I've been invited to a wedding - in Cincinnati

[Fintan Murphy]

One of my friends is getting married next june.

Trouble is it's in Cincinnati.  I am debating whether to go or not ,cause it ain't going to be cheap, and I will have to take a week or two off to make it worthwhile (I already have a prior committment in July which needs two weeks holidays as well). So it pretty much eats up all my years holidays.

So, anyone know if Cincinnati is worth while visiting? 

I know my mate will understand if we don't go. Most of his family arn't going as they can't afford it.  Flights alone are about

[Frank Hagan]

Hmmm ... Cincinnati.  Cleveland, OH has the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but its 250 miles away.  Cheaper airports might be Chicago, IL or Indianapolis, IN, but they are also about 250 miles away.  Your mate is getting married in the middle of "nowhere"!  But I've never been there, so I don't know if its worth visiting. 

NY City to Cincinnati is about 650 miles, so that would be a trek.  You would see a lot of America that way, but the wrong half!  All that stuff east of the Mississippi River and north of the Mason Dixon line is pretty much the same.  Good pancakes, though.

[Greg Luckett]

Cincinatti was and may still be a hub for several of the regional airlines, while Indianapolis is not.  It sits just north of the Ohio River, and a hop and a skip from tourist sites in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio.  It is the closest place in Yankee land to have real BBQ brisket and greens as a normal option.

Start here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati

and

http://www.cincinnatiusa.com/

For more information, use a Google search engine.

Cincinatti is a major city in the Midwestern USA, despite Frank's misguided West Coast opinion. ;D

[Bruce Kershaw]

All that stuff east of the Mississippi River and north of the Mason Dixon line is pretty much the same.  Good pancakes, though.

Pancakes???... Now THAT... is funny! ;D

Fintan, if you're coming to the States, spend some of your time where the sun shines at least half of the time!

Sorry Greg, but I grew up in that "east of, and north of."

Now... California... Well... I've only heard the stories, but... 

[Bruce Kershaw]

Seriously, though... Chicago is a fascinating city. Architecture.. museums... theater, etc.

Nice weather that time of year.

[Frank Hagan]

I'll second the recommendation about Chicago.  He might be able to get cheaper flights into Chicago, and the city itself has fantastic architecture (although saying that to someone who has visited Europe is probably pushing it too far; IIRC, Fintan took a motorcycle holiday through Spain, and probably saw some fantastic architecture there that would put any of our cities to shame).  Its expensive to stay there, but you can sometimes get deals.  If you save enough on the fare into Chicago from Dublin, you might be able to spend a few nights in the windy city.  Great blues and jazz, and also the political base of our new President-Elect. 

Cincinnati does have the Creationist Museum; I doubt you would find that anywhere else in the world!

[Greg Luckett]

My brother-in-law, the one we do not like, works at that Creationist Museum.  We have never been to it, but just out of curiosity, may one day.

Chicago is only about a 1 to 2 drive from here at home, and even if he flies in there, he would need to connect to a flight to Cincinnati, and it has museums and bars too.  It reminds me of New Orleans but not as wild.  It has been about 8 or 9 years since we visited there.  These forums have boat builders near there and the river and lakes are very popular.  It is a mistake to sell Cincinatti short.

[Frank Hagan]

Yeah, its probably like any other big city in America; lots of stuff to do, etc.  But I'm thinking of the cheapest place to fly into that's within a reasonable distance from Cincinnati. 

Usually, you can get a flight from London or Dublin to NYC, LA and Chicago less expensively than to other cities.  A road trip from NYC to Cincinnati would be too much for me, but a 4 - 6 hour trip from Chicago might be worth the savings on the ticket.

Just for instance, from Dublin to Chicago, June 11 through June 30th, the cheapest fare is about $608 each, round trip (based on Kayak.com's quote of United, which is a Dublin-London-Chicago flight).  Dublin to Cincinnati has the cheapest fare at $1005.  Saving $400 each could pay for the rental car and part of the gas. 

Flying into the NYC airports, British Airways has fares about $610 with one stop (probably Heathrow again).  But then he has 600 miles to go on a road trip.

I'm not sure United will even be around in June of 2008; if they make it past March they probably will be.

[Bruce Kershaw]

My Aunt in Chicago (Rogers Park - right on the lake) sent me this link...

http://www.thechicagospire.com/

It isn't built yet, but will be just north of Navy Pier.

She'll be in it's shadow.

All I could think to reply to her about it was, "How phallic!" 

[Greg Luckett]

I think he will need to really shop the deals.  Flying in/out of Chicago is not always the best deal anymore, unlike years ago when everything connnected via Chicago.  Where is he flying out of to get there?  Lots of international connections from Dallas, to LA, to JFK, then connect via Atlanta or Cincinatti or Pittsburg and that changes as the airlines fail and restart.

[Konrad]

  You would see a lot of America that way, but the wrong half!

x2

[Bud_Wilson]

My 2cents worth. I think JFK is his best shot. I fly out of there 2 or 3 times a year and almost always have a stop at Cincinnati. Besides that he will be about 50 miles from the Chesapeak Bay area. That could be a real car trip. Bud

[Greg Luckett]

My 2cents worth. I think JFK is his best shot. I fly out of there 2 or 3 times a year and almost always have a stop at Cincinnati. Besides that he will be about 50 miles from the Chesapeak Bay area. That could be a real car trip. Bud

I agree, since he is probably flying out of Ireland and especially since your are current on the flying/airports.  Fintan may not have enough time to sightsee anywhere but Cincinatti as a person could easily spend a month in just NY City and not see it all.  If they all get together in Chicago they could avoid flying back to Cincinatti.  When I lived in Texas my work would take me to trade shows in Chicago at least once a year.  We always had a blast.  Lots of good resteraunts and entertainment to be found easily.  He will need socializing time before the wedding to visit his friend, the bride-to-be, thier friends and family, etc.  This will keep him pretty busy for a week or two: travel and socializing.

