for two 12v fans now, need wind immersion. 

Already upgraded to 4 x BST-1 bass shakers, 1 for each wheel.  New pedals have shakers on brake and throttle to mimic engine vibration and ABS engagement. 

All I need is G-forces and the actual fear of death.  I am missing the adrenaline rush, but everything else "feels" real. 

 

Picked up some MTB gloves for the new Alcantera wheels on the way.  Dusting off my old wresting shoes to use with the new inverted pedals.  Wife is going to have a field day making fun of me in my "Halloween" costume.   I am going to be Ricky Bobby this year. 

[m sprank]

Oh, yeah.  Only a true friend helps you put out an imaginary fire. 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2023 by m sprank

[Chronuss]

Is NY decided upon?  Is there fishing at these lakes that we can partake of?  I think the wagon can make that drive.  JUST TEXT ME SPRANK.  I only check the forum maybe once a month.  Do we have a LegacyGT discord?

 

[m sprank]

@Chronuss I will text the info.  Lots of fishing at the Finger Lakes.  Hope you and the family enjoyed the fair.  I had to make a return trip on Saturday with the daughter.  She had been begging for a bunny for the past 4 days.  I survived without coming home with a real one.  Finally those late night basement dart games came in handy.  $24 worth of darts and she had the biggest stuffed bunny the fair had to offer. 

[Chronuss]

Is NY decided upon?  There's also Lake Anna, VA, and Deep Creek, MD.  Both have camping, bars, boats, and I'm sure Air BnB.  I know for fact one can rent houses at Deep Creek that will easily accommodate 15-20 people, or multiple houses side by side.  I also know you can rent party boats at Deep Creek, cruise around, then park at docks around the lake and walk right up to the restaurants and bars.  

We just went to the fair for carnival food and it was disappointing.  Watching the 4x4 races at the dirt track, however, was not.

[KZJonny]

Gonna say that Finger Lakes is pretty locked in for next year. We started chatting about all this early June, so a bunch of idead got tossed around out the gate. Lake Anna or Deep Creek sound like potential options for the following year as long as interest in the event holds out. (Which I sincerely hope it does!)

A bunch of this was based on @Enlight doing some fancy map thing that plotted everyone who was coming this year and tried to find places that were sort of equidistant from everyone. Unless we get a lot more people from further south joining up to come, the members are kind of biased towards the middle of the country and north.

I would drive as far as Virginia (VA?) or Maryland (MD?). But I think that would be getting close to my limit. Not interested in anywhere with a true southern climate. I start getting really uncomfortable when the temperature is much north of 30 C, and I think the "south" exceeds that by a bunch. Hah!

[boxkita]

Well that's a bummer!

I was hoping we could still find interesting stuff at the lakes. We're farther out on planning than last year but looking for a bigger place. 

i'm with @KZJonny on finding a less hot option. 

Looks like a couple big lakes in Vermont, NE NY area. 

Unless we can find a bug property with a pond on it. 

So far we have Canada, Harpers Ferry, Baltimore, Boston, and wherever @Enlight is from (Virginia?). Removing the outlier's (Sorry, Jonny), somewhere in eastern Virginia/Western Maryland is equidistant. Which picks up, possibly, some of the southerners.

Or we stick with the group we have for s place and market the location.

Ive had a crap summer since I got home so have been checked out on everything. Finally feeling somewhat healthy. I'm not at @Enlight's skill level but I'll run airbnb queries and see what shows up. Maybe we find a place for the people we have plus a couple tent spots and close to a park and/or food choices.

I'm rambling...still sick

[KZJonny]

Don't let me speak for everyone! Happy to enteratin other options, and Finger Lakes certainly has been proving expensive so far, but as you say, it's a long way out.

I just had the vibe that much of the talk had been looking at the NY/New England sort of corner, then maybe going further south next year (if applicable). Trying NOT to stick any group of people with the long drive every year.

(Pretty sure Enlight is NYC, like Brooklyn?)

Edited August 28, 2023 by KZJonny

[Enlight]

I'm in Queens, right next to Brooklyn. I'm happy to devote more resources to the search. Just prioritizing buttoning up the car so I can launch muFreight. I haven't made a post about it yet... but the car is running and the new engine + @JmP6889928 turbo is fantastic. Nothing has blown itself apart yet (except for the P/S I ran dry and am having @AZP Installs replace) much to my amazement. Here's a teaser of the new-to-me Spec B bumpers I've been holding on to for nearly a year. She's hopefully getting wrapped this week if not next.

[boxkita]

When Finger Lakes was $2500, I was on board. When it became $10,000, I was less interested.

I wonder if we can rent a pot farm? When we had the rv, we ran across a camping option involving farms & wineries. 

If we plan for 5 tent spaces, at least 3 families worth of houses and a few single options, plus parking for 20 cars; we'll probably have a full house. In the Pacific NW, you can rent "Group camping" spaces that have both cabins and tent spaces with increased parking spaces. I'm pretty sure such a thing exists elsewhere.

