Hello,

I don't know if I should post here or in the USA forum, so I apologize if this isn't the best place.

My son just moved to go to school and play basketball in Marshalltown IA. I would like to fly there from LAX at the end of January (Fri-Tues) to see a couple of his games, BUT I am very nervous about this trip for several reason:

1. This will be only the 2nd trip I will take by myself (first one with flying). I took my first solo trip 4 months ago, but it was a road trip.

2. I have never driven in the snow and I understand that I should expect snow in Iowa in January.

3. I would like to take a red-eye flight available - depart 12:30a, arrive 8:35a with a 1:05 stop in MSP to change planes.
a. Plane from MSP to DSM is a small plane (Saab SF340 A/B). I'm very nervous about taking a small plane in an area with snowy, cold weather. I've never flown anywhere before where there is snow.
b. I've never taken a red-eye flight before. I don't have trouble sleeping on planes, but would this flight be a bad idea for me? I'm worried about being tired on arrival and then renting and trying to drive a car in the snow, which I'm very nervous about.

Am I just being a nervous Nelly? Or are my concerns justified?

There are hundreds of flights every day to regional airports and they are usually small planes. Nothing to worry about.

Red-eyes are great. If you have trouble sleeping, take a light over the counter sleeping pills about 1/2 hour before the flight. Get yourself comfy as soon as you board in LAX and next thing you know you will be in MSP.

I disagree about the red-eye. I have taken quite a few of these mid-con red-eyes, and you just cannot get enough sleep. LAX-MSP is similar to the LAX/SFO-IAH I've taken. Flight time about 3 hours. I can usually fall asleep before taking off, but they'll turn on the lights about 20 minutes before arrival to get you to return seatbacks, etc.

In the end, you'll be lucky to get 3 hours of sleeping time. I don't know about AAFF, but personally, I need 6-7 hours of sleep each night. Even 6-hour E. Coast to Europe red-eyes are way too short to get enough rest.

Anyways, there's nothing to worry about the plane ride. As for driving, it just depends on whether there was a storm that just came through. They do plow the main roads in Iowa, so the roads should be clear most of the time. If there's a storm or one that just comes through, then get off the road and don't risk you life and others.

I'd suggest that you not take the red-eye. Go a day earlier and take the daytime flight. You'll get a decent night's sleep in a hotel and you'll be in much better shape to enjoy the weekend.

Driving in winter conditions can be dangerous, especially if you're not used to them. Experience is the primary teacher, unfortunately. One good rule is to drive slowly if you see <i>any</i> snow, sand, or ice on the road.

Another vote for not taking the redeye. You are already nervous and it is not good to try too many new things, IMO.

rizutto,
I already am flying into Des Moines a day earlier (son's first game is 7p on Sat - I'm flying in on Fri). I've just never been to Iowa before and I have a thing about visiting capitol buildings. I'd like to visit the capitol in Des Moines and thought I could do it that first day plus do a *little* bit of sightseeing before driving to Marshalltown if I got in early. Maybe I could just take a late flight when I leave and visit the capitol the day I depart.

Re. driving somewhere with snow -- is there a difference in time of day? In other words, would it be best if I tried to avoid driving in the evening or night or early morning? (Sorry, I know this isn't a flying question. Geez, let's hope I'm not doing any flying while driving...)

Regarding driving in snow territory my advice is to not fret about it.

If it isn't actively snowing when you are there then you have nothing to worry about - they clear the roads after every snowfall.

If is actively snowing, then whether or not the roads are slippery depends on a number of things. Temperature &amp; snowfall rate being the most important.

If it's near freezing then the ground/roads will be warm enough to turn the 1st 1/2&quot; to 1&quot; into slush on the roads, and driving won't be really any different than rainy roads. If it's colder then snow won't melt on the roads and they will become slippery faster.

The amount and rate of snowfall makes the biggest difference. If the forecast is for an inch or less it's not going to be a big deal - just stay off the roads during the peak and you'll be fine. If it's a bigger snowfall, say 2-3 or more inches of snow then you'll want to make sure you stay off the roads till the snow passes and crews have time to clear the roads.

Driving at night definitely increases you risk. Most dangerous form of precipitation is freezing rain - many cars now come with an outside temperature thermometer, so if it's raining but outside is 28F or lower, you need to really watch out. And you can't see it at night.

