First Silicon Valley Travel Craze Meet Up (SF South Bay): Sat. 01/09/2016 @ 3pm, LeBoulanger in MV

Hi Rebecca, I am interested. Second Saturday of the month would work for me; every Sunday I have a commitment until about 12:30, so I could only do afternoons on Sunday.

I live at the border of Cupertino and Saratoga, west of Highway 280, so Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Saratoga, Mountain View, and Campbell are the best locations for me.

Looking forward to hearing what works for other people...

My wife Kim and I would be interested. We're in South San Jose. Our availability will vary month to month but we'd try to make it as often as possible.

Thanks

Neil

Hi Rebecca, I sent you a PM (private message)... : )

Glad to see that we are getting some interest. In order to avoid confusion with another travel group meeting also in SF Bay area, I have changed our group name to "Silicon Valley Travel Craze (SF South Bay area)". Hope that works! If you think you have a better name, let me know!
--Rebecca

Definate interest here, live in San Mateo work at Stanford so Mt. View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino would work fine for me. Have done one Rick Steves Tour (Village Italy) and planning another in April (Sicily). You can contact me by my email if you like.

Dan

(thanks for your PM Rebecca!) I'm interested in attending for either of those (second Sat or Sun of each month) times. Here's a shoutout that if Roberto is still following the forum boards, will he come to one of our meetings? He's had a lot of good experience and written some interesting postings on the RS forums.

If you want to meet at a Panera like the other SF travel group, the location on Holger Way in San Jose (near First street and CA-237) has a patio area. Also almost next to it, I like the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (with patio and string lights) which might suit for a group to sit.
If we have people on the Peninsula interested in coming down to join us but don't like to drive then I'd suggest somewhere in downtown Mtn View so they can ride Caltrain and walk over, so public transit is an option for some. We seem to have interest from the South SJ and closer to Cupertino... Barnes and Noble cafe at Almaden is one idea (except with the Holiday crowd we might want to hold off on this to another month, but this way we can also check see what is new in the travel books section). Those of you who frequent Cupertino: there's a lot of places but got any recommendation for a place that is easy access (parking, even when it's holiday crush) and you can hear each other talk?

I have PM Roberto and he said if the time works out, he would be interesting in joining.

I think it might be a good idea to keep the meeting in either Mountain View or Cupertino so if there is anybody coming from the Mid Peninsula area, it won't be too much of a drive. But I am opened to the idea of meeting in San Jose as well if there is a good, spacious meeting place. There is a nice cafe in Downtown Mountain View called La PanotiQ. It is not exactly a very big place but it has both indoor and outdoor seating, and their coffee, sandwiches and pastries are yummy! Since our group will likely starting small, it is probably a fine choice for now.

Shall we try to set a date and time to meet in Dec or should we wait until January since everyone is busy during the holiday season? So far the second Saturday of the month seems to work well for a couple of people.

--Rebecca

Hi Rebecca,

I am interested in meeting people and sharing travel stories as well! I live in San Jose, but I am flexible in meeting in Mountain View, Sunnyvale, etc. I have been on one Rick Steves Tour...Best of Paris...Sept. 27th-Oct. 3, 2015. Loved it!

Jen

Would be tremendous if Roberto could attend some meetings. His responses online are concise and exactly to the point. He has no agenda and always very helpful.

Rebecca and everyone, you will find when you first meet the rest of the group, that you have instant friends because you have such a great thing in common: the love of travel! Our group, the "Towns and Villages near Moscow--no visa required--Travel Group" first met over 3-1/2 years ago and is a fantastic, fun group of people who have all become very, very good friends. When a meeting is over, I can't wait for the next one just to see them all again.
Enjoy getting to know each other!

Darcy is so right! We have been meeting in Sacramento for over 5 years and some very good friendships have been made. It's so nice to have like-minded people to talk travel with. Some of us are taking the RS Village Italy tour together next May. It should be fun!!

Glad to see we are getting more interest, but of course I would love to see more people joining!
Shall we plan to have the first meeting in January since people are likely to be very busy during this time of the year?

