On 24 Apr 2006 20:00:40 -0700, "cora" wrote:
Hi all
I am new to groups etc so please bear with me
We are leaving australia on Dec 6th to travel to usa. We will be
hiring a car and driving from SF to LA. About 10 days in LA/Anaheim
then to San deigo, barstow (to see Calico Ghost Town - is it worth
is??) We have 3 kids age 13, 10 and 7 so I thought it would be good
for them. Then to Grand Canyon via Kingman. Grand canyon for maybe 3
nights then out to Durango - Mesa Verde. Is this worth a look?
Then off to Page, St George for 1 night then Las Vegas for 3 nights.
From Las Vegas we plan to fly to New York and MAYBE drive to Niagara
Falls.
Niagara Falls is about a 9 hour drive from New York City and winter is
not a great time to visit. Skip it, is my advice.
I am really worried about how cold it is over there in winter and also
if it would be too crowded in New York before Christmas.
The shops over here get absolutely mad pre-xmas, so I was wondering if
it the same over there.
It is hard to say how cold it will be -- I remember one New York
Christmas when the temperature was 65F. Now that was unusual, of
course and you should prepare for cold weather with a warm jacket,
hat and gloves. Book a hotel well ahead. As for other "crowding"
there are plenty of restaurants and the city is very festive. Yes,
the shops do a good business but there are lots of them to
choose from.
Also I wasn't planning on booking any accommodation before I left.
probably only, Anaheim and new York. should I book the Grand Canyon?
at that time of the year.
Probably always a good idea to book the Grand Canyon in advance.
It was suggested to me to stay in Queens and take the subway as it is
much cheaper than staying in hte centre of New York.
That would be a mistake. There are not that many hotels in Queens
convenient to Manhattan. And it isn't all that much cheaper. Most of
the decent hotels in Queens are around the airports and you really
would not want to travel that far on the subway to get into
Manhattan where all the things you will want to do are located.
In fact, you can't get to many of them on the subway.
Book as early as you can as the hotels fill up and you will have a
better chance of finding a moderately priced room early on.
Any part of Manhattan would be fine -- you need not stay in the
Times Square area. You will be able to get around easily on bus
and subway.
Also where would be the best place to spend Christmas Day, if we were
in new York.
Take that day for a visit to Chinatown. Nothing closes there and
there are dozens of good restaurants. I once took visitors there on
Christmas Day and we had a fine time.
Here is a website that describes some of the things to do in New York
during the Christmas season:
http://www.nyctourist.com/xmas_in_nyc_calendar2.htm
It will be very strange not having Christmas with our family. It will
be the first Christmas EVER we have spent without them!!
Any advice at all would be much appreciated
If you have other questions, just ask.