First Timers (Father & Son) from NJ

[dwonj]

Doug from NJ here. 5 years ago, my son (then 12) found out about Burning Man. He is very creative and artistic, and asked me if we could go. I promised him that if he kept his grades up, we would go the summer between his Junior and Senior Year in High School (he will turn 18 in May). Needless to say, I am keeping the promise and two virgin burners (me 51, he a fresh 18) will be making their way to BRC this year. Tickets have been secured, as has an RV....now just 7 months of planning on what to do, where to go and how best to experience this!

Any other NJ-ians heading to BRC?

[Drawingablank]

Welcome to Eplaya.

Last year I attended with my son and this year we'll be back (if we can score tickets).

You two will have a great time.

[VultureChow]

Doug from NJ here. 5 years ago, my son (then 12) found out about Burning Man. He is very creative and artistic, and asked me if we could go. I promised him that if he kept his grades up, we would go the summer between his Junior and Senior Year in High School (he will turn 18 in May). Needless to say, I am keeping the promise and two virgin burners (me 51, he a fresh 18) will be making their way to BRC this year. Tickets have been secured, as has an RV....now just 7 months of planning on what to do, where to go and how best to experience this!

Any other NJ-ians heading to BRC?

I'm in NJ and this will be my first year too.

[tamarakay]

Hey there! This will be my second year but we are bringing our daughter for her first burn. I can't wait!

[Savannah]

Hi Doug! (Hi Doug's Son!)

Welcome to the board.

[dwonj]

Hi Doug! (Hi Doug's Son!)

Welcome to the board.

Doug's Son: Geoffrey!

By the way, I will post this elsewhere as well, but we are trying to figure out what kind of gifts we can bring to the Playa. Somehow sand from the Jersey Shore just doesn't seem to cut it in a desert. Any ideas/suggestions? We really do want to be part of the culture and part of the community.

[Savannah]

Here's a great thread about gifting:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=34974

My favorite post in the thread: Moonsplash's.

On the playa, I've been given as gifts:

The best hugs in the world
a barbecued turkey leg at 2 am while walking randomly in the dark
A bottle of water when I most needed it after a hot sweaty hour of dancing
a leather bracelet with the MAN on it (wore it until it fell apart)
an Arabic scarf
Help with getting rebar out of the playa when I was totally exhausted
Cold fruit
Shaved ice

Most memorable: day 1 in 2008, my friend is suffering terribly from heat stroke when we're a mile away from our camp, I'm a virgin and not sure how this whole thing works and my heart is telling me, "Just Ask For Help." I flagged down a Mutant Art Vehicle and they kindly agree to cart her back to camp. I'm left with two bikes and I'm not coordinated enough to ride my own bike and handle hers as well. And suddenly a stranger walks by and offers to help walk the other bike up a couple of streets - he's gotta turn left, so he cajoles someone else to help me walk the bike another couple of streets... and THAT stranger hands me off to another stranger to help me... home. What a gift.

Assistance is probably the number one gift you can give out there. Some folks walk around with their work gloves at all times so they're ready to lend a hand. But cold beverages, extra 1-ply, Burner necklaces & lip balm are all great too.

If you type gifts eplaya into google you can find a dozen more gift threads.