trip to usa december/january

driving... in the dead of winter ...might be putting
themselves at unnecessary risk

I agree. Winter driving can often be slow and stressful, and can have
added risk. Plus days are shorter, and sightseeing can be much less
comfortable because of the cold.

If the original poster has a choice, I'd recommend vising northern
areas a different time of the year when the weather is nicer.

Jim

On Wed, 26 Apr 2006 13:45:21 -0700, Hatunen wrote:

On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 18:22:04 -0400, Dave Smith
wrote:

Bill wrote:



I also suggest skipping the Niagara Falls excursion this time. Going
direct from NYC to the Falls is a long, dull drive at the best of
times. The Buffalo/Niagara area is famous for bad weather in the
winter, and if you're not accustomed to driving in winter conditions
you could have a very unpleasant experience.

It's not bad weather. It is snow. You slow down a little on the roads and
it looks great. Road crews in that part of NY do a great job of sanding
and plowing the roads to keep traffic moving.

"Slow down a little"?? I've been on the Depew-Erie extension of
the Thruway when there was a raging blizzard going. When I
finally got to the toll booth I was exiting at (the next part of
the Thruway was closed) I told the toll taker they should pay ME.
And I was once on a bus travelling from Erie to Albany on old
US-20 (before the Thruway was complete) that arrived in Albany
twenty hours late.

I once took a train from New York City to Buffalo just after
Christmas. So much snow piled up on the platform between carriages
that it became impossible to pass from one carriage to another.

--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it.

On 26 Apr 2006 08:53:15 -0700, wrote:

Have you thought about Disney World instead of the Northeast?
I think your kids are going to be cold and homesick spending Christmas
in New York. I've lived in the Northesat all my life and visit New York
City every year in April/May or October but never in the winter.

I lived near New York City for years and always tried to get into the
city at least once in the Christmas season. Snow is rare in that area
in December; it usually arrives in January and especially February. It
could happen of course, but the city is always warmer than the
surrounding area and the snow disappears quickly. The streets and
sidewalks get cleared very quickly and getting around is no problem.
--
Barbara Vaughan

My email address is my first initial followed by my last name at libero dot it.

B Vaughan wrote:
...
I lived near New York City for years and always tried to get into the
city at least once in the Christmas season. Snow is rare in that area
in December; ...


Sure, NYC is fine.

That was not the issue, it was the planning to drive from NYC to
Pennsylvania, to Niagara Falls, and back to NYC that (most of us) feel
is not a good plan for that time of year.



--
Seinfeld Lists http://tinyurl.com/f7k9d
California Photos http://tinyurl.com/ann2l
Sawyer's Nicknames http://tinyurl.com/gowma

On Wed, 26 Apr 2006 20:28:13 -0400, Dave Smith
wrote:

Hatunen wrote:


That would be the exception rather than the rule.

Well, certainly. It doesn't take much in the way of exceptions to
ruin a perfectly good vacation, though.

It is a good thing for Florida's tourism business that people don't
avoid the state because of Hurricanes,

Arte you so certain that tourists don't avoid Florida during
hurricane season (aside from the fact that hurricane season is
the summer, not noted for tourism in Florida)?

and that people haven't avoided
Washington because of a volcano eruption 20 years ago,

25 years ago; I was there. Do you really think an event that may
occur on a timescale of hundreds of years compares to events that
happen a couple times a winter?

or New York City because people get mugged.

I've known people who won't go to NYC because of that very thing.

We had a nasty blizzard here 29 years ago.
There was about 4 feet of snow where I live and most of the roads in the
area were closed for days. It was the worst blizzard that we had had in
more than 100 years, and there hasn't been anything like it since. By
your reckoning, the risk is still there.

Where are you? You haven't said, or it got lost in the thread.
And do you really think that saying that is a way of attracting
tourists?

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

Hatunen wrote:

It is a good thing for Florida's tourism business that people don't
avoid the state because of Hurricanes,

Arte you so certain that tourists don't avoid Florida during
hurricane season (aside from the fact that hurricane season is
the summer, not noted for tourism in Florida)?

I would avoid Florida any time in the summer because I melt in extreme heat.

and that people haven't avoided
Washington because of a volcano eruption 20 years ago,

25 years ago; I was there. Do you really think an event that may
occur on a timescale of hundreds of years compares to events that
happen a couple times a winter?

You never can tell about the way some people deal with risk factors. I
consider volcanoes to be extreme calamity. Snow is just a weather condition.


We had a nasty blizzard here 29 years ago.
There was about 4 feet of snow where I live and most of the roads in the
area were closed for days. It was the worst blizzard that we had had in
more than 100 years, and there hasn't been anything like it since. By
your reckoning, the risk is still there.

Where are you? You haven't said, or it got lost in the thread.
And do you really think that saying that is a way of attracting
tourists?

I am in the middle of the Niagara Peninsula.

On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 14:37:51 -0400, Dave Smith
wrote:

Hatunen wrote:

It is a good thing for Florida's tourism business that people don't
avoid the state because of Hurricanes,

Arte you so certain that tourists don't avoid Florida during
hurricane season (aside from the fact that hurricane season is
the summer, not noted for tourism in Florida)?

I would avoid Florida any time in the summer because I melt in extreme heat.

and that people haven't avoided
Washington because of a volcano eruption 20 years ago,

25 years ago; I was there. Do you really think an event that may
occur on a timescale of hundreds of years compares to events that
happen a couple times a winter?

You never can tell about the way some people deal with risk factors. I
consider volcanoes to be extreme calamity. Snow is just a weather condition.

Then don't camp on volcanoes. The damage from the eruption was
minor where we were (Richland and Kennewick). In fact, I was
unaware tha the eruption had occured until about three hours
later when the ash began to gently settle on Richland.


************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

Hatunen wrote:


Then don't camp on volcanoes. The damage from the eruption was
minor where we were (Richland and Kennewick). In fact, I was
unaware tha the eruption had occured until about three hours
later when the ash began to gently settle on Richland.


Were you living in a cave? I heard about it on the radio, and I live about 2,000
miles away from there.

On 2006-04-27 14:37:51 -0400, Dave Smith said:

Hatunen wrote:

We had a nasty blizzard here 29 years ago.
There was about 4 feet of snow where I live and most of the roads in the
area were closed for days. It was the worst blizzard that we had had in
more than 100 years, and there hasn't been anything like it since. By
your reckoning, the risk is still there.

Where are you? You haven't said, or it got lost in the thread.
And do you really think that saying that is a way of attracting
tourists?

I am in the middle of the Niagara Peninsula.

The famous Blizzard of '78! We lived through it too, in Cleveland.

It was even weirder because it got into the 50's the day before. There
had been lots of rain and I was trying to siphon a mess of water out of
our driveway. Then it started to get cold and I had to move the hose
before it froze. Was I glad the next day that I had!

But they have blizzards fairly often in Cleveland. There were at least
two the year before.

On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 15:18:58 -0400, Dave Smith
wrote:

Hatunen wrote:


Then don't camp on volcanoes. The damage from the eruption was
minor where we were (Richland and Kennewick). In fact, I was
unaware tha the eruption had occured until about three hours
later when the ash began to gently settle on Richland.

Were you living in a cave? I heard about it on the radio, and I live about 2,000
miles away from there.

It was a Sunday morning, and we spent it getting ready to go to
church. We didn't turn on a radio or a TV. Remember, for us the
eruption happened about 8am. For you Easterners it happened about
11am.

In retrospect, I realized that it was what had rattled our big
glass sliding door. And the ash clouds, which reached Richland
about the time church was out, were awesome.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *