Northeastern State University

College of Liberal Arts

Department of Languages and Literature

INFORMATION FOR OREGON TRIP PARTICIPANTS

May 8, 2010

 

WELCOME TO THE OREGON TRAIL

Welcome to our group of 16 bound for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland!  Thank you very much for choosing to go with us. I want to do everything I can to make your week as pleasant and educational as possible.  At any time, before or during the trip, please let us know if you have questions or if I can help you in any way.  Here is my contact information:

 

Dr. John Mercer

E-mail: mercer@nsuok.edu or mercer25@cox.net

Faculty Web site with trip and course information: http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~mercer

Home: 918-745-2363

Office: 918-449-6541

Cell: 918-576-4949

 

WEATHER & CLOTHING

  • Casual clothing is acceptable for all events. 
  • Weather is unpredictable several weeks in advance.  The best way to determine what the weather will be like in Ashland while we’re there is to check the weather forecast on the Internet in the last few days before we leave.
  • When our group was in Ashland for the same week in 2008, the high temperatures were in the 60s and the lows were in the 40s—quite cool during the day and cold at night.  In 2009, it was warmer and rainier, with daytime highs in the 70s and low 80s and rain for part of each day.  Both years, because many people in our group were not prepared for the cool or rainy weather, they had to spend a lot of time and money in Ashland buying raingear, hooded jackets, and warm clothing of all kinds.  Please be prepared! 
  • Although daytime highs can be in the 80s or even 90s in Ashland in June, the temperature immediately plunges as soon as the sun goes down. (This immediate cooling at nightfall is a big difference between Oregon and Oklahoma weather.)  Three nights we will be attending plays beginning at 8:30 p.m. in the outdoor Elizabethan Theatre. Temperatures can be as low as the 40s, and performances are not canceled for light rain. 
  • Our dorm at Southern Oregon University will have air conditioning. (In 2008 we definitely did not use it; in 2009 we did.)  The two indoor theatres of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival are, of course, air conditioned.
  • Bring the following items:
    • comfortable walking shoes
    • layers of clothing that you can add or remove depending on the temperature
    • warm clothing, including gloves, for outdoor evening performances in the Elizabethan Theatre
    • raingear (especially for rainy outdoor performances) 

 

FLIGHTS

This flight information applies primarily to the fourteen (14) of us who are flying together.  Two (2) others of our group will fly on their own and meet us at Southern Oregon University in Ashland.

 

BAGGAGE (For more complete information about baggage requirements, go to www.united.com.):

  • Checked baggage:  Pack light!  As my well-traveled father always said, “Take half as many clothes and twice as much money.”  United Airlines now charges $25 to check one bag and $35 to check a second bag (and reserves the right to charge more for bags weighing more than fifty [50] pounds). These baggage fees are NOT included in the price of your trip.  If you check a bag, United will charge you these fees both on May 29 and on June 5.  You may pay your baggage fee at the ticket counter.  If, however, you pay by credit or debit card at the United Airlines Web site within twenty-four (24) hours of our scheduled departure, you will save $2 off the price of the first bag. If you wish, you may also print your boarding passes online within twenty-four (24) hours of our scheduled departure.  Before the trip I will send you instructions about how to do this.

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  • Carry-on luggage:  You are allowed only two (2) carry-on items:
    • one (1) “personal item” such as a purse, briefcase, or computer bag
    • one (1) other carry-on bag

All carry-on bags must be able to fit under the seat in front of you or in an overhead bin. (We will be flying on small “commuter” jets with limited space in overhead bins.) No liquids or gels are allowed unless they are in containers no larger than three (3) ounces, all placed inside one (1) quart-size clear plastic zipper bag.  You may carry beverages onto the plane only if you purchase them in the airport after you go through security. 

 

CELL PHONES:  Be sure to bring your cell phone and charger.  Cell phones will help us keep in touch if anyone gets separated from the group.  If your cell phone number has changed since you filled out the Study-Away form to sign up for this trip, please send it to me now.

