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And the indicator/blinker sticks may also be on the other side of the steering wheel. Not that that's much of a problem since they're either (a) not used; (b) used to indicate a turn that may or may not be coming up in future, whether the next left/right, or in three or more block's time.
Or is that just southern California?
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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What Smitty means is that the steering wheel is on the right side of the car, not the wrong side. Also known as the left side. Everything clear now?
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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And Geoff is certainly right about turn signals...drives me crazy!!
Posts: 332 | From: Long Island, NY USA | Registered: Jan 2004
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Then there's the "farmer's turn," when someone turning right from the right lane drifts into the left lane during the turn.
Or the "a------ turn," when someone turning left from the left lane first moves into the right lane before starting the turn to the left.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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So far as "driving on the wrong side of the road", I have done so during this life in the UK (with my Sister as instructor), Jamaica, and USVI (in the Far East, only in 'Nam, and that is " correct" side). The only real scare I had was in Jamaica when a "close shave" situation developed, I had to override my "Yankee" instincts to safely react.
I cannot recall positively if Ms. Karen plans to rent an auto while over here, but I believe she said that she did not plan to. So I must wonder how this got so off-topic so fast.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Everything gets off-topic fast. That's just the way we are. We have ADHD of the forum.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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Kacy -- have a GREAT trip!!!!!!!!!!! You will enjoy it, and I hope the kids also enjoy it. We are looking forward to a trip report when you get back home!!!
Posts: 2428 | From: Grayling, MI | Registered: Mar 2002
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To balance my observation, one thing I have observed of British drivers and their indicators: Probably 95% of the time they will indicate to join traffic on a motorway (=freeway) when there is nothing else they can do anyway. But when it comes to switching lanes, maybe only 50% indicate - or start indicating when they're half way through the maneuver.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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We hope that you'll have time to keep us updated as your grand trip moves along!
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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^^^Very true! I never had a problem with right side driving (driver stays next to the center line), but remembering to look right when I stepped off the curb (or is that kerb?) was too much for my brain to remember.
Posts: 831 | From: Seattle | Registered: Jan 2011
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Be careful not to tell any staff at a hotel to knock you up at 7 o'clock.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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OK, since now this discussion is moving towards hotels, it appears that the 7AM "knock" from Room Service is on its way to the nostalgia museum. I would think the only major traveling segment left to use it would be women traveling alone. For myself, likely half the hotels at which I stay are of the "full service" varietal; I've never used Room Service. That $40 Breakfast tab after all the taxes, fees, and a tip, are all thrown in (along with the likelihood it will be cold or a condiment you want is not there), is enough to have me walking down to the restaurant.
Finally, it should be noted that a later report in The Times states that for the very high end, i.e. Ritz, Four Seasons, Waldorf varietals, room service will continue.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Of course, like most things in the hospitality industry, room service is not necessarily disappearing but morphing into a new form - a detail that unsurprisingly the NY Times omits to mention.
How many hotels have a Starbucks? Or some other chain coffee shop / restaurant? That's what serve as many hotels' room services these days.
Ordering some pub grub from one of the bars in the Mandalay Bay in Vegas? Observe the runner from the hotel kitchen half a mile away (my garlic fries were cold). Want something off the menu in restaurant #2 in Harrah's while sitting in restaurant #1? Not a problem sir, it's the same kitchen anyway.
Consolidation. It wouldn't surprise me if smaller, independent hotels grouped together on their kitchens if they're next door to each other. In fact, it already happens but I can't remember where I was.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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Likely what I note with this "regrading" of hotel Food & Beverage is that they are choosing to downgrade the product they offer. Indicative of this is my experience at a Marriott Courtyard in Nashville last April. At this property, along with any others at which I have stayed, a full service Breakfast Buffet had been offered. However as part of Marriott's effort to get the space used during both the Morning and Evening hours, they are initiating bars (some Courtyards have had such, some have not) as well as some kind of Dinner service. Be it assured it is not having a server coming to your table and taking your order, but rather it is you, the customer, going to a take out stand and placing your order - and paying for it on the spot as if you were at Mickey D's. Fortunately at the Nashville property (after I found myself "stood up" and for no reason beyond from a guy I only casually know, "Gee, I guess I messed up"), I simply went to a "good" Italian restaurant adjunct to the hotel. However, I did get to experience their "Mickey D breakfast service".
