2011 JUB Meet - Portland, Oregon - August 5-7

[Just_Believe18]

I would like to share my experience with meeting fellow Jubbers in Portland.

I had a wonderful time. I was a little nervous at first joining the group so late since I had to miss Friday for a birthday. However, everyone was very welcoming when I finally arrived at NineofClub's place Saturday afternoon.

I guess I surprised everyone because of how young I was. Everyone thought I was in my thirties. I enjoyed the fun pictures we took as a group! And yes, NineofClubs makes some great drinks!

I had an opportunity to spend some time talking to just about everyone, but I ended up in a lot of conversations with NineofClubs, Kulindahr, Swerve, Opinterph, LilBit, and StationtoStation. It was fun catching up on years of JUB history, talking about our experiences on the forum, and just life in general. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly to me. Going to the Rose Garden, seeing the city from the roof at dusk, and drinks and food in the apartment was a lot of fun. I'm secretly glad the guys decided not to go out on Saturday night and stayed so I had a chance to talk with them more and hang out.

I'm not sure when we will have another JUB meet in the Northwest (Seattle next?), but I would definitely try to make it out to the next one! Thank you to NineofClubs for being such a great host and holding onto my sunglasses that I forgot! This was definitely an experience I will always remember, and I'm glad I made new friends.

 

[NineOfClubs]

As the OP of this thread, I've noticed that some posts here have been edited and even deleted, including my own.

For the record, this is not anything I've requested nor anything I condone.

 

[StationToStation]

I would like to share my experience with meeting fellow Jubbers in Portland.

I had a wonderful time. I was a little nervous at first joining the group so late since I had to miss Friday for a birthday. However, everyone was very welcoming when I finally arrived at NineofClub's place Saturday afternoon.

I guess I surprised everyone because of how young I was. Everyone thought I was in my thirties. I enjoyed the fun pictures we took as a group! And yes, NineofClubs makes some great drinks!

I had an opportunity to spend some time talking to just about everyone, but I ended up in a lot of conversations with NineofClubs, Kulindahr, Swerve, Opinterph, LilBit, and StationtoStation. It was fun catching up on years of JUB history, talking about our experiences on the forum, and just life in general. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly to me. Going to the Rose Garden, seeing the city from the roof at dusk, and drinks and food in the apartment was a lot of fun. I'm secretly glad the guys decided not to go out on Saturday night and stayed so I had a chance to talk with them more and hang out.

I'm not sure when we will have another JUB meet in the Northwest (Seattle next?), but I would definitely try to make it out to the next one! Thank you to NineofClubs for being such a great host and holding onto my sunglasses that I forgot! This was definitely an experience I will always remember, and I'm glad I made new friends.

It was a pleasant surprise to meet you. I got your text while in school, and I'm glad you were able to find the other Jubbers.

I have to admit I was not aware of you on JUB, but you were an awesome addition and super cute to boot!

So Seattle next year?!? Don't be a stranger . . .

And yes NoC makes the best cocktails . . .

 

[Thad1527]

I'm home!

It took awhile to cross the country by bus. And I did spend 2 nights in Denver, which was a good idea.

But I'm still savoring the memories of my days in Portland with my JUB friends.

I'll always remember:

Being on the roof with the BEST view of Portland and its mountains

Exploring interesting Portland neighborhoods

Smelling the roses at the International Rose Test Gardens

Riding the aerial tram down from the OHSU campus, high on the hill with its own striking views

Taking in the funkiness of Portland at the Saturday Market

Riding trains (another of my passions!) with JUBbers

Eating and drinking delicious local specialties (salmon, blue cheese, beer....)

And best of all:

Meeting some JUBbers for the first time and reconnecting with others I know and love!

If and when you can go to a JUB meet...GO. I had such fun.

 

[NineOfClubs]

Thad1527, it's good to hear you had a great trip home and arrived there safely. I would also like to have two or three days time in Denver. That must have been fun.

We all enjoyed your presence at the Meet. And I have to agree the weekend and all those other days were great fun!

