I’ve begun planning for General Assembly, the annual convention of U.S. Unitarian Universalists. The key question to ask before going to any convention is where to find cheap food — no one wants to eat the expensive crap they dish out in convention centers. And when you’re at a convention in Fort Lauderdale in the summer, you really want to know how far you’re going to have to walk in the hot humid Florida air before you get to a restaurant.
I went to one of my favorite Web site, Walk Score, and typed in the address of the convention center: 1950 EISENHOWER BOULEVARD, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33316
The Walk Score Web site spit back its usual comprehensive list of nearby restaurants, stores, etc. Bad news: there aren’t that many restaurants near the convention center; only half a dozen restaurants and a couple of coffee shops within a third of a mile; and there’s a supermarket four-tenths of a mile away. More bad news: the nearest book store is half a mile away. Looks like we’ll have to choose between staying cool and eating yucky convention center food, or getting hot and sweaty walking in the Florida sunshine. On the other hand, it’s not as bad as it could be — the convention center gets a “walk score” of 66 out of 100, which is not as bad as it could be.
The good news is that Broward County bus #40 stops at the convention center — bus system map — schedule. The bus will take us to the downtown where there are lots more restaurants (and book stores and movie theatres) — or heading the opposite direction it will take us to the beach (South Beach Park).
From the comments: Scott M. has a Web site with basic General Assembly info up and posted here — thanks, Scott!!
The website I included has information that I gathered. There is a trolley that runs as often as the bus system and is 50 cents – goes to all sorts of food places.
WalkScore is interesting — but I’m not sure how practical! I put my address in, and it gave me distances to lots of places “as the crow flies,” but the topography here in Los Alamos means that there are actually very deep, steep canyons between things that aren’t all that “walkable.” Climbable, maybe! It also calls the local art center a school, and the smoothie place down the street a bar.
But I can see where it would be useful for more densely populated and less topographically challenged places. :-)
Back in the pre-blog days, I used to cook up an amenities guide for friends for GA. This discussion sounds like an opportunity for the same thing. For instance: Scott, where’s that trolley?
Ah, Scott, I see (and shall blog)