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US Road Trip!!!!

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ozgirl - 25 August 2014 11:44 AM

I’m sure Dan will like to know that he is a substitute for Torah…

Cause we know you would never substitute me! wink

Haha is that right?  zipper 

Shredding USA with Torah followed by the inevitable Vegas marriage might make hanging out with a skier worth it! tongue wink

 
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Since I got this teaching job over here and Fred’s been working a bit at an old people’s home, we’re going to arrive back to australia with $$$!

First I thought we could do Japan, then I thought maybe somewhere in the USA and now our imaginations are running completely wild thinking of doing something along the same lines, ozzy! We just can’t figure out how to get around to all the resorts cheap enough….because we want to go everywhere!

Renting a van we could sleep in every night, that has a shower/toilet and a heater costs around $90 a day. Maybe its easier to rent a small car for much cheaper and then book in advance a bunch of super 8/motel 6 places along the route for $50-$60 a night? I’m not used to having itineraries planned that much but I spose we could try it, guaranteeing us a warm bed and shower every night without having to worry about where to park it etc.

Thoughts anyone?

Got some questions:

Any ideas on whether Feb or March is better in Whistler?

Oz how much were your plane tickets, seeing as you fly into Denver and out of San Fran? How much more than a regular return ticket, I mean?
Also, what sort of rental car are you getting?

What is a good return ticket price from Sydney to Vancouver if we just end up doing canadian resorts?...but I desperately want to go back to jackson and explore colorado as well

Sorry for all the haphazard thoughts. Excited!

 
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I have lots of haphazard thoughts to write back - Stand by!

 
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cords, I replied re Whistler in the other Whistler thread. I just wanted to say, it would be great to see you guys over there! grin

 
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the great thing about america is that the support towns are sooo cheap!

South Lake Tahoe has heaps of budget accom - or hell go to Reno!

Jackson instead of Jackson Hole (okay you prob don’t want to spend this much but I found this… http://www.expedia.com.au/Jackson-Hole-Hotels-Snow-King-Resort-Hotel.h4372.Hotel-Information?chkin=20/01/2015&chkout=23/01/2015&rm1=a2&hwrqCacheKey=55275f07-d2ca-47bd-8958-fdb1495aa29eHWRQ1409810927692&c=61743bc5-2c49-4006-b3d6-7c715da49a37&)

Mid Valley (base of the main resorts like Park City and Snowbird) in Utah.

Glenwood Springs near Aspen (wicked hostel there that i have stayed in).

But for cheap Accom in Aspen proper check out “Tyrolean Lodge”

Re Flights we just used Expedia and used Multi trip to put in what we wanted. Our Flights came to $1900 SYD/DALLAS/DEN - SFO/LAX/SYD

Dan kept looking at millions of options and some (ie SYD/LAX/SYD) came out more expensive - and we still would have had to pay for the flight to get to Denver etc.

We also paid more to fly Qantas (maybe a $100) - but fingers crossed my point upgrade comes through (Business class FTW!)

Re the car i have booked a 4WD with Alamo - nothing paid now. The plan is to divide and conquer when we land in Denver to see if we can get a better deal than $900 for the two weeks. I have had previous experience of getting a better deal on the day. Especially if they have a better car sitting around that they need to get back to Cali.

You could also do it cheaper by getting a non 4wd and knowing you may be delayed due to snow. But if you have time on your side who cares. You can get cheap chains from Walmart and return them if you don’t use them even in another state!

When we were debating starting in Whistler we would have flown into Seattle and got the car from there. Just make sure the car is allowed in Canada - most are but cheap companies may not let you. But it is only Lower BC (Whistler makes it ) and Alberta.

 
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rider26 - 04 September 2014 03:14 PM

cords, I replied re Whistler in the other Whistler thread. I just wanted to say, it would be great to see you guys over there! grin

Thanks!...and thanks ozzy for your thoughts. Unfortunately I think I may have jumped the gun in all my excitement. I remembered in the shower just before bed last night that we’d promised my mum we’d take her on some kind of trip for her 70th in May.

I might see if she wants to come to Canada with us, cos we’d be seeing my cousin and her family as well (Banff/Calgary) but I know she’d already said she’d love to go on the Ghan Railway and see a bit of Australia…and I’m not sure if we’ll be in the $$$ enough to do both. I feel a bit bummed but I’m hardly devo about it - not exactly a tough life having to choose between trips!

 
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Haha cords I believe that is whats called a #FWP

 
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114 days to go!!!

 

93 days until we leave for our trip. Cannot wait. Might run into you there

 
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Awesome!

What resorts are you heading too?

 

We bought the epic local and mountain collective passes

Aspen snowmass
Vail
Keystone
Breckenridge
Jackson hole
Park city
Snowbird
Mammoth
And somewhere in Tahoe and maybe a couple of other CO resorts

 
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Awesome!

We should swap contact details in case we crossed paths!

 

What’s the best contact details for America ?

 
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I will prob be getting a US sim card over there.

So PM on here when you have a local number I suppose.

Or a facebook add!

 
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just a tip, oz and northern lights…

We found this to be awesome for our across the US trip.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Email-Delivery-Straight-Talk-Unlimited-Text-Talk-and-Web-Access-30-Day-Service-Card/15443344

Can order a simcard and pick it up from a store you’ll be near when you arrive.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Straight-Talk-AT-T-Compatible-Dual-SIM-Activation-Kit/34565627

It uses the AT&T network which is the best in the US, I think!

Just an idea to keep in mind - hope it helps!