It was also solely due to your interest in trains and public transport that we took the Monday ride on WES, an experience I've wanted but postponed ever since the line was opened. It was such a smooth, quick trip out to Wilsonville and I only wish that it wasn't such a money loser and more such trains served the region.

I'll check into getting that t-shirt you liked, the one with the future system map on it, or at least a copy of the map for your transportation fan friends.

Any time you find yourself on the Left Coast, you're welcome to stay with StationToStation and me.

 

[GamerBear]

I'm home!

It took awhile to cross the country by bus. And I did spend 2 nights in Denver, which was a good idea.

But I'm still savoring the memories of my days in Portland with my JUB friends.

I'll always remember:

Being on the roof with the BEST view of Portland and its mountains

Exploring interesting Portland neighborhoods

Smelling the roses at the International Rose Test Gardens

Riding the aerial tram down from the OHSU campus, high on the hill with its own striking views

Taking in the funkiness of Portland at the Saturday Market

Riding trains (another of my passions!) with JUBbers

Eating and drinking delicious local specialties (salmon, blue cheese, beer....)

And best of all:

Meeting some JUBbers for the first time and reconnecting with others I know and love!

If and when you can go to a JUB meet...GO. I had such fun.

It was great meeting you and everyone else. The same goes for Tony meeting everybody as well.

 

[GamerBear]

[STRIKE]But first you'll have to drop your drawe[/STRIKE] YEP...done! It was a long read, but necessarily so when such good times are being summarized. Between your blog, the swerve blog, and the LilBit posts, any reader can now get a VERY good idea what a JUB Meet is all about, because between the three sources all of the hours and activities are pretty much covered.

Your blog, for example, covers a great deal of the "missing" time period after most of us had to catch our trains.

I am glad you like it, and it does help a lot out when reading it.

Good seeing you Frank.

 

[StationToStation]

I'm home!

It took awhile to cross the country by bus. And I did spend 2 nights in Denver, which was a good idea.

But I'm still savoring the memories of my days in Portland with my JUB friends.

I'll always remember:

Being on the roof with the BEST view of Portland and its mountains

Exploring interesting Portland neighborhoods

Smelling the roses at the International Rose Test Gardens

Riding the aerial tram down from the OHSU campus, high on the hill with its own striking views

Riding trains (another of my passions!) with JUBbers

Eating and drinking delicious local specialties (salmon, blue cheese, beer....)

And best of all:

Meeting some JUBbers for the first time and reconnecting with others I know and love!

If and when you can go to a JUB meet...GO. I had such fun.

thad i loved meeting you, you're so smart and good looking! glad denver was a good lay over lol

i would have joined you to denver if it weren't for school, i heard denver is almost as a good beer city as portland, and thats enough for me to go there lol
Taking in the funkiness of Portland at the Saturday Market

 

[NineOfClubs]

Meet facts:

Attendance 15.

Seven and a half from Oregon, seven and a half from elsewhere.

GamerBear, that's because I count you as both Oregon and California.

Least time at bars, this Meet, with about 2 hours at Silverados. Though that was a FUN time...

Most time "hanging out", this Meet. Some of us were together every night from Thursday through Monday, five full days.

Thanks to all who attended!

 

[frankfrank]

^ As he said! (OF COURSE! I'm not going to dispute the number of people, or the number of days that were involved in parts of the Meet, etc. - LOL)

For having time to meet and get to know each other at a Meet, this was the ultimate. Other than some busy preparations by the hosts for some parts of the Meet, it was very rare for us to be in a rush, or hurrying to get somewhere as soon as possible, etc. I had a great time meeting a number of new people, and again seeing those who I had meet at previous Meets. (Among those who I had met in the past, other than Kulindahr who I met independently in Fall 2010, all previous introductions initially took place at prior JUB Meets in St. Louis, Anaheim, or Minneapolis.)

