Welcome to our website!  Below please find more detailed information about the ’75 Women’s Reunion, Friday, October 2 - Sunday, October 4, 2009.

It’s been nearly 35 years – honest!  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to get together and reconnect in a relaxed setting during one of the most beautiful times of the year in northern Virginia? Think of this as an alternative reunion, a chance to share, reminisce and perhaps get to know  women from our class better than you did before – minus the loud music and impatient husbands/partners.  So after several months of fact-finding and planning, here are our committee’s plans.  They are not set in stone.  Feel free to communicate with any of the committee members to offer suggestions.  

We have done our best (in fact, the 5 committee members who live in DC have worked very hard), to find an affordable hotel and restaurant without sacrificing quality and amenities.  We selected this relaxing setting hoping to spark conversations and re-connections. Many fun and diverse activities will be offered. We hope that you have a wonderful time. 

Westfields Marriott Hotel and Conference Center: This is a 4 star hotel in Northern Virginia.  It offers an indoor pool, jacuzzi, tennis courts and a fitness center on site and most importantly, plenty of informal gathering space. Rooms can be shared with one other person.

Transportation: The Westfields is 9 miles from Dulles Airport. The shuttle to the hotel from Dulles, which costs $23 per person, must be reserved in advance through Haymarket Airport Shuttle: 703-433-9790. Or you can take a taxi from the airport to the hotel for $20 - $25.
Important information for those of you who are traveling to the Reunion by air: If you wish to attend the Kick-Off for our 35th Reunion in D.C. on Sunday afternoon, October 4th, you should try to reserve a flight from your home airport to Dulles and a return flight from Reagan (Washington National) Airport. Westfields is close to Dulles but the DC is much closer to Reagan. If you are not planning on attending the Kick-Off event in D.C. on Sunday, then you should make roundtrip reservations to and from Dulles.
The cost of a taxi from Reagan, (National Airport), to Westfields Hotel is approximately $50. If you decide to fly to Reagan and stay for the 35th Reunion Kick-Off in DC, you will pay a considerably lower taxi fare from DC to Reagan on the way back.

Driving directions to the Westfields Marriott Hotel:  http://www.marriott.com/hotels/fact-sheet/travel/iadwf-westfields-marriott-washington-dulles/  This site also includes a fact sheet on the hotel.     

Our Hospitality Suite: We have reserved a junior suite in the hotel to use as a welcome suite. This will be a place to go when you’re looking for some company, as well as a place where you will find goodies and beverages. The Hospitality Suite will be more than a welcome center; we intend it to be a welcoming center.

Schedule of  available activities: 

Friday evening, October 2^nd: Meet up at the Wellington Pub in the hotel for drinks and dinner on your own.  We will be saving several tables.  Also, you might want to check in at our Hospitality Suite.

Saturday morning, October 3^rd:  After breakfast, which is included in your room rate, you will have many options:

1. Meet up with fellow ’75 women at a designated spot in or outside the hotel, place tbd. In addition to unplanned discussions, there have been some requests for a book discussion.
   
2. Unstructured time – including smaller conversations; bike riding; walking trails of 3-4 miles near the hotel (ask hotel desk for map); swimming; tennis;  fitness center; and sleeping in.
   
3. Visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, VA.  This museum is more than twice the size of the Air & Space Museum on the Mall.  Exhibits include: the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spyplane, the world’s fastest jet airplane; the Enola Gay, and the space shuttle Enterprise.  No admission fee, only a parking fee per vehicle.

Saturday afternoon, October 3^rd: Options will include two or more of the following:

1. Hiking or walking Great Falls National Park, which according to the National Park Service website, ”Many people consider the most spectacular natural landmark in the Washington D.C. area. The falls consist of cascading rapids and several 20 foot waterfalls…” Please note: the rocks are slippery. No entrance fee, just a small parking fee per vehicle.


2. Oatlands Plantation – Historic House and Gardens. Oatlands was established in the early 19th Century as a thriving wheat plantation. It is now a National Trust Historic Site and Landmark which features a stately mansion, beautiful rolling farmland and exquisite gardens. A visit there includes a guided tour of the mansion and a stroll through the stately gardens. Entrance fee: $10.00.
   
