I'm new to GA (a total newbie), but I've been a "reader of stories" on GA for a long time, and recently decided to join. The get-together in SF sounds like a way to meet others who have been on GA for a long time, including some of the authors I've enjoyed reading, and that sounds like fun. Hopefully by then I'll have made more posts and people will recognize my name.
Once I get on a train, I'm only a 40 minute BART ride into SF from where I live in the East Bay, and I don't have any conflicts on November 3rd. So, if it's OK, and nobody objects to having an old guy hanging around, I'll join in.
sungod