Anyone got any travel planned?

[martyp]

Just spent a week in New York City. Thought is was going to be a leisurely vacation on my own but it turned out to be so busy I couldn't get everything done that I wanted to do. Wore my feet down walking all over the city and my leg muscles salsa dancing 5 nights. Mon-Wed was hot (80deg+), humid, and sunny followed by cool (50deg), windy, and drizzly. Made it to 3 museums, the Circle Line tour, World Trade Center memorial, and a lot of good food and bars. I spent a day each with 2 friends in NYC but the weird part was running into 4 people from home (San Francisco Bay Area) just by chance. One on the street waiting in line for a restaurant. One in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Two in salsa dance clubs. What are the odds of that?

Here is the World Trade Center Memorial last Thursday:

World Trade Center 2013 - YouTube

Resting my weary feet today.

 

[LauAnn]

Just returned from biking the Virginia Creeper Trail and the Shady Valley, Tennessee area.

Next, I will soon be heading to Wallops Island, Virginia to build a skin-on-frame kayak. Really looking forward to that trip and returning with a sea kayak that I can use at my local state park.

 

[Huston55]

Getting ready for a big trip next month:

First week starts in Seattle then cruises up the inside passage of Alaska.

Second week is in Denali National Park.

Third week is relaxing in Vancouver and Victoria.

We have a few plans, but any suggestions for anywhere in those regions would be most welcome!

I would definitely recommend you take the ferry to the Olympic peninsula. See Port Townsend, Olympic National Park, and Lake Crescent.

 

[FUEGO]

Just booked 4 days in Chicago in late August. We'll be traveling with our 2 girls (7 and 8 years old) and leaving the 1 year old at home. Nothing much planned so far for the trip, except we scheduled our trip around being there on a Sunday morning/afternoon to go to the Maxwell Street Market and get some good Mexican street food. And we plan to hit up one or more of Rick Bayless's restaurants (Frontera most likely).

I feel pretty clever - booked the whole trip for 20 bucks and some frequent flyer miles and hotel reward points. All we will have to pay for are food, public transit, and maybe admission fees.

Edit to add: the 1 year old won't be left at home alone - one of the grandmothers will be keeping him.

 

[Sarah in SC]

That sounds great, Fuego--I need to try to get up there this fall sometime, with our SW companion pass, it is one of the places we would love to visit.

We had a Buddhist blessing for the bus yesterday, in preparation for delivering her to the Port of Charleston on Thursday. We won't see her again until July.

 

[CoolChange]

Just drove from the states to Playa del Carmen....

I am considering giving this a shot in a couple of years. Love to hear any pointers on must see/stay places along the way.

 

[FUEGO]

That sounds great, Fuego--I need to try to get up there this fall sometime, with our SW companion pass, it is one of the places we would love to visit.

We had a Buddhist blessing for the bus yesterday, in preparation for delivering her to the Port of Charleston on Thursday. We won't see her again until July.

Not sure about from your airport, but we have lots of southwest non stops from my local airport to Midway in Chicago, and you can get right on the Orange line of their subway and explore pretty easy in the urban and some suburban areas.

We ended up booking non stops on American with our British Air points to O'Hare since our free hotel is near O'hare (across town from Midway airport) and the hotel has free shuttle service, so no lugging our bags on public transit (with 2 kids and their stuff).

I saw your buddhist bus blessing on facebook! I'll have to show DW, she'll get a kick out of it. You might want to get a snake handlin stump preacher down that way to bless it too, just for good measure. Between that, the buddhist blessings, and Diesel Don and his toolbox, you are all set to conquer Mongolia Genghis Khan style.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Not sure about from your airport, but we have lots of southwest non stops from my local airport to Midway in Chicago, and you can get right on the Orange line of their subway and explore pretty easy in the urban and some suburban areas.

We ended up booking non stops on American with our British Air points to O'Hare since our free hotel is near O'hare (across town from Midway airport) and the hotel has free shuttle service, so no lugging our bags on public transit (with 2 kids and their stuff).

