TMC Iceland Meetup 2020!

[KarenRei]

So, I was thinking this would be tricky to decide which date suits people best, and I'd have to set up something like a condorcet voting system with Schulze-method cycle resolution. But nope; the winner turned out to be obvious:

Late June.

It not only had the highest number of 10/10 ratings - literally half of its votes were 10/10. Every single vote was 6/10 or higher.

What say ye - meet under the midnight sun? Least rainy / second sunniest month? Lupine in bloom? Birds nesting? Meet on Elon's birthday on the 28th for three days (happening to include my birthday, coincidentally!) ), then for anyone who has more time, going off deeper into the countryside - either as a group or on people's own? Group tree-planting event? Group "bankwupt" photo op at the Tesla store or the giant Tesla logo on my land? Tours, hikes, music, art, hot geothermal water soaks, good food and drink, and good chats as per whatever people feel like and when they feel like it, with no strict schedule?

Sound good? If so, I'll set up an RSVP page, figure out who wants to pool rooms and vehicles, and I'll cast a bit wider net to see if any non-TMC Tesla people want to join in as well!

 

[Lessmog]

Not committing to participate (for now), but let me just add a little tip for those who want to stay a little longer and explore more in depth:

A few years ago we the family flew to Iceland, rented a car and stayed at a small guesthouse (~10 rooms w/bath) offering (a somewhat boring but adequate) breakfast and evening meal upon request the same morning. Nice, clean, hot pottur in the yard, very welcoming hosts. (But signs of sheep ) A lively shallow stream where people fished for trout (?) and undulating meadows for walks. Wifi. A living farm.

We used it as a base camp for day trips with the car to various sites and sights within range, such as Mývatn, Húsavík, Gúdafóss and that big horseshoe canyon up north, that volcano/power station with that Earth Bath and a bigger waterfall, and the troll park, as well as the humming city of Akureyri .

It's called Draflastaður (maybe missed a few diacritics there too ) and not expensive, I think. About 30-40 km by road east of Akureyri. Local climate seems to be warmer than the capital, due to the Gulfstream kissing the north coast.

Worth looking up. And might be wise to book early in case another horde of time-disoriented Chinese tourists have their eyes on it too.

 

[KarenRei]

RSVP link ready!

Tesla Iceland Meetup 2020 - RSVP

The info will help figure out how many shared apartments / shared cars will be needed, beyond the people who reserve their own. Feel free to change your responses later as things change.

 

[gcmak]

Any clue when in August?

Likely the first week in August as I don't want to miss the puffins but still want enough chance to see the northern lights again.
As someone else mentioned, I couldn't stop standing out in the hail storms for breaks to photograph your beautiful country.

 

[KarenRei]

Likely the first week in August as I don't want to miss the puffins but still want enough chance to see the northern lights again.
As someone else mentioned, I couldn't stop standing out in the hail storms for breaks to photograph your beautiful country.
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First week in August? Recommend not coming during Verslunarmannahelgi if you plan to go to Vestmannaeyjar to photo the puffins That's Þjóðhátíð í Eyjum. Huge outdoor music fest, but not my type - that's more the "young people get drunk / wasted / high / try to get laid" sort of fest.

Even outside of Vestmannaeyjar, Verslunarmannahelgi is the busiest travel weekend of the year, so you'd want to be sure to book early.

 

[johnnybgood888]

RSVP link ready!

Tesla Iceland Meetup 2020 - RSVP

The info will help figure out how many shared apartments / shared cars will be needed, beyond the people who reserve their own. Feel free to change your responses later as things change.

@KarenRei , any reason why we are not doing it over the weekend of Jun 26-28/29 as opposed to during the week days from June 28-30?

 

[johnnybgood888]

First week in August? Recommend not coming during Verslunarmannahelgi if you plan to go to Vestmannaeyjar to photo the puffins That's Þjóðhátíð í Eyjum. Huge outdoor music fest, but not my type - that's more the "young people get drunk / wasted / high / try to get laid"

Where and when is the festival for old people to do that sort of things?

 

[Bet TSLA]

My wife and I did an organized group photography trip to Iceland ...

A local (to me) photographer acquaintance of mine, Joe Decker, has spent quite a bit of time in Iceland. You might enjoy looking at some of his work.

 

[KarenRei]

Where and when is the festival for old people to do that sort of things?

Haha, older people are more than welcome, there's others there too They're just outnumbered by young people.

 

[KarenRei]

@KarenRei , any reason why we are not doing it over the weekend of Jun 26-28/29 as opposed to during the week days from June 28-30?

Because nobody mentioned trying to align it to a weekend before I posted a time? I just decided to start it on Elon's birthday and didn't think to weekend-align it (having it later also meant more people would still be around for Q2 deliveries in the first couple days of July).

Is the day problematic? Should I hold a poll about shifting the date?

 

[johnnybgood888]

Because nobody mentioned trying to align it to a weekend before I posted a time? I just decided to start it on Elon's birthday and didn't think to weekend-align it (having it later also meant more people would still be around for Q2 deliveries in the first couple days of July).

