November 2024 – Monthly Meet-Up

Parking/Driving Considerations:

The Ahwahnee is in the midst of a few different renovation projects including rebuilding the kitchen and seismic improvements. Because of those construction projects, hotel parking is temporarily limited to valet parking only.

Day-use valet parking is $10 with validation and $15 without.

Church Bowl Picnic Area Parking

The Church Bowl Picnic Area is located on Ahwahnee Drive on your way to The Ahwahnee. Given the time of year and day, I expect that there will be plenty of parking available here.

Google says this is about 0.5 miles from The Ahwahnee and should take 9 minutes to walk.

North Side Drive Pullout Parking

Another option if you want a slightly shorter walk are the pullouts along Northside Drive that are across the Ahwahnee Lawn from the hotel itself. These pullouts only hold a few cars, but given the time of year, I suspect these will also be an option. One thing to note is that you will have to walk back across the Ahwahnee lawn in the dark. The last time I did this, it was less obvious than I thought it would be, but maybe I am just used to having the old tennis court there??

I can’t get Google to estimate the walking time for me, but it’s quite a bit shorter than the half-mile to Church Bowl. Say – 5 minutes?

Car-pooling

I’m not going to post the link in public, but remember that we have a contact list that we can use to organize car-pooling. If you don’t have the link or want me to resend it to you, let me know at simplytheresa(at)gmail(dot)com.

November-Specific Expectations

Dark

With daylight savings on November 3, sunset on November 6, 2024 will be 4:53 pm. Yep. We will be meeting as the light is fading from the sky. What does that mean?

• Bring a headlamp – preferably one with a red light if you have one. (I will try to bring a few extras if you don’t.) Red-light provides some illumination and also preserves your night vision.
• This just justified my growing desire to get a black light flashlight! I’ll bring it along and hopefully, we’ll see some cool insects – maybe scorpions? It’s fascinating to see what glows under a UV light at night.
• You know what else happens after dark? Moths! I have a new love for the fluttery folk and I’ll work on getting a Moth Love zine from a friend in case it’s still warm enough for them to be out.
• What other fun things can we do in the near-dark?

Inclement Weather

We also chose this location so that we could easily move indoors as needed. That gives us an easy option for light, warmth, and a dry space if we want it. If the forecast is for rain/snow, plan to bring something that tickles your curiosity to observe and share indoors. (Or plan to get wet. I would never take that option off your menu.)

A special treat … maybe.

If I had a tail, it would be wagging furiously in anticipation… but it’s not a sure thing, so I’m just going to leave that tidbit hanging there in hopes that we’ll see you on Nov. 6!