My mom is SO ridiculous

[XemaSab]

So she's spent countless hours waxing about how before she dies she would like to go to New Orleans, see some of the sites connected with the civil rights movement, and maybe get up to Tennessee and Kentucky.

I told her tonight that we could totally do this next spring, and I would buy the tickets.

Train fare for this is PROHIBITIVE (it would probably wind up being close to $1000 per person, and the train goes through Chicago), and it would take a mind-bending 80 hours in the car just to get there and back directly (not to mention gas, hotels, and food along the way).

Plane fare is $200 bucks round trip to New Orleans, per person. It takes 5 hours to get there on the plane, nonstop from SFO.

She is SO opposed to flying that she would rather drive for TWO WEEKS than spend 10 hours on an airplane. Which is silly, because back in the day she went to Europe twice, and Alaska once. The worst thing that ever happened to her on a plane is that she got served a sandwich with a tiny little caterpillar in it. :P

I'd like someone not connected with the situation to tell me if it's even worth trying to talk her into flying, or if it's a total waste of time. :banghead:

Like, seriously, I don't like to fly, but when I do fly I put on my big girl panties and I get on the plane. I then proceed to have a terrific trip in some really cool part of the country (Alaska, Texas, Maine, and Florida among other places), and when it's time to come home I get on the plane and I have 3 screwdrivers and before I know it I'm back home safe and sound.

[Kali]

1. make it a REALLY fun time

and take the BUS!!!}( :bounce: :party: :toast: :party: :rofl:













:hide:

[XemaSab]

2. .

:spank:

[Tobin S.]

3. I've seen posts about you and your mother in the past

And I would say really try to sell the plane ride hard understanding that she probably won't do it, but on the off chance that she would. If that fails, and it probably will, throw her in the trunk and hit the highway. :)

[XemaSab]

6. I'm half tempted to get the tickets and just be like

"We're doing this. Here, have a xanax." :P

I think we would both have a fun time.

[XemaSab]

8. I have to ask:

Is the ENTIRE length of I-10 horribly boring? :o

[Tobin S.]

12. Not the entire length

You have Pheonix and Tucson to go through. Other than that it's all desert emptiness until you get to San Antonio, then the action picks up all the way to New Orleans. Not much to look at until you get to Louisiana.

Personally, I think that there is a certain beauty to the desert. Desolate wilderness, wide open country, huge blue sky. It's almost like being on a different planet that hasn't developed life forms yet. And you can fuckin cruise out that way. The speed limit is 75 in Arizona, New Mexico and up to 80 in southwest Texas. Hammer down, baby.

[jobycom]

13. It CAN be un-boring.

Things I've done on I-10:

Totaled a car by swerving to avoid a porcupine at 2 AM on the Pecos River Bridge.

Woken up to see a vertical bumper attached to a pickup truck on its side flash past my window about a foot away from my window near Junction. It was dark and snowing. There were a lot of cars on their sides on that trip.

Got me and my family totally spooked by telling ghost stories about vanishing hitchhikers in the dark voids around Van Horn.

Talked to a State Trooper (who responded to my totaled car, mentioned above) about the startling numbers of suicides and mysterious accidents along I-10 through west Texas.

Driven at speeds around a hundred in a Prius where the speed limit is 80 while getting passed by everyone.

Timed how long I could go with my radio on scan without it ever once stopping on a station. I won't give it away, but it's a lot.

There are fun places to stop along the way--caverns, historic sites, cool scenery. I actually love to drive I-10, but I love to drive in general, so I'm not the standard by which to judge things.

For an answer to your OP question, though--if the trip is to make her happy, then make her happy. My dad developed a fear of flying after 9-11. He claimed he was afraid of being hijacked, but I really think he just developed a greater fear of mortality and wanted to stick to things he felt safer doing. I drove him from Gulfport to Las Vegas for one trip, and Gulfport to New York for another. They were great trips, with moments of intense anger from being caged together for so long. Rent a minivan. :)

[Kali]

19. AHEM!

not the part from Benson to The THING? !!!

you could stop by and run a frequency transect with me - was sitting on a rock for a few minutes this morning and counted 7 species of native perennial and two annual grasses, a freaking sedge, and at least 6 flowering shrubby weedy things within a few feet radius (and it was in a hill blasted out for a road) and oh yeah we have a few of those flying things you like to look at around here.

[tigereye]

21. "those flying things you like to look at"

:rofl: Kali you make me laugh...

[Kali]

23. ...

:P

[SwampG8r]

4. you have special panties for flying?

huh

[XemaSab]

10. If I posted pictures it would get this thread locked

:P

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

18. Like a fighter pilot's?

Because the facilities are not very lavish in a fighter plane.

My family took boats to Europe and back, just because my mother refused to fly. It just wasn't gonna happen. Maybe it's just better to make it a road trip. See some stuff on the way. Sequoia National Park, Grand Canyon. Texas? Yeah, there's nothing east of El Paso until you hit the hill country.

:hi:

[kimi]

5. Boy, do I sympathize

I'm going with my mom to Dublin later this month, her last trip overseas. I love my mom, and want to go, but - yeah. Traveling with moms can be challenging.

Does your mom know how expensive it's gonna be? Is she physically capable of a trip of that magnitude? Plane vs train or car - makes a big difference. If you all fly, she could spend more time seeing sights there, and less time traveling to see them. Also, wouldn't be quite as tired when she gets there. IMO, yes, it's worth trying to talk her into flying. If that doesn't work, then you have a big trip in front of you, and frankly, I'd drive. It's expensive, but there's a little more freedom, and most hotels have bars nearby. Sounds like you might need one. Good luck! :)

[XemaSab]

7. She's totally physically capable

She's fine to go on a long trip, but she has bad knees so she can't walk around a lot.

