Jump to content

Tips on Road Trips to USA during Winter


Heartlander
 Share

Recommended Posts

Just back from a road trip to USA. Thought good to share what I have learnt along the way as there is definitely a learning process for those not used to driving LHD cars in winter climate.

This is not going to be exhaustive handbook but just some pointers  to help in the itinerary planning process. 

 

Winter tires necessary for winter climate going up Canada?

This had been one of my biggest worry as I have read that winter tires are compulsory for cars in Canada. I am concern as I will be travelling to Niagara falls at Canada side. Online research did not provide me with a definite answer, other than that it is compulsory for cars from some time ago. Taking to a few Canadian angmos also did not yield any definite answers, but their cars are definitely with winter tires. So that added to my worries as what if my rental car collected from Washington DC got turned back at immigration checkpoint. I felt relieved only when the staff at Thrifty assured me that their fleet comes with all weather tires which would be good for going up Canada, that the winter tire ruling is only for cars purchased in Canada but not on rental cars. So indeed it went smoothly through the Canada leg without any issues.

 

Road travel during winter

Another concern is whether winter tires or even tires chain necessary during winter. The answer is not necessary. What is confusing is that different states have different policies with regards to this, but mostly is about permitting and not about being mandatory. But most car rental companies would not allow tires chains as could damage the tires. When there is snowing, can see specially equipped pickups or trucks with shovel busy plying the roads to push the snow away. You will also observe  many black "gravels" on the road during winter, which have been dispensed from these vehicles which are salt used to de-ice the road. They could be brown or black depending on states. Be careful when driving over bridges as bridges will freeze before tar road to create slippery surfaces when temperature dips. It would be good planning to start driving only after 9am when the sun is already up to reduce chances of accidents due to car sliding on roads as seen on news, another good excuse to wake up later. 

On days when snowing overnight, be sure to cater at least 15min to warm up the car and turn on windscreen heating coil to thaw the front and rear windscreens. Rental cars should come with low grade ice scraper with a brush end and a plastic pointed end. Use the pointer end to scape the ice then use the brush end to remove the ice. Very easy to do. Also remember to be de-icing wiper fluid from Walmart or petrol stations to topup the fluid tank. Normal water will freeze at tubing outside the hood thus not able to clear up the windscreen when needed. My rental car will squirt some water when toggle to do windscreen wiping, and with normal water even if can come out will freeze at windscreen causing it to be more blurry. But with de-icing fluid, the wiper is able to clean up very nicely.

Also try not to drive after sky darken from about 4+pm till 6pm depending on states. USA span across 6 timing zones for those not initiated. Due to poor time management, I have to drive a few nights till 8pm to reach my destination. Very bad decision thinking back. Roads in USA is not like over here with street lights all over. Even across those inter-state expressways, there are no street lights at all so is almost pitch dark. So driving at night has a tunnel effects which worsen because you can only see slightly ahead and there are many winding roads. The drivers there also do not have a habit of turning on high beams during my time there. Frankly with cars going at excess of 65 mph, it is really quite harrowing to do cornering without any lights. After awhile, I learnt to form "packs" with cars nearby to take advantage of lights thrown from the cars, especially big trucks which are more brightly lit-up. With that, I do not have to constantly toggling the hi-beam lights. Try to constantly glance at the nav tools (handphone with Google map in my case) to keep note of the road ahead to avoid being surprise by sharp turnings. I have been using Google Map exclusively without any problem.

Another event to look out for during winter is when there is snow blizzards. It could descend quickly and reduce visibility to less than 100m and caused severe chain collision accidents. A 40+-cars accident occurred just early this month due to snow blizzards, with another major accident last week due to icy road conditions. So have to watch the weather updates on TV or accuweather website for alerts.

 

Road manners of typical Americans

I  would rate them very poorly. I have been tailgated by big trucks and smaller cars even when I am already going at above permitted speed on that road and keeping to the right most lane, and I mean really close as at times cannot even see bumper. The drivers will not horn, maybe too polite, but they sure keep up the pressure by driving really close to you. And they also do not slow down to let you pass when you try to enter the road through slip road, even worse than on our roads. This make driving at night challenging when you need to drive to nearby mall or restaurants for makan and need to do many turnings across many roads over short distances. It would be good habit to go through the route before proceeding to know where you will need to turn thus going to the correct lanes before that. Really a letdown as I have not expected this level of aggression there. Driving in Malaysia and Australia and Japan are much easier as their drivers are more forgiving.

