New Travel Paradigm

[TromboneAl]

In the past our travel paradigms have either been.

1. Get on a plane and fly someplace warm (e.g. Hawaii)
2. Travel a long distance, camping along the way (e.g. California to Missouri)

However, the problem with (1) is that I find flying to be too much of a hassle, and I don't like sitting in a crowded plane for many hours at a time.

We've also given up on (2) (reason).

So, a new paradigm that we are going to try is this:

Travel not so far and stay at a fancy hotel and eat at expensive restaurants.
​

We did this recently, and it worked out well.

On our next trip, we might go to Portland, OR and try this out.

 

[Koogie]

We also do this quite a bit as:
a) the wife is a foodie and loves trying new places
b) we can't take a lot of time off from the business together

it has the added advantage of making us feel like 5 Star bigshots before we go home and have pork chops and cauliflower the rest of the week... lol

 

[donheff]

Welcome to the dark side Al. DW and I like to eat out at good restaurants and stay at nice places when we travel. Even bike riding, we like to take a VBT trip most years - they are basically luxury for the LBYM crowd (compared to Butterfield and Backroads).

 

[ERD50]

Pretty much our routine for years. DW has become terrified of flying, and I'm not keen on being cooped up for hours, and the hassles. I don't like driving long distances, I'm too antsy. Not into camping, we both like creature comforts.

So since we don't spend big bucks on air-fare, it's easy to justify a really nice hotel, concert/museum/show and an expensive meal for the short trips we do take. No reason to scrimp on those.


-ERD50

 

[Lsbcal]

We have been gravitating towards staying more then just 1 or 2 nights in a stop over. Living out of a suitcase can get very tiring. Our next car trip starting in a few days will have these number of nights at each stop over: 2, 5, 4.

We will be flying to Paris in September but staying at just one place and doing some day trips outside Paris. The flight is non-stop which will be a new experience for us. This shortens the flight time (from West Coast). We'll be in one hotel for 2 weeks.

Not exactly what Al was talking about in the opening post, but a bit of a new paradigm for us. Our last long plane flight was in 2007. Flight was not fun. DW got very ill in Europe (caught a nasty virus that was going around at that time) but slogged through it.

 

[Sarah in SC]

We take the (dreaded, noisy) RV to music festivals that are a day's drive away and really enjoy the break from regular life. But I promise we don't run the generator!

I think closer trips can be very enjoyable, and you get more bang for your buck by going more often. We wind up planning a gargantuan trip every other year or so, and the memories have to sustain us an awfully long time in between!

 

[walkinwood]

Since we have ER'd, our US trips have mainly been by road. For the most part, we stay in 3-star hotels using the great deals from hotwire & priceline. As long as the place is clean (sights & smells) and quiet with a comfortable bed, we're happy. We plan to try camping this year - with a start soon at the Great Sand Dunes National Park - for just one night. Occasionally, we'll do something luxurious.

Our thinking is that we live in pretty nice surroundings all year long, so can step it down a bit when we travel.

We try to buy breakfast & lunch at supermarkets so we eat healthy, and use urbanspoon or yelp or friend's recommendations to find good restaurants. We don't mind the occasional splurge on food.

 

[Zero]

We used to go on Round-The-World trips on United once or twice a year, usually 3-4 weeks. Now we don't even consider those options.

So yeah, our paradigm shifted (or "got" shifted) because of annoying TSA, crowded planes, horrible customer treatment, etc.

Your short trips to comfortable getaways sound like a nice alternative.

 

[Goonie]

We love roadtrips, long or short, and I really enjoy driving them! And at least 3 times each year we go to multi-day Bluegrass music festivals that are relatveky short distances from home.....45 miles, 75 miles, & 150 miles. We stay at very nice, upscale hotels, and splurge on our meals.

Once in awhile we hit a concert or play within an hour or two of home, and then just stay overnight somewhere nearby.....for a mini-vacation.

The short trips are really nice and relaxing. We usually leave home sometime after lunch, and arrive around 2:00 p.m. We have plenty of time for sightseeing and taking little sidetrips while we're there and on our way home.

 

[Free To Canoe]

In the past our travel paradigms have either been.

1. Get on a plane and fly someplace warm (e.g. Hawaii)
2. Travel a long distance, camping along the way (e.g. California to Missouri)

However, the problem with (1) is that I find flying to be too much of a hassle, and I don't like sitting in a crowded plane for many hours at a time.

