StrangerCon 2007: Sand, Sea, and Strange-ness

[Penny Century]

I'm at a point in the rental search where I want to get more feedback on what everyone wants from a temporary island home. If you have strong preferences on any of these items, please to holla.

Gulf view or bay view?
Beachfront or private pool?
Boat slip or country club privileges (tennis and golf)?
Closer to town, or closer to the public parks?
More amenities, or a shorter walk to the beach?
TVs in the bedrooms, or a huge TV in a common area?

NOTE: Not all of these are either-or propositions. Please feel free to assign weights to your responses!

Also, does anyone have any strong antipathy to dorm-style rooms? Galveston vacation houses are like, the premier home of the pyramid bunk (twin up, full or double down). Several of our most attractive options have at least one bunkroom. The ones I've seen are attractive and sturdy (and personally, I think they scream "GIANT SLUMBER PARTY!!" and are therefore good), but I certainly can understand if someone either hates bunks or has an abnormal fear of them. It would help to know if I need to eliminate that option in advance, though.

Fun factoid about Galveston: It is about 32 miles long and about 2.5 miles wide. If you're torn between a Gulf or a Bay view, keep that in mind. At the same time, if you want to be as close as possible to Mardi Gras festivities, remember that the Historic District and West Galveston are at opposite ends, the long way.

[Emmangel]

I'm not too fussed either way with these. A beachfront would by nice, but it's not a must have, same with a big telly. Could be fun for us to watch stuff together, but again, I can go either way. Sorry to be totally non-helpful there!

Originally Posted by Penny Century

but I certainly can understand if someone either hates bunks or has an abnormal fear of them. It would help to know if I need to eliminate that option in advance, though.

Well, I'm one who has an 'fear' of them. I almost broke my neck falling out of one as a kid (ended up with a knee injury instead), but as long as it's not me sleeping in one, I don't care if the place has them. LOL

(if push came to shove I could sleep in them of course, I'd just perfer not to).

[Penny Century]

Originally Posted by Emmangel

Well, I'm one who has an 'fear' of them. I almost broke my neck falling out of one as a kid (ended up with a knee injury instead), but as long as it's not me sleeping in one, I don't care if the place has them. LOL

Heh...yeah, my brothers had bunks when we were kids, and I once saw the top bed fall right out of its frame, with one brother still on it, and land directly on the oldest brother in the bed below. They were both unhurt, astonishingly, and these bunks aren't even made the same way, but I can understand if anyone has issues! (Count me as appropriately cautious, but happy to sleep there.)

That said, no houses I've found have bunkrooms exclusively, and several don't have them at all, so there will be options for everyone.

[psychofilly]

Originally Posted by Penny Century

I'm at a point in the rental search where I want to get more feedback on what everyone wants from a temporary island home. If you have strong preferences on any of these items, please to holla.

Gulf view or bay view?
Beachfront or private pool?
Boat slip or country club privileges?
Closer to town, or closer to the public parks?
More amenities, or a shorter walk to the beach?
TVs in the bedrooms, or a huge TV in a common area?

.

Whichever view is prettier. I don't plan to swim in the ocean. That said, a pool would be nice, but if the majority prefers the beach, then I'm game. Country club privledges? I have no opinion on the town/park debate. I'm all for amenities though. TVs in the bedroom are good, but I'd think a large TV in the common area would be fun for mini TV athons or common activities.

Bunk beds would only be a problem if teh hubbeh decides to go. If not, I don't mind at all.

[Morrigan]

Gulf view or bay view?
Someone told me that the bay water looked brown. Not sure if that's true, if so I'd go with Gulf.

Beachfront or private pool?
Pool sounds better if it's heated. I doubt I'd go anywhere near the ocean, more of a pool person myself

Boat slip or country club privileges (tennis and golf)? don't really care

Closer to town, or closer to the public parks? closer to the fun/party/mardi gras stuff

More amenities, or a shorter walk to the beach? don't really care

TVs in the bedrooms, or a huge TV in a common area? - huge TV would be better for a get together.

Also, does anyone have any strong antipathy to dorm-style rooms? Galveston vacation houses are like, the premier home of the pyramid bunk (twin up, full or double down).
I always got stuck sleeping in the top bunk at college, almost fell off in my sleep, so I'm not to thrilled with them but I can live wth it.

[FlameFlirt]

I pretty much have no preferences. I like a pretty view, but that won't ruin my vacation. I'm not much of a swimmer so I'd probably just lounge around in a bathing suit wherever we are. I think a big TV would be great for viewing parties, especially as this is supposed to be about fans gathering to enjoy our favorite actress/shows/genre. And bunk beds are fine with me, no negative experiences in my past!

[Delenn]

Gulf view or bay view?

Gulf view.

Beachfront or private pool?

Beach front; use of a pool.

Boat slip or country club privileges (tennis and golf)? Not really interested.

More amenities, or a shorter walk to the beach? Not sure. What amenities would we be missing if shorter walk to the beach?

TVs in the bedrooms, or a huge TV in a common area? Like either option; although a huge TV with a DVD player might be good for being together.

Also, does anyone have any strong antipathy to dorm-style rooms? Not my first choice, but could deal.

[Childe of Blade]

Originally Posted by Penny Century

We started talking about a possible StrangerCon in the Dragon*Con thread, and it's probably past time to take that discussion offline, or, uh, online, but somewhere different. So here's the latest on one of the possibilities we tossed around, re: a gathering for Mardi Gras 2007 on Galveston Island, Texas:

The downer is that the Commodore is no longer renting out cottages (their rates were pretty darn cheap). The upper is that Sand and Sea at Pirates Beach has some truly awesome rentals that are not terribly much more. With eight people sharing a beach house, we still could come in at $300 or less each for up to a week, including food -- and that's during peak season.

SnS has a slightly different way of parsing rates than a hotel; you either rent in two-night increments, or by the week or month. In most cases, it's as cheap to rent for an entire week at it is to do so for four days. So if we could get a group to commit to a certain dollar amount each for a minimum of four days, then people could come early and leave late if they wished.

Another thing going for us is that there are several rental properties of varying sizes in this area, some of them next door to each other, so if we really have a lot of interest, we could book more than one.

So how many people think they could drop in sometime around February 15-21, which is the last weekend of Galveston Mardi Gras with an Ash Wednesday checkout?

Or would people rather go at some other time? Closer to summer?

Or would people rather go someplace altogether different?

Please discuss!

A strangercon sounds like an incredible idea, it would allow a newer generation of people to see the C/A relationship from our point of view and show the world that even though the show is off the air, our love for our ship won't die.

I currently reside in Canada, but I think by this time next year I'll be down in the US or at least Vancouver or Ontario getting my feet wet in the entertainment industry.

[Morrigan]

Originally Posted by Childe of Blade

A strangercon sounds like an incredible idea, it would allow a newer generation of people to see the C/A relationship from our point of view and show the world that even though the show is off the air, our love for our ship won't die.

The get together isn't about the show or C/A although, I'm sure it'll come up. The basic point is just to "get together" and see everyone in person.

No real plans other than getting tanned, toasted and maybe tatooed.

[Emmangel]

Originally Posted by Morrigan

No real plans other than getting tanned, toasted and maybe tatooed.

Don't mention tattoos. I've been wanting another one for a while now, and I fear your influence.

[Morrigan]

Originally Posted by Emmangel

Don't mention tattoos. I've been wanting another one for a while now, and I fear your influence.

Oh it'll be fun we'll all get purple "ST" tats on our butts. We'll be like the actors in the LoTR movies

If we want to go fancy, a little claddagh ring with an x through it j/k

[Emmangel]

Hell, you could tattoo the whole of Middle Earth on my bum!

I think I'll settle for piercings and hair dye for now instead, safter that way. LOL

^{Though a claddagh ring does sound temping... Ooh, I could have it done round my wrist like a braclet!}

[Penny Century]

Thanks, everyone, for all the input -- and please keep offering! I'll process all these suggestions. The houses that first meet the all-important minimum bedroom-to-bathroom ratio will get thrown into the blender, and we'll see what comes out.

I'm also making a special effort to find houses with one bunkroom or less.

