A
CAPITAL REUNION IN OUR NATION'S CAPITAL
We
look forward to a great reunion next year in the Washington D.C. Area from
Wednesday, August 31, 2005 to Sunday, September 4, 2005. Because these dates
are over the Labor Day weekend, one of the busiest travel weekends of the
year for airlines, make your reservations early! Those of you who intend to
come earlier than the dates above, please use me and my wife as tour
advisers, as we have lived here for over forty years, and we know much about
what to see and do. We'll be happy to help you.
These
dates were chosen, because April, May, June, and July are in the peak season
for the Washington Area, and hotel rates climb above $200 per night at
desirable hotels in decent locations. Ed Moore and I searched many hotels
and dates for the best combination of price, quality, and dates. We found
the Embassy Suites Hotel, where we stayed for reunions in Phoenix ('O1),
Kansas City ('97), Seattle ('95), and Tucson ('91) to have the best buy. At
$119 per night at this luxury hotel, the price includes a full
cooked-to-order breakfast and evening cocktails. (At the Mission Inn reunion
this year the room rate was $92 per night, but we had to pay extra to the
hotel for breakfast and cocktails. Thus your total cost for the reunion
should be less for these items.) Parking for autos is the standard $12 per
day. There is free shuttle to and from Reagan National Airport.
We
have a great selection of sights for you to see and things to do. For
example: a 1 hour tour of the
White House; a 1 hour tour of the Nation's Capitol; we will place a wreath
at the new World War II Memorial; visit the huge new Smithsonian Aerospace
Museum at Dulles Airport
and
the nearby Manassas National Battlefield Park (one of only three National
Civil War Battlefield Parks, the others are at Gettysburg, and Vicksburg);
visit the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial honoring the president who presided
over our depression and WW II years, with its impressive 8 huge bronze
sculptures depicting the period that we will all find very nostalgic. We
will see many other sights, but we have scheduled a bus assisted 4-1/2 hour
free time period, after our business meeting on Saturday, where you will
have an opportunity to visit your favorite museum that we may not have
sufficiently covered for you. A bus will drive you on a drop-off-pick-up
circuit around most important museums. We will give you a map of the route
and you will be able to get off the bus and visit you favorite place such
as: the Holocaust Memorial Museum; American History (with First Ladies'
Gowns) and Natural History Museums; National Air & Space Museum on the
Mall; the Jefferson Congressional Library (voted the most beautiful library
in the world by worlds' librarians); Supreme Court; Vietnam, Korean, and
Lincoln Memorials; Arlington National Cemetery; Jefferson Memorial; Union
Station, and numerous others.
My
wife, Eve, has volunteered to conduct an alternative tour limited to 30
people, minimum of 15, for those women and others who are not interested in
going to the Dulles Aerospace Museum and Civil War Battlefield (at the same
time as that tour). Her tour takes you to the same Capitol Building's 1 hour
tour, then to a 1-1/2 tour of the mansion of the Post cereal heiress,
Marjorie Merriweather Post and her daughter, movie actress Dina Merrill who
introduces and narrates a film of the family's colorful history. The
beautiful mansion contains valuable collections from Imperial Russia and
18th Century French decorative arts, including the world's largest
collection of Faberge eggs. A lunch will be served in the mansion's Tea
Room. Next, Eve takes you on a 45 minute guided tour of one of the largest
cathedrals in the world, the National Cathedral, a 14th Century Gothic
design that took 83 years for hundreds of imported Italian
stone carvers to cut, one block at a time, each block cut so precisely
each stone fits into place without the need for mortar. There are numerous
delightful gargoyles on the exterior. President Woodrow Wilson is buried
here. Finally, Eve takes you on a tour of the John F. Kennedy Center for the
performing Arts that houses six theaters, including the Opera House, and has
a long, red carpeted Grand Foyer with a huge bronze bust of JFK. You will
return to the Embassy Suites Hotel, arriving before those that went to
Dulles, in time to meet them for the cocktail hour.
Every
tour is wheel chair compatible, and wheel chairs are available almost
everywhere, except the White House where Wheel Chairs are supplied on a
first come first serve basis, no reservations. The Capital tour has a
shuttle service for disabled to the start of the tour, and wheel chairs can
be reserved, provided that you request one when you send Ed Moore your
selections. The Dulles Aerospace Museum has numerous wheel chairs available.
Be sure you indicate you would like a wheel chair, or need a bus with wheel
chair accessibility when you send in your reservations to Ed Moore.
Those
with limited walking ability, who do not feel like visiting the White House
or Capitol, can stay on the bus and enjoy a brief sight-seeing trip on the
bus while the others are doing the tours.
For
security reasons (Particularly the White House and Capitol Tours) please
give Ed Moore your social security numbers when you send in your selections,
and bring a photo ID of something with you - anything with your picture on
it and address.
We
look forward to seeing you for a great reunion!
-
Bob
Capps
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