Initial Logistics for the WS-SX Austin F2F

[Kelvin Lawrence <klawrenc@us.ibm.com>]

Our WS-SX TC face to face meeting
will be hosted by IBM in Austin, Texas on April 4th and 5th 2006

If anyone has specific questions please
feel free to post to the list or send me an e-mail

We will send out an agenda closer to
the event

Here are some initial logistics. We
will also post these to the WS-SX web page soon.

Airport
The Austin Bergstrom Airport International
Airport (ABIA) is served by many airlines including American, America West,
Continental, Frontier, Jet Blue, Delta, Southwest, US Airways and United.
The easiest connections to Austin are via Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles,
Denver and Houston. There are also direct flights from other airports also
including Boston and New York  JFK (on Jet Blue) , New York Newark
(on Continental), Raleigh (on American Eagle) Washington DC and San Francisco
(on United). In total there are 34 destinations that have non-stop service
into ABIA. Full details are on the airport's web page.

The airport URL is here:

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport/


Car Rental
Most major rental car agencies are represented
at the Austin airport. The rental cars are on the roof (3rd floor) of the
parking structure. A very short walk from the terminal building.  It
is recommended that people rent a car as things are fairly spread out here
and taxis are not plentiful outside of the downtown Austin area.  Some
hotels offer shuttle bus service to the airport but not all.

Meeting Location
IBM Corporation
11501 Burnet Road
Building 904
Rio Grande Room in the Executive Briefing
Center

NOTE: IBM has buildings on both sides
of Burnet Road. We will be in the "pale peach" small tower buildings
on the EAST side of Burnet Road. 

Maps/Driving Directions
Here is a URL for a google map of the
area where IBM is located (zoom out to see the airport - South East of
IBM below the river):
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=11501+burnet+road,+austin,texas&ll=30.399789,-97.718711&spn=0.024023,0.044417&t=k

Here is a map with driving directions
to IBM from the Airport
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sll=30.399826,-97.718754&sspn=0.047305,0.063086&hl=en&saddr=AUS&daddr=11501+Burnet+Rd,+Austin,+TX+78758+%4030.399782,-97.718706&t=k

Hotels
The IBM facility is about 25 miles from
the airport and about 15 miles North of downtown Austin. While you could
stay at a downtown hotel (which makes going out at night in downtown Austin
and exploring the live music of 6th Street on foot easier) there are many
hotels much closer to IBM. 

Of the hotels listed the Rennaisance
at the Arboretum is a popular choice among visitors to IBM. It is 15 minutes
by car from IBM but in a nice area with many shops(including book stores
and coffee shops) and many restaurants within walking distance. If you
want to be right by IBM then there is a La Quinta, a Courtyard and a Residence
Inn all within 5 minutes or less of IBM.

If you want to sample the downtown Austin
night life then the Hilton on 5th Street is a very new and nice hotel within
2 minutes walk of the "action"

The URL below  under General information,
has details of many hotels included. This is not an exhaustive list however.

General IBM visitor information
including hotels and driving directions

http://www.research.ibm.com/arl/visitor/index.html

Weather

In April it should be mild maybe even
hot. Rain showers and thunderstorms are also quite possible. Expect temperatures
in the 70's and 80's Fahrenheit by day and 60's at night. However the Texas
weather is very random at this time of year. Just recently was 80F and
30F in the same week! It will not be that cold in April but Thunderstorms
are definitely possible - so pack a light rain jacket.

Here is a Weather Channel URL for the
area
http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/sports/local/78758?from=hp_promolocator1&lswe=78758&lwsa=Weather36HourSportsCommand

And here is a Weather Underground link
http://www.wunderground.com/US/TX/Austin.html

Dining
Austin has a rich and varied selection
of dining options. If you need help finding a type of restaurant I am happy
to make suggestions

Austin Area

Austin has a lot to offer in terms of
things to do. Here are a few URLs

What's on?: http://www.austin360.com/
Local newspaper: http://www.statesman.com/
TV Station (good for local weather etc):
http://www.kvue.com/


Cheers
Kelvin