Travel Tips

<b>Buying tickets</b>
If you're coming from outside North America, don't do it. Cheap fares are only available with fairly lengthy advance purchase requirements, usually at least 14 days. If you want to fly now or in just a few days, you'll pay a fortune. Rather, check with the airline you're flying to find out if they have Visit U.S.A. tickets available. Most carriers do. VUSA tickets are wonderful bargains. You have to work out an itinerary in advance and buy a minimum of 3 flight coupons, but the savings are remarkable because distance makes no difference. As long as it's just one flight number, it's one coupon, so it matters not whether you fly from New York to Boston or from Boston all the way to Seattle: the cost is the same for the coupon. On average, they cost around $125 each. This is by far and away the cheapest way of seeing widely separated parts of the country. Supplemental tickets can be bought that will take you to Hawaii, Alaska, the Caribbean, or Mexico – depending on the airline, of course. <i>Note: These are not available to US residents or Canadians/Mexicans living within 320kms of the US border. You must also have a round-trip international ticket to the U.S. before VUSAs can be issued.</i>

For the most part, flying is pretty simple and straightforward. Certain aspects of the experience are much more convenient than in the rest of the world, in fact. My favorite convenience is the “curbside baggage check” service found at many major airports. Assuming you are taking a domestic flight and your airline provides the service, you take your bag to the guy standing on the curb (kerb) at the entrance to the terminal. He checks your ticket, puts the appropriate tag on your bag, and takes it from there. You go <i>straight to the gate</i> unencumbered and get your boarding pass there. And if you have bought your ticket in the US, you may well have already been given your boarding pass in advance.


<b>Airline service</b>
Ground service is generally excellent. Since American service people all know how to touch-type, check in is very smooth and fast. The trouble starts at the gate. All too often, there is so much traffic that flight delays occur. It used to be that they'd board you, you'd take off, and then spend an hour or an hour and a half circling your destination airport. Nowadays, you don't have to sit on the plane, but you still sit. There's also the possibility – and this is what often happens when there are weather problems – they'll board you and then you sit for endless lengths of time until the weather clears up. It's usually the worst in the winter time. There are lots of horror stories about these events…

Another potential problem occurs when you discover that they have overbooked. Often, you'll hear announcements asking for volunteers to wait for the next flight. If you've got the time, that can be great, actually, because they will offer lots of “sweeteners” usually consisting of free air-tickets or double or triple frequent flier points or something. Once in a great while, you may be called to the desk (which airlines call “podiums” for some strange reason) and be told that you have been “bumped.” Should this happen, demand the moon!

<b>On board</b>
Once on the aircraft you'll discover that there is very little difference between flying and taking a bus – at least in economy class. Most domestic airlines no longer serve food on flights of three hours or less. And on short flights of an hour or an hour and a half, let's say, you won't even see food in first class! I always rail at cabin staff about this, but it doesn't do any good. I remember one flight we had from New York to Seattle via Memphis on Northwest. They did serve food, but the way they did it was unbelievable: the cabin attendants were actually pulling large garbage bags down the aisle and handing out a choice of “paddy melts” or “bagel dogs”, both of which were absolutely appalling. A “paddy melt” is essentially a cheeseburger, but the meat is mostly made of soy beans; a “bagel dog” is a small sausage served in a bagel, which looks like a doughnut but is much denser and is a staple of the Jewish community.

<b>Drinks and Movies</b>

On domestic flights, alcoholic drinks and movies are not free! Beer and wine are usually $1.50 - $2.00 and spirits cost $3.00 - $5.00. (These prices are approximate because I never drink on aircraft, so I don't quite remember.) A film will cost you $5.00 for the earphones. Now, if you <i>have</i> a pair of these nifty little noise-dampening headphones, I'm not sure what they will do. My personal approach would be to plug them in and wait to see what happened. If they said anything, I'd feign ignorance and suddenly speak only German... ;-)

<b>Smoking</b>
If you smoke and you fly, you're in for more inconvenience than you can possibly imagine. Most US airports are totally smoke-free now. If you want to smoke, you have to go all the way outside the terminal, which means going out through security. Obviously, you have to come back through security to get to your gate.

<b>Headlights</b>
Legally, you must turn your lights on a half an hour before sunset and not drive without them until a half hour after sunrise. If it is raining, foggy, or visibility is in any way impaired, you should have them on as well. There's a tradition, too, that you drive with them on if you're in a funeral cortege.

<b>Flashing your lights:</b>
In a word, don't! Although I don't think it's actually illegal, it is seen as aggressive and insulting. You certainly do not do this in an effort to make someone pull over and get out of your way. And again, if a motor patrolman sees you, you are in big trouble.

<b>Emergency vehicles – fire trucks and ambulances.</b>

If you hear a siren or see flashing lights of one of these in your mirror, you are expected to get out of the way immediately. If you don't, you will probably be given a traffic citation in short order. They all have radios, so they can have the motor patrolmen there in minutes.

