2025 Travel Plans

The high profile events I attend are things like the Mayo Bowl in Charolette on Friday night and the Frozen Four (NCAA Hockey finals) in St Louis this year. Not worried about terrorist for those events. I would never go to Times Square (or anywhere else) for New Year's eve celebration.
I would be comfortable with either of the events you mention, though would take the caution of not standing on a crowded sidewalk near traffic.

Even though I grew up in New York City, I've never been to Times Square on New Year's Eve.
 
I would be comfortable with either of the events you mention, though would take the caution of not standing on a crowded sidewalk near traffic.

Even though I grew up in New York City, I've never been to Times Square on New Year's Eve.
Me neither. There are no bathrooms, and it is very hard to get out of there because of the crowds.
 
We just returned from an amazing week in Iceland. Our planned trip to Berlin in February was just cancelled, and after freezing in Iceland I would like to replace it with someplace warm. I am looking at a trip to Dubai, but open to other options.

Later this year we will spend a month in Scotland, and end the year/ start next year in Australia. A few smaller trips in between, probably Istanbul and Granada.
 
Tentative plans this year are multiple dive trips to the Philippines, Thailand, Okinawa and Hawaii. Trip to Europe to visit friends. Amtrak trip from San Francisco to Chicago. Maybe a baseball game in DC. Also Singapore because why not.
 
Looking at a trip to Tennessee this year. Perhaps Nashville, then Dollywood, then the Smoky mountains.
 
We just returned from an amazing week in Iceland. Our planned trip to Berlin in February was just cancelled, and after freezing in Iceland I would like to replace it with someplace warm. I am looking at a trip to Dubai, but open to other options.

Later this year we will spend a month in Scotland, and end the year/ start next year in Australia. A few smaller trips in between, probably Istanbul and Granada.
Did you see some aurora borealis?
 
Looking at a trip to Tennessee this year. Perhaps Nashville, then Dollywood, then the Smoky mountains.
Great place to visit in the summer, particularly the mountains. Nice break from more southerly hot states. We really enjoy the nearby Blue Ridge mountains in North GA too. Ellijay and north very comfortable in summer.
 
We don't have any big exciting plans for the year, though we're also not the type to book things months in advance. We do have a distinct travel goal for 2025 though. We want to get our Lifetime Platinum Elite status with Marriott. We've been on the cusp of it since 2019. Then 2020/2021 happened so we lost those years. Then my wife got sick so we lost 2022/2023. And last year we just didn't make it a priority but 2025 is the year.

We need 50 nights on our account. We get 15 for having the Marriott Visa. Then we get 1 night for every $5,000 charged to the card and we should charge at least $50,000 so we'll get 10 nights there. That leaves us needing 25 nights. The plan is to do 2-3 night getaways each month.

We just got back from our first trip with 2 nights in PA where we did Longwood Gardens, the American Treasure Tour museum, some assorted shopping, and met up with some friends (for both of those attractions). I'll be going to North Carolina for my resale business in February so that'll be 2 more nights. Then DW and I plan to do a couple of nights at the Borgata in Atlantic City which is part of the Marriott system now. So we should have 6 of 25 nights by the end of February. The NC run will likely happen about every 2 months so if I do that at least 4 more times this year, that's another 8 nights. As long as nothing bad happens to keep us from traveling, getting the 25 nights needed should be no problem. Plus there's usually some bonus promotion each year to earn extra nights or double nights at some point.

Platinum isn't a huge deal but we're so close it's silly not to get it. With Platinum, we get 50% more points on stays, enhanced upgrades including to suites, a welcome gift on each stay (points or a meal or something else), 4pm late checkout, and lounge access. That last one is a nice perk. We've taken advantage of it numerous times in years we were Platinum status.
 
Great place to visit in the summer, particularly the mountains. Nice break from more southerly hot states. We really enjoy the nearby Blue Ridge mountains in North GA too. Ellijay and north very comfortable in summer.
Yup that's the plan for August. About the time the summer heat starts getting a little weary.
 
We just returned from an amazing week in Iceland. Our planned trip to Berlin in February was just cancelled, and after freezing in Iceland I would like to replace it with someplace warm. I am looking at a trip to Dubai, but open to other options.

Later this year we will spend a month in Scotland, and end the year/ start next year in Australia. A few smaller trips in between, probably Istanbul and Granada.
January in Iceland? What to do there?
 
Finalizing most of our plans for 2025 as all airline reservations have been made except Nov and Dec 25/Jan 26.

Mar - 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise
Apr/May - 35 day dive trip to Bonaire
Jun - 7 days in Arkansas visiting two sons and their families
Sep - 10 days Hawaii including 7 day cruise
Dec/Jan - 14 Days Bonaire dive trip over Christmas and New Years

Waiting on word for FAM trip to Prague for 7 days in late Nov. DGF gets these low cost opportunities once in a while as she is a travel agent on a very limited basis.
 
Tentative plans this year are multiple dive trips to the Philippines, Thailand, Okinawa and Hawaii. Trip to Europe to visit friends. Amtrak trip from San Francisco to Chicago. Maybe a baseball game in DC. Also Singapore because why not.
I took that same train trip 23 years ago and when I got off the train I felt like I was still rolling and felt a little dizzy. I had rode the train many times before but not for that many days.
 
Finalizing most of our plans for 2025 as all airline reservations have been made except Nov and Dec 25/Jan 26.

Mar - 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise
Apr/May - 35 day dive trip to Bonaire
Jun - 7 days in Arkansas visiting two sons and their families
Sep - 10 days Hawaii including 7 day cruise
Dec/Jan - 14 Days Bonaire dive trip over Christmas and New Years

Waiting on word for FAM trip to Prague for 7 days in late Nov. DGF gets these low cost opportunities once in a while as she is a travel agent on a very limited basis.
Sounds like too much work for me. I'd rather just watch it on YouTube!
 
May 2025 - I finally booked a Rhine/Moselle river cruise from Amsterdam to Basel on Avalon. Will spend a few days in Amsterdam on my own before the cruise - 17 days total.
Mid June - Telluride Bluegrass Festival
July or August - visit a friend in Oregon.
Early to mid Sept - 4 full days at Grand Canyon North Rim followed by another Bluegrass festival in Flagstaff. I was at North Rim about 5 years ago and really enjoyed it.
Mid Oct to early Nov - Tentatively scheduled a Road Scholar tour of Provence followed by a Barcelona/Madrid tour - 25 days total which is a little long for me. Road Scholar single accomodations book up fast so had to make a decision as my first choice tours were already full.
 
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Celebrating many things this year. Taking the whole family to Thailand for 3 weeks, 7 days sailing on the Andaman sea and then ten day in an airbnb on Koh Lanta.
Stopping for a couple of days in Seoul and Tokyo on the way there.
 
Midwest road trip will be my big trip as I knock a few more states off the map. Still working the exact itinerary but will try out a CampFI event in MN at the end of August. I've never been to one but have talked to folks in the FI community that have and all have raved about them. Not sure if it's for me but only one way to find out and I planned on hitting MN anyway.

Will probably leave 8/10-8/13 and get back to FL 9/15-20ish depending on how long I stay and if I add additional stops along the way. Current itinerary includes KY (Lexington and Louisville/Clarksville, IN), IN (Indianapolis), OH (Dayton Area and Cedar Pt), MI (Detroit/Kalamazoo area? and Mackinaw City), WI (Milwaukee and ??), MN (Minneapolis area), IA (Des Moines and Cedar Rapids) MO (Kansas City and St Louis), TN (Chattanooga). I'll probably step foot in Omaha too but won't go very far into Nebraska this trip.

