I don't feel the need to take attendance, as sometimes people decide at the last minute to skip a portion of the Fest, perhaps to sleep late. I do write down who's there at the time for purposes of the report later on, but if somebody is missing at the published start time, we must proceed with our travels for the day. It's a good idea to arrive at the initial start point at least 15-20 minutes before we are scheduled to leave.
Last year in Los Angeles I am painfully aware that we left a few people behind. It is not at all the goal to do that, but it unfortunately happens. The important thing to remember is that these itineraries are padded, just as a transit planner would pad a rail timetable. This is so that we have a cushion at certain endpoint stations just in case there is a delay. It ensures we will still make those connections later in the day. However, should an earlier trip be available, it seems counterproductive to remain around the endpoint station waiting for a subsequent trip just to remain on the published itinerary. So please be aware, if you plan to join the group after we initially meet for the day, that we can and will run ahead of schedule. This is a good reason for everyone to have each other's cell phone numbers, so that you can find out whether we are on, ahead, or behind schedule.
One problem we encountered last year is that much of the LA Metro is underground, and so everyone had no cell signal at some point. This year, something similar could happen. Some of Portland's MAX light rail (Red & Blue lines) runs through a tunnel west of the city center. Seattle's light rail also runs in a transit tunnel for the last several downtown stops. Same goes for Vancouver; parts of the Canada Line and combined Expo & Millennium Lines closest to Waterfront Station are subterranean. Not much we can do about that. It is my hope that if you do get left behind, you can at least travel part of the way out on the line and then meet us at an intermediate station. (Be aware too that in Canada, some of us may turn off our cell phones.)
The idea is to explore and enjoy as a group, so hopefully we can do that without worrying about leaving somebody behind!
