Restless - looking at October travel options

[Flyfish1]

We have big international trips scheduled for the next two years, but I'm getting restless and was thinking of doing a short domestic trip in early October. Was considering a trip to Kentucky , rent a car and do some of The Bourbon Trail. My wife has never been to Kentucky so could be good. Or, maybe a Texas trip to Austin, San Antonio , Texas Hill country and up to Dallas to see some friends. My wife has never been to Texas either. Having trouble deciding, it would be nice to see some different landscapes other than east coast forest and hills, on the other hand I like bourbon....

 

[Luvtoride]

Texas sounds like A LOT of driving. If you don’t mind that but not my idea of a vacation. We look for beach and relaxing trips when not doing big international trips or cruises. Hilton Head, Cancun, Aruba (I know, these are “international” but not for globe trotting tour trips).

 

[Flyfish1]

Texas sounds like A LOT of driving. If you don’t mind that but not my idea of a vacation. We look for beach and relaxing trips when not doing big international trips or cruises. Hilton Head, Cancun, Aruba (I know, these are “international” but not for globe trotting tour trips).

Yep - we will be in Florida on the beach in the winter. Want to start seeing US areas we haven't seen yet.

 

[Surewhitey]

+1 on Texas drive time. We just did a circuit of DFW to San Antonio to Rockport and back. Lots of driving. Although October has nice weather. Still warm, but cooler nights.

We like a 2.5 hr flight to Mexico and either Isla Mujeres or Cozumel. Not all inclusive but a beach side room, fresh margaritas, & lots of local foods.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Do your long driving trips now while you can still enjoy them. We did a bunch in our 60’s and they were fun. Now at 70 I don’t want to be in a car that long.

We did one for a month visiting family and friends and sightseeing all the way from Nevada to Wisconsin and back. We made a big loop.

 

[Car-Guy]

If you do the Kentucky bourbon "thing" you might want to make time to drop down into Tennessee and stop by the Jack Daniels distillery. It's been a while, but they had (I guess they still do) have a really cool guided tour of the distillery. From that tour, among other things I learned, I know why it's called while lighting, why it's called sour mash, what the angels share is, how they make (and use) charcoal, and how they decide what goes into green label VS black label Jack Daniels bottles.

 

[wearefinishedworking]

Have you driven the Pacific NW areas? We loved WA and OR. Beautiful scenery everywhere. Crater Lake, Mt. Hood, Columbia river gorge, Leavenworth, the Cascades...2 weeks was not enough!

 

[Flyfish1]

Have you driven the Pacific NW areas? We loved WA and OR. Beautiful scenery everywhere. Crater Lake, Mt. Hood, Columbia river gorge, Leavenworth, the Cascades...2 weeks was not enough!

No - we literally talked about that last night. But, I think as you mentioned that's a longer trip. We are thinking 4 to 5 nights, so a shorter journey. Pacific NW is definitely on the list - just not this year and I'm not sure if October is a little late in the season for that area??

 

[Teacher Terry]

No - we literally talked about that last night. But, I think as you mentioned that's a longer trip. We are thinking 4 to 5 nights, so a shorter journey. Pacific NW is definitely on the list - just not this year and I'm not sure if October is a little late in the season for that area??

It can snow early at Crater Lake and then the roads are closed. I would pick the month of August to do that trip. I have done it and it’s really beautiful. I have been to most of the states and really liked the different scenery.

 

[wearefinishedworking]

Our trip was in mid-Sept and weather was perfect, except for a few days of hazy wildfire smoke.

 

[tulak]

No - we literally talked about that last night. But, I think as you mentioned that's a longer trip. We are thinking 4 to 5 nights, so a shorter journey. Pacific NW is definitely on the list - just not this year and I'm not sure if October is a little late in the season for that area??

October is pushing it. I wouldn’t go past late September. We’ve also had wildfire smoke which can go into October, as happened a couple of years ago.

In the past, I always thought July/August were the best months to visit the PNW. Warm and sunny days were guaranteed. But with wildfire smoke, it’s hit and miss lately. Even over the weekend there was a haze in the sky due to wildfires, but luckily no air pollution.

 

[FIYes]

October is lovely in Kentucky. The bourbon trail has many great distilleries to visit. If you are At all interested in horse racing go to Keeneland during the fall meet in October. Keeneland Race Track in Lexington is not as famous as Churchill Downs in Louisville where the Kentucky Derby is held, but it is much prettier.

 

[Ronstar]

I would do the Kentucky bourbon trail, and drive through the Smokies on the way home.

 

[Koolau]

Agree about Texas being really big. LOTS of driving! You might want to do eastern or western TX. More "stuff" in eastern, of course. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed in the TX gulf coast. The water was ugly (oil??) and much of the coast was oil business on one side and cattle on the other. We drove from Texarkana to Brownsville and found little of interest. BUT we loved San Antonio. YMMV

 

[target2019]

To see different scenery drive trhough Pennsylvania to Lancaster County. Head down to West Virginia. You can figure the rest. It's just a question of how long to take to get to Kentucky.

 

[Flyfish1]

To see different scenery drive trhough Pennsylvania to Lancaster County. Head down to West Virginia. You can figure the rest. It's just a question of how long to take to get to Kentucky.

We lived in NJ on the PA border for 28 yrs. Been all over PA and pretty much all of the East Coast, but my wife has not seen KY or TN yet. We would probably fly to KY as opposed to dealing with I-95 , etc..

Still mulling over the San Antonio/Austin trip, looks like they are only 1.5 hrs apart, then Dallas is roughly 3 hrs north of Austin. Fly into San Antonio and fly out of Dallas? Could be fun. How's the weather in TX in October?

 

[Trailwalker]