My family and I are visiting the U.S.A from November 14th - 25th. It's a trip we are taking at very short notice. We are starting in San Francisco then to Boston and New York. I have lots of questions. What will the weather be like and what clothing will be suitable.
Also I have just realised we will be in New York for Thanksgiving. How crazy will it be? Will the stores be open. Will getting into New York from Boston on the 20th be a problem?
thanks

You can check temp averages on various website, like www.weather.com.

Boston will be the coldest place you visit. November average high is 52F (11C), and low is 38F (3C). Pretty chilly.

Most stores are closed in the US for Thanskgiving Day, which is Thursday, November 22nd, though convenient stores and supermarket may be open in the morning. Friday, November 23rd, is called "Black Friday", and it's the biggest shopping day in the US, which stores having crazy sales and some opening as early as 6am.

November 20th will be a very heavy travel day in the US. If you're traveling by bus or train, you need to book tickets very very soon, as they can sell out.

You can watch the very famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC on Thanksgiving. It and the Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Years Day are the most famous parades in the US! It is broadcase nationwide on Thanksgiving morning.

Since you will be here over Thanksgiving, go and WATCH the parade, there will only be a few hundred thousand of our closest friends and it makes for a very fun day. Bring warm clothing, or you might pick up some extra sweaters/sweatshirt/longjohns depending on the temps that day,

The Parade is on Broadway from the 70's down to 34th ST.

I'm sure there are a few websites you can find with more detail.

Have a WONDERFUL time while you are here.

Thank you for such prompt responses.
Another question however. Will places of interest and restaurants be closed for Thanksgiving?
thanks

Depends on where. Check websites of places you want to visit.

For example, Empire State Building is open 365 days a year.

Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA are both closed on Thanksgiving Day.

Many restaurants are closed Thanskgivingn evening, though some may be open for lunch.

Just remember, Thanksgiving is a big deal in the US. It's as important as, if not more important, a holiday as Christmas.

There are always ethnic restaurants opened in NYC. One tradition we have is to go Indian restaurants on Christmas Day (It used to be Chinese restaurants.) Although Thanksgiving and Fourth of July are the most American of holidays, many first generation Americans work on those days.

A few years ago, we were leaving on a trip the Saturday after Thanksgiving for an interantional trip. On Thanksgiving Day I realized my passport expired two weeks previously. That day at 4 PM, I found a local store that made passport pictures (immigtants) and found a service that expeditied passports whom I met first thing Friday morning. (Young people in need of money.)

Whatever the religious or national holiday there is always someone or something opened.

As long as you are not driving in Manhattan, you will have not trouble Thanksgiving Day. You can do what many NY'ers do is to head underground and take the subway.

Please note that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year, as people start their Christmas shopping. And that the Wednesday before is one of the worst days for driving.

By the way, as a native NY'er, you are visiting my three favorite cities in the country. At one time you could have added New Orleans, but the disgrace that is our presidency, no longer allows that inclusion.

A lot of grocery stores with delis and other restaurants with take out will be selling Thanksgiving meal. You might want to order one and have a nice dinner in your room. Or find a restaurant that will be open to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal. It would be fun for you I think to experience. Why don't you e-mail your hotel and ask for suggestions? You might have to make reservations in advance.

You should be able to find restaurants open on Thanksgiving, even some serving Thanksgiving dinner if you want to try that
http://nymag.com/guides/holidays/tha.../reservations/

Getting to NY from Boston on the 20th--the really bad travel day for drivers is the Wednesday rather than Tuesday. If you are going by train you might have trouble on Tuesday as ridership is high that week.

I agree you have to check individual site information to see which places are open on Thanksgiving. I just checked Lower East side Tenement Museum and Ellis Island, two sites I highly recommend in NYC. the first is closed on Thanksgiving but Ellis and Liberty Island are open every day except Christmas
http://www.nps.gov/elis/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Also, do you have hotel reservations yet? You should be planning now (since you can't plan yesterday LOL).

Even if you don't find an independent restaurant open on Thanksgiving, most hotel restaurants will be open and serving a traditional Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, candied yams, etc.). We've done that, even without reservations, but plan to wait for awhile for a table.

Use Thanksgiving day to watch part of the parade, and wander through the different ethnic neighborhoods, there easy to get to by walking , bus, or subway. I'm sure Chinatown has restaurants open & little Italy is right there too. For your dinner, the Waldorf Astoria, Helmsley Palace, or Trump plaza will be opened and very very good.