 

Topping up Gas

In USA the gas stations all have different prices unlike over here. The prices just across the street could be lower by 10 cents so if you trying to save some money better do some checking first. I rely on the Google Map extensively as it will display the gas prices for most stations. As I need to topup gas almost everyday, I will search for gas stations nearby hotels or restaurants along the way to see the prices. Depending on states or locations, the prices for Regular gas, which is RON87 unleaded, could vary from USD 2.10 to USD 3. So if you are running abit low on gas and you checked that the gas station near your destination is much more expensive that at the meal stops, then better topup gas first. Payment is quite easy - either at pump itself or counter. For payment at pump, you just need to slide a credit card into the pump machine to authorize payment, then remove nozzle and select which grade of petrol, then start pumping away. After you put back the nozzle, payment will be completed automatically and you can press to get the receipt. Alternatively, you can go to the counter to pre-pay an amount of petrol, go to the gas pump and select the fuel grade and start pumping. This method is more troublesome as you need to calculate roughly how much gas to topup. But good thing you can go back counter to get refund on un-used gas if you have paid extra.

 

Rental cars

I used rentalcars.com to book my rides as I found it to be significantly cheaper than going to the individual rental car sites with same ride and rental terms. I had reserved a Nissan Quest through Thrifty, but on the day of collected was offered alternative rides. The staff at the counter just told me to collect any of the 8 ro 9 MPVs at a section of the carpark, where there were some Chevrolet Pacifica, Dodge Grand Caravan, and a Toyota sienna. The cars frankly are not that clean and I chose the cleanest which is a Chevrolet Pacifica which did not come with sunroof unlike other rides. But I figured it is winter so this feature not important at all. All the full-size MPVs are frankly about same size and definitely good enough for 4 pax with the luggages. And with 3.6L V6 engines definitely can run quite effortlessly. I also opted for the Platepass feature which allow electronic payment of toll fees like our ERP. It is quite necessary if need to travel from Washington DC to Niagara falls as there are many toll roads along the way. Without the option, I would need to pay an admin fee of USD15 for each toll payment which will add up quite rapidly. It is also for peace of mind as it meant one less thing to worry thus can enjoy the trip more.

 

Moving Around New York

As not advisable to drive in NYC, it is better to choose an lodging near outskirt of NYC with easy access to bus or subway stop. One such option is Meadowlands View Hotel which is close to a bus stop that can bring you into Times Square in 35min. The hotel also provides paid shuttle bus at higher costs but great convenience especially during winter as you do not need to walk to the bus stop. I only did the High Line, Chelsea Market, Twin Tower Memorail Park, Staten Island loop ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, then eat Vietnamese dinner at Broadway area before catching the Mean Girls show. Then just walk to Rockafella Tower and Times Square before heading back hotel past mid-night. Due to time constraints, have to forgo Central Park. Only consolation is manage to take picture of the theater where Stephen Colbert shoot his daily show which is just behind the theater hosting the Mean Girls show which cost a bomb, USD100/ticket for middle row seats.

 

Moving Around Washington DC

By luck it happened to be on a Sunday That I was in Washington DC. I said lucky because the notorious parking happen to be free every Sunday. I reach there at about 10am and still manage to find a parking spot near the Air and Space Museum. It would be good to park at the mall as it is really close to the Smithsonian museums and the Lincoln Memorial, just make sure to be there before 930am to be kiasu. Manage to cover only  that and the Natural History Museum where the famous movie was shot on location. There are really a lot to see if you want to pore over every exhibits which will take about 1 day to cover each museum properly. But if you in a rush, covering 2 museums is the max I would recommend given that all open from 10am and close at 530pm. Lunch can eat at the food trucks aplenty at the Mall area instead of inside the museum for price and variety. The Mall area is not referring to shopping malls but the vast green grass area spanning the museums and memorials. There is option to take the Circulator bus if do not want to do the walking, as not recommend to shift car around as parking spot is really difficult to find after 11am. It is also not recommended to stay inside the area as parking is a killer. I chose to stay at the Courtyard Marriot which is walking distance to the White House, which turned out to be a bad decision as parking there cost USD 44 before taxes which is just slightly cheaper than at Niagara hotel of USD 50 at Canada side. And I reached the hotel only after 10pm after having dinner at nearby Luke Lobster which is quite good imo, so could have driven another 20min to outside DC for cheaper hotels as not enjoying any benefits of staying there. The White House is losing the allure for me as it is my thinking that Trump has cheapen it since taking office, so never bother to stop and take pictures with it, just drive by only.

