Escapist Expo 2012 & Slap & Tickle (Durham, NC)

I've got the 3-day pass, though I'm thinking about only having a visit on Saturday. I'm still not exactly sure what is even happening at the Expo. Since I'm only about an hour's drive away, I haven't bothered to make any concrete plans.

I know Raleigh better than Durham, so I'd have to defer to others' recommendations for food. I can vouch for Fullsteam's beer, though.

Squee9 wrote:

I can get a, "slept in a house without causing catastrophes" reccomendation from Mojo and Floomi if you require. Feel free to PM me the details either way.

No details necessary. I think we'll end up having five people in the room including you, as my friends said they get to pay less for the room. I'll PM you with details once the date gets closer.

I will warn that one of my friends suggested at being excited at the prospect of beer pong in the hotel room. I just....no. No! No. That seems so red neck to me that I can't...no. Plus, if I'm going to imbibe alcohol, it's going to be in a place where there are other expo goers so there can be socializing going on.

But just a fair warning about what a couple of my friends may be like...then again, North Carolina is pretty much the South, so you may be used to it already.

And public service announcement: passes have been mailed by The Escapist. Folks are already receiving them in the mail.

What the hell's wrong with beer pong? You city boys, I swear.

Seriously, my buddy's engagement party last November, the couples' families, parents included, were all doing kegstands. And they're not even from NC, they're from NJ and Ohio. So nyah!

Maybe I'm just not familiar with the culture of getting drunk, but there seems to be a difference between keg stands at an engagement party and beer pong in a hotel room. I could be totally wrong, though. I was raised by stuffed shirts, after all.

ccesarano wrote:
Squee9 wrote:

I can get a, "slept in a house without causing catastrophes" reccomendation from Mojo and Floomi if you require. Feel free to PM me the details either way.

No details necessary. I think we'll end up having five people in the room including you, as my friends said they get to pay less for the room. I'll PM you with details once the date gets closer.

I will warn that one of my friends suggested at being excited at the prospect of beer pong in the hotel room. I just....no. No! No. That seems so red neck to me that I can't...no. Plus, if I'm going to imbibe alcohol, it's going to be in a place where there are other expo goers so there can be socializing going on.

But just a fair warning about what a couple of my friends may be like...then again, North Carolina is pretty much the South, so you may be used to it already.

And public service announcement: passes have been mailed by The Escapist. Folks are already receiving them in the mail.

I've been at both ends of the spectrum. I'm a bit of a social chameleon, so I'm not too worried. Although as the GWJ guy and my "in" to the room I'll automatically support your opinions.

I'll be there if I get my badges. Slap & Tickle?

I got my badge in the mail. It's not made of the best quality, so I'd recommend going to Staples and getting a lanyard and sleeve for it, which is pretty much what I did for PAX East anyway.

Still no event schedule.

I asked about it on the forums, no response. That is a bit disheartening.

EDIT: I think the sheer size of this thing is starting to hit a bit. You don't realize how small 5,000 people is until you check out a floor map of the convention center and think "That's...it?" This will likely be a lot more like VGExpo and GameX in Philly, which were not very large events. I'm going to have to adjust my expectations.

I've decided on bringing the following board games:

- Resident Evil Deck Building Game
- Mall of Horror
- Penny Arcade: Gamers vs. Evil
- Space Hulk: Death Angel
- Mystery 4th Game

4th is probably going to be Munchkin Quest. Still deciding.

I would like to be able to play some board games Thursday night and Sunday night in the hotel, but the website doesn't really help much. They have a restaurant, but for the sake of board games it seems like a more lounge-like area or mezzanine might be preferable. Worse comes to worse, you use one of the desks in the hotel room and gather way too many people for fire safety capacity.

I found out this week that I have a work event that Saturday afternoon that I cannot get out of at the moment. Not sure what I will be missing yet, but I should make it to Durham by 4. I'll probably only attend the expo Saturday evening (what's left anyway) and Sunday, but I can definitely meet up with you all Friday night as well.

I got my badge. I forgot early registration earned you free VIP upgrade. I think that means I get a palanquin.

Did we settle on time / location for the S&T yet? I'm looking forward to meeting you nerds.

Have not, as there is no schedule up yet. I don't expect there to be a lot of panels or events, though, at this point. The floor plan of the convention center is pretty small compared to what I'm used to (first con was Otakon in Baltimore, which was pretty heft in the early aughts), so I'm guessing if we just decide on a time and location we won't miss much.

Descending upon the Miracle of Sound concert tooo drunksjo sounds like a good idea to me, though.

Who is bringing their Vita with them?

I guess my, "Slap & Tickle?" wasn't clear. So what's a S&T or am I not invited to whatever it is and everyone is has mutually agreed to this telepathically (or through PM)?

