In answer to the time and distance thing. For me travelling, it is 1 hour to Olympia, then 1 hour to Seattle. If I go south after Olympia, it is 1 hour to Longview, and then another hour to Portland. Vancouver is only a few minutes to Portland, so I think if someone lived off of the freeway, it could be a long drive. That said, if nobody speaks up from that area and says they plan on coming, it is a moot point.
I do think we should try to make this be a comfortable drive for Russ and his DW. So I vote for Renton, or even better Tukwilla or SeaTac. It will also cut a lot of non I-5 driving out for some. Kent area near the freeway would be great too or DesMoines near the freeway. All of those towns in the south have fingers that spread out for quite a distance. Wouldn't it be great if there were a map of places like this that you could just click on to find the info. Mapquest has done so much lately. I don't suppose they have anything like that in their nearby places part.
Voting: At this point, I would like my vote to reflect the following. Yes to anyplace Tukwilla, southward. No to anyplace north of that, or off of the I-5 more than a short drive. (Ie Bellevue, Alki, Burien or points north.
The reason that my vote is changed a bit. I am afraid that instead of accommodation to everyone, the vote could turn into greatest majority rules. I don't want to be a party to that happening, as I would like to make sure that everyone has a somewhat equal chance to come. To my mind the goal should be that nobody has to travel more than 2 1/2 hours to this event if possible. Granted it is not possible to do that for the entire state, but by placing the party as close to the center of the I-5 corridor as we can, All of Western Washington has a chance, and it puts the party close to both I-90 and Hwy12East to allow someone from the Eastside of Wa to think about attending.
That said, I am not the host of this party. Kim ultimately has my support on anything that she decides. If
she wants it close to home, that is fine with me.
I just contacted Doug McCormick at 253-841-5447 or
[email protected]. at the
Puyallup Activities Center. They are available on both of the dates in February. Rental on Sunday is $45 per hour and with that you get an attendant who sets up the chairs and tables in advance, and the use of the kitchen. It accommodates 100 for sit down dinner or 300 in lecture seating (rows of chairs)