 

Booking hotels 

The hotels in USA nowadays mostly come with free breakfast for those mid-range like Hampton Inns, Home2Suites, Best Western, Fairfields, Red Roof, etc. I stayed at almost different hotels each night so have quite good sample size haha. The free breakfast would come with basic hot food like scrambled egg and sausage, fruits corner, DIY wafer making, cornflakes, milk and juices, coffee/tea. Not elaborate or definitely sufficient. There would mostly have a coffee/tea corner where guests would be able to make their drinks to go or just sit at the comfortable lobby area to enjoy. The prices for 4 pax for a 2 queen/double bed room can range from S$90 to $250. I prefer Hampton Inns which cost mostly from S$120 to S$150 before tax. The hotels at Niagara Canada side are killer at > $250 inclusive of breakfast, before the parking charge of USD 50. But the view is definitely worth it.

 

Ok I will stop for now. Feel free to add in your experience and tips for the benefits of those thinking of embarking on a road trip there. I would recommend to consider at west side instead of east side as there are more nature parks to enjoy. I will post my itinerary later on. Also bear in mind need to cater clothing for wide variation in weather if intend to travel from upper North down to South tip. For example, Niagara side could be dipping below freezing temperature while Florida could be enjoying 20 degree celsius on same day. Cheers.

↡ Advertisement
  • Praise 17
  • Haha! 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice. I also just came back from the west coast. Drove from SF to LA. Thankfully it was rather uneventful. Google maps work very well there. Never used their complimentary GPS. I try to plan my route so driving was kept to no more than 2 hours continuous driving. And avoid driving at night as like you mention, most roads even the freeway also no light. At night I just drive in the vicinity around the hotel for food/grocery shopping only.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Fuel consumption with a full-size MPV (Chevrolet Pacifica)

Frankly I have never heard of this model till I saw it at the car rental carpark. At a rated FC of about 19 to 28 mpg, I manage to get about 25mpg from dashboard.

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSearch.do?action=noform&year1=2017&year2=2017&make=Chrysler&baseModel=Pacifica&srchtyp=ymm

My trip totaled 4566km over 19 days.

And I top up 108 gallon.

With 1 gallon = 3.785L, totaled = 409L

To calculate FC, I need to add 3/4 tank of gas as I opted for pre-paid gas of 20 gallon when collecting car to reduce hassle. The fuel almost 3/4 empty when I return the car.

So my Fc for the full-size MPV = 4566km/424L = 10.8km/L. Not bad for this humongous car with 3.6L V6 engine.

 

Doing laundry

How much clothes to bring is always a headache for long trip. You do not want to bring too much as will be dead weight or too little as you will have to do laundry very often. My ideal load would be to bring about a week's worth of clothes and do laundry every 6 days. Most, if not all the hotels, I mentioned earlier have on-site laundry facility so you can have clean and dry clothes within 1 to 1.5 hrs. The cost would vary as I have seen per wash/dry from 75cents to USD 1.50. I opted to do laundry at those laundry shops near my hotel initially as they have those big load machines that can cut down on washing/drying time. But it became a hassle during winter as very cold and have to drive around using Google map. So I chose to do them in hotel for subsequent jobs. Just need to buy laundry liquid that will indicate number of wash you need. If you prefer to do at laundry shops, just need to google for laundry shops near your hotel, plenty will pop up as it is very common for angmos to do that. The cost would be about USD 5 for those triple load wash machines and 25 cents per 5 to 7 min of dry time. Typically 20 min dry time would be enough to totally dry your clothes.

 

How much to travel per day

Ok this is a subjective question depending on individuals. I have talked to a Airbnb host and a random guy and they told me they drive 2000 miles continuously no sweat, just take turn to drive continuously over 1.5 days. For my trip I averaged about 250km per day, with a few off days and a few days driving 400km. For me that is manageable, just need to cater rest time after every 1.5hrs of driving to do toilet break and meals. In USA, there are many towns and rest-stops along the inter-state highway, so no problem to factor this in. The Google map allows adding of stops between source and destination, so quite easy to manage. I know of a seasoned family who drive in USA regularly usually travel 400km/day, hitting 600km at times. But if you travelling through scenic drive or ulu spots then please use number of hours as gauge to rest, as travelling distance will be lesser due to much lower speed. In inter-state highway, speed can go to 70mph, lower at 55mph for straight roads. Some of these interstate highway will cut through small towns where the speed will go down to 35mph or even 25mph. The scenic Skyline Drive for example has a constant speed of 35mph, so it would take about 5hrs or more just to cover that short stretch of road. I would think daily of 200km to 300km would be good.