We've also given up on (2) (reason).

So, a new paradigm that we are going to try is this:

Travel not so far and stay at a fancy hotel and eat at expensive restaurants.
​

We did this recently, and it worked out well.

On our next trip, we might go to Portland, OR and try this out.

Your Reason 2 link about camping really hit home. Our family camped together when I was a kid and it was very much as you describe in the beginning. Recent decades have been a struggle. Very hard to do in California and things have degraded elsewhere. We now have established guideline that help. We do not camp on weekends unless it cannot be avoided. We zig when they zag, that is we try to find the less travelled places and times.

It has been a while since we did reason 1.

We have tried the new paradigm but we also like to go to new places and that involves travel because the old ones are already explored.
Interesting concept though. Let me think on that one awhile.

 

[Nords]

In the past our travel paradigms have either been.

1. Get on a plane and fly someplace warm (e.g. Hawaii)
2. Travel a long distance, camping along the way (e.g. California to Missouri)

So, a new paradigm that we are going to try is this:

Travel not so far and stay at a fancy hotel and eat at expensive restaurants.
​

What do you do about the annual vacation budget? Does it all work out to about the same amount, or have you raised your vacation spending?

 

[TromboneAl]

What do you do about the annual vacation budget? Does it all work out to about the same amount, or have you raised your vacation spending?

I'm guessing it will be cheaper unless we really go upscale.

Lena's on board, but had a funny quote: "my friends are going to Tahiti and Italy, and we're going for a weekend in Portland.

 

[Nords]

Lena's on board, but had a funny quote: "my friends are going to Tahiti and Italy, and we're going for a weekend in Portland.

She has to look on the bright side: "My friends are getting probed by TSA, sitting on planes for hours, and paying $8.59 for a dried-out Thai chicken wrap... and we're not."

 

[Zero]

I awoke early today to try to get the "earlybird" fare. Got that but as I booked things started to add up. It was AirTran fare.
1. To select my seat it was $6 per segment economy, and $15 for Zone 1, so the roundtrip of 4 segments cost a minimum of an extra $24 and max $60.
2. To check one piece of luggage was $20 on each direction, so $40.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, on a trip that was $380 roundtrip, my "extras" cost $ 64 min to $100 max.

Wow, airlines, wake up. Don't slice your own throat. Nevermind, just realized you have me by the throat, carryon.

 

[rescueme]

We would never go camping nor travel using an RV (it's just not us), and although air travel is a pain in today's world, it's the only way we can get to the majority of the places we wish to go to. At least when you look at the ratio of time in the air/airport vs. our time at our selected destination, it has little to do with the overall "experince" of the trip.

We just returned from Maui last week and have Scotland scheduled for September. In addition, we're starting to make plans for China late next year.

We've been fortunate to "live" springtime in Paris a few times, plus DW's trip to see the Pyramids (before the "troubles"), a couple of years ago.

Not that we don't travel in the CONUS; it's just that we travel places that you can't get to by car/bus in most of our travel, at this time.

Oh BTW, DW refuses to travel more than an hour or so by car. Yes, it sounds strange since she will go non-stop to Australlia but fears being on the road with today's drivers . In fact, we're probably going to going to the Keys early next year, but she we will not go by car. We'll either fly to the Miami area or directly to the Keys, and rent a car for the local travel.

Hey, if it works for you TA, great. Just to say that it would not be an option for some folks, like us who like to see a bit of the world while we still can get around on our own...

 

[Eagle43]

In the past our travel paradigms have either been.


[*]Get on a plane and fly someplace warm (e.g. Hawaii)
[*]Travel a long distance, camping along the way (e.g. California to Missouri)

However, the problem with (1) is that I find flying to be too much of a hassle, and I don't like sitting in a crowded plane for many hours at a time.

We've also given up on (2) (reason).

So, a new paradigm that we are going to try is this:

Travel not so far and stay at a fancy hotel and eat at expensive restaurants.
We did this recently, and it worked out well.

On our next trip, we might go to Portland, OR and try this out.

We went on our first cruise this year. I had been warned to stay away from Carnival because they have cheap cruises aimed at families, thus they might have too many youngsters and/or they have jam parties that go on all nite. We got on Royal Carribean and had no problem. Too many people with too many toys and no respect for anybody else ruin everything. I mean, what happens at a campsite if you ask someone to turn the music down? TA this is a good thread because I seldom think about the problem of too many people until it's too late.

