If you were at Nashcon 2003, you know the accommodations are light-years away from what we had when we began our three-day toy soldier test back in the 1980s. The Franklin Marriott Hotel and Cool Springs Convention Center (Wheh! Let me rest my fingers a minute after typing that one.) provides us with plenty of space for games, an auction, a Sunday Ilea market and a dealers' room. I'm told we've got 10,000 square feet in which to push figs around and shop for more metal to paint. The setting here is much more elegant than when we started out on Briley Parkway back in the day, too. Air conditioning. Plush carpet. Air conditioning. Lots of FREE parking. Air conditioning. A patio for evening relaxation. And did I mention air conditioning'? The Nashcon a. c, curse is officially broken, bwana. This Marriott has nice rooms, too. How nice? A friend of mine looked into booking a room there once. It cost around $160. Call before May 5, mention Nashcon, and you can get the same plush room for $89. Five minutes away, on the other side of 1-65, is shopper's overload (more than 140 shops) to keep your family members entertained. Cool Springs Galleria Mall is one of the newest in the Nashville area, and still has a "new" look to it although it has been around for a decade or thereabouts. Strip malls sprang up like mushrooms around it. Three book stores (including a halfprice shop), a Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart Supercenter, a movie multiplex, clothing and furnishing stores-you name it, it's probably there. Additionally, there's some 80 restaurants and fast-food places within about five minutes' drive. Nearly all ethnic foods and a wide price range are represented. Personally, I'm fond of the Five & Diner, a pseudo-Fifties place with great burgers and shakes. I repeat-this location is light-years beyond where we started `way back when. It adds a lot to the convention. The hotel is just east of 1-65, about 15 miles south of downtown Nashville, at the Cool Springs Boulevard exit (Exit 68-A). To make room reservations, call (615) 261-6100. Tell them you're with Nashcon to get the special rate. (Don't call Marriott's 800 number; you won't get the special deal.) Call before May 5; last year, the hotel hooked up before Nashcon. We aren't the only group holding a convention there Memorial Day weekend. Back to Dispatch April 2004 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com