Kevin's Watch

hey Jenn! please keep us updated.

Looking forward to seeing everyone as well!

I think WF was joking with the Hawaii comment. Why would an active outdoors person who hates heat and gets sunburnt in about five minutes want to lie on a beach? Where / what state is Pacific Northwet? What kinds of Native American sites are there as well as in Albuquerque? Namesplz? I'm afraid the States is a grand black hole to me.

Whether I'll return via another State's a matter of expenses. American Airlines is offering flights via Chicago (What's Chicago like?) at the same price it took to get to Føroyar from Helsinki. And that's other side of the world... Booking.com lists some ok-ish-priced airport hotels as well, but I'm concerned about noise... I don't require 5-star luxury where personal slaves polish my sword and armor every morn; I've stayed often enough at hostels with shared facilities and so forth, as long as they have single rooms and not a crappy rep.

What's this Sheridan? How much do they charge per night? It's even possible I'll stay the entire 9-12 days in one spot if it gets too expensive to "run around the country" in my usual fashion.

Apparently don't need a separate visa for a trip less than 90 days. Whether my phone will work there is another matter.

Places somewhat like Yellowstone would be great to visit, but, again temperatures and expenses... Might stay in fricking Longyearbyen during the August portion to re-frost myself.

Updated list:

Danlo
Lady Tam
Aliantha
dlb
Iolanthe
Lorin
Wayfriend
Creator
Lucimay
SD
Menolly
Dam-sel
Rdhopeca
Sarge
Mrs. Null
Ussusimiel
Duke
Damelon
Frostheart
Lurch
Jenn

dlbpharmd wrote:Updated list:

Danlo
Lady Tam
Aliantha
dlb
Iolanthe
Lorin
Wayfriend
Creator
Lucimay
SD
Menolly
Dam-sel
Rdhopeca
Sarge
Mrs. Null
Ussusimiel
Duke
Damelon
Frostheart
Lurch
Jenn

did you miss bungleman or is he not committed yet?

I didn't think he was committed yet.

Frosty...If you are interested in Native American cultures..to the west of ALb..on the way to say, Grand Canyon,,is the Navajo Nation,,Its a large bit of property the American Indian was " given" to live on with complete government support; a reservation. From Alb I would suggest a tour of the Southwest. A northerly route could take you into the lower Colorado area of the Anasazi ruins, then down thru the Monument Valley, Lake Powell Grand Canyon sights. Plenty of American Indians to be seen trying to sell you American Indian jewelry made in China. Yet this is the Big Sky South West, a great place that makes it easy to liberate one's mind.

..I live in Phoenix Arizona..its about a 6 hour to 7 hour drive to Alb.. I can offer a free bedroom . I have a guest house I'm trying to make ready for...guests! A one day trip up to the Grand Canyon, thru Sedona, and back , has been known to happen.or is possible on a return trip from Alb. Many possibilities. The only thing I would ask is help in driving to Alb and back.

No matter what..June in the Southwest..is going to be,,warm. if sun burning is a problem,there are tons of sun screen lotions,dry skin lotions , etc available. Counter intuitively , the best may be a ..umbrella. Relax.

Cities are cities and Chicago is a city. Its on a lake. Lots of people live there. They have a slew of tall buildings at the business core of the city. Its a city. Seldom does Chicago get as ...warm..as Alb is going to be in June. For a visit to a American City..I would suggest New York City.. the borough of Manhattan. Thats bragging rights there.

Anyway..yes have a talk with a tourist agent. There is more to do and see than you have time for. You will need to set priorities.

dlbpharmd wrote:I didn't think he was committed yet.

Count me in. Ready to meet you guys.

Updated list:

Danlo
Lady Tam
Aliantha
dlb
Iolanthe
Lorin
Wayfriend
Creator
Lucimay
SD
Menolly
Dam-sel
Rdhopeca
Sarge
Mrs. Null
Ussusimiel
Duke
Damelon
Frostheart
Lurch
Jenn
Bungleman

I hear L-rd Zombiac is planning on coming. Uncertain whether Phyllie and Zappa will be able to make the trip.

Updated list:

Confirmed:
Danlo
Lady Tam
Aliantha
dlb
Iolanthe
Lorin
Wayfriend
Creator
Lucimay
SD
Menolly
Dam-sel
Rdhopeca
Sarge
Mrs. Null
Ussusimiel
Duke
Damelon
Frostheart
Lurch
Jenn
Bungleman

Tentative:
Lord Zombiac
Phyllie
Zappa

It's nice to see my name on the list and I've settled on the dates and I'm thiiiisss close to booking my flights!

