Choosing the city first is priority. That's why I am asking for city pimpage, not prospective dates.

I'm waiting to hear back from the woman at the Convention & Visitors Bureau before I pimp NYC. I sent her a follow-up email over the weekend, and if I don't hear back by the end of today I'll call directly.

OK, I'll start, because we have to start somewhere...

SALEM MA PIMPAGE!

The thing about Salem is that it’s got historical buildings, shops, restaurants, wharfs, pirates, witches, antiques, a world class museum, and is very centralized and walkable. I just love walking around and looking at the buildings. The Peabody Essex Museum offers tours of the houses from various colonial periods, as well as the Yin Yu Tang House. It also holds some amazing art exhibitions.

The train station to Boston is walkable to downtown Salem as well. NOTE: The frequency of trains to North Station, Boston is less during the weekend, so some planning and attention to time is key for Boston excursions. It’s a half hour train ride from Salem to Boston. You can find the schedule here: [link]

I think that Salem would be perfect for a F2F because it’s low key enough that people can just chill without the pressure of having to Do Stuff all the time, yet, it has cool stuff to do in its own right, PLUS it is a train ride away from Boston. (they also have a new Salem-Boston ferry) It’s super cool!

Also, the Salem Willows has an old school boardwalk, arcades, skee ball, etc. and you can wander, buy a slice of pizza, some cotton candy, and fried dough. There’s also a couple arcades there geared for young children. The Peabody Essex also has some cool kids’ activities. You are also close to various beaches on the North Shore and the legendary Woodman's in Essex or the Clam Box in Ipswitch.

One potential issue would be transportation to/from the airport. Going on public transportation is a bit of a haul (lots of legs), though certainly possible. I think there are also some busses that go to and from Logan to Salem Depot as well. But as I move ahead in my discussions with the various hotels in the area, I can see if they offer any services with regards to that issue.

Salem Tourist Site

Peabody Essex Museum
House of Seven Gables
PIRATE MUSEUM
Plus many tours, and the various witch museums; lots of stuff to be found here: [link]

Restaurants:
A bunch listed here with websites (including one of my faves, Finz)

Also:
The Grapevine
The Lyceum
Cilantro
Bella Verona
Bankok Paradise
Lots of options.

Bars/Pubs:
In a Pig’s Eye
Salem Beer Works
(both have food as well)

Also, I have sent out a couple of inquiries to hotels and will report on that once I hear anything.

Another interesting bit about Salem: it's founder, Roger Conant, is an ancestor of Joe's.

Salem's also got a statue of that chick from "Bewitched."

It's seriously cool.

I can vouch for just about everything Nora said. Something funky happened with that post though (bits of it are in there more than once).

Oops, fixed now! I've been distracted with work type stuff.

In conclusion, SALEM ROOLZ.

What's the weather like between mid-May to mid-June?

Weather's a crap shoot, but it's generally nice, temps in the 60-70s. Or potential torrential downpour. You know, all New England style.

If we do decide Salem though, my hunch is that April would be best, price wise. Is that even an option? I disremember. May could be OK, because it doesn't have as much of the graduation thing happening here, but June is HIGH TOURIST SEASON.