since i'll be coming down alone, I'm up for room sharing with anyone and/or taking an extra day or two after the race to maybe do some hiking, exploring, etc.
What about booking a rent by owners house like this one
http://www.vrbo.com/202103 (just as an example, btw) I am sure we can find something bigger that will accommodate more people.
and sharing it for the weekend the way we did for the Seattle Rock and Roll marathon?
Any takers?
"Champions are everywhere; all you need is to train them properly..." ~Arthur Lydiard
MM #6177
I'd definitely be interested in the house rental option. We've done VRBO several times now, and have been very pleased with the experiences.
who says life doesn't have a soundtrack?
Carolyn
I'd be interested in a rental house. I haven't decided yet about driving vs. flying, but if we drive we might be bringing the dogs, so would need a pet-friendly place. But we can always camp if we don't find a rental that allows the dogs.
I hammered down the trail, passing rocks and trees like they were standing still.
I'd be open to a rental house too. that one is pretty far away from the marathon - 98 miles. perhaps we can find a rental home near Fortuna
Tammy
another possibility is Miranda Gardens, which is probably one of the closest accomodations to the marathon. They have cottages you can rent (and henry and marj are staying here) that sleep multiple people. their rates aren't listed on the website, but perhaps splitting up costs would make it affordable. I think one of the cottages can sleep as many as 6 or 7? or getting a couple of the smaller cottages that sleep about 4 people each. I know this place sells out quickly, but I can call tomorrow and just inquire about availability and rates.
I'm also up for camping and that would be a lot of fun also. it's pretty much all runners that stay at the campground that weekend. The drawback is I've heard it can get a bit loud.
since many of you are already spending quite a bit of $$ to either drive or fly out for this, I'd like to try and look at options that won't be too pricey also.
let me know your thoughts/opinions/preferences and I can look into some possibilities.
I just called Miranda Gardens and booked Cottage #2 for MrOM and myself. I asked about the larger cottages and was told that Cottage #8 sleeps 8 people and is still available. I figured I'd better leave the larger unit for others and grab up the smaller one for ourselves, just in case the plans don't work out for everyone else, or people want to stay elsewhere. So Tammy, that larger one is still waiting for you, so go call!
I just called and right away she said "oh, you must be the lady from Oregon. Your friend just booked a room here".
So, here's what we can do if we'd like to stay at Miranda Gardens (btw: I've heard wonderful feedback about this place from others that have stayed there).
http://mirandagardens.com/cottages.html
Cottage 8: sleeps 8, has kitchen, fireplace, whirlpool and 2 bathrooms. Rate is $285+tax/per night, which will come to approx. $36 per person if we have 8 people staying there.
Cottage 3: sleeps 6, but could add a rollaway easily for 7, has a kitchen. Rate is $185. approx. $31 per person if we have 6.
My personal preference would be to stay here and share one of the two cottages above depending on how many others want to share. The rate once you split costs is certainly a good deal and the fact that we have our own kitchen means we can bring groceries and make our meals. Plus, since Henry and Marj and OM and Mr.OM are here, we can all be together and spend time together.
The race is in a Sunday, so I'd like to come down on a Saturday and stay through Monday.
She did tell me that Miranda Gardens sells out fast and early for marathon wknd, so if possible, I'd like to hear from others sooner rather than later about sharing a cottage or getting your own accommodations so I can reserve what we'd like and not worry about lodging.
Thanks!
We're staying Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, btw. I'm getting excited! All I have to do now is get through my three marathons coming up in October...
where are you guys flying in to, OM? SFO?
Not sure yet. We're arriving separately since MrOM is in San Francisco for business that week. Is SFO the closest airport?
major airport, yes. There's a smaller one in Arcata, but then you have the add'l cost if transferring planes and flying to Arcata and since Mr. OM is already in SFO, it probably makes the most sense to fly there.
I just called and right away she said "oh, you must be the lady from Oregon. Your friend just booked a room here". My personal preference would be to stay here and share one of the two cottages above depending on how many others want to share. The rate once you split costs is certainly a good deal and the fact that we have our own kitchen means we can bring groceries and make our meals. Plus, since Henry and Marj and OM and Mr.OM are here, we can all be together and spend time together.
Tamster, we also will arrive on Saturday and stay through Monday. It would be great to get some quotes!
Staying together is always a great fun!
And then it's a five hour drive, right? I might fly to San Fran on Thursday then and stay overnight, then we can drive up Friday and not get there so late at night.
Flying into SFO, Oakland, or Sacramento v. flying into Arcata/Eureka Airport
Either way you'll have to rent a car, so the main decision is whether you want to spend the extra $$ to fly into Arcata/Eureka or drive 6 hours (one way) from the other airports. If you fly into Arcata/Eureka, the layover is at SFO. Also, as I said before, Arcata/Eureka has a limited number of flights in and out and is fickle re the weather. There shouldn't be any problems in May (fingers crossed), but if the airport gets fogged in, they won't land and will go back to the originating airport.
From A/E, you have approximately a drive of 1.25 to 1.5 hrs to Southern Humboldt/Miranda. From SFO, Oakland, Sacramento, you can chop off maybe an hour of driving (so approximately 5+ hours) . It's almost exactly an hour from Garberville (Gville) in Southern Humboldt to Eureka. The airport is another 15+ minutes north of Eureka in McKinleyville. Miranda, Gville, race site - they're all in the same general area and Gville is where you'd be grocery shopping. Also, you can generally find a nice selection of marijuana from which to make purchases if you so choose!!
If anybody has any questions, let me know.
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
Miranda Gardens looks nice, and close to the race, but they only allow dogs in a few units (1,2,5,7,and 9) and charge $15 per day per dog. So that won't work for me.
I looked on VRBO and HomeAway, and found a couple possibilities:
I looked up the camping reservations for Humboldt Redwoods State Park, and you can book online 7 months in advance. Camping costs $35 per site which sounds a bit steep, but the dogs don't cost extra!