The Third Annual Mid-Atlantic G2G Was Amazing!!!

[Shabbaz]

Looks like a great meeting!

 

[gbesq]

Dsloan

For a cage match? Can we take bets?

Maybe, but I was thinking that we could actually talk to Teddy and just have Kevin pick up the tab for the event.

 

[Dsloan]

gbesq

Maybe, but I was thinking that we could actually talk to Teddy and just have Kevin pick up the tab for the event.

You know, this why we're lucky to have members who have passed the bar exam. Your suggestion sounds much more legal than mine.

 

[gbesq]

Dsloan

You know, this why we're lucky to have members who have passed the bar exam. Your suggestion sounds much more legal than mine.

Perhaps, but yours sounds more fun. 😲

 

[Aroxx]

MTROIS

@Aroxx sorry you did not win the tray... but since I did, please allow me to thank @Duracuir1 , because it is simply AWESOME!!!!! And all is in the details, including that Speedmaster shadow embedded in the center piece!! 🥰
Edit: looks like I have some trouble uploading the pics!!

Couldn’t have gone to a better guy and the Speedmaster motif is perfect for you!

Do you have a new iPhone? There was a thread discussing that. Apparently the default resolution makes images too large for OF. Just a thought.

 

[Aroxx]

Dogart1983

A few pics I snagged

I also got to try on the Flightmaster seen in this pic! It’s big, but doesn’t wear as big as it looks in pictures. I was surprised. Still don’t know about that case though lol.

 

[abrod520]

JwRosenthal

Looks like you stayed at the Sheraton downtown. That place had gotten real shabby about a decade ago- have they cleaned it up?
If anyone needs lodging recommendations for the future, PM me. Some real gems in this city- from lux to macabre (apparently a number of suicides after the crash of ‘29 at the Lord Baltimore- said to be ghosts there).

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency. It was OK, nice that it was right across the street from the inner harbor if that's something people want from their stay

 

[abrod520]

gbesq

Adam, if you're still in Baltimore this morning - and this goes for anyone else who stayed overnight -- treat yourself to Sunday brunch at Miss Shirley's. You won't be disappointed.

We just grabbed breakfast at the hotel and headed out to hopefully avoid traffic (which we did, we made really good time!). Next time we'll definitely try to make more of a trip out of it I think!

 

[Zman4eva]

I also want to thank @gbesq @JwRosenthal @RevZMan123, Hannah, and anyone else who helped organized this event. Some thoughts from me on the event:

People - Everyone that I spoke to was friendly, generous, and spreading good vibes. There was no snobbery or one-upmanship. Everyone was laid back and openly sharing their watches for others to appreciate. We had a great time talking about watches, looking at watches, and generally geeking out. I also want to thank everyone for making my wife feel welcomed (even if she was wearing an Apple watch).

Watches - Holy smokes! Everyone brought some sick pieces to share. I saw some amazing Speedmasters, Seamasters, and vintage pieces (some from the 1940s). There were also IWC, JLC, Tag Heuer, Rolex, Tudor, triple-date moonphases, sentimental pieces (first watches), and everything in between. The watches did not disappoint.

SWAG - I'm blown away by the gift bag, the Speedmaster print, and the raffle. The swag was so thoughtful and kept with the Omega theme. The raffle prizes were donated by fellow attendees and shows how generous everyone is. Our table was very very lucky and won five of the prizes (both my tickets were winners)! No way that next year's event will top this one.

Travel - coming from NY, it was a 4 hour trek one-way door to door but totally worth it.

This was my first GTG and I'm looking forward to the next one!



Baltimore Penn Station

 

[MTROIS]

Aroxx

I also got to try on the Flightmaster seen in this pic! It’s big, but doesn’t wear as big as it looks in pictures. I was surprised. Still don’t know about that case though lol.

Ok. Good tip. I just snatching some additional pics... and still no luck. So, yes, since I recently upgraded my phone, I may be encountering these size limitation constraints (even though I am not shooting in RAW!!).

 

[JwRosenthal]

Zman4eva

I also want to thank @gbesq @JwRosenthal @RevZMan123, Hannah, and anyone else who helped organized this event. Some thoughts from me on the event:

People - Everyone that I spoke to was friendly, generous, and spreading good vibes. There was no snobbery or one-upmanship. Everyone was laid back and openly sharing their watches for others to appreciate. We had a great time talking about watches, looking at watches, and generally geeking out. I also want to thank everyone for making my wife feel welcomed (even if she was wearing an Apple watch).

Watches - Holy smokes! Everyone brought some sick pieces to share. I saw some amazing Speedmasters, Seamasters, and vintage pieces (some from the 1940s). There were also IWC, JLC, Tag Heuer, Rolex, Tudor, triple-date moonphases, sentimental pieces (first watches), and everything in between. The watches did not disappoint.