 

Meals costs

Typically hotels will provide free breakfast. For lunch it would be good to eat in fastfood, which will cost about USD30 to USD40 for 4 pax. There are many many choices and you can try different one every day. For dinner, eating at steak house or dining places will set you back about USD 60 to USD100 for 4 pax depending on the restaurant. Generally fast food places no need to give tips, but sit down restaurants will need to. A good indicator to pay tips is when the waiter/waitress enthusiastically introduce his/her name that he/she will take care of you for the meal, then confirm must pay. The rate would be from 15% to 25% of meal cost, with most expecting about 20%. For average joes, steakhouse like Outback, LongHorn, Red Lobster, Chilis, etc, would be good. I will recommend Cracker Barrel Old Country located all over USA if you want to eat authentic Southern food with good service and not paying much. You should try it at least once. iHop and Dennis are also my favourite place to eat. Five guys also quite cheap, with their cheeseburger costing USD8.50, definitely cheaper than the S$17 being charged here. You should also try to eat at those big glass windows diners that are brightly lit. They tends to offer cheaper price and uniquely American dining experience.

If you or you travel companion happen to have birthday while in USA and want to celebrate with some difference, you can tell that to the waiter/waitress in Outback and you will be given complimentary ice-cream and the crew will crowd around you to sing their unique happy birthday song at the end of your meal. Witnessed it twice in same night, once for my son.

 

 

 

Edited by Heartlander
  • Praise 5
Link to post
Share on other sites

Craving for Chinese Food

With regards to food, it is inevitable that after a few days of binging on burgers and steaks and pan cakes, you will miss Chinese food if you are Chinese. The Panda Express and other variants serves so-called Chinses food but not authentic as too heavily flavoured and taste wierd. The closest substitute would actually be Vietnamese food. Any hot pho would be lovely during winter, and their rice with grilled meat are really delicious. No wonder most Vietnamese restaurants get higher reviews on Google than other types of food. So if you have craving for Chinese food, head into any Vietnamese restaurants and you will not be disappointed. Forget about the Chinese restaurants there. Maybe try once to have an idea that would be good enough. I have tried Japanese food there also not impressive. The Chinese waitress told us the cooking is actually Chinese style. And they play Chinese songs blatantly, thinking the angmos cannot differentiate between Chinese songs and Japanese songs haha.

  • Praise 2
  • Haha! 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Refund for purchases

USA provides very generous protection for consumers and most reputable shops would allow customers to return any purchases they are not satisfied with no question ask, even without any receipts, within certain window period.

My wife managed to return a few garments bought on impulses from a JCPenny store in another JCPenny store without receipt. The cashier simply asked if she is willing to accept refunds based on prices from 40 days averaging, which turn out to be higher than the price she paid. Not that we are taking advantage of the situation, but that is how they handle the refund process. I also managed to replace a Columbia backpack and got 3 higher-price backpacks instead from a different Columbia store. The best would be that a day after buying a 29" Samsonite softcase, Samsonite USA holds a promotion to give out free cabin softcase. After finding out the promotion at another Premium outlet, we manage to return the luggage and proceed to buy another of same set with the free cabin bag. The store even told us no need to return the big case, we could just topup the difference (there was a 10% promotion when we got the 29" softcase) and we will get the free cabin softcase on the spot. Such is the level of service provided! So next time no need to be shy, just ask. Can always buy first then go back hotel think if worth it haha, so long as you are visiting another store of same company later on.

 

  • Praise 2
  • Haha! 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Typical Hotel Room (Hampton Inn/Fairfield Marriot/Best Western/Home2Suite/Comfort Inn/etc)

A typical room for 4 pax would come with 2 double/queen beds and be about 30m2, as follows:

20191209_194854-1612x784.thumb.jpg.eb92a8bdaa7e292a2c3e183f159a501f.jpg

Most of above chain hotels would serve free breakfast in casual setting, with a huge TV at a corner showing morning news that provide updates on traffic and weather. I attached the following pictures taken from Hampton Inn Leesburg for illustration:

20191224_070154-1612x784.thumb.jpg.97d9d2257a016e2489729e8587dbd62b.jpg

20191224_064530-1612x784.thumb.jpg.1eed83cff04ded1974c56507d2d4df4c.jpg

20191224_064536-1612x784.thumb.jpg.dc4d0259ee9af10ed5a15b820742b851.jpg

20191224_064549-1612x784.thumb.jpg.9d7c852cea63acddd4e47c7156eb56ac.jpg

There would also be a free coffee/tea corner situated near the reception counter for guest to help themselves with brewed coffee and other beverages such as chocolate drink and tea at any time of the day, which many can be seen taking out when leaving hotel:

20191224_070205-1612x784.thumb.jpg.4f389fc0a9f089ad8b21f2422c2509d1.jpg

For something between S$90 to S$200, I would think they are really value for money. More important, they make you feel like home and warm while being away from home. The DIY laundry room also sort of subsidizing the chore as they are cheaper than outside laundry shops

Edited by Heartlander
bolden the title
  • Praise 5
Link to post
Share on other sites

Should Premium Outlets be the Ultimate Motive?

I personally would think it would be wrong to elevate this idea to be the most important factor when planning any USA road trip. There are so much things to offer when there, but I understand most Singaporeans would put that as the ultimate reason as there are really good bargain to be had if you happen to be there at the right time. Give you some example: Levi t-shirt at USD5, Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirt at USD5, 2 pairs of Clarks Shoes at USD99 or lesser at other promotion event with 2nd pair at USD10, Columbia backpacks at mostly USD15 to USD30, Columbia fleece jacket at USD20 and those thick type for freezing temperature at between USD50 to USD100, Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes at USD40, Puma shoes at mostly under USD30. And the shoes are not old stock as their labels indicated date of production to be mostly this year, with some even from Jul/2019. But too obsessive with the sales would easily turn the trip into a bargain hunt which frankly would get even better bargains if you are to spend the travelling costs directly in getting the items online in the comfort of your armchair or even from Singapore stores. The air-ticket would easily cost you $2000+ which can get you handful of North face jackets and Kate Spade bags at full retail prices. So my advice would be to look beyond the sales and enjoy the great outdoors and scenery for example. Just try to schedule at least 2 full day visits to the Premium outlets at early part of the tour and during the last few day to placate your other halve will do. 

  • Praise 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hydration

With rental car, getting hydrated is easy peasy. Just go to any Walmart and grab those 24 bottles pack of mineral water at about USD5.50 and dump it in the car will do. Every night before going to your lodging, just remember to take a bottle or 2 to do water parade will do. Drinking more plain water will definitely help in promoting good health during the trip.

 

Self Medication

It is hard to avoid getting sick especially during winter. So when you can hear persistent coughing from travelling companion, it is time to go pharmacy such as Walgreen to get those medicine without prescription. I do not know how it works, but there are counters there to get advices on dealing with common illness. Not sure about the costs though as never need to ask. I happen to know Walgreen sells those travel adaptors for ac devices at USD14, which I got 1 for my CPAP machine to work. Forgot to bring another adaptor from Singapore.

 

Using CPAP machine on planes and in USA

Before travelling I have been reading about using the CPAP machine during flights and thought it would help in sleeping and eliminating snoring which affect fellow travelers. As my flights are under ANA, I checked with its website that need to fill in flight details and other forms to get it approved. And obviously the Philips Dream Station is not under its approved list. I was going to give up on using it on flights till the moment I am checking in at Changi Airport when I broached this request to an ANA staff. He quickly asked for my device with its manual and got it approved very quickly. But I had to give up a long leg room seat beside an emergency door as those sitting there supposed to be able bodied to help in bad situations. I was lucky to have got an isle seat instead. Long leg room seats in centre column would be ok. But it turned out not really beneficial to be used on flights. With body in slight decline position, the nasal pillow became very pronounced and difficult to fall asleep. And I realised the aeroplane engine sounded much louder so snoring actually not so easy to affect fellow travelers.

But I realized that the CPAP machine is REALLY useful to provide good and deep sleep to energise if you are the only or main driver for the trip. If I do not use the machine at night, I tends to feel tired more easily and start yawning after 2 hours into driving. But if I do, then driving 4 hours at a  stretch also no problem as will not feel the deep seated tiredness. I would encourage all issued with CPAP machines to bring them on the tour especially if they are the main driver and covering huge distances every day..

 

  • Praise 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the very detail written trip report.

Definitely good for my future planning to visit US.

Has not be to US for more than 20yrs, previous visits were all business trip and did not travel a lot. During that time, our weekend travel out all still using printed map to navigate around.

