Is this US trip do-able?
 

Mr N has been invited (well both of us) to visit a friend in NY over the Xmas period. His plan has now expanded to include visiting 2 other friends.

Kansas City 2 nights
Dallas 2 nights
NY - 3 nights.

Right now Im kinda thinking this is a bit nuts...but maybe it is do-able after all.

Any comments? Advice? How would we get from one place to another as quickly as poss? What do you think?

Or would it be more do-able if we treated it as more of a road trip and just stopping one night with each of his friends? Would this be an interesting 'road trip' route?

Ok lets start with this premise... whether you drive or fly traveling is at least taxing if not arduous. Its one thing to make one stop to visit a friend..but three friends?
You both have to be very social people. Personally after a long day of driving the last thing I want to do is spend the night up chit chatting.

Where are you starting, and how are you travelling. If not by air, then, no, it isn't doable. And even by air,it doesn't look like fun to me.

Nona,

This isn't something I would want to do, especially during the Christmas holidays when weather could be a major factor in flying or driving.

I would visit 1 friend, and enjoy another destination nearby for the rest of your week.

NY is the logical choice with the most to offer for a week long visit.

There is no way you can drive that trip - distances are just too far and there is the possibility of running into bad weather (snow/ice) on the roads.

You could do it by air if you really want. but air travel at that time is typically very busy and you also have the problem of potential delays/diversions due to bad weather.

Separately, is there some particular reason for visiting those 2 cities? IMHO, neither is exactly a hotbed of tourism - esp in winter.

With so little time I would stay in NYC. Or - if you really want to see something else just grab an Amtrak to DC for 2 days (not affected by weather unless there is a LOT of snow and takes only about 4 hours).

For some perspective - driving from NYC to Kansas City would take more than 19 hours - without any stops at all - and not allowing for likely bad weather - which could double that time.

Reason for the cities--they are visiting friends.

Driving is not doable. As for flying, by the time you travel to the airport with sufficient time to check in, fly to the new destionation, and get out of the new airport to visit the next friend, you have lost the better part of a day. You are really looking at a day each in KC and Dallas, and 2 days in NYC at best. It would be like trying to visit London, Athens, and St. Petersburg in a week. You could do it, but would you enjoy it?

I thought it was you who posted some time ago about being anti-social if you did not sit on people's sofas and chat instead of seeing NYC.

This trip has disaster written all over it. First you were going to NYC and were concerned about being rude if you actually wanted to see something other than Mr N's friends' living rooms. Now the trip has added Dallas and Kansas City - where you will undoubtedly be expected to do the same.

So let me get this straight, you spend a week in 3 cities visiting people you hardly know from Mr N's past and the whole time you are there you are expected to sit on various sofas and chat about the good old days - after spending hideous amounts of time either in the car or fighting Christmas crowds and inevitable weather delays to get to the 3 cities.

And this would be a good idea why? Even if logistics work perfectly, it sounds like something it might be possible to endure - but not much fun.

Would it be possible for you to stay in NYC alone and see the sights and meet up with Mr N at the airport on the way home. Or come up with a terrible illness or injury so you don't go at all. Since you asked for comments and advise, that is mine.

Did you bother to look at a map?

If the distances alone weren't enough to tell how silly an idea it is, please reread the posts telling you how insane it is to do it over the Christmas holidays. Driving or flying you'll be with ten million of your newest BFFs and you'll likely be travelling in snow, ice or freezing rain.

Stay in the New York the full week or better yet make the trip at another time of year.

Let's do a Europe comparison. If anyone posted here (and some do) that they are thinking of 2 nights in Munich, 2 nights in Barcelona, and 3 nights in London -- they'd be attacked unmercifully!

Gail - yep you got it in a nutshell!

I got told the revised idea last night and now I'm just thinking about what the trip would be like logistics-wise.

Mr N doesn't mind 'cos it's his chance to see friends he hasn't seen in years.

...but I'm starting to think it's a trip he'll be doing on his own! I need a good way out as it's REALLY antisocial to just not even go.

Oh - and I misheard - it is DULLES not DALLAS.

I'm trying to google everything up but if someone happens to know roughly how long flight is from Kansas to Dulles then Dulles to NY I'd appreciate it!

OK, but where do the "friends" live -- surely not AT Dulles Airport? Taking a train from D.C. to NYC is often a FAR better option than flying for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is time -- both check-in time and transportation time to and from the airport.

Cut out Kansas City (although I don't know where you're coming from) and it starts looking a little more doable.

By "Dulles" as in the airport(?) you mean the Washington DC area then? You can take the train from NYC to Wash DC easy enough.

Kansas City is no where near, you'd need to fly that piece.

