120 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

Hey girl! ... you are my only other gal volunteer so far...

Well dammit, I was hoping the surprise Texan would be an SD babe.

Not out of the question yet...still have an SD babe in the works...if she can get the time off from work! But she's not from Texas...but I know you don't care about that!

[WreckWench]

And on Friday as needed. Also looked into hotels, the ones on the shows website the Best Western is the cheapest, About $375 for 3 nights, I will be reserving a 2 bed room tonight, unless my roommate is cute of the oppisite sex and blind, then I will reserve a 1 bed room and play stupid (easy for me to do). See you at the show.

Keith

Hey Keith we have what I think is a similar rate at the SHOW hotel. How about I send you the info and you do some legwork for us? That would be great! Thanks! kamala

[WreckWench]

Is there time to squeeze in an HH, or do we just want to do the vendor party on Friday?

I think we need to take our Happy Hour PRIMETIME on Saturday! WHOOPS! I forgot about the event party! What were the times on that again? We may do ours prior to that and then join the main party....or go with Greg's idea and do ours on Friday? Either way we need to get hopping so we can find a venue near the convention center...any ideas?

[KeithT4U]

And on Friday as needed. Also looked into hotels, the ones on the shows website the Best Western is the cheapest, About $375 for 3 nights, I will be reserving a 2 bed room tonight, unless my roommate is cute of the oppisite sex and blind, then I will reserve a 1 bed room and play stupid (easy for me to do). See you at the show.

Keith

Hey Keith we have what I think is a similar rate at the SHOW hotel. How about I send you the info and you do some legwork for us? That would be great! Thanks! kamala

Sounds good, I am on my way up there now as a matter of fact. I will look into it, not sure but the Best Western is the one where the party is so it will be a short stagger....I mean walk to the room.

Keith

[Brinybay]

Ok Diving sounds great, just some information. I have never done a night dive though I have a tank light and a primary light. I am not the most comfortable diver in the water but have lots(10-15) shore dives of the 25 or so I have in my book. I have also done some current though massive current is probably bad idea. Surface swims are something I try to avoid but I have some unorthodox methods to make them bearable. So Thursday evening and/or Friday morning look good. I have gone on the dive shows web site and it looks like on Friday is setup from 1200-1800 with the vendor party after. On Sat there is a diver party in the evening that may or may not take the place of a HH. Just info that might be needed.

Keith

That's ok, we don't do massive currents either, that's why we time them so that we're diving at slack. Personally, I don't care for drift dives, especially with the limited visibility in these waters.

Sounds like Alki Cove 2 would be the best bet. Easy entry, no current or long surface swim, plenty of depth and pubs nearby for post-dive "debriefing". We'll do another dive after the event for the other out-of-towners who won't get here until Friday.

I'm going to leave the HH part up to WW.

[Brinybay]

Hey girl! ... you are my only other gal volunteer so far...

Well dammit, I was hoping the surprise Texan would be an SD babe.

Not out of the question yet...still have an SD babe in the works...if she can get the time off from work! But she's not from Texas...but I know you don't care about that!

Well, if they're all like the ones I've met here, it helps!

[Brinybay]

Is there time to squeeze in an HH, or do we just want to do the vendor party on Friday?

I think we need to take our Happy Hour PRIMETIME on Saturday! WHOOPS! I forgot about the event party! What were the times on that again? We may do ours prior to that and then join the main party....or go with Greg's idea and do ours on Friday? Either way we need to get hopping so we can find a venue near the convention center...any ideas?

Here's their schedule I found from NWDN link. I only included the social part since that's what we're discussing, except for the film festival since it appears to be sandwiched in between two parties. (I like the way the organizers think!) The entire schedule is at

http://www.nwdiveand...ent/view/15/26/

Distance from the Trade Center to Tacoma Dome parking is a little over a mile.

