So I drove down to Portland for Potlatch, arriving about 3:30pm on Friday. The hotel lies through their teeth about the free internet. You can't get a usable signal in most of the guest rooms; you have to go to the lobby. Given that the place was infested with grade school and jr. high age cheerleaders all weekend, that was a real trial. So I only dipped into LJ here and there. Point me at anything important I should know. (The hotel in question, by the way, was the Red Lion at the Convention Center. Just so you know.)
The cocktail and hats hour went swimmingly well on Friday evening. From there I went out to dinner with
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klages and 2 other people who don't seem to be on LJ. I wasn't especially interested in the panel so I hung out in the con suite until I found myself yawning in peoples' faces and went to bed.Saturday morning in the hotel coffee shop continued to irritate with bad service and extremely mediocre food. I didn't much care for the hotel -- it smelled bad to me and I found the staff unhelpful in the extreme. I'm really tired of having Potlatch in 3rd rate hotels. In this one, the tv's adult movie channel had more movies than the other two movie channels combined. If that gives you an idea. I talked to people around the con all weekend and everyone I talked to was of the opinion that even a fairly stiffish increase in the cost of room nights wouldn't keep them from attending, esp if it got them a more decent hotel. I mean, the committees have been looking for hotels in downtowns, within walking distance of interesting food and other good things, for well under $100. You get what you pay for, and in 2007, $80 doesn't buy much of a hotel room.
The Saturday afternoon humor panel was both amusing and thought provoking, but I don't think I went to any of the the others. I had intended to go to the ethics panel, but I got sidetracked by trying to get my email in the lobby. Saturday evening was dinner with
akirlu, libertango, and some friends of theirs. I really liked said friends, enjoyed talking to them and am wondering if they're on LJ.At the Saturday night auction,
klages was entertaining and amusing and sold lots of good stuff for lots of good money for Clarion West. I bought a totebag and an ARC of klages' upcoming collection. Wandered through the consuite where I encountered akirlu and athenais. We started a chat about writing but it was really noisy so we adjourned to my room for a writing talk, and gossip, and catching up on life, the universe, and everything.Sunday morning was the brunch, which was ok. After that I ended up in conversation in the lobby with assorted folks. Then conversation in the con suite with assorted folks. Then dinner with
klages and some local friends of hers at a really nice Mexican place on Broadway. The Cosmo made with blood orange juice was pretty spectacular and the lime chicken enchilada was tasty in the extreme.I came back to the hotel, decided I was peopled out and watched lousy movies on tv until time for bed. I headed out early this morning for home. I stopped at Shipwreck Beads just north of Olympia where I bought beads and then had some lunch. And here I am at home. Home is nice.
Current Mood: 
tired
tired