Here is the schedule and registration information for our big party in 2010!
Great Slow Travel Gathering 2010 – A Taste of San Diego March 12 – 14, 2010
Friday, March 12 from 6:30 – 10:00 PM Kickoff party at Jane and Ken Parker’s house
Jane and Ken are hosting us at their home for our first evening. Shannon and Palma will be laying out a gorgeous and tasty spread of antipasti and Marcia’s the pastry buyer/chef. There will be plenty of prosecco, wine, beer and Italian sodas for designated drivers (which we WILL be looking for.) This is a casual, relaxed party for everyone to catch up with and/or meet new Slow Travelers. It’ll be a great kick-off for a special weekend.
Saturday, March 13 from 6:30 – 10 PM Fiesta in Ocean Beach
There will be many activities to choose from during the day. These will be posted later. For our evening party, we will have a Mexican fiesta at a local hall in Ocean Beach (Shannon’s ‘hood.) Our caterer, Super Cocina, prepares authentic Mexican food that is absolutely delicious — attested to by Shannon, Marcia, Dave and Jane. We will also have margaritas, sangria, beer and wine and awesome desserts from Azucar, a GREAT bakery/pastry shop here in Ocean Beach. There will be entertainment and maybe even a piñata or two!
Sunday, March 14 from 11:30 – 1:30 Farewell Brunch
Our farewell brunch will be held at the Island Palms Hotel & Marina in Shelter Island Some of you will probably decide to stay here — it is right on the marina and a very pretty property. We have a room set aside with a lovely view of the marina. We’ll have a brunch buffet and a bloody mary and mimosa bar.
Other Details
The ticket for all three events, including all food, beverage and fun, is $150 per person. $75 is due upon registering and the remaining $75 is due by December 1st 2009.
If you fully pay all when you register, the ticket price will be $140 (a $10 discount.) If you are certain that you are going to come, and if you can, please pay all at once. You will make the planners lives easier this way.
Tickets are non-refundable unless someone can fill your spot.
It looks like our headquarters hotel will be the Island Palms Hotel & Marina. This is a Best Western property in a very nice part of town, Shelter Island. They have a really nice pool area, an outdoor (and indoor) bar/restaurant, and a good wine list. They have offered us a special room rate of $119 per night. (Don’t call just yet though – give it a couple of weeks.)
You can google hotels in San Diego and find all price ranges in all locations — beach, La Jolla, downtown, waterfront, etc.
HOW TO REGISTER: Please send me an email or a private topic and I will email or PT you the registration form. My email address is in my profile.
Please feel free to email or PM any of us planners with questions. We truly hope you will attend and that we can make this a memorable weekend for you.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Shannon,
DH is in the air on his way to Roma and I am here already. Can you put us down as definitely and when we get back after June 15 I will mail the pertinent checks, forms, etc..
I am relatively new to SloTrav and have as yet not participated too much. Love the site though. This get-together sounds intriguing- my question is: is it something newbies would be welcome at, or is it really more for a group who already know each other quite well. It's just that it is a bit of a committment.... also, wouldn't want to intrude, if ya know what I mean. thanks. Karin
I think I can say for the whole group that newbies are most cordially welcome, and we are delighted that you are thinking of coming to join us in San Diego. At the first gathering of this size in Savannah there were several newbies who took the plunge and joined us, and I think that they had a really good time. Hopefully a few will chime in here.
There are even a few Ontarians planning on attending, hope you can touch base with them. In the meantime, the more you participate online here, the less of a newbie you will be by March 2010.
Welcome to SlowTravel; if you haven't introduced yourself in the Introduce Yourself!! forum, you might want to go and do that, let us get to know you.
is it something newbies would be welcome at, or is it really more for a group who already know each other quite well
Hi Karin, I wanted to welcome you aboard and say I do hope you will join us at the San Diego GTG. You will have a wonderful time.
