The snow was not a welcome guest, but wisdom was better than driving. So hopefully the snows will be gone and I have avoided the other major events in January, and Dog & Bear's other two winter events. We are back for the 9th time. It's been a year since the last Dinering event -- Metro NY's favorite Geocaching Meet and Greet.
Today, I am celebrating my TENTH year in the game. Just ten years ago today, I found my first cache. http://coord.info/GCGTW2 It was almost a disaster since I didn't know how to use my GPSr and walked around in circles almost walking into the swamps of Brooklyn on a very cold day. I was the 9th cacher to find it. Today, there are over 130.
"Eureka!" I said. "This is neat. I bet I can find 50 by the end of the year." Well, I was wrong, 50 by June, 100 by August and 200 by year's end. There were a lot fewer caches back then and lots of other things have changed as well. Which brings us to this awesome event once again. A great event with great friends!
This will be the fourth year that we will be in this diner since it was such a great location. This diner used to be called the "Sage" and then it was called "Pops" but no more. It's now called:
NEVADA DINER
80-26 Queens Blvd (corner of 51 Avenue)
Elmhurst NY 11373
Queensites do more business 'at the diner' after the meeting than at the meeting itself. An important question asked at many a meeting (school board, scout meeting, church choir, etc) "Are we going DINERING tonight?" and the answer is usually "Yes". So why not geocachers?
Subway: M or R train to Grand Avenue-Newtown and walk 0.25 miles west on Queens Blvd.
Bus: Q60 -- Queens Blvd bus from Manhattan to 51 Avenue (STOPS IN FRONT)
Near by is the Q58 (Grand Avenue) and the Q53 (Rockaway Limited) .
Check (visit link) trip planner for exact directions from your house.
Car: There is a HUGE parking lot.
From the BQE --Exit at Queens Blvd East.
From the LIE Exit at Queens Blvd WEST. Get into main roadway and turn left on 51st Avenue.
So tonight we will "diner." Don't expect a lot of hoopla. It's real informal. We will be there at 6:00. We will be in the party room to the right when you enter. The diner boasts free wireless Internet, the usual 'diner fare' and some pretty good dinner deals. I tried for individual checks but the best I could get was a table check.
A meet and greet is lots of people scattered around talking to people they don't know.
For new people, this is a great chance to find out who those strange and exotic geocaching names belong to. Feel free to get up and walk around and introduce yourself. Some people come late, some leave early. Some cache prior, some cache later, some don't cache at all. There will be great esoteric discussions on the most difficult finds ever, and lots of small talk about DNF's.
Bring your geocoins, your travel bugs and your stories. Some people bring entire coin collections for you to discover. And best of all, it's an easy smiley face. And as it's my holiday tradition, I will have some geocoins and a few other things as door prizes. If anyone else would like to add some to the pot, you are welcome to do so.
To get an idea about what happened at previous 'dinering' events, the last few years, you can check out these archived caches:
GCT5XY (visit link) -- the original
GCZDDZ (visit link) -- #2
GC17HQT (visit link) -- #3
GC1J7CV (visit link) -- #4
GC21NJB (visit link) -- #5
GC2J771 (visit link) -- #6
GC389PR (visit link) -- #7
LAST YEAR'S EVENT >
http://coord.info/GC41MWD
Please DELETE previous "Will attend" posts and RSVP by February 17 so I know about how many you are planning to bring.