Just drive slowly and carefully if you have no experience. Watch what other drivers are doing.

I don't think Des Moines in January is a place where there is a lot of sight seeing to do. I also think winter driving requires practice before you can do it safely; even in places where we have winters, there is always a period of a week or so after the first inclement weather when even experienced drivers have difficulty as they relearn what they already know.

So my suggestion would be that you don't drive at all (I know thats a difficult thing to picture for a Californian), and go directly to a hotel near the campus, using public transportation (your son should know how best to do this; the school might even have a van service), and thereafter get around by taxi. As to sightseeing, the fields and snow around campus will look just like those around Des Moines, and I suspect you would rather spend time with your son than viewing the state capital.

Thank you to everyone for your responses.

The thought of taking a solo trip doesn't really scare me. And, flying red-eye in a small plane and driving in snow wouldn't worry me if I had someone with me. I think it's just everything combined that has me worried.

It will certainly be an interesting trip, I'm sure. I'm a native So Californian who doesn't ski, so snow is not something I'm comfortable or familiar with. I think I've been to snow less than 10 times in my life and only one time when it was actually snowing.

<i>And, flying red-eye in a small plane</i>,

I doubt very much the red-eye from LAX to MSP is on the small plane.

Just took a quick look on www.nwa.com and it's a 757-300. That's not small.

I never said that the plane from LAX to MSP was in a small plane. As I said in my original post, I would change to a small plane in MSP as part of my flight from LAX to DSM.

Your 2:26 post had the followiing:

<b>flying red-eye in a small plane</b>

so, I just replied to that.

One other comment about driving in snow - make sure the car you get from the rental agency is a front wheel drive or all wheel drive. You do NOT want to be driving in snow for the first time in a rear wheel drive car. I'm from that area and most likely there will be no problems - but be cautious and if you are tired, use discretion and just stay somewhere in Des Moines and have someone come get you.

illnative, thanks for the tips about rental cars. Unfortunately, the only person I know in Iowa is my son in Marshalltown and he doesn't have a car. So, I have no choice but to either go and drive or not go at all.

Thanks to everyone's encouraging comments about driving where there's snow, I've feeling less nervous. I guess I just have to get used to the idea. By January, I think I should be fine and, hopefully, will actually be looking forward to the experience.

Thanks!

Driving in snow isn't that bad, just be cautious, drive slowly, pay 110% attention, and keep both hands on the steering wheel.

The hardest part is when there's &quot;black ice&quot; which rkkwan eludes to. It is almost impossible to spot at night.

Give yourself plenty of room to slow down/brake when driving in snow to avoid skidding.

rkkwan is right about not getting any sleep on the redeye. It is just too short a flight. I would not take any sleep aids for the flight because I would not want it to still be in effect when I arrived (at least make sure it is not some time-release drug!).

Driving in the afternoon would be the best time. The sun and warmer temps would have had had plenty of time to melt any ice that froze overnight. The road crews would have had time to clear overnight or morning storms. If you get on the road after a redeye then you might find some ice on the road.

If there is snow/ice on the road then drive at a steady pace but realize that most people are probably driving too fast for the conditions. Be gentle with the break. Actually avoid breaking: if you can, just take your foot off of the gas well in advance to slow down gradually. Avoid stopping - going 1 mph is better.

I don't have any problems sleeping on 3, 4, 5 hour red eyes. YMMV.

That would be more like a 2.5 hour nap. I recently flew LAX-PIT on a redeye and then drove to Cleveland immediately after arrival. Probably slept/napped 3.5 hours on the flight. When I got to Cleveland there was nothing I could do but zonk out in the lobby waiting for my room. That would have been about 9 or 10AM, about the time OP would be arriving DSM.

I think the lack of real sleep on the flight still affected me the next day in Pittsburgh. I thought the exit sign said only &quot;79 Erie&quot;, so I didn't take it. I wanted to go south. It was like tunnel vision and I only saw &quot;Erie&quot;. A couple of days later I saw that &quot;Washington&quot; (PA), my destination, actually was on those signs with Erie (the opposing direction).

I think jlaughs is young and she might fare fare better. Definitely, YMMV.