So what does Pennsylvania have to do with Holland?

Not much really.

The Pennsylvania Dutch are a subcultural group in the south-central part of the state and since that's where we're planning on meeting, what better name to call it?

Besides, the original Dutch Meet succeeded in drawing some of the italic-type folks out of the H2G2 Towers, so giving it a misleading name might lure them the whole way across the Atlantic Ocean.

Sadly, that little ploy failed.

So then, what was there to do in the Keystone State in the Summer of 2002? (Or more specifically, during the weekend of 2-4 August!)

On 3 August, we met in the hotel lobby between 9 and 10 am and jumped up and down and generally looked silly. Then we caused a diner manager's heart to skip a beat when all 13 of us wandered in and asked for breakfast. Then the vast majority of us were off to meet Shea and TJ and spend the day at Hersheypark which is by far the coolest amusement park in the local area.

Then to recover on 4 August, we met at Long's Park in Lancaster, basically chucking the plan to meet by the big playground and instead finding each other by driving around and joining the long caravan of Researchers' cars. We spent most of the afternoon snacking and chatting (of course) until we had to depart for points unknown and get back to our RL concerns and hassles.

Some Photos

Tacsatduck wins the prize for getting his photos uploaded first.

Amy Pawloski's photos, all 66 of them chronicle her journey from the West Coast to Pennsylvania and back again.

The Activities

The following have some details about the activities we're planning for our meet-up in south-central Pennsylvania:

• Hersheypark - The local amusement park in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It is your basic American theme park containing several roller coasters, water rides, restaurants, games and shows. It's a fun place to spend a day, ask Jimi X, he worked there for eight years while he was in high school and college.

• Long's Park - Considered to be the best park in Lancaster City, this 71-acre park should have plenty of room for us to spread around and perhaps organize a game of croquet or kickball?.

Safety First!

Our lovely community editor Peta has put together a brilliant page with 'Guidelines for Attending an Internet Party'. If you're considering attending the Pennsylvania Dutch Meet, do read this page. Though it should be noted that the legal drinking age in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is 21, not 18.

Who was there?

While not all of us were there all of the time, some of us were there some of the time, while others of us were there all the time and some of us were there none of the time...

They Were There

• Jimi X - Made it to breakfast Saturday, but he missed going to Hersheypark and had to leave early on Sunday after a couple of hours at Long's Park¹.

• Amy Pawloski - Flew to into New York from California (boy were her arms tired) and arrived in Pennsylvania on Friday. She brought garlic pistachios as promised.

• Mr Christopher and Alexandra Marie Chaser - Came to Pennsylvania with Mr Christopher's parentals and he had the presence of mind to bring a copy of 'Salmon of Doubt' to collect everyone's autographs.

• Paul and Tac - Paul's hair turned white as Tac's driving broke several laws of physics, managing to arrive in Pennsylvania before they left New York.

• Zak The Duck - The life of the party.

• Croz, Clive the flying ostrich and Granny Weatherwax - Attended in paper form and didn't manage to get too ripped.

• Amy †, Shorty †, and Lady Scott † - Possibly the coolest family in Lancaster County, they were the glue that held everything together.

• Me, Myself and I and The Incomparable Wonk - Brought the parental units for a family vacation type thingie.

• Shea the Sarcastic and TJ - So in love, it was about the sweetest thing at Hersheypark. Ask about Shea's t-shirt on Sunday.

• Avenging Washcloth - Surprised some of us by hopping out of a bag at breakfast as she is attending 'in the flannel' as it were.

• The Theory - Showed up Sunday in the park and generally hung about.

Wanted to, but unable to attend

We wish you could all be here with us, but we'll be thinking of you and missing you all...

• Mark
• Peta
• Abi
• HappyDude
• Nora
• Dorian Gray
• Batty
• Bagpuss
• 2legs
• Galen
• Virabhadra
• Skie
• Strider
• a la Dawn
• Dirk Gently
• zolacakes
• Ralph, the Janitor
• Mediocredane
• Yowuzupman
• John-the-gardener
• Uncle Heavy
• Yossarian Prefect

Where did we stay?

The out-of-towners encamped at the Park Inn in Lancaster along with a softball team and a weight-lifting convention.

Of course Pennsylvania-based folks avoided lumpy hotel beds by sleeping at home.

What was the weather like?

Hot! Brutally, unreasonably hot. You might think the surface of the sun is hot, but that's just peanuts compared to the temperatures in south-central Pennsylvania the weekend of 2-4 August.

According to the National Weather Service, south-central Pennsylvania experiences the following ranges of temperatures during the time of the meet:

To be fair, it should have been expected since we've been experiencing a heat wave and dry spell for weeks. The weather for the meet was blazing hot with temperatures in the mid-90s and brutally high humidity.