I am greatly looking forward to any future JUB meet which may be set up, and I hope it's at a time that I can go. (Some times of year are much better for me than others, and I had to work hard to eke out this one, as spring and fall are usually a lot easier for me to get away.)

I feel very fortunate to truly consider some people on JUB to be friends.

I'm definitely a strong proponent of JUB meets (and actually it would be really cool to see two or three different Meets going on some weekends...there are a lot of people in here)!

Of course not everybody likes to travel. There were a number of us who were DEAD TIRED one or two days or evenings of the Meet, which cannot always be avoided in major traveling, though I adapted very well to the jet lag. In my case, the jet lag caused by being on a really terrible schedule counteracted the jet lag caused by going West and I felt entirely normal, but I must say that I paid for it BigTime when I got back east, LOL.

Yeah, two different jet lags, for me, canceled each other out!!! (It's kinda, sorta like eating Cheeto's and pork rinds at the same time...the tastes cancel each other out and there's nothing, haha)

I hope I don't have to wait very long until the next chance to go to one of these - hopefully something will turn up in 2012? I wouldn't rule out the possibility of considering an overseas meet, for that matter. I'm sure I'd enjoy it, and it would be a great excuse to hop across an ocean somewhere at last, which I've done "entirely" only ONCE ever, in 1989. (In 2008 I did it "halfway" by going to Hawaii...I think I'd REALLY like to consider an Australian meet, if one happens!)

 

[frankfrank]

Knock knock.

Who's there?

HOMO.

Homo who?

I'm glad that everybody got HOME Ok.
********************
It's great to see some posts showing up here after the meet, especially those which reflect on your experiences at this long and fun event. I'd like to see even more, if you're among those who haven't had the chance to post yet. The more that other people read about how much fun these things really are, perhaps also the more likely there will someday be a Meet that you can travel to.

NoC agrees with me that, if a Meet someday happens overseas, it would be really cool to make the trip, even though it would be expensive. Most places overseas are places I've wanted to travel to for most of my lifetime.

One impromptu and special time during the Meet was Sunday night, when most people were watching some TV shows, and NoC suggested watching Mt. Hood turn pink at sunset because it was a clear day, and that was definitely a cool sight. It was also fun just hanging out and talking about random stuff during that time, the kind of thing that friends do.

This Meet wasn't the largest JUB meet of all time - I think there were 33 people in St. Louis in 2008. (I had to search, and I finally found Elvin1's summary, person by person, and I believe that's what it adds up to if he remembered everybody.) It's even hard to say that one particular Meet is the "best" Meet, because there are different things that can make it a great time.

At this most recent Meet, the opportunity to just "hang out and chill" was almost constant, and this is also the longest known Meet, lasting more than four days from start to finish.

Yes, those who haven't posted in here yet, I'd love to see your thoughts and observations, as I'd guess others are awaiting as well.

But the Meet was full of impromptu moment

 

[GamerBear]

and NoC suggested watching Mt. Hood turn pink at sunset because it was a clear day, and that was definitely a cool sight. It was also fun just hanging out and talking about random stuff during that time, the kind of thing that friends do.

Sucks that I missed such a great sight like that. I think the few times when we were at the meet it was already dark and we didn't get a chance to see Mt. Hood from the roof top cause it was night time.

 

[frankfrank]

But the Meet was full of impromptu moment

Oops my bad...I have no idea what I was going to say and it looks like I posted midstream, LOL.

 

[NineOfClubs]

I'd like to point out than in just a period of a few hours, the gang got to experience almost all of Portland's transportation options. Transit bus, light rail train, streetcar and aerial tram. Oh, and walking.

It was a couple days later that a few of us went on the heavy rail line trip. The WES.

All we missed out on was bicycling the many miles of trails throughout the city.

 

[NineOfClubs]

Dickens may have been able to summarize this Meet best of all.

"It was the best of Meets, it was the worst of Meets."

 

[swerve]

And...

To continue the quote...

"it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity..."

 

[swerve]

^For me -- it was the intelligence and maturity of his posts in CE&P!!!