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Now that you are here reading this, I want you to tell me something: What's the cheapest way to get from San Diego to Pioria? The problem here is that I am going to visit Nellie Bly in Illinois for the week of Dec.16 to Dec.22 and I have never done this travel thing before. Both of us have been looking at flight plans non-stop and yet I can't find something that is reasonably priced and will get me back here sometime in the afternoon that day since my mother wants to head to mexico for the holidays (she almost threw a tantrum when I told her that the cheapest way for me to do this was to get back on Christmas Eve morning because she said that I'd wouldn't make it to my grandmother's house on time after all the airport delays and the like.)
I was also looking into the Greyhound lines to see if it would be cheaper to fly to Chicago and then take a bus to Peoria, but I'm worried that I would have trouble finding and getting to the Grehound stations.
Someone, please help me.
So far, I've been to Expedia, CheapTickets and Travelocity.
posted
I need some help convincing my mom about me taking this trip. First of all, I've never been on a plane, let alone by myself (heck, I've never been out of Southern California).
She has given me the infamous "do what you want, I don't care" after endless hours of trying to talk to her about taking this trip. First of all, she cannot understand why Nellie is paying for pretty much half of the trip, she just can't see why.
She utterly refuses to openly talk about this and it worries me because I'd feel guilty if I left without her approval. It's not just for this too, my mother refuses to talk about anything whenever it's something that she cannot agree with or understand and that hurts me at times because she afterwards complains about my decisions even after I remind her about how things went when I tried to consider things with her.
Thing is, she's also really childish in a sense that she throws tantrums whenever things don't go her way: not the kicking and screaming kind, the ones where she sits down, makes an angry expression and refuses to talk about it instead of dealing with the problem.
I can certainly understand why she is worried as a mother: Not only have I never traveled, I am also the youngest in the family, a woman and only 19. However, I have wanted to travel for so long and I just don't want to miss the opportunity that has finally presented itself.
Posts: 3389 | Registered: Apr 2004
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You could probably get a taxi right outside the airport, and the driver would know where the closest greyhound stop is.
Posts: 464 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Umm ... if you/your mom are worried about safety, Greyhound might not be the best route. I personally have no qualms about using them and have frequently, but I'm a tall, slightly scary looking guy. I don't know how frequent things "happening" are, but the people who use the bus and hang around the bus stop aren't always the most savory of types.
I suspect that at this point, the airfare is going to be expensive, and you really should not take a bus alone as your first long-distance travel experience.
I hate to be negative, but this is sounding like something that would benefit from having more lead time for planning and research.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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From the little bit of looking that I've done, I think just straight flying would be your best and cheapest bet. You'd think things like buses and trains would be cheaper, but really they aren't. Any they are ridiculously time consuming. I spent two days on a bus to get to Maine when I could've spent like, 6 hours on a plane. Of course, in that case I saved about $200, and I wasn't under any sort of time restraints, but really the bus is not fun if you can avoid it.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I took the Greyhound by myself from Edmonton to Winnipeg (744 miles (1197 km) as the crow flies, but much, much, much longer by highway) when I was 12. Granted, that was decades ago - I'm old *sigh* - but still... I would, however, avoid taking a bus for reasons Dr Strangelove cites.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Another option is to look on your local college's (s') travel board. You wacky kids are still doing that, right? Posting a card saying where you want to go? When you have to be there? All that fun stuff?
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Bus is no longer a problem since I have found an air route that would get me to Bloomington (Hi, Raia!) and Nellie would pick me up over there; the main problem is convincing my mother.
Posts: 3389 | Registered: Apr 2004
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It's rough, because I would say just tell her "Hey. I'm leaving. Deal with it", bur I gather you wouldn't really want to do that. Is there any way you can discuss it with her in a calm but firm manner and tell her what's up? I don't really have much advice because my family is so different. My parents practically suggested that I go up to Maine and hike for 6 months alone. .
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Ok, V, you are so stressed out about everything that you need a vacation. Plus I'll cry if you can't come. Your mom met me, sot of, like, once or something for a nanosecond, so you could point that out. As for why I'm paying for half of your trip: I invited you. I was going to pay for the whole thing originally. It's a Christmas present for the both of us. And also, as politely as possible, remind your mother that you ARE an adult, capable of making intelligent decisions. It's not like I'm the only one who you know down here. Stephie is extremely excited about your coming to visit, and her sister Lindsay feels like she knows you and is excited about meeting you. I know this is scatterbrained, but I'm working with 2 hours of sleep.
Posts: 97 | Registered: Jan 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Storm Saxon: Another option is to look on your local college's (s') travel board. You wacky kids are still doing that, right? Posting a card saying where you want to go? When you have to be there? All that fun stuff?
Craigslist also has its own section specifically for this.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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19 is plenty old enough to fly to Pioria to visit a friend. Judging from your posts in the other thread, your mother is in no position to be forbidding you to take this trip, and anything that gets you out of that apartment and away from your brother would be a Good Thing.
If you found a ticket you can afford, just book it, find a way to get yourself to the airport with a good photo ID 2 hours before your scheduled departure, don't joke with the security guards, stay close to your departure gate in case there are announcements, and relax! Airports and air travel don't leave much room for error on the part of the traveller, as long as you remember to bring photo ID and show up early, you'll do great.
Posts: 1681 | Registered: Jun 2004
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I would, however, avoid taking a bus for reasons Dr Strangelove cites.
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