Anyone got any travel planned?

[Sarah in SC]

I just got my holiday cancelled as DH has sudden work commitments. Supposed to go for a week holiday and do the Great Ocean Road (Australia). I did so much research and now I don't know when we are going.

That really does suck. Sorry to hear it, but hopefully you can get it back on the books ASAP and your research will not have been in vain!

 

[H2ODude]

Just preparing to leave for airport. First, two weeks in Tanzania with son then one week in London with daughter, SIL, and ...the grandkids (3)!

 

[nphx]

Thailand again almost have the countdown clock switching from weeks to days.... i do need a vacation

 

[DangerMouse]

Booked a trip to Australia for July. August we have booked 6 weeks in France/Germany followed by 6 weeks in Thailand/Vietnam.

 

[Mulligan]

Booked a trip to Australia for July. August we have booked 6 weeks in France/Germany followed by 6 weeks in Thailand/Vietnam.

Now that is what I truly call being fully retired! I hope you dont subscribe to a daily newspaper, as you will have quite a pile of them stacked up when you get back.

 

[unclemick]

Don't vacation anymore much - cause I'm in ER. Visitin on the other hand - Clallam Bay WA, Bayou Bon Fuca LA and later maybe Bandon OR and Fort Jackson SC.

I sorta feel in ER travel is when you use your Passport.

heh heh heh - or something like that.

 

[DangerMouse]

Even better the flights are all booked in business class using points so little or no cost to us so think all in the total flight cost is less than $1k. Hotels in Thailand/Vietnam will be $30 a day plus points at Sheraton's, all thanks to using credit cards.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Don't vacation anymore much - cause I'm in ER. Visitin on the other hand - Clallam Bay WA, Bayou Bon Fuca LA and later maybe Bandon OR and Fort Jackson SC.

I sorta feel in ER travel is when you use your Passport.

heh heh heh - or something like that.

Hey now, I'm headed to Fort Jackson today, taking a foster dog to her new military family stationed there. Hotter than Hades in Columbia right now, save that trip for later in the year!

 

[kcowan]

We are offering rain and fog plus temperature in the 50s/60s for all you folks sweating it out. Pacific NW

 

[YoungSaver]

Thailand again almost have the countdown clock switching from weeks to days.... i do need a vacation

Im going to Vietnam and Myanmar. Too much bad news coming out of Thailand. Tourist murders, political protests, Russians, not such a great value anymore, etc.

 

[FUEGO]

A week at a beach house on Topsail Island in North Carolina with my parents and grandmother, my brother and his family, and the DW and our 3 kids. The house looks really nice from the pics, and sports panoramic views from the 4th floor of the ocean, the river inlet, and the sound/Intracoastal waterway.

 

[Moscyn]

That really does suck. Sorry to hear it, but hopefully you can get it back on the books ASAP and your research will not have been in vain!

Great news! Finalised our air tickets/hotel to Norway in August. Best part is that the air tickets are on business class and all on redeemed mileage. Now planning what to do and eat when I am there!

Also, planning a 2-week trip to Taiwan in October with siblings. It will be an all ladies group - mum, all sisters and kids! Hope we survive the planning part since so many ideas from everyone!

 

[kcowan]

We did Italy last year, Rome to Lake Como for a month, and France this year for a month. Next year is a custom cruise on the islands off the Dalmation Coast plus some add-on time, either southern Italy or Turkey.

Detailed planning now for Croatia by car after the cruise. Lots of neat places along the Dalmation Coast. Will meander from Dubrovnik through Split and Zandar up to Krk. Also inland to the national park and finally to Zagreb to fly to Istanbul for a week. Booking hotels in Dubrovnik and Istanbul and looking for recommendations?

 

[Nemo2]

and Istanbul and looking for recommendations?

The Pera Palace......haven't stayed there for some 25 years, (it's since been renovated), but the hotel's an icon, and (it was) a far cry from the Hiltons, et al.

 

[kcowan]

Thanks. Looks like it is worth seeing. At $450/night, I would have to spend the day in the hotel!

 

[ItDontMeanAThing]

Going to Japan for two weeks in Sept. Kyoto -> Hiroshima -> Nagoya -> Takayama -> Tokyo and points in between is the plan. But everything except Kyoto and Tokyo are optional.

 

[kumquat]

Got my tickets today. Calgary to Hyderbad, $1,600 return.

Visiting an Indian friend. He's planning side trips to Goa, Agra (he's never seen the Tah Mahal), Koonoor (tea country) and some other places. Helps to have a local 'guide' who knows the customs and speaks the language.

Hope I can handle the poverty and squalor. When suggesting I come he said "Kumquat, I'll show you the real India, you won't like it". My friend is betting I can't and I suspect he's right so I'll be taking a lot of Rupees to hand out. Don't know if it will help, but it won't hurt and I don't think I can play blind.

