Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Back to holiday planning

6 weeks till we leave for the holiday of a lifetime! I am so excited! Mike's cousin has been amazing, she has offered us all the things we were looking for so we can travel quite light for what concerns Oliver's stuff at least!  She also has offered their third car (do you guys not trade in a car when you buy a new one? Where do you keep all these spare cars??) which sounds fantastic. I'm currently looking at making sure our health insurance will cover us in the States also, just in case. And I cannot wait to do a bit more serious planning.
One question I still don't have an answer for is if there are mosquitoes in San Francisco. Italy would be a nightmare from that point of view, while Ireland on the other hand is mosquitoes free! Let me know.

And I'm also deciding on my trip East after Mike and Oliver have gone back to Ireland. Here's what I'm thinking. I will fly into Boston probably on the 6th of July, I can take a night flight which will mean I'll be in Boston early morning (and jet-lagged!) of the saturday and spend the day looking around. I think I may be better staying at one of the hotels at the airport and then just travel into the city, what do you think? I will be picked up at the airport on sunday morning by a shuttle bus to go to the conference. Or I can get an afternoon flight to Boston and stay 2 nights. Also, any of you happy to meet up let me know, I'd love to catch up with you but I'm afraid I don't know anyone in that area and I am not sure how feasible would be for the New Yorkers (or others!) to make a day trip to Boston. If you have been there or you have advices, I'm all ears! I'll be travelling on my own of course and I will have about a day.
Oh another thing on the internal flight. I definitely want to fly direct and for some reason SFO-BOS seems to have only two company that do so? JetBlue and UA? Is this correct or am I looking at the wrong airport?? I could fly out of Oakland also (suggestion of the Ultimate Vet Hero) as I'll be at that side of SF, but from there the only flight I can see was with JetBlue at about midnight of the 6th, landing in Boston at 8.30am. Also, I never heard of JetBlue of course, but I suspect it's ok. I look forward to hearing from you all and don't be shy!

11 comments:

Mrs. Misfits said...

Jet blue ia a great airline! They are a low cost high value carrier. Imagine an upscale discount airline. Use hipmunk.com to get a sense of your options by airlines. Virgin America will have good rates and be familiar to you.

SFdoes have Mosquitos, but in June, the weather tends to be chilly enough that the are not too active, or really bad unless you are going to be in the delta region east towards Sacramento. I lived in the bay area 11 years and only bought insect repellent for trips to tropical places.

Email me if you've got specific questions, too. Travel was my gig workwise for most of my working career and California is (and always will be) home.

Alex said...

So excited for your vacation!!! Ditto what Misfits said about Jet Blue - just great. I was going to advice to make sure you have some good jackets on your trip - SF tends to be surprisingly cold! I love both Boston and SF - you're going to have a great time! Are you bringing a small stroller for Oliver? Boston has a great walking tour (Freedom Trail) that shows a lot of historical sites. And the Duck Tours are always a good time (just google Boston duck tour). Have fun!!!

kdactyl said...

I also live in California (Sacramento Area...about 70 miles east of SF)....they are right...not a lot of mosquitos in SF itself...it is cool in june and tends to be breezy near the ocean so the mosquitos don't come out much.

I have flown the Redeye on Delta to the East Coast before but not on JetBlue or UA...but both those airlines are well regarded.

So excited for your trip. you will really love SF. It is almost like a little country oall on its own...it has such a unique and vibrant personality like no other city I have ever visited.

Safe travels.

kd

Lisa said...

Check out San Jose's airport. It's not too far away and may give you more options.

Life Happens said...

What a fun family trip to look forward too!!! I've been to SF a few times and love it. Wish I was close to Boston to meet you. But if you're ever in the D.C. area, let me know!! Safe travels.

BB said...

I dont see NYC anywhere! Did you drop your plan for the big apple? :(

Eileen said...

OMG you are coming to CA???? I disappear from the blogging world and i almost miss this momentous visit! I must meet you Fran!!! I am about 40 min from SF, but I would drive days to meet a fellow sister (PS You are probably at this moment thinking "who on God's green earth is this chick, so I should say that this is Eileen from the blog formerly known as "We Got Hitched. We Bought the 4 Bedroom House. Now What???). You can fly into SFO, OAK or SJC (San Jose). There are very few nonstops on the BOS route. I fly to MA all the time. Please email me about your SF visit if you have any free moments to meet up twinsanitydesigns@yahoo.com! PPS There are very few mosquitoes here in my neck of the woods ;-).

daega99 said...

It sounds like you're going to have a great trip.

As for Boston, if you can stay in the city, perhaps near Copley Square or Newbury Street so you can walk around (and jump on the Duck Tour pretty easily). I so wish I was still living there to meet up with you...

Jet Blue is my favourite airline in the US at the moment!

Adele said...

The holiday sounds wonderful. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities. I've only been to Boston a few times but it's a great town, as well, and I second staying somewhere central if you can swing it, where it's very walkable. But I'm also sorry to hear that NYC will not be on the itinerary (though, chances are good that we wouldn't be there when you come over...long story:(.

Anonymous said...

I hope you got my email...but it looks like your other commenters have given you great advice. California (and particularly the Bay Area) does not have the humidity that Italy does, so don't worry about swarms of mosquitos. Yes, there will be a few, but not bad at all. The evenings get very chilly, so be sure to bring jackets and sweatshirts.

It's so fun to plan for such a trip and I hope it's everything you're hoping it will be. SF is really a great place to visit. I expect that I won't be able to travel by then - even walking is becoming more difficult for me now. I wish I could drive over to see you and spend a day enjoying SF with you. I really hope you can make it in my direction, but I will understand if you can't. I need to give you my phone number before you leave home so you can call me!

Elle said...

I wish so much that I lived back East or even back up North and could come meet you in person. :( Too bad you aren't going to be making it down in the Texas area. It sounds like you are going to have a great time though. We will be going to the UK later this year, but we're doing London and Cardiff. :( :(

Sending you loads of love!