All New Atlantic Canada Thread....

[Tinkershelly]

I think that air travel will be screwed up for the whole continent over the next few days, probably won't get corrected until mid-week or so. The airline schedulers are probably bringing in cases of Red Bull now to try to keep the most people moving as possible but with the major airports from Washington to Boston unreliable or even under water, it'll be tough to predict.

I don't have any fear that it will be dangerous to fly, they will make sure that everyone is safe, but having to skip those major hubs for even a few hours will become a scheduling nightmare!

On the good side, if you don't have a scheduled stop at an affected airport you may be in very good shape. Good luck for sure with your flights and have a great holiday!!!

 

[DisneyFreak06]

We are leaving for WDW on Monday at 6:35 a.m. We have a connecting flight going through Montreal. We leave Montreal at 8:35 a.m. I think it is.

I am so nervous that we will be delayed. I can handle being a day late starting our vacation if need be. (not that I wouldn't be disappointed) It is the fact that my mom is supposed to be meeting us in Montreal that concerns me. I don't want her to make it through to Orlando all by herself. This is a woman who can get lost in a bathroom! God knows where she would end up. If we get delayed, I would rather we were all together or at least all still stuck at home but not separated.

The hardest part is the waiting to see just what weather will affect where!! I keep telling myself, don't think about it because there is nothing I can do but wait and see.

Wish me luck.

Good luck! I was stuck in Toronto for an extra three hours the other day due to thunderstorms. Other airports were totally cancelling flights and they were announcing the cancelled flights to those airports. They were also announcing that if people had connections to make, they would help them find other flights to their final destinations (instead of to the airports that were cancelling flights). I know this doesn't help in your case, but keep in mind they try to help in whichever way they can.

And on a side note, my sister is the same way, and not a flyer. On her second ever flight, she managed to find her way through Montreal to make it to Orlando on her own. She stopped and asked for help at least twice, so maybe if you remind your mother to ask for help as often as she needs, she could be fine and then she could meet you in Orlando. Although hopefully you won't have to worry and you'll be okay getting out!

Here's some pixie dust to help you have some safe travels!

 

[Celidh]

Thanks everyone. I'm getting more and more nervous by the minute. Halifax is under a tropical storm warning and a wind warning. I don't know how high the winds have to be before they will ground planes. Hopefully they are calm when we have to leave. I go back and forth from thinking it will all be good and we will get out and freaking that we will be stuck for days. I don't even have to be in Disney to be on a roller coaster ride, but this one is all emotional!

On the brighter side, I think we are pretty much packed. We are heading to Halifax tomorrow afternoon and staying at a hotel for the night. Today was my son's 14th bday and so we are taking him to Boston Pizza tomorrow evening. I gave him the choice of where we eat.

I'm tired and ready for a good nights' sleep.

 

[teekathepony]

Hope everything went smooth for you, Celidh!

How's everyone fareing in the storm now? It's not doing much here, not even taking dead branches off the trees (yet?).

 

[DisneyFreak06]

If I found the right info it looks as though Celidh made it to Montreal. According to one site I found, they left a few minutes early, but landed a few minutes late. Now hopefully they'll get out of Montreal okay to get to Orlando!

 

[ginny_lynn]

Welcome Virgina
All though I'm not from NS but I have made the trip to Florida several times and have worked as a bus driver . I have driven from Fredericton in 2 days "alone" there are bascily 2 routes that you could take the I95 all the way or using I81 . The I95 route is the shortest but involves driving through all the major east coast cities and a lot of tolls the I 81 route is mostly rural ( Lots of services and great 4 lane Highway ) when I travel I use a simple formula of 50miles or 80km per hr you should be able to average that even with stops .an other tip is to plan your first day to be your longest and your last day your shortest that way if you are held up for any reason you will be able to make up time on 3rd day and avoid a 3rd night on the road . I would all-so recommend joining the CAA they can provide maps for the trip and discounts for hotels on top of their road side service . I have not traveled the I95 route but if you let me know ware in NS I can give you the exact directions using the I81 route and make recommendations on ware to stop

Thanks for the tip! I would love to avoid cities if possible b/c I don't like driving in cities, i think i nearly had a heart attck driving in toronto a couple years ago. We are located in Stellarton(Pictou county). I was thinking leve really early the first day (like 4 or 5am) and make it a very long travel day. Our warranty on our van includes road side assistance in North America that covers repairs and hotels i you break down while traveling, would it be worh joining CAA for the hotel discounts o road side is already covered?