N.Y. will be busy, or as you say (crazy) with people that come in the city from the ouskirts, Rockerfeller Plaza is there goal. Also, just browsing in the store windows that time of the year is impressionable.
Theres so much to see besides the museums .etc. Go through central park and enjoy all thats there. You could even go to Harlem these days and have a good soul-thanksgiving meal. I'm jealous! wish I was going

Suedownunder,
To get an interesting insight into how big a deal shopping in America is the day after Thanksgiving, pick up a New York Times that morning. It will be the fattest newspaper of the year. Read the ads, the number of inserts from the retailers is staggering. Some stores really do open at 6 AM, people set their alarms and many places have special pricing for the early risers.

The day is invigorating though. It will seem like everyone in the city is out on the streets that day, and all the stores will already be decorated for Christmas. I love it, my husband hates it!!

You biggest issue will be finding a hotel in NYC. This is the busiest and most expensive week of the year and many hotels are already sold out. You need to find a cancellable hotel TODAY that you can live with - then look further to see if you can find something better.

Try kayak.com and travelzoo.com to see what they have available. And realize that many hotel rooms in NYC hold only 2 people (one double or two twin beds) - so you will need either a double double room (will hold 4 in 2 double beds) or a suite or more than 1 room - depending on the bed configuration you need.

Weather on Thanksgiving can be iffy. You might get a day with 50 degrees - or you might get cold and snow (although more than an inch or so is rare before Christmas.)

If you want a restaurant traditional Thanksgiving dinner you should reserve early (since those places open are usually full and have set seatings). Check out menupaages.com to see which places are open on Thanksgiving. Or - you can go t one of the ethnic places that doesn't do the traditional turkey dinner.

Many things are closed on Thanksgiving - but in addition to those listed - and the parade - Top of the Rock is open, as is the (free) Staten Island ferry (giving a great view of the harbor, Statue of Liberty and southern tip of Manhattan).

Thanks for all the great replies guys.
We have booked hotels. In New York its the RED ROOF INN, sounds OK can't be as bad as some places I stayed in last year in Europe!
I'm looking forward to the whole Thanksgiving experience and the shopping afterwards.
Thanks again

Your Manhatttan hotel is right in the thick of things, jsut around the corner from Macy's on 34th and Broadway, which is where the parade ends. Thanksgiving Day in that area will be hectic to say the least--diverted traffic, hordes of parade participants and bystanders--as will the rest of the weekend as the shoppers come out. Get in the right frame of mind and try to enjoy a real NY experience--Christmas craziness on 34th St.

sue - need any info on the Boston leg of your trip? Also, I just checked some websites for Bruce tickets and $500 is about average going price for pretty decent seats.

Cindy, we paid $700 for our second lot of tickets bought on our behalf by our hotel in Boston.
Haven't thought much about Boston. I know there is an emormous history here. We will check out the "Freedom Trail".
We will have 2 full days with the concerts in the evenings.
Any suggestion?

Unfortunately, the weather in Boston in late Nov. can be pretty cold and rainy. If its nice, the Freedom Trail, or parts of it, can be great. Go down to Fanuel hall area. Your 16 year old don/daughter(?) may also enjoy going to Harvard Square in Cambridge, checking out the cool college shops including the Harvard Coop - their official bookstore. A great shop for music and poster, etc. What else might be of interest to you? The Museum of Science has a cool IMax theater and sometimes cool exibits, also the Aquarium is pretty good there. Both would be good indoor activities. You can dine near the concert hall in the North End, the Italian area. I actually don't get to Boston too often anymore so I'm stretching for info in my brain. Try posting on the Mass board and I'm sure you'll get better info. NY at Thanksgiving is going to be a ZOO, but its something I've always wanted to do and as long as you know what you're in for it will be fun. Definitely see the parade. I've heard that if you go up to Central Park early in the morning you can see the balloons being inflated. You should also see the skating at Rockefeller plaza and maybe the Today show stuff. Post on the NY board. Take the staten Island ferry for a free ride and great views of the Statue of Liberty and the skyline. Nice to schedule at sundown so you see the city in daylight and then when the lights are coming up. There should also be great shows for all of you, try getting tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square for half price but be prepared to wait in line a while.

Great post Cindy, thank you.
I bought tickets for "Chicago" this morning. I thought that given it will be Thanksgiving week the queues for discounted tickets would be extra long so now at least I will have them to the show my daughter wants to see.
Thanks for the tip about Harvard Coop, my daughter is seriously into music and wants to come home with a lot of hard to get vinyl.
I will have to bring my wet weather gear out of mothballs! We haven't needed here in Sydney for a long time..........