1. Washington, DC is stunning. And the Smithsonians are amazing. Be realistic about what you will see, and plan to go back!
2. Small-town North Eastern America is totally like Star’s Hollow. Still a bit disappointed I didn’t run into Rory.
3. Renting an infant carseat with your rental car is a great idea if you’re not going to drive much. But if this is a road-trippin’ kinda journey, bring your own.
4. Train travel is lovely. Train food is not. Being stuck in the train clearing customs for an extra 1.5 hours is just fresh hell.
5. The anti-plastic-bottles movement is alive and well, so bringing your own refillable water bottle along is super easy and convenient.
6. Maple Leaf Lounges are sanity savers.
7. Always call the restaurant it takes 2 months to get into anyhow. They may have a cancellation, and if they’re full, they may have another great suggestion.
8. Don’t bother dragging a stroller through the airport. Check it with your bags. It’s truly better that way. But definitely bring it. Baby-wearing in 30-degree heat with 90% humidity is miserable for all involved.
9. Never book more than 1 night through Hotwire. It will burn you. You will end up with 5 pre-paid, non-refundable nights in the noisiest hotel known to man. The savings are not worth it!
10. Unpacking and laundry will take days. It’s ok. After a vacation with a baby you’ll want a couple days to re-introduce the couch to the shape of your butt anyhow.
Yikes (re. hotel)… sucks that you had a shitty experience. My Hotwire rule (actually, my mom’s) is to always click that “4 star and up” option. We’ve had awesome Hotwire experiences, including an AMAZING hotel for 4 nights in San Fran for like $90/night (reg over $200) and my mom has ended up in the Pan Pacific, Hyatt and Sheraton Wall Center in Vancouver for less than $100/night.
I’m wondering if it’s just a Montreal thing… with the drinking age at 18, we used to do “ski trips” there (as well as Quebec City) in high school pretty much just to get drunk for a week… although, for the record, I did ski, whereas most people did not leave the hotel unless it was to go to the bar.
Otherwise, sounds like a great trip… the food especially 🙂
July 14th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Yah, I made the mistake of going with a 3.5 star (though it had all the amenities I’d wanted – pool, wifi, laundry, restaurant, and a 95% approval rating from other hotwire users). I’ve had plenty of great Hotwire experiences, but enough crap ones that I don’t like booking long stays with hotels I’ve never seen.