Two of the date options are a "can't go" for me. One is the day after my sister gets into town and the other is the day after she leaves (and I'll be exhausted, as usual).

So I'll just be over here in the quiet corner until we fully decide on a date.

Amtrak to Providence: Visit Rhode Island and Save 20%

Travel on the Northeast Regional and save 20% with our "Visit Rhode Island" offer, available through December 28, 2010.

Visit Providence, a hotbed of commerce, culture, history and fine eateries. Hop back on the train and visit beautiful Kingston. Be sure to bring a camera for your leisurely stroll around Kingston Village to capture its fine architecture. And just a short train ride away is Westerly, a delightful community nestled on the south shore of the state.

The 20% you'll save on the train ticket is cash in your pocket to spend wherever you please. Terms and Conditions

* Valid for 20% off the regular (full) adult rail fare. * Valid for sale December 29, 2009 - December 28, 2010. * Valid for travel January 1 - December 31, 2010. * Valid for travel on the Northeast Regional to Providence, Kingston and Westerly, Rhode Island. Not valid on Acela Express. * Advance reservations are required a minimum of three days prior to travel. * Up to two children ages 2 to 15 may accompany each adult at half the regular (full) adult rail fare. * Seating is limited; seats may not be available on all trains at all times. * Valid for Coach seats only.

(Providence RI) T.F. Green Airport offers travelers a variety of airlines with diverse service areas.

Air Canada Reservations - (888) 247-2262 Markets served (non-stop) - Toronto Cape Air (seasonal) Reservations - (800) 352-0714 Markets served (non-stop)- Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket Continental Airlines/Continental Express Reservations - (800) 525-0280 Markets served (non-stop) - Cleveland and Newark Delta Airlines/Delta Connection/Northwest Airlines Reservations - (800) 221-1212 Markets served (non-stop) - Atlanta, Detroit and Minneapolis/St. Paul Southwest Airlines Reservations - (800) 435-9792 Markets served (non-stop) - Baltimore-Washington, Chicago Midway, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale United Airlines/United Airlines Express Reservations - (800) 241-6522 Markets served (non-stop) - Chicago O'Hare and Washington Dulles US Airways Reservations - (800) 428-4322 Markets served (non-stop) - Charlotte, NC, NY LGA, Philadelphia, and Washington - Reagan National

sj, insent with a copy of the updated RFP. I submitted it to the Providence Visitors and Convention Bureau.

Planning guide -- [link] I like the one on the water! They all look fine.

Trudy, I'll send you the updated RFP, and javachik to be a completist.

Oh, and DX said that he'd come to a Providence F2F but he wouldn't offer to help organize it.

Planning guide -- [link] I like the one on the water! They all look fine.

Thank you. I have already submitted the RFP to all of the hotels in Providence that I think are suitable, and I am waiting to hear back from several of them. I am not sure which hotel you mean by the one on the water, but if you are referring to any of the hotels in Newport, I seriously doubt that they would be affordable or offer us any kind of deal in the summer months, since that is their busy season.

Also, there's a commuter train (not Amtrak) that runs from Providence to Boston (run by the MA transit system). Hours are limited, natch, but they are seven days a week (I swear once upon a time they didn't go all the way to Providence on the weekends).

Providence pimping

Federal Hill in Providence is a historic Italian neighborhood with great restaurants and some interesting shops. You might want to make reservations ahead of time for some of the restaurants: link

Here is a list of restaurants in the College Hill area of Providence (near Brown University) where there are also some very cool stores: link

Roger Williams Zoo: link

Newport has historic homes that you can visit, great restaurants, and is a fun place to just walk around on a good weather day: link

You can see pictures of the historic homes in Newport here: link

This is the mall right in downtown. There is great shopping (including Lush!), lots of popular restaurants, a movie theater, a Dave and Busters, and if anyone wants to do a manicure day here, I’d be happy to make the appointments: link

The Rhode Island School of Design has a very nice museum and gift shop: link

There is a list here of other galleries people might be interested in going to in the area: link

Here is a general website for the city of Providence: link

Links for transportation to and from the city can be found here: link

Waterfire is an interesting thing to do in Providence in the evening. They don't have their summer schedule up yet, but more information can be found here: link

Providence to Boston is about an hour by car.

Providence to Newport is about 45 minutes by car, and the Narragansett beach area is about 15 minutes closer.

Providence to Worcester is about 45 minutes by car.

If anyone wants to do a day trip to any of these places, we can probably arrange a carpool with localistas including TCG and I.

I’d be happy to pick up people from the TF Green Providence Airport (Which is technically in Warwick) if I can and I get some advanced notice.

If there is anything else that people are interested in and want to know about, just ask me.

Sounds great, thanks sj!

x-posted with Press

Reminder:

This is your last chance to vote for F2F 2010! Click here to vote.

Poll will be open for three days until 3/21, Sunday. We only have 26 respondents so far, which concerns me since we had 42 on the previous survey.

Side note: I'm also concerned that adding a third date to the mix may have split the vote. June 26-27 is leading substantially at the moment (the only non-NYC weekend), but the two July dates (if added together) equal the exact same number. I didn't add a question about how many people couldn't attend, but I'm concerned about this situation. Anyone who would like to hash this out, please join us in conversation in F2F.