Rico'sAlice
06-29-2005, 09:49 AM
Hello. My inlaws are coming in August as DH and I are having a vow renewal. They are from Germany and want to "see America" while they are here. They visited previously and went to Boston, Niagara Falls, and NYC.
After the VR we will be traveling together (I'm renting a 12 passanger van for the 6 of us) for 9 days. We live in Western Massachusetts and will probably go to Woodstock, NY and hand out where we are the days before the wedding. Vow renewal in VT, so they will get a chance to be in the mountains, go on a hike, or whatever.
It will be DH and myself, his mother who is a little crazy, overly emotional, very critical, and sometimes downright mean, his sweet father who speaks no english. and then two brothers 18 and 19 yo. DH and I are in our mid twenties. Dh and I make quite good money. His family has always struggled. DH and I will be paying for everything. This sometimes makes it hard to make choices. For example, I don't know if they would be pleased with a fancy hotel, like it shows we think they are special, or if it will make them feel bad and think that we are snobby.
Our tentative road trip itinerary is:
(Day one is two days after VR. My family will be leaving town that morning.)
Day One: Drive to Philly in evening. Check into Hotel
Day Two: Explore Philly. Liberty Bell, Independence Hall. Drive to DC in evening.
Day Three: Monuments, White House
Day Four: Smithsonian
Day Five: Go to Baltimore. Visit Inner Harbor. Possibly aquarium. Drive to Ocean City MD
Day Six: Go to beach. Then go for all you can eat crabs. (They've never eaten crab before. Should be an experience watching them try to crack them open) Go to Boardwalk. Let Mom buy tacky souveniers while the boys go on rides.
Day Seven: Drive to NYC in morning. Arrive in afternoon. Go for dinner.
Day Eight: Chill in NYC. ? Phantom in the evening.
Day Nine: Long breakfast in Am. Then head to airport around noon for 4:00 flight.
Am just looking for general feedback, advice, etc. Also have a few more specific problems.
1) What area should I look for a hotel in Philly. Am not too familiar with the layout there, whenever I've gone before, someone else was driving and planning.
2) Having trouble figuring out what to do with them in NYC. They've already seen the major tourist things. They probably wouldn't really want to go to the Met, or shopping in the village, or go clubbing. I grew up in North Jersey, so I am very familiar with NYC, but just can't figure out what to do with these people. They are not interested in art museums, or any sort of cultural museum (like the Jewish Museum, Tibet Museum, etc.) Wouldn't want to go to a Yankees game, rock concert, etc. Maybe they'd like South street Seaport.
Basically, they don't Really want to do anything. They just want to be able to go home and SAY that they've seen X, X, and X.
I haven't rented hotel rooms yet, so if anyone has a major change to suggest I'm open. However, I can't really see going anywhere further than DC/MD.
Basically they wanted to see the Liberty Bell in Philly, DC monuments, and that's it. I thought of OC b/c I grew up near there and they've never been to an ocean before. I want to take them to Phantom in NYC and their flight is from JFK, but we don't have to spend the extra days there.
Also, if anyone has any suggestions for how I can make it through this having already seen all of this stuff a dozen times already let me know. ;)
After the VR we will be traveling together (I'm renting a 12 passanger van for the 6 of us) for 9 days. We live in Western Massachusetts and will probably go to Woodstock, NY and hand out where we are the days before the wedding. Vow renewal in VT, so they will get a chance to be in the mountains, go on a hike, or whatever.
It will be DH and myself, his mother who is a little crazy, overly emotional, very critical, and sometimes downright mean, his sweet father who speaks no english. and then two brothers 18 and 19 yo. DH and I are in our mid twenties. Dh and I make quite good money. His family has always struggled. DH and I will be paying for everything. This sometimes makes it hard to make choices. For example, I don't know if they would be pleased with a fancy hotel, like it shows we think they are special, or if it will make them feel bad and think that we are snobby.
Our tentative road trip itinerary is:
(Day one is two days after VR. My family will be leaving town that morning.)
Day One: Drive to Philly in evening. Check into Hotel
Day Two: Explore Philly. Liberty Bell, Independence Hall. Drive to DC in evening.
Day Three: Monuments, White House
Day Four: Smithsonian
Day Five: Go to Baltimore. Visit Inner Harbor. Possibly aquarium. Drive to Ocean City MD
Day Six: Go to beach. Then go for all you can eat crabs. (They've never eaten crab before. Should be an experience watching them try to crack them open) Go to Boardwalk. Let Mom buy tacky souveniers while the boys go on rides.
Day Seven: Drive to NYC in morning. Arrive in afternoon. Go for dinner.
Day Eight: Chill in NYC. ? Phantom in the evening.
Day Nine: Long breakfast in Am. Then head to airport around noon for 4:00 flight.
Am just looking for general feedback, advice, etc. Also have a few more specific problems.
1) What area should I look for a hotel in Philly. Am not too familiar with the layout there, whenever I've gone before, someone else was driving and planning.
2) Having trouble figuring out what to do with them in NYC. They've already seen the major tourist things. They probably wouldn't really want to go to the Met, or shopping in the village, or go clubbing. I grew up in North Jersey, so I am very familiar with NYC, but just can't figure out what to do with these people. They are not interested in art museums, or any sort of cultural museum (like the Jewish Museum, Tibet Museum, etc.) Wouldn't want to go to a Yankees game, rock concert, etc. Maybe they'd like South street Seaport.
Basically, they don't Really want to do anything. They just want to be able to go home and SAY that they've seen X, X, and X.
I haven't rented hotel rooms yet, so if anyone has a major change to suggest I'm open. However, I can't really see going anywhere further than DC/MD.
Basically they wanted to see the Liberty Bell in Philly, DC monuments, and that's it. I thought of OC b/c I grew up near there and they've never been to an ocean before. I want to take them to Phantom in NYC and their flight is from JFK, but we don't have to spend the extra days there.
Also, if anyone has any suggestions for how I can make it through this having already seen all of this stuff a dozen times already let me know. ;)