North American LOL meeting?

[plaalye]

Seattle?

[Cup]

I would totally be down for monterey.

[Keith Wolcott]

I would prefer Summer, but could possibly manage other times.

[Diana]

Central California is really a double header: We also have the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. This is about a 2 hour drive from MBA. Weather in CA is reasonable year round, no snow in the coastal area.

http://www.calacademy.org/

[Joe Khul]

The time of the year is no big hassle for me, but I would prefer the Shedd only because I am limited on vacation time and any place further away from there would be a headache for me and the missus. Of course, if any of the other locations are picked, the week of the 4th would be the best for me as my employer has an independence day shut down for the week preceding the 4th this year. That gives me a 9 day window to plan a trip.

Now if Emma could get a states-based foothold for her franchise that would be awesome.... hint hint nudge nudge

[lf11casey]

Chattanooga would be good. Only a couple hrs from me. It's funny, I've lived in this state 5 yrs and haven't been yet.

[water patters]

My vote would be for the Shedd Aquarium. It's close for us as well, and there are other cool things to do/see in Chicago.

Kelly

[chefkeith]

Maybe the solution is that we have 3 meeting spots.

East Coast (Chattanooga)
Midwest (Chicago)
West Coast (Monterey/San Francisco)

How does that sound?

I could probably do Chicago in the summer and Chattanooga in the Fall. I won't make it to Monterey/SF this year, but that shouldn't stop a meeting from happening if that's where some people want to go. I'd probably be down for the Monterey/SF late next year, like in December just after X-mas.

Anyone want to suggest some specific dates for when they could attend?

[Diana]

I like the idea of a rotating meeting, perhaps once a year or however often it would work.
I am afraid all I can manage are the really close ones, though.

[Tinman]

The Shedd is spectacular,The Embassy Suites at Navy Pier is the place to stay in Chicago. Free Breakfast, a great pub under it with an open high rise atrium and all the railings are glass just like a fish tank. It is breathtaking from up high. The Shedd is a short cab ride,as is The Natural History Museum and The Adler Planatarium amongst numerous other things to see, The Childrens Museum has a water toy we all would play with for hours too and its just a few blocks.

My wife has business in Atlanta and Chicago so if I get those dates from her tonight I can tag along to either if they work for anyone else as a place to start possibly nailing down a date..........TM

[Memnoch]

I'll assume da Bronx Zoo is out

Fawgetaboutit

[Joe Khul]

Maybe the solution is that we have 3 meeting spots.
I'd probably be down for the Monterey/SF late next year, like in December just after X-mas.

Anyone want to suggest some specific dates for when they could attend?

I might be able to do a trip to SF during the Christmas/New Years holiday as my company also has a shut down during this time as well, and SF might have better weather the Wisconsin.

[Joe Khul]

One other thought...

Maybe we could coerce Mr Thoene to join us, depending on what location was most convenient for him.

[zmo63]

Diana, what is California Academy of Sciences like? I'm going to be in SF for a few days on business next month - is it worth visiting? I see there's also Aquarium of the Bay - any good? If I were going to be there longer (and with a car, and without coworkers), I'd be begging for a fishroom tour

For a Chattanooga meetup (and possible Atlanta double header), I propose Sep 12-13, or Sep 19-20. Just to get something on the table.

[shari2]

for me anything east of the rockies is feasible.

i second the idea of planning a few geographic areas. naturally, the east coast is best for me.