I saw your buddhist bus blessing on facebook! I'll have to show DW, she'll get a kick out of it. You might want to get a snake handlin stump preacher down that way to bless it too, just for good measure. Between that, the buddhist blessings, and Diesel Don and his toolbox, you are all set to conquer Mongolia Genghis Khan style.

Yeah--we've got the nonstop to Midway as well on SW. I was looking at other places, like Dallas, to just go and check out for weekend trips, but we haven't done as well as you have with getting hotel points, so we need to work on that when we get back.

Diesel Don got a huge kick out of hearing the monks that were working on the Sand Mandala talking about their golf handicaps! I did get an offer for a wiccan blessing, but no snake handlers yet!

 

[KM]

Retired at the end of March. A week later, DH and I packed the fifth wheel and left for our first real extended trip. On our way home now. Went to places I have never been before, including:

• Nashville (the Hermitage was nice),
• Camped on the Natchez Trace (not as beautiful as the Blue Ridge Parkway...but camping was free and we did go out to both Shiloh and Vicksburg Battlefields, which were very interesting places to visit)
• New Orleans (lots of fun...we want to go back),
• Houston (way too big...but enjoyed the Houston Space Center),
• Galveston (loved the dead trees carved into statues and the historic homes),
• San Antonio (LOVED the missions, LOVED the city, LBJ Ranch was cool too),
• Navarre, FL (where we will be staying next winter on the beach....).

Also spent time near Asheville, NC and did the Smoky Mts and Blue Ridge Parkway. We had done that years ago and I forgot how beautiful it is!!

While on this trip, I booked a 15-day river cruise (Budapest to Amsterdam) for July with my best friend. And then in October, DH and I are going to visit his cousin in London for a week, and then will spend a week in Ireland and week in Scotland.

I have most of that itinerary figured out - but suggestions for the southern part of Ireland (outside Dublin and excluding Ring of Kerry - both we already have on the list) would be good. Also - suggestions for northern Scotland? Right now we just plan to rent a car and take in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, etc.


P.S. They say if you retire early, travel while you still have your health....so I am simply following the rules

 

[FUEGO]

Diesel Don got a huge kick out of hearing the monks that were working on the Sand Mandala talking about their golf handicaps! I did get an offer for a wiccan blessing, but no snake handlers yet!

Oh you don't know any snake handlers? I'll have to introduce you to my cousins and my extended family that live "in the mountains" (you know where Deliverance was filmed?).

 

[Meadbh]

I have most of that itinerary figured out - but suggestions for the southern part of Ireland (outside Dublin and excluding Ring of Kerry - both we already have on the list) would be good.

May I suggest West Cork? Fly to Cork Airport (ORK) and within an hour's drive you will be enjoying the scenic coast. Kinsale is the gourmet capital of Ireland. Bantry is also a good base. Castletownbere, Clonakilty, Glengarriff, Gougane Barra, the Beara Peninsula, Mizen Head........

Summer in West Cork | Summer Breaks in West Cork | Discover Ireland

http://www.ireland.com/en-ca/amazing-places/beara-peninsula

 

[simple girl]

Getting ready for a big trip next month:

First week starts in Seattle then cruises up the inside passage of Alaska.

Second week is in Denali National Park.

Third week is relaxing in Vancouver and Victoria.

We have a few plans, but any suggestions for anywhere in those regions would be most welcome!

If you are stopping in Seward, I highly recommend a Kenai Fjords National Park water tour. Such great memories we have from that day! We saw so much wildlife.

Denali was fabulous. We rode the school bus in 66 miles to Eielson. It's a long day, but a great way to see the park. Also, you can go visit the sled dogs at the park and watch a demo by the rangers of them pulling a sled around the track (no snow, but still very cool).

