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LATEST DEVELOPMENTS - 2010 REUNION (Posted: 05/21/09) Based on the SURVEY's results, we will have a 4-day reunion in June 2010. The majority of responding alumni gave preferences to the following events; DAY 1 (Thu): - D.C. Museum tour; - (After-museum-tour) MD dinner. DAY 2 (Fri) - Official reunion opening; Host-tendered reception/dinner. DAY 3 (Sat) - (AM) Local leisure activities (Brookside Garden, Strathmore Center, Balducci Gourmet grocery store, Holy Cross Church &/or Rockville Town Center); - (NN) Dimsun lunch; DAY 4 (Sun). - (AM/NN/PM) Official reunion closing; Host-tendered brunch; - (PM) Spa/Wellness visit (OPTIONAL. SEE: Note 1.1
below) NOTE 1.1: An OPTIONAL event. Selected only by some, but not by the majority. Thus, those who elected for this event may be the only ones who may do, on their own, the named events. Info for these "optionals" will be provided in a future letter. 2. (2010 REUNION) PROPOSED DATES. We have picked the middle of June for our reunion. The specific dates are shown below. Please note down in your calendars. DAY 1 (Thu): - June 17 3. (DAY 1 - JUNE 17) D.C. MUSEUM GROUP TOUR. The museum tour will cover, in the given sequence, the following museums: National Air & Space Museum (“Museum-1”); National Gallery of Art (“Museum-2”); National Museum of Natural History (“Museum-3”); and National Museum of American History (“Museum-4”). SEE: The accompanying "MAP OF THE NATIONAL MALL" to see the location of and relative distances between the museums. We will devote 1 1/2 hours visiting-&-viewing each site. Museum hours: Opens 10:00AM; Closes 5:00PM. Our planned itinerary for the day is shown in ADDENDUM-A below. 4. RIDING THE METRO (SUBWAY) SYSTEM. The name and location of the to-be designated "home" Metro station will be given in a future letter (will be one of the following: Grosvenor-Strathmore, White Flint, Twinbrook and Rockville. SEE: the METRO MAP - POCKET GUIDE enclosed). The Rockville area stations are on the "Red line" route (the other routes are named the "Orange line", "Blue line", etc.). Each "line" services a string of Metro stations. The "lines" intersect with the other "lines" at some connection stations. A Metro station is marked with a tall post with a BIG "M" sign on top. Details on riding the Metro is shown in ADDENDUM-B below. Parking at a Metro station: Could only be used by riders with a SmartTrip card (a plastic card used by Metro regulars. Expensive to get for a 1- or 2-day use). Our to-be designated Metro station will have a nearby off-Metro parking (which costs about $5 - or $3.50 for "early birds" - for a whole day parking). Street metered parking is also an option (Costs $5.00, in quarters, for a whole day parking). 5. (AFTER MUSEUM TOUR) MD DINNER. The Rockville area offers the visitor a number of good restaurants with a variety of exciting cuisine (SEE: ADDENDUM-C below). As you prefer, dinner could be on-your-own or with others. All the restaurants listed are moderately priced (entrees: $10-$20 per) 6. CHARLES TOWN (WV) RACES & SLOTS CASINO. The casino's address is: Rt 340 & Hollywood Dr., Charles Town WV 25414. The casino is 58 miles from the Rockville area; and takes about 1-1.5 hrs. (depending on traffic conditions). The casino have 5000+ slot machines (no table games); and live horse racing (Wed.-Sat.; post times at 7:15pm). If you hit the jackpot with the slots, for wins of $1,200 or more, you would need your Social Security card (for the Casino's IRS reporting purposes) to be given your winnings. Several dining options at the casino. There is a food court (fast food style servings), the Epic Buffet restaurant (SEE: Info below); and other restaurants. Casino hours: 24-hours on weekends; 7:00AM- 4:00AM Mon.-Thurs. Casino's website: http://www.ctownraces.com/site/index.php 7, HOTELS IN THE ROCKVILLE & NO. BETHESDA (MD. AREA). There are a number of hotels in the named areas. For your map referencing, Rockville's commercial center is the intersection of Rockville Pike (Rt. 355) and Randolph Rd. (Rt. 183). In terms of Zip Codes, 20852, 20850, 20817 & 20814 defines the Rockville area. If the reunion's dinner-dance is held in an hotel, the latter facility would also offer lodging for the attendees. The following link could also help you in your hotel search: http://www.hotelplanner.com/ When the page shows, enter a Zip Code in the "Destination City" box and click the "Continue" button. 8. ROCKVILLE, MD - WELCOME. The Rockville area will be our home base during the reunion. Rockville is the fifth largest city in Maryland. The City has a vibrant downtown, a lively shopping strip (Rockville Pike) plenty of dining facilities and recreational activities, and easy access to Washington. Money magazine has Rockville (ranked No. 66) among the Top 100 in its 2008 list of "Best Places to Live in the U.S.". Ref.: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/top100/index3.html Rockville's main street is Rockville Pike (which is a North<->South street). The Pike is about 5 miles long with a variety of shops, stores, malls, restaurants, hotels, etc. along its route. The area has two nice malls: Montgomery Mall (with 190-some stores; Website: http://westfield.com/montgomery/) and White