"Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread

[tomterp]

For the uninitiated, the Jubal Early is a treat.

I hear they've spliced the cable back together now.

http://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2015/12/whites-ferry-breaks-free-from-cable-floats-down-river-with-cars-on-board/

[BrandonK]

Mitlen, does Loudoun Co. have any public transportation (that's fairly reliable)? No rental, so I'm stuck looking at Uber/Lyft. Wanting to get down to a P-Nats game Monday evening though

[imref]

Mitlen, does Loudoun Co. have any public transportation (that's fairly reliable)? No rental, so I'm stuck looking at Uber/Lyft. Wanting to get down to a P-Nats game Monday evening though

It's probably 90 minutes to get from Loudoun to the Pfitz on a typical weeknight, Uber/Lyft is going to be your best bet as there aren't any bus options that i'm aware of and the Pfitz isn't reasonably close to a metro stop.  They have a first time ride discount with Lyft:

"Using Lyft: Need a ride to the ballpark? Leave your car at home and get a ride to and from Pfitzner Stadium with Lyft. Potomac Nationals fans, download the app HERE or enter promo code PNATS in the "Payment" section of the app to get up to $20 off your first ride."

[BrandonK]

It's probably 90 minutes to get from Loudoun to the Pfitz on a typical weeknight, Uber/Lyft is going to be your best bet as there aren't any bus options that i'm aware of and the Pfitz isn't reasonably close to a metro stop.  They have a first time ride discount with Lyft:

"Using Lyft: Need a ride to the ballpark? Leave your car at home and get a ride to and from Pfitzner Stadium with Lyft. Potomac Nationals fans, download the app HERE or enter promo code PNATS in the "Payment" section of the app to get up to $20 off your first ride."

Yeah, I was hoping that wasn't the case. Guessing it'd be $100 roundtrip then... Gonna have to try and gin up some family to go ha. It looks like the city itself does have a bus throughout, so it'll be nice to catch the breweries/vineyards we talked about earlier.

[mitlen]

Mitlen, does Loudoun Co. have any public transportation (that's fairly reliable)? No rental, so I'm stuck looking at Uber/Lyft. Wanting to get down to a P-Nats game Monday evening though

Loudoun has public transportation to DC and around Loudoun.   Around Loudoun ain't much.   That's about it.    Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.   I was on the links   ...   meltin'.     

[BrandonK]

Loudoun has public transportation to DC and around Loudoun.   Around Loudoun ain't much.   That's about it.    Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.   I was on the links   ...   meltin'.     

Thanks, Mit -- gonna send a PM here soon for some more deets. Thinking of getting into D.C. Fri night for the Nats game, if that's do-able

[mitlen]

Thanks, Mit -- gonna send a PM here soon for some more deets. Thinking of getting into D.C. Fri night for the Nats game, if that's do-able

Loudoun is "away" from most transportation to the city "at night".    One can drive to the subway in Reston and tube it in but it closes at midnight and ya still gotta get from Reston to Leesburg  ....  about 15 or so miles.    Try this site as well.   It's from Ashburn (about 8 miles from Leesburg):

http://www.ballparkbus.com/

They don't travel to every game though.

[BrandonK]

Up in Maine this week (not for a good reason, but we're making the best of it). Any recommendations around Bar Harbor and Portland? I've got the locals with me, so we'll be busy, but if you guys got anything great, we'll get it in. Acadia's too crazy since it's the 100th year. I've been a couple times anyways. Taking home a ton of Allagash if we can find some good stuff.

[mitlen]

Up in Maine this week (not for a good reason, but we're making the best of it). Any recommendations around Bar Harbor and Portland? I've got the locals with me, so we'll be busy, but if you guys got anything great, we'll get it in. Acadia's too crazy since it's the 100th year. I've been a couple times anyways. Taking home a ton of Allagash if we can find some good stuff.

Watch the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain   But, if you're avoidin' Acadia   ...

[BrandonK]

Watch the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain   But, if you're avoidin' Acadia   ...

The rain is pushing the weak-hearted out, so we're heading up there for a bit.

[Natsinpwc]

Watch the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain   But, if you're avoidin' Acadia   ...

We went there fall 2014; stayed on the "quiet side" so it was about a 45 minute trip to Cadillac mountain;  several mornings we planned to go there and then changed our mind and slept in!