  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Just want to highlight that even with all season tires fitted, one should not get too complacent driving at your normal speeds because you will not stop or turn like you would in normal weather.

I have personally witnessed non-4WD cars "crabbing" up a gentle slope on the I-95 because conditions were slushy melting snow with snow still falling. Those who failed to keep on the road ended up stranded on the roadside.

Even the 4WD car I had was constantly scrabbling away at around 20mph, twitching while we worked our way past other cars. Everything happens in slow motion in the snow. But while you have more time to react, the car does not react as quickly as you can and so you end up watching your own crash in slow motion.

  • Praise 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Macrosszero said:

Just want to highlight that even with all season tires fitted, one should not get too complacent driving at your normal speeds because you will not stop or turn like you would in normal weather.

I have personally witnessed non-4WD cars "crabbing" up a gentle slope on the I-95 because conditions were slushy melting snow with snow still falling. Those who failed to keep on the road ended up stranded on the roadside.

Even the 4WD car I had was constantly scrabbling away at around 20mph, twitching while we worked our way past other cars. Everything happens in slow motion in the snow. But while you have more time to react, the car does not react as quickly as you can and so you end up watching your own crash in slow motion.

I have watched numerous videos on winter tires and fully agree with your comments. But too bad this snow tire is not an optional item under most, if not all, car rental sites for the obvious reason the logistic challenge involved to provide this service, as well as the cost. I was lucky i only needed to drive on snow covered roads while around the US/Canada border near Niagara Falls. Back then no issues as all flat road and i drove only on tarmac road. But even then the car keep flashing the message that it is losing traction. And i made the decision to drive out only after 10am where hopefully ice would have melted more. From NYC to Ithaca i had to drive for brief periods under flurry condition, but not too bad.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Never drive away from tarmac road

This was totally my fault. While nearing the end of a scenic drive along the Fingers Lake, i made the last-minute decision to stop for a photo ops. Stopped the full-sized MPV on the grass patch just beside the tar road. After 5min, realised bad decision as the wheels keep spinning and the car cannot move! A bit panicky but try all means to get it moving again failed. After 20min, decided to get help from fellow drivers. A big truck stopped and left commenting his truck to big to manouvre to do the pulling. Then a kind old man stopped and called up his mechanic who wanted to charge USD80 for the job as the workshop is an hour drive away. Then finally a young chap stopped and said he did not want to know why we got stucked but will help anyway. He proceeded to align his pickup and secure those thick cable to my rental car and manage to get it out in 5min. We gave him a USD20 note as compensation which he gladly accepted. Lesson learnt from this 1.5hour long asag: never to drive away from tar road any more no matter what.

I could have called the tow truck under car rental company but i figured it will take a few hours to solve the problem. The USD20 was a small price to pay. Good thing this learning experience had not affected the itinerary much for that day.

 

Edited by Heartlander
  • Praise 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 12/26/2019 at 11:06 PM, Heartlander said:

Should Premium Outlets be the Ultimate Motive?

I personally would think it would be wrong to elevate this idea to be the most important factor when planning any USA road trip. There are so much things to offer when there, but I understand most Singaporeans would put that as the ultimate reason as there are really good bargain to be had if you happen to be there at the right time. Give you some example: Levi t-shirt at USD5, Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirt at USD5, 2 pairs of Clarks Shoes at USD99 or lesser at other promotion event with 2nd pair at USD10, Columbia backpacks at mostly USD15 to USD30, Columbia fleece jacket at USD20 and those thick type for freezing temperature at between USD50 to USD100, Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes at USD40, Puma shoes at mostly under USD30. And the shoes are not old stock as their labels indicated date of production to be mostly this year, with some even from Jul/2019. But too obsessive with the sales would easily turn the trip into a bargain hunt which frankly would get even better bargains if you are to spend the travelling costs directly in getting the items online in the comfort of your armchair or even from Singapore stores. The air-ticket would easily cost you $2000+ which can get you handful of North face jackets and Kate Spade bags at full retail prices. So my advice would be to look beyond the sales and enjoy the great outdoors and scenery for example. Just try to schedule at least 2 full day visits to the Premium outlets at early part of the tour and during the last few day to placate your other halve will do. 

totally agree.

And also many end up buying more than they need/should.

And I have seen people who had to buy new extra luggage case to bring back their loot.

I only did more premium outlet shopping when on business trip, the spare time is quite limited for sight-seeing and usually have company provided rental car to drive to the far-away outlets.

