Midwest & More Road Trip Discussion (Pre-departure)

[FeAudrey]

Photo gallery, scenes of Branson before and after the tornado:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ky3-bran ... otogallery

[HostDave]

Great pics, thanks for posting the link.

I contemplated skipping Branson after this, but they're basically begging people to come now. So, we'll keep the plan as it was, but will probably have to choose a different hotel. Both of the Hiltons are closed due to damage.

[HostDave]

I have a question for you midwesterners....

We might have to postpone this trip to the fall (one of our dogs is on a downward spiral), so my question is when does the weather start to get nasty? We usually can't leave here until the end of October due to fire season. Would that put us too late in the fall for Chicago, or is that a good time to be there?

By the way, if we do put off this trip, we'll substitute a shorter road trip to Arizona in May instead.

[FeAudrey]

... when does the weather start to get nasty?

Early November would definitely place you after the fall colors, and into jacket weather. But it won't be all that different from the weather you could expect on your original schedule.

The weather can turn nasty at any time, so scheduling can be a matter of having alternate plans for indoor vs. outdoor activities.

If you postpone to the fall, I'd suggest thinking of pushing it back to early December, for all the Christmas stuff -- Chicago and Branson both go in for Christmas in a big way.

[HostDave]

I'm hoping we can stick to the current schedule, but if we can't we'll probably arrive in the Chicago in mid/late October.

The dog saw the vet today and there isn't technically anything wrong with him other than being thirteen years old with a compressed spine (he's a BIG dog.) We're going to increase his drugs for a few weeks and see if that helps stabilize him. He sucked it up and acted fine for the vet, of course.

[HostDave]

We're pressing ahead with the original schedule as things have improved with the dog for now. Keep your fingers crossed that there are no further setbacks.

I've uncovered some issues with the itinerary and small-town events filling hotels, so there will be a couple of minor adjustments I am aware of right now.

[HostDave]

The last of our reservations are made and everything seems to be in order for our departure next week. We're going to have a private transfer to the station in Fullerton rather than hauling luggage on the commuter train from nearby Oceanside. Needless to say, it is expensive!

I will be closing this thread right before we leave and will start a new one so you don't have to wade through from the beginning to talk about the "on the road" portion of the trip.

[Marybeth]

Do they have internet on the train? I am so interested in your train trip. My mom loved traveling by train and insisted that we(my sisters and I and my mom) travel each year to Florida. My dad flew in a couple of days later and met us.

[HostDave]

I don't expect to have internet on the train, but I will have my mobile card that I hope will work when we're traveling through a town. I wouldn't want you to wait two whole days for an update! I'll do my best to post updates along the way.

[FeAudrey]

Most of the operators of river and lake cruises have announced that they are starting their seasons early, mostly this weekend. So you will be able to do one if you are interested.

The standard trip is the 90-minute combined lake-and-river cruise, but they range from 30 minutes to two hours on lake or river or both; prices are in the neighborhood of $10 per half-hour for sightseeing cruises.

There are architecture, general interest, and lunch/dinner cruises -- probably still a little early for evening itineraries, which include the Buckingham Fountain display and sometimes fireworks. The Chicago Architecture Foundation trips are the gold standard for the architecture buff, and cost a little more.