 

[REWahoo]

In the past our travel paradigms have either been.

1. Get on a plane and fly someplace warm (e.g. Hawaii)
2. Travel a long distance, camping along the way (e.g. California to Missouri)

However, the problem with (1) is that I find flying to be too much of a hassle, and I don't like sitting in a crowded plane for many hours at a time.

We've also given up on (2) (reason).

So, a new paradigm that we are going to try is this:

Travel not so far and stay at a fancy hotel and eat at expensive restaurants.
​

We did this recently, and it worked out well.

What you are describing is the normal evolution of reduced tolerance level based on advancing age. Looks like you're nearing the final stage:

Get off my lawn - YouTube

 

[TheWizard]

I'm a scuba diver, not a surfer and the Caribbean is where I go, so air travel is a necessary evil.
When I become unemployed later this year, I'll still need planes to get way south but I won't have to come home so quickly most times.

Then there's the Fairbanks/Anchorage trip, a couple of months. I'm thinking one of those Casita trailers will be good for that. We'll see...

 

[W2R]

In the past our travel paradigms have either been.

1. Get on a plane and fly someplace warm (e.g. Hawaii)
2. Travel a long distance, camping along the way (e.g. California to Missouri)

However, the problem with (1) is that I find flying to be too much of a hassle, and I don't like sitting in a crowded plane for many hours at a time.

We've also given up on (2) (reason).

So, a new paradigm that we are going to try is this:

Travel not so far and stay at a fancy hotel and eat at expensive restaurants.
​

We did this recently, and it worked out well.

On our next trip, we might go to Portland, OR and try this out.

Al, you have finally (almost) seen the light. No international travel, no RVs or camping; it all sounds sensible to me. When you post that you are just as happy staying in a Holiday Inn as in those fancy hotels, you will have achieved the nirvana of W2R-like vacationing-habits.

 

[NYEXPAT]

One of the beauties of living overseas is I dream in CONUS, but wake up every morning in a foreign land!

 

[Lsbcal]

Al, you have finally (almost) seen the light. No international travel, no RVs or camping; it all sounds sensible to me. When you post that you are just as happy staying in a Holiday Inn as in those fancy hotels, you will have achieved the nirvana of W2R-like vacationing-habits.

I thought Holiday Inn (Express type) was pretty nice. Maybe not fancy (= pricey ?), but the ones we've been in were up to date, clean, and had decent light breakfast options.

Another thought regarding eating on vacations, it seems the challenge is to not overeat so one really enjoys the next meal time. Nothing like good food and a good appetite.

 

[TromboneAl]

A few years ago we went to a cozy lodge to relax and read our books. However, the lights in the room were 40 watts, so not bright enough to read by, the phone at the nearby desk was ringing all the time, and the cozy fireplace in the lobby had a widescreen TV with 24 hour news going. So, on that trip, we thought "We could be doing this better at home."

I'm not sure what I'm expecting in an expensive 5-star hotel as compared with a Holiday Inn. Perhaps I'm picturing the hotel in Pretty Woman.

We stayed at a very fancy hotel in St. Louis, but they still made the mistake of calling us at 1:30 AM to tell us that our delayed luggage had arrived from the airport.

So, what does one get in a five-star hotel?

 

[TromboneAl]

Welcome to the dark side Al. DW and I like to eat out at good restaurants and stay at nice places when we travel. Even bike riding, we like to take a VBT trip most years - they are basically luxury for the LBYM crowd (compared to Butterfield and Backroads).

I always think about how that fancy hotel allowed you to bring your bikes into the room.

 

[flyfishnevada]

We travel local and eat nice often enough. We're blessed with all the hotel/casinos in Reno and we can stay in some nice rooms and eat at some fancy places and never leave the building. It's a nice change of pace and with the new ballpark, that is an option too and only 90 minutes from home.

Agree on the camping. It lost it's luster after we moved to the country. It's so much quieter, darker and more comfortable at our house. Barking dogs, screaming babies, people driving around all hours of the night looking for sites. We enjoyed our travel trailer, but we had a few go to spots were it was never crowded, but it was just easier to stay at home, not to mention the schedules of teenagers left us little time to go.

 

[omni550]

So, what does one get in a five-star hotel?

High prices?

Name dropping?

Bragging rights?

omni