But kswl, that is not what I said. I said I can't imagine the survivor's guilt half of the family would feel. I never said I'd rather them die than live. I was simply making an observation about how it would feel to be the surviving family members. However, it's a non-issue for us because we choose not to let the worry that something might happen to our plane dictate whether our family should divide up b/w planes. I think it would also send a message to my kids that would scare them - that there is a strong possibility that one of the planes could crash, so we should fly separately, and then they'd be worried the entire time that one plane might not get there safely. If we played into that type of worry about plane crashes, then my kids would be worried every time dh flies for work, which is frequently. Instead, we choose to point out to them the safety of flying. Plus, as I said previously, statistically it doesn't make sense to me anyway as a travel strategy, given that we spend way more time in our car every day together. Mtn, I wouldn't worry about getting stuck like my friend does - they always fly standby so it's always a real possibility for them to get stuck somewhere. They are constantly checking the flight reports before they leave to try to make sure there will be enough open seats for their family. It works when they are leaving from home and have some leeway, but when they are vacationing it can be a problem and can get very stressful! They often have to split up - the time they stopped in Hawaii, there were two seats to head home. My friend and her son opted not to stay in HI as they were burnt out from traveling and just wanted to get home. The rest had a leisurely two days in Honolulu. And imagine this coincidence....my friends (who are from DC area) actually bumped into my MIL, BIL and SIL (all from San Francisco but vacationing in Maui) in the airport. My friends have met MIL many times when she has been here visiting, so they recognized each other in the airport. Small world.

just catching up to this..limited computer time if we are in a motel. I am sorry I missed the questions and thoughtful responses. jbrig: we will be in Poplarville MA tomorrow night. We are in Ocean Springs today and last night. Took our first day off. We will be in Baton Rouge soon after that and then on West of there. my email address is : carolinedonnelly(at)bellsouth(dot)net. I can get emails if you want to send me one. THAK YOU Mitch...the rain has not materialized but we are enjoying a day off. Wind at our backs ! I do feel strong . Thak you so much. graywings we all have cell phones. But we are never very far apart. We decide to stop usually ever 1 to 1 1/2 hrs. We usually wait till we see a likely Mom and Pop restaurant or gas station. Also whoever is in front pulls over and the others look for the bike that is parked outside. It always works out so far. imsocunfused. No we are using all back roads. We rode on Hwy 90 as it has a wide shoulder but we usually stay to back roads. We will pass through Baton Rouge and St Francisville LA and then Austin TX too...a straight line west. 880 miles in TX !!! Oh Marlene...how you touch my heart. What a fantastic tribute to the human spirit...I hope you don't mind if I share your comment with the Food Bank Face book page...I am so pleased that we can all work together to make a difference. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. jbrig : I sure try :)

A tip for Broadway shows is to check out Travelzoo.com, on the main page there is a link for NYC Shows/events. I bought 4 tickets to Mamma Mia recently and paid nearly $600 to find the same exact seats for about 1/3 less. It isn't as cheap as standing in line for 1/2 price, but you aren't wasting all that time either. The Christmas Spectacular at Radio City is amazing. If you are into the ballet, the NYC Ballet should be doing Nutcracker that time of year. You can spend an entire day at the Museum of Natural History. I have stayed at Hotel W in Times Square - it was very nice, but as with all hotels in NYC on the small side and very expensive. If it is clear you should do the Empire State Building. Check out Central Park and take a carriage ride. No matter what you will have fun.

Interesting the impressions some have :-) There is a big difference between a department store......of which very few exist these days.....and large clothing stores. Nordstroms has never been a department store!! It started as a shoe store.....period! I remember shopping there in my late teenage years, as they were one of the few places around that sold Capezio shoes (which I loved and had a vast collection :-)) It wasn't until it combined with a woman's apparel store (Best's Apparel) that it became a clothing store, known as Nordstrom-Best and finally just Nordstroms. But it only sold shoes and clothes. That is NOT a department store!! Back in the day, Seattle had two, semi-upscale department stores - The Bon Marche and Frederick and Nelsons. The sold everything from soup to nuts....clothes, toys, furniture and antiques, appliances, kitchenware, fine china and crystal, linens, fine art, etc. And food.....both already prepared food, imported goods, a bakery and several restaurants. The Bon was acquired by Macy's in 2003 but still remains as the largest department store in the area. Frederick and Nelsons was even larger than The Bon and a step or two up in both quality and price. And F&N was where Frango's originated. F&N was acquired by Marshall Fields in 1929 but always operated under the F&N name. It was a huge store...12 storeys and occupied a full city block. It had multiple restaurants, a fantastic bakery, a candy kitchen (where Frangos and other candies were made), a post office, beauty salon, infirmary, a daycare facility and a reading room. It was known for its fabulous, animated Christmas windows and was where all the best Santa photos were taken :-) It was a Seattle institution! It closed with the demise of Marshall Fields in the early 90's. But that massive store is still there in the heart of downtown Seattle and is now the Nordstrom flagship store and corporate office.