One of the biggest sticking points is her being able to get time off from work.

I've been on trips with her where the entire trip was spent in the car, and those are not the most fun trips. :P

I think if she were to take 2 weeks, it would be way more fun to spend the time actually seeing things we want to see, and not driving across the entirety of Texas. :P

(And on edit, no slam on Texas intended. I've just heard that West Texas is about the biggest stretch of nothing around, and Google maps seems to back that suspicion up 100%.)

[kimi]

9. I get ya

My mom's problem is her knees too. In the past when we've traveled together, she ends up sitting out a lot of tours on the bus while I participate, and that makes me feel bad. Still, it's hard for her to walk, so I understand. And traveling with bad knees in a car is hard, too, you gotta make sure that there are plenty of breaks to get out and walk around, even when the person doesn't want to, cause it IS painful. In that case, if your mom is adamant about not flying, the train might be a better alternative, cause she could get up and walk around while you're traveling. Plane is best, though, for time's sake.

From one daughter to another - take care.

[Capn Sunshine]

11. re Tejas

what you've heard is correct. There are those giant tumbleweeds to amuse you though. No shit, the size of an elephant.

here's a little taste of Tejas to get you in the mood, 'cause you are SO driving. I can see that coming down the highway.

[XemaSab]

14. If the car is involved

It's gonna be Crater Lake and not NOLA.

Seriously, we once took a trip from Everett, WA to Lesser Slave Lake via Banff, Jasper, and about 6 other Canadian national parks. In a week.

Sitting in the car for day after day isn't a good time. And on that trip the scenery was beautiful. :P

[Rhiannon12866]

15. Some people absolutely refuse to fly.

Only you know if your mother is one of them. I hate to fly, too, had a panic attack on one trip over the Atlantic that lasted for hours, but I've forced myself. I've been to Ireland, Russia and Finland and I would never have seen them, which was totally worth it, if I hadn't been willing to get on a plane... :)

My aunt refused to fly. She'd had a bad experience a few decades before and would never fly after that. When my grandmother died, she was with my aunt in Colorado. They flew my grandmother back here to NY, but the funeral had to wait while my aunt and my poor little cousin took trains and buses halfway across the country... :(

Then there was my partner at work. He was asked to represent the company at a convention in Las Vegas and said that he'd go. But that meant he had to get on a plane and he drove me crazy for a week showing me maps and asking if there wasn't some way around it. I kept telling him that even if he left right then, he still wouldn't make it. So he finally canceled at the last minute and got into all kinds of hot water... x(

So it depends on how adamant your mother is. If she's going with you, that might make a difference. Just keep telling her what fun you'll have and how it'll be over before she knows it... Good luck! :hi:

[seabeyond]

16. i refuse to fly for many reasons, not fear. we drove from texas to calif. and from texas

to cape cod. because i am not flying anymore. if i dont have to.

i loved that we made that choice. it was so great, two drivers, with family adn driving thru our nation.

we are going to NO next thanksgiving adn my in laws insist i fly. no. we will drive. that simple. has nothing to do with them. i dont know why they are insisting and i prefer to drive, all the way around. i hate being locked in with no control. i have freedom with car

i say, if you can get the time, and hopefully she can do some of the driving, have a blast with sites and go two different routes.

[xchrom]

17. we must have been separated at birth -- SO when presented with a problem like this with my mom --

i send her with someone else. THEN she'll fly and have a wonderful time.

[tigereye]

20. hmm, well it could be a really fun road trip, or is driving there out?

I like trains, but I'd be inclined to convince mom to fly - that's a pretty good price. :shrug:


Hope it works out, since it sounds like a great time - as someone who has always wanted to, but never traveled to, NOLA.



on edit, flying has become a bit of a pain, but it's still faster most of the time. It's amazing to me how many people are afraid to fly when there are so many programs to decrease those fears...

[Iggo]

22. HOW RIDICULOUS IS SHE?!?!?!?

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[MiddleFingerMom]

25. Iggo, I just put that in the "Wish I'd said that" category

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If you're on I-10 anywhere in the whole Tucson REGION, and
you're fortunate enough to see a sunset or a thunderstorm,
you will remember it for a long, LONG time.
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There's a reason why landscapes associated with our area
are so filled with salmons and lavenders and purples and
pinks. They're colors associated with our sunsets on a
nightly basis.
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I love thunderstorms... and I've never seen the wide variety
of lightning types in virtually EVERY storm here -- it's like
a symphony -- or even better yet -- an opera (without those
annoying people on the stage).
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[grasswire]

24. if you add motel costs, gas and food, the train might not be that much more

....and it's a wonderful experience. You can get a companion fare and she can get a senior discount. If you want to visit several cities, you could get a 30-day rail pass. The restriction on that means you can't travel to and from by the same route. But hey...it's possible to go home from N.O. to L.A. and then north, and never go to Chicago. The beauty of America passes right by your window while you sit in the observation car! And the dining car meals are included.

[applegrove]

26. My family drove to florida when I was a kid. Three days down and three days back with

a week in florida. All I remember from the trip is being in the car. I didn't even have a tan when we got back. Unless you want to spend lots and lots of quality time with your mom I wouldn't give up on the plane.