SWAG - I'm blown away by the gift bag, the Speedmaster print, and the raffle. The swag was so thoughtful and kept with the Omega theme. The raffle prizes were donated by fellow attendees and shows how generous everyone is. Our table was very very lucky and won five of the prizes (both my tickets were winners)! No way that next year's event will top this one.

Travel - coming from NY, it was a 4 hour trek one-way door to door but totally worth it.

This was my first GTG and I'm looking forward to the next one!



Baltimore Penn Station

I used to commute out of that station to DC every day- was always a highlight of my morning. Then they jacked the parking up to $18/day so now I drive another 8 minutes to the free lot at west Baltimore and have to stand on a sad cold outdoor platform waiting for the train…but it still beats driving!

And your wife was a hoot- from afar she seemed to really get into the event and seemed to engage the group at your table (which I may add was a very diverse group of people).
I’m just so glad everyone felt welcome and included.

 

[bander04]

Had a great time meeting everyone as a first time attendee. Hope to be able to make it again next year and hopefully my collection is a bit bigger😀

 

[MikeMan2727]

Not much to add - fantastic event! Big thanks to the organizers and Hannah!

This was my 3rd Mid-Atlantic GTG. Our first meetup was very small (I think 6 people) and was held in a small farmhouse brewery/restaurant. It is fun to see how much bigger this has gotten and how many participants return year after year. This speaks the the quality of the event planning and member participation.

I was joking with @gbesq at the end how it would be fun to grow this to the point where we are booking out an entire venue. If someone was on the fence about attending, I highly recommend coming next year.

 

[RevZMan123]

For anyone who is slacking, I emailed that Michael's is having a buy 1 get 2 free sale. No reason to slack here. I bought black, brown, and grey but grey seemed to have the right contrast.



Of course I hung it up already. Right on the wall next to my watch box collection and a piece of foil from the Command Module of Apollo 11. 😁
With lume.

 

[gbesq]

Unbelievable!!!

HANNAH * IS * AMAZING!!!

 

[JwRosenthal]

MikeMan2727

Not much to add - fantastic event! Big thanks to the organizers and Hannah!

This was my 3rd Mid-Atlantic GTG. Our first meetup was very small (I think 6 people) and was held in a small farmhouse brewery/restaurant. It is fun to see how much bigger this has gotten and how many participants return year after year. This speaks the the quality of the event planning and member participation.

I was joking with @gbesq at the end how it would be fun to grow this to the point where we are booking out an entire venue. If someone was on the fence about attending, I highly recommend coming next year.

Glad you were able to make it, Mike. You always have some real unique head turners that flow in and out of your collection, so never know what’s going to show up with you.
As far as taking the whole venue- we outgrew the last room, and pushed capacity on this one (we were actually a chair short when everyone arrived and had to remedy that). I was explaining to other Mike that the calculus by which the venue determines the price we pay is by how much they would normally make during that time frame on a Saturday brunch for that amount of tables over the span of 3 hours. If we meet that number, the space is ours. If we grow it larger- we keep taking over more space and in theory the price per participant drops- I don’t think they would have an issue with giving us more space- money in the bank for them.

 

[JwRosenthal]

RevZMan123

For anyone who is slacking, I emailed that Michael's is having a buy 1 get 2 free sale. No reason to slack here. I bought black, brown, and grey but grey seemed to have the right contrast.



Of course I hung it up already. Right on the wall next to my watch box collection and a piece of foil from the Command Module of Apollo 11. 😁
With lume.

Very cool, Erric. This is the first one I’ve seen under glass.
To those who got these prints, please keep in mind that these are oil inks on paper (traditional etching inks which are like a very thick oil paint) so be mindful of the glass contacting the print. Even though they spent several weeks drying, oil paints never really dry. It’s why we had the rice paper interleaves in the poly sleeves- to keep them from sticking to the poly if stored long term and smearing when you try to pull them out.

If you want to DIY rather than have them professionally framed (and a framer should know just by smelling them that they are oil and need an air gap) a solution is to either put them under a matte which creates a gap, or if you enjoy seeing the entire surface of the material (as I do) using a spacer between the print and the front lip of the glass under the frame. Many craft or framing stores sell a clear thin strip (like a clear plastic gasket) that runs around the periphery to keep a gap between the media and the glass. I can’t remember the name for this spacer strip in the framing world- perhaps someone here knows the name so others can look it up on Amazon.

 

[OldLineWatches]

I had a great time; honestly, I was completely overwhelmed. So many amazing timepieces and even more amazing people to meet!

Can't wait for next year!

-J

 

[BlackTalon]

abrod520

Great meeting everyone! We also drove down from NYC. Had a great time and already looking forward to next time!

And one I couldn’t resist from when we arrived the evening before 😁

I look forward to ghettoing the 911 parking area next year.

 

[gbesq]

BlackTalon

I look forward to ghettoing the 911 parking area next year.

Already done with my trusty Mazda6. 😁