I now hope to go via Toronto rather than JFK (a Canadian friend of mine who has spent the last few years studying in Dublin executed an impeccable guilt-trip on me when she heard that I was going to be in the US and not visit her in Canada. She suggested that I could go via Toronto and it turns out that the cost is much the same, so I get to see another country on my trip. Life's tough! )

u.

ussusimiel wrote:It's nice to see my name on the list and I've settled on the dates and I'm thiiiisss close to booking my flights!

I now hope to go via Toronto rather than JFK (a Canadian friend of mine who has spent the last few years studying in Dublin executed an impeccable guilt-trip on me when she heard that I was going to be in the US and not visit her in Canada. She suggested that I could go via Toronto and it turns out that the cost is much the same, so I get to see another country on my trip. Life's tough! )

u.

Jet Blue has a non stop to Albuquerque from JFK now.

lorin wrote:Jet Blue has a non stop to Albuquerque from JFK now.

I'll have one stop from Toronto, in either LA or Dallas, I think.

u.

I actually have two stopovers from BOSton to ABQurque ... I think I go backwards at one point ... possibly through Canada in fact ... and a lesson learned on booking early!

Okay, first part done!

I'm booked to fly to Toronto from Dublin on 17th June, so at least I'll be in Canada!

I was trying to book the flights to Albuquerque but I kept getting this odd message about no luggage on the flights I wanted, so I'm checking with site I'm using to find out exactly what it means. I'll need to be able to check in a bag as I'll be holidaying for 3+ weeks.

Depending on the flight I eventually book I'll be in Albuquerque either late on the Tuesday night or in the afternoon on Wednesday. I know you'll be around, lorin, so we'll have to make sure to meet up, celebrate your birthday and start the 'Fest early!

u.

Outstanding!

what about Cagliostro and Bossk ? I thought they were planning on coming.
and Waddley and Balon?

AND AVATAR!!!!! get it in gear Av. we're expecting you.

and Syl? isn't syl coming? and brinn? didn't brinn say he was coming?

there should be a LOT more confirmed people attending this thing dammit.

I have commitment issues

Bleh I hope my problems with the plane company and customer support calls with the lady whose heavy US accent I had trouble to understand are MOSTLY over. Their "international" web interface glows with incompatibility and prefers to drop away some characters that don't apparently fit the concept of "Mary Smith" et al. Anyway, leaving on the 15th and scurrying back on the 26th (from ALB, decided to opt out hops this time). The single tourist agency I was able to find in this heathen hinterland of the universe attempted to piss me in the eye by charging several hundreds of euros more for the same package I'd already kind of pinned down online (GRRR), so didn't contact them again. Tips from workmates and friends about sightseeing and general survival have been received, but I believe I will have to pester people a lot when the festdate approaches. :/

Probably cannot book accommodation before May, ran out of funds.

Lurch, thanks for the suggestions and offer...the problem of mine is that I cannot drive. Not a mandatory skill over here, unlike knowing how to cycle and cross-country ski. Very few of my RL friends have cars to begin with, just too expensive with all the taxes and gas prices.

(And this is why I'm worried about the ability to get around. Someone told me even sidewalks rarely exist apart from the very city center. I rely on my legs.)

I know Chicago is a city, but they come in different flavors hereabouts. A European capital commonly houses a (former) royal palace, a castle or ten, some medieval churches, cobbled streets in the Old Town, and these mingle together with modern architecture... Mine's not even a capital, but still has a castle and a cathedral dating back to the 13th century. So I bet Chicago would feel quite different.



So, generally, while I cannot drive, I'll be more than happy to help with gas costs and such (if for instance a daytrip somewhere happened, or if people decided to group-rent a car and go see places <--this happened in Iceland).

Chicago is a very walkable city, with mass transit service from the airport to the city center. There are also some unique sites. The Art Institute of Chicago is a world class museum, and whatever your interests are there's likely to be something there to interest you.

Chicago is also a national rail hub, so if you can't find reasonable airfare to Albuquerque, a good fare on Amtrak's Southwest Chief can possibly be found if you book a seat rather than a sleeper. It's a 23 hours by train from Chicago to Albuquerque. I live near to Chicago and took the train last time Elohimfest.