There will be 2 drivers, myself and DM, we plan on switching sides about every 3 hours so neither gets to fatigued with driving.
thanks

 

[Honeystar120608]

This is very interesting for me as we just bought a 30 ft travel trailer and have plans to head down to Disney World next September. We've only ever flown down, so the driving part I am excited for. We are also visiting friends in Mississippi around that time. Only 10 hrs from DW.
I assume we'd want to take the I85 as travelling in urban areas with a truck and trailer does not sound like fun.
This being said in an ideal world, we'd like to park the trailer and take a train into NYC for 5 hrs or so, and I'd LOVE to go to Museum of Natural history (not sure of that will happen though). I love travelling the coast too. But, I just want to see everything and not everything can be seen. So... I 85, we will have our trailer, hoping for on off Walmart parking lot stays. We are in Moncton NB, so is it reasonable to think we can drive as far down as...well..ideally past Boston and closer to NYC. It'd be perfect if we could wake up early, head on into NYC, and be on the road by supper time for 4 hours of driving or so.

I haven't planned this trip out too much yet as we have to get this years trip out of the way first. But I LOVE planning road trips, so this will be lots of fun. We love little dinners and general stores, seeing different things and stopping along places we'd not normally stop at. That will be exciting.

maps.google.com is great, you can click on directions and it gives you the distance in driving time between those 2 cities.

 

[TrainerBBD]

T - Minus 9 days until we are on our way to Florida for the 4th year in a row ... This time it will be Universal / Isle of Adventure and Wet & Wild

My DW and DD are so stoked to see Harry Potter World .... I have been making a sort of advent calendar for my DD with each day placing a different US character (Did this in past years as well so sort of a tradition now) ... We are getting into pre-trip mode and doing our check lists

Hope everyone that is traveling has a great time !!! < Family Vacay's are the best >

Dan

 

[Macduffy]

T - Minus 9 days until we are on our way to Florida for the 4th year in a row ... This time it will be Universal / Isle of Adventure and Wet & Wild

My DW and DD are so stoked to see Harry Potter World .... I have been making a sort of advent calendar for my DD with each day placing a different US character (Did this in past years as well so sort of a tradition now) ... We are getting into pre-trip mode and doing our check lists

Hope everyone that is traveling has a great time !!! < Family Vacay's are the best >

Dan

We're in New Brunswick too and have 26 days to go before our trip - we're trying to go every second year.

Despite being almost a month away I am already packing - it helps that it appears our summer clothes are not longer needed

Have a great trip!

 

[TrainerBBD]

Awesome ... We plan to do a trip each year we can afford it.. My DW does photography on the side and if she reaches her goal we take the trip < Woot Woot >

We have thought to alternate years of "Family" and then "us" vacations but we both agree that family vacations are the best.. And we don't know when we may be hit hard money wise and not afford to do a trip so we don't want our kids to miss a chance of experiencing the magic , fun and memories

Have a blast on your trip !!!

 

[bfamily5]

Hey MacDuffy! Fellow NB'er goin' around the same time! Will be sporting the Lime Green Mickey! We are flying out of Portland and also trying to do every second year!

 

[dennise]

18 days and counting. Can hardly wait.

 

[tribus121]

Thanks for the tip! I would love to avoid cities if possible b/c I don't like driving in cities, i think i nearly had a heart attck driving in toronto a couple years ago. We are located in Stellarton(Pictou county). I was thinking leve really early the first day (like 4 or 5am) and make it a very long travel day. Our warranty on our van includes road side assistance in North America that covers repairs and hotels i you break down while traveling, would it be worh joining CAA for the hotel discounts o road side is already covered?

