GenCon 2003 in Indy -- Why it will be better

[Chimera]

Ok, it was a few posts back now, but I have to take exception to the suggestion that flying might be better than a long car drive.

Have you flown lately? No thanks, I'll drive. No worries about being strip searched because I forgot and left my fingernail clippers in my bag. No worries that I'll be arrested for objecting to the strip search of that 90 year old woman ahead of me. No worries that I'll spend an hour jammed against the airplane wall by some a-hole who is wrongly convinced that I am leaning into him! (As happened when I went to Oregon two years ago).

No thanks. I'll drive. No security worries, I can stop and get out for a walk at any time, and I don't have to deal with strange people in the seat next to me. Unless I want to. The food and entertainment is also much much better.

It'll probably be 2004 before I get to GenCon again, but I'm looking forward to Indy. Nice town - was there for training a couple of years ago.

 

[adndgamer]

Oh cry me a river.
I'm out in Colorado and I'm thinking of going next year. There's people coming from bloody Europe and you're complaining about a 2 state drive? You've been spoiled for far too many years.

Buzzard

Hell yeah I'll complain!

Indy is a friggin' pain to drive to! Spoiled, perhaps, but that doesn't mean I can't complain about a drive that used to be 2 hours turning into around 14. The location USED to be ideal for me, and now isn't, whereas the location was NEVER good for you, and now is actually worse (unless you're flying).

The move might take away the most enjoyable thing I do all year (depends on if I can get my work scheduled around it). Why WOULDN'T I complain?

 

[Galfridus]

Mainly this is because the powers that be, permit bars and restuarants to serve alcohol in giant plastic cups during such events

Cool -- I can run events with my "1 Drink per 5 HP damage" house rule!!!

 

[Chaldfont]

Hell yeah I'll complain!

Indy is a friggin' pain to drive to! Spoiled, perhaps, but that doesn't mean I can't complain about a drive that used to be 2 hours turning into around 14. The location USED to be ideal for me, and now isn't, whereas the location was NEVER good for you, and now is actually worse (unless you're flying).

The move might take away the most enjoyable thing I do all year (depends on if I can get my work scheduled around it). Why WOULDN'T I complain?

Whoa! You must be exagerating. It took me about five hours to go from Indy to Milwaukee this year and I took the Dan Ryan through Chicago during rush hour and lost 45 minutes to a massive car wreck just inside Wisconsin. If you are 2 hours from Milwaukee, that's not so bad if you just make a day of it. Its basically interstate the whole way--peg your cruise control on 80, make sure you have a lot of CDs and the miles fly by.

 

[Luddite]

RE: Indy being with in driving distance (assume 8-hours) of 50% of the US population:

It is sort of crude, but if you were a presidential canidate and you won all the states with-in 8-hours drive of indy you would have:

Indiana : 12
Illinois : 22
Michigan : 18
Ohio : 21
Kentucky : 8

Missouri : 11
Iowa : 7
Wisconson : 11
Pensslyvaina : 23
West Virgina : 5
Virgina : 13
Tennessee : 11
Arkansas : 6

Maryland : 10
DC : 3
Deleware : 3
New Jersey : 15
New York : 33

That would be 233 of 270 needed to win. So close to 50% of the US population. Maybe more if you want to count parts of Alabama, Mississippi, the Carolina's and Georgia.

Personal, the location is moot to me. I am in San Diego, CA. So either way, it means flying.

-The Luddite

 

[RatPunk]

Whoa! You must be exagerating. It took me about five hours to go from Indy to Milwaukee this year and I took the Dan Ryan through Chicago during rush hour and lost 45 minutes to a massive car wreck just inside Wisconsin. If you are 2 hours from Milwaukee, that's not so bad if you just make a day of it. Its basically interstate the whole way--peg your cruise control on 80, make sure you have a lot of CDs and the miles fly by.

I'm with Chaldfront here. There's no way it's taking you 14 hours to get to Indy unless you're taking back roads.

We made it from Indy to Milwaukee in 5 hours and change and that includes an hour off for lunch.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Having driven from Indy to Milwaukee for the last 10 years for Gen Con it will be nice to have it shortened to 15 minutes. But 14 hours? what are you driving something that doesn't go over 30mph. It takes us 7 hours and that includes dinner and a detour to shaumburg to pick someone up. By the way the speed limit on I65 is 65mph, even if the slow lane regularly does 75-80mph.

 

[William Ronald]

Originally posted by Chaldfont:

Whoa! You must be exagerating. It took me about five hours to go from Indy to Milwaukee this year and I took the Dan Ryan through Chicago during rush hour and lost 45 minutes to a massive car wreck just inside Wisconsin. If you are 2 hours from Milwaukee, that's not so bad if you just make a day of it. Its basically interstate the whole way--peg your cruise control on 80, make sure you have a lot of CDs and the miles fly by.

Taking the Dan Ryan was a mistake, Chaldfont. I live near Midway Airport in Chicago, and take I-294 to Wisconsin. It avoids having to go through downtown Chicago. In your case, I would have taken I-80 to I-294, which ultimately links back up with I-94 in the northern suburbs.

There are always shortcuts. Maybe before next Gen Con we should start a "Shortcuts to Gen Con" and "Places to Visit EN route to Gen Con."