Barrowmaze and travel

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by kiltedyaksman, Jan 31, 2016.

  1. kiltedyaksman

    kiltedyaksman Level 0 Character

    Hi all,

    I'm Greg Gillespie, author of Barrowmaze.

    I'm coming to Garycon for the first time and need advice.

    1. Am I better off flying into Milwaukee or Chicago? How long a drive is it from both? Are there places to find people to drive with or should I just rent a car? Any other travel advice greatfully received.

    2. Can someone please direct me to scheduling a Barrowmaze session at the con? Also, I am late to the party for registration, are there many open table games?

    Thank you, Greg
     
  2. stahlnee

    stahlnee Spellbinder

    Hi Greg,

    1. Which everone is cheaper and more convient to fly into. Little longer drive from Chicago. Just post here and someone may chime in to help. I am flying into Chicago Midway around 10-11am on Wednesday and leaving very early on Monday. I have second person with me but we could add a third if your flights are around the same time. Just pm me if this works for you.

    2. Scheduling events for pre-registration was over several weeks ago. Pre-registration for events took place yesterday and is being sorted out before being made available again. There will be open gaming space availabe during the entire convention. Suggest send a pm to brendar to see what you options are.
     
  3. chainsaw

    chainsaw Troubadour

    I always fly into MKE because there are directs from my origin and MKE is smaller, easier to navigate and has less risk of delays than ORD. I travel a lot for work and have more issues through ORD than anywhere. I think MKE's a little closer too (takes me about 50 minutes to drive). If there aren't directs from your destination to MKE and flying into MKE would add a lot of travel time, then you might be better hitting ORD.

    Once you arrive at either spot, you'll either need to taxi in or rent a car. I think the taxi from MKE is like $130 one way. I always rent a car. A compact from Hertz cost me $150 for Weds-Sun. Obviously coordinating with other attendees helps control cost here.

    Official event submission ended a few weeks ago, so you won't be on the formal schedule now. You can, however, play pick-up games whenever you want, wherever you can find a spot. Gathering and coordinating players will probably be your main challenge. I would two strategies. First, advertise here, ahead of time by suggesting your own schedule, stating to PM you or email you (first come first serve) and identifying a common meeting point (the bar always seems to be popular), at which place the group can then walk around until it finds an acceptable spot. I suspect you will be surprised how many people you can pick-up. Second, walk around in the common areas gathering lost souls.
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2016
  4. kiltedyaksman

    kiltedyaksman Level 0 Character

    Very helpful. Thank you.

    Looking at travelocity it was quoting me $300 for a wed to mon car rental. Not sure what market value would be for a rental.
     
  5. chainsaw

    chainsaw Troubadour

    Man. I am Hertz Gold, got a compact, only did Mon430PM-Sun10AM and also maybe got a slight discount because of my employer (10%?). Twice as much still seems like a lot more. Sharing a taxi with someone might be your best bet if that's accurate.
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2016
  6. Jarlaxle

    Jarlaxle Troubadour

    Chicago is probably a cheaper flight, being a hub. Where are you flying from? From there...yeah, you'll need a rental car.
     
  7. Scott308

    Scott308 Chevalier

    When you know where you are flying into and what time you will be arriving, you can post on the forums and may be able to share a ride with someone else arriving around the same time, or find a kind soul who will be driving through that area and can pick you up. You may not have to rent a car on your own, unless you really want to of course.
     
  8. Jarlaxle

    Jarlaxle Troubadour

    What he said. Off the top of my head, I know I'm driving past Chicago.
     
  9. Liverpuncher

    Liverpuncher Level 0 Character

    Hey Greg -

    OHare (ORD) is much closer than Midway to the resort.

    I'm sure you can find a place for you're game. I'd love to play - and I'll be tracking this thread to see where you're going to do so.

    Regards,
    Nick
     
  10. athornton

    athornton Footpad

    We're driving up from St. Louis and are picking up a couple of people at the Harvard Metra station. It's only $5, apparently (and about 2 hours) to get there from O'Hare, and it's way way way closer to Lake Geneva (about half an hour versus, well, Google Maps says 1:07 but I'm sure it's more like 1:30 every time I've ever driven, if there are no wrecks, and there are always wrecks).
     
    datagoblin67 likes this.
  11. kiltedyaksman

    kiltedyaksman Level 0 Character

    Flying straight to Chicago from Buffalo seems to make the most sense. Although I imagine time of day would influence the driving time significantly to Lake Geneva.
     
  12. Jarlaxle

    Jarlaxle Troubadour

    Buffalo to LG is only a day's drive. (About 10 hours.)
     
  13. datagoblin67

    datagoblin67 Level 0 Character

    Hail Athornton! I thought I would be the only person representing the Metro East area at Garycon! Good to see some people from across the river going. Have a good con!
     
  14. EOTB

    EOTB Level 0 Character

    If that quote was for car rental from O'Hare, that might be accurate. I was stunned at how expensive the car rental was from O'Hare the one GC I flew into that airport.
     
  15. jim skach

    jim skach Troubadour

    OK...so...

    To get to Harvard from O'Hare, one must first take the Blue Line (CTA) from O'Hare to Irving Park. I'm not sure what the CTA Rate is now. At the Irving Park station you kind of switch modes (and directions), going from the Blue Line (CTA) station to the Union Pacific Northwest Line (METRA). That will get you out to Crystal Lake, Woodstock and Harvard. That ticket - the one-way from Irving Park to Harvard is currently $10.00. The trip runs about 1:40. Then according to Google Maps, the Drive from Harvard to Lake Geneva is about 28 minutes.

    You can check https://metrarail.com/metra/en/home.html to get the information about when the train runs, prices, etc. For example, going to Woodstock (where they filmed parts of Groundhog Day!) is about 1:20 in duration and only $9.00...but the trip from there by car is slightly longer - around 30 minutes according to Google maps (though it's a straight shot up 47 from there).
     

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