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hsapiens
hsapiens
01 October 2008 @ 10:30 am
November Con // Travel to NJ, D.C., NYC (?)  
Happy October! I've finally gotten my act together to plan my trip in just over a month for the final con to be held by Creation in NJ. I'm ambivalent as I'm not enamored of Creation but they were a great reason for me to travel and see a bunch of fandom friends AND a bunch of folks from college. Anyhow, here's what I have planned:

- Nov. 6 (Thursday): Fly to Baltimore after work. Very late night arrival.
- Nov. 6: Need to find a hotel. I'm leaning towards the hotel [livejournal.com profile] jalabert and I stayed in Columbia, MD last year since I know the area but it's smarter to find a place that is on the road to Cherry Hill, NJ.
- Nov. 7: Drive to Cherry Hill, NJ. (I'm doing it this way because flying to BWI was half the price of Philly when I was pricing tickets *and* Hertz promised me a Prius at that airport at a reasonable rental price. No Prius guarantee in Philly.)
- Nov. 7-9: Con in Cherry Hill, NJ. [livejournal.com profile] selmak and [livejournal.com profile] janiekins, I finally chose to take my chances and stay at the very poorly reviewed con hotel. I'd like to say I did this with a sense of camaraderie and misery loves company but the truth is I need to scale back vacation spending. This is the least excited I've ever been about a con line-up. No major SG-1 actors at all and no female guests, either. At least this will help me save money on con photos.
- Nov. 10: Check out of crappy con hotel.
- Nov. 10-15: Undecided. I would *like* to visit [livejournal.com profile] yams69 and family since I'm already there but as I don't yet know their schedules because I never got back to them with my itinerary, I don't know if/when they're available to play. We spoke about hitting some of the Revolutionary War historic sites when I was last there and those still appeal strongly. Else, I'm tempted to return to explore the Smithsonian since it's free, stuffed full of amazing things, and I've spent far too little time there. And there's a Ghanaian restaurant in D.C. that sounded cool but ran out of time for last year. [livejournal.com profile] jalabert, I'm trying to figure out how to visit NY, meet the new kitty, see you, and visit my beloved Met. Given that I have an extra family member living with me and the expenses of the hurricane and the economic downturn, I'm having trouble. I don't think I can afford a week at the Crowne, eating out a lot, traveling, and the incidentals. Would you be willing to spend some time in D.C.? My plan is to have a rental car again so I could pick you up/drop you off if needed. :)
- Nov. 16 (Sunday): Fly back to Houston.
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[identity profile] samantilles.livejournal.com on October 1st, 2008 04:38 pm (UTC)
I live within ten minutes from BWI (superclose!) and there's a hampton inn that wasn't terribly expensive (plus they'll feed you breakfast on your way out of town) at the Arundel Mills Mall. It's not out of the way, and I've had excellent experiences with Hampton (plus you have loads of entertainment for the night right there at the mall with a huge movie theatre and amenities)
Mish[identity profile] hsapiens.livejournal.com on October 1st, 2008 05:54 pm (UTC)
I just checked that particular Hampton, which is $189 for a single Thursday night stay. That's more than I'm looking to pay for the use of a clean bed in a safe room for about 10 hours. I'm at a loss to explain a charge that high since the airport Sheraton is only $129 for the same night. I'm a W/Westin/Sheraton fan though I'd have to pay for internet access at that Sheraton, which offends me on principle.

I checked the other area Hilton properties and there's a Hilton Garden Inn less than 2 mi from the airport (1516 Aero Drive) that's only $129 for the same night. Do you have any knowledge about it? I'm not certain what makes for a Hilton Garden vs. Hampton Inn vs. Hilton vs. Homewood Suites beyond the idea that suite hotels normally include a kitchen.
[identity profile] samantilles.livejournal.com on October 1st, 2008 06:37 pm (UTC)
wow they've raised the prices then!! Homewood suites are designed for the military folks here at Fort Meade who are on temporary duty for like three weeks (cheaper per week, but the contracts are designed to last longer or for you to become a frequent customer (like once a week kinda thing)) I don't know that particular hotel, except that there's literally a hundred of them right in the same area (NSA and Ft. Meade traffic usually)
Mish: DeeJ -- Followed Me Home[identity profile] hsapiens.livejournal.com on October 1st, 2008 09:35 pm (UTC)
For some reason, that single Thursday is extra expensive at just that hotel. Spy convention, perhaps? ;-) Most other times they're around $129, which I think is a fairly standard rate. Too bad, too, because I'd have happily booked myself there.