JohnCon 2008

Hotels & Restaurants

You are getting very sleepy... Your eyelids are heavy... The coffee and giant Pixy Sticks can't even keep you awake... It's time for some sleep after that 15-hour Vampire LARP. After all, the sun's coming up, and aggravated damage is not your friend. Feel free to ask a con staffer for directions to any of these places, we know where they all are.

Hotels

While sleeping in a van, car, truck, or hobbit hole is possible, we really suggest you find a room if you're from out of town. There are several places within walking distance of the con. Rates are subject to change. Suggested are the following:

• The Broadview Apartments. Only a map for these guys, I'm afraid, but their number's 410.243.1216. This is a huge building that's mostly apartments, but they rent rooms by the night for extremely reasonable rates, and they're not quite as long a walk as to the Carlyle. ($70-73 / night)
• Quality Inn at the Carlyle. This is a building that's 2/3 apartments and 1/3 hotel rooms, and of the apartments, half are students and half are retirees. About a 10-minute walk from the con, in a nice part of town, with quite reasonable rates, though it's the furthest away of the hotels here. ($89-119 / night)
• The Hopkins Inn. The closest to the con of all the hotels here, this is a quaint old place. One or two of the top floors currently house a bunch of female freshmen Hopkins couldn't fit into the dorms. Call that a bonus. ($97 / night)
• The DoubleTree Inn at the Colonnade. Gorgeous place, a five-minute walk from the con, but really won't fit into a gamer's budget. Unless you're Steve Jackson or somebody. But if you feel the urge to splurge, head over here. ($120+ / night)

Restaurants

One thing about Baltimore is that we do eat well. If you're looking for some food close to the con, check out some of the following:

• Silk Road Cafe, which used to be across the street from campus, lost their lease. Now they run a small cafe in the Mattin Center on campus. Pan-Asian, very inexpensive and very tasty.
• University Mini-Mart is the best sandwich shop and convenience store around. It's at the intersection of St. Paul and 33rd St., a block off campus. Across the street from it is a Subway, if you like that tangy corporate taste. (We sure do.)
• Sam's Bagels, also on St. Paul street just further south, is open till 4pm (last I checked) for your morning-munchie needs. I suggest the bagel sandwiches.
• Charles Village Pub is the place for drinks. (Well, there's always PJ's if you like drunken frat boys and getting beaten up in the back hallway.) A couple blocks south on St. Paul St.
• Ruby Tuesday's, for food, folks and fun. A couple blocks south on Charles St. The only drawback to the place that we have found is a distinct lack of milkshakes. Everything else is top of the line.

If you'd rather something a little more out there, Baltimore features a ton of excellent ethnic restaurants, located both near to the con and further out if you've got wheels. Ask a constaffer, they'll let you in on one or two of their favorite spots.