Coding Retreat Ideas

[linamnt]

This issue is for brainstorming ideas for a fall coding retreat for the exec (and other members?). Things to consider:

• How much would we personally be willing to pay?
• How much would UofT Coders cover (I feel this should only be the case if open to all members, but we could limit the number of spots in a first come first save basis, can't fund infinitely many trips...)
• What are we comfortable with (staying overnight vs day trip? being in a cabin in the wilderness? do we have enough drivers if it's out of the city? etc.)

Suggestions so far:

• Hart House Farms Trip (there's a house where you can sleep over 50ppl, with a nice kitchen and living space)
  • $25 pp for overnight stay, or $15 pp for a day trip
  • description: Among the maple sugar bush and cleared fields, a well-trodden path will take you on a two-hundred-foot descent through a unique limestone ecology to the palisade.
  • no alcohol allowed on property as of last year.
• Airbnb somewhere outside Toronto, maybe somewhere with options for hikes or something outdoorsy, or other activities?

[QuLogic]

Another question is when? I would guess that unless we're going to a different UofT campus, then the weekend (Fri night to Sun night)? And if that's the case, then when in the year? If weather is a concern, then maybe October (which is actually very soon!)?

[linamnt]

Agreed it is very soon, but if we can all agree to a weekend in October (13-14, 20-21 work for me...) then we can just try to find a place? November isn't that bad either...

[nsahin]

I will be out of the country from October 11-28:(

[SaraMati]

Two places I've heard of, put here to look into:

• Wolf Den Hostel, just a few kilometres west of Algonquin Park and adjacent to the Oxtongue River
• Geneva Park Lodge, Orilia

[QuLogic]

For Wolf Den: the lodge rooms are $43-$75/night, max 2-3 people; bunkhouses are $246/night, max 4 people; independent cabins mostly fit 4, but the one that fits 7 is $291/night (min 2 nights) on the night I checked. (note: other than the cabin, those are single person bookings; there's a slight discount for multiple people in a room) Prices may or may not double on high demand nights.

There's a parkbus to Algonquin, but the schedule seems to end on October 8 (and it's very sparse anyway). Trip is anywhere from 2.5-4 hours depending on where you get picked up and it's $89 return.

Generally, weekends in October are already booked, weekdays are not too bad. November is also not particularly booked (including weekends.)

[linamnt]

I've heard Retreatify is good for planning small (to large) retreats. If we're down for maybe an end of spring, early summer retreat to work on the Reproducibility project, we can start planning now a time that would be good. I think early June is best for me, but pretty flexible this early on.