Visiting NYC and Wilmington Vermont in ~6 weeks...

[Fat Tone]

...for a wedding.

I'll have 48hrs at most in NYC, then up to Vermont (~3hrs drive I'm told) by Friday evening for the rehearsal banquet, wedding, sunday brunch etc, then free until the flight back from JFK on Monday night.

Questions for you knowledgeable murcers:

1. We don't have rehearsal meals here. Is it the done thing to accept invites to ALL the occassions? I expect we are as close relations.

2. What to do/see in our limited time when not at the wedding? We've been to NYC briefly before - managed to walk arounf Central Park, took a chopper over much of the city & the Statue of Liberty and went up the Empire State Building, but that was about it - I didn't relax while there (I'm not a huge fan of crowds)and hope to get over that and enjoy it more this time.

The flights are booked (Virgin Atlantic) so I'm looking forward to it now

TIA

T.

[GT98]

Re: Visiting NYC and Wilmington Vermont in ~6 weeks...

Originally posted by Fat Tone


1. We don't have rehearsal meals here. Is it the done thing to accept invites to ALL the occassions? I expect we are as close relations.

Normally rehearsal dinners are for the people in the wedding party to have a once over before the accual wedding. I have never heard of anyone besides who ever is in the wedding partying going to one. They are normally done that evening before the wedding.

[Fat Tone]

Thanks GT. I did also just find this:

http://www.ourmarriage.com/html/the_rehearsal_dinner.html

All attendants, the bride and her fiancé's immediate families, the officiate and spouse, as well as any out-of-town guests are included in the guest list. Family and friends of the bride or the host may also be invited. It is considerate to invite the spouse or significant other of each attendant.

I'm pretty sure we qualify for 'out of town' I gather a lot of people are flying in from all over the U.S., so that could make it a pretty long guest list. I'm not sure we'd count as immediate family though (the bride is my fathers, late brothers, ex-wife's daughter, aka cousin I guess).

[Lizzard[MPE]]

Re: Re: Visiting NYC and Wilmington Vermont in ~6 weeks...

Originally posted by GT98
Normally rehearsal dinners are for the people in the wedding party to have a once over before the accual wedding. I have never heard of anyone besides who ever is in the wedding partying going to one. They are normally done that evening before the wedding.

when we had my sisters, their were people watching that werent in the wedding. then the whole family came to dinner plus friends.

[Brian Ellis]

Take warm outdoor clothing and good boots. Vermont can be bloody cold and snowy in February - been there, done that Pity it's not later, cos VT is one of the most beautiful States. I've stayed with friends in S. Woodstock VT in many seasons and love it there, except in winter.

3 hours drive from NYC would be going it some unless you have a Ferrari with flashing red and blue lights on the roof, assuming good weather. You have to cross 4 States, not counting NY and VT. A lot of the NH highway is 2 lanes, each way, after you pass Manchester, as I recall.

[GT98]

Re: Re: Re: Visiting NYC and Wilmington Vermont in ~6 weeks...

Originally posted by Lizzard[MPE]
when we had my sisters, their were people watching that werent in the wedding. then the whole family came to dinner plus friends.

heheehhe speaking from my experaince with my sisters wedding back 5 years ago

[spadnos]

Originally posted by Brian Ellis
Take warm outdoor clothing and good boots. Vermont can be bloody cold and snowy in February - been there, done that Pity it's not later, cos VT is one of the most beautiful States. I've stayed with friends in S. Woodstock VT in many seasons and love it there, except in winter.

3 hours drive from NYC would be going it some unless you have a Ferrari with flashing red and blue lights on the roof, assuming good weather. You have to cross 4 States, not counting NY and VT. A lot of the NH highway is 2 lanes, each way, after you pass Manchester, as I recall.

hehe. Well, I'm here and it's just gotten warmer.

Oops - it just got colder. (yesterday was a balmy 54 degrees, we're headed for 50 today, but then it's supposed to go down to 20 tonight.)

I was crafting a huge response last night, but what the heck - I'll do a little one now.

First, Brian is pretty accurate about the weather - it'll be COLD!! (at least for you Englanders) February averages a low of 8.9 to a high of 28.2 degrees (data from the last thirty years) He did miss the boat a little on the number of states you have to cross to get here (you can actually go directly from New York to Vermont, but a common route brings you through Connecticut and Massachusetts as well). And, a Ferrari wouldn't be any faster in winter, since it doesn't have enough ground clearance for the snow and ice in the road.

Yahoo directions tells you to take Interstate 95 (I-95), then I-91 up to Brattleboro VT, and head west. You can also take I-87 up to Albany (the NY state capital), then cut across to Bennington, VT. You would then continue on to Wilmington on VT route 9. You should allow at least 4 hours for the trip. Yahoo says 3 hours 42 minutes, but they don't know about snow. Incidentally, if you don't have a lot of snow driving experience, BE CAREFUL! The topography of Vermont is like Scotland or the lakes region (the tallest mountain here is 4393 feet), and the snow and ice can be treacherous. You'll also have all-season tires on your rental car, so that won't be the greatest.

I don't think there's a lot to do around Wilmington, unless you're a downhill skier. You could try to take route 100 up to Stowe, and take a gondola ride up mount Mansfield, or just putter around there - it's a fun little town. (The Trapp Family Lodge is there)

Actually, there are several MURCers that live within a few hours of Wilmington - it might be fun to get together for dinner or something.

Have fun, and let me know if you want any more information.
- Steve

[Fat Tone]

Thanks guys

We have more info now, and we are expected at all the events. They are even putting us up in Stamford and NYC before/after the event

I've looked into car hire. they recommended Dollar. Interestingly (although unfortunately not surprisingly) if I use their UK site the hire quotes are WAY WAY more than if I use their USA site.

At the moment I'm torn between getting a car from JFK for the whole 6 days, or using airport transfers and hiring from Stamford (where we will initially be based) for the 3 days of the wedding.

Looking at the example pictures of cars, even the 'economy' and 'compact' cars look pretty bug to me, although I'm sure they aren't ideal for the snow. Having a Jeep for a week is very tempting, but perhaps a bit overkill?

[Brian Ellis]

Originally posted by spadnos
He did miss the boat a little on the number of states you have to cross to get here (you can actually go directly from New York to Vermont, but a common route brings you through Connecticut and Massachusetts as well).

Sorry, most of my motoring was to and fro Boston, but the one time I was going farther S, I had to go via Nashua NH, so I logically took the Boston-NY highway. I once took the inland route, along the Appalachians, as I had to make for Princeton NJ and wanted to avoid NYC. Never thought about going to NYC from that road, but it would be logical in fine weather (more beautiful, too!) Would it not be more difficult than the coast road in bad weather, though?

[spadnos]

Originally posted by Brian Ellis
Sorry, most of my motoring was to and fro Boston, but the one time I was going farther S, I had to go via Nashua NH, so I logically took the Boston-NY highway. I once took the inland route, along the Appalachians, as I had to make for Princeton NJ and wanted to avoid NYC. Never thought about going to NYC from that road, but it would be logical in fine weather (more beautiful, too!) Would it not be more difficult than the coast road in bad weather, though?

No, not really. They plow I-87 pretty well. The only difficult part is well north of Albany - that's the 100 miles of secondary roads I have to drive on in upstate NY and Vermont.

- Steve

[GT98]

Originally posted by Fat Tone

Looking at the example pictures of cars, even the 'economy' and 'compact' cars look pretty bug to me, although I'm sure they aren't ideal for the snow. Having a Jeep for a week is very tempting, but perhaps a bit overkill?

What are your choices? Most of the time any FWD Vechicle should do fine in the snow. Due to the weight of the engine being over the transaxle.

[Liquid Snake]

This is a little late but I haven't been able to post for a few days.

For places to visit in NYC, as odd as it may sound, I don't have many ideas. I'm not a very good tour guide, but actually many New Yorkers, even natives, have never gone and visited all the typical tourist attractions (Statue of Liberty etc). My (general) suggestions would be:

-Venture into the other boroughs. There's more to NYC than Manhattan.
-Ride the subways, you'll learn quite a bit about NYC.
-NYC has tons of museums, do a bit of reaseach and you should find something that interests you.
-A walk on the Brooklyn Bridge is pretty nice.

Visit http://www.nyc.gov for more ideas.

Have fun!

[Fat Tone]

Cheers LS Not too late - we fly on the 2nd March

I plan on the subway - didn't dare last time Also, my Aunt volunteers in one of the museums, so I daresay we'll be doing that too.

[Fat Tone]

Originally posted by GT98
What are your choices? Most of the time any FWD Vechicle should do fine in the snow. Due to the weight of the engine being over the transaxle.

The current recomendation is for Avis because of where they are located. It seems that most things up to a Buick Century are about the same price, then there's a $100+ jump to mini vans, SUVs etc (based on 3.5 days).

Would the Buick be ok for CT snow in March?

TIA

[GT98]

Originally posted by Fat Tone
The current recomendation is for Avis because of where they are located. It seems that most things up to a Buick Century are about the same price, then there's a $100+ jump to mini vans, SUVs etc (based on 3.5 days).

Would the Buick be ok for CT snow in March?

TIA

Well Normally dont get much snow in march. When you leaving again? I can give you a weather report if we got any snow before or expected to during that time