Well Padraig, Southern California is quite lovely, home of the original Disneyland (which I live very close too) We have such lovely Missions down here you could visit and we could meet, it would be great!!! Like BfCatholic "I'm just sayin' " :wink: :wink:
I'm not sure what part of Michigan's your goal, so I don't know if I'll be out of your way or not. My house is 70-80 miles south of Toledo (north of Lima), which is about 350-400 miles/~6 hours from Buffalo, NY. Talked to hubbie and you're more than welcome to stay here. We'd love to see you. As an alternative . . . if your route to Michigan includes a jaunt through Indiana I could set you up for a stay in Fort Wayne and visit with you there.
Padraig, you'll never make it to go to meet each one of us. What if you are not supposed to come to us? What if we are supposed to come to you to meet you? Maybe like at Our Lady of Good Hope in Wisconsin. What if we all converged there? What a pilgrimage!
It is funny reading through all this, everyone is just dying for you to come their way, Padriag! Its like you are a celebrity! LOL I can chime in and say, please come to the boring midwestern area of northern Illinois and Kathleen and I can meet you too! But Lee is right, you are coming to visit relatives and see some sites, and we are all trying to get you to turn it into a Padraig United States Forum tour! Lee's idea is really the best one. You should pick a place or two that you want to visit and those who can make it there to meet you could do so. Our Lady of Good Help would be super because I know I could go there easily, but that is selfish of me. Well, I would say to chat with Mom and do whatever SHE tells you...go where she wants you to go, come when she tells you to come, and tell us places you are going that you wouldn't mind some company, but keep the places you want to visit privatly for you and for our Mother and Jesus to yourself, and tell us about them whan you get home. That's what I think would be best anyway. I pray for an opportunity to meet you when you come, but even if I don't, I will love to hear the stories you will have from the trip!
Your advise is so wise Connie, I will pray about it. Though I have the idea that Our Lady does want me to take time to see as many as I can..and doing what Our Lady wants is no trouble...it is a great pleasure. I agree with the I am not a celebrity part. I am a boring old man from boring old Ireland. :wink: I was checking out the car hire rates in Boston and I find them amazingly cheap...so if I have a car it should not be too hard to travel. But I am just curios to stay in a motel..is it very expensive?
Rates vary from region to region, from hotel to hotel, time of year or nearby event. You might pay $200 a night at a Hilton in one part of the country and $120 for a Hilton in another. Holiday Inns are usually on the pricey side as well. I usually avoid these places. I usually go for Best Westerns, Comfort Inns or Fairfields because they're usually less expensive, but not SOO cheap that they attract the drug dealers and prostitutes. But that's no guarantee. Prices depend on time of year, city and state. When I travel, I usually budget for about $100 a night for lodgings, but usually spend more in the $80 range. I haven't traveled much in the last few years so maybe I'm off base. I'm a little freaked out about all the bed bug infestations. Recently watched a news program on the problem. Fancy expensive hotels are not immune from the problem. The hotel bed bugs hitch rides on clothes, suitcases anything and once they're in your house, you have a big expensive problem to deal with. Pesticides no longer work. Yikes, I'm not trying to scare you away. Don't know if Ireland has bed bugs, but they've made a come back here in the USA.
Padraig, this is where my gambling comes in. I always go to Hotwire.com. But first check out Expedia, Travelocity, Hotel.com and Orbitz, they are discount travel sites with inexpensive flights,hotels and cars.With a hotel/motel you get to select the location and the number or stars or rating of the hotel before you agree to the contract. Hotwire is the cheapest but they don't tell you the name of the hotel until you have signed the agreement, which I happen to think is fun. Before I agree to Hotwire's cheap price I make sure on Expedia or another travel site where the hotel is located, what amenities they have ( Like you might be interested in a laundry facility) and the dates of availability. Then I book with Hotwire. I've stayed in some amazing places for $89 a night. But Rain has it right as far as convenience, you stay in one of the places she mentioned and you'll be just fine. Oh but in this country you can tell them you are a Senior and they might give you a 10% discount...it that doesn't work tell them you are an Roman Catholic mystic from Ireland! :lol:
A International tour to see all of us would be great fun! But you should see your family and enjoy what you want to. Know that you are always welcome here though- in boring old central Illinois. LOL I'd rather grab MC and take you up to Wisconsin to see the shrine of Our Lady of Good Help! I've had great luck with hotwire too. Good idea Lee. Kath
Thanks for all the suggestions! It occurs to me that since I have never done this before I ahve no real understanding what all this travelling means. Ireland is only about 300 miles long and I would get tired doing this ,whereas some of you I suppose would travel this far to get to the supermarket. :lol: (I know your raods are good. But it occurs to me that if I phone my brother and sister-in-law and ask they will tell me if I am being too ambitious. Also I think Our Lady has one or two things up her sleeve. But no matter what I want to get to the shrine in Wisconsin. I think I will leave of any more planning for a little while and do some praying and thinking. Thanks so much for all your excellent suggestions.
I know your not planning anything yet Padraig, but just a few responses to your questions. Staying in a hotel in the Boston area is very expensive. But if you stayed near the Divine Mercy Shrine in Stockbridge, it would be A LOT less expensive. Anywhere in western Mass would be pretty cheap. I've driven cross country before and always stayed at the Comfort Inn chain, as it's on the cheaper side but still safe. It is a big country but I really enjoyed the drive. I am the type of person who just loves to drive and look at the landscape and experience the different cultures of the different regions of the US. It should be an enjoyable road trip for you, no matter where you end up going!
Thanks PS, you give me confidence. Have you had any news about work, I am still praying for yuo as are many I am sure on the forum. 8)
The summer was slow on the job front, but I expect things to pick up now that labor day has passed. I'm following up on a lead now that I got this morning. An out of the blue call from someone in my network. That's always much better than a traditional job post. Please keep the prayers coming everyone, and thank you so much for them...Heaven is going to be very tired of hearing from everyone on this subject :lol:
