BootsnAll Travel Community

Hey, party people... Just a quick note to let you know about some other activities which are being planned for Dec. 1-2, when many of you will be gracing our fair town with your presence!

Friday, Dec. 1: BootsnAll Open House
2-7pm
3505 NE 13th Avenue
Portland, OR 97212-2254
We'll be opening the doors to BnA HQ for anyone who wants to see where the magic happens... Or something like that. Staff will be on hand to say hello and answer questions in a more laid-back atmosphere than the party. Stay tuned for details about time.

Friday, Dec. 1: Party Prep
And by "party prep," I mean getting yourself acclimated to the party atmosphere, of course. All partygoers are welcome to join in what will probably be like a pub crawl of sorts... The starting point will be Hawthorne Hideaway, 8pm-ish, and it'll go from there.

Saturday, Dec. 2: Before the Party
The kind party planning volunteers crackerjillian & Zopa have come up with a couple ideas to occupy your time on Saturday before the party starts. Details are still being worked out, but it looks like there will be two "activity" options for folks who don't want to sleep all day. One will be in Portland (including the Portland Saturday Market) and one will be out of town, weather permitting (potentially a trip to the coast, the Gorge or Mt. St. Helens). If you're interested in an out-of-town jaunt, please let us know here in this thread so we can gauge participation.

[update: 15 Nov] The in-Portland activity I'm working on is a walking tour of Portland's "underground," and I just spoke to them about a private tour (they don't have public tours in December). They have a minimum cost per tour of $120 for anywhere up to 10 people, and then it's $12/person after that. We don't need to know exactly how many people are going to want to go just yet, but if this is something that people are interested in, I need to get on their calendar before all the guides are taken (there are already two tours on that day). So - if you're interested in the walking tour (after the market stop in the morning), please let me know in this thread!

Airport Runs
This isn't exactly a party activity, but anyone who's flying in/out of town will be needing to get to/from the airport - and we've got a few Portland people who have volunteered their services as chauffeurs for all y'all... So, in an effort to conserve gasoline and keep our volunteer drivers from running back & forth to the airport seven times a day, let's coordinate arrival times, shall we? Respond to this thread with your arrival time and we'll work on the spreadsheet.

Two and a half weeks to go, people!

[update: 11-28-06] Check out this post for information about where to meet the walking tour, how much it costs, etc., on Saturday. It starts at 2:30pm, so don't be late.

Mt St Helens YEA!!!!

Grrr.... you're making me choose between shopping and adventures?!

Well... I saw the other two on my last trip, so if it's Mt St Helens I'm in. Otherwise, I'm going to waste my money in town

I am in for breakfast on Saturday and Saturday Market.

I don't get in until 10pm on Friday night, so I will just catch the train or whatever that thing you have is into town.

Thanks!!

imagine this:

a rented minivan
a coupla hours on the road each way
music setting the tone
laughter
spontaneous stops along the way to destination x, y or z

back in plenty of time for disco nap (that nap taken so you can stay up late), dinner, primping and of course,
par-taying.

if you can handle this sort of lifestyle, then maybe the out of town adventure option is for you.

I'm down for pretty much anything. I haven't been to the areas outside of Portland in years.

I did some looking on the Mt. St. Helens website, and it appears the observatory with the best view (the one furthest up the road, natch) is closed for the winter. The two stops before that, however, are still open. Just FYI.

A daytrip to Mt. St. Helens in December? Sounds like a great reason to stay in Portland for the day. Just kidding....I'm sure the weather will be perfect for viewing. Whoops! I just peed my pants. Thank God for Depends. At least you'll get to see the "Welcome to Washington" sign.

I will be taking a nap while my seven-passenger minivan is parked all day. Have fun.

quote:

I'm sure the weather will be perfect for viewing. Whoops! I just peed my pants.

That's why I said "weather permitting," dearheart...

I am "scheduled" to arrive on flight 165 at 11:04 pm Wed Nov 29 on Jetblue via JFK. If it gets in on time I can catch the MAX. My problem is that the last couple of 165 flights have been getting in after midnight and from what I understand the MAX stops at midnight. What options if any other than cabs for late airport arrivals?
Thanks
Bill

Call up your favorite local Boot girl (that would be me ) and she'll come pick you up. Since I have to work on thursday it would be cool if you can catch the MAX but I'm more than happy to be the backup plan. See you then!

hey boot crew, what are your plans for friday night-sh? im hoping you hang out with us for atleast a bit like you did last year-id love it if you did!

I'm gettin in around 7:25 on Thursday. I was planning on just hopping the MAX train down to the hostel.

quote:

I am "scheduled" to arrive on flight 165 at 11:04 pm Wed Nov 29 on Jetblue via JFK.

Bill, you have OUTSTANDING taste in airlines!



I arrive Thursday at noon.

I've been to St Helens (in the summer, was gorgeous) and I've been down the gorge a number of times. However, i haven't been out to the coast. I know that was done last year, but I'd be up for a trip west.

I am coming in 7:25pm on Friday evening. What is this MAX train? I can just take that to the hostel if it goes by there....then take a cab to meet people at the Friday night gathering which I believe is at CrackerJillians' workplace, is that right TGTiff?

And as for the Saturday daytrip, I am up for anything. I have never been to Portland so I am happy to tour the area or do the market, whichever seems to be the tour-du-jour....

And, on behalf of all of us coming into town, thanks muchly to the local Booties who offered their services as chauffeurs, I'm sure it will come in very handy over the weekend and we appreciate it!

Mount St. Helens sounds awesome.

I will be up there friday afternoon so if you need help with set-up Zopa let me know.

Trekker

The MAX runs from the airport to the city.
This is from the Glisan Hostel website
"Metro: MAX train (PGE Park stop) - 1/4 mile; walk north on 18th Ave. 6 short blocks to hostel."

I like how they say they are "short" blocks.

quote:

I like how they say they are "short" blocks.

Fun fact about Portland - the blocks really are shorter than average. Why? With shorter blocks, there are more buildings and therefore more "corner" retail and office spaces available for lease.

Also, here's the public transportation website and, more specifically, the MAX Light Rail part.