The Amazing Race Series 2! Another Canada / USA Road Trip!

[dopson]

If you are struggling to find places to eat in DC. I would recommend ebbitt/ this was recommended to me before we went last year and couldnt fault it really.

DX was the favourite of NYC, Boston and Washington for the 3 of us and we are definitely going to go back.

Have you thought of booking a tour of the Pentagon, Capital Hill and thought about a hop on hop off bus?

When you say Fee Free Amex? Do you mean you are not paying the annual fee or do you mean there is no fee for the conversion rate similar to the Halifax Clarity card? If you mean the later, do tell me more

[neilhd]

Originally Posted by dopson

If you are struggling to find places to eat in DC. I would recommend ebbitt/ this was recommended to me before we went last year and couldnt fault it really.

DX was the favourite of NYC, Boston and Washington for the 3 of us and we are definitely going to go back.

Have you thought of booking a tour of the Pentagon, Capital Hill and thought about a hop on hop off bus?

When you say Fee Free Amex? Do you mean you are not paying the annual fee or do you mean there is no fee for the conversion rate similar to the Halifax Clarity card? If you mean the later, do tell me more

See more...

Thanks for the recommendation. I decided against the Capital building tour as I don't think our DS (11) will find it that interesting. Same probably goes for the Pentagon. We've got enough to do to fill our time I think. If we run out then one of the things you mention will be top of the list!

By Fee Free I mean both, actually. It's an MBNA Amex that doesn't charge a fee on foreign transactions (and has no annual fee) - same as the Clarity card I think. Doesn't earn Avios though and there's no signup bonuses or anything.

If you want an Amex that does earn Avios and is fee-free I think there is a Lloyds one. I was thinking of applying for one.

[neilhd]

OMG, it is now time for the SDD!

Preparations have moved on somewhat. In the past week I've managed to fit in having a birthday, ordering a new car, selling loads of old stuff to CEX, and then using the proceeds to buy 2 new shiny iPads (well, new to me, second-hand from CEX!) that I've put a bunch of films on. I took a couple of days off for my birthday which gave me some time to do all this. I ended up ordering the car on my birthday, only because I had that day off though. Of course now it's become classified as a birthday present and therefore will get mentioned at every future birthday ("Well, you got a CAR for your birthday, why can't I have x?"). Despite the fact I won't actually get it until November at the earliest. And the fact I'm paying for it!

I've also done all of the printing and organising. Road trips with multiple hotels and activities in different cities require a whole new level of planning compared to 2 weeks in a single place in Florida, where the only worry is what fast passes to book, which are all managed in a single app anyway.

So I've got a folder, with 14 individual plastic sleeves inside, each of which contains a summary of info for the day, printouts of flight details, car hire details or hotel details (depending on the day), driving directions to each hotel, walking directions to any place we are visiting, tickets for anything I've bought to do, and Joe's daily Amazing Race clue (which are now all printed, cut and sealed into the tear-strip envelopes with Amazing Race logo cut and stuck to the cover).

The idea is each day I can just take the next sleeve out of the folder and take it with me for the day in my rucksack. The rest of the folder can then stay in the hotel.

It's a lot of work up-front but it makes things easy. I did the same last year.

In terms of what's left there isn't really much. We've bought pretty much everything we need to and I've organised as much as I can. Just need to wait for Joe to finish primary school on Friday, then 3 days of work next week and then we're off!

I should probably pack at some point, too.

[Melbatb]

You are way more organised than me - but we do have less stops in mydefence (4 in 25 nights! )

We will be a day ahead of you in Montreal! Have fun!

[neilhd]

Thanks Mel! Leave the plane clean for us, will you?

[Guest]

Cant wait to hear all about your trip have a wonderful time.

[WileyCoyote]

He he to the plastic folders, I am just doing the same for our trip.

Well, look at that teeny countdown.

And fancy treating yourself to a new car for your birthday. That will never be held against you , ever . Lol. Made me laugh so much.

Hope you have a truly amazing time. Looking forward to the trippy already ... Not that I'm wishing your holiday time away or anything .

[Melbatb]

Hi Neil

We kept the plane clean for you

Do take some extra food - the portions were tiny!

We were through immigration in less than 2 minutes! Luggage took a bit longer!

Have a fab trip!

[neilhd]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

Hi Neil

We kept the plane clean for you

Do take some extra food - the portions were tiny!

We were through immigration in less than 2 minutes! Luggage took a bit longer!

Have a fab trip!

See more...

Thanks for the update Mel! We'll stock up at Boots, and have a plan to visit the No1 Lounge as we should have 2 lots of access to get into that, so just have to pay for Joe to go in. I'll get Ele to cause a distraction and sneak some complimentary pastries into my rucksack on the way out.

I just checked in online and our seats were still confirmed (row 4), so I've got boarding prices in hand, packing is pretty much done and I think we're ready to go. I have a 0 day countdown now!

Have a great time and wave at us as our plane comes in!

[neilhd]

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

He he to the plastic folders, I am just doing the same for our trip.

Well, look at that teeny countdown.

And fancy treating yourself to a new car for your birthday. That will never be held against you , ever . Lol. Made me laugh so much.

Hope you have a truly amazing time. Looking forward to the trippy already ... Not that I'm wishing your holiday time away or anything .

See more...

Thanks Amanda. Your countdown is shrinking nicely too - won't be long until you're off, and I am quite jealous of your trip!