Hate to say it, but all of this is starting to question my loyalty to Marriott brands.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Want something off the menu in restaurant #2 in Harrah's while sitting in restaurant #1? Not a problem sir, it's the same kitchen anyway.
Speaking of Harrah's....I have to put a plug in for one of my all-time favorite restaurants. They are new to The Strip, and just moved into Harrah's: Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Yummmmmm!!! The best steaks and food EVER. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it...
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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So, you can all take a collective sigh of relief when I tell you I shall not be driving while in the USA. Here in the UK, I can quite easily deal with two small kids, hand out snacks and juice, retrieve toys, referee fights, all while driving.. but I cannot safely do that while trying to remember to drive on the wrong side of the road!!!
I will also remember about the 'knock up' - though given I will be travelling with 4 children, it's unlikely anyone would want to come near my room!! haha!
I'll read the other links now and I will definitely keep you informed of progress :-)
We've got all our tickets now and I've worked out (reasonably!) what we are doing each day so I think we are in good shape!
Posts: 69 | From: UK | Registered: Nov 2012
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quote:Originally posted by Jerome Nicholson: And be sure to look LEFT FIRST when you cross the street!
I realize that curbs in London are all marked "Look Right" for the benefit of us Yanks "over there", but I cannot say "the Colonies" (and for that matter, my ancestors who made it X the Channel during 1066) return the favor.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Jerome Nicholson: And be sure to look LEFT FIRST when you cross the street!
I realize that curbs in London are all marked "Look Right" for the benefit of us Yanks "over there", but I cannot say "the Colonies" (and for that matter, my ancestors who made it X the Channel during 1066) return the favor.
So it was YOUR invasion that started the current monarchy! Posts: 510 | From: Richmond VA USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by KacyB: Brilliant advice guys! :-) thankyou!
So, you can all take a collective sigh of relief when I tell you I shall not be driving while in the USA. Here in the UK, I can quite easily deal with two small kids, hand out snacks and juice, retrieve toys, referee fights, all while driving.. but I cannot safely do that while trying to remember to drive on the wrong side of the road!!!
I will also remember about the 'knock up' - though given I will be travelling with 4 children, it's unlikely anyone would want to come near my room!! haha!
I'll read the other links now and I will definitely keep you informed of progress :-)
We've got all our tickets now and I've worked out (reasonably!) what we are doing each day so I think we are in good shape!
It's good you won't be driving. You won't need a car in any of the places you will visit. All the cities you outlined have very good transit systems and taxi service. And in Glenwood Springs the hotel should be able to arrange transport for you. And remember to do the Fahrenheit/Celsius conversion on temperature. I remember encountering a British woman in hot weather clothes at Disney World on a cold December day. I asked, "I see you're dressed for the weather. Don't tell me - you heard the temperature would be in the 30's and you thought they meant Celsius?" Posts: 510 | From: Richmond VA USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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[/QB][/QUOTE] And remember to do the Fahrenheit/Celsius conversion on temperature. I remember encountering a British woman in hot weather clothes at Disney World on a cold December day. I asked, "I see you're dressed for the weather. Don't tell me - you heard the temperature would be in the 30's and you thought they meant Celsius?" [/QB][/QUOTE]
Haha! I will! Thankyou!
I took the children to the top of the Shard in London today - They were totally unimpressed by it! So I think I'll give tall buildings a miss (apart from the CN tower in Toronto as it has a glass floor and I think that will be quite funny to see... Harry was very worried that the glass ont he shard would 'crack' today and, with the innocence of a child, he said 'and Mummy... it's quite a long way down and I don't want to bruise my knees' Posts: 69 | From: UK | Registered: Nov 2012
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OK, 48 hours now!! It's all seeming a little bit real!! Kids are BEYOND excited!!
The only thing I'm feeling a little bit unsure about is tipping.
Ted has given me loads of advice on tipping on trains, but what about in general? Do I just tip everyone? Whatabout taxis etc? Do they need to be tipped?
Any last minute advice much appreciated!!