[Natsinpwc]

Up in Maine this week (not for a good reason, but we're making the best of it). Any recommendations around Bar Harbor and Portland? I've got the locals with me, so we'll be busy, but if you guys got anything great, we'll get it in. Acadia's too crazy since it's the 100th year. I've been a couple times anyways. Taking home a ton of Allagash if we can find some good stuff.

Lobster of course!

[mitlen]

We went there fall 2014; stayed on the "quiet side" so it was about a 45 minute trip to Cadillac mountain;  several mornings we planned to go there and then changed our mind and slept in!

I like takin' old Route 1 up to Calais, ME and crossing to Saint Stephen, NB.    Now if ya wanna real adventure, take the "airline" from Bangor toward the border at Calais.

[Natsinpwc]

I like takin' old Route 1 up to Calais, ME and crossing into NB.

We did not do that either; mostly we chilled.  And ate.  And at night I watched the Nats blow it against the Giants--there is always something that goes wrong on a vacation!

[mitlen]

We did not do that either; mostly we chilled.  And ate.  And at night I watched the Nats blow it against the Giants--there is always something that goes wrong on a vacation!

I was headin' to Saint John, NB so I had a reason to travel that way.

[Natsinpwc]

I was headin' to Saint John, NB so I had a reason to travel that way.

It's not that far to the border is it? An hour or so?

On the way back we drove though and around the White Mountains in New Hampshire--was mid October--beautiful and defintely worth the extra time it added onto the trip back.

[mitlen]

It's not that far to the border is it? An hour or so?

On the way back we drove though and around the White Mountains in New Hampshire--was mid October--beautiful and defintely worth the extra time it added onto the trip back.

Couple of hours   ....   maybe longer if ya mosey.     It's why some folks take the "airline" to get to that part of the border from Bangor.

[Natsinpwc]

Couple of hours   ....   maybe longer if ya mosey.

It's a big state!

[mitlen]

It's a big state!

....   it is followin' coast.    Especially if you just passed through S. NY, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.        Heaven forbid ya take 95 and have to go through Rhode Island too.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Up in Maine this week (not for a good reason, but we're making the best of it). Any recommendations around Bar Harbor and Portland? I've got the locals with me, so we'll be busy, but if you guys got anything great, we'll get it in. Acadia's too crazy since it's the 100th year. I've been a couple times anyways. Taking home a ton of Allagash if we can find some good stuff.

Brother says there's a restaurant in Portland, you can google it, but it was voted best French fries by food network.  Something like "duckfat" is the name.  Freeport, LL Bean.  Camden is gorgeous.  South of Portland, Kennebunkport has the Bush compound, Walker's Point, which is neat.  The Clam Shack in Kennebunkport is not fancy but is excellent.  Bush 41 brought down the chefs from there to teach the white house cooks how to make fried clams.  Brother may be there tomorrow as I'm up in NH visiting Dad.  My nephew recommends Smuttynose, which is an NH beer, but I can't say it is better than anything in Portland.

[BrandonK]

I've done the boot photo. It's a classic. I'll pass along those food recs too! Think we'll get down to Portland for one day.

[OldChelsea]

Meanwhile, more tribulation on the travel front (Excuse me ma'am, does your cello have the proper papers?) from Skytrax (http://www.airlinequality.com/airline-reviews/british-airways/ - post of Jane Bevan dated today, currently atop that page):

'I was flying Zurich to Baltimore via London with my cello and had booked one seat for me and an extra seat for the cello. The booking was made online and then verified over the phone directly with British Airways. I asked the BA customer support agent if the cello booking would be okay, and he told me "there is no problem - you have the additional seat booked, simply turn up at check-in and you will have no problems". BA denied me boarding because their system required not only me, but also the cello seat needs to have an ESTA visa! They were unable to distinguish between a passenger and a cello in their system. After 3 hours of stress at check-in they denied me boarding and quoted me over $4,000 to rebook both tickets for all legs of the journey. I made an official complaint and they replied basically confirming no refund. I am appalled my their total lack of customer service and will never fly with them again.'

[Note: Booking a seat for a cello or other large musical instrument is not that unusual an occurrence - Lynn Harrell, a notable concert cellist, routinely books a seat for his Montagnana original, saying it's the only way to make sure it completes the journey in one piece.]

[houston-nat]

Very common indeed for cellists. (A friend of mine studied with Lynn Harrell.)

[tomterp]

Headed off to the west coast of Ireland next weekend, via London but not planning on taking my cello.

[imref]

Headed off to the west coast of Ireland next weekend, via London but not planning on taking my cello.

have a fantastic trip!