Possible Itineraries

[Subnuts]

I've worked up a four day plan and a five day plan for everyone's consideration. I sorta had to weasel in a side-trip to the Albacore in the second itinerary - it's a pretty esoteric subject, and will probably only appeal to people showing up early anyway. Besides, it's not going to be moving anywhere anytime soon!

Okay, gotta admit: I put an awful lot of importance to food - not that crappy McDonalds stuff, but food that's actually prepared by a human being and takes more than two minutes to prepare. I don't wanna see people flying in from the Netherlands just to eat mass produced deep-fried garbage from the dollar menu - got that?

MY FOUR DAY PLAN
Thursday
Same as Neal's proposal

Friday
Same as Neal's proposal, although Captain Scott's Lobster Dock might be a little too small for our requirements. My uncle spent a lot of time in New London back when he was in naval medicine, and knows many of the restaurants in town, so I should get on the horn with him and ask him for suggestions.

Saturday
0630 to 0730 Continental Breakfast
0730 to 0900 Trip to Fall River, MA
0900 to 1700 Tour naval exhibits at Battleship Cove, have lunch on battleship, get overnight arrangements settled, etc.
1700 to 2200 Free Time
2200 to 2400 Sleep aboard Massachusetts and JPK Jr.

Sunday
2400 to 0630 More sleep
0630 to 0730 Breakfast
0730 to 0930 Get everything squared away and check out any exhibits we may have missed
0930 to 1100 Trip to Boston, MA
1100 to 1400 Tour USS Constitution and USS Cassin Young, a Fletcher-class destroyer
1400 to 1630 Sightseeing, Freedom Trail, Lupper, etc.
1630 to 1830 Return to New London
1830 to 2130 Closing ceremonies, clambake, etc.

MY FIVE DAY PLAN (BRING COFFEE!)

THURSDAY
0700 to 1500 : Attendees arrive in Boston and are greeted by the hosts and transportation needs are attended to. Meet & greet, etc.
1030 to 1500 Side trip to USS Albacore in Portsmouth, NH for anyone off to an early start.
1500 to 1730: Trip to Vernon, CT
1730 to 1900: Dinner at Angelino's Restaurant
1900 to 2100: Trip to New London, CT
2100 to 2200: Get everything squared away at the hotel/cottage.
2200 to 2400: Free time/gaming, get some sleep, etc.

Friday
0000 to 0630 Sleep
0630 to 0730 Breakfast
0730 to 0800 Trip to Sonalysts Studios
0800 to 1000 Presentation: Advanced simulation modeling in Sub Command
1000 to 1130 Explore Submarine Force Museum
1130 to 1300 Tour USS Nautilus submarine (I'm hoping that Bill Nichols could give a guided tour of the boat in two separate groups - provided he wants to!)
1300 to 1400 Lunch
1400 to 1500 Trip to Naval Submarine Base New London, visit United States World War II Submarine Veteran Memorial on Bridge St.
1500 to 1600 Presentation: US NAVY and Middle Eastern Littoral Threats
1600 to 1800 Tour of Naval Base and Nuclear Submarine
1800 to 1830 Transport to Local restaurant
1830 to 2100 Dinner (still not certain about Captain Scott's...)
2100 to 2330 Nighttime snack, reception, Mystery Subsim Theater U-571 (this is important!)
2330 to 0700 Sleep

Saturday
0700 to 0800 Breakfast
0800 to 0930 Trip to Fall River, MA
0930 to 1700 Tour Battleship Cove exhibits, have lunch on battleship, get overnight arrangements settled
1700 to 2200 Free Time
2200 to 2400 Sleep aboard Massachusetts and JPK Jr.

Sunday
2400 to 0630 More Sleep
0630 to 0730 Breakfast
0730 to 0930 Get everything squared away and ready for the road, check out some exhibits we may have missed, etc.
0930 to 1100 Trip to Quincy, MA
1100 to 1330 Tour the USS Salem, a Des Moines-class heavy cruiser. Have lunch.
1330 to 1400 Trip to Boston, MA
1400 to 1630 Tour the USS Constitution and USS Cassin Young, a Fletcher-class destroyer
1630 to 1900 Sightseeing, Freedom Trail, etc.
1900 to 2030 Dinner
2100 to 2200 Check into hotel
2200 to 2400 Free time, gaming, sleep, etc.

Monday
0000 to 0700 Actual sleep
0700 to 1000 Breakfast, free time, recuperation
1000 to 1200 Return to airport, board planes, remind our families that we're still alive.
1200 to 1400 Figure out method of returning Subnuts back home. Take up his offer of a guided tour of the New England Air Museum - you won't regret it.
1700 Get drunk and collapse. Don't worry, my aunt will drive me home. Too bad you missed the plane.

[August]

I dunno Sub it looks pretty grueling. This is supposed to be fun.

[Subnuts]

Originally Posted by August

I dunno Sub it looks pretty grueling. This is supposed to be fun.

Well, I'm not saying we'd need to follow the timetable to the minute. It's really just an idea of what we could do in a four or five day period. I figured I'd inserted enough "free time" and "etc" so we wouldn't be just running from one site to another.

When I heard that this meet would be in New England, I was perfectly happy to keep it to New London, Fall River, and Boston. Maybe I should stop trying to bite off more than I can chew.

