Help me pick convention destination

[prolesunited]

I usually get to go to one professional conference a year and there's always a little time to squeeze in some fun. I've never been to any of these destinations so I'm not sure which one to put in for. Keep in mind the time of year.

[otohara]

1. I'm Still Boycotting Florida

When Jeb leaves, maybe then it will be safe - but no money for Florida from this gal.

[Divernan]

2. Anything but Orlando in late June - unless you like heat and humidity.

nt

[cjbuchanan]

3. I say San Diego

In January it will be a great temperature and the city is a wonderful place to visit.

Seattle in Feb, well it will rain, but that is the forecast almost every day, so don't let that pull you away. Another great city.

Orlando in June. If you want to be caught in the family summer trip crowd, this is your place. If not, pass on this one.

[flamingyouth]

4. Come to Seattle

We need the money. I'm sure the hotel will offer free umbrellas for all!

[Snow]

5. Depends on your idea of fun, of course,

because I lived in Seattle for 10 years and enjoyed it in all seasons. And that time of year is peak ski season. If that's what you like, along with cool rainy - maybe even snowy - days, browsing bookstores and coffee shops (Seattle has more of both per capita than any place else in the world). And the symphony's in season, as is the opera. Also, sometimes January will have these odd sunny spells, and that can be really beautiful.

However - on your poll, I put down San Diego, because if you don't like winter, even of the Seattle variety, San Diego is a wonderful escape. And, in SD in January you have the whale migration. You can hang out on the cliffs above Dana Point, take a whale-watching cruise, or rent a kayak from, ummmm, Aqua Adventures (very nice people) and paddle out from La Jolla, a lovely place, to spend a little close contact time with large mammals. But not tooo close -

Orlando, blah! It's an amusement park, and who needs that when you can see the real world. Also, Florida in summer? No..

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

10. Sorry..whale watching isn't til March

I used to work on a charter boat in the season. :D

[Snow]

15. Au contraire, mon ami.....

January is the peak of the southbound swim - in March & April they're heading back north again....check out the calendar for my friends with the kayaks. 'Course the March swim can be fun because they'll have the new calves swimming along.
http://www.aqua-adventures.com/index.html

[ForrestGump]

20. You worked on a whale-watching charter?

Is there anything that NSMA hasn't done? Or been? :D



I am endlessly impressed. You make Forrest Gump (both of us) look like a person of vastly limited experiences.

And, with good reason, the legend of NSMA continues to grow...

[newyawker99]

16. Congrats Snow!! 200 posts

:toast:

[lazarus]

6. Come to San Diego

Haele and I and NSMA will show you a great time!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

8. Ditto!

[prolesunited]

9. Looks like San Diego

is definitely in the lead. I still need to secure board approval for my trip, but if I get it, I will definitely take you up on the offer. Thanks!

[thom1102]

7. I have lived in both San Diego and Orlando...

I hated Orlando! I loved San Diego! Orlando was hot, humid, flat, and relatively unintersting (outside of themeparks). San Diego has sea, sun, mountains, no humidity, the Zoo/Wild Animal Park, museums (Balboa Park in general), Tijuana, Sunset Cliffs, the Convention Center itself is really cool, beaches, and really cool, thriving subcultures. I am going back this fall. If you decide to go to San Diego, PM me, and I will give you all the details for a fabu trip. (PS, I am not affiliated with the San Diego Tourism Board).

[Squeech]

11. Hard choice

I've visited each city twice, and once was lovely and once was not.

On tour with Cul de Sac, the first thing we saw when we entered downtown San Diego was a woman who stepped off the curb, bent over, and vomited in the street-- then turned around and went back to the bus stop. The club we were booked at was a couple miles out of town, and located in the main approach to the airport, so there'd be jets zizzing by overhead at semi-random intervals. (Parts of the club were out of doors, which would have been a lot more pleasant but for the airplane noise.) The record and guitar shops were pretty awful, and there just didn't seem to be a real vibrant scene. (Like you can tell in 12 hours, but still...)

Seattle had wonderful shops, the bookstore with the soap bubbles (whose name I can no longer remember, to my shame and embarrasment), the Lark in the Morning outlet, and of course the Edgewater Inn, famed in the Mothers Live at Fillmore East album :-) And the Showboat was a terrific place to play-- comfortable for both artist and audience, good sound too. The only drawback was that John Fahey was supposed to play with us and he never made it-- later claimed he got lost.

But as a civilian (actually as a computer programmer attending a professional conference) I rented a car and drove to San Diego to see the zoo and the ocean, and that was a wonderful day. And my other visit to Seattle was just gray and disappointing.

So for me it's a tossup. Would you prefer elegantly flavored lattes or the hood of nothingshocksmeanymore's car?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

12. The hood of my car doing Tequila shooters in Old Town at the

Tequileria! That's a convention!

[prolesunited]

14. Like that's even a choice!

:P

[SOteric]

13. Orlando in June; crowded, noisey, overpriced

Seattle in February, cold, pervasively damp and frequently windy to boot (but the excellent coffee can sometimes make up for that..and we've developed much to do in the cold and the rain).

If it were my function and I got to choose any option, I'd say San Diego in January.

[prolesunited]

17. Anybody else care to weigh in?

Or does it look like I go for San Diego?

[ForrestGump]

18. San Diego. But I love San Diego, so I'm incredibly biased.

Lots to do there - in Balboa Park, alone - great food, nice scenics, perfect weather. Ahhhhhh....

If you're mobile and have at least a half-day off, you can take off into the desert (like Anza-Borrego SP) or into the mountains (like around Julian, etc). It's a great place.

[prolesunited]

21. I love hiking and nature photography

That sounds perfect.

[Shakeydave]

19. Well, you know my reply!

:hi:

[prolesunited]

22. Seattle, right?

:P

What I need to do is write a book like Will, get famous and travel around the country meeting my favorite DUers.
:pals: