I live 2 hours away from San Fran myself, so if you need me to do some hounding, I can wiggle my arse over there and spend a day exlporing around. I also have a truck and will be driving, so if there's anything a distance outside of the city we want to go see, I can pile as many people as I can into the back of le truck and we can have a tailgate party.

And San Fran is fairly redneck girl friendly. They go up to the Sierra's all the time and they have to deal with plenty of us up there, so most of them have experience. Plus, they are surrounded by farming country. They're bound to be pretty redneck friendly in my personal opinion. If they're not, then I'm not sure when they built the huge wall between them and the rest of the world. But, if it helps you feel better, I come from California's hickville, so you won't be the only one there that could be classified as "redneck".

I really hope that I have money and can swing this. Also seconding the Gio is mandatory and adding Yasha is mandatory as well. I wonder if the that roller coaster is real and or finished that goes through the city.  Also who is up for a side trip to Sin City...if possible I have shows to catch

August works for me, too....  At least, I believe it will as of now.  My only real consideration for dates is my hire date at work.  B/c of it,  I get my yearly vacation allotments on April 30/May 1, so stuff right before then is hard for me, because I'd have to save up vacation days until the very end (when they expire & I get new vacation hours).  Obviously I wanna use them all and distribute them throughout the year somewhat...so that I get the full value from 'em and don't have a mental breakdown from too much work.  :-)

I kinda feel like I'm starting to spam the thread a bit much for someone who may wind up not going....again. But I just had to share this.

The Hotel des Arts-- It looks like the SF equivalent of the Carlton Arms. It's got rooms painted by local artists, and the rates are pretty damn cheap. There's also a suite that for $189 a night has a living room, bathroom, and bedroom. It can sleep up to six people(bedroom holds 4, and the couch folds out.) AND it comes with a flat screen TV. As an added bonus, it's pretty close to Union Square.

Oh wow. That sounds absolutely lovely. Because I was starting to get confused, wondering if it was really $400+ a night at the Hilton.

And Gio, that page isn't loading for me -- what is it?

I'm currently checking into the Academy of Art University, and the tuition sounds reasonable, but I'm not sure where to look for out-of-state tuition, because I'm sure the $18,225 undergrad tuition is for California natives only. :/

Oh that sounds so damn awesome. And thank you, Alithea! It's good to know that there probably aren't any extra fees. This makes me happy.

Hopefully, by that time, I'll have a one-way ticket there, and maybe the dorms will be open. I need to check to find out when the school year tends to start, and if my credits will transfer from a regular community college to an art university. If not, too bad, going anyway.

Strangely enough, my grandparents want to come along. I'm not sure how to feel about this. :|

At least they have Merriot points to stay in some rooms. Are there any Merriots or Merriot-affiliated hotels in that area?

!!! OPSHUNS, FEEDBACK PLZ

I've looked at my school schedule and the two possible date lines for RoseCon09 are August 11-13, Tuesday-Thursday, and August 14-16, Friday-Sunday. They both have benefits and drawbacks, and Yasha and I frankly do have a preference.

In both cases you're dodging having to fly on Saturday or Sunday, the pricy days. The weekday dates will have cheaper hotels. The difference is fairly marginal. However we are staying near the major shopping center, and will be dealing with a retarded packed mess if we stay over the weekend, where during the week things will tone down and we'll have more of the city to ourselves. Of course, it also means we miss the raging weekend nightlife, and Haight-Ashbury won't be as jumping as it is on weekends. Weekdays may be harder for some of you to get off, though.

Personally, I would prefer the earlier dates, because for one, less crowd = better, when you're dealing with groups of 6+ and don't want to lose track of each other on the street. For the other, hm. Hard to say without sounding like an asshole, but having it earlier gives Yasha and I longer to ourselves afterward. It's not that we don't love you guys and love RoseCon, but it takes a lot of planning and agonizing, and it's very tiring. We could use the week after to ourselves to relax and settle into the victory of giving you all a great time.

But this is something that's up to you guys, ultimately. So feedback's appreciated.

Edit: Still don't know about SF's Balthazar, but Thomas Keller's* original restaurant, The French Laundry, as well as his moderate one, Bouchon, are a drive out into Yountville.

*Of Per Se fame, and by fame I mean one of the top restaurants in NYC.

Either way!

Edit: Don't airlines usually charge more if you're not staying over a Saturday, since they assume you're a business traveler who isn't paying for the trip himself?

Last edited by satyreyes (07-19-2008 09:46:58 PM)

Earlier works better for me. I suspect my semester will start either that week or the next, but the earlier dates give me a slightly better chance of not having to take extra vacation.

Of the optional cities, San Francisco's the optimal for me, geographically, monetarily, and in the sense that I already know half the layout and the good bars (two dollar Guinness I come for you!).  I may become maudlin and sentimental for the Tenderloin, and I'll probably steer clear of some of the pricier touristy ventures that may be popularly attended.  Earlier's going to be a bit better - hypothetically - but I'll also be totally honest and admit I only have a vague notion of what might be my schedule around then.

And my medical tests say I am in fact not (or not any longer) allergic to shellfish!  So, um, yeah.  That kinda weighs in.

But, really, I just wanna see all you crazy great folks!

The earlier August date, I'd say. I'm not in school anymore, but it seems like it would work for more people. And really, you'd have to take off either way, its just a question of how many days.

OMG EXCITED

Either August date works for me. August in general is super-perfect because that's the month that there's no summer school OR regular school for me.

I need a dead from joy and excitement emote.

So the way things stand right now, unless something drastic happens, RoseCon09 will be taking place in San Francisco, August 11-13. So far that artsy hotel in the French Quarter is ground zero, and almost definitely where Yasha and I will be. Anyone that isn't interested in staying there is strongly encouraged to hunt for hotels around the same area, the Union Square corner of town. Once things are a little more solid, I'll start researching.