Personally, I'm not wild about the idea of a resort F2F.
With the price of travel these days, I really think we should stick to urban centers that are easy to fly into so people can comparison shop for airfares. My main reasons for not attending the past 2 F2Fs have been financial, and I would hate to impose any more of a burden on people's wallets than we absolutely have to.
Seattle would ROCK.
I know that for me I'll do whatever I can to attend, but I just don't have it in me to lend any aid this year.
Dude. You and Kristin get a pass on having to do ANYTHING other than the necessities for your own lives. Jesus.
Outwith that, though, I'm not sure what I can offer in terms of logistics assitance.
Gosh, Fay. You're a Brit living in Thailand; you mean to say you AREN'T familiar with all major west-coast American cities? Lame excuse.
(I kid; I hope that was obvious.)
Not that we have any locals that I know of who could spearhead an effort, but Tucson offers a cool and funky city plus some National Park/Monument/State Park wilderness areas and campgrounds that are really super and less than an hour away (depending on where you are, less than 15 minutes). Plus I'd love an excuse to visit again. Note that it gets a whole lot less expensive in the summer... for obvious reasons, but still.
I'm down for the PNW and I'd love to do something more remote/campish but I also understand the financial considerations.
As I've said before, I love the idea of having a Buffista gathering in a more woodsy setting, but not for the main F2F. Aside from transportation issues, there are accessibility concerns. Also, and this is a big one for me, as much as we all love each other, we need a way to get away, too. The nice thing about meeting in urban centers of some sort is that we can branch off in different groups to go see the local sights or spend some time wandering off on our own.
I expect Kristen and ND would if either of them had a minute of free time.
Really nsm this year, as Drew said. Sorry.
Side note--Theo, I have family in and am very familiar with Tucson, so if we ever are interested in a F2F there, I could probably coordinate some other time. But after this year...yeah, I think maybe I'll let someone else do that.
I love that juliana, planner extraordinaire, has volunteered for Seattle. Go Seattle, choose Seattle! Seattle in July with Fay! With the candlestick...wait, no, forget that last part. Summer in Seattle has my vote. We need to figure this out pretty much now, though, if we're going to do Seattle. I remember how fast hotels sell out in the summer up there.
Re: resort F2Fs... TBH, the primary reason for the F2F is to see buffistas. But the second reason is to have a lovel excuse to motivate my ass to an interesting I haven't been to or haven't been back to. And for me, there is nothing on earth less interesting than a resort/tourist destination. And, of course, I realize that this is completely a different strokes thing.
One night in Bangkok, man...
My mind went there, too.
Why is it that every time Fay posts I read all of them with songs from "Chess" running through my head, especially "One night in Bangkok". SO glad I love the show and that song.
SO glad I love the show and that song.
Ditto.
And if F2F winds up in July, I may have to not go *sob* since RWA Nationals is in July. We're also planning a family trip for Nate's thirteenth birthday next summer.
Of course, I'm thisclose to bailing on Nationals anyway since I'm in a very "don' wanna" sort of mood. Bailed on a conference this weekend too.
I would dearly love a Seattle or Portland (seems like Portland is cheaper once you're there, but more expensive to actually get to, right?) F2F next year.
I love camping, but I usually camp to get away from people, not spend time with 'em. ;)