Nearfest pre-drive

[KD1SH]

   Yesterday, with my wife and another ham friend, we drove up to the Hillsborough County 4H Fairgrounds, the new home of Nearfest. Figured I'd much rather explore now, and get the lay of the land, before trying it for the first time in the early morning darkness on Friday the 4th.
   It looks like the drive, for me, anyway, will be just a tad longer than Deerfield, but not much, and traffic congestion and overall difficulty will be largely the same.
   As far as the fairground itself, it's mostly flat and open—gravel and grass—with trees mainly around the perimeter only, so depending on how they lay out the tail-gaiting, expect to be in the sun. There are a number of buildings, mostly small but one notably huge and another of moderate size. The moderate sized building appears to have a concrete floor, while the larger building's floor looks like dirt.
   I noted only one restroom building, which might be an issue for the bladder challenged, which probably includes a lot of us.
   As far as restaurants, gas stations, and such, there's not much around. There's an old Gulf station nearby, but it doesn't look like they sell gas. We took a brief drive through the town of New Boston, but didn't see any gas stations there, either. For those taking the 101/114 route, there's gas available closer to Manchester. There is a promising looking restaurant, Molly's Tavern, in town, and a pizza place, I think, but that's about it.
   Looking forward to the first Nearfest at the new place, and hoping it turns out well.

[Carl WA1KPD]

Bill,
We talked about some large PS parts I have at the last NF. They are yours for the taking if you want them. Just have to pick them up on Friday.
If not, they are off to the recycle bin at the dump. Let je know.
Carl

[KD1SH]

Hi, Carl.
   Looking forward to seeing you at Nearfest! Yes, I always love heavy iron power supply stuff, so bring it along (as long it's not too big to fit into the bed of my Frontier!) I'll bring my hand-truck.

Bill,
We talked about some large PS parts I have at the last NF. They are yours for the taking if you want them. Just have to pick them up on Friday.
If not, they are off to the recycle bin at the dump. Let je know.
Carl

[KD1SH]

I was going to ask you, Carl, if you were going to be set up down in the lower lot, as usual, before I remembered that there is no more lower lot
A lot of memories associated with the old Deerfield Fairgrounds.

[wb1ead]

Hi Bill..many tnx for ur "inside looksee" into the new hamfest spot..the bit about the one restroom has me wondering..betcha they'll put in porta potties..I looked on Map Quest for directions..Oh my !!..go here turn right turn left repeat over & over..thankfully my daughter and her hubby are gonna provide the ride with their GPS..I sell in the fall buy in the spring so I really can't miss this one..too many "goodies"..hopefully see you and everyone else there..agn tnx ! 73 de DAVE WB1EAD

[KD1SH]

Well, I only remember seeing one building with restrooms, but I seem to recall that it had more than two doors, and I'm thinking that given the crowd that the regular fair attracts, the restroom situation is probably designed to support larger crowds, so it'll probably be okay.
When I first mapped out the drive in Google, their chosen route took me through all sorts of smallish towns and cities—turn left at this intersection; bear right here; go left at the third traffic light—all the while claiming it was the fastest route. I decided to take basically the same route I've always taken to Deerfield, but taking the 101/293 west exit off 93 north instead of continuing north as I usually do. It worked out quite well that way.

Hi Bill..many tnx for ur "inside looksee" into the new hamfest spot..the bit about the one restroom has me wondering..betcha they'll put in porta potties..I looked on Map Quest for directions..Oh my !!..go here turn right turn left repeat over & over..thankfully my daughter and her hubby are gonna provide the ride with their GPS..I sell in the fall buy in the spring so I really can't miss this one..too many "goodies"..hopefully see you and everyone else there..agn tnx ! 73 de DAVE WB1EAD

[Carl WA1KPD]

Bill.
Drop me a PM at chnord@twc.com and I'll send you my cell number.