[August]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

Well, I'm not saying we'd need to follow the timetable to the minute. It's really just an idea of what we could do in a four or five day period. I figured I'd inserted enough "free time" and "etc" so we wouldn't be just running from one site to another.

When I heard that this meet would be in New England, I was perfectly happy to keep it to New London, Fall River, and Boston. Maybe I should stop trying to bite off more than I can chew.

Hey I hear ya Sub. One of my primary objectives will be to keep all the driving around to a bare minimum.

[nikimcbee]

How do you want to work out where we're staying?

[August]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

How do you want to work out where we're staying?

Well it mainly depends on the numbers of attendees and what everyone can afford to pay.

First I figure that if anyone comes in before Thursday they can probably just stay at my place.

Boston is a big town so finding something there should be pretty easy.

I figure staying on the USS Massachusetts is pretty much decided.

The only part i'm not sure of is where to stay in New London. Hopefully Sub would be willing to investigate that for us. I liked Neals camp ground idea.

[nikimcbee]

maybe when we get a solid number, we could do a bulk reservation on priceline or something like that?

[nikimcbee]

@ August, What is there to se at the Bunker Hill Battlefield? Is it big? I might to that on an extra day(?) How easy is it to get around between New Haven and Boston? Meaning, what's the traffic like, travel times?

[August]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

@ August, What is there to se at the Bunker Hill Battlefield?

The monument is pretty much all there is to see there. Sadly the battlefield itself has been long since turned into neighborhoods.

Is it big?

The Bunker Hill Monument, made entirely of granite taken from a quarry in Quincy, MA, stands 221 feet tall and has 294 steps.

I might to that on an extra day(?) How easy is it to get around between New Haven and Boston? Meaning, what's the traffic like, travel times?

I'd say that you could see all there is to see at the site in an hour or so. Getting from New Haven to Boston though is at least a 2+ hour trip and that's on the weekend. Add weekday traffic into the mix and you'll be spending your whole day in the car.

But if we're staying in Boston Thursday night like I expect we will, it'll be a very quick and easy side trip.

[August]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

maybe when we get a solid number, we could do a bulk reservation on priceline or something like that?

That's what I was thinking too.

[Subnuts]

I've thought about the Albacore a little bit, and I'm thinking that it should probably be dropped from the itinerary altogether. I can see getting excited about touring the Nautilus, Constitution, Massachusetts, Hiddensee or doing that nuke boat tour that Neal has on his "want list." But creating a great big transportation problem, and cramming a four or five hour side-trip to New Hampshire to see the world's first entirely round submarine, seems like an unnecessary hassle to an itinerary that's already overjammed. I wouldn't hesitate to visit the Albacore if I was in the neighborhood, but I can see why most of the Subsim crowd would be perfectly happy with the "big three" stops.

Perhaps this whole thing wouldn't feel like a giant military operation if I'd stop using the 24-hour clock if my ideas.

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

I've thought about the Albacore a little bit, and I'm thinking that it should probably be dropped from the itinerary altogether. I can see getting excited about touring the Nautilus, Constitution, Massachusetts, Hiddensee or doing that nuke boat tour that Neal has on his "want list." But creating a great big transportation problem, and cramming a four or five hour side-trip to New Hampshire to see the world's first entirely round submarine, seems like an unnecessary hassle to an itinerary that's already overjammed. I wouldn't hesitate to visit the Albacore if I was in the neighborhood, but I can see why most of the Subsim crowd would be perfectly happy with the "big three" stops.

Perhaps this whole thing wouldn't feel like a giant military operation if I'd stop using the 24-hour clock if my ideas.

roger that! I forget how much time we spent at the Texas. I think we should keep the list simple, for the sanity of the hosts. Plus, you'd be surprised how much time we spend just "socializing".

[August]

The Albacore is doable depending on when you make the run up there. On the weekend it is only about an hour away from Boston, on a weekday however you're talking 2+ hours each way.

[Subnuts]

Originally Posted by August

The Albacore is doable depending on when you make the run up there. On the weekend it is only about an hour away from Boston, on a weekday however you're talking 2+ hours each way.

The way I'm thinking, there are still a few ways the Albacore might be doable as a side trip, like U-995 was in 2009:
1. Anyone not interested in sightseeing in Boston on Sunday could take a side-trip to Portsmouth. This isn't a problem if we do a five-day meet, but there's still a three hour trip back to New London if it's four days.
2. If we do a 5-day meet, which begins and ends in Boston, we could take a trip to Portsmouth early on Monday morning. Big problem here might be the how much energy and enthusiasm we have left (I'm probably underestimating everyone here, though!), and the amount of traffic.
3. Anyone who arrives a day early could take a trip to Portsmouth if they want.
4. We could skip the Salem altogether, and free up a few hours, seeing as every proposed itinerary already includes two destroyers, two submarines, two PT boats, a battleship, an 18th century frigate, and three museums already. We're all serious naval buffs here, but I seriously wonder how many old warships we can ogle in four or five days!

My internet access will be a little limited these next few days, but I'll try to keep up to date with the latest developments.

[August]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

2. If we do a 5-day meet, which begins and ends in Boston, we could take a trip to Portsmouth early on Monday morning. Big problem here might be the how much energy and enthusiasm we have left (I'm probably underestimating everyone here, though!), and the amount of traffic.

Week day Boston area traffic is infamous, especially around commute times (07:30-09:30 / 15:00-19:00). The best time to go up there would be on a weekend day.