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.