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Post by Bucky on Mar 6, 2014 15:56:13 GMT
I only prefer September because it will be hot here in Vegas and going to St. Augustine would be a nice break from the heat! But I am open to any of the weeks posted! Thank you for hosting all this! I remember the fun (ahem) I had with the Tempe Convention. Good luck! It is still hot here at that time of the year too, although it is manageable. We only have a slim period when it is not shorts weather. But, the past couple of years has proven that the weather is a fickle friend. I blame El Nino! The nice thing is we'll be on the coast with a nice breeze! As far as Tempe, that was a fun, fun convention! I think Powder Monkey and I got super silly during the movie viewings …. * cough* And our Buckland pours …. * cough*
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Post by captsueb on Mar 7, 2014 4:00:24 GMT
Papergirl - Bucky is right, It will still be warm in St Augustine. The temp for that time of year is in the mid to high 80's. I was originally hoping for an October date but when I visited St Augustine before coming to Charleston for HH 2013 everyone said the town is packed in October. And it doesn't get any better with November because they have a lot of holiday stuff that goes on in town.
Otter - my original choice of weekend was the Sept 24-29 but couldn't do it because of work. Still you could stop in St Augustine first and then head onto the wedding? We're on the way to England, admittedly a slightly southern detour!
It looks like Sept is winning over October dates. I still haven't heard back from my hotel person about Halloween weekend. Still I'm sure it will be crowded and expensive.
I'm still leaving the poll open but I'll probably have to finalize everything with the hotel by the end of next week. Would anyone be interested in the last week of Sept or it doesn't really matter? Again as of now I can't get it because of work but I may have it written into the hotel contract as a back up week if no one else claims it. Obviously Otter, that would be an issue with you. But still so far the 3rd weekend seems ok with everyone.
Thanks for casting your votes. If there's anyone else interested in coming tell them to cast a vote!
CaptSueb
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Post by QueueMistressMags on Mar 7, 2014 17:02:45 GMT
The hotel has a pool, right??? (I can't imagine a hotel in Florida without one...)
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Post by Bucky on Mar 7, 2014 17:25:41 GMT
The hotel has a pool, right??? (I can't imagine a hotel in Florida without one...) Yes, that would be sacrilege! Now if we can have one with cabana boys ..... * whistles*
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Post by Otter on Mar 7, 2014 18:11:44 GMT
Sue Ann, I am still of the mind, "I'll get to Muzillac if I have to row there myself."
Thank you, though, for being so thoughtful of everybody's schedule. We all appreciate your efforts and considerations to do what is best.
Otter
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Post by captsueb on Mar 7, 2014 18:13:49 GMT
Yes my 2 final choices for hotel both have pools. And both are also across the street from the beach. One from St Augustine Beach, the other Vilano Beach. I don't think they're huge pools but they're pools. And sorry no cabana boys - that was Key West, a different kind of town entirely. When I checked out hotels, the hotel with the nicest pool had the smallest,cramped rooms. Always something. Also it looks like Halloween weekend is definitely out. There's a college football game in the area - Florida Georgia Game. So maybe I should do another poll for worst weekend to pick: Weekend with the drunken motorcycle bikers or weekend with the drunken college students? Should I post a poll? CaptSueb
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Post by Bucky on Mar 7, 2014 18:40:50 GMT
Yes, the pool at Key West was great! I’d just stick with the weeks you know you are available Sue since you have to be there! We do not want to battle with bikers and collegiates! Vilano Beach – I heard that is a really nice area. I told Pam and Gayle about the new horatians site. I know Pam said she tried to join but it won’t accept any of the screen names. I will try and get them to come on and cast a vote soon. And, just want to add – as I said in QMM's Niagara thread – I would love to suggest it as a con location one year. Lots to do, both nautical and historic. Not sure if anyone has claimed the next year or after yet.
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Post by QueueMistressMags on Mar 7, 2014 18:55:02 GMT
Small pools are fine! We had small pools in San Diego and Charleston and they both got us wet and cool, fulfilling their intended function.
I don't think anyone has claimed any future cons. That's why I put up the Future Events forum, in case anyone wanted to float an idea.
P.S. Given the choice, I pick the bikers.
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Post by Bucky on Mar 7, 2014 21:02:48 GMT
I'd take the college kids. Eventually they will pass out; bikers party for days!
Sue said the hotels are right near the beach, so if the pool is too crowded we can always soak our toesies in the ocean!
Forgot to mention that the new part of the Harry Potter Wizarding World at Universal should be open by this time, so that may be a side trip before/after the con that people may want to partake in.
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Post by Ensign Sandra on Mar 8, 2014 5:53:18 GMT
The crowd that will gather for Florida-Georgia will be every bit as rowdy, obnoxious, and drunk as the bikers. And it won't just be kids, because tickets range from $172 to $821; that's just through the UF ticket office. Hornblower only knows what the scalpers will get. The game will be played in Jacksonville, which is a lot closer to St. Augustine than if they were playing at home in Gainesville.
Again, the biggest deciding factor will be what works for Sueann, but late September and the first weekend in October are looking better and better. The Gators don't play on September 27 and October 4th they'll be up in Knoxville playing the Vols.
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Post by Bucky on Mar 8, 2014 13:16:25 GMT
OK you have a point there Sandra! Either weekend would be bad. I know some rabid UF fans that I remember them telling me of lost weekends during the UF-Georgia games in Jax .....
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Post by captsueb on Mar 8, 2014 17:20:13 GMT
Yeah, the Key West pool was beautiful. Though I never got into it. Or the hot tub either. I was very happy with the hotel in Key West. With the possible exception of going down to the conference room each morning and finding the door left wide open by the cleaning crew with all our stuff in it. I took all the electronic equipment out of course. We had one stolen projector, we didn't need another.
I'm leaning toward the hotel near St Augustine beach. St Augustine beach is large, white sanded beach. Very pretty. Vilano Beach is a smaller darker color beach that allows cars and trucks to drive onto it. But again each place has its pros and cons. Either one would be a good choice.
I found out from the St Aug beach hotel that the conference room was taken for Fri and Sat night. I can get it for Thurs and Sunday. If we need other nights, there is a sister hotel across the street and I can use its conference room. Or I could just book all 3 or 4 nights there. But I'm thinking 2 nights would be enough. The hotel has a family suite with a decent size living room. I was going to get that for myself and Phizz. I thought it would be fine to get everyone in there for just one movie on Friday and/or Saturday. I got the consensus at Charleston that everyone wanted to cut back on some of the films to do more sightseeing. There's so much to see in St Augustine. And I'm sure some folks would want to spend a morning or late afternoon at the beach (avoid mid day folks - the UV levels are off the scale). We only saw 4 HH films instead of all 8. No one seemed to mind. The conference is the biggest cost of the convention. We could save money on it and use it for some other group activity in town.
I'm going to start putting some kind of tentative schedule together this week. I can't remember - when we started the cons in the past on Wed evening, were most of you able to get into town? Or did some of you make it Thurs AM? I think most folks were able to make Wed night. I was planning on starting thing Wed evening for us. Figured Wed day would be a travel day.
CaptSueb
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Post by Bucky on Mar 8, 2014 17:43:32 GMT
I would vote for less movies = less conference room rental, which would mean more activities included in the registration fee instead.
I think people are nailing it on the head -- it is fun to watch the movies, but the lure of seeing the host city is becoming more tempting. And you are right Sue, St. Augustine has a lot to offer. In fact, my friends are at the Celtic Festival in St. Augustine this weekend - looks like a lot of fun (could not go - I have my Dad this weekend).
As for arrivals, I think you will find that those travelling against the time zones (i.e., West coasters) will have problems arriving early in the day on Wednesday. I think Sandra, Gabby and the Otters had issues with finding flights that arrived at a time not before 6:00 PM. If I remember right, Gaby had to take the red eye and got there at Noon, so it was a long day for her. And Sandra and the Otters did not land until around 7:00 PM.
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Post by Ensign Sandra on Mar 8, 2014 18:32:09 GMT
Yeah, my choices are leave SLC 11:55 pm, arriving Jax at 9:30 am, or leave SLC at 7 am arrive Jax at 4 pm. There is an earlier connection that gets in to Jax at 2:50, but 49 minutes is a little tight for navigating Hartsfield. Is there an airport closer than Jacksonville? Delta.com didn't like St. Augustine.
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Post by shipoftheline on Mar 8, 2014 19:14:19 GMT
Doing the read eye last year was not too bad. I may consider doing it again next year just to get that extra half day of con fun in. Before I took my new job, I had at least five weeks of vacation each year, now I only have two so I have to make the best of the few days I have.
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