Taking public (scheduled fare bus or taxi) to outlets is super not-worth-it. My own painful experience.... 

  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Is it good to do road trip in Winter?

For me, after this trip, the answer is a plain no! Before the trip, my mind always conjure up images of white beautiful scenery, playing with snow, doing snow tubing, etc. But the reality is that winter is very cold out there and the chances of companion catching cold is very high. and very soon some will be sneezing. And with almost every meals consisting of burgers and steaks, very soon some will be coughing very badly. 

But the worse fear on road trips during winter would be disruption due to bad weather such as snow blizzard or icy roads or even fogs. With all the lodgings booked over the days, it would be hard to recover if an blizzard caused the regional roads to be closed for a day or 2. During my trip I have to readup/watch on the weather updates as well as travel alerts on respective National Parks every night to ensure my travel for following day is still possible. I can remember at least 2 instances where heavy flurry disrupted traffic for extended period of time, and I was lucky to be out of that region by a day or 2. Granted there are always alternate roads if the major roads are closed, but travelling under such condition is still a major risk.

When I was in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, my outing to Cades Cove was dashed as the place was under maintenance a day before I arrived, and re-opened only a day after my departure from that region. And that was despite me staying there for 3 nights! That place was supposed to be the highlight of my sojourn to this area with frequent sighting of brown bears, coyotes, dears and other wildlife, but what to do. And my plan to Mingo Falls was also dashed because the access road to there from Gatlinburg where I anchored was closed due to icy road, alternate roads would  take about 5hrs return compare to the normal 2hrs return.

And my scenic Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park also nearly buang due to fog. It was luckily still opened when I was there but with heavy fog, most of the scenery was gone and I have to drive very slowly with hazard lights on. Not fun at all. Luckily half way through, the condition improved and I could see the scenery in its full glory. Being positive, my wife told me we were lucky to be able to see both types of scenery haha. And being winter, it would not be possible to do hiking along the routes, which is part of the attraction to enjoy the great outdoor.

And I also have to leave out outings to amusement parks as cannot imagine doing roller coaster rides at near freezing temperature. I do not want any to be sick after a full day of fun.

So consider all in all, my opinion is that winter is not the best time to go on road trips in USA. Two major chain collisons accidents involving 40+ vehicles happened during my time there, good thing I was not there when they happened. But the possibility of that is almost there, and that is not fun. So glad my itinerary worked out smoothly.

Perhaps it would be good to schedule 2 nights in same hotel every 3 to 4 nights. This would allow recovery if hit by weather disruptions along the trip. I had planned for three such recovery points along my 19 days road trip. I would think it is prudent already, as not possible to do the ultimate planning by staying wherever the day bring you. If I were with my wife only and much younger, I might just do that. But not for this phase of my life with kids following. Everyone need to know what we are doing the next day and too much at stake.

Edited by Heartlander
Added last paragraph
  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I thk the key thing for US is time difference. Other than short days during winter, by 4-5pm u can b very sleepy so don’t plan too long days at the start.

Also as general rule of thumb, always keep to slow lanes as visitor drivers. I hv no issues w US drivers etiquette. 

  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

 

3 hours ago, Scholesy said:

I thk the key thing for US is time difference. Other than short days during winter, by 4-5pm u can b very sleepy so don’t plan too long days at the start.

Also as general rule of thumb, always keep to slow lanes as visitor drivers. I hv no issues w US drivers etiquette. 

Handling Jetlag

Jetlag is something that will come from behind to bite you if you never have a proper plan to tackle it. My SOP has been to ensure my sleeping pattern on last few hours of flight matching the arrival time of destination. If my arrival at USA is 9am, I will try to sleep for at least 4 to 5hrs before plane lands. It is definitely better to sleep for longer hours but to me that is good enough as not easy to sleep on planes. If my arrival at USA is 5pm, I will try to keep myself awake for more than 5hrs at a stretch before plane lands. This has worked very well so far in all my flights over the years.

But even then, once in a while, I will suddenly feel very sleepy in certain hours of afternoon when I am driving. The fatigue is not the usual level, but something that threaten to shutdown your whole system. When that happens, I will just drive to a rest stop and rest for awhile to recover. If you are passengers sitting in car for long time, it will also hit you very easily. A common situation is when you suddenly feel so tired that you cannot open your eyes but want to surrender to lala land quickly.

The effect can be mitigated to certain extent by having a good night sleep. And for people with severe sleep apnea, this can be especially troubling if need to do the driving. That is why it is necessary to bring along your CPAP machine for the trip as it will help in getting good sleep at night.

