Time to start thinking about the tournament

The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is three months off and the registration forms aren't available yet, but you can start making your travel plans.

The host hotel is the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott. The special rate for the tournament is $169 a night. Yes, that rate is considerably steeper than the Stamford Marriott's. But this hotel has the advantage of being in Brooklyn—closer to the NYC airports and many miles from the wan restaurant offerings of Stamford. Call the Marriott reservations line at 1-800-228-9290 (U.S. and Canada).

Which airport is best? What's the best way to get from the airport to the Marriott? What are the train options? See Stella Daily's blog for that discussion. The last two years, Nancy Shack found some great airfares from Chicago far in advance—in December, I think—so it may behoove you to start checking for fares now. (Last spring, I think I paid about $140 round-trip.) You could save a ton, even if you end up changing your flight later and paying a change fee.

Stella, Francis Heaney, and Ken Stern have compiled a wealth of Brooklyn info—mainly about travel and restaurants, I think. At some point, their Brooklyn ACPT guide will be posted at the ACPT site. I'm champing at the bit to explore some of those Brooklyn eateries—aren't you?