Nona - Mr Gail and I have been married 28 years. We have learned that if he forces me (or I him) to go on something as one-sided as this, we both regret it.

I suggest you do a search in the Lounge section on various ailments - we have discussed viruses, heart disease, cancer and shingles recently. Pick one. Find a friendly MD to say you have it and are contagious.

Technically doable, yes. Best if you have a private jet at your disposal.

It sounds like a horrible trip to me. 4 or 5 airports in 7 days, yuck. Even flight attendants aren't forced to do that.

Horrible time of year for Kansas City. There is no city called Dulles.

Evidently you haven't looked at a map or googled driving distances.

The only Dulles I know is one of 3 airports that serve Washington DC. If that's the Dulles you mean, then I agree with the above advice to take the train between Washington and NYC.

nona1,

I still don't get where YOU live!

How about this, if these friends are so important to husband.

Fly to NY and visit and SIGHTSEE. Train to DC and visit and SIGHTSEE. That will get you off the couch.

Skip the friends in Kansas City - it's too far. Instead, invite them to travel to visit you next year.

She is looking to go to Dallas, not Dulles. It was someone elses typo that stated Dulles in a subsequent post. Personally, I would just visit NYC and skip the other 2

Nevermind, I just saw her post that stated it was Dulles and not Dallas. That is baffling.

If it is indeed DC, you could do the 2 of them and skip KC.

Have the Kansas City friends join you in NYC.

You train bewteen NYC and Washington DC (though I'm not sure why anyone's calling it Dulles, because that's an airport not a city name).

Any of this is "doable". You can fly and spend 2 nights in virtually any 3 US cities you'd pick. Just buy tickets & go to the airport(s).

Kansas City at Christmas time is actually one of the loveliest times to see the city, most specifically the Plaza lights. Unfortunately, It is also one of the most difficult times weatherwise. You could get lucky, but you could also get ice storms that make it difficult to get in or out. Not saying they always happen, but they do happen.

KC would be about 2 1/2 hour flight from LaGuardia or Washington National. You can get direct flights on Midwest, which is my preference for flying to both of these places. That is, if that is what you really want to do. I avoid flying at all costs at those times of year.

Nona1 lives in the UK - so we are talking about transatlantic on top of everything else.

nona1: Please do clarify where the 2nd friend lives. Few people would list "Dulles" as a destination since it is just an airport. Sort of like saying "Manchester 2 nights, CDG 2 nights, London 3 nights".

In a week you certainly <i>could</i> manage a bit of NYC and Washington DC (if that is where friend #2 lives) taking the train between the two cities. Kansas City is the outlier - no way, no how would KC fit in the mix.

Friends or not, I'm not leaving NYC for KC or Dallas. Let's be reasonable.

I live directly in the middle of Dallas and KC. Frankly, there isn't much to do in between the cities. While I find these cities are good places for us to shop and dine, they really aren't tourist destinations. The drive between the two would be 8-10 hours, not counting for any snow. There are no snow plows in Oklahoma, when it snows 2 inches schools can be closed for several days at a time.

spiro, you failed to read the thread. Dallas has no part in this.

nona, some of the happiest married couples I know take separate vacations. Have you considered that this may be a good opportunity to try that?

It is both &quot;doable&quot; and &quot;nuts&quot; imho.

Hi thanks everyone!

I know I sound like an ignorant idiot and I HAVE been doing my own research as well - but I just thought it would be good to pick your brains as well. I must admit in the hope of everyone saying 'No. Don't do it!'...

I don't know where friend 2 is. All I was told was 'Dulles' and I later asked Mr N where 'Dulles' was and he said he didn't know. Neither of us realised it is just an airport name, we thought maybe it was a small town in the Washington area.

Train between Washington and NY sounds good and Kansas sounds awful for this trip. So I'll see if we can just do those 2 cities instead.

If he really has to do all 3 then I'm staying home. 2 transatlantic flights, then zooming around just visiting his old friends (2 of whom I've never even heard of before) all in a week, no thanks. Never been to the US and I don't want that for my first trip.

Fingers crossed we can cut down to those two locations as that sounds 'doable' to me, and will leave us time for sightseeing as well.

Thanks again!

&quot;He is a great friend and we must disrupt our lives to go visit him at the worst travel time of the year, without regard to cost or inconvenience. And you, my wife, must go with me as he is such a dear friend, even though he's never been important enough for me to mention him once in the years we've been married. By the way, I don't have a clue where this very dear friend even lives, since I've never written him or heard from him or called him or gotten a phone call from him.&quot;

nona, I don't know your ages, but seriously -- your husband could be ill and may need to see a doctor. I had friends who when a distant relative suddenly became the only living relative of a man, he insisted they pack up and move to be close to her -- even though they hadn't had contact in years. It was the beginning of a diagnosis of some fairly serious medical problems.