 

[Moscyn]

Got my tickets today. Calgary to Hyderbad, $1,600 return.

Visiting an Indian friend. He's planning side trips to Goa, Agra (he's never seen the Tah Mahal), Koonoor (tea country) and some other places. Helps to have a local 'guide' who knows the customs and speaks the language.

Hope I can handle the poverty and squalor. When suggesting I come he said "Kumquat, I'll show you the real India, you won't like it". My friend is betting I can't and I suspect he's right so I'll be taking a lot of Rupees to hand out. Don't know if it will help, but it won't hurt and I don't think I can play blind.

Just keep an open mind and enjoy the trip. It's a whole different culture, sights, smells and values. Should be interesting and you have a friend to show you around - makes a great holiday. Just make sure you don't fall ill - stay with bottled water and don't be too adventurous with the food.

 

[travelover]

I've had some inquiries into how my little fiberglass camper worked out. Recall, it is a 13 footer, including tongue, UHaul that I upgraded with a 60 watt solar panel, a 3 way refrigerator, electric brakes and LED lights.

We took a 10 day trip to Michigan's upper peninsula, supposedly to beat the heat, but we saw 95 degree temperatures there. We stayed at national forest campgrounds with lakes and cooled off with a swim and a trip to the nearest ice cream parlor. I towed it with my hybrid Escape and got about 24 mpg with a canoe on the roof and the AC running nonstop.

We really enjoy the rustic campgrounds, though we fashioned our own shower from a doggie swimming pool, 10 feet of PVC pipe and dollar store shower curtains. Nords would appreciate our 2 liter showers, though I'm sure that by submarine standards that was extravagant.

The solar panel worked out well running our vent fan, light and water pump and charging the deep cycle battery. After a period of negotiation, the greyhound decided she would rather have the floor to sleep on than the small couch at the front of the trailer, though our bed was her first choice. My veto.

We also carried a 10x10 screen tent which was really nice for shade and insect protection, though the insects were pretty mild. The best part was that DW said she would do it again.

 

[NW-Bound]

Glad to hear it worked out for you. Day temperature of 95F is high, but I hope it cooled off during the night. I'd rather have the cold than the heat.

About showering, I once topped off the fresh water tank of our MH before we took a shower, then refilled it after the showers to see how much we used. This was at a campground near Sun Valley, Idaho where there was a well with a handpump. See photo. I carried the water from the pump to the RV using gallon jugs. It was a good exercise.

If memory serves, it was something like 6 gallons for both of our showers. I thought most of that was for my wife (she needed to wash her long hair), but I kept my mouth shut and did not tell her how submariners shower (I surely would want her to come with me on future trips). Thank goodness we tend to go to where it is cool, so we only take a shower once every other day. And then, we tend to move around so I would have full hook-up once every 3 or 4 days, and get an opportunity to dump the grey tank.

Anyway, it's great that your missus liked the trip. Cheers!

 

[Sarah in SC]

Nice tiny camper! And good setup for the shower, too. Sometimes simplicity really makes for a better time. The shade tent is a perfect addition to that, because it adds a front porch. Very cool!

I hope the India trip goes well, Kumquat. It isn't on my list, but I imagine it is very beautiful. I tend to seek out places with fewer people, is what I've determined.

 

[travelover]

.........The shade tent is a perfect addition to that, because it adds a front porch. Very cool!........

These folding canopies are amazingly easy to set up - sort of like an umbrella frame, though it definitely takes two to raise it.

 

[Buckeye]

Going back to Seattle for a week. It's our 20+ annual Girl's Summer Weekend. I'm going to have to take my long underwear as the highs have been in the 70's. Our lows have been higher than their highs. At least nicer than it was for Girl's Winter Weekend at the end of February.

Will spend 5 days on Whidbey Island catching crabs and cooking them on the beach. I'm the only one of the 9 who left the local area. The group is my sister, two friends I've known for 48 years and the rest for only 35-40 years!

 

[Nords]

Nords would appreciate our 2 liter showers, though I'm sure that by submarine standards that was extravagant.

One liter per person? Or two liters for one couple in the shower at the same time? No problem!

Thank goodness we tend to go to where it is cool, so we only take a shower once every other day.

Now that's extravagant.

The 1980s goal for submarine evaporator run-hours used to be 22 gallons per person per day. That number included their share of drinking, cooking, personal hygiene, & laundry. (Probably in about that priority order.) The idea was that you only had to run the evaporator for 12-14 hours/day, which left plenty of time for maintenance... and engineering drills.

 

[Helen]

Will spend 5 days on Whidbey Island catching crabs

That does sound fun!