<b>4-way stop signs</b>

Roundabouts are virtually unknown in the US except for a few old cities in the East, namely Boston, New York, and Washington. Therefore, in residential areas or on streets with little traffic, you will see the classic octagonal red stop sign with “4-Way Stop” written on it. This means exactly what it says: ALL cars must stop here. Even if there is no traffic at all, come to a complete stop because you'll wind up with a ticket if you happen to be seen by a policeman. But what happens when there is more than one car at the stop sign? Theoretically, the driver on your right has the right-of-way. This is fine when there are only two or three cars, but it becomes somewhat more complicated if four cars arrive at more or less the same time. My advice is to yield (give way) to one or two or them, and then go. People are generally very polite in these circumstances, but once in a while….

<b>Flashing Yellow Lights</b>

If you see one of these, slow down, and proceed with caution.

<b>Right turns on red</b>

In some states – but NOT all!! – if you are on a one-way street and want to turn right onto another one-way street, you may make a right turn when the light is red – after making sure there is no one in the lane you are about to enter, of course. If you rent a car, ask someone when you pick up your car what the local rule happens to be.

<b>Speed Limits</b>

On Interstate highways the speed limit is 75 miles per hour (120 kph) outside urban areas of 50,000 or more population, where it drops to 65 (105 kph). Two-way Federal highways are generally signposted as 65 mph, while others are 55 or as posted. Inside a town or city, 30 mph is the general rule. Obviously, follow the instructions on the signs as and when you see them.

<b>Speeding</b>
<i>Be advised that speed limits ARE enforced.</i> US Interstates are not like German Autobahns. That said, in the West you can generally get by driving 5-7 mph faster than the posted limit, but don't push it to 10. Some states -- Minnesota is an example here -- use light aircraft to spot "speeders." And radar speed traps are often used. Of course, if you want to, you can always buy a radar detector and have it installed in your car (although these are illegal, and if you're discovered, you'll be fined, and the detector will be consfiscated...). A safer bet, however, is to get behind a big 16-wheeler semi-truck. These guys go as fast as they dare, but since they're in constant contact with other truckers via CB-radio, they pretty well know where the speed traps are. If they're driving 80 or 85 mph, it's probably pretty safe. Anyway, if you are stopped, you will be given a "traffic ticket" and you may have to pay anything from $20 to $80 or so as a speeding fine. The usual procedure is to send the police a check, traveler's check, or a postal money order.

<b>If you're stopped by the police...</b>
If you hear a siren, see a blue flashing light in your mirror, and the car is flashing its lights, pull over to the side of the road as soon as you safely can. <i>Then STAY IN YOUR CAR!!!!! Do NOT, under any circumstances, get out unless the officer asks you to.</i> This could be vital. In some states, drivers who get out of their cars before being asked are immediately considered potentially armed and dangerous. You could get shot!!!!

Finding your way around isn't so very difficult, but there are some “tricks” you have to get used to.

<b>Giving/Receiving Directions:</b>

In much of the country – especially the Midwest – people will give directions in terms of North, South, East, and West. So you'll hear things like, “Okay, drive about three miles West on US 14 and then turn North when you get to the turn-off for US 83.”

You also hear people speak in terms of the number of blocks it is from Point A to Point B. A block is simply the distance between one street and another. Since most cities are laid out on a grid, these “blocks” are usually almost perfectly square. And in many parts of the country, the size of a block is standardized: one block is usually about 900 feet (280 meters) on a side. This isn't always true, but it's a fairly good rule-of-thumb.

<b>Highway Designators</b>

These are pretty well standard throughout the country:
<i>I-94</i>= Interstate 94 -- Interstates are 4+ lane, “limited-access” highways that crisscross the country. There are some 80,000 kms of them, in fact. Even-numbered Interstates run East-West; odd-numbered ones go North-South. Three-digit ones are part of the freeway system of large metropolitan areas. 494, for example, would indicate a ring-road around a city; 394 would be a “spur” that takes you off the main highway and into the downtown area.

<i>US 95</i> – Any road with a “US” in front of it indicates a wide, two-lane Federal highway. These are always very well-maintained, but you will have to watch out for opposing traffic.

<i>MN Hwy 36 </i>– A state highway. These are also well-maintained, but usually somewhat narrower than Federal highways, and built and maintained by the state.

<i>County Road A:</i> County roads are not necessarily paved and are built and maintained by the county.

<b>Interstate sign designators</b>

When you're driving on an Interstate highway – or any other multi-lane freeway (motorway) for that matter – you are always given plenty of warning, sometimes as much as 3 1/2 miles (6 1/2 kms), about up-coming exits. Each one will be named and numbered, too, so depending on what kind of information you have been given, you can navigate pretty easily. The sign will appear directly above the lane you need to be in. Stay in that lane and you'll find your intended exit with a minimum of difficulty.

<b>Frontage road</b> – You will often see this sign and you'll wonder how there can be so many of them. It is not the name of a street, but rather indicates a service road that runs parallel to the freeway.