What are your vacation plans for '07
- Thread starter wildcat
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travelover
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Two weeks in July in a Costa Rica rain forest with Earthwatch in Nicoya peninsula. This will be Earthwatch expedition #5 for me. Not only is the trip fully tax deductible, it will enable me to see and experience things I'd never see as a tourist. It is also a great opportunity to visit with my brother from the other side of the country in a relaxed setting and do my bit for the environment.
http://www.earthwatch.org/site/pp.asp?c=dsJSK6PFJnH&b=386457
http://www.earthwatch.org/site/pp.asp?c=dsJSK6PFJnH&b=386457
travelover
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Tax deductible traveling with Earthwatch is on the up and up - nothing underhanded here. I was skeptical that it could be such a good deal initially, but now I am a believer - actually surprised at the low interest on this board -maybe just not for the average ER.
lazygood4nothinbum
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travelover said:
had never heard of this before. looks real interesting. will study further. thanx much for posting.
lazygood4nothinbum said:
pics from that (the non eco version)
here's chasco fiesta parade in new port richey (1 easy hour's drive north of tampa). very affordable, nice town. lots of houses under $200k. tree lined neighborly lanes and a main street with 13 pubs. this is early in parade which went on for a few hours. best local parade i ever had the chance to enjoy. bet we caught five pounds of beads apiece. this town does 11 festivals throughout the year.
just a 15 minute drive south of new port richey is the greek sponging community of tarpon springs. we found a place right on the water with excellent service, a truly talented guitarist and great food. something tells me i'm not the only tourist to take this photo...
next roadtrip later this week or next will be checking out potential future early retirement homes in daytona beach (where i can buy a $250k house and walk to the beach), also polk county where there are lots of interconnected lakes for a fun little sailboat and varous other florida locales. might even hit the keys where, of course, i'd have to still be working to be able to afford.
Flipping through IRS's Publication 526, I couldn't help but notice a couple of examples they gave regarding deductibility of "volunteer tourism" contributions. Two examples of non-deductible contributions are:
Example: You sail from one island to another and spend 8 hours a day counting whales and other forms of marine life. The project is sponsored by a charitable organization. In most circumstances, you cannot deduct your expenses.
Example: You work for several hours each morning on an archeological dig sponsored by a charitable organization. The rest of the day is free for recreation and sightseeing. You cannot take a charitable contribution deduction even though you work very hard during those few hours.
The contribution is deductible as long as "there is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel".
Assuming Earthwatch's trips are bona fide deductible charitable contributions (and have no significant recreation or vacation in them), that would mean you would be doing actual work 8 hours a day for the duration of your "vacation". No wonder those trips aren't more popular. It sounds too much like work.
Example: You sail from one island to another and spend 8 hours a day counting whales and other forms of marine life. The project is sponsored by a charitable organization. In most circumstances, you cannot deduct your expenses.
Example: You work for several hours each morning on an archeological dig sponsored by a charitable organization. The rest of the day is free for recreation and sightseeing. You cannot take a charitable contribution deduction even though you work very hard during those few hours.
The contribution is deductible as long as "there is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel".
Assuming Earthwatch's trips are bona fide deductible charitable contributions (and have no significant recreation or vacation in them), that would mean you would be doing actual work 8 hours a day for the duration of your "vacation". No wonder those trips aren't more popular. It sounds too much like work.
travelover
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When I went to Kenya with Earthwatch, one example of the "work" we did was hiking through a rhino preserve and counting and noting the location of the animals we saw. This data was used to determine if an excessive number of other species were competing with the rhinos for the available food. In a previous trip to Kenya, I got shuffled around in a minivan all day with a bunch of tourists and never got a real Africa experience. Granted, the experience is not for everyone, but the "work" is certainly not drudgery - at least not to me. I'd encourage anyone interested to view the Earthwatch site to see for themselves.
I'd love to do an Earthwatch trip. But, as it is, my "earthwatching" will be done locally this summer. I plan to do quite a bit of trail hiking in the Rocky Mountains, watching out for bears and cougars. Also, I plan to throw a lot of tennis balls out into the lake and watch my dog swim out to retrieve them.
thefed
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just reserved a 3 bedroom beach-house in kittyhawk, NC for a week...
$1000
$1000
Absolutely. We'll surf Queens, too, if the freezing-cold water doesn't drive us to the beach.saluki9 said:
Phew, that must be quite a deal in the middle of high season!