I am thinking how about tentatively schedule it on second Saturday or Sunday of the month, which means our first meeting will either be on January 9th or 10th. What about meeting at 3pm? I would like votes on this so we could finalize meeting time, and then we could confirm the location (if there is a big interest in meeting in Dec, I am all for it!).

Rebecca

Your first couple of months you will probably spend figuring out what works the best. We met in one location for 2 months, then permanently changed to our current location after we were able to see where most people were coming from. As for who shows up, you will likely find that there will be some people who will become regulars (and more people will join up with time), and some people will show up occasionally or just a time or two in order to get help with a trip they are planning. Don't be discouraged if your group is smaller than you'd like when you start out. We had about 6-7 people at our first meeting. Now we usually have 10-14, and we've had as many as 22. I think having a consistent meeting day and place (for us the 3rd Saturday of the month at 10:00) is key. People will know exactly where to find you, even if they aren't regulars here on the forum.

Good luck and have fun!

Looks like January 9th would be better for us now.

Neil & Kim

I am on board for this. I live in Palo Alto and would be open to Mountain View, Sunnyvale etc. Will send you a direct message with contact into.

January 9th I think would work best for me also.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday!

I am very excited to announce that our first meeting is scheduled on Saturday January 9th, 2016 at 3pm. Location is LeBoulanger in Mountain View. Address is 650 Castro St. Mountain View, CA 94041. P# (650) 961-1787. I had gone to this LeBoulanger for a language meetup couple weeks ago. The location seems to work well for group gatherings.

Looking forward to see you all there!

--Rebecca

Will certainly plan on being there. Thanks Rebecca!

Sounds good, we'll be there.

Neil & Kim

Great choice of a location to meet!

I will arrive a bit earlier to get a bigger table. I also plan to bring a Rick Steves' guide book and make a small paper sign to put on the table so everyone could easily spot me :)

Hi Rebecca, I marked my calendar and plan to be there if I am in town. Thanks for letting me know. Vicki

Looking forward to meeting everybody on Saturday.

Neil & Kim

Yes, I am looking forward to meeting everyone! Drive safely since it will be a rainy Saturday.

Hello all,

A quick reminder that our first Silicon Valley Travel Craze Meet Up will be held this coming Saturday January 9th, 2016 at 3pm. Location is LeBoulanger in Mountain View. Address is 650 Castro St. Mountain View, CA 94041. P# (650) 961-1787. Please send me a message if you have any questions. Looking forward to seeing everyone!!

Have a great first meeting! Warning -- travel groups can become addictive.

Sorry running a bit late . Father in ER with broken hip. Will be there ASAP . I am at El Camino hospital . Please start meeting

Well, I went to the bakery at 3:00 PM and did not see any group of people with anything to indicate that they were a Rick Steves Travel Group. Did the meeting happen? If so will there be another one?

David: Our meeting went well, and thank you for checking in. My dad is in good hands at the hospital. Please consider joining us next time!

JHK: I am really sorry that you were not able to find the group. My dad had a fall and got admitted to the hospital today and I had to be at the hospital to help him translate and get settled. Because of that, I was late to the meeting and did not get there until around 330pm. Originally I was planning to be there early and I had made a sign for the meeting and also brought a Rick Steves' book in attempt to help distinguish myself, but unfortunately I was not able to do that due to the emergency. I will be posting the next meeting time again and please join us next time! I will likely pick the same place. Again my apology!

I wasn't able to make the first meet-up, but I'm definitely interested. Saturday afternoons generally work well (when I'm not travelling;) I live in Los Altos, so Mtn View is a great location for me. Do I need to check back here for future meeting times, or join a meetup group for notifications? Or does my comment here mean I'll get notices when others comment?
Looking forward to it, TIA

Hi Alison,

Welcome to the group! Please check back periodically for the next meeting date. Looking forward to meeting you!

I was there and the meeting went really well, I thought. As a follow up, I am putting together a Yahoo group email alias—private message me to get your email address added. Rebecca, you too, don't think I got your email address but it was nice to meet you! I would be on board for a monthly meeting of this group.