Pre=Poll questions for No. CA December mtg

[AmberLee]

Hi! KAK and I were brainstorming some ideas for the proposed December visit of (hopefully) Gini, Richard, and Noah'sMommy to the Santa Clara valley area. Before we do a poll, I thought we'd get some ideas because we probably missed some things.

Reminder -- current plan is a winetasting get together on Saturday, 5 Dec. On Sunday, 6 Dec., (KAK's birthday) should we --

Our ideas:

Potluck Barbeque at Wolflady and Mr. Wolflady's home. Pluses: less travel time for the LA contengent, fewer weather concerns compared to other outings*, low cost, good visiting opportunities, AND prime kitty smooching opportunities with Sergei, Marius, and Scooter. Minuses: Well, we're committing the Wolflady family to a ton of visitors without their consent (yet)

Potluck barbeque at KAK's condo's community center. Pluses: convenience to us, fewer weather concerns compared to other outings, low cost, good visiting opportunities, AND prime kitty smooching opportunities with Storm, Sky, Sunny, Starr, and Pearl. Minuses: An added hour or so travel for the visiting LA contengent.

Christmas at Filoli. Pluses: seeing a gorgeous home all decked out fot the holidays, no weather issues once we are inside. Minuses: I haven't confirmed that it's open the weekend they are here, and it's usually pretty pricey/tickets sell out ages in advance. No cats. Also an hour and a half or two hours north of where the LA contengent is staying....

Egyptian Museum: Pluses -- relatively low cost, fascinating location. Minuses: a museum? An hour or so drive north for the LA contengent.

Gilroy Shopping Outlet. Pluses: SHOPPING!!! Minuses: Shopping at Christmas time. Do LA peoples want to travel all this way to shop, anyhow. No cats.

Winchester Mystery House: Pluses: world famous haunted house. Minuses: a bit pricey, the lines are awful. An hour or so north for the LA folks, too.

Bofante (sp?) Gardens: Pluses: little travel time, most of us haven't seen this theme park and garden. Minuses: Weather very iffy in December, pricey, and we aren't sure if they are open in December, anyway...

Monterey Bay Aquarium: Pluses: fabulous location, fascinating exhibits. Minuses: A bit of travel to get too and a bit pricey unless we can find a member to buy a block of tickets for the group... If we talk too much about our cats there we could be thrown out (sorry, I'm getting punchy here.) Travel time to get there and the cost are the big drivers here.

Dog Show? -- we couldn't find a local cat show that weekend, but we didn't look for dog shows. Pet Talkers could adapt if we find one though, right?

Christmas in the Park -- a free Christmas themed festival in downtown San Jose. Pluses: Free, festive, colorful. Minuses: crowds, parking, weather is usually very bitter (back to the California wimp thing...)

Okay, what other delights of the area are we missing?



* Yes, I admit this Californian is a wimp. Cope with it.

[RedHedd]

I vote for a potluck/barbecue at KAK's or Wolflady's house. More economical all around, we'll have kitty smooch time and can relax and enjoy each other's company without having to deal with non-Pet Talk people (yeah, I know .... I'm picky! )

[AmberLee]

I'm leaning that way myself, but thought I'd get more feedback...

[Edwina's Secretary]

Christmas at Filoli. Pluses: seeing a gorgeous home all decked out fot the holidays

Oh my... you are cruel if you plan a trip to Filoli at Christmas without me... The most BEAUTIFUL place!

[AmberLee]

Oh my... you are cruel if you plan a trip to Filoli at Christmas without me... The most BEAUTIFUL place!

We'd love to have you come. Are you available the first weekend in December?

[slick]

Gee, I wish I could attend. Have fun everyone.

[AmberLee]

Much confusion!!! (Well, I confuse easily.)

I thought 6 December was a Sunday???

I did some searching tonight and found out there is a large dog show in San Mateo on Sat. 3 December Is the get together on Sat. and Sun. 3 and 4 December, or what?

If so, the 3rd is the last day for this year's Filoli holiday wing-ding. It's called Christmas traditions, or something like that. Tickets are going on sale this week.


Also, there is a dog show, it's in San Mateo (Almost up to San Francisco). Just to add to the confusion.

[AmberLee]

Gee, I wish I could attend. Have fun everyone.

Wish you could too. I think we're going to have a blast... if we ever figure out what we're doing!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Yes AmberLee, I was going to mention that my birthday is on Sun. Dec. 4th not on Dec. 6th.LOL

My vote is for a potluck at either my place or at Wolflady's because then we can all relax, eat great food, chat, and snuggle with some wonderful furkids.

[RedHedd]

Oh such choices! A dog show in San Mateo! I've never been to that one .... but then KAK's birthday too .... hmm. This will be FUN whatever we decide to do.

[AmberLee]

...my birthday is on Sun. Dec. 4th not on Dec. 6th.LOL ...

At one time I had a good memory. I wonder where I left it?

[wolflady]

I suppose a potluck at my place would be ok. When I originally invited Gini, Richard and Kelly up in December, it was just for the wine tasting event, but I hadn't thought about what we were going to do on Sunday (or if everyone was heading back on Sunday). They are all staying at my place, so something down south would definitely be better for us as I hadn't planned on going anywhere up north. I can confirm with my guests to see if they have a preference.

**hugs**

[NoahsMommy]

OK, now I feel horrible about mentioning our wine plans. This was something Karen invited us to...and opened her home to 3 PTers...along with her already full house.

I don't want to impose upon Karen and Aaron's invite. I think we need to stick to planning something laid back (I'm still in recovery, I can't do a whole lot....and Gini will be driving both ways - unless she wants Richard or I to manipulate Scotty! )

I propose leaving Karen out of anything else at her house. She's already opening it up to three adults and that's a lot. AND VERY GRACIOUS OF HER and AARON.

I think maybe something at KAK's place would be nice...and laid back. We wont tire anyone out and if its a potluck, not even Tracey will be running ragged on her own bday.

Please don't think I/we are being exculsionary. This is something that was planned amoungst a group of people months ago. I'm not saying people aren't welcome, but its not really a pet talk thing, more of a common interest amoung friends. It sounds like everyone outside Gini, Richard, Karen, Aaron and myself aren't into wine anyway....

So, can we plan for something at KAK's beautiful outdoor area?? That way the pressure is off Karen/Aaron to entertain all weekend...unvoluntary...and it seems like its the best avenue for the people coming.

(((HUGS)))

[krazyaboutkatz]

This sounds fine with me. I can even rent out the club house but I think I can only rent it out for 4 hours and I'm not sure if this includes cleaning time too. I just have to pay a small fee and then write another check for a security deposit which I'll get back after it's inspected to make sure that it's clean and that everything is in place. They used to have a pool table and a ping pong table which could also be used when the clubhouse was rented out. I can also look into this if anyone would be interested in using these.

I never wanted to burden Karen and Aaron and AmberLee and I were just throwing a few suggestions out there since Kelly seemed to want to know what we should do and where we should meet on Sunday from the LA Meeting Thread. I hope that this thread hasn't upset anyone because this certainly wasn't the intention.

[slick]

Well, Golly Gee.....here I was today planning my vacation time with my boss. Taking last two weeks of Nov and first week of Dec. I did entertain the thought of purchasing a plane ticket and surprising everyone by showing up at the winery and booking a hotel room for that night........what the h*** was I thinking!!!