Fintan, I hope you can make the trip.  It will be memorable for you, no matter what.

[Frank Hagan]

My experience is limited with international flights, but what experience I have shows me its a bit different than domestic flights.  For instance, I can fly to Buffalo, NY connecting through Chicago for less money than I can fly to Chicago.  Unless I fly to Denver or Houston first, then to Chicago.  It doesn't make any sense, except that the airlines charge you less for a connecting flight even if it costs them more money to get you there.  You pay a premium for non-stop service.

International flights are almost always cheaper to the first destination airport in a country.  Aer Lingus does fly non-stop from NY, Boston, Orlando, Chicago, San Francisco and LA  to Dublin.  I checked their website, and a flight for next June is about $429US (393EUR) each.  We flew them to Dublin a few years ago, and they are a good airline (the flight attendants are actually nice to you). 

Flying from Dublin to the US on most other carriers means he is probably going to connect in London.  From there, he can hit several US cities non-stop, and all of those will be cheaper than a two-hop flight within the US (usually). 

[Greg Luckett]

That is what I was thinking of too, Frank.  Depending on how he routes his flights can have a big effect on cost and travel time.  I found that if I flew my older kids to Texas for the summer that it was less than $200 round trip if they flew from South Bend to either Cincinatti or Detroit, then to Houston, then up to Dallas, and then in reverse.  Never changed planes, which was great when they were in their early teens.  Sometimes they would just exit the plane in Houston and spend time with my parents, then drive or train up to DFW area.  The travel agencies cheapist was over $500 for almost the same trip.

Routing into either Midway or Ohare in Chicago can save significant money....sometimes.  They could spend a day traveling down to Cincinatti by car and see some very pretty country along the way.  I wonder if changing sides of the road right aways would be too much for Fintan on such a short trip to get easily converted?  It could really be dangerous driving in Chicago to learn the ropes.  I have been driving since age 14 and Chicago or LA really stress my driving skills.

Heck, they could even swing by here and I could show them my Spindrift...it may even be done by then. ;D

[Brent]

Cincinnatti is a charming combination of old river town and modern metropolis.  There are plenty of good restaurants (check out the cities on the Kentucky side of the river too).  In fact there is a section in the town just across the river from Cincinatti proper that tries real hard to create an Irish Pub Crawl District.  There is a good natural history museum, a nice aquarium, the Air Force Museum is a short drive away in Dayton.  There are plenty of sports events as well.  In July there is a major hydroplane race and barbeque down the river a few miles. 

Delta Airlines serves the Cincinnatti airport (which is actually located across the river in Kentucy).  Delta international ports include Chicago and Atlanta I think - so there are opportunities for layovers there too.  You may want to compare flights into Louisville Kentucky, which is about 100 miles away - and often hundreds of dollars less expensive to fly into.  USAir, Southwest, and others serve Louisville.

[Fintan Murphy]

Great blues and jazz, and also the political base of our new President-Elect. 

Cincinnati does have the Creationist Museum; I doubt you would find that anywhere else in the world!

Didn't you know that he has roots in Offaly in Ireland! 

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2008/1122/1227293429221.html

"His late mother Ann Dunham was a descendant of Fulmouth Kearney who left Moneygall, Co Offaly, for the US in 1850"

We always claim kinship to American Presidents (which isn't difficult when so many millions were scattered to the wind, and with that Catholic, no contraception ethos, well, you know the rest  : )

Also a Creationist Musuem      Thats it! I'm going !

Seriously guys, thanks for all the ideas,  I will have to sit down with Irene and go through the posts and options, and a large map of America.  I am one (of the five) Irish people who have never gone to America, so I have a lot of studying to do.  I reckon we will be able to get there for a week, so that will narrow the scope of the trip.  Regardless of expense, hassle, etc.  I would like to be there for the wedding, as (hopefully) he will only be getting married once.  To a girl from Georgia.

The mad thing is that he is actually living in the Caymen Islands, and is getting married in Cincinnati because "it is cheaper", and is halfway between Georgia and Ireland.  So he has actually managed to piss everybody off, from both sides of the family. 

His brother suggested that we borrow his house while he is in honeymoon  ;D

[Frank Hagan]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2008/1122/1227293429221.html

"His late mother Ann Dunham was a descendant of Fulmouth Kearney who left Moneygall, Co Offaly, for the US in 1850"

We always claim kinship to American Presidents (which isn't difficult when so many millions were scattered to the wind, and with that Catholic, no contraception ethos, well, you know the rest  : )

Most Americans have some Irish ancestry; I recently found out my Hagan line is actually Irish rather than German (through DNA testing).  Half the family is pleased, the other half pissed off, which I think proves our heritage.  Lots of Irish people here (and St. Patrick's Day is a much bigger event here than you would expect, but I think that's mostly because of the beer). 

He lives in the Caymans and he's having everyone travel to Ohio?  He must love her very much.

[Ken_Potts]

He's dragging a Georgia girl's family to Ohio?!? 

I guess love conquers all.

[Fintan Murphy]

You see that is one of the issues.....

Most of his family,(who I am very friendly with),  for one reason or another (mostly money or holiday time) can't go.

Most of her family cant go either.

So we may be the only ones who turn up!

Personally, I'd have preferred the caymens, or even Georgia, but it ain't my wedding.

And Frank, I've only found out, through a very good BBC series documentary by Stephen Fry, that there were more German immegrants to America than Irish.  I suppose they weren't as loud and extraverted as us.

If you get a chance you should try and catch the documentary, he travels to all the states, going around in a black London cab, and has some of his typically wry observations.