I'm hoping to use the results of this poll to narrow down the possible options for LusArfest to one choice.  If you're not attending, please at least fill in the e-mail address field and check the "probably not attending" checkbox, so I have some idea what everyone's disposition is.  Couples who are receiving this e-mail are welcome to both fill it out; results will be weighted appropriately. 

Miscellaneous Information:

My e-mail address:

I probably won't be able to attend, so I'm abstaining from voting/don't consider my votes when weighing the choices:

I'm OK with paying up front for group reservations for activities, etc, once a date/place is chosen:

How many people would (most likely) be attending from your household:
  Kid-Friendly Trip: adults, kids
  Not Kid-Friendly Trip: adults

The Grid:

Please choose your top 4 trip/weekend combinations, and rate them 1 (most favorite) to 4 (just OK). Mark "No" for any weekends/trips you absolutely wouldn't be able to do. Leave any others as "Meh", which signifies that you could likely attend that gathering, it's just not your favorite. Try not to just mark all dates of one trip, unless it's truly the only one you're open to. Specific information about what I'm thinking of for each possible trip is below.

	August 14-16	August 21-23	September 2-5 (Labor Day)	September 25-27	October 2-4
Kansas City	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No
The Great LusAr Campout	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No
St. Louis	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No
SF Bay Area	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No
Vegas	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No	Meh 1 2 3 4 No

Other comments:

Trip Descriptions:

Kansas City: Kansas City has several advantages as a location:  easy for me to plan, cheap, centralized (so potentially lower costs for travel), and it would be simple to arrange babysitters for kids so we could have an adult night out that would include everyone.  Unfortunately, it's still fundamentally Kansas City.  There would be plenty of things to keep us busy for a long weekend, though - a day at Worlds or Oceans of Fun, a night out drinking, a museum, a Royls game or the zoo, and plenty of "just hanging out" time (though we'd have to find a pet-free place to hang out, which could be an issue).  I could potentially offer crash space for one or two folks if necessary, and could host a backyard BBQ, etc.
    Rough Costs:
       Hotel: Approx. $100/nt per room
       Food: Low-Medium
       Entertainment: Dependant on choice of activity.  Worlds/Oceans or a Royals game would be ~$20-30/person, museums, etc, would be less. 

The Great LusAr Campout:  I'm envisioning a weekend spent camping somewhere in Missouri.  Shawna's parents have some land (and a boat) at Truman Lake that we could likely invade, or we could head to one of Missouri's many state parks, or maybe Lane Springs (though that would inevitably lead to the manufacture of fireballs, I'm sure).  I could arrange for excess camping equipment for those who would be flying in, and all of the necessary acoutrements for a camping trip, I'd just ask that everyone chip in some money to help defray costs.   This would be by far the cheapest option, and possibly the most fun/relaxing, as it might have the result of getting us all away from the computer for the weekend.   One issue would be getting anyone who flew in from the airport to wherever we end up camping, but that could be sorted out. 
    Rough Costs:
       Hotel:  n/a
       Food: Low-Medium
       Entertainment:  Low - Dependant on choice of alcohol.

Saint Louis: St. Louis also has a relatively high LusAr density, and has the advantage of being a place that most of us are pretty familiar with, but that has a lot of fun things to do as well.  I'd suggest things like a day spent at the City Museum (which is only sort of a museum, but is a lot of fun for kids and adults), maybe a Cardinals game, a night out drinking (or maybe a night in drinking, if one of the St. Louis LusArs wants to volunteer a place), maybe a trip to the Zoo or the Science Center, and a trip to the A/B (or Schlafly) brewery. 
    Rough Costs:
       Hotel: Approx. $120/nt per room
       Food: Low-Medium
       Entertainment: Dependant on choice of activity.  Assume $20/person/day at least.

SF Bay Area: This is kind of the outlier, in that it would be potentially significantly more expensive for most of the folks involved, but there is a relatively high LusAr density in the area, and it might be more of a vacation for the rest of us not in the area.  That said, the Bay Area has a lot of fun and interesting things to do/see, and I always enjoy getting to spend time there.  Would potentially have to look to some of the Bay Area LusArs for assistance/ideas in planning. 
    Rough Costs:
       Hotel: Approx. $180-$200/nt per room
       Food: Medium-High
       Entertainment: Dependant on choice of activity.  Assume $30/person/day at least.

Vegas:  This is the least kid-friendly option, but it's Vegas, baby.  Leave the kids at home, let's go drinking, gambling, and all that other fun stuff. 
    Rough Costs:
       Hotel: Approx. $160/nt per room
       Food: Medium
       Entertainment: High. Assume $50/person/day at least.