Update – FairyChatMom, we’ll hold onto you until your plans gets more certain.
Reasonably certain yeses (8):
Boyo Jim
Bosstone
nyctea scandiaca
Larry Borgia
Wendell Wagner
Todderbob +2
Maybes (10):
Brown Eyed Girl + Hubby
pendgwen
FairyChatMom (rally definitely)
Edward The Head
Antigen
Scuba_Ben
AndyPolley
Biggirl + 1
I had a horrible dream last night that I neglected to check this thread before going to the rally and I had no idea where to meet up with anyone. Then after it was done, I was in line in a pseudo-Disneyland sorta place and I saw someone with a sign that had SDMB at the bottom and I was too embarrassed to say anything.
Note to self: Keep track of this thread or risk embarrassment.
We could all go to Disneyland after the rally. Or maybe there’s a 6 Flags that’s closer.
Thanks to this thread, I just saved $250. I was on Expedia, one click away from confirming a one day trip to DC for the Rally when I saw that rallies were being held all over the country.
So, I’ve volunteered for the Denver Rally. We won’t get to see Stewart or Colbert, but it should still be fun and hopefully, help restore reasonable discourse.
Thank you guys for saving me the bucks!
So anyone who has more experience with traveling to DC than me, what’s better?
Flying in to Dulles, getting a hotel near IAD with shuttle service, and taking the bus in to L’Enfant Plaza early Saturday morning.
Cons: long travel time to get in and out of the city, restricts freedom of movement while in the city, and dependent on the bus timetable (last bus out of L’Enfant leaves at 10:30 pm).
or
Flying in to Reagan, getting a hotel on or near the Metro in Alexandria and use that as the primary transportation.
Cons: total cost for flight and hotel is $100 more than the first option, affordable hotels require foot travel from the metro stations (PITA with luggage). Also would require rescheduling with any fees that entails, since I’ve already booked the first option.
Is having easy access to the Metro that much better that it’s worth my time to find something near a station, or is the bus service reliable enough that it shouldn’t really be a concern? Actual price of transportation is negligible, it’ll cost about the same for total bus or rail travel.
Reagan airport (Or National as we oldie liberals call it) is almost walking distance from the Mall. But a few minutes on the Metro is easier.
Cabs used to be very cheap in DC, but I don’t know if that’s true any more.
Do you know what hotel you’d be in if you go into National? There’s a Metro stop at the airport, so you might be able use it to get to your hotel.
Here is the Metrorail map – absolutely the best way to get around if where you’re going is anywhere near a stop.
Reagan/National is near the bottom, on both the blue and yellow lines. The Smithsonian (blue line) stop is roughly mid-way along the Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building. L’Entfant Plaza and the Archives are further east and closer to the Capitol. Any one of those 3 might end up being the closest exit to the rallies, depending on where they end up being.
Don’t know much about bus service in the VA suburbs, somebody else will know more. But I can tell you that being close to a Metro station will be VERY convenient, because you will likely end up using it for the last leg of the journey into the city. I would check directly with your hotel. If they have an airport shuttle to Reagan, you can probably use that as a Metro shuttle too.
The hotel I’d take near National would be about half a mile’s walking distance from the Huntington station on the Yellow line. I do know how convenient the Metro can be, but what I’m wondering is if it’s convenient enough to warrant paying ~$100 more and go through the hassle of rescheduling both flight and hotel versus the hassle of bussing into L’Enfant from Dulles, which is 50-60 minutes each way on the 5A bus line.
Anytime you’re flying into the D.C. area you should check on flights into all three airports - National, Dulles, and Baltimore-Washington. They all have shuttle services into D.C. and it’s easy to get a taxi into D.C. The cost of flights varies enough that it’s impossible to tell beforehand which will be the cheapest when you add together the cost of the flight and the shuttle service (or the taxi) to get into and out of D.C. You should get a hotel somewhere in D.C., Maryland, or Virginia that’s relatively cheap and is within walking distance of the Metro.
Huntington – 15 minutes walk to station, 15 minutes wait for train, 10-15 minute ride. If you want to only consider time getting in and out of downtown DC, I’d save a few bucks and stay out by Dulles.
Here’s a web page about public transportion from Dulles. Not entirely sure whether your hotel is close enough to the airport for it to be relevant, but your hotel probably has a regular shuttle to Dulles if not to the city itself.
OTOH, Huntington is right next door to Alexandria, which is also a very nice place for strolling, dinner, etc… And if you’re into sailing, you can stroll over to the Potomac river and rent a sailboat at Belle Haven Marina. Or you can head a few miles south and visit George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon. If you’re into biking, there is a real nice bike trail that goes right along the riverside from Mt Vernon all the way up and into DC. It looks like there’s a bunch of bike rental places around. Just make sure that a damn good lock and cable is included.
What I’m really saying is that out at Dulles, you’ll be in your hotel. At Huntington, you have a whole lot more interesting options to spend time, very close by. And of course, a lot more options to spend money too.
I ought add, where you fly into isn’t all that important, because you can get from National out to a cheaper place about as easily as you can get from Dulles into a pricier place.
It’s really about where you stay, and how much time/money you want to spend being a tourist.
My lady and I are now maybes for the rally. I’m being pulled in three different directions for events that evening, this DopeFest and two Halloween get-togethers, one of which (as I said upthread) I’d be in charge of.
There is now a Stewart rally website with a FAQ page: http://www.rallytorestoresanity.com/faq/
There are a few new details, but not a specific location yet.
I can’t chew my tongue off any longer: if I had any volunteers or knew of someone going to that rally, I’d be totally pissed at them, going to DC for a rally two days before Election Day.
Eh, I expect most people are going to be back home by Tuesday. I know I’ll be home midday Sunday.
I suppose there are folks road-tripping it, but if they’re of a mind to vote they have the option to get an absentee ballot.
I’m going to be there and bringing a friend. Would love to say hey to my fellow dopers. I’m putting my screen name on a sign along with SDMB and the two other sites I frequent.
There 's a site taking sign suggestions and having some printed up from the list.
Oh, and per Jon’s suggestion in the FAQs and because of all the noise about the one nation rally leaving such a mess.
Bring a trash bag or two and pick up after yourself and your neighbors please.
Keep an eye on this thread. Once we have more info about the specifics of the starting location, we will chose an SDMB rally point.
And please join us for a Dopefest afterward.
It’s not just the votes, but the volunteers and the hepling others to vote.
Since when do you help others to vote on other than election day?
List me as a ‘maybe’. I can’t always plan that far ahead but if nothing comes up that weekend, I’ll be there.