There will be 2 drivers, myself and DM, we plan on switching sides about every 3 hours so neither gets to fatigued with driving.
thanks

The CAA is also a great source for maps and guide books

leave Stellerton as early as possible take trans Canada to NB .Good first stop would be big stop in Salisbury Continue along Trans Canada till Woodstock NB Exit 187 take route 95 to the US border good second stop is Houlton ME ( second exit on I 95 ) ( There even is a Tims ) continue along I 95 .I find watervill a good spot for next stop . I 95 splits just past Augusta take the toll road toward Leweston as traffic in portland tends to be a little conjested mid afternoon . Continue on 95 through New Hampshire shortly after intering Mass take exit 59 to I 495 towards Worcester. T ravel aprox 100 k on 495 taking EXIT 22 toward I 90 Springfield/Albany (Mass pike ).there is a good service area aprox 36km from exit ( food fuel and clean restrooms ) Take exit 9 to I 84 west ( Hartford ) stay on I84 through Hartford ( only bad city on route ) The area around Port Jervis ny /matamoras Pa ( aprox 200k from Hartford ) would be a great area for a first night for you ( Several hotels just off highway and lots of places to eat and shop )This should be a little over 12hs driving time I will do second day tomorrow ( I can stretch this further if you want to drive longer ) the whole trip should be about 35hrs driving time for you

Peter

 

[ginny_lynn]

The CAA is also a great source for maps and guide books

leave Stellerton as early as possible take trans Canada to NB .Good first stop would be big stop in Salisbury Continue along Trans Canada till Woodstock NB Exit 187 take route 95 to the US border good second stop is Houlton ME ( second exit on I 95 ) ( There even is a Tims ) continue along I 95 .I find watervill a good spot for next stop . I 95 splits just past Augusta take the toll road toward Leweston as traffic in portland tends to be a little conjested mid afternoon . Continue on 95 through New Hampshire shortly after intering Mass take exit 59 to I 495 towards Worcester. T ravel aprox 100 k on 495 taking EXIT 22 toward I 90 Springfield/Albany (Mass pike ).there is a good service area aprox 36km from exit ( food fuel and clean restrooms ) Take exit 9 to I 84 west ( Hartford ) stay on I84 through Hartford ( only bad city on route ) The area around Port Jervis ny /matamoras Pa ( aprox 200k from Hartford ) would be a great area for a first night for you ( Several hotels just off highway and lots of places to eat and shop )This should be a little over 12hs driving time I will do second day tomorrow ( I can stretch this further if you want to drive longer ) the whole trip should be about 35hrs driving time for you

Peter

This is great! Thank you so much! 12-14 hours is perfect, gives us time to relax before repeating the same thing the next day, and hopefully time for the kids to have a swim (hotels without pools do not exist in their world). we are not too picky about what time we arrive in DW, if we make it in time to see fireworks and stuff great, if not we will see them the next day.

 

[weswife]

Hi, I just noticed the directions are from Stellarton! I am in Westville!!!

 

[tribus121]

This is great! Thank you so much! 12-14 hours is perfect, gives us time to relax before repeating the same thing the next day, and hopefully time for the kids to have a swim (hotels without pools do not exist in their world). we are not too picky about what time we arrive in DW, if we make it in time to see fireworks and stuff great, if not we will see them the next day.

I have stayed at the days inn in port jervis NY often during my last job delivering school buses it is not fancy but they have a great Continental breakfast and a outdoor pool

peter ( worked late today more tomorrow )

 

[teekathepony]

18 days and counting. Can hardly wait.

WOO HOO!


I'm at 17 today!

 

[Fundytrail]

Hi, I just noticed the directions are from Stellarton! I am in Westville!!!

If that's an issue you are in trouble

 

[ginny_lynn]

Hi, I just noticed the directions are from Stellarton! I am in Westville!!!

Hi neighbour!!!

 

[Honeystar120608]

18 days!!! 18 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!! I am turning 30 and it's our 7th anniversary and I CANNOT wait!!!! You know you are excited when you get giddy buying toothbrushes, paste, and deodorant. BUUUUUT It's bought!