The Wedding (again) and a question for flisters

[gategrrl]

I've gone again to the Southwest Air website, and did some fiddling. I can get a round trip flight from LAX to Manchester NH, and a hotel (Super Eight) and a rental car (Budget) for a total of $550. rounded up a few cents. That's not counting gas or meals.  A concierge at a hotel I called in Wolfesboro estimated the driving time to be around 1.5 hours from the airport to her hotel.

I could do it with a GPS gizmo...it means I'd stay in a hotel in Manchester NH, then drive up to Wolfesboro Sunday morning, then drive back down to lovely Manchester Sunday night (cutting short from the party after the wedding) and then taking off at 6:30am on Monday morning. My mother says the traffic that weekend is horrible...does anyone here live in the area and know anything about New Hampshire traffic on Columbus Day weekend in October? (it is the last big foliage weekend)

edited to correct a day - the wedding is on a Sunday, silly me!

Comments

[khek.livejournal.com]

I know Vermont/Mass traffic.

The highways and "scenic routes" usually are pretty horrible at that time of year--but mostly on Friday nights as all the leaf peepers go north and on Sunday evenings/nights (or Mondays, if it's a holiday weekend) when they go home. I can't remember if Columbus Day is celebrated in NH (it is in MA, but not in VT) so that would definitely make a difference. Also find out if there are any kind of festivals or attractions in the area, because that could cause some delays.

Still, it would just mean that it takes longer to get where you're going, not that it's impossible. Your hotel staff should be able to give you some kind of idea about how long it will take to get somewhere.

It sounds like you managed to fina a good deal!

[gategrrl.livejournal.com]

Well, perhaps. I also have to contact my cousin (whose wedding this is) and also check with my husband. We're going to be converting our garage into office/living space, as well as having that large trip in August to Massachusetts.

That Monday is Columbus Day...hmm...I'll have to google the festivals and so forth. I hadn't even thought of those. I was thinking of leaving extremely early on Saturday morning - but I just realized. I'd be flying in from the West Coast. That means waking early is going to be an especial hell for me. My 7am would be the East Coast's 10am. Crap.

Maybe my cousin would have some suggestions.

[lynncc.livejournal.com]

I fly east out of SFO a fair bit. When time and cost are important, I usually take a red-eye or overnight flight. They leave the west coast around 10-11:30 and get in to east coast destinations early in the morning. I know Southwest has a few of those.

Traffic along the quaint and scenic byways of New Hampshire can be heavy on the Columbus Day weekend but, you should be fine if you've taken that into account. Certainly your Monday morning departure shouldn't be a problem.

It looks like you have the whole day Sunday to yourself. Will there be wedding related activities that day as well?

[gategrrl.livejournal.com]

The wedding is on Sunday (and the reception afterward). I'd be in town only for that day, really, and gone the next. There'd be little reason to hang around, and no family close by enough to Manchester that I could stay with for an extra day.

Thanks for your input!

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

From what I recall, traffic in the Manchester area can get pretty bad that weekend. I'll have to check again. I know not only is the foliage thing an issue, but with the long weekend, lots of MA folk go up for some time in the mountains. That usually means hitting Manchester along the way.

But I haven't lived up there in ages.

[lynncc.livejournal.com]

Okay, so you'd be travelling on Saturday then during the day. I was a little confused because in your OP you mentioned driving up to Wolfesboro on Saturday and then back down to Manchester on Saturday night.

[gategrrl.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I'd really not like to arrive late at night, and then drive all the way to Wolfeboro after travelling by plane for hours. Although, I'm still thinking that it might be possible to get a hotel room in Wolfesboro if I arrive early enough on Saturday.

I even thought about staying an extra day and leaving on Tuesday, but I've got kids and my husband works and most of all, who the hell would I go visit where I could easily access the airport again?

Southwest didn't seem to have those redeye flights listed when I looked. Are they hiding them?

[gategrrl.livejournal.com]

I did? D'oh! Let me amend that on my post - I didn't realize I'd said that!