We also stopped in Juneau and went out to the park and hiked right up to the glacier there. So cool. Oh and do not miss a tour for Humpback whales. Several came so close to our boat!

Enjoy! It was the trip of a lifetime for me!

 

[obgyn65]

Logging in from Guatemala where I am teaching a microbiology class this morning before flying back to the US this weekend. My Spanish is not great but it should be fun.

 

[timo2]

Getting ready for a big trip next month:

First week starts in Seattle then cruises up the inside passage of Alaska.

Second week is in Denali National Park.

Third week is relaxing in Vancouver and Victoria.

We have a few plans, but any suggestions for anywhere in those regions would be most welcome!

When I did the inside passage cruise, DW and I spent most of our time outside looking at mountains and taking photographs. We found places to sit that had bars nearby or just inside, of course. It was a little chilly, and mostly sunny, but worth it. It is not like a typical cruise with ocean all around as often there was coastline and mountains on both sides of the ship. There were only a handful of other people on the deck at any one time. Everyone else was inside doing cruisey-type things like art shows, shopping, whatever banal events they have to help folks spend money. I couldn't believe it!! So my advice is get outside and see the scenery. I planned my trip attire just for that.

 

[Nemo2]

No, but I am going in July. Please post your observations.

Arrived home, last evening, from the Great Czech Flood of '13, (will post some pics once my technologically inclined spouse sorts/files & discards).......some initial random thoughts:

- Prague, especially the Old Town, was crowded during rainy, cold, late May/early June.......warm & sunny July? I can only imagine!

The first Sunday we were there we got up early, caught a tram/streetcar and were down at the Charles Bridge, (where we'd been part of the herd the previous day), at 05:00 a.m...........just as a tourist bar at one end of the bridge was letting out.....but we did have an almost empty bridge....and when we walked up to the Palace area there was pretty much just us.

- Graffiti...lots of it, but thankfully not around the old section.

- Transit system......we bought 30 day passes, (a good deal for us, even though we were only there for 12 days......we gave them to a young girl serving coffee at the airport as we were leaving....she was delighted).

Trams/streetcars, subway/Metro, excellent......we'd get on/get off on a whim, go here/go there, go back to the apartment for a break......unlimited trips with the pass, and not once were we asked to produce them.

Trains.....likewise excellent...did a few day trips, would have done more but for the weather, (on our penultimate day we cancelled a trip to one town we wanted to see when it was announced that they were evacuating people due to the flooding).

(An aside.....a male announcer at the main station, giving periodic updates in English, sounded exactly like the old SNL Steve Martin/Dan Akyroyd "Wild and crazy guys" skit.)

Views......among others, we did the Petrin Observation Tower, (the funicular cost was covered by the transit pass, (ha, so we did show them), but not the tower itself.......being 70 I asked for, and pretty much always got, the old fart's discount......my child bride, at 60, wasn't eligible).

Panoramic shots of the river/old town from the tower.

(We also went up the old Tower by the main square......get in line, hurry up and wait...and wait...and.....again, July I dunno.)

Our apartment wasn't in the old section, or even right downtown, but it was great, and easily accessible by public transit.

There's more, but that's all I can think of at the moment....still tired, (not much sleep the night before our early flight back........again, went from the apartment to the airport on public transit, using the passes we didn't have to show).

 

[kmt1972]

Fairly minor for us. We are going to Cape Cod for a week in Mid Aug. Will be our first trip there since we had our child. Will be fun for him to play on the beach.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Nemo, the flooding sounds pretty rough over there--we've been monitoring it a bit, but hope it will recede by the time we are passing through in Mid-July. Wish we were spending time in Prague, but the road will be calling!
Can't wait to see your pictures...after you get some rest!

 

[Nemo2]

Nemo, the flooding sounds pretty rough over there--we've been monitoring it a bit, but hope it will recede by the time we are passing through in Mid-July. Wish we were spending time in Prague, but the road will be calling!
Can't wait to see your pictures...after you get some rest!

Too tired to sleep.......we're both 'fogging' our way through chores right now.

One report we heard/read while there was that the last time the river through Prague had experienced such water volume was 50 years ago......the day prior to our leaving, (when we had hoped to do another train trip), we went downtown......the Charles Bridge was closed to the public, as were some Metro stations, 60 palace guards had been commandeered to assist in the effort to avoid more flooding, tongue in groove metal barriers had been erected along sections of the embankment, and sand bags abounded.

A couple days prior, on another train trip, we rode alongside an extremely swollen river......saw a couple/few camper trailers that had presumably been parked on the bank.....they were now in the water, and probably not far from being 'downstream'.

 

[H2ODude]

Recovering from an odyssey. DD and family were moving within London w/ three kids, so spent a week there playing Grandpa and babysitter while the parents dealt with logistics. Then to Morogoro Tanzania via Dar es Salaam to visit with son for a few days. Then we flew to Durban SA via Joberg so he could run his 3rd Comrades Marathon (54 miles -ugh), Then back on plane to Joberg-Atlanta- and home. That 16 hour flight from Joberg to Atlanta really pushes one's limits. At least mine. Highlight was my having to drive rental car from start of marathon (Durban) to end (Pietermaritzberg), my first driving on left side. Went amazingly well except for last 12 inches, where while parallel parking I destroyed the left front wheel cover!

What was amazing about the Comrades is the age of the runners. I'd guess average was over 40 (18,000 registered). There were a lot of people in 50's and older, many having run it 10, up to 20 times. Son pointed out that no one puts those "26.2" stickers or similar advertisements on vehicles, like "I ran Comrades." Just do it, many year after year, for the sake of doing it. South Africans are a tough bunch.

Last note: just after arrived in SA the Rand dropped precipitously, so for ONCE in international travel got better than US prices on food and lodging!

 

[MichaelB]

Last note: just after arrived in SA the Rand dropped precipitously, so for ONCE in international travel got better than US prices on food and lodging!

There is nothing better than a big devaluation when you are traveling on a budget and paying in local currency. It's like free money.

 

[CatInHand]

Getting ready for a big trip next month:

First week starts in Seattle then cruises up the inside passage of Alaska.

Second week is in Denali National Park.

Third week is relaxing in Vancouver and Victoria.

We have a few plans, but any suggestions for anywhere in those regions would be most welcome!

Victoria is awesome!

Victoria, British Columbia, A Perfect Summer Destination - InfoBarrel

 

[HighRoller]

I'll be driving back to visit Las Vegas sometime later this month and plan to stay 3 or 4 days in the city (maybe). I'm not sure exactly what day I'll start this trip but that's what's nice about retirement. Just get up and go. Plan to stop by the Painted Desert, Grand Cannon and maybe swing up to southern Utah to see Zion National Park again on the way. I'll probably take a different route on the return trip and I "may" stop by Carlsbad Caverns... I've made this trip and visited all these sites several times before I was retired but I always seemed to be so rushed. Not this time....

 

[ohyes]

Happy about this news. Eldest son is in Portland, ME. Some airfare deals were posted today, so DH and i grabbed a deal for late October. About $40 more than the good ol' days, but less than we have seen in quite a while and we are so ready to see him...plus the crotchety FIL in MA, lol.

We fly so seldom, actually making our minds up to commit is scary, but once we book, we are happy to start planning the trip.

 

[kcowan]

I am interested in hearing from anyone who has taken a Black Sea cruise. Currently considering Swan Hellenic out of Athens. 2014.

 

[Nemo2]

Nemo, the flooding sounds pretty rough over there--we've been monitoring it a bit, but hope it will recede by the time we are passing through in Mid-July. Wish we were spending time in Prague, but the road will be calling!
Can't wait to see your pictures...after you get some rest!

Your worst nightmare come true.....here they are: http://sdrv.ms/19kKWRa

(You may have to click on the first pic to activate the slide format.)