I think we ought to try a Texas Mini-Meet!

[Fire Marshal Bill]

I'm having a busy weekend so i'll follow up on this next week. Glad to see things working out. Any ideas on an itinerary yet? I'd like to attend the Con on Saturday. Maybe a meet and greet Friday afternoon and go to dinner?

[gman]

okay -- now my kids are wanting to go to the Con... somehow it has become trendy... or it could be the reunion of the original Wonka kids.... My oldest daughter wants to yell "you're turning violet, Violet"
so what's the game plan? I wont be there until late Friday nite early Sat morning....

[megojim]

not a set plan yet, we need to see how many are going to show and we can go from there. Bill's suggestion above seems to make sense to me. I know we want to have some sort of swap meet opportunity.

If I was able to put together some sort of "goodie" bag with custome parts, etc . . would anyone be interested? $20 or so, I would get the stuff from Castaway and Doc mego and put it together then we could trade stuff out of that as well. LMK

[rche]

If folks get in early enough for some sort of meet and foodie experience on Friday, I would love to come along.

Unfortunately, I have an all day sound gig that is out of town and will be out all day Saturday. So the only other way I would get to meet anyone would be in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Unless something got in the works for Sunday before folks started the trek home.

[megojim]

My plan is to leave mid-morning on Friday arrive just after noon

[Fire Marshal Bill]

I plan on arriving around lunchtime Friday as well. Goodie bags sound like fun Jim.

Now that we have dates and a location set, what do you think would be the best way to get the word out? I wonder if it would be acceptable to post something in General Buzz about it and direct folks to this thread? A lot of people may not see this in the Mego Meet forum, buried several pages deep in this thread.

[rche]

what kind of food are you all interested in?
Do you want the Austin Freak kind of tour, or the TX bbq sort of thing? vegans; carnivores??? whadda we got?

[AusTex]

Hey rche. The Rainey street area might be a good place to eat, have drinks and chat. Close to the convention, good eats/ drinks at very reasonable prices and lots of space for large parties.

Oh, I'm hard core vegetarian but whatever people want is cool with me.

[rche]

Rainey sounds good and it is close to the convention area.
I figure any veggies, like yourself, are completely capable of taking care of themselves when on the road.

I was also thinking of suggesting Crazy Maria's tacos if'n anyone was going to make an excursion over to Anna's Toy Depot over on S. Lamar. Good food and a chunk of old skool Austin atmosphere.

[Megospidey]

^^ all of that sounds good. I was hoping we might be able to take in a some vintage toy or comic shops.

[rche]

Not too much in the way of old toys around here anymore.

There are a few fun bookstores, tho. I will post a list a bit later.

[megojim]

I hog wild still around?

[rche]

Hog wild is mostly clothes and vintage furniture. There are a few toys in the front case (the last time I was there), but John has taken most of his toy business elsewhere or has gotten out of it completely. I am not sure which.

I think there were a few monsters and a conan there the last time I popped my head in to see what was going on in the shop. Not really too much to write home about and I am not sure they got the memo that loose toy values have fallen in the last couple of years.

[rche]

For comic shops, tho. There are still a few gooders to gander at.

The best store for back issues that go waay back is probably Austin Books and Comics. We call this one Hulk's House due to the giant (life sized?) plaster Hulk they have.
5002 North Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78751
(512) 454-4197

Dragon's Lair is pretty fun and a great family owned shop. This is the place I turn to when there are mile long lines at AB&C for free comic book day. And - we call this on e Spiderman's house due to the Spidey standing guard by the front door.

6111 Burnet Road
Austin, TX 78757-3226
(512) 454-2399

Capstone Comics is another good place for back issues. We call this one Iron Man's house 'cos.... Ok you get the picture.
2121 W Parmer Lane, #107, Austin, TX 78727 (512) 339-4251

And for those of you coming down the IH 35 from the north. Somewhere in Round Rock (which is about 5-10 miles north of Austin) there is a strip mall with a person who advertises vintage toys in the craigslist all the time. I have not been there, but have been curious about it.
The Antique Gallery of Round Rock (Same strip mall as Outback, 1/2 Price Books, Conn's)
1601 S. IH 35
Round Rock, Texas
512-218-4290

And, of course, there is Anna's Toy Depot.
This is a total crapshoot. Anna sells a mix of new and seconhand toys. She has a thing for Legos and old Fisher Price Little People stuff. She also usually has a couple of tables or bins full of loose figures and you may find a vintage piece right next to last weeks happy meal premium. It is kinda fun to dig in, tho you may feel a bit odd competing for the Green Lantern figure with the 4yo that you did not bring with you to the store.
2620 South Lamar Blvd # B
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 447-8697

There is also one of those Goodwill bin store things down south that my brother in law has reported finding some amazing things at. I believe he picked up one of Hasbros latest giant AT-ATs there in a sealed box for $5-10 bucks, and my wife brought me back a Fisher Price houseboat after her last trip there. I dunno, tho. Those places give me the creeps.
Goodwill Blue Hanger Outlet - Southeast Austin - Austin, TX


Truthfully tho, if you are planning to attend the Con, you will get all the toy and comic geeking available in this burg right there w/o going any further.

looking forward to meeting some mego-peeps.
rche

[megojim]

Everyone check you PM's and reply asap
thanks