This gets curiouser and curiouser. Nona, coming from the UK, why don't you take a little longer and have a nice trip.
As it stands, go to NYC and Washington (that would be &quot;Dulles&quot;). But I think all NYC sounds like the most SANE thing to do.

A one week trip from the UK, including NYC and Washington DC, going between the two by train, at Christmas, could be a nice trip.

It's all the other circumstances (visiting dear friends when you don't even know where they live! etc.) that seems a bit much.

OH. I missed that nona is coming from the UK.

That is even more curious. By the way, has the husband been in touch with these &quot;close friends&quot;? Do you even know they will be sitting around waiting for a visit from you at Christmas? Many people travel during that time.

Some of you may also have missed nona's earlier post indicating just a trip to NYC but saying that Mr. Nona and friends were going to sit around on the sofa and chat and that she would not get to see any of NYC.

Driving between the east coast and Kansas City is out. Too snowy and too far.

Check this site:

www.kayak.com

Put in your possible days to be in Kansas City leaving from all the various New York (JFK, LGA, EWR) and Washington DC airports (IAD, DCA, BWI). Flying at Christmas time is crazy, but at least you can check times and prices. Prices for this time of year are going to be going up, up, and up as they fill.

I think NYC and DC are doable and nice destinations over the Christmas period with proper expectations and planning.

I've done my share of sofa sitting and so has my husband. It's part of being married. I think early on its a mix of wanting to show off your spouse and wanting your spouse to share whatever you found so special about old friends/relatives, sort of getting the worlds to merge. Sometimes it is fun when the personalities and interests mix. Sometimes it is boring.

On our first trip to London we spent an entire afternoon in a nondescript restaurant with one of my husband's high school friends. I would have much preferred to be out sightseeing as I found the fellow pretentious, but it was important to my husband. My husband spent an afternoon sitting on a dairy farm porch swing--even herded goats back into their pen--without so much of a complaint because the people were my parents' best friends for years.

We always agree ahead of time--2 days of couch sitting followed by 1 day of vacation or vice versa with the accompanying spouse getting to choose the activity. We also limit the number of days/nights we stay with friends/relatives, insisting on some hotel nights to get some alone time. Sometimes we accept the invitation of our hosts to do some activity together, but the accompanying spouse has to agree and not be put on the spot to refuse the host's offer if unwanted. We often then claim the alone time is to make up for a missed birthday, anniversary, etc., not because we wouldn't want to spend every waking and sleeping minute with old friends/relatives.

My husband is off to his high school reunion in a few weeks and I am not going this time. I went twice before. Each time we went to the reunion and visited his relatives for 1-2 days, then went to NYC for 1 day, destination my choice. My work interferes this time and I can't say I am sorry, though I will miss out on a day in NYC.

Neo - lol like the take but no, it's not like that, honestly. These aren't 'dear' friends as such just old school friends but they all stay in touch. I've met a few of them when they visit the UK, but there's lots of them, so I don't really know about any of the others. Not that interested I suppose! They just all love to go visiting each other when they are in the same country. I guess the one lives near Dulles airport, so he said Dulles thinking we'd be flying in.

Kay - yes you just have to do this stuff sometimes. I inflict some of my friends on Mr N sometimes too...

Washington plus NY should be a nice little trip, even with a certain amount of couch-sitting small talk :-)

Def got to make Mr N drop Kansas! Actually the Kansas guy is someone we see 2 or 3 times a year when he visits the UK anyway, so it's not such a big deal to visit him (as far as I can see) so shouldn't be a problem.

Scratching Kansas from the plans.

Thanks!

Oh dear, spoke too soon...seems me and Mr N had two completely different conversations when we last discussed all this.

Sigh. Kansas back on the list.

I've been given the option to just go to NY on my own and meet him there after he's travelled around, but I don't really want to spend the Xmas period on my own in a strange city.

I'm really thinking I'll just stay home now. :-(

Thanks for all the input.

Nona - all hope is not lost. Have you priced out the Kansas flying portion? Fares at Christmas will be sky high! We don't have a nice Ryanair or Easyjet sort of thing over here and Christmas time is crazy expensive.

My advice is price out this trip for him and let him choke on that for a day or two.

NYC at Christmas time would be beautiful. I would come if I were you and stay in New York while he does his crazy Kansas bit. Go to the spa, go shopping, see a show. Have some nice alone time. NY doesn't bite and you will be fine in our country.

Oh, but also check hotel prices in New York for Christmas time. It really is crazy expensive to travel at that time of the year. If you wait two weeks, it will be half the price.