St. Louis, MO area travel meeting?

There is not a group in the St Louis area. I have often wished there was! The other groups sound like they have so much fun. I would be interested in joining one if there was one.

Ok, Leigh, we're on our way! Hello, hello, anyone else out there interested in forming a group here?

Hello fellow St. Louisans! Glad you posted this, Lise! I haven't seen many of us here so didn't know if a group would be possible. I'm definitely interested in forming an STL travel discussion group.

I would be interested in getting together to talk travel

That's four of us! Anyone have any suggestions for a time and place? Maybe if we plan one and put it on the message board, others will be interested, too. But I think the Kansas City group started with only one person, so four would be great!

You have a good start. We have been meeting in Sacramento for about 2 1/2 years. It is very casual. We have a start time, but no end time. It just breaks up when it breaks up. I think our first meeting lasted 5 hours! We were so happy to find others who love to travel that we couldn't stop talking with each other. Typical meetings for us last 2-3 hours. We don't have an agenda. We have a great group and other people come sometimes to get help for a specific trip they are taking, then we don't see them again. Whatever the motivation to attend, we are happy to see anyone who wants to come. We meet at Panera Bread because they have free wifi and we don't inconvenience servers by staying a long time. One month we Skyped with the Denver group and another time we Skyped with Nigel in England. It's nice to put faces to the names. At our first or second meeting one person gathered everyone's email and phone numbers and compiled a list. Sometimes it's easier to communicate that way, as opposed to the cumbersome way of PMing people on this site. We have made a couple of exceptions, but we decided early that having a consistent meeting time and place was important, as not everyone who attends is super active on the Helpline. We decided that the 3rd Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at the same Panera Bread works for us. We actually started off meeting at a different Panera until we figured out where people live and tried to be more central and accessible. I look forward to our monthly meetings and have formed really good friendships with some people. I wish you success and know that it might take a couple of months to really have things gel. Most importantly...have fun!!

Andrea, Lee, and Pam - good advice and tips. Where does everyone live? Would the third Saturday of every month work? That will help us decide where to meet. I live in University City so am pretty central as far as meeting places go. Bread Co. / Panera is fine with me, but personally I'd prefer an independent coffeeshop. The third Saturday works for me too, but we can see what other people say. And when should the first meeting be? December 15, or is that too close to Christmas?

Good luck. Go for it. I'm sure we in Denver averaged less than four people for our first year or so. Sometime I was the only one. Last month there were only two of us. The important thing is to pick a place and time and do it consistently so everyone knows. By the way, we initially picked Panera, because, when the "group" started, it was just Frank and I, and Panera was roughly in between our homes - and it had Wifi, although I am just about the only person who ever brings a Wifi enabled computer.

We've been meeting in Moscow Idaho since last spring. We meet at a local coffee house that has a meeting room that can be reserved and wifi altho I don't think anyone has accessed the wifi during a meeting. (The closest Panera is hundreds of miles away, lol, so Panera is not a requirement!) We've ranged from 3 to maybe a dozen and had people travel as much as about 100 miles to come chat about travel. We've had a couple of meetings where people brought gadgets and demo'd them, we've talked about travel clothes (and some people tried to demo those but were stopped!)and last time we had wonderful reports on trips to Ukraine and UK. We usually last about an hour and a half to 2 hours before people need to be off to their next activity. Enjoy!

I live in Eureka. Either Panera or other is fine. I work part time as well and I don't know the schedule for the 15th yet. If not scheduled, that would work.

Leigh, Sarah, and Joseph - thanks for your responses and interest! Sarah's suggestion of 3rd Saturdays sounds good to me and Dec. 15 would be fine. I live near to Sarah, in Clayton. Where are you located, Leigh and Joseph? We can choose someplace that would be a equidistant for all of us, or near the MetroLink, if that helps anyone. Mornings work best for me. We are actually a group of 5 because my husband, Ron, will also join in. As suggested by the experienced group members, perhaps our first meeting should be a casual get-together with a pre-set start time and flexible ending. We can bring ideas for future meetings. Andrea, Lee, and Pam, what warm encouragement and good tips you have offered - thanks! I'm excited - being new in town I have not yet met many people with like interests, so this will be fun.

December 15 will work for me, and I think the idea of setting a regular time is good. I live in Arnold, but I don't mind meeting somewhere more central. Thanks also for the advice and encouragement from other groups. I look forward to being able to talk with other people who love to travel! Forgot to mention-mornings would be best for me, too.

So we've decided on Dec. 15 for our first meeting! (Pending Joseph's schedule.) How cool! Should we say 10:00? Panera/St. Louis Bread Co. is fine with me - they are everywhere. Here are some suggested places to meet: Saint Louis Bread Co. 10740 Sunset Hills Plaza St. Louis, MO 63127 The Plaza & Shoppes at Sunset Hills (314) 966-1070 Off I-44 and a little east of I-270 St Louis Bread Co. 21 Allen Avenue Webster Groves, MO 63119 (314) 961-6033 A little north of I-44 Saint Louis Bread Co. 13275 Manchester Road Des Peres, MO 63131
(314) 821-1112 North of I-44, a little west of I-270

My calendar is marked for 10 a.m. on the 15th! Sarah, thanks for finding the location options. Any of them work for me. I would defer to Leigh and Joseph as to which one is easiest for them to get to. Sarah, if no one has responded with a specific choice of location by this Sunday, the 18th, will you choose one? During our first meeting we can decide if that is the best location for future gatherings. At that time we could also discuss what format we want the group to follow (just casual conversation? a pre-set theme for each meeting? floating discussion leader? etc.) and share contact info. If it's okay with everyone, I'll post a meeting notice on Saturday, Dec. 8, to catch the eye of those who mainly visit this site on the weekends, and re-post it mid-week, say the 12th or 13th.

Time and date sound good. How about the Sunset Hills location? I think that would be a little closer for Leigh in Arnold and a straight highway 44 shot for me.

10:00 on December 15 at the Bread Company in Sunset Hills sounds great to me! I have my calendar marked. I think the idea of posting a notice the weekend before sounds good, too. I think the idea to have just no set agenda the first time is also good, and then we can decide from there what we want to do the next time. I look forward to meeting all of you!

I recommend scheduling the meeting at a place that has a room that can be reserved for this group. I think a morning (before 12 Noon) is a good time for the meeting. And, I think it is not necesary for the meeting to be at a Panera Bread cafe. The meeting could be at an other cafe' or restaurant, or in a room in a public Library, ...

It seems we are set for our first meeting! Ron, your points are well taken. On the 15th we can discuss locations, etc. for future meetings. I hope you are able to drive up to the city to join with us. I look forward to meeting you all!

The 15th it is! I'm looking forward to meeting all of you!

Is it too late to join you? I would love to participate in this meetup!

Of course it's not too late! The first meeting is December 15 at 10 at the Sunset Hills St Louis Bread Company. Hope to see you and anyone else who hasn't posted but is interested in coming!

The more the merrier!

Great - see you there!

So I have been thinking of traveling to Mo as there is a store there called The White Hare that is located in Saint Peter, Mo. They happen to sell my art work and the owner has mentioned that I should visit some day. I will not be your way in Dec., but if your group continues (and I am sure it will) if I visit the store I will try to make it to one of your meetings. Is that town close to you?

Yes, St Peters is close enough to St Louis that if you were there you could join us for a meeting. Hopefully we will get a regular thing going and we will see you at one of the meetings!

It would be very cool to meet you, Terry!

Great... I am thinking I may travel there after the holidays, so will watch the board.

Terry, we will look forward to meeting you.