 

NOTEBOOK COMPUTERS:  Although it is not necessary for you to bring a notebook computer, students who have done so in the past have found that wireless Internet access is available in some public areas of our dormitory.  

 

MEETING THE GROUP:  By 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 29, please meet the group next to the windows across from the United Airlines ticket counter inside Tulsa International Airport.  Although we are ticketed individually, please do NOT proceed to the United Airlines ticket counter before meeting the group.  If you are going to be late, please telephone me on my cell phone at 918-576-4949. 

 

AIRLINE ITINERARY:  We are scheduled to depart from Tulsa on United flight 6901 (operated by United Express/Skywest Airlines) at 4:59 p.m. on Saturday, May 29. We are scheduled to return to Tulsa on United flight 5914 (operated by United Express/Skywest Airlines) at 3:27 p.m. on Saturday, June 5.  You will receive our complete itinerary in a separate attachment. Airline schedules, including flight numbers and times, are subject to change.  I will let you know if I learn of any changes before our departure.     

 

MEALS ON FLIGHT DAYS:  Our layover in the Denver airport on May 29 is scheduled to last only 61 minutes, so your time to purchase and eat food then will be limited.  Consider bringing a sack supper. Our layover in Denver on June 5, however, is scheduled to last more than three (3) hours, so you will have plenty of time to purchase and eat food. 

 

GROUND TRANSPORTATION IN OREGON

The group will rent three (3) minivans at the Medford airport.  The cost of your trip includes all your transportation

  • between the Medford airport and Southern Oregon University in Ashland
  • in Ashland, between the university campus and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival downtown
  • for our trip to Crater Lake National Park on Monday afternoon

 

HOUSING

CHECKING IN:  We will be staying at Cox Hall on the campus of Southern Oregon University in Ashland.  We will check into the dorm as a group when we arrive from the Medford airport, probably no earlier than 9:30 p.m. (PDT).   

 

ACCOMMODATIONS:  You have signed up and paid for either a regular dorm room with bath down the hall or a hotel-style room with a private bath. The regular dorm rooms, which are in the older part of the dorm, have two twin beds. (People of both genders may be staying on your floor, so you may wish to bring a robe to wear down the hall to the bathroom.)  The hotel-style rooms with private bathroom, which are in a new annex to the dorm, have two double beds, a clock radio with alarm, and a mini fridge.  

 

Sheets and white towels will be provided for both types of rooms.  If you wish to bring an additional towel and/or wash cloth, bring any color except white.  Bring the following items:

o   soap and soap dish

o   shampoo

o   alarm clock (if you are staying in a regular dorm room)

 

EMERGENCY NUMBERS:  Although the most efficient way for people to reach you will be to call your cell phone, here are some emergency numbers at Southern Oregon University:

  • Conference Office: (800) 257-0577, extension 4 (only during business hours)
  • Conference staff-on-duty cell phone: (541) 944-1408
  • Campus Public Safety: (541) 552-6911

 

FOOD

BREAKFAST:  Breakfast in SOU’s Cascade Food Court, across the street from Cox Hall, is included in the cost of your trip. The food is plentiful and tasty. Breakfast will NOT be provided on Saturday, June 6, because we have to leave for the airport by 4:15 a.m., long before breakfast is served.  The evening before our departure, you can buy food, if you wish, at the grocery store across the street from our dorm.

 

LUNCH & DINNER:  You will be paying for your own lunch and dinner each day.  Various eating places are available on campus, near campus, and in town near the OSF theatres.  A grocery store is across the street from campus.  The cost of these meals will depend, of course, on your own choices, but I would recommend that you budget, if possible, at least $30 a day or $200 for the week for your lunches and dinners.  Although some days, to save time, we may break up into smaller groups for lunch, we will try to eat dinner together as a group.     

 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

A tentative schedule for the week is being sent to you by separate attachment.  Because this trip is designed to allow students to earn three (3) hours of credit in only six (6) days, our schedule in Ashland will be very full and demanding but also exciting and even exhilarating.  Students enrolled for academic credit are required to attend all performances, OSF presentations, and class sessions.