3. Willowcraft Winery –Willowcroft (www.willowcroftwine.com) is an award-winning winery close to Oatlands Plantation. The picnic area provides panoramic views of Loudon Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains. We can make reservations for a wine tasting for up to 30 people to include 7 or 8 wines. Fee: $10.00 per person for the wine tasting.
   
4. Chrysalis Winery -- and the 9th Annual Norton Wine and Bluegrass Festival. On the weekend of our reunion, Chrysalis Winery (www.chrysaliswine.com) will host the Ninth Annual Norton Wine and Bluegrass Festival. It is an opportunity to get a true sense of a working vineyard at harvest time. Visitors will enjoy a special nine-wine tasting. Food will be for sale, including from Virginia’s most highly regarded specialty food artisans. Jewelry, quilts, and art from “acclaimed” artisan and designers will also be available for purchase. Fee: $20 per person at the door, $15 if purchased before 10/1/09.

Saturday evening, October 3^rd: Cocktails and dinner in a private dining room at Paolo’s Restaurant at Reston Town Center, Reston, VA.  The dinner will include hors d’oeuvres during cocktail hour and a three course meal. There will be 4 choices of entrees, including one which is vegetarian. The other 3 choices are: filet mignon, chicken paillarde and Atlantic salmon.  We will have exclusive use of the room until midnight.

Sunday morning, October 4^th:  Sometime between breakfast (included in your room rate) and check-out time, we will gather classmates who need rides to 1975’s 35^th Reunion Kick-Off in Washington, D.C., from 2:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.  There will be a place for you to store your luggage and do a little sightseeing in Washington, D.C. before it begins.  Kathleen McCleery ’75 and Robert Martinez ’75 are hosting the event at a townhouse they own.  Its address is 324 Independence Ave. (between 3rd and 4th Streets, SE), which is near Capitol Hill and the Mall.  Invitations to that event will be mailed to all classmates (even the men) after Labor Day.

Odds and Ends: As we have several ‘75/’75 couples in the class, Robert Martinez has offered to host a ’75 men-of-the -’75 women mini gathering at his home. If your ’75 spouse or ’75 partner is interested in participating in this, please send Bob an email at rjmartinez@wms-jen.com
Because space is limited, this invitation to ’75 men is available first come-first served, based upon the postmark date of receipt of the $105 check for the women’s reunion.

List of Registrants:  After you rsvp yes, your name will be posted on this website on the list of registrants.  The list will be updated frequently.  If you don’t find the name of a friend you’d like to see, try emailing or calling her to give her a little push.  Also, if you want to attend but would prefer to save money by sharing a room, call or email a friend for that reason.

What to Bring: Please bring photos of our undergraduate years at Princeton, especially of ’75 women.  If you have films from our undergraduate days which  have been converted to DVD, please bring them. Please inform Nikki beforehand so that she can arrange for a DVD player. Music from our college days, including from singing groups, would also be welcome. Nikki’s email address: nprosngrn@gmail.com.

The dress will be casual.  Sneakers or hiking shoes (for Great Falls) will come in handy. At the dinner Saturday night, feel free (but not obligated) to wear something one step-up from casual.

Class Survey and Yearbook: The class will be compiling an electronic yearbook and conducting a class survey for our 35th Reunion in May. It might be fun to think about and suggest questions for the Class Survey at the Women’s Reunion. I bet a bunch of us could come up with some interesting questions for the survey. Please take the time to add your yearbook entry prior to the women's reunion at http://princeton75web.com/35reunion/addnewyearbook.php.

The Committee Members:

The Co-chairs: Kate McCleery, Nikki Ballard Rosengren and Maureen Kelly Scott

The Committee:  Eileen Harvey Bakke, Deborah Bernstein, Anne Brenner, Cheryl LaFleur, Ellen Kahn Rampell, Joyce Rechtschaffen, Sally Sears, Patti Sweeney and Esther Costel Tamplin.  Feel free to write to any of us; all of our email addresses are posted on TigerNet.

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