Is the day problematic? Should I hold a poll about shifting the date?

I could work with either but over the weekend would be easier and requires me to take fewer vacation days. That is assuming we haven't all retired with our TSLA riches by then.

 

[KarenRei]

I could work with either but over the weekend would be easier and requires me to take fewer vacation days. That is assuming we haven't all retired with our TSLA riches by then.

Okay, I'll make the adjustment when I get home. For now, ignore the wording in the poll and call it 26-28 June

 

[johnnybgood888]

Okay, I'll make the adjustment when I get home. For now, ignore the wording in the poll and call it 26-28 June

Thanks @KarenRei! If the majority still prefers Jun 28-30 and onwards, please keep those dates, I was just wondering if there was a particular significance to having the meetup at the beginning of that week, which you have subsequently cleared up.

Thanks again for organizing and hosting! If this turns out well, we should do this more on a regular basis, maybe twice a year. I'd be happy to help host the next one in Toronto, I know we have a few members on the forum from the area as well!

 

[KarenRei]

*sniff* now a lot of you will no longer be here on my birthday

(Seriously, that didn't actually occur to me when I chose 28-30 rather than 26-28 )

 

[KarenRei]

Paging:
@Yuri_G @jbcarioca @Beltsbear @AMN @jkirkwood001 @Lycanthrope @Causalien @Electroman @Bunky @HG Wells @Intl Professor @FrankSG @Nocturnal @kbM3 @lascavarian @WilliamInPhx @Todesbuckler @capster

Everyone above, you're on my list of "possible attendees who possibly haven't RSVPed" If you've already RSVPed or definitely won't be making it, please let me know; otherwise please RSVP (there's a spot to indicate how likely you are to show up if you're not sure, from "probably not" to "I already have my ticket!" ) RSVPing helps get a sense of how many people to prepare for.

Tesla Iceland Meetup 2020 - RSVP

 

[KarenRei]

As per some of the comments on the RSVP page:

• We'll definitely make sure that vegetarians are well served; I'm one myself. But don't worry, meat eaters, we won't be banning you from doing your thing Sheep, cattle, and horses here all live quite good lives compared to in most other places (all free range... the sheep extremely free range ).
• I'm not sure about hosting "investment classes", but I think investment strategies / experience / advice, models of Tesla's future, etc would be a very good conversation topic at some points! People are encouraged to come prepared if they want to go into more detail about their strategies and models than just a casual chat.
• We'll make accomodations for both the more physically fit and less physically fit; we can split into multiple groups as needed.

 

[jkirkwood001]

Paging:
@Yuri_G @jbcarioca @Beltsbear @AMN @jkirkwood001 @Lycanthrope @Causalien @Electroman @Bunky @HG Wells @Intl Professor @FrankSG @Nocturnal @kbM3 @lascavarian @WilliamInPhx @Todesbuckler @capster

Everyone above, you're on my list of "possible attendees who possibly haven't RSVPed" If you've already RSVPed or definitely won't be making it, please let me know; otherwise please RSVP (there's a spot to indicate how likely you are to show up if you're not sure, from "probably not" to "I already have my ticket!" ) RSVPing helps get a sense of how many people to prepare for.

Tesla Iceland Meetup 2020 - RSVP

Done!

I'm very keen to visit Iceland (1-2 weeks), along with Scandinavia (1-2 months), but this summer is not ideal - I was thinking summer 2021. I really, really appreciate your voice on TMC and offering to organize Iceland, Karen!

 

[jbcarioca]

Who wants to share a G650 from NYC? :-D

FWIW, there are a plethora of less expensive options than a G6. If you and/or others are serious, that is.
I still have contacts. (I used to own a charter company). Best option would probably be TEB or HPN departure, if NYC. Problem is primarily deciding how long for RT booking. Were we able to do this correctly could be Part 91, saving 10-15%. Of course that means me as a pilot, that means a Falcon rather than a Gulfstream.

If not serious, I apologize.

 

[ecarfan]

Karen congrats on your work to organize this event. Wish I could be there, but have other travel plans this year.

That looks like Reykjadalur. I’ve been there a few times. Really fun to soak and listen to people speaking in languages from all over the world.

Then you get into things that are just rocks placed across a hot spring, or natural pools, or places where someone ran a hose from a hot water source into a basin:

 

[KarenRei]

Karen congrats on your work to organize this event. Wish I could be there, but have other travel plans this year.

That looks like Reykjadalur. I’ve been there a few times. Really fun to soak and listen to people speaking in languages from all over the world.

View attachment 500511

Actually, that one is Landmannalaugar BTW, protip (if we go on a hike I might take us there) for Reykjadalur: approach it through Grændalur, the valley to the east. Just as full of geothermal features, but you have the entire valley to yourself. Oh, sure, the trail sort of disappears on you partway through, but apart from that... You then cross the ridge into Reykjadalur at the end of the valley.