I'm going to West Point next month for the graduation of my nephew the Army Ranger (and presumably a bunch of other people too). It'll be four days of fun with cousins & aunts.
Our kid spent her entire spring break working on our rental house ($$) or at Kumon ($$$) and we couldn't even manage to put together a neighbor-island trip. She finishes 9th grade this June and starts a month of summer school six days later... and ends up with only two weeks left before 10th grade. Not much time for summer vacations. But spouse has a Reserve conference in Colorado Springs this July so we're looking at a trip to Grandpa (my dad) in Grand Junction and my younger brother in Denver. We'll also be visiting any small college (<5000 students) with a good engineering department, an ROTC program, and a women's basketball team. Other than USAFA, anyone have any suggestions?
Nords said:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute just about fits your criteria. Womens BB, ROTC, and undergrad enrollment of ~5,100. I spoke with the former civil engineering dept. head (who's now the new dept head of civil engineering at my alma mater) for about an hour over lunch a few months back. He seemed to talk up RPI pretty good. Otherwise, I have no knowledge or experience with RPI.
Nords,
You and your daughter may have already thought of University of Denver. Not sure if it's a great engineering program or not. What I do know is they have an excellent scholarship program for their top applicants. Full tuition and entrance to the "honors" undergraduate curriculum, which means small classes and professors, no TAs and large lecture classes.
She might enjoy Denver since it's grown up quite a bit during the past decade. The light rail goes from campus directly to downtown now.
Good luck!
You and your daughter may have already thought of University of Denver. Not sure if it's a great engineering program or not. What I do know is they have an excellent scholarship program for their top applicants. Full tuition and entrance to the "honors" undergraduate curriculum, which means small classes and professors, no TAs and large lecture classes.
She might enjoy Denver since it's grown up quite a bit during the past decade. The light rail goes from campus directly to downtown now.
Good luck!
Great, thanks-- not too far from her Boulder uncle.Oldbabe said:
She has a website/database that searches for these criteria, but getting a 14-year-old to do the queries and then look at a vacation schedule is like pulling teeth. If I can dangle these little travel opportunities (RPI in NY, Denver, and so on) then she's motivated to do the work.
I can't complain. When I was that age, college was just a place you went to scam free beers and try to pick up hot chicks... of course when I actually went to college, I found out that not much had changed.
College road trip 2007.
Our kid (just finished 9th grade) searched Princeton Review's ECOS database with the following criteria-- under 10,000 students, good engineering program, and a women's basketball team. She cross-referenced that to a Navy list of college ROTC units and came up with Notre Dame, Carnegie-Mellon, and Rensselaer (which I am going to have to learn how to spell-- oh, here it is-- "RPI").
They all have frequent tours, sometimes several times daily, with the chance to schedule additional meetings. We'll probably arrange to be at RPI for their summer "Visit Days" blowout.
Those are all schools that she'd find a home at and they're certainly attractive alternatives to USNA. The itinerary could be a little less arduous but they all start with a five-hour flight to the Mainland. I think it's more important for her to see & walk the places she'd be spending her time at rather than running search filters for the "ultimate" school. She's also not going to have that many more opportunities for this type of road trip-- maybe another December or summer for CA or TX, and then she'd be up against USNA's summer seminar. So if she chooses to apply to these three, great. What's more important is that she get the experience at listening, asking questions, and clarifying her thinking.
Now all we have to do is coordinate about 7000 miles of air travel...
Our kid (just finished 9th grade) searched Princeton Review's ECOS database with the following criteria-- under 10,000 students, good engineering program, and a women's basketball team. She cross-referenced that to a Navy list of college ROTC units and came up with Notre Dame, Carnegie-Mellon, and Rensselaer (which I am going to have to learn how to spell-- oh, here it is-- "RPI").
They all have frequent tours, sometimes several times daily, with the chance to schedule additional meetings. We'll probably arrange to be at RPI for their summer "Visit Days" blowout.
Those are all schools that she'd find a home at and they're certainly attractive alternatives to USNA. The itinerary could be a little less arduous but they all start with a five-hour flight to the Mainland. I think it's more important for her to see & walk the places she'd be spending her time at rather than running search filters for the "ultimate" school. She's also not going to have that many more opportunities for this type of road trip-- maybe another December or summer for CA or TX, and then she'd be up against USNA's summer seminar. So if she chooses to apply to these three, great. What's more important is that she get the experience at listening, asking questions, and clarifying her thinking.