 

[m sprank]

So far avg price for a house large enough is $7-8k for fathers day wknd 2024.  Single campsites are going for $100 per night.  I guess Finger Lakes is bougie. 

We should agree on a max amount and see if we can work a deal.  I have no issue with Finger Lakes.  Never been, so its something new. 

[Chronuss]

If Finger Lakes is decided upon, which campground are you guys looking at?  Need to check out the cabins that are pet friendly.  Will have to bring TWO dogs this time around.  It looks like there are 24359087398120 campgrounds around Finger Lakes to choose from.

 

Like I said before, I know there are houses/cabins/campgrounds at Lake Anna, VA, and Deep Creek Lake, MD. 
 

Edited August 28, 2023 by Chronuss

[m sprank]

Looking at camp grounds as close to the water as possible.  So far I find only a few that are actually on the water (lake access). 

[Chronuss]

Also, since it will be Father's Day weekend, will likely see a premium on rentals/renting anything.  What about a week earlier?

[boxkita]

we have a special talent for picking weekends with issues.

 

[m sprank]

Checking against a week later.  Can look earlier too.  

 

With Juneteenth not the Monday after Fathers Day in 2024 there should be less travel and lower prices in 2024 (excluding astronomical inflation). 

[KZJonny]

Riiiiight. Fathers Day.

Didn’t even cross my mind. I don’t think anyone is super married to that particular weekend? A week in either direction might be just fine too.

The collective will make their previous arrangements known over time I am sure.

The $7-8K figure for a weekend is sure to stretch some peoples vacation budgets even split up. Or maybe that’s just me. If nothing seems to come up for a somewhat more reasonable price, I’m sure all options are on the table. We’ve got a few months to figure it out.

[KZJonny]

1 hour ago, Enlight said:

I'm in Queens, right next to Brooklyn. I'm happy to devote more resources to the search. Just prioritizing buttoning up the car so I can launch muFreight. I haven't made a post about it yet... but the car is running and the new engine + @JmP6889928 turbo is fantastic. Nothing has blown itself apart yet (except for the P/S I ran dry and am having @AZP Installs replace) much to my amazement. Here's a teaser of the new-to-me Spec B bumpers I've been holding on to for nearly a year. She's hopefully getting wrapped this week if not next.

Duuude. Can’t wait to see and hear that thing. Ima ride copilot with you somewhere next year, and hopefully manage to not get talked into upgrading to a JMP CVF52…

[boxkita]

26 minutes ago, KZJonny said:

Duuude. Can’t wait to see and hear that thing. Ima ride copilot with you somewhere next year, and hopefully manage to not get talked into upgrading to a JMP CVF52…

@KZJonnyAfter riding in that wagon , you'll be asking Jmp to bring one out when he comes on Saturday. 

[Enlight]

2 hours ago, KZJonny said:

Duuude. Can’t wait to see and hear that thing. Ima ride copilot with you somewhere next year, and hopefully manage to not get talked into upgrading to a JMP CVF52…

I trust your driving if you want to take her for a ride , though this VF52 isn't a pure JmP experience. When he was working on it he discovered that the previous port job would negatively impact the spool a little bit, but that the top end would really pull. I don't know what an OEM VF52 is like, but the spool feels pretty instant now!

I'm open to other weekends as well, and also open to campsites. I'd still like to prioritize a place where people have options for different types of lodging.

I've camped on farms that AirBnB'd out their land before, something like that would be pretty cool. We were able to pitch our tents inside a huge barn. It was basically glamping.

[Enlight]

I started some initial research, I think one of the things we have to do is Drive the Glen. I will call to confirm whether they plan on holding those the June 14-16 weekend. For people unfamiliar with the area, Finger Lakes is also a well known wine region so I think it would be cool to do at least one lunch outing at a winery. There are wonderful views of the lakes from many of these establishments, not to mention tons of great driving roads.

At this point, I think any lakeside houses are out of our budget. I like the idea of campground with cabins for ease of logistics and satisfying people's different lodging wants and needs.

Sned Acres Family Campground: Has tent, RV, and cabin sites. 35 minute drive from Watkins Glen. Closer

River's Crossing Campground and Marine: Same as above, but better reviews and has more water features on the property. 1 hour from Watkins Glen.

Buttonwood Grove Winery: Has 4 cabins that can be rented, maybe I can send a message to see if they would also be willing to allow tents and RV's on their site.

Tentrr: This website might be worth further exploration. For example, here's a brewery offering campsites.

Watkins Glen State Park itself is also something to behold. If you're into rock formations this will be cool to you. The state park also has campsites, but no cabins.

 

[tysparks81]

If this happens a weekend earlier me and the family are still committed to coming, if it happens a weekend later, We won't be able to attend as a family but if its only a 3hr drive I can show up sometime over the course of the weekend.  

[boxkita]

Wow! Nice list.

"Watkins Glen State Park itself is also something to behold. If you're into rock formations this will be cool to you. The state park also has campsites, but no cabins."

looks they have cabins if we get 3 nights.