Which City Would You Choose?

Charlotte, North Carolina or Salt Lake City, Utah?
Those are my choices this fall for attending conferences.
First, let's deal with the obvious -- surprise that the college wants to send me to a conference. But, the people in charge picked me, so I, of course, said yes. It's not like I'm sick of hotels and airplanes because I travel so much for business.
Then the director of the Writing Center said I should choose between these two conferences.
Information isn't up about the presentations and the discussions, so I'm really left choosing based solely on the city.
Everyone in my family said they would choose Charlotte. I think we are predisposed towards the east -- kind of prejudiced in its favor.
Its closer -- about nine hours away by car. Salt Lake City is a couple of days away by car. But I'm not driving to either one. I'm flying. So why do we lean toward North Carolina?
It's beautiful. The Appalachian Mountains, lots of old trees, forests actually, people with slow southern drawls. Earl and I honeymooned in North Carolina.
Of course, just as my family is drawn to the East, some people are drawn to the West. Earl's sister's family goes out west every chance they get. His niece lived in Colorado for awhile. They vacation in New Mexico and Arizona whenever they can.
We've visited Salt Lake City as a family once. I think it was beautiful too in a different way, like the unending sky and a sharp mountain backdrop. In the West, the mountains don't seem to start like rolling hills and work up to high peeks. Instead, the plains run right up to high mountains.
While we were in Salt Lake City, Earl toured the Mormon temple with a friend while I herded kids. There is something a little uncomfortable about being in such a religious city. I remember that the restaurant we went to didn't serve alcohol -- a Mormon influence.
Still the prevailing religion shouldn't dissuade me from choosing Salt Lake City.
The flight from Columbus to Salt Lake would take anywhere from five to eight hours with at least one plane change. The flight to Charlotte could be as short as an hour and a half if I book the non-stop flight. Of course, the college is in charge of booking the flight, so it might go for a cheaper flight that takes up to five hours with layovers.
So, all things being equal, which would you choose -- Salt Lake City or Charlotte?