The Mammal Meetings were in Philadelphia this year, which, in my humble opinion was a very cool/very terrible idea. What the heck! How could it be both? So glad you asked...
Reasons for Coolness:
We got to stay in a fancy downtown hotel.
We got to see the Liberty Bell!
What an amazing piece of American History, and it was right there in front of us.
At some historical sites you can only read about (or be told if you have a tour guide) what happened to whom on such and such a date, which is still very interesting, Ryan and I love visiting Civil War sites and I'll soon be uploading a post on our first visit to Gettysburg, but it is always amazing to be able to see a piece of history with your own eyes (or touch it with your own hands if you don't mind being tackled by armed guards).
Random mural on a building wall.
This was an amazing market that was only a 5-10 (ish?) walk from our hotel. Part bazaar, part food court, part craft fair. It was awesome!
It was really hopping during the day, but luckily for us the Mammal Meeting's Meeting Planning People decided to have the end-of-meeting "Picnic" here at the market, so we got to walk around after hours and eat from the various stalls that stayed open until 9pm just for us! I wish I could remember the name of that place. I might have to look it up if Ryan doesn't remember what it was called. If I go to Philly again, I am definitely going there. Yes, every-type-of-ethnic-food-imaginable, I'll take one of each please. :)
Ok, so now that I've covered all the positive things it's time to list the Reasons for Terribleness:
1) even with the discount the hotel was bloody expensive.
2) there were few cheap eating options so we were pretty much stuck with $$ restaurants and the small amount of food we brought with us.
3) HOTEL PARKING! Where the heck is it?!?
Granted, that's a numerically small list of gripes, but it's an expensive list too, and that's really not fair. These meetings are an important venue for professors and college kids alike. It's a way for them to immerse themselves in the scientific community, share ideas, have ideas challenged or strengthened through discussion with their peers, get their names out there and make connections that could lead to future collaborations and/or future jobs, and I don't think it's right to plan events that are so consistently expensive that a lot of college kids (i.e. the next generation of professors and scientists) have to opt out of going because they can't afford it. I thought Philly was really cool, but I would really like it if the Meeting Planning People could start planning meetings in smaller towns where parking is free, the hotel doesn't charge you for every single thing they can possibly charge you for, and there's a McDonald's or a Subway around the corner where you can eat a meal for $5 or under.
Well... I feel better now.
Oh, and a fridge in the hotel room would be nice. Just saying. ;-)
