Lawrence -- last weekend in September. Something going on?

I%26#39;m traveling to Kansas City at the end of September and am planning a side trip to Lawrence. I found that a lot of the hotels were already booked up for Friday night (Sept 28). Is there some big event going on in town? I thought maybe a football game, but I checked the schedule and there%26#39;s not.

I did get a room at the Quality Inn that night. I intend to spend some time looking around Lawrence, but I don%26#39;t care whether I do that Friday or Saturday, as my flight out of KC isn%26#39;t %26#39;til quite late Saturday night. If there is some huge event going on, I may adjust my plans accordingly. Any locals have any idea?

I%26#39;m also looking for any bookstore recommendations in the area. Especially used.

Lawrence -- last weekend in September. Something going on?

I think that the Lawrence motels are heavily booked most weekends.

Try the Half Price Books in Lawrence, Olathe and Overland Park.

Lawrence -- last weekend in September. Something going on?

The KU Wind Ensemble is playing the Lied Center that night, so that%26#39;s probably it !! ;-)

But seriously, folks ...

The only ';big'; thing I can see going on is a KU softball tournament and a women%26#39;s soccer game vs. Baylor. I suppose those could eat up some rooms, along with the varous academic-type visitors, but nothing that should make your stay difficult.

It should be a really nice time of year to be in Lawrence.

The Lawrence Public Library is starting its Fall book sale that weekend, and that would be good for a long look. The Dusty Bookshelf is a good bookstore, it%26#39;s at 708 Mass - a block east of the library downtown, and The Raven bookstore is just around the corner on E 7th, but I think they just sell new books.

You%26#39;ll want to be downtown Saturday morning or afternoon ... there%26#39;s a farmer%26#39;s market on 8th, a block east of Mass, in the morning. Just park in one of the lots on the back side of the Mass St. stores, off either Vermont or New Hampshire, somewhere around 8th St., and wander the sidewalks.

And ... hey, that Wind Ensemble really is pretty good, if that%26#39;s your cup o%26#39; tea.

Uh oh, a library book sale! I may yet be paying Skybus $50 for an extra bag! ;)

That all sounds great; thanks for the suggestions.

I can spend the whole day wandering around downtown Lawrence. I enjoy my visits to my inlaws just so I can head down there.

CincySwords, have you flown the Skybus yet? My husband just got back from Lawrence and said the flight was great. Hours weren%26#39;t so great but the flight was. The price was right so what the heck.

We are staying in Lawrence and then driving to the Kansas Speedway the next morning for Nascar. Possible there are other fans that had to stay the distance as well as the hotels closer to the speedway have been booked for months.

I%26#39;m leaving tonight, so no feedback on Skybus yet.

Everything is booked for Nascar in Kansas City.......even in Lawrence.

Dusty Bookshelf downtown on Mass.........great used book store.

Cheers!

Yeah, when I went down for breakfast yesterday morning at the Quality Inn, there were lots of Nascar fans. Lucky I went ahead and booked when I did.

I really enjoyed my time in Lawrence...what a great little city.

I did stop by the Dusty Bookshelf. In fact, I%26#39;m wearing the t-shirt featuring the store cat now (As both a cat person and a book person, I couldn%26#39;t resist).

I only bought one book at the library sale, although had I not been flying home with an already heavy bag, I%26#39;m sure I would have gotten more.

No problems at all with Skybus...assuming they keep up the cheap fares to KC, I%26#39;ll have to make it back that way again some time.

NASCAR? Not the Wind Ensemble?

Sorry, Cincy. I completely missed it on your initial question.

Still can%26#39;t fathom the car racing thing.

I lived in Gainesville, Florida, for a few years, more than a few years ago, and remember trying to go out to dinner one night. There was not a single parking place at ANY restaurant I tried. Finally, I squeezed into a place, where the hostess told me it was ';GatorNationals';. Drag races. There were over 100,000 people in town for it!

When you asked about rooms, my mind should have said, ';If Lawrence is full up, it must be due to Good Ole Boys and racin%26#39; machines.'; Somehow I failed to link Lawrence and Dale Jr.

No worries, I figured out what was going on and managed not to get tangled up in NASCAR traffic.