Great to see old faces and meet new friends. Looking forward to seeing everyone sometime around November 16-17! (Although it turns out I have another one of these ridiculously-cheap-Courtyard-mattress-runs on 11/08, so if I do make that event, I might be down here two weekends in a row. ;))

It looks like we are going to need to be there on Nov 20-21. Can you move your visit back a few days?

Sadly, I fly ZFV-SAN on 11/20.

If everyone would rather meet on the weekend when you're in town (I think GoingAway is gone away on the proposed weekend, but she should be back when you're there, so she could make a later date), I won't be offended. It'll save me 240 miles worth of gas. ;)

Not in town on any weekend. 20-21Nov are probably our days in NoVa.

Ah. Up to the group if they want to do a midweek get-together, but based on conversations today, I somehow think that's not typically preferred.

Wish I could stay, but a $150rt transcon and sunny SoCal weather (and Thanksgiving with my family) calls. :)

Actually, IME this group mostly prefers weekdays.

We're ambidextrous! Folks living outside the beltway tend to find weekends easier because of weekday traffic; people inside the beltway who live close to Metro lines tend to find weekdays easier because of more frequent trains and less trackwork. We try to accommodate the differences in availability by scheduling both weekday and weekend events.

I could do 21 Nov. I could possibly do brunch on 17 Nov if it were in Shirlington, as I have theatre tickets that afternoon down that way.

If someone needs something to do on the evening of 16 Nov, I am hosting a story swap at my (metro-adjacent) place. If someone needs something to do sooner than that, I am producing a concert of scary stories this coming Saturday night (also extremely metro accessible). Info on that is at

http://www.ralphchatham.net/halloween_2013.pdf

Well, don't feel obligated to stick to the 11/16-17 plan. As I mentioned, I'll have already been in DC the weekend prior, so I won't be itching to make it down (but I will if we do end up proceeding with an event). If you'd rather see monitor's mug than mine, I totally won't be offended. :)

I will be leaving town on the 11/16, but hope to make the next round of happy hours.

I need to do a better job of following this thread!

So...any thoughts on when and where?

Either Saturday or Sunday works fine for me.

How would an early lunch -- say 11:30 am -- work on Saturday? Is there any place someone can recommend either in the District or inside the beltway in NoVA?

Works for me. I'll defer to those of you who live there, but since we're less than a week out, if no one else responds with a better idea, I'll default to my old stand-by recommendation of Ray's To The Third on Wilson between Courthouse and Rosslyn.

But I'm always one to try a new place over going back to a previous favorite, so by all means, please suggest somewhere else that's also awesome!

ETA: I'm currently going through a Middle Eastern kick, and I had read that Zaytina in Penn Quarter is worth checking out.

I've only been to Zaytinya once, but I liked it quite a lot and would happily go there again.

I can do an early lunch on Saturday, contingent on finishing my house cleaning to some reasonable condition. (If I really want to finsih it, then I am not free until at least 2018.)

Lunch/Brunch on 11/16 works for me.
tom