ATTN: Interested in a Spacer get-together in Washington DC?
Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 6:05 pm
Okay, through a combination of chat-room ideas and the fact that I didn't make it to any of the other get-togethers, I would like to propose a little shindig that I can actually make it to.
When I'm not at school I live 30 minutes outside Washington, DC and as such, I would really like it if we could have a get-together in the nation's capital.
When will this be?
That's what you get to help me decide. I should be back at my house around May 13 so any date from around the 15th on is fair game. This means most of May, June, July, and maybe the first week of August.
Exceptions:
-May 28-June 5. Memorial day falls on the 31st, a Tuesday so I expect some people will take off that entire week from Monday the 30th to Friday the 3rd of June. This is a busy travel holiday so if you want to avoid traffic, bear that in mind.
-July 4th falls on a Monday so the weekend preceding as well as a few days after will be a bad time to be on the road.
What will we be doing?
Well it's been suggested to me that we have one day set aside for everyone to get together. We might eat at one of the local restaurant chains (I know of a really good burger place). There's also, of course, the museums in DC but one of those can easily take up a full day. I suggest that people communicate and form groups depending on what you all would like to do in the capital (I've been everywhere I really want to go).
Who can come?
Anybody and everybody! If you've ever wanted to go to DC, come on down/up/over/across whatever. This won't happen until at least May so there's PLENTY of time to save up and make arrangements.
Helpful tips/things to know.
-Airports: There are two major airports in/around DC, Dulles and Reagan National. Reagan is right on a Metro stop, Dulles is 40 minutes - an hour to DC (I could be over-estimating, I've been known to do that). There's also BWI which is in Baltimore, 30-40 minutes on the other side of DC.
-Metro: This is THE way to get around DC, especially if you want to go all around the city and outlying areas. Hereis the Metro's homepage complete with map and fare information. The closest stop to my house are Franconia-Springfield on the Blue line about 15 minutes away.
-Traffic: I-95 is the main interstate, it runs straight through my hometown as well as up to DC. Traffic is heavy going into the city from around 6 am to sometime around 7:30 or 8 and leaving the city from as early as 4:30 pm (especially on Fridays) to around 6 or so. Getting caught in DC traffic sucks majorly.
Route 1 runs N-S straight through my city like I-95, I-66 lets off somewhere further north though it can be reached from my place pretty easily (there are signs).
-Food: Buying food in DC itself is expensive, museum food and food places on the Mall live off of tourists. I know of a few good restaurants near where I live as well as some good non-fast food spots to grab a bite to eat. Plus there's always just regular fast food.
So if anyone is interested in showing up, let me know by replying. 8 months (at the least) should be plenty of time to arrange things like carpools and what-have-you and to start saving up. I'm prepared to have this thing just fizzle out over the course of the year since I'm apparently organizing it.
I'll edit this post to add any information that we come up with (a set date, tentative itinerary, etc).
Please don't let this fizzle out on me.
Update: November 9, comprehensive list of people.
When I'm not at school I live 30 minutes outside Washington, DC and as such, I would really like it if we could have a get-together in the nation's capital.
When will this be?
That's what you get to help me decide. I should be back at my house around May 13 so any date from around the 15th on is fair game. This means most of May, June, July, and maybe the first week of August.
Exceptions:
-May 28-June 5. Memorial day falls on the 31st, a Tuesday so I expect some people will take off that entire week from Monday the 30th to Friday the 3rd of June. This is a busy travel holiday so if you want to avoid traffic, bear that in mind.
-July 4th falls on a Monday so the weekend preceding as well as a few days after will be a bad time to be on the road.
What will we be doing?
Well it's been suggested to me that we have one day set aside for everyone to get together. We might eat at one of the local restaurant chains (I know of a really good burger place). There's also, of course, the museums in DC but one of those can easily take up a full day. I suggest that people communicate and form groups depending on what you all would like to do in the capital (I've been everywhere I really want to go).
Who can come?
Anybody and everybody! If you've ever wanted to go to DC, come on down/up/over/across whatever. This won't happen until at least May so there's PLENTY of time to save up and make arrangements.
Helpful tips/things to know.
-Airports: There are two major airports in/around DC, Dulles and Reagan National. Reagan is right on a Metro stop, Dulles is 40 minutes - an hour to DC (I could be over-estimating, I've been known to do that). There's also BWI which is in Baltimore, 30-40 minutes on the other side of DC.
-Metro: This is THE way to get around DC, especially if you want to go all around the city and outlying areas. Hereis the Metro's homepage complete with map and fare information. The closest stop to my house are Franconia-Springfield on the Blue line about 15 minutes away.
-Traffic: I-95 is the main interstate, it runs straight through my hometown as well as up to DC. Traffic is heavy going into the city from around 6 am to sometime around 7:30 or 8 and leaving the city from as early as 4:30 pm (especially on Fridays) to around 6 or so. Getting caught in DC traffic sucks majorly.
Route 1 runs N-S straight through my city like I-95, I-66 lets off somewhere further north though it can be reached from my place pretty easily (there are signs).
-Food: Buying food in DC itself is expensive, museum food and food places on the Mall live off of tourists. I know of a few good restaurants near where I live as well as some good non-fast food spots to grab a bite to eat. Plus there's always just regular fast food.
So if anyone is interested in showing up, let me know by replying. 8 months (at the least) should be plenty of time to arrange things like carpools and what-have-you and to start saving up. I'm prepared to have this thing just fizzle out over the course of the year since I'm apparently organizing it.
I'll edit this post to add any information that we come up with (a set date, tentative itinerary, etc).
Please don't let this fizzle out on me.
Update: November 9, comprehensive list of people.
