Capital Bocking USA 08 planning

[Kender]

I'd say find all the people on the site in the pacific/mountain timezones, and pick a city that's less than  10 hour drive for most of you.

[XarnuSonci]

mmm 10 hour drives, we're starting in the middle of the night this year instead of the morning.

[Zan]

Sweet! I'll just sleep thru the whole trip.

[Locky]

Does this have a decided date yet?

[davidtheamazing1]

Attached is my proposed idea for the primary bock dc route.  It's similar to last year's but hopefully a bit more interesting.

Synopsis:
We meet up at Navy Memorial in a scenic plaza across from the Constitution, At a centrally located subway station.  Free parking near the start line is limited, but usually available weekend days if you are willing to walk for a bit as you drive around to find a spot.  Of if you are in a hurry, there are some pay parking decks which should be reasonable as long as there's no event at the MCI center.

To start, we bock down PA Ave to the front steps of the US capitol.  The stop feature an iconic backdrop and a nice plaza with two steeply perfect sets of stairs.  As of today, the plaza isn't behind the security perimeter.  (Lets hope there aren't any further threat-level changes between now and then).  Then back down the mall past the newest Smithsonian Museum, Theres a few stairs and other features along the building entrances.  Then we go through the plaza of the Ronald Reagan Building to the next stop: Freedom Plaza.  Freedom plaza offers a nice open space and a few terrain features, plus theres a drug store for those that want to stop for hydration or snack.  (In the plaza, we may encounter some of the natives on their quad-wheeled wooden planks from the last century.)  After some quality jumps on a replica map of DC, its a few short blocks to the home/office of the leader where we can enjoy jumping on an abandoned road, inside of a secure perimeter policed by 26 different law enforcement agencies. 

Finally we bock up a nice wide sidewalk of Connecticut Ave to end at Dupont Circle, a "cool" area with lots of food options, bars, etc.

[XarnuSonci]

looks good, but prolly a bit ambitious, idk if we'll make the entire length, as we did half the length of the mall last year and were exauseted, august heat is a killer, but we can give it a go.

We're also still up in the air on the date on this one, as Dom has convinced me that we're trying to make it to cardiff, and i'd hate to miss this one, so i'm now voting for the 9th/10th or the 23rd/24th, I'd prefer the latter, but its really up to the majority, so speak up.

[dominion]

:-) I'm evil, I know... But i think it's an opportunity we need to take!

[davidtheamazing1]

Yeah I think distance-wise we will do pretty well. 

This route is about 5 miles, compared to last year's (planned) route of about 14 miles.  As of today, my August is open...

Weather wise, Augusts can be pretty rough for those who are used to New England summers.  Perhaps we should end it at a pool.

[XarnuSonci]

the ending at a pool is already in the plan , my hotel criteria are cheap, pool, and wifi not necessarily in that order

as for last year's route, i really had no clue how far we were gonna get, better to have too much than not enough.  We prolly acutaly coverd like 2.5-3 miles, but spent a lot of time staying in the same place, so if we move more, we can make the entire route

[davidtheamazing1]

Just a reminder for out-of-towners to book your hotels in advance for the best chance of a deal!

[BarnabyBoi]

I am ALL for Washington, or Oregon. In the future when I move out and get a job, I might head over to the other states. I know this won't happen but it was worth a try lol. Not enough people for it in my area.

[XarnuSonci]

we should really set a date

[Tightness]

I'm definitely planning to come, but I would prefer the 9th/10th because I have to be at school by the 21st

[Theibault]

Wow! I'd love to join you in DC, but it won't be this year. My work has a strict no vacations in August policy (one of the downsides of working sales for a major cellular co.), however, I should have a new position next year, so I won't miss it!

[Pendragon]

Money is tight right now, it's gunna come down to the last minute whether or not I can make it.  Car pooling would help.  I would rather not go on the weekend of the 15th.