Now all we have to do is coordinate about 7000 miles of air travel...
bosco
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Outtahere, I'll see ya at Sturgis. I'll be the one on the beemer with the Alaska plates (I won't have had time to import the bike to Canada yet).
We also plan to spend some time in the parks near our home in Golden, BC.
I've pretty well locked in a July 6 date for leaving Alaska (and my job)....so who knows where all else I may end up!
We also plan to spend some time in the parks near our home in Golden, BC.
I've pretty well locked in a July 6 date for leaving Alaska (and my job)....so who knows where all else I may end up!
citrine
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One week spent at home, relaxing and painting.
One week to be scheduled at a spa in Arizona.
One week to be scheduled at a spa in Arizona.
bssc
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We just got back from the Mall. Saw the Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean, WWII (and saw Kilroy), Washington and District WWI monuments.
Also saw the National Gallery of Art and National Indian Museums plus saw Marine One take off from the White House.
Walked 17,000 steps. Good times.
Also saw the National Gallery of Art and National Indian Museums plus saw Marine One take off from the White House.
Walked 17,000 steps. Good times.
SamHouston
Recycles dryer sheets
I leave Wednesday morning on a road trip to Owensboro, KY, to attend a four-day bluegrass music festival with a group of friends who are heading there from all over the country. I hope to return to Houston with some interviews in hand to be used to promote our internet radio station. We are also hosting a Gospel Music Jam Session at the Bluegrass museum there on Sunday morning which should be great fun. I'm really looking forward to seeing some friends that I haven't seen since last June. 
OP
OP
wildcat
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I leave Wednesday morning on a road trip to Owensboro, KY, to attend a four-day bluegrass music festival with a group of friends who are heading there from all over the country. I hope to return to Houston with some interviews in hand to be used to promote our internet radio station. We are also hosting a Gospel Music Jam Session at the Bluegrass museum there on Sunday morning which should be great fun. I'm really looking forward to seeing some friends that I haven't seen since last June.
Sam -
Stop by moonlite before you leave for some bbq.
Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn - Owensboro Barbecue Restaurant, BBQ Online Store Featuring Country Ham, Mutton, Burgoo, BBQ Ribs and More
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
In a few months we are tentatively planning to check out Huntsville Alabama, and areas nearby which might be potential ER locations for us. Does that count as a vacation? It probably will not be a long trip.
When I ER in 2-3 years, I can cash in my annual leave (vacation time) to a point. That will make a nice little addition to the good ol' nestegg. Bet I could live on it for a year, with my house paid off and my tiny pension.
When I ER in 2-3 years, I can cash in my annual leave (vacation time) to a point. That will make a nice little addition to the good ol' nestegg. Bet I could live on it for a year, with my house paid off and my tiny pension.
CyclingInvestor
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Just finished a 3 day midweek road trip to Healdsburg, CA wine region (N end of
Sonoma). Decided on trip Tuesday 4pm, took Amtrak Wednesday 1am-noon,
walked 1 block to bicycle rental place, biked over to motel to drop stuff off.
Rode and tasted Wednesday afternoon (100 degrees, 17 miles), again Thursday
(100 degrees, 34 miles), a little bit more Friday morning, then Amtrak'ed back
Friday 11am-10pm.
Because it was midweek, I was almost always the only customer in the tasting room.
The roads were also very quiet (more important when cycling than driving).
Another simlar trip scheduled for 2 weeks in Buellton, CA region.
6 day backcountry cabin / camping trip in Ketchikan,AK scheduled around July 4th.
Sonoma). Decided on trip Tuesday 4pm, took Amtrak Wednesday 1am-noon,
walked 1 block to bicycle rental place, biked over to motel to drop stuff off.
Rode and tasted Wednesday afternoon (100 degrees, 17 miles), again Thursday
(100 degrees, 34 miles), a little bit more Friday morning, then Amtrak'ed back
Friday 11am-10pm.
Because it was midweek, I was almost always the only customer in the tasting room.
The roads were also very quiet (more important when cycling than driving).
Another simlar trip scheduled for 2 weeks in Buellton, CA region.
6 day backcountry cabin / camping trip in Ketchikan,AK scheduled around July 4th.
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SamHouston
Recycles dryer sheets
Looks and sounds great, wildcat. I was there for the festival last year and missed that spot. I'll make sure that doesn't happen this year.
