Finding a Cabin

[ElizabethN]

Hey all,
So the first thing we need to figure out is location.

This was some of the feedback I got from last year's venue:

--the cabin was great, but the location was sucky. It took forever to
get into Gatlinburg where all the good stuff is.
--the Internet was sucky.
--the cabin setting allowed for us to stay together as a group, as
opposed to more of a hotel setting.

That being said, I did find a couple of potential places that are very
near downtown, but still large group cabins. I don't know how well the
Intertubes will be working at these ... that may be something we'll
need to address separately.

http://www.cabinsforyou.com/seths_red_oak_lodge.htm
http://www.cabinsforyou.com/bear_claw_lodge_cabin_rental.htm
http://www.smagatlinburg.com/terrace_gardens__1066.html (not much info
on this one)

As you'll see, some are "rougher" than others. I know some of you were
also looking around so if you have other suggestions, fire them up!

Also, we may be forced to go the hotel route based on how many people
express an interest in attending. If we have 50-75 people wanting to
attend, that might be a better route. Either that, or we may just go
back to the campsite idea if we have that many people.

Cheers & let us know your thoughts!
E.

[Tetraboy]

I'll write more later, but personally I think the key thing that made
phpapp great was having everyone together in the cabin, and all the
common areas was like a hallway track on steroids. I don't want to
exclude anyone, but if phpapp was to grow to 50-100 people and require
a hotel environment, I think it would loose some of what made it
great.

I hope we can find a location closer to Gatlinburg, but if we can't
find one with as good of amenities as The Beast, such as the awesome
theater, I'd be okay with having it there again. That is, assuming the
#Toxichottub plagoo hasn't yet devoured the cabin and surrounding
areas.

-Jeff Jones

[wlturland]

--the cabin was great, but the location was sucky. It took forever to
get into Gatlinburg where all the good stuff is.

I thought the location wasn't that bad. Although, being able to be
*in* Gatlinburg proper might get a few more people out and roaming
with the crew rather than only seeing what little of the town they
could from the car on the ride in and out.

--the Internet was sucky.

Yes, Hughes does truly blow. However, I think the lack of internet
worked in our favor in that the shyer and squirmier people were in a
position of not being able to hide behind their laptops (I would have
been guilty of that). I think if internet is that big of an issue for
a specific person, perhaps they should bring an air card or look for a
coffee shop nearby, otherwise, just leave it out.

--the cabin setting allowed for us to stay together as a group, as
opposed to more of a hotel setting.

I wouldn't mind being in the Beast again. It was a great cabin and
we've figured out how to turn off the fire alarm. That said, I also
wouldn't mind being in Gatlinburg. I'd be willing to try a new cabin
for that, but I'd be less inclined if it were a hotel or campsite.

When we get closer to time, we can discuss food. :)

--Whitney

[Brandon Savage]

I think that the location was fine. Yes, it was a bit of a drive, and
yes, we would be better off doing this during the week (the drive
wasn't so bad during the weekdays). But honestly, I think that the
location was great.

Did the internet suck? Absolutely. But that doesn't stop us from
setting up an intranet and running some of our own services; it just
keeps us from connecting to the outside world. Some of us could use to
be unplugged anyway. We don't need an internet connection to do a
hackathon; just a local copy of the code we're all working on. Same
goes for an IRC server, or a wiki (someone can export the wiki DB
right before the event and then import it when we come back, so we
have it during the event).

I really think the draw of Appalachia is the fact that we are all in a
cabin. This isn't a conference so much as an uncon or a *camp, at
least in my opinion. Doing it in a hotel would take away from the fun
of that and make it more "formal" so-to-speak. The lack of formality
is what made it special.

Brandon

================================
Brandon J. Savage
bra...@brandonsavage.net

Phone: 202.658.7866
Blog: www.brandonsavage.net

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that
something else is more important than fear." ~ Ambrose Redmoon

[Brett Bieber]

I thought the location of the cabin was great. I didn't stay in the
beast, but that type of space to meet is essential - I don't think we
can get something like that from a hotel, but I realize there are
constraints to how many people can stay in a single cabin. I stayed at
a nearby hotel and that was fine for me.

...and maybe it's just the introvert in me, but I'd be fine with being
further away from the crowds and everything. I didn't come for the
Ripleys and Go-Karts, I came to talk PHP. An excursion into town to
grab some dinner & drinks was nice, but I had to battle all the leaf
lookers going to and from my hotel each night, it wasn't fun. Sooo.. I
guess there are benefits both ways. My vote would be for proximity to
hotels for overflow if the cabin isn't large enough... but not so far
away that we can't run into town and re-fill on goods and have a
cooked meal. .. the Beast again? hmm.. that'd be fine by me.

The Internet was an issue, but I didn't find it too bothersome not
having a speedy connection. I'll second what Brandon & Whitney said.

I'd attend again even if it was the same situation. PHP Appalachia
2009! Exciting.

:-)

--
Brett Bieber

[D. Keith Casey Jr.]

I liked the Beast overall. Having the big common spaces - dining room,
kitchen, living room, theater, hot tub - was key to hanging out and
getting to know each other a bit better. Having the kitchen probably
saved quite a bit on food costs too.

Yes, the Internet was pretty bad, but I've been pondering picking up one
of these - http://nexaira.com/estore/index.php?p=catalog&parent=1&pg=1 -
but I'm not sure how good the 3G coverage was there.

Switching to a hotel would allow us to accommodate more but it's likely
to raise costs, not have the common spaces, not allow us to cook, limit
us to their hours for pool/hot tub, etc, and our volume might get us in
trouble.

