Thank you!!!

[Polar742]

Originally Posted by Kristie

so technically, the tours might include a full day at Udvar-Hazy... a full day at the Smithsonian flight museum and a 2 hr or so DC Tower tour? Any other tours we need to think of as far as DC is concerned?

altho i wonder about even the possiblity of getting a tower tour in DC considering security and all.. I'll ask the ATC guys.

For my money, I saw the Smithsonian Flight after I saw U-H. That was the wrong thing for me to do. I'm a look at airplanes over reading stuff guy. The Smithsonian Flight, sans the unique aircraft in the lobby area, wasn't up to snuff after seeing the amazing aviation artifacts at U-H.

[Kristie]

well, holding it at the smithsonian is out!!!! I bet even holding at Udvar is out as well because they're kinda like a subsidiary of the smithsonian.

we'll need to find a decent hotel...if we do a marriott or hilton, then we get points, so there's a BIG plus for any area marriott or hilton. I am pretty partial to the JW marriotts or Hilton Garden Inns..hehe

so, you're saying the U-H is better for "pilots" Martin?? I've been to the air and sea museum but not to U-H....air and sea kinda bored me out.. probably cuz i'm not a total aviation hound. but being on the "mall" was REALLY cool and the national history museum was awfully cool too!! I could see us getting thru the smithsonian (air and space) within a few hours fairly easily.

[ready2fly]

Originally Posted by Kristie

well, holding it at the smithsonian is out!!!! I bet even holding at Udvar is out as well because they're kinda like a subsidiary of the smithsonian.

Looking that way. But there are other places we can hold meetings... fo sho!!!

Originally Posted by Kristie

we'll need to find a decent hotel...if we do a marriott or hilton, then we get points, so there's a BIG plus for any area marriott or hilton. I am pretty partial to the JW marriotts or Hilton Garden Inns..hehe

Thought we were trying to keep this "cheap."

While we love the Marriott and Hiltons (I get points with those also), they ain't exactly "cheap." Maybe we'll get a group rate????

Good thing is, we've got plenty of time to find out.

I'd be glad to assist this year in any way I can. Just let me know what I can do.

[Kristie]

Originally Posted by ready2fly

The entire commute takes approximately 80 minutes.[/COLOR]

80 minutes on a bus... are you kidding me? what a waste of time! we have to find something better than that. HAHA

yea.. i'd be looking at group rates...i'll check them first and we'll go from there.

[H46Bubba]

Originally Posted by Kristie

well, holding it at the smithsonian is out!!!! I bet even holding at Udvar is out as well because they're kinda like a subsidiary of the smithsonian.

we'll need to find a decent hotel...if we do a marriott or hilton, then we get points, so there's a BIG plus for any area marriott or hilton. I am pretty partial to the JW marriotts or Hilton Garden Inns..hehe

so, you're saying the U-H is better for "pilots" Martin?? I've been to the air and sea museum but not to U-H....air and sea kinda bored me out.. probably cuz i'm not a total aviation hound. but being on the "mall" was REALLY cool and the national history museum was awfully cool too!! I could see us getting thru the smithsonian (air and space) within a few hours fairly easily.

They actually are just finishing up a two year total remodeling project at the National History Museum. I think it reopens November 8th. I've been dying to go check it out.

[ready2fly]

Originally Posted by Kristie

80 minutes on a bus... are you kidding me? what a waste of time!

I agree. That's why I say we keep the U-H as an option and not an event.

If folks want to go, and rent a car or want to take the public transit - they can do so.

But to cut down on the stress of getting a huge group out to the U-H, let's just not plan it.....unless it's planned for the day of arrival when folks get to DC, but then...what do we do with our luggage?

So again, I say, if folks want to go on their own time - cool. But, let's not make it a NWJC event. That'll cut down on the hassle of getting it done.

Keep it downtown near/in the Mall area is my vote.

Stan

[Kristie]

I don't like the idea of staying *IN* DC though...it's known to be an unsafe area. I'd rather stay in alexandria, manassas or georgetown...

Downtown Alexandria is really cool...lots of good brew pubs and restaurants within walking distance. Downtown manassas is the same way. i haven't been to georgetown.

but maybe Tony can input more on that since he lives near there....

[Kristie]

i understand that the FAA building and ALPA HQ are in that area...but if we went there, what would we go there for?

would we want to make a tour appt?? cuz i think they're just offices...

[ready2fly]

Originally Posted by Kristie

I don't like the idea of staying *IN* DC though...it's known to be an unsafe area. I'd rather stay in alexandria, manassas or georgetown...

Downtown Alexandria is really cool...lots of good brew pubs and restaurants within walking distance. Downtown manassas is the same way. i haven't been to georgetown.

but maybe Tony can input more on that since he lives near there....

Does the Metro go to Alexandria? I don't remember, but I think it does.

That being said, the Metro ride to D.C. from Alexandria ain't a short one (if I remember correctly - I may be thinking of another suburb of D.C.).

With NWJCers generally travelling in groups of two or more, we should have no problem staying near the Mall.

[N826AW]

Alexandria is right on the other side of DCA from the mall. It's a super fast Metro ride and from what Jenn tells me, an awesome area. But I would venture to guess it is pricey.

I've stayed at the hotel Stan posted earlier, and unless things have changed in the past three years, we would need secret decoder JC bullet proof vests to walk to the metro station. No to mention it makes the Sahara look like a full-service Marriott.

I would recommend staying in Crystal City, Pentagon area, Arlington, etc.

[Kristie]

well, i think the Delta crews stay at one of the Crystal City hotels....we could check that out for discount rates.

Any other crew hotels we should look at? we should get a list of preferrable hotels together (crew and non-crew) so i can get proposals from them all at once.

[ATN_Pilot]

Originally Posted by Kristie

i understand that the FAA building and ALPA HQ are in that area...but if we went there, what would we go there for?

would we want to make a tour appt?? cuz i think they're just offices...

I don't know about the FAA building, but the ALPA buildings in both downtown and Herndon are just offices. Not much to see. You'd be better off just trying to secure an appearance from Prater or Paul Rice. Bill Couette (VP Admin) would be a great choice, too. I kept trying to get a commitment from someone for this year's NJC (and I think Dough was trying, too), but I was never able to get anyone. The fact that the ALPA BOD meeting was taking place on the same week probably killed it. BOD week is very busy. But there's no BOD meeting in '09, so maybe you could have better luck.

[H46Bubba]

Originally Posted by PCL_128

I don't know about the FAA building, but the ALPA buildings in both downtown and Herndon are just offices. Not much to see. You'd be better off just trying to secure an appearance from Prater or Paul Rice. Bill Couette (VP Admin) would be a great choice, too. I kept trying to get a commitment from someone for this year's NJC (and I think Dough was trying, too), but I was never able to get anyone. The fact that the ALPA BOD meeting was taking place on the same week probably killed it. BOD week is very busy. But there's no BOD meeting in '09, so maybe you could have better luck.

Paul was able to stop by for a bit and brought a box of goodies, which we passed out during the main event.

[ATN_Pilot]

Excellent! I hadn't heard that. Honestly, if you want someone to speak, I'd rather have Paul than Prater any day of the week. Paul is the man.

[H46Bubba]

Originally Posted by PCL_128

Excellent! I hadn't heard that. Honestly, if you want someone to speak, I'd rather have Paul than Prater any day of the week. Paul is the man.

He said that he's going to start working on the Dream to Fly site once the board meeting was over. He has some studio time and will start adding stuff to the site. Really nice guy!

[ATN_Pilot]

Originally Posted by H46Bubba

He said that he's going to start working on the Dream to Fly site once the board meeting was over. He has some studio time and will start adding stuff to the site. Really nice guy!

His son is learning to fly (might already have his PVT by now), so he's really focused on the younger guys getting started. He's a perfect choice for an officer to work on that website.

[Kristie]

Originally Posted by PCL_128

I don't know about the FAA building, but the ALPA buildings in both downtown and Herndon are just offices. Not much to see. You'd be better off just trying to secure an appearance from Prater or Paul Rice. Bill Couette (VP Admin) would be a great choice, too. I kept trying to get a commitment from someone for this year's NJC (and I think Dough was trying, too), but I was never able to get anyone. The fact that the ALPA BOD meeting was taking place on the same week probably killed it. BOD week is very busy. But there's no BOD meeting in '09, so maybe you could have better luck.

Paul Rice did stop by but it was 1/2 hour after Capt Haynes finished up.. so a few people met him but not all...we did give away a ton of FTL books though.

We'll put Paul on our list... esp now that he's met doug and knows what we're trying to accomplish.

[Kristie]

oh btw... in looking at motorcoach rentals... we could rent a 47 person bus for a day for about $25/person.

might be good for a "Tour of DC" or getting us from point A to point B.

[Rocketman99]

All this stuff about trying to make DC work seems to me to just reinforce the idea of keeping the event in Vegas. Even though it's a quick flight or not terribly long drive for me to get to DC, I'd MUCH rather go to Vegas.

[Kristie]

vegas the past couple of years has been more about play than learn and i'd kinda like to see it become more about learn than play.

the past few years, i've seen quite a few people play a bit too hard such that they miss all the learning activities and that's not what we're trying to accomplish...so maybe a move out of vegas will be good in order to change that aspect.

I'm all for having a vegas play weekend - minus the official activities.

[Rocketman99]

I think you have a valid point. I've always viewed NJC as the chance to see my friends and have some fun while also networking and learning some things about aviation and having some really cool tours and activities. Of course that's also why I enjoy it so much.

Outside of the networking events and whatnot all DC really has to offer are some museums and monuments and some cool bars/restaurants. Granted, those sites are top notch, but I can pretty much do that at home. KWIM?

[Gonzo]

That was not Paul Rice that came by after Capt Haynes. It was Paul of Xjet.

[JEP]

Originally Posted by Kristie

vegas the past couple of years has been more about play than learn and i'd kinda like to see it become more about learn than play.

the past few years, i've seen quite a few people play a bit too hard such that they miss all the learning activities and that's not what we're trying to accomplish...so maybe a move out of vegas will be good in order to change that aspect.

I'm all for having a vegas play weekend - minus the official activities.

That seems to be a personal choice. If folks cannot or choose not to keep it under control, then there is nothing you can do about it. Those same folks are going to consume, no matter the location. A move out of Vegas will not help in that aspect.

Vegas has so much to offer in terms of entertainment. You'd be hard pressed to find a better place for that. People go to Vegas to play no doubt, but why do so many conferences get scheduled there? It is that very reason.....People want something to do after the 'work'/'learning' options are done.

[Polar742]

Originally Posted by Kristie

well, i think the Delta crews stay at one of the Crystal City hotels....we could check that out for discount rates.

Any other crew hotels we should look at? we should get a list of preferrable hotels together (crew and non-crew) so i can get proposals from them all at once.

At RAH we stayed at a Holiday Inn on Jefferson Davis Blvd right by DCA. There was a quick walk to the Metro stop, 21st st (been about 2 years) with a bunch of great restaurants, safe neighborhood and the Capitol City Grill was about 2 blocks too.

[Seggy]

Originally Posted by Kristie

Downtown manassas is the same way.

On a good traffic day it can be an hour from Manassasty DC is one hour. On a bad day 2 hours. No public transoportation to get around and an all around pain in the neck to get to.