ASP Conference 2009

MEETING SITE & ACCOMMODATIONS
32nd Annual Meeting
September 18-21, 2009
San Diego, CA

Exciting opportunities around ASP San Diego (September 2009) - make your travel plans accordingly!

Thanks to gracious generosity from the San Diego Zoo, we have the following to announce:

*Come join the San Diego Zoo Ape Keepers for a one-of-a-kind, behind the scenes experience. The six recipients will receive a private VIP tour of the Gorilla Tropics exhibit, learn about the two troops that live there, discuss behavior, environmental enrichment, operant conditioning, and the status of these incredible apes. Remember to bring your camera for some marvelous close-ups at the private viewing location.

In addition to these opportunities provided by the Zoo, we will also be auctioning off the following during the opening reception:

Our thanks to these organizations for their generous donations to the ASP Conservation Fund. Similar opportunities at other venues are being sought, so keep watching for announcements.

Legoland* will be giving everyone coupons for one FREE admission with one paid admission for the Legoland Park, and one FREE admission with one paid admission for their Sea Life Acquarium. Thank you, Legoland!

San Diego has a great deal to offer the vacation and business traveler. It features the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, historic Balboa Park full of science and art museums, Sea World and Legoland (a bit to the north), marvelous wineries (again, a bit north), dozens of golf courses, shopping, restaurants, and of course miles and miles of Pacific beaches. Come for the primatology meetings, stay for an extra day or two to enjoy the sights and adventures, and bring your family for a memorable weekend get-away.

The venue hotel is the waterfront Bahia Resort (www.bahiahotel.com), located in beautiful Mission Bay. The Bahia offers recently remodeled accommodations and conference rooms, along with many amenities such as a pool, exercise facilities, kayak and sailboat rentals, and free parking to registered guests. Its sister resort, The Catamaran, also has a full-service spa, with special rates available for ASP participants. Sailing shuttle between the two hotels is the lovely paddle wheeler, the Bahia Belle, featuring nightclub entertainment; the Belle is free to Bahia guests. The Bahia Resort is offering a marvelous rate for ASP participants: see the options and book on line at https://shop.evanshotels.com/am_0918b9.html. Please book by July 15. There are limited rooms available at the conference rate so make your reservations right away!

Climate: Early fall is the perfect time of year in San Diego. We call it "local summer," for the sun shines, the days are dry, and with the peak of tourist season behind us, the beaches and other spots are much less crowded. Average temperatures in San Diego in September range between 70 and 80 degrees with occasional spikes into the 90's. Dress is casual and light clothing is advisable. The meeting will be informal. Be prepared for temperatures that range from warm outdoor temperatures to air-conditioning in all conference buildings.

Getting to San Diego:

Air travel: The closest airport to the meeting site is San Diego International Airport (http://www.san.org) about 10 miles from the Bahia Hotel. The airport is served by all of the major airlines. There is no "official airline" of the 2009 ASP's, but many carriers are offering rock-bottom fares these days, so make your reservations soon.

Train travel: San Diego is served by Amtrak. Please see Amtrak’s website for more details.

Bus travel: Call (800) 231-2222 or http://www.greyhound.com for fare and schedule information. The Greyhound Station is located 7 miles from the hotel and convention center.

Travel by Car: The Bahia Hotel is located in the Mission Bay region of San Diego. See Map Quest or Google Maps for drive times and routes.

Accomodations:

In order to ensure that the meeting is a financial as well as a scientific success, we ask that attendees stay at the conference hotel.

The conference venue is the waterfront Bahia Resort (www.bahiahotel.com), located in beautiful Mission Bay. The Bahia offers recently remodeled accommodations and conference rooms, along with many amenities such as a pool, exercise facilities, kayak and sailboat rentals, and free parking to registered guests. Its sister resort, The Catamaran, also has a full-service spa, with special rates available for ASP participants. Sailing shuttle between the two hotels is the lovely paddle wheeler, the Bahia Belle, featuring nightclub entertainment; the Belle is free to Bahia guests. The Bahia Resort is offering a marvelous rate for ASP participants: see the options and book on line at https://shop.evanshotels.com/am_0918b9.html. Please book by July 15. There are limited rooms available at the conference rate so make your reservations right away!

San Diego Area Attractions:

ASP Silent Auction for Primate Conservation:

Each year, the ASP holds a silent auction, all proceeds of which go to the ASP Conservation Fund. Items up for auction are donated, largely by ASP members and other conference participants. Please plan to bring your primate-related memorabilia to donate for the auction. You may also mail small packages in advance to the Bahia Hotel. Donations and purchases are tax deductible.

ASP Message Board:

You may post messages pertaining to the conference that can be viewed by all conference registrants and sign up to receive automatic emails whenever a new message is posted. Messages are categorized under headings such as "Roommate Wanted," "Ride Wanted," "Announcements," etc.

To sign up to receive the emails, click on the link to "Automatic email sign-up" at the top of the message board page.

Additional Meeting Information:

Schedule: A more detailed schedule will be announced closer to the meeting date. Standing committee meetings will begin at 1:00 pm on Friday, September 18, 2009, with the opening reception later that evening. The traditional closing banquet will be held the evening of Monday, September 21, followed by music and dancing. All scientific sessions and social events will take place on site at the Bahia Resort.

The registration fee includes access to all the sessions, light breakfasts, coffee breaks, afternoon breaks, opening reception, closing banquet, poster session refreshments, and abstract booklet and program.

Exhibitors: Please contact Steve Schapiro (sschapir@mdanderson.org) for more information.

Conference T-shirts: T-shirts with the conference logo will be available for purchase ahead of the meeting on the registration form. We will have a few extra T-shirts, along with other ASP items, at the Registration/Information desk.

Titi Totes: We have ordered 300 "Titi Totes" from Anne Savage's great program in Colombia (www.proyectotiti.com). These really cool, primate-friendly totes will only be available to the first 300 to register for the ASP 2009 Conference!