Tacoma Dome directions
Trade Center directions
Getting from one to the other

Industry Only Events
Friday, May 2, 2008
Industry & Exhibitor Social - GTTCC
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM*
*must show dive industry credentials

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Cocktail hour - Best Western Tacoma Dome
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Film Festival - Best Western Tacoma Dome
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Divers' Party - Best Western Tacoma Dome
9:00 PM - 12:00 PM

Here is a partial list of potential HH venues (I didn't include the fast food and coffee house listings). With the few people that we have, I think we would be safe doing a walk-in, i.e. w/o reservations:

http://www.nwdiveand...ent/view/27/47/

Local Area Information
Within walking distance from the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center

Steak
El Gaucho Tacoma - 2119 Pacific Ave (253) 882-0009 www.elgaucho.com

American
Pacific Grill (next to the Marriott) - 1502 Pacific Ave (253) 627-3535 www.pacificgrilltacoma.com
The Broadway Grill (in the Sheraton) - 1320 Broadway (253) 591-4151
The Swiss - 1904 Jefferson (253) 572-2821
Harmon Pub & Brewery - 1938 Pacific (253) 383-2739 www.harmonbrewing.com
Varsity Grill Restaurant & Sports Bar - 1114 Broadway (253) 627-1229 www.varsitygrill.com
The Blue Olive Restaurant & Martini Bar - 1715 Dock Street (253) 383-7275 www.blueolive.net
21 Commerce - 2106 Pacific Ave (253) 272-6278 www.21martinis.com
The Vault Restaurant & Bar - 1025 Pacific (253) 572-3145

Asian
Indochine Asian Dining & Wine Bar - 1924 Pacific Avenue (253) 272-8200
Galanga Thai Cuisine - 1129 Broadway (253) 272-3393
Fujiya Japanese Restaurant & Sushi - 1125 Court C (253) 627-5319

Italian
The Old Spaghetti Factory - 1735 S. Jefferson (253) 383-2214 www.osf.com
Rock Pasta Brick Oven Pizza - 1920 S. Jefferson (253) 272-1221 www.therockwfp.com
Altezzo Ristorante (Sheraton Hotel) 1320 Broadway
Abella's Pizzaria - 1946 Pacific (253) 779-0769

Mexican
La Costa Mexican Restaurant - 928 Pacific Ave (253) 272-0300
El Toro Mexican 1128 Broadway (253) 722-5196

Seafood
Sea Grill - 1498 Pacific (253) 272-5656 www.the-seagrill.com

Edited by Brinybay, 20 April 2008 - 01:02 PM.

[Brinybay]

More on diving - Winter doesn't seem to want to go away and consequently we're having an unseasonably cold "spring". Hopefully it'll quit snowing within the next 10 days. (Not to worry, it's mixed and not sticking). It was pushing 70 and sunny just a week ago, go figure! Only part of diving that will really impact is the visibility. The water temp won't change, although hopefully it'll warm up by at least a few degrees (see my earlier post on dive conditions).

[KeithT4U]

This all sounds good. I am so looking forward to this time off. But I agree that we need more SD babes at the booth. It is hard to get members with a distingushed gentleman and a truck driver that looks like a yak. Come one come all.

Keith

[Brinybay]

And if anybody needs rental gear, here are some LDS's:

Lighthouse Dive Centers

Underwater Sports

5th Dimension

[Brinybay]

This all sounds good. I am so looking forward to this time off. But I agree that we need more SD babes at the booth. It is hard to get members with a distingushed gentleman and a truck driver that looks like a yak. Come one come all.

Keith

WW and KC will more than compensate for us...

[KeithT4U]

OK hotel reservations are made at the Best Western Tacoma Dome hotel where the diver party is. I have an extra bed so if any one needs a place to crash we are set up. I am planning on checking in on thursday and out on Sunday. Lets have some fun and dive and talk to divers. I still need a volunteer buddy for the treasure hunt if any one can come up for that.

Keith

[Brinybay]

OK hotel reservations are made at the Best Western Tacoma Dome hotel where the diver party is.
Keith

One could infer that the diver party will be in your hotel room...

[kittenesquire]

I would love to volunteer for Saturday and Sunday. I do not know anyone there but I am a Pacific Northwest diver and looking for fun dive buddies, and love meeting new, crazy SCUBA people. Please let me know if I can help in any way.
I see from posts below that there is a "need" for more females, and I happen to be one!
Please contact me with any information. Thanks
Zoe

[WreckWench]

I would love to volunteer for Saturday and Sunday. I do not know anyone there but I am a Pacific Northwest diver and looking for fun dive buddies, and love meeting new, crazy SCUBA people. Please let me know if I can help in any way.
I see from posts below that there is a "need" for more females, and I happen to be one!
Please contact me with any information. Thanks
Zoe

That is great Zoe! Just got your email too! I will call you to give you more information. I did remove your contact info for safety reasons....when you clicked on contact webmaster/admin I got a copy of your message. Several others did too and sent it to me as well!

I'll call soon! kamala