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
Queens is a crescent-shaped borough traversing the width of Long Island and including two of the major New York City area airports, LaGuardia (LGA) and John F. Kennedy International (JFK). It also carries the largest ethnic diversity in its area of any region in the world, divided into small enclaves. Jackson Heights, for example, includes a huge Indian area, followed by a Colombian area, and then a Mexican area. Each offers a wide array of authentic shops, native-style cuisine, and festivals modified only slightly by the generally colder New York City experience.
The geographical center of New York City is actually in Queens. Near this location, investors held the 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs. The area still includes an interesting museum and some architectural and artistic relics of the events (including the Unisphere, a 300 ton spherical grid of steel sculpted to look like the globe - as seen in Men In Black). The area is now called Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The northern end includes Shea Stadium and the U.S. Tennis Open stadium; further north still one can walk along the edge of a marina in Long Island Sound. The park also includes a science museum, a zoo, pedal-boats, and frequent special events.
For information on how to walk or bicycle to and from Queens, check http://www.transalt.org/. Except for the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges, all the bridges can be crossed by pedestrians and bicycles. Be prepared, however, for long walks - and don't forget that Queens is very, very big and not well-designed for a walking tour. Do not attempt this without a map!
Sadly, most Queens visitors spend their visit on a bus to or from LaGuardia Airport or JFK. A proper tour of Queens is worthwhile. It can be conducted by a chauffeur-driven limousine service, as the roads can be tough to navigate. Much of Queens (but unlike Manhattan, not all of it), including many of the most interesting parts, can be seen by subway. A trip on the 7 train, made nationally famous by the contempt of former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker, is a cultural experience in and of itself. The 7 runs elevated through most of Queens, so you'll be able to get a good sense of much of the borough through its windows. A good tour of Queens should include at least three meals in three different ethnic enclaves.
Other subways for getting around (and in and out of) Queens include the A, E, F, G, M, N, R, V & W. The Long Island Rail Road makes several stops in Queens: the main line runs through central Queens and the Port Washington line runs along the north shore (including a stop in Flushing).
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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)
