Nilly in Boston!! If that happens I can visit too! Yaaay!

Not to interrupt the Nilly Tour planning, but I finally got my KC pimping post done.

And KC is full of museums and cool touristy stuff to do (Negro Baseball League Hall of Fame, Jazz Museum at 18th and Vine, Science Museum at restored Union Station, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, and a fantastic zoo and hey - more fountains than Rome - seriously).

Tina hit a lot of what I was gonna list. Also... Starlight Theatre (where I used to work) is a gorgeous outdoor theatre, Missouri Rep, and some fun, funky, small theatre groups. The KC zoo had undergone major renovations in the past several years. In addition to the Nelson (home of the worlds largest shuttlecock and the Henry Moore sculpture garden) there is also the UMKC Belger Art Center. The Plaza and Wesport are great places to wander, browse and shop. Westport also has a variety of clubs for the nightlife scene. The Royals at Kauffman Stadium (which is a very nice stadium) for baseball fans. The Truman Library in Independence is worth seeing. It has a stirring exibit on WW2. A day trip to Lawrence would be very cool. I think someone already mentioned the fabulous yarn shop there. I could get a list of places quilters would like to visit. If you're into the agricultural history of the area, there is the American Royal Museum. And for the theme park enthusiasts, Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. The Timber Wolf is an awsome wooden roller coaster.

The drawbacks of KC would be a lack of decent public transportation, although if we center most activities around the Plaza/Westport that won't be too bad. The airport isn't near anything, you will feel like you are landing in a corn field (or a soybean field). And temps can be anywhere from the mid 40's to the low 90's that time of year. Chances are the temp will be more moderate (and all indoor activities will have AC), but there are no gurantees.

Oh, and any theme song for KC should be by Charlie Parker.

Nilly, the offer to stay with me still stands. If you want to come to DC towards the end of that, that would work for me. Any time after August 27th would be great. (Maybe August 26th -- I'd need to check about that.)

Just FYI, on August 30-September 2 they are having the Republican National Convention in NYC. There will be extremely high security, and lots of protests. It will be a good time to not be in New York.

Woot! The potential Nilly visit schedule couldn't be better for me either.

So, from the SF end - who's shooting for the SF leg of Nilly's visit? We'll need to make sure everyone has the means to get here (this will be so much easier if Nic's working, so fingers crossed for this), and that everyone has a bed for the weekend.

Me, me! I'm going to be flying into San Diego sometime during the second week of August to visit with Cass, and then we're planning an Epic Girl Road Trip from San Diego to LA (pausing to play a couple of days with LAistas) and then up to San Fran for Deb's bbq and meeting Nilly!!! Yay!

I think to avoid craziness (and because I have a bad back and have at times had real issues with air mattresses and couches), I'll probably get a room at a local inn or such in San Fran (Cass, want to room together in San Fran and spilt the costs?), so I should be all set in terms of transportation and sleeping arrangements. I'm going to book those tickets soon soon, so I guess I'm looking at the 15th to the 23rd roughly?

As Jon has already offered his home to Nilly in Boston, I also want to volunteer myself as transportation (or travel buddy if Nilly wants to take the train) between Boston and New York during that next week if she wants to start at one and go to the other. I live in the middle, so I could even bring Nilly from Boston a couple of hours south to my place, put her up overnight, and then bring her to NYC the next day to take up residence with the next Buffista. I would also be willing to do the whole drive/train ride if she'd rather go straight from Boston to NYC. Nilly, no need to feel at all obligated to take me up on any of that--just wanted to offer.

ETA: Nilly, just so you know, there is a very convenient train line that runs from Boston all down the coast to NYC and eventually DC, though I'm sure cars will be available too. Tom makes an excellent point about NYC though--best to be through there before the 30th. Eek.

EETA: How many times did I type "Nilly" in this post? Soooo many times, and each one made me happier.

I so want to meet Nilly. Now that AirTran flies to the West, the flight costs to the either LA or SF are only about $60 more than to potential East Coast Nilly sites. I've been to SF for one weekend, NY several times (although you can't get tired of NY) and I've never been to LA, except to change planes. Anyone have any suggestions for where I should catch up with the Nilly Grand Tour? My schedule is pretty flexible.

Nilly, I am not sure if you are planning on staying with me for part of the time still, but that schedule works just fine for me. I am not sure if I will be part of the SF part of the trip yet, though I may try to fly up for that weekend.

I'm planning to head out for the Western leg of Nilly's visit myself. I think I might try flying to San Diego to visit a non-Buffista friend for a couple days, aim for L.A. the last day or two that Nilly's there, and head up the coast to join the fun at the BBQ in the Bay area.

Matt reminds me, we should start making arrangements for people who are coming to LA to see Nilly. I know that some of my extra bedspace is occupied, hopefully by Nilly herself for part of the time, and by Aurelia if she can make it, but I may have more space.

I might be coming to LA to see Nilly, but can't really say for sure until we know the exact dates. (If someone could offer me floor or couch space, that would be great, but if not, then I think I might be able to stay with my cousins.)