Can't believe I'm actually going to do this!! Will certainly keep you all posted (or updated you afterwards if I can't get online but I think there will be plently of places with WIFI)
It's going to be an adventure, that's for sure!!
GBN - looking forward to meeting you in Chicago.
Kacy. x
Posts: 69 | From: UK | Registered: Nov 2012
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I usually tip about 15% for a simple taxi ride. With luggage and kids I might add a little more, but if you get lousy service (smelly cab, roundabout routing, no help with luggage) feel free to tip less.
Restaurants are usually 15-20% for table service, counter service restaurants might have a tip jar on the counter--maybe drop a buck or two for better service.
Posts: 831 | From: Seattle | Registered: Jan 2011
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If you receive decent service at a restaurant---any restaurant (except places like McDonald's of course)----always tip at least 15%. They work hard and rely on tips for their income.
One thing I never see anyone mention is tipping the housekeeping staff in hotels. I always put a note on the bed that says, "Thank you" and a $10 bill for each day I'm there. More if I'm in a freebie suite in Vegas.
When you get to a hotel and the hotel staff opens the taxi door for you and then gets all of your bags out of the trunk, you are expected to tip that person a few dollars (2 or 3 bucks).
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Train Status reports 29(13) Capitol Limited arrived CUS 852A, or 7ML.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Hi guys! Sorry, don't have too much time to log on here in the USA! But husband and elder kids have gone out for the night so it's just me and the little ones in tonight, so I've splashed out on wifi!
We are having a great time - we are now in San Francisco, have had a couple of delays, but nothing major and I have to say we've all been totally impressed by Amtrak.
I'll work out how to provide feedback, but Byron at Amtrak, glenwood springs earns special mention for being the most helpful and generally happy person we've encountered!
So, I can now say we've crossed America by rain, and we've had a fab time doing so.
We're off at the end of the end of this week - headed up to Vancouver and then back over the Rockies.
Oh, and if you haven't heard, we have a new royal baby boy :-)
Posts: 69 | From: UK | Registered: Nov 2012
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Glad your trip is going well. If you are currently in SF, you're about 30 minutes away from me right now. Welcome to my world! Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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Oh well, just one more late arrival. Weren't we to have raised our Pinot Grigios to Prince George of Cambridge making the scene while we were at the Doubletree bar July 14?
Incidentially, TV (whoops; Telly) news reported the Chicago Brit expat community celebrated the event at another hotel not all that far away from Doubletree.
Regarding your delays, many could have been attributed to heat related speed restrictions. Passenger trains normally operating at 79mph are held to about 50 while such are in effect.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Glad to hear that your trip is going well. There is a certain satisfaction which comes from executing a meticulously planned itinerary in spite of unexpected delays, changes in travel party, etc.
Was Glenwood Springs your only Colorado stopover? Seems like you had some plans for Denver as well if I recall.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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If you need baggage assistance in Seattle, I hope that LaToya will be on duty for you when you arrive. I encountered her on a family trip July 1 and she was fabulous as well. One of the best baggage handlers I've encountered anywhere.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying your trip! I was worried about not hearing from you. Please stay in touch - it's what we live for!
Posts: 510 | From: Richmond VA USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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Hi, just another update from us... We are now in Portland now. Going to check out OMSI today - kids want to check out the submarine!
We were lucky enough to be able to say HI to Ted and Sylvia Blishak while passing thru Klathman Falls. I don't remember who initially gave me their details, but it was someone on this site, and they have been instrumental at making sure our trip has been flawless so it was great to be able to spend just a few minutes saying hi, and introducing the children.
If anyone knows the Portland area, can you please suggest somewhere I can take the kids tomorrow? It is Imogen's 4th birthday so would like to do something special.
GBN - I think a lot of the delays are due to the heat... Though after the coolness of SF, it was nice to feel the sun when we arrived in Portland!
Posts: 69 | From: UK | Registered: Nov 2012
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If you are in downtown Portland, I thought Pionner Square was kind of interesting. If I remember correctly, they have some sort of science store with scientific gadgets and toys, which might be of interest. If memory serves, it was on a side street kitty-cornered from Startbucks, in a building with a glass roof.
Richard
Posts: 1909 | From: Santa Rosa | Registered: Jan 2004
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