I think the ideal would be if we could find somewhere that had a few
cabins all right together. We designate one as where most of the chaos
is happening and then let people fill/group as they want with any extras
taking hotels nearby.

And for the record, I call "anti-dibs" for the bedroom under the kitchen. ;)

kc

--
D. Keith Casey, Jr.
CEO, CaseySoftware, LLC
http://CaseySoftware.com

[wlturland]

The 3G coverage was excellent as far as I could tell. My phone only
dropped the 3G signal on the road between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

--Whitney

[ElizabethN]

On Feb 4, 12:19 pm, ElizabethN <elizabeth.naram...@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> http://www.cabinsforyou.com/seths_red_oak_lodge.htm
http://www.cabinsforyou.com/bear_claw_lodge_cabin_rental.htm

http://www.smagatlinburg.com/terrace_gardens__1066.html(not much info
> on this one)
>

Okay, I'm noticing no one has mentioned an opinion on these cabins...
are the sleeping arrangements too close for comfort?

Cheers,
E.

[D. Keith Casey Jr.]

ElizabethN wrote:
> http://www.cabinsforyou.com/seths_red_oak_lodge.htm
> http://www.cabinsforyou.com/bear_claw_lodge_cabin_rental.htm
> http://www.smagatlinburg.com/terrace_gardens__1066.html

I'm fine with any of those. Splitting a room with someone is fine in my
book... as long as they're not looking to spoon. ;)

Though I've talked to a few people - Eli White for one - who talked
about the idea of making it a family getaway sort of thing. For the
sake of everyone, I hope that families would stay at a hotel nearby to
not get caught in the hot tub, etc chaos.

[Jeff Jones]

Here's two other choices:

--

To offer another choice, if we wanted space for lots of people, here's 2 9 bedroom cabins side by side for a total of 18 bedrooms.

18BR (2x9 side by side)
http://www.cabinsofthesmokymountains.com/gatlinburg-cabin-rental/Smoky_Mountain_Mansion.html

These are nice looking cabins, but we'd have to deal with the seperation of having two seperate cabins, maybe designate one as the official. 

--

This one looks real nice, but is a bit farther away, up 321/East Parkwy. Might be same distance away as last time, but 321 is easier drive/less traffic.

9Bedroom, Sleepo 54, Indoor Pool, 20 seat theater.

http://www.hickorymist.com/Moose_Hollow_Lodge.htm

http://www.moosehollowlodge.com/rooms.html

[Tetraboy]

I have to say, after looking more, I think Moose Hollow Lodge might
actually surpass The Beast. It's about the same size, but also has a
pool house w/ heated indoor pool! (though not sure if it's shared with
other cabins, can't tell). Here's a breakdown:

Sleeping: 2 x 3 Kings, 4 x 2 Queens, 2 x 2 Queen Bunks (1 bunk=2
beds), 1 x 1 Queen Bunk. There's also about 5 sleeper sofas.

Amenities: Huge Game Room: Air Hockey, Pool Table, 9 Arcade Games, Wet
Bar. Loft room with poker table, couches/chairs. Great room with sofas
and 60" TV. Kitchen with all oversized applainces, etc. 20 seat
theater for presentations. Of course, 2 hot tubs.

This site has an overview of the rooms, and you can click them for
more pictures. Also a floor plan: http://www.moosehollowlodge.com/rooms.html

It appears there are other cabins at this location, so not sure how
private it is. Would be good for those than wanted to rent their own
cabins. Need to get an exact address from them, but probably 10 mins
from Gatlinburg out 321.

-Jeff Jones

On Feb 6, 3:28 pm, Jeff Jones <tetra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Here's two other choices:
>
> --
>
> To offer another choice, if we wanted space for lots of people, here's 2 9
> bedroom cabins side by side for a total of 18 bedrooms.
>

> 18BR (2x9 side by side)http://www.cabinsofthesmokymountains.com/gatlinburg-cabin-rental/Smok...

[Brandon Savage]

Good research by all so far.

My big thing is that I do want to keep everyone together. Having large common areas fostered unity and community. I'd really like to avoid breaking us up into smaller cabins, even if one is designated as "main" because it reduces the sense of community.

Brandon

[D. Keith Casey Jr.]

Brandon Savage wrote:
> My big thing is that I do want to keep everyone together. Having large
> common areas fostered unity and community. I'd really like to avoid
> breaking us up into smaller cabins, even if one is designated as "main"
> because it reduces the sense of community.

Or it will create tribes that will war it out all weekend with random
chaos, pranks, and regular mockery. We'll need war paint and flags.

I call Chris's team.

keith

[Tetraboy]

Ok guys, there's a lot of cabins out there, and I couldnt sleep. (And
I wanted try out google docs ;) So I've made a spreadsheet of the
possible cabins. Feel free to add/edit/tell me for any missing cabins
or details:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pDN4Dr1HBbdLOPpsx2bexLg&hl=en

When we are looking at cabins, here are some things we should keep in
mind as well as location: Theater! If we intend to do presentations
again, we will probably want a theater or make arrangements to setup a
projector in a common area. Square footage. The Beast was huge! Some
of the cabins have lots of bedrooms and beds, but the common areas
look rather small. I think we should focus on the size of the common
areas/amenities, as additional people can always sleep in cabins/
hotels, but everyone has to use the common areas. A good thing to look
at is the total square footage of the cabin. We had enough people that
we are pretty much looking for the biggest cabin we can find. :)
Another thing is, some of the stated prices are probably higher than
what we might pay (or lower depending on when).

-Jeff Jones

On Feb 6, 5:56 pm, "D. Keith Casey Jr." <ke...@caseysoftware.com>
wrote: