Welcome, updates, Pinkfest, hotels, air ...

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This posting is from: annie
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First of all, welcome to those who just joined the list. We picked up
quite a few from the Diva Las Vegas mailing last week, and I hope we'll
be seeing you in October. (Wow, gettin' close to the 2-month mark!)

Pinkfest will occur from Thursday evening, October 12, thru Sunday,
October 15.

Elena will be coordinating the scheduling, and I (Annie) will be doing
the mailings.

For those who want to know how Pinkfest differs from DLV (other than
being in Chicago and not Las Vegas), Pinkfest is smaller and more
informal. They are alike in that they are both non-conventions. :) Both
are very much "on the town" as opposed to being hotel based, and both
have a mixture of mainstream (general public) and alternative (GLBT bars
and such) activities.

No, there's no registration, activity sign-up, etc. You just announce
to us that you're coming, or even just show up.
. . . . .

As far as hotels, we really don't have any official hotel or even any
recommended hotel. You basically have two choices:

1. Hotels in the downtown or River North area which run between almost
reasonable and totally obscene rates.

2. Hotels farther out which are very reasonable.

In follow-up to some on-line discussion regarding difficulty finding
good rates in the downtown area, I spoke to our in-house travel agent
and they did some looking and checking. I have good and bad news to
report.

First the bad news.

The only hotels in that general area that they recommend that show
availability (Oct 12-15) and have semi-reasonable rates are the Cass
Hotel and the Best Western Grant Park.

There's also the Travelodge on Harrison. She was not very specific as to
why, but "we don't place anybody there unless they insist."

Both Best Westerns and the Red Roof Inn are showing sold out, but "check
frequently, as those things open up and re-sell-out quite often."

Strangely, the Days Inn where they placed me last year (I'm not gonna
recommend it for those who don't like to walk a lot) does not show on
their system this year, either available or sold out. ??????

I did mention (as I did on line) that I remembered a Super-8 up north of
the Boystown area near the lake. She knew of it, and said it's still
there, but "I can get you in a much nicer place out by O'hare for the
same price."

Now the good news.

If you have a vehicle, your options are almost infinite. There are tons
of hotels, every brand there is, in the O'Hare vicinity, many of them in
the $50-ish to $80-ish range.

Closer in, surrounding and just south of Midway there's also a large
bolus of various hotels, all brands, all prices.

There are also many of them along the I-80 corridor, all brands, all
prices.

If you don't have a vehicle and don't mind riding the El into town or
bumming a ride or taking a taxi, there are several out by O'hare that
are walking distance to the Rosemont or Cumberland El Stations, plus
those that are farther will often times have a free shuttle that goes
to the airport and the El.

There's also a bunch of hotels, some very reasonable, just south of
Midway that are within walking distance of the Midway El station,
assuming you like to walk. :)

I'm keeping my eyes (and my browser) open for any deals that may
pop up. If anybody knows of any hotel deals, please write in.
. . . . .

As far as air fare to Chicago, it varies, of course, by origin, but
even with the fuel situation, the prices look good, with Southwest,
American, and Untied all showing under $100 RT, at least from my
origin. Your mileage (and fare) will vary, of course. :)


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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)

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This posting is from: Janna
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Hi Annie! How are you dear? Sure looking forward to seeing you at the OPEN
HOUSE AT JANNASPLACE EMPORIUM. Lots of things planned! Hugs and kisses friend.
Janna _www.Jannasplace.com_ (http://www.Jannasplace.com)


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(This posting was entered by Janna, an external user of MyDLV.)