LAistas!

It looks about 90% certain that I am going to be headed your way on Wednesday. Tentative plan is to arrive Weds early evening. I'll be booked like whoa on a crazy ass, circling the drain project that I am in no way qualified to fix on Thursday and probably most of Friday, but I'm hoping to then be free Friday evening and all day Sat. Staying at the Wilshire Grand, unless someone has a rec for something they like better nearby.

Sadly I fly out of to Charlotte tomorrow and don't get back until Saturday night. Sounds like I'm going to miss you.

Brenda, this is comment-writing weekend, which traditionally means I don't leave the house for three days straight...but I will meet you for dinner Friday or Saturday if you're game.

Oh, FFS. Project that was going off the rails has slipped further. To the point that, while as of last night it was still the plan, I am not, in fact, on my way to LA right now. Possibly will be rescheduled for Tuesday. (If that is confirmed soon enough I might come out early on Saturday.)

If things get any worse, we may have to yank this project from the vendor entirely, which will be very very ungood all around.

Of the two weekends selected for the F2f, the first is Pride and the second there is a big nurses convention. Hotels are booked full.

So, we can either pick different dates or shift the hotel location a bit. Originally I had wanted to put us in downtown Denver, near the light rail and near lots of sights.

I hopped in my car, with the top down, and went exploring the along the light rail line that extends south from Denver toward where Nicole and I live. There is a hotel that is across the street from a light rail station but about 20 minutes outside of Denver. I have actually stayed there before and they were very nice.

I know there is free parking, free wifi, free continental breakfast, free happy hour, free popcorn...and the regular room rates for a King bed are around $80. I have submitted a request through their online group site and will let you know what response I get.

So - the big question - are we ok with moving farther out of the downtown area? Or do we want to reselect dates and stay downtown?

The plus side of being closer to where Nicole and I live is that it will be easier to put someone up at our homes, as needed, and transporting people about. As I mentioned, it is right next to a light rail station.

So, what say ye?

I don't know if I'm coming, but that would be fine with me. We may want to make sure we check in with anyone who has mobility issues.

That sounds like a very workable option to me, Suzi.

I'm fine with 20 minutes from downtown; we'll be blabbing anyway, right?

Do you know how far it would be from the airport, and if the hotels offers a shuttle? Or does the lightrail run from the airport?

What's transpo like if we wanted to do something, er, mountain-y? But that question would pop up no matter where we stayed, I suppose. We can just look at mountains, right?

Ooh, is there a pool/hot tub?

Oh, also re: can you refresh my memory what dates we were talking about? I can't do the first weekend in June, but I'm fine with other weekends right now.

Good questions Erin. The weekend in question (since i had to pick one for the rfp) is June 24 - June 26th.

Anyone not renting a car would need to take an airport shuttle or get a ride from me or Nicole from the airport to the hotel. Someday the light rail is supposed to go out there, but not this year.

Going to the mountains would require a car for the most part. Or there may be some tours originating from downtown that would just be a light rail ride away (light rail is very mobility accessible).

I'll look into the pool/hot tub. I would assume yes, but will double check.

Also, this hotel has a great BBQ place right next door. A couple of blocks away is a liquor store, bagel place, Qdoba (never eaten there - fast Mexican, sometimes compared to Chipotle), and a nail salon.

I spent my first night as a Colorado resident at this hotel since we flew in a day before my rental agreement started. Oh, oh...I could invite y'all over to my place for something.

Sounds fine by me, Suzi.