Slap & Tickle is just a name for a Goodjer meet-up. There've been ideas for where to have one, but no consensus yet. It's also hard to plan one when we don't know the Expo schedule. S&Ts are almost always after the bulk of the day's events.

Pubs work okay if we can reserve a table or a back room. One problem is that they tend to be very loud, making conversation difficult. Double so if they have live music.

Restaurants usually work well if we can get a table large enough to accommodate everyone.

In the past we've done S&Ts at Frankie's, but that gets crowded and can end up costing.

Durham people! We need your additional thoughts and advice!

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Durham people! We need your additional thoughts and advice!

Thanks to your new avatar, the first thing I thought was that we'll get the Slap & Tickle we deserve, not the one we need.

Once your slap and tickle has burned to ashes, then you have my permission to

Okay nevermind that's too dumb to finish.

I was wondering which would break first! Your slap, or your tiokay no that sucks too.

It would be easier with a better schedule, but I nominate Saturday evening as the time of the S&T.

That seems to be the usual time. We should do it early enough that people can meet, greet, and then head on out if they want to make it to Miracle of Sound.

Or am I the only person that listened to any of that? Granted, I don't think I'll go if I'm hanging with cool folks. Even so, 5 or 6 would probably be the best time.

It is at moments like this that I wish we had more locations like the Seaport at PAX East.

I may be able to make this... Waiting to see if I have a conflict.

I was listening to The Escapist Podcast and one of the host said this is a nice place to hangout. He even said Cliffy B likes to go there. *sigh* Nevermind.

It's also in Raleigh, which means we'd have to drive there.

I'm thinking of making an executive decision on the time, and then calling to see if we can make reservations at any of the above locations. How many folks do we foresee going?

Flying Saucer is a nice place, but it's crowded, can be hard to find seating, loud, and a 30 minute drive away.

I'm thinking of sticking to one of those places that's like a ten minute walk. I'll put the list together later today. I'm thinking arrange it for 5pm.

EDIT: The guests page has expanded quite a bit, but still no form of schedule available outside of hours (Friday Noon-6pm, Saturday 10am to 6pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm) and Friday and Saturday evening shenanigans (MovieBob presents Flash Gordon at 9pm, Miracle of Sound + Others concert at 8pm on Saturday).

This should actually help make it easier to plan things, as there are two gaps on Friday and Saturday where nothing is happening. Three hour block Friday night from 6-9pm (and that's assuming anyone is interested in MovieBob presenting Flash Gordon, which at the moment I'm not) and on Saturday two hours from 6-8pm. I'm still comfortable setting the GWJer Slap and Tickle on Saturday, 5pm, giving people enough time to cut out of the Expo early in case there's nothing of interest, while also leaving enough time to fully interact before the concert (I'm always up for a good live show).

That said, here are the places I think would do best for the S&T.

ccesarano wrote:
jonfentyler wrote:

While I have yet to attend an S&T, I'd recommend Parker and Otis if its earlier in the day, they close at 8, but have plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Fullsteam has plenty of picnic tables, but it can get crowded in the evening. I have not been to Beyu Caffe myself, but I've been told it can handle larger groups (they have beer releases and tastings here often). There is also Bull McCabes which I think has plenty of larger tables, but you would get plenty of UNC/Duke ruckus here on a Friday or Saturday night.

Earlier I used this map to try and gauge nearby locations, and found a couple locations that stood out. My primary concern was walking distance.

Truth told, though, Durham doesn't look like a city where driving is as much an issue as other cities.

Parker and Otis looks to be a ten minute walk.

Fullsteam Brewery is also a ten minute walk.

Beyu Cafe is a 5 minute walk.

Bull McCabes is another 10 minute walk.

These locations all seem excellent. Better than mine, at least.

I'm still trying to decide what night I want to do Dame's Chicken and Waffles. I WILL HAVE CHICKEN AND WAFFLES.

Parker & Otis appears to close at 7 on Saturdays, FYI.

Screw them, then! They're off the island.

By the way, typically at PAX East GWJers congregate at the board game area. Is that the general plan for Escapist Expo? Should a flag be made? Should we just approach each table saying "Shalalm Baskur" until we are identified by our brethren with open and loving arms?

I'll be wearing my GWJ name tag that I've worn to PAX. Also I believe my friend Andy will be running games at the tabletop area.

ccesarano wrote:

I'm still trying to decide what night I want to do Dame's Chicken and Waffles. I WILL HAVE CHICKEN AND WAFFLES.

I just went to Dame's on Sunday with the family for brunch. You must go. But be forewarned -- go hungry and don't plan on eating again for a good long time.

I highly recommend the Orange Speckled Chabo, which is a deep-fried chicken cutlet on a sweet potato waffle with a drizzle of honey dijon sauce and orange-honey butter. Incredible!

Huzzah, about time.

Nothing too crazy on the schedule. My plan will be to prolly hit one talk each day and spend the rest of the time milling around looking at stuff.