Get Ready Your Thanksgiving Trip Holiday
By Joyce Jackson
In a very short time Americans will be off in masses for their Thanksgiving trip over the holiday. While staying home is the best advice the reality is that this holiday is the most heavily traveled in the country.
Regardless of the delays, exhaustion and memories of arguments from last year, we're all heading out for our yearly Thanksgiving trip again.
You can get ready and be less stressed than last year with a few easy Thanksgiving trip tips.
Pack light. Carry one soft side bag. During Thanksgiving Day holiday count on seeing long lines. Set your mind that delays will happen. If you pack light you can move around more easily while waiting for that late bus, train or plane.
Take a special book or magazine, and read anything from Thanksgiving recipes, Thanksgiving prayers to the first Thanksgiving story and other heartwarming Thanksgiving stories while waiting for those delay times. If you have something special to do while waiting the time goes much smoother. Pack low-sugar snacks and drinks. Thanksgiving Day travelers don't need a sugar rush while waiting or in cramped quarters.
Flying in for Thanksgiving Day
Arrive at the airport two hours prior to scheduled flight departure time, both on the outbound and inbound trips. This is once you get into the terminal. Build in extra time to park your car. Remember, lots and parking resources will be filled so making a reservation at an off site parking facility will help. Most of them take Thanksgiving Day holiday reservations with a deposit.
Stay Informed With Travel Advisories On Your Thanksgiving Trip. Stay in touch with real-time flight status on the airline's web before heading to the airport. If you have an e-ticket the kiosks and skip ticket counter lines. Most airlines have these now so use them. Consider full-service curbside check-in if you have ski, snowboard, golf or sporting equipment.
Expect to stand in long lines. Expect planes to be jammed. On board stowage space will be critically limited so again, take only one small soft side bag to slip under the seat. If you are taking a gift leave it unwrapped. Most security checkpoints will now require you to unwrap wrapped gifts. Better yet, mail it on ahead a few days before your plane flight.
Driving During Your Thanksgiving Trip
If you are hitting the road in your car and driving, make sure it's in good working order. Check you oil, water, washer fluid and tire pressure. Make sure you pack emergency supplies in case you get stranded. Take fresh containers of drinking water. If you are in colder areas take blankets and warm jackets, and tire chains de-icer.
Plan your Thanksgiving trip so you do not return on a Sunday. It's not recommended to drive on the Sunday after Thanksgiving Day. It is the worst, most traffic-heavy day of the year. Try leaving Saturday or staying through Monday.
Take Games During Your Thanksgiving Trip. Better yet, if your vehicle or laptop has a DVD player, take movies. There's no shame in a quiet, fight-free ride on the way home.
See you on the road!
About the Author: Joyce Jackson travels, writes and lectures extensively on simple, easy but great travel preparation so that you have a great trip each and every time with information, resources and articles on her website at
www.travel-packing-tips.com
Source: www.isnare.com
Long Island is, literally, a long island stretching eastward from New York City. The largely suburban area is approximately 115 miles long from Brooklyn and Queens at the western end, to Montauk at the easternmost point. At its widest the island is approximately 20 miles from north to south. While Long Island geographically includes Brooklyn and Queens, politically Long Island in general includes Nassau County and Suffolk County of New York State only.
The primary tourist attractions are the large number of excellent beaches along Long Island Sound to the north and especially along the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The North Fork is also home to many wineries. Other attractions include harbor towns such as Port Jefferson, where a variety of eateries and small businesses thrive in a bohemian atmosphere.
Long Island is essentially a suburban area throughout (except for the Twin Forks region, which is rural) and has few major cities.
There are many ways to get into Long Island: by plane, by train, by boat and by car. National and international airlines land and take-off at four major airports in Long Island. They are MacArthur Airport in Islip (which is a convenient regional airport centrally located on Long Island), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), LaGuardia Airport (LGA), and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), which is located to the west of the Island (and New York City) in the state of New Jersey.
Long Island Railroad (LIRR) provides service to and from the New York City area to most major towns on the Island. Be aware, however, that the farther from New York City one travels, the more sporadic service becomes.
If you prefer going in by boat, there are ferries available at the north shore of Long Island Sound.
When considering using a car or limousine service, one can take into account the many controlled-access highways that run through New York City from Connecticut and New Jersey. It is advisable, however, to travel on routes that do not cross Manhattan Island (where traffic is perpetually horrendous). From New Jersey, I-278 runs across Staten Island to Brooklyn where major roads (including Route 27 and the LIE) can be reached. From Connecticut, take I-95 South to I-678 and the Throgs Neck Bridge. Once into Queens, nearly every major thoroughfare is encountered while still heading south on 278.
A convenient way to bypass most traffic is to take a car ferry from either Bridgeport, CT to Port Jefferson (on the North Shore in the center of Suffolk County) or New London, CT to Orient Point (on the North Fork).
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Why use a limousine service in New York?
A limousine service can easily be substituted for a car service. The comfort and safety of having a chauffeur-driven limousine service is more valuable when traveling in and around New York. There are practically hundreds of limousine services in New York.
Look up other areas covered by New York NY Limo limousine services:
Limousine Service (Bronx) – Limousine Service (Brooklyn) – Limousine Service (Long Island) - Limousine Service (Manhattan) – Limousine Service (Queens) – Limousine Service (Staten Island) – Limousine Service (New York)
