Kevin's Watch

I'm still in for this trip, and would love to see Spamalot as well. I work every 3rd weekend, but with enough advance notice I'm good for practically any weekend.

Alynna Lis Eachann wrote:Just a reminder, folks. I'm still up for organizing this thing if people are interested. Keep an eye on your calendars as the summer approaches, and let's see if we can get a date worked out by mid-spring or so.

Edit: Spamalot is going to be at the National Theatre in DC from June 6 through July 9. Any interest in planning a trip around that?

Sounds good to me!!

Oooooooh, Spamalot!

Yeah, we kinda dropped the ball on this, didn't we? Let me do some checking around....

Alynna Lis Eachann wrote:Just a reminder, folks. I'm still up for organizing this thing if people are interested. Keep an eye on your calendars as the summer approaches, and let's see if we can get a date worked out by mid-spring or so.

Edit: Spamalot is going to be at the National Theatre in DC from June 6 through July 9. Any interest in planning a trip around that?

yea!!! just tell me when and where!!! i can co-ordinate with a trip back east to see my people in Ky!!

Where in KY, Lucimay?

Lethargington, Ky, the town where NOTHING ever happens!!

Heart of the Blugrass, Lexington.

Okay. I'm looking at the calendar for June. The 17th-18th is Father's Day weekend -- not a deal-breaker for me, but might be for some others. The next weekend is the 24th-25th. The *next* weekend is 4th of July -- folks could take off Monday the 3rd (if they don't have enlightened bosses who will give them that day off already...) and we could join the throngs of humanity on the National Mall for the fireworks. Of course, the out-of-towners would then have to take off the 5th to get home...but it's an idea. Or we could make the fireworks an option for those who want to stay an extra couple of days.

Any preferences? Hmm, maybe I should post a poll....

(Note to tourists: the National Mall isn't a shopping center; it's the park that stretches from the Washington Monument to the Capitol.)

We're saving up for Beorn's Bar Mitzvah in September. I don't see any further travel happening for me, except to relatives within FL.

However, any and all Watchers are welcome to come to Gator Town for Beorn's Bar Mitzvah!

Spamalot price info for the National Theatre has been posted at www.nationaltheatre.org/mainstage/Spamalotpricesnow.htm

Cheapest seats look to be about $47. No group rates, even if we could get enough people together. Tickets go on sale on February 26th, and if this show is as popular here as it was on Broadway, the whole run may be sold out - or close to it - by the beginning of June.

I have to say, though, that I borrowed the soundtrack of this show, and it is hilarious. I am going to see this whether you guys come with or not!

yeah...i wanna see it too Alynna...

have we made a decision on the weekend yet? i'd really like to get my tickets for plane and spamalot out of the way as soon as possible.

who all is coming??

Tonight I got my vacation schedule for next year...I will have some time off in June, but it will be earlier in the month, when my son will be graduating high school. I do not think we will be able to come, but I will keep my eye on this thread to see which weekend is picked.

And Don - I did get that long weekend for Memorial Day. If it looks like we will be heading down your way for a weekend in the mountains, I will PM you immediately.

Aw, phooey, Duchess!

The most votes on the poll page were for the weekend after Father's Day. But if there's a desire to have it sooner, I'm good with that -- I'll be here anyhow.

Alright, I've begun to hear Spamalot ads on the radio... means tickets are on sale, and they're gonna go fast. Shall we take a final headcount and purchase a set of seats together, or do people want to get their tickets individually, which still means we have to set a final date and decide on a show time? There are also hotel rooms to think about...

Alynna Lis Eachann wrote:Alright, I've begun to hear Spamalot ads on the radio... means tickets are on sale, and they're gonna go fast. Shall we take a final headcount and purchase a set of seats together, or do people want to get their tickets individually, which still means we have to set a final date and decide on a show time? There are also hotel rooms to think about...

I'm up for either! And my preference is for the best seats we can get! People who are coming in should get their hotel rooms soon as well since they fill up fast!

BTW, what was the FINAL date!?

I'm in for Spamalot. Would it be possible to get a list of recommended hotels, perhaps 1 or 2 or so. I'd rather stay close to or where everyone else is going to be.

dlbpharmd wrote:I'm in for Spamalot. Would it be possible to get a list of recommended hotels, perhaps 1 or 2 or so. I'd rather stay close to or where everyone else is going to be.

yeah...good idea dlb.

and yeah Alynna, i vote for purchasing a group of seats together. how shall we do it?

aliantha's going to post hotel info and a possible itinerary in a bit. As for Spamalot, we'll have to get a confirmed head-count b/c the the tickets are non-refundable. What we need to decide is which seats everyone is willing to pay for. Cheapest ones are about $46, mid-grade seats are $70-something and the best seats are about $92. I saw Les Miserables at the National Theatre and the mid-priced seat in the mezzanine were pretty good. I can order tickets once we get a confirmed number of folks, and order blocks of seats at different price levels if that's what people want.

There is also the possibility of a ball game in Baltimore on Saturday afternoon, for which we'd also need to arrange tickets. O's versus Nats - the showdown all the locals have been waiting for. The logistics for this will be tricky, I think, so if we have any baseball fans who really want to see this, speak now!

Alynna and I have been e-mailing furiously this morning!

We're settled on the weekend of June 23-25.

We're recommending that out-of-towners stay in Crystal City, VA. It's not the most scenic venue, but it's about 5 min. from Reagan National Airport and there's a Metro stop right there. Let's use the Hampton Inn and/or Radisson hotels as our base of operations. They're on Jefferson Davis Highway, right next door to one another. The rooms all have coffeemakers, fridges and microwaves; both have fitness centers; the Hampton Inn has an indoor pool and the Radisson has an outdoor pool; both run free shuttles to & from the airport. AAA is quoting a room price in the $85-90 range for each one. I'd lean toward the Hampton Inn because they have a killer breakfast buffet and the Radisson doesn't have a free breakfast at all -- but hey, that's just me.

Tentative itinerary:

• Friday, 6/23: Informal get-together at the Radisson bar. We could also either go see the O's/Nats in Baltimore, or take in a performance of the Capitol Steps (political humor, www.capsteps.com), depending on interest.
  
  Saturday, 6/24: Daytime: your choice. We recommend any Smithsonian museum, the National Zoo, or a tour of the monuments on the Mall (Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Memorial, FDR Memorial, and the new WWII Memorial). Note that the Smithsonian and the monuments are near each other; the zoo is in a different part of town, about 15 min. away by Metro. If there's a consensus for one or two activities, we could go as a group. (There's also an O's/Nats game in the afternoon, but Alynna and I think that given the travel time, you might be late for dinner.)
  Evening: Dinner at Les Halles (www.leshalles.net/washington.php) and Spamalot.
  
  Sunday, 6/25: TBD, but probably involving brunch.

Once we get a head count, we can start reserving tickets....

Well, again, I'm in for this weekend. Based on Alynna's recommendation, the mezzaninse seats for Spamalot are fine with me. I'm not much of a baseball fan but I always enjoy ballparks and live games so I'm in for that if that's what everyone else wants to do. I'll start booking airline/hotel reservations soon.

if the orchestra seats (or $92 seats) are below the stage i'd rather sit in mezzanine for spamalot. i hate sitting below the stage and looking up at the action...which happens if you're too close. lots of time mezzanine or balcony seats are better anyway.

and i'll go for the hotel with the good breakfasts!!! heh. must have breakfast!

nix the baseball game for me.