  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Quality of Road in USA (East Side)

Before this trip I had imagined the roads in USA to be of very good quality, but the past 19 days really convinced me that infrastructure in USA really need some rejuvenating.  The roads there got a lot of minor cracks and full of potholes, some as large as a foot, and consistently bad from the B roads in small towns to the interstate highway. I would think North South highway is definitely rated better than it. Sometime I will shake my head that if a motor cyclist did not take notice of that pothole, the bike would be flying in the sky.

And the way the roads are planned also very confusing sat times for newbies. Over here we are used to almost all right-angle turning. But in USA, turning could be hook shape. At times when I drive to a stop at a junction, I am scratching my head how I should turn. Good thing the Google Map provides quite clear instructions most of the time so keep tab of the route on mobile phone would be alright. For newbie, it is better to arrange someone as navigator to provide another pair of eyes to help the driver in getting acquainted with the new set of driving rules. After 2 days or more of extensive driving will the driver get more confidence.

 

Driving near schools or behind yellow school bus

In USA they have in place very strict traffic rules to protect the school kids. If you driving near any schools, there would be traffic sign alerting you to drop the driving speed to 15mph or 25mph within certain school hours. You can be sure they mean business as every cars big or small will automatically follow this rule. So if you are the only car at that vicinity, do follow it to avoid being issued summons.

And the famous yellow school bus will have a lot of lights blinking when it is about to make a stop. And when it make a complete stop, there will be 2 retractable traffic signs being flapped out from its sides. When that happen, vehicles from both side of the roads are suppose to come to complete stop. You will be able to see school children dashing away from the bus in both directions taking for granted that the traffic would be stopping for them. From the way they run, it is obvious they never check left and right before crossing the road. So please pay attention to this to avoid getting into trouble.

To be frank I did not know of this law only till I observe it one day during the trip. Good thing I was a few cars behind haha. So many different rules to learn.

I found the following video to illustrate the point:

 

Right turn when red at junction

This is another traffic rule that most newbie to USA roads tend to be ignorant about. Over there, when a car stop at a traffic junction when red, it is allowed to make right turn most of the time in most of the stated unless explicitly forbidden by a signage. But a lot of drivers will gong gong stop there until a wise guy realise it to start turning, then everyone will follow suit. But be careful you are allowed to turn only when it s safe to do so, meaning you must double check to ensure no car is coming from the left side before executing the turn else accident might occur. We also have this rule in a few junctions here but over in USA it is a common rule.

 

Car Moving off from junctions without traffic lights

On some junctions there would not be any traffic lights to control the traffic. For example a cross junctions with stop lines being drawn on all four approaches. So the rule is that whichever car stopping at its stop line first will be the first to drive off after all the cars have stopped, so you must be observant and look at the other 3 cars at the junction. No worries the drivers at junction I observe are quite forgiving and will give you more time if it is obvious you are not moving though is your turn. Just move off slowly if you think it is your turn. After  a few junctions, you will get the hang of it and able to drive like a local. 

Just be careful not all junctions without traffic lights have stop lines on all lanes. Certain roads have stop lines on certain direction but other direction have right of way to proceed without stopping. So please observe the presence of stop lines.

Link to post
Share on other sites

This would be the last update from this travel. I have been withholding it till dust has settled haha.

I think most of you remember about the infamous incidence when an unlucky passenger was dragged off an United Airline violently when he refused to volunteer to leave the plane due to over-booking. My wife and kids faced similar situation on their return flight. They were on Luftansa flights under code sharing with United Airline. But obviously the airline has learnt a thing or 2 since the incidence.

At the gateway, the staff announced for 3 volunteers to take later flights due to over-booking. My wife volunteered since she and kids have nothing planned and in no rush to end their holiday yet, can enjoy the winter weather longer why not? So think most are keen to know the compensation: free hotel stay, USD90 meal claims, total USD1500 worth of air ticket vouchers. My wife also asked for a letter to verify the flight delay  of > 6hrs to do flight delay claims against travel insurance policy when back. Despite airline staff saying impossible due to volunteer nature, same for me, my wife just received total S$900 worth of compensation for the delay. She was able to flex again her life philosophy of no try never know haha.

I would think the compensation is decent lah. She had been lucky because most on the flights are angmohs and accepting the offer would disrupt their travel plans, so nobody wanted to volunteer at all. I was so jealous!

↡ Advertisement
  • Praise 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...