I was a newbie just prior to the Savannah GTG. I had lurked around the boards but had not joined to comment until I saw there was going to be a GTG in Palm desert. My friends and family were very wary of me going to a party where I only knew people from the internet. It was at that party hosted by Palma that I met so many wonderful people from these boards. They were warm and friendly and we all had the common thread of "loving to travel". When I was leaving that party Palma encouraged me to come to the Savannah gathering. I had heard about it but decided it could not be for me as I did not know anyone. Well I decided to take a leap and I signed up. I even got a room-mate for that weekend from these boards that helped people who needed to share a room. She was a slowtraveller who has become my friend as well. We had a great time and everyone is very very nice and will make you feel welcome. I hope you come to San Diego!
Karin--yes, yes, do come. The great thing about ST is how comfortable everyone can be and how soon that happens. A few of the folks here that are from Canada--various places within--are Sheena, JDeQ, BGE and lots more. I hope you join us in sunny SD.
One of the best ways to get the feel of a Slowtrav GTG is to check out past photos - there's a lot to sift through. You'll see a lot of familiar faces, because once someone comes to a Slowtrav GTG, there's a pretty sure bet they'll come back to another one.
Karin As a newbie at the Savannah GTG, I felt very comfortable around everyone. They were quite friendly and I had a great time. Go, you won't regret it!
Posts: 759 | Location: Mississippi | Registered: 31 October 2004
I'm in the same boat as you. Although I've been a member for a few years, I haven't been a big poster. I am seriously tempted to make the plunge with this GTG (hard to refuse a drive of a few hours if people can come from another country!). I'm just hoping my husband says 'yes' since it's his birthday weekend. I guess I can just tell him the party is for him.
~Rebecca~
Posts: 124 | Location: Ventura, CA | Registered: 12 April 2006
I think my husband and I will be attending! Yeah! I haven't registered yet, because I'm finalizing a few things. But I have a question for those of you who live in or around San Diego. I've never been there before, and was wondering how many days you would suggest on top of the GTG if you want to have a nice visit and see some things while there? I know that I can't be guaranteed sunshine and warm weather, but is that typical that time of year, or is it more the rainy season?
Cindy, San Diego is unpredictable at the time of year of the GTG. It can be beautifully sunny and delightful or it can be rainy. One never knows which it will be. But as we have been scheduling some rain dances beginning the previous week, I am quite certain we will have the former.
Now--things to do--you could have several days here doing things. Of course, the weather will determine some of it. I am going to post a list of things this weekend to sort of give an idea.
The SD zoo is world famous, Balboa Park has some great museums for indoor activities, the park itself is great for meandering, various neighborhoods with distinct personalities for wandering shops and ambiance, shore lines that are gorgeous (beach activites will probably be out), Old Town is fun to explore, and more.
With a car you can go up the coast to some charming towns. Personally I wouldn't recommend going south into Mexico due to long border waits.
Watch for the list soon for more ideas.
There is also some good dining here if you're into eating
Do come!!! Jane
Posts: 5534 | Location: San Diego, CA | Registered: 26 June 2001
Jane-Thanks for the message. I'll check out your activities this weekend. I figured it was that time of year of questionable weather. We would really like to have some sunshine if we do this trip in March instead of going to Hawaii or beach area, but I guess just having someplace warmer would be good. I hope to come also-I'm checking airline prices vs using miles right now.
Thanks again for this Shannon - I've just crawled back from a crazy work period . . . asleep last night at 8:30 I've put our cheque for the full amount in the mail (look at me doing anything to save $ 10 - a few more burgers at In-N-Out! woo hoo).
We loved our time in Sand Diego - the weather was gorgeous, the sights wonderful, and the food amazing. The people we met weren't too bad either! We are really looking forward to returning. I have already told Paul - I don't care if he visited the zoo 20 years ago - we're going again!
While we only spent four days there we could easily tell why it is consistently ranked as one of the best places to visit in the US!
Jerry
The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see. ~G.K. Chesterton
My birthday is in mid-March, and I do usually travel around that time - but usually after. I'm trying to think of what the weather is like around my birthday... I don't remember a lot of rain. Cool nights though. And clear days - not foggy days which is what we are having right now (called "June Gloom" in So-Cal speak.)
Anyone living in cold temperature areas will not be COLD that is for sure. It rarely gets below 60 here and that is in the deep dark depths of winter for a week or so.
