Alrighty, we got a chance to get out and see the con-house itself today, as well as the area around it. So here's what we're looking at.
The House-Six Bedrooms with 1 double bed each. Two sofas in the living room. So unless folks are willing to share beds, that's 8 people worth of actual sleeping space, and everyone else staying there can find some floor space. Hardwood floors in most rooms instead of carpeting, but there are rugs at least. We have 3 sleeping bags we'll bring for people to borrow. Might not be a bad idea for some folks to bring their own, though. Landlord also stated no issues with people sleeping on the floor here and there, even in rooms not meant to be bedrooms. Really laid back dude. So yeah, we can probably fit 16-20 in here without problems.
-One TV already there in the living room. We can bring our TV and hook it up in the large upstairs bedroom as well. It's an old house with old wiring though, so the circuit breaker may trip every now and again if too many electronics are going at once.
-Folding tables and chairs that can be moved around and setup as needed for board/card game purposes. As well as the space to set them up.
-Kinda small kitchen, with a very small, very old gas stove. I may have to abandon the idea of cooking anything that can feed everyone, sadly.
-Address for the house is: 6506 Eureka Ave. El Cerrito, CA.
Nearby HotelsFor those of you who can't stay in the house, there are a couple of nearby hotels. Of course, of the three in fairly easy walking distance, the closer ones are the worse ones. That's how this shit works, you know. Anyway, here's the info I got from them.
-Super 8 Hotel. $81+tax/night for a 2 Bed room. 10% discount if you have AAA apparently. This is the furthest one out from the con-house but also looks the nicest of the three. If you want to call to make reservations or ask any questions of your own, address is 6009 Potrero Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530. Phone is: 510-232-0900
-Terrace Inn and Suites. $65+tax/night for a 2 bed room. Closer then the Super 8, but looked a little run down. Still, if you want to fit 4 people in a room to split some costs, hard to beat ~$17/night per person. As above, here's the information. Address: 10869 San Pablo Ave. El Cerrito, CA, 94530. Phone: 510-235-8335. Website:
www.terraceinn-suites.com-Budget Inn. $65+tax/night for a 2 bed room. Closest one to the con-house, but...to be honest, I would never stay there. Frankly looked shady and there was a sign that said all the rooms were smoking rooms, so who knows what it might smell like. There's a Thai restaraunt there, though. Once again, contact info. Address: 10621 San Pablo Ave. El Cerrito, CA, 94530. Phone: 510-526-9020
Those of you capable of doing math will surely note that staying at a hotel(if split 4 ways) is cheaper then staying at the con-house. We obviously really encourage everyone who can pay it to stay at the con-house since, well, we really would like to keep the cost per share down and not end up swallowing huge chunks of it ourself(at least any more then we already planned to).
One last housing option is to stay at our place. So long as someone who can drive is there, Jenna has no problems loaning someone the car and letting them do the trip there and back. No more then 4 people can do this though, but we won't ask any more then paying for the gas and toll on the way back. However, it is a 45 minute drive(accounting for medium traffic) each way. So I really wouldn't reccomend this option unless you're flat broke. Even I'm going to be trying to split a hotel room or squeeze in at the con house out there. The commute's just not worth it.
Things In The AreaTry damn near everything. I'll list off the high points here.
-BART Station roughly half a mile from the con-house. Which apparently has a straight line from the SFO BART, may be an option to get from the airport to the house instead of relying on pickups and driving there from our place.
-Huge freaking shopping center right next to the BART station. It's got a GameStop, a large selection of food(fast and otherwise), and two grocery stores. Even Starbucks and Jamba Juice for random drink cravings. Oh and a bar if you're into that. Also apparently has a farmer's market on saturdays if anyone's interested in checking that out(they have more then just produce. I've found some great lunches at the one we have here before).
-Tons of food options that are not in the shopping center. A burger diner(that's really good, if slow service) that's open 24/7, a couple of pizza places, and more various asian places then I could keep track of.
-Sadly, the beach is not walking distance for anyone besides maybe Tai. Driving distance, sure. We don't have good directions there, but if people want to make a trip out of it, we can get directions. Also no bowling alley that we noticed nearby. We'll do an online search of the area between now and then and see if we can find one, though.
