In addition to the great speakers, fish show and auction, they will offer two fantastic collecting trips (Coleto Creek and San Marcos River) which feature wild mollies, cichlids, killies, rare Gambusia, and aquatic plants. There will also be tours of Charles' Clapsaddle's fish hatchery, as well as the Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center at Texas State University. And I'll bet one can buy stuff from them!

http://www.goliadfarms.com/pages/about/main.htm
http://www.xiphophorus.org/xgsc.htm

Heck, could probably catch colorful 4.5"/11.4 cm latipinna mollies on the Riverwalk, if we don't turn our ankles on the plecos or trip on the exotic cichlids. Do have a nice dip net, which packs pretty well...

ALA Convention info:
http://hla.fotaswebsite.com./SanAntonioWinsConvention.htm
http://ala2008.info/

I've even heard of Robin Hood Aquarists. Prolly just an ad in Practical Fishkeeping though. ;)

As for Duncan, they probably wouldn't let me be a bearer on the collecting trip. Some of us are talkers and some are doers. ;)

Sharing rides, as I am doing to Syracuse, is a pretty common strategy here too. And the conversation is usually terrific. We've planned to stop at a great shop in the Buffalo area (North Tonawanda) on the way. The driver actually wants to get there a day early (Thursday) so that we can rest up (recover) from the drive, maybe help set up (my idea of being a good guest) and bum around.

This next weekend in Elkhart, I'm riding with one buddy in a pick-up truck of fish room gear (his) for the auction. With the addition of a rented cot (mine) we'll share a hotel room with an additional friend. Someone could probably film Grumpy Old Men III.

I'm really glad for the ALA, the Houston Livebearer group and aquarists in that area that the ALA is having a convention there. It is hard for national clubs to develop a genuinely national pattern of conventions sometimes. The ALA has really been pursuing that goal lately. My one regret is that New Guppy Mamma's family moved a year before all of this neat stuff (NANFA too) takes place in the Lone Star State.

Ah, we recently renewed the Chicago Killifish Associations Import/Export license. (While I was speaking in Phoenix last year, the CKA had a meeting, looked around the room and asked, "Who's crazy enough to thunder up the Interstate to O'Hare International at any hour of the day and pick up fish?" So they voted to put my name on the application.) If I ever flew to the BLA event, I'd just ante up the $50 inspection fee, arrange ahead of time for a visit with F&WL and bring the livebearers and whatever in as a commercial shipment. Technically more than 7 fish is a commercial shipment. (That of course is if the UK allows hobbyists to take animals out of the country and if I had the means to fly. My arms might get awfully tired.)

Ah! Fish lust!

They seem to have recently busted a killie guy for bringing in a dozen killie eggs. That'll teach them to be honest and mark fish eggs on the package. The authorities counted each egg as a fish and levied a $300 fine on him for exceeding 7. And your name gets into the Federal computers as a scoff-law. Maybe one gets to be a favorite of Homeland Security. I know that hobbyists play games sometimes, but that is really unfair. Generally a dozen eggs sells for less than a pair of fish, which will provide lots of eggs or live fry in a matter of days to a couple of weeks. Next thing you know they will be x-raying livebearers and charging for unborn young. :(

Had an interesting conversation a while back with a F&WL agent from their New York office. To them, a usual commercial shipment of fish is several skids, rolled out of an airplane, packed high with fish boxes. Then that inspection fee makes more sense.

If you get to one of those BLA events (perhaps as a birthday present? Not that I want to cause trouble for you) would you give us the low-down on the festivities?