If it DOES rain during our weekend, I seriously doubt it will be the whole time.
Now I do remember one birthday a few years ago when it rained! It was a Saturday, and it rained in the morning, and I was at Disneyland, and the park was EMPTY. It was awesome!
Rebecca, hope you can come on down from Ventura - we celebrated David's last birthday at SlowBowl in Paso Robles, tell your husband you have planned one biiig party for him this year.
Cindy, how exciting to think you might be here to meet everyone, very cool - I think you could easily make a wonderful spring vacation in and around San Diego. Day trip to wineries in Temecula?
And I am also signing up for the In-N-Out burger and wine tour, thank you very much.
In-N-Out Burgers with a bottle of wine? How fun! I've never had an in-n-out burger. I have had wine with burgers at Taylor's Refresher in Napa area. Marcia-Thanks for the idea of winery tours. I'll check out Temecula on the web-I don't know that area. We love going to Napa/Sonoma, but that's the only wine areas in CA where we've been. I had wondered if we could do that area along with our trip, but our flights would probably be Anchorage/Seattle/San Diego so doing drivable day trips would be better. Eden-you're right, we could do Hawaii on the way, but will probably skip it this time. I'm trying to convince my husband for us to do another Italy trip next fall.
Rebecca, hope you can come on down from Ventura - we celebrated David's last birthday at SlowBowl in Paso Robles, tell your husband you have planned one biiig party for him this year.
Going to Paso and our favorite B&B is Sean's standard birthday trip, but that can be easily re-arranged. I will ply him with wine tonight and see if I can get an 'ok' out of him before the weekend is up.
~Rebecca~
Posts: 124 | Location: Ventura, CA | Registered: 12 April 2006
Shannon, In SB, when we have persistent fog in May, we call it "May Gray". We've had the fog in April, too, but haven't found the right words for it, yet. April Foogle, maybe???
For any quilters or seamtresses/tailors, there is a wonderful fabric store in San Diego called Rosie's Calico Cupboard on El Cajon Blvd. It's a must for fabriholics!
Charity
Charity
Posts: 1748 | Location: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: 11 May 2003
Cindy - it's been my experience at the Slow Bowls in Paso Robles that there are always people with cars willing to take car-less riders to events. So pending a reply from someone familiar with the territory - my guess is that will not be a problem.
Judy
Posts: 3909 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 22 March 2005
That was my question also. I am not brave enough to drive alone in a big city. Does anyone know if the hotel provides shuttle rides to/from the airport or is it very expensive to take a taxi? I am not sure how close the hotel is to the airport. I have only been to San Diego once many years ago.
My hope is that with enough people staying at the Island Palms, we will be able to arrange carpools for those who would prefer not to drive in a strange city. As Judy says, it has worked well in Paso Robles. As we get closer to the dates, we can find out who will be driving, who will need rides - I envision myself in the Island Palms lobby with a clipboard before each event . Or if not me, then a designated organizer.
Island Palms is an easy trip to the Saturday night event - you don't even have to get on the freeway, it's just over the hill. Even if there aren't enough DDs, it's a cheap taxi ride. Also, Island Palms has a van they use for rides to and from the airport and it will shuttle people around to other places if the driver has time.
Jane's on Friday is another story. I will be putting together some van/bus options but those will likely include a bit of an extra cost. Even if we don't get enough people to sign up for the van/bus, I am sure there will be enough DD's to get people there and back.
Thanks for the info. I don't mind as much driving in a strange city, but I won't drink and drive, so that was the concern.
Still haven't sent in a deposit yet as I'm still trying to work out a flight. Thought I could use my $50 campanion fare on Alaska Air, but even with one ticket only costing $50, the price was going to be $1700! I have a lot of FF miles, but the amount they want is ridiculous! I can fly to Europe on a partner airline as they want to fly from here to San Diego. I also looked at flying into alternative airports-I checked on Santa Ana, which is no different. Are there any other airports around that I might check out? I really don't want to drive through LA, but we can take some extra time for this trip if the airport is further away and has some nice places to visit on the way.
No one should book airfare until AFTER July 1... as I say in the first post, if we don't get enough people the whole thing will be cancelled and all the money returned.
I know that is kind of a catch 22 for some people - you want to make sure you can get a decent fare BEFORE you commit. We should know closer to July 1 whether it looks like we will have enough people. Right now, we don't know.
I envision myself in the Island Palms lobby with a clipboard before each event Cool. Or if not me, then a designated organizer.
Marcia - TAG, you're it! By unanimous decision of the SDGTG oversight committee (that would be ME!), you have been appointed carpool organizer with clipboard.
Girasoli/CindyRuth - so glad you will be joining us to represent the newest states.
Judy
Posts: 3909 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 22 March 2005
Shannon is right--a car or some type of transportation will be needed to get to our place and San Diego, basically, does not have public transport and definitely not to where we live.
So--the best bet is for people without cars to hook up with people with cars (and perhaps chip in something for the rental or gas.) This would be preferable to hiring van services which would become pretty complicated and expensive. When Shannon says DD for those who perhaps didn't figure it out, she is referring to dedicated drivers (those who won't drink and so can drive--we hope .)
I (we) are really hoping that enough people commit before the July 1 as this promises to be one huge wonderful party.
Cindy, Ken flies to Anchorage sometimes and has been able to get fairly reasonable fares. Right now it is too early to find fares for next March unless some special offer comes up. We can all keep eyes peeled for you--you, too, Susan.
Originally posted by Pokey: I thought San Diego replaced all taxi's with surfboards. Kowabunga dude and dudettes. Pokey
Pokey, if I hit one of them beaches, I may never come back. Drown, I mean...
You two are too funny How about putting together a roaring skit for one of the evenings? And include Panda in them. I'm sure if we were to advertise this, we would get even more attenders.
We have great train service along the California coast. Bill and I will probably take Amtrak from Santa Barbara to San Diego.
You could fly into LAX, take a shuttle to the beautiful LA train station, and have a nice train ride to San Diego (what is it--about 3 hours from LA?). It's five hours from Santa Barbara to San Diego.
Of course, then we have find transport from downtown San Diego to party central.
Charity
Posts: 1748 | Location: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: 11 May 2003
Cindy, you may find the best fares in and out of LAX. If that is the case, San Diego is not a bad drive, maybe 2 hours, a little more with traffic, and you could take advantage of stopping off and spending some time along the coast, or even a few days in the LA area, where we do have some mighty fine museums, beaches, shopping and eating.
Thanks, Judy, for the tag, I might take the marvelous Mindy up on her offer come gathering time to hold the now infamous clipboard, as I may just be a wee busy out at the venues. But, Mindy, if you're not too busy saving Doru from the beaches and the surfboards, I might just have a job for you, thanks.
But Shannon is quite right, we will need enough committments by July 1 in order to know that this is financially viable. So please do send us your deposit; for those of you taking off for wonderful vacations in the next month, put that registration form in the "pay bills before I go" pile if you can. We thank you very much.
All this talk of surfboards - I once spent a summer as a surf lifeguard, so I should fit right in to the general beach atmosphere (mine was on the North Cornish coast, which meant we spent much of the time wrapped up to the eyes in sweaters rather than sunscreen)
For a small consideration (I'm thinking in a glass with fruit and small paper umbrellas) I may be induced to reprise my fully trained arm waving and megaphone display.
Posts: 1400 | Location: London, UK | Registered: 20 September 2006
Slow Travel Talk 
They have offered us a special room rate of $119 per night. (Don’t call just yet though – give it a couple of weeks.)
I've put our cheque for the full amount in the mail (look at me doing anything to save $ 10 - a few more burgers at In-N-Out! woo hoo).
We are really looking forward to returning. I have already told Paul - I don't care if he visited the zoo 20 years ago - we're going again! .jpg)
Why not do both? You can practice basking in the sun in SoCal.
I was the co-trolly captain in Savanah (although there wasn't anyone on our trolly, they forgot to pick us up first) 
Kowabunga dude and dudettes.
Make this happen!!!