I enjoy meeting people on my trips so if I'll be close feel free to message me (might get lost in this thread) and maybe we can meet up or you can share something neat to do in your town I wouldn't find on my own.
 
Just decided to add some time in Sequoia NP prior to our trip to Yosemite the first week of June. The flights out there are so long we figured better do it while in the area!

Yippee! Has anyone hiked Moro Rock? I'm reading that it is short but really challenging since it's pretty much all stairs. Not sure these old legs (and especially hubby's knees) can take it! Not to mention, climbing it the day after coming from essentially 0 ft of elevation might not be wise.
 
Just decided to add some time in Sequoia NP prior to our trip to Yosemite the first week of June. The flights out there are so long we figured better do it while in the area!

Yippee! Has anyone hiked Moro Rock? I'm reading that it is short but really challenging since it's pretty much all stairs. Not sure these old legs (and especially hubby's knees) can take it! Not to mention, climbing it the day after coming from essentially 0 ft of elevation might not be wise.
We were in Sequoia some years back and enjoyed the hike in Cedar Grove. Nice drive through Kings Canyon to get there. Some info here: Cedar Grove

I'd also check out AllTrails for hikes.

EDIT: It turns out we were in Sequoia and stayed at The John Muir Lodge which was really nice in 2015. Food was just OK. Maybe better now?
 
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Midwest road trip will be my big trip as I knock a few more states off the map. Still working the exact itinerary but will try out a CampFI event in MN at the end of August. I've never been to one but have talked to folks in the FI community that have and all have raved about them. Not sure if it's for me but only one way to find out and I planned on hitting MN anyway.

Will probably leave 8/10-8/13 and get back to FL 9/15-20ish depending on how long I stay and if I add additional stops along the way. Current itinerary includes KY (Lexington and Louisville/Clarksville, IN), IN (Indianapolis), OH (Dayton Area and Cedar Pt), MI (Detroit/Kalamazoo area? and Mackinaw City), WI (Milwaukee and ??), MN (Minneapolis area), IA (Des Moines and Cedar Rapids) MO (Kansas City and St Louis), TN (Chattanooga). I'll probably step foot in Omaha too but won't go very far into Nebraska this trip.

I enjoy meeting people on my trips so if I'll be close feel free to message me (might get lost in this thread) and maybe we can meet up or you can share something neat to do in your town I wouldn't find on my own.
What will you see and do in Des Moines?
 
What will you see and do in Des Moines?
I don't know, haven't looked yet. My "rule" very loosely defined is I need to visit at least two places or do something significant in the state or spend a significant amount of time to mark the state off my map. I've not researched IA yet and other than Toppling Goliath Brewing not sure what might appeal (the Brewery is a bit out of the way). Capital Cities are usually interesting -at a minimum I can visit the Capitol or State museum; I realized on last year's trip, I've hit many so might try to incorporate more going forward but they are not a priority. Do you have any suggestions?

I often seek out unique geography, kitch/roadside oddities, interesting small specialty museums in tiny towns, regional specialties or festivals/fairs if the timing works out.... and love breakfast in small town diners where the working folk go and I can overhear small talk. I sometimes have a "must" do but usually have a list of 3-10 things at a place I am stopping to explore and decide on the fly based off my mood and weather forecast. My favorite things usually are not things I knew about when planning my trip and are things that stumbled into or found on Google maps when close.
 
Just decided to add some time in Sequoia NP prior to our trip to Yosemite the first week of June. The flights out there are so long we figured better do it while in the area!

Yippee! Has anyone hiked Moro Rock? I'm reading that it is short but really challenging since it's pretty much all stairs. Not sure these old legs (and especially hubby's knees) can take it! Not to mention, climbing it the day after coming from essentially 0 ft of elevation might not be wise.
It is a lot of steps... But I got my less than trim rear to the top. The views are great... So I just told myself I was checking out the views when I'd stop to rest. Yes, it's all stair steps.
 
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