4 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

We are approaching the one month to go mark in advance of this Fest.

That means it's time to consider your final preparations for this trip.

Read over the various pages regarding transit fares, places to eat and stay, etc. in each of the three cities (as well as Chicago). The links can all be found on the homepage here.

Have a laundry plan if you are not bringing a new set of clothes for each day. There are dwell times available in New Orleans (Thursday morning) and Memphis (Friday afternoon) when no activities are planned, so you might be able to partake of your hotel's coin laundry (assuming you've done your homework and booked a room at a place that has one!) You should be collecting quarters and one dollar bills so you don't have to get change. You might also consider stopping at a laundromat near your home and buying one small box of laundry detergent so you have one less worry when laundry day or night comes during the trip.

Make sure that your hotel plans are in your mobile device or printed out for your use. Mistakes sometimes can be made by hotels, so it's good to have something to show them. If you have not already printed out your Amtrak tickets, don't forget to bring the reservations with the bar codes with you so you can pick them up from a Quik-Trak machine before your first departure. Put all your travel stuff in one place, so you don't end up leaving tickets or reservations behind.

And I'm working on a potential fare pre-purchase in Atlanta, and how we can best get our tickets in New Orleans and Memphis (and maybe Chicago) as well.

More on this later.

[steve4031]

Appreciate your hard work. Sitting here at school in the midst of the usual chaos. Cannot wait.

[KevinKorell]

I'm working hard to tie things together this last month before the Fest. I realize that some of you are as excited as I am to have our annual summer journey so close at hand. We still have a few things to work out, and we still have some on the fence as to their eventual plans. I'm trying to help them, and at the same time they are working with others on alternative plans. Please let me know if you're planning on sharing roomettes, cohabitating in hotels, pre-arranging fare payments, or making plans for other non-rail activities or dining in the host cities. I appreciate people taking the initiative, but without one person knowing and directing things, it's possible that plans may end up conflicting or we may have a false count for a particular activity or restaurant reservation. I'd be happy with everyone involved making some positive contribution to this event, but again please just drop me an e-mail ahead of time so I'm aware what's going on. The other concern is that we have several people who do have monetary issues. I'll be very happy to see them able to join us, knowing how much these events can cost with the hotels and train fares. I'm surviving for now, with one foot in the toilet and the other on a banana peel. So please let's not go overboard with the extra expenses. We don't need to pick the most expensive restaurant in town just because somebody recommended it (Portland and Seattle, anyone?). I'm working with Bill Haithcoat on a dinner location for Atlanta -- something hopefully that is not overly expensive but will be a pleasurable sit-down experience and of course near MARTA trains. For Memphis, I still would like to do Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner. Lunch could be at the Peabody Place food court, or some have suggested a blues club -- which could again get costly. New Orleans we have lunch at a mall food court adjacent to the Mississippi River and near the Riverfront and Canal Streetcar lines. Dinner in New Orleans the second night I have not yet researched, but again we can do our one sit-down thing someplace.... or there is plenty of fast food along the streetcar lines particularly Canal Street. Perhaps too, we can look at diner-type places like we did in New York City. For the 2 breakfasts in New Orleans you're on your own as you may get something from your hotel. But it cannot escape my mind that 2 years ago in the same city, some were looking to spend upwards of $60 for breakfast just to have local specialties at a famous restaurant. Let's escape the adage that just because we're on vacation we can justify spending a lot of money. Remember the money you save you can use towards next year's trip!

[steve4031]

Cafe dumonde is cheap, and it is famous for it's beignets. The one at Jackson square is the original. This is more of a snack spot, but worth the extra effort IMHO.

[steve4031]

I agree on the idea of more affordable restaurants. Though I was the guilty party during socal Fest when we went through new Orleans.