Flint Mall (90 plus stores; Website: http://www.shopwhiteflint.com/). You can drive and see-the-sights (of Rockville Pike) from its "southern end" (near the Rockville Pike & Strathmore Ave. intersect) to its "northern end" (near the Rockville Pike and Viers Mill Rd. intersect) in less than 15 minutes. Rockville's new sight-to-see is the Rockville Town Square. SEE video of the town square at: http://www.rockvilletownsquare.com/video/ More info at: http://www.rockvillemd.gov/visitors/index.html 9, AIRPORTS (METRO D.C. There are three (3) airports servicing Metro Washington D.C.: The Reagan National Airport (DCA), Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Baltimore-Washington Int'l Airport (BWI). In terms of distance relative to Rockville, DCA is 23 miles, IAD is 26 miles and BWI is 39 miles. Overland Travellers. Interstates-95, -270 and -66 feeds into Beltway 495 (a circular expressway that rings Washington, D.C., referred to locally simply as "the Beltway" or "495"). To get to the Rockville area, get on the Beltway, follow and take the exit signs to Rockville, Rockville Pike and/or Rt. 355 North. ^ Top of Page
THE 2010 REUNION IS SHAPING UP
(Posted: 01/27/09)
January 20, 2009 Dear NESHS '58 Colleagues and Friends,
Our 2010 reunion is taking shape. We have the
results of the 2010 Reunion survey (SEE: Copy attached). 1. (2010 REUNION) SURVEY-1 SUMMARY - ALUMNI ATTENDANCE
& PREFERENCES RECAP: Based on the SURVEY's votes and comments; - the 2010 reunion will NOT be held in April 2010
(thus, the Cherry Blossom trip will be skipped). * 1st Priority: Tour of the White House; National
Air & Space Museum, historical museums & experience MD lunch/dining ("dim sun" and steamed
crabs); The new/proposed line-up and schedule of activities
(SEE: Item 2 below) captures all the preferred activities elected by the respondents. IMPT:> To do ALL
the activities, we need to extend the reunion by 1 1/2 days (since we cannot
squeeze all the activities in a 3-day reunion time frame). Thus, the 2010
reunion is now proposed to be a 4-day reunion. The reunion, it is
proposed, will be composed of the following main "DAYS"; + DAY 1 (Thurs.) PRE-REUNION D.C. (HISTORICAL, ARTS
& CULTURAL) TOUR DAY 2. (NEW/PROPOSED) 2010 REUNION SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES
(4 DAYS): DAY 1 (Thurs.) PRE-REUNION D.C. (HISTORICAL, ARTS &
CULTURAL) TOUR DAY 9:30AM - 9:35AM * Group meet at the entrance of a
(to be) designated Rockville MD subway station. DAY 2 (Friday) OFFICIAL REUNION OPENING DAY 2:00PM - 4:00PM * Attendees arrival/registration at
hosting site; DAY 3 (Sat.) FORMAL REUNION DINNER-DANCE DAY 09:00AM - 10:30AM * OPTIONAL.Local leisure
activities, (Brookside Garden &/or Strathmore Center &/or Balducci Gourmet grocery
store &/or Holy Cross Church; 1.5 hrs.; FREE
(ST/WO) DAY 4 (Sun.) REUNION'S OFFICIAL CLOSING DAY 09:30AM - 2:00PM * Host treat/tendered despedida
brunch - - - - - - - - - LEGEND:CWAG - "Coordinator will accompany the group". PYO -
"Pay-your-own". --------------------------------------------- SPECIAL NOTES: (1) CORE REUNION ACTIVITIES. These are the ones with top priorities. They are scheduled on DAY 1 - 3. The activities that were elected 3rd & 4th priority, e.g., Brookside Garden, Charles Town Casino, spa & wellness/yoga sessions are made OPTIONAL events that an attendee(s) could skip; or do on their own (or with others). (2) MUSEUMS. The National Gallery of Art houses one of the finest collections (classic and modern art) of Western painting and sculpture in the world. The East Wing building (which houses the museum's modern art)is a world class architectural design that is a work of art in itself. The National Museum of Natural History (the second most popular of the Smithsonian museums) has over 125 million specimen of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, meteorites and human cultural artifacts. The museum has a life-like display of Philippine aborigines in a prehistoric setting. The National Air and Space Museum (the most popular of the Smithsonian museums) exhibits the largest collection of aircraft and spacecraft in the world. Among its exhibits is a life-size replica of the spacecraft and astronauts that landed on the moon; and a piece of moon rock that you can actually touch. The National Museum of American History displays American heritage artifacts in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. One of the museum's showcase exhibit is the original U.S. Stars and Stripes flag (that was the inspiration for the U.S. national anthem). All these museums are located in the National Mall (short for the National Mall & Memorial Parks). The Mall is an open-area national park in the heart of downtown Washington DC. (it was where the multitude recently congregated to witness - and be part of history - the swearing-in of President Obama). There is no other place in the world where you could see the same concentration of art, culture and history - all in one place.- as in the National Mall. (3) DINNER-DANCE-CRUISE. The original "dinner-cruise-dance" event was replaced with a dinner-dance at an hotel venue. The reason for the replacement is cost. It will cost, in 2009, about $147 total per person for the dinner-cruise. The cost will go up 15-25% in 2010 (which will bring the total cost to about $169 - $184 per). In my assessment, the 2010 cost is prohibitive for us. The hotel venue option has a projected total cost of about $100 per (which will thus save us about $70 - $85 per). Also, we do away with the 30-45 minute travel time to the cruise boat's docking pier. Note though that the dinner-cruise is made an OPTIONAL item that could still be taken by an interested attendee(s) after the reunion's ending on DAY 4; (4) WHITE HOUSE TOUR. Public tours of the White House are allowed for groups of ten (10) or more individuals. An application must be submitted ahead of time. A visitor(s) is required - by the U.S. Secret Service - to submit his/her legal name, date of birth, SSN and country of citizenship to a Congressman's office (in our case, the Coor.'s MD Congressman). On the tour day, the White House guests, will be required to present photo identification with information exactly matching the name previouly submitted for clearance. By/about January 2010, I will be mailing to the alumni the form to fill-up for the W.H. tour application. FYI. There is tight security restrictions for White House visitors. The following items are PERMITTED: wallets, cell phones, car keys and umbrellas. Practically everything else (for example, handbags, purses, backpacks, food & beverages, cameras, video recorders, personal grooming items, sharp-pointed items, etc.) ARE PROHIBITED. There are no storage facilities or lockers available at or around the White House. Individuals who arrive with prohibited items will not be permitted to enter the White House. (COMMENT: A solution to the group's prohibited items (if any) - we could have a member volunteer to safekeep the group's prohibited items, if any, before entering the facility. The volunteer will not go inside the White House). (5) D.C. MEMORIAL TOUR. This is a walking tour. A tour guide will guide the group and describe the sites. The tour highlights are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Capitol Building, Vietnam War Veterans Memorial, National World War II Memorial, and some other less well known sites. This will be an "outside" tour - that is, the group will NOT be going inside the buildings/sites. The tour will last about 1 hr., and 15 min., and cover about a mile of leisurely walking (with several stops). (6) D.C. METRO (SUBWAY). Going to/from the D.C. tour sites is best done by taking the Metrorail trains (called locally as the "Metro" or "subway"). The subway is relatively modern, safe, clean, easy-to-use, convenient, inexpensive, and fun to take. Driving to D.C., specially on a weekday, is not recommended - lots of traffic, difficult to park and confusing streets to navigate. Pointers on taking the subway will be described in a future letter. (7) DAY 3'S AM LEISURE ACTIVITIES. OPTIONAL. The Brookside Garden and the Strathmore Center are among the Top 15 attractions of Maryland. Balducci's is a popular gourmet grocery store where you can get a lot of exciting food items. The Strathmore Hall Arts Center is a nice/new building with an outside sculpture garden; The Holy Cross Church is a small-but-beautiful church to appreciate and do one's spiritual devotions. All these sites are in or close to Rockville, MD. More on these sites in a future letter. (8) AIRPORTS. There are three (3) airports servicing Metro Washington D.C.: The Reagan National Airport (DCA), Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Baltimore-Washington Int'l Airport (BWI). In terms of distance to Rockville, DCA is closest, IAD is second and BWI is the furthest. ON THE ROAD:: Interstate 95 is the main highway to/from D.C. & Rockville, MD. (9) LODGING FACILITIES. (In the Rockville
area) Will be suggested to out-of-towners in a future letter. 4. PASSING OF A COLLEAGUE. Sad news: Bayani P. passed away in the Philippines last December. Bayani was among the alumni that toured the Ilocos region during the 2003 class reunion. Bayani - based on the accounts of U.S. colleagues who were in the '03 reunion - was most gracious and entertaining to everybody. Our sympathies to the family of Bayani. Thank you for your time. (Signed) Horatio L
2010 Reunion to be Held in Metro Washington D.C.
(Posted: 11/19/08)
In a business meeting - among the U.S. alumni then present
- held November 8, 2008 at the Maburac farmhouse of Norma G. Camaya, the U.S.
alumni decided, by majority decision, to (1) move the scheduled 2009 reunion to
2010; (2) change the planned cruise-type reunion to a conventional land-based
reunion; (3) hold the reunion in the Metro Washington D.C. area; and (4) the
reunion's Coordinator/Host will Ace Lotuaco.
2009 Reunion to be Held on a Cruise Ship to Alaska (Posted: 07/04/07) During their June 22, 2007 alumni-only business meeting (held at the Uytingcos residence in Victorville, California), the alumni discussed, voted and reached a majority decision to hold the 2009 U.S. reunion aboard a cruise ship that will visit attraction sites in Alaska. The group also concurred that the cruise should occur sometime during the months of July or August; and that the Reunion Coordinator will be Horatio L.
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05/20/09
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