BosCon CambriCon HubCon That Thing Up Massachusetts Way 2004

Official convention dates are July 8-11, 2004, but we'd love it if you joined us as early as July 4th! Come explore Beantown with the Boston Krewe.

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As we stare out at gray winter skies, our thoughts wander to summer vacations -- and that means it's time to plan for Con! This year we're practically speechless with excitement because Con is coming to Our Fair City of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Boston-area Krewe join us in welcoming you for the annual merriment, and we're busily figuring out ways to entertain you.

This year's convention will be July 8-11 at the Boston Marriott Cambridge Hotel in Cambridge, MA. The hotel is literally on top of a subway station (and here's your first Boston vocabulary lesson: we call the subway "the T"), making it a snap to reach all of Boston and Cambridge's tourist sites and other attractions. Hop on the T, a bus, or a taxi to check out the Harvard University Museums, the theater district, Fenway Park (and yes, the Sox will be in town that week!), the Museum of Fine Arts, the Freedom Trail, the Aquarium, the Museum of Science, a regular and a 3D IMAX theater, more bookstores than we can count, and . . . way too much to mention here. Nearby, you can find a shuttle bus to a shopping mall (only 10 minutes to get to stores, restaurants, and tour boats of the Charles River), a beautiful walking/jogging path along the river, an urban public garden, an art-movie multiplex (which shows lots of Sundance winners and foreign films), a food court, and (a bit further away) the requisite ice cream shop. (No offense to Mondo Gelato, but wait till you try Toscanini's and Christina's!)

This year, we want to entice you all to come early and celebrate the 4th of July. Boston's celebration is unrivaled, and we hope you'll share it with us. The holiday is on the Sunday before con, which means that some of us will have Monday as a holiday. Why not take an extra day off and make it a week? As an extra incentive, the Boston Krewe are organizing parties, tours, and activities for the week from July 3rd through July 9th. So far, Krewe are offering a 4th of July picnic/fireworks outing, a whale-watch cruise, a trip to the lovely Arnold Arboretum, and a Freedom Trail/North End cannoli break. For more information please visit this link, or contact us via e-mail at bostoncon2004.at.puzzlers.org. You can also contact us by conventional means at our contact info in the Directory (for Sue++, Saxifrage, or Sidhe). Please use the puzzlers.org address for all con business or
questions, and not our regular e-mails.

This year's convention fee is $215, and as always, includes Friday dinner, all Saturday meals, and Sunday breakfast, not to mention the con activities that Willz and Fraz will be coordinating again this year. Along with your check, please include your nom, your real name, and who you're planning to room with (that way, we can make sure that we and the hotel have the same information).

Overnight guest parking is an extra $20.00 per day without in/out privileges or $25.00 per day with in/out privileges (valet). (We strongly encourage you not to bring a car if you don't have to; Boston's very easy to get around without one.)

To reserve your rooms, have a credit card handy and do one of the following:
A. By phone
1. Call the Marriott at 1-877-901-2080.
2. Say you are reserving with the National Puzzlers' League room
block. You will not get the special rate, and we won't get credit for
the room, if you don't do this.
3. That's it. Specify the dates, number of people, etc.
B. Online
1. Go to www.marriott.com.
2. Select Boston/MA.
3. Select Boston Cambridge Center Marriott, and click on Make
Reservations.
4. Choose dates for your check-in and check-out.
5. Scroll down and enter the 7-letter code under "Group Code." Our codes are:
Single or Double Room: NPLNPLA
Triple Room: NPLNPLB
Quadruple Room: NPLNPLC
7. Click on "Reserve It" to make your reservation.
8. Complete the required fields in the online reservation form. If you attempt to book a reservation that begins prior to the start of the group, you will receive a message "INVALID ARRIVAL DATE FOR GROUP." If you attempt to make a reservation staying beyond the dates of the room block, you will receive a message, "INPUT END DATE PAST MINI END DATE." Our official room block extends from July 4 through July 11. You will need to call the hotel directly to check on rates and availability for dates before and/or after the conference.

We encourage you to make room reservations as soon as possible, as your credit card will not be charged until you check out of the hotel, and you can cancel or change reservations up to 24 hours before your projected arrival time. Although we are wise beyond our (additive) years and did our best to arrange the room block to this year's precise con attendance, it is possible that the block could fill up for particular days, especially considering the 4th of July holiday beforehand and the Democratic National Convention afterwards. The earlier the reservations are made and the earlier we know of any problem, the better our position is to add room nights to our block.

There are many ways to get here. Besides the car, there is the train (Amtrak), the bus (Greyhound, Trailways, Peter Pan, Bonanza, Vermont Transit, Plymouth Brockton), and the plane (Logan International Airport, code BOS). You might also want to consider flying into Providence, Rhode Island (airport code PVD) and taking the bus up, since sometimes the airfares are cheaper this way. Once again, Delta is the official airline of the National Puzzlers' League Convention. You can get a 10% discount if you reserve more than 60 days in advance, and a 5% discount thereafter. Call Delta Meeting Network at 1-800-241-6760 and refer to File Number 203990A.

We look forward to seeing you here!

Sincerely,

S^3

This page created by Sidhe.