For those who need more info to decide whether to make a firm commitment, the rental process will work something like this:

We -- meaning our designated agent, i.e. me, probably -- will deliver 50 percent of the total cost of rental by check, along with a signed rental contract, at the time the reservation is made. We will pay the other 50 percent by credit card when the person who opens the house -- i.e. me, probably -- picks up the keys. If we reserve fewer than 30 days prior to occupancy, we must pay the full reservation with a credit card. (The company is very, very specific about these terms; they will not, for instance, let us make a reservation deposit with a credit card, yet they will not honor checks for the check-in payment. Go fig.)

Maintenance is available seven days a week and after hours.

All guests receive complimentary passes to the Galveston Country Club upon check-in. However, the country club pool is not available in February. Many subdivisions have their own pools with different schedules, which I will find out when we start narrowing down the size of house we'll need. Some subdivisions charge a small fee for a pool and/or fishing pier pass.

There is no charge to use the country club tennis courts. Greens fees apply if you want to golf.

A couple of places have private pools, but the ones I've found have neither Bay nor Gulf views. One does have a canal (Bayside) view.

Linens and towels will be provided by the rental company. Dish soap and toilet paper will not.

All houses are non-smoking.

There is a four-car maximum for parking at each house.

No hurricane refunds. Vote for the travel insurance if you're worried about weather cancellations. (February isn't hurricane season anyway, but in the interest of full disclosure.)

"Normal" February temperatures are 63 to 67 degrees in the daytime and 50 to 54 at night. In 2006, daytime temps reached as high as 75 to 79 degrees. Mean precipitation is just over 2.5 inches for the month.

All the houses have names, so if you can't decide based on amenities and features, you can always make up your mind according to whether or not you like its moniker.

[That*clown]

Originally Posted by Penny Century

I'm at a point in the rental search where I want to get more feedback on what everyone wants from a temporary island home. If you have strong preferences on any of these items, please to holla.

Gulf view or bay view?
Beachfront or private pool?
Boat slip or country club privileges (tennis and golf)?
Closer to town, or closer to the public parks?
More amenities, or a shorter walk to the beach?
TVs in the bedrooms, or a huge TV in a common area?
NOTE: Not all of these are either-or propositions. Please feel free to assign weights to your responses!

Also, does anyone have any strong antipathy to dorm-style rooms? Galveston vacation houses are like, the premier home of the pyramid bunk (twin up, full or double down). Several of our most attractive options have at least one bunkroom. The ones I've seen are attractive and sturdy (and personally, I think they scream "GIANT SLUMBER PARTY!!" and are therefore good), but I certainly can understand if someone either hates bunks or has an abnormal fear of them. It would help to know if I need to eliminate that option in advance, though.

Gulf view or bay view? Gulf view would be great

Beachfront or private pool? I will spend a lot of time on the beach so beachfront would suit me to a T. But I seem to be in the minority.

Boat slip or country club privileges (tennis and golf)? Does the slip come with a convenient boat? Doesn't matter.

Closer to town, or closer to the public parks? I don't know much about either so I'll let partier heads prevail.

More amenities, or a shorter walk to the beach? Shorter walk! I have a theme going.

TVs in the bedrooms, or a huge TV in a common area? A huge common TV would be nice. After all, the weekend's assumed purpose is to hang out together!

I do not fear the bunk bed. I have three sisters; dorms are norm. And unfortunately cheaper is always better.

Originally Posted by Morrigan

Oh it'll be fun we'll all get purple "ST" tats on our butts. We'll be like the actors in the LoTR movies

I don't have any tatoos but a purple "ST"...there's enough tequila in the world that could make that happen.

[Penny Century]

Okay, I've narrowed the focus to a handful of properties based on the presumption that we'll need room for at least 14 people over the course of four or five days.

One in particular is almost staggeringly perfect, but I have a few questions for the leasing agent about it, and its affordability will depend heavily on a full or near-full house -- and in fact that's true of the two that are nearly neck-and-neck with it in desirability. Yet another may be more perfect still, but it's a new house and no photos are available yet, plus the agent may not even have a rental price until October. I reckon we have time to learn more, though.

I have an expanded list if we need room for fewer people. If we need room for more, there actually are a few places that can accommodate us (though not many). As you think about whether or not to commit, remember that the plan is to keep the cost of everything except individual touristy activities to $300 or less per person for four+ days, and half that for those who are staying 2 days. Hell, if possible I'd even like to include the $25 weekend Mardi Gras pass in that total.

Turnout will decide where we go, so let us know if and when you're in!