Rick Steves Group Meetings?

Jaye, pick a place and put up a notice. I have seen several people from the Portland area posting here, most notably Kent. We picked Panera because the one near us has WiFi, so we can check the Wall during the meeting. PS: don't let Frank tell you there is a franchise fee.

What Lee said. Someone has to take the initiative, so why not you? We have been meeting in Sacramento for two years. Panera Bread is the meeting place of choice because of the free wifi. The established groups seem to all meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month, but do whatever works for the group. We have skyped with the Denver group and with Nigel in England during our meetings.

We in N. Idaho just started up 3 months or so ago. Its a fun and entertaining way to spend a couple of hours with people who enjoy travel. We meet at a local coffee house because there is no Panera and the coffee place has a free meeting room.

FYI, this week I was using Google for a search and found approx 7458 - +/- - 'Meet Up' groups calling themselves RS groups. So, there are a bunch of RS groups out there holding regular meetings...You might check and see if there's one in your area.

Go for it, Jaye. We'll attend!

Those Meet Up groups must not be Helpline users. Losers... :-)

I found one RS Meetup group for Portland, Ore, but that was for Reverse Speech, not Rick Steves. There was one Meetup group for RS in Socal, but it was for dolls (I think RS stood for Riverside, CA).

Wow, surprised there are no groups I could find around here! Galen, I think we should start one together! As I have never attended one, I need to find out how you run the meetings, is there a set or open agenda, etc.... Any advice would be great. Maybe I will have to figure out how to get to a meeting somewhere to observe and get "training". Thanks for any information you can provide. Sounds like such a fun idea!

Per Lee's post - let me clarify...By 'RS', I meant 'Rick Steves', not literally 'RS'. I wish I could remember my original Google search; now, when I search I get only the Phoenix-area 'Valley Fans of Rick Steves' :-( I'll give you a holler if I figure out how I found so many Rick Steves Meetup groups...but don't hold your breath. I say just start your own - just pick a place (and know ahead of time - many people won't like the location you've picked, no matter how centrally-located, easy-to-get-to it is!) and post it here under General Europe. Be sure your thread name is very clear and self-explanatory. Maybe start by PMing some of the locals and gauge the interest level. Even if it's only 2 or 3 of you, that's OK - The Jaye and Galen group ;-) Andrea and I decided we wanted to start our own group, and hoped others would join us. Sometimes they do :-( Just Kidding!!! The more, the merrier! There's no security clearance required, nor permission to be granted before starting a group, nor any regulations or rules to follow. At least not in Sacramento...;-) Here, it's Mob Rules LOL! (yeah, don't listen to Frank; all franchise fees go directly to ME!)

Some groups have a beginning and end time. Here in Sacramento we are pretty relaxed. We have a beginning, and it ends when we feel like it. I think our first meeting was 4 or 5 hours! No one wanted to leave. Now a meeting goes approximately 3 hours or so. People leave when they want to. We don't have an agenda either. We just talk about whatever we want. We bring books and maps, and sometimes other travel items to help in trip planning. As Eileen said, PM others in your area. Make sure they know you are in OREGON, not TEXAS! I think I did a post under the General Europe section to see if there were people interested. We started off at a Panera in one location, based on where the interested people live. After a couple of months we changed to a different Panera after seeing where the people were coming from. I think you will find it very enjoyable to meet with others who share your interest in travel.

I think Darcy and her DH Doug started out with agendas or things to talk about. We have never really been lost for conversation. Someone usually brings some maps, we talk about who is going where, pretty relaxed. We are exceptionally lucky because we have Monte who always has some kind of demonstration prepared, ranging from sparks to..uh...things ordered from Magellans catalog!

We don't really have an agenda...just some ideas for what to talk about if there's a lag in conversation! (ha! hasn't happened yet!) The only reason we have an end time is because we would have to pay to stay longer. We have a reserved room. Sacramento Groupdo you have a reserved room or do you sit out in the open where any one can join in?

Eileen claims there's no security or background checks. But I understand she'll demonstrate a TSA style pat down and search if there's a good looking man around. He doesn't even have to be in the group. Could just be a guy in for a bagel and coffee.

That is exactly what Eileen does!! We don't have a reserved room. We just use the big table in the middle of the room and add a table if necessary. Once or twice we have had people inquire about what we are doing. Panera actually got wind of our meetings, probably from an employee, and wrote an article about us in the Panera newsletter. As for subjects to talk about...we haven't run out of conversation yet!

That must be why Eileen took off for 1/2 an hour when we were at Chilis and Starbucks last year! She must have had to practice her TSA techniques.

I imagine the worst part is when she says, "Now do me!"

LOL!!!

(crying big, fat tears) That's NOT funny!!! (sniffle) I was sooo excited about the mtg/pat down, and was going to post that the man would then frisk me (sniffle). The male pat down is different from the female; you'd have found that out if you hadn't had Big Fun at MY expense (sniffle). NOW IT'S ALL RUINED! I don't want to go to Panera now (wailing). Have a great time. There's a special circle in hell reserved for some people...

And to think that I'll be with these two women this Saturday at our monthly RS meeting here in Sacramento. It does get rowdy.

Not comin'. (sniff) (Sorry for the rowdiness, Larry! Thank your lucky stars Fort Wayne is nowhere near Sacramento...)

I think we all know who the rowdy one is. Can you all see me pointing at Eileen?

You all are toooo funny! Thanks for the ideas and suggestions. I need to get Galen to go along and see if any others would be interested. I NEVER get tired of discussing travel! :0)

"I NEVER get tired of discussing travel! :0)" Exactly!!! Ditto!!! Kinda like a 12-step meeting for people with No Intention of quitting ;-) (even if some participants ARE mean...youknowwhoyouare - sniffle)

A few years ago I started a Valley Fans of Ricks Steves Travel Meetup here in the Phoenix Area. It did take a LONG time for it to "catch on" and I sometimes wonder why I kept trying. So glad I did, I now have a co-organizer and a half-dozen regulars....it's a blast swapping hilarious travel stories and sharing tips at a local Irish pub. I also started a group FB page for the Meetup members. BTW someone called me from the Rick Steves office and I was afraid they would say not to use their name. Instead, I was told that ETBD likes the idea of these gatherings.

@Grace,
Is there a reason you don't announce your meetings on the helpline like the other groups do?

I've always imagined that if we swapped stories at an Irish pub, we'd be asked to leave.

Like Andrea, I was also wondering why you don't announce the meetings on the Helpline, Grace? OMGoodness, Eileen, considering how long the 3 of us were at Chilis last year, if we had been at an Irish Pub, we'd still be there!

Darcy, I think you are soooo right about that. Next time you are down in our neck of the woods (so to speak - we have MANY trees in Sacto, but no area that could be considered woods), we should definitely go to a pub! Maybe Eileen and I should spend some time between now and then checking out all the pubs in the Greater Sacramento Area to find just the right one. we will discuss at our meeting today!

Darcy, they'd have stuffed us inside one-gallon pickle jars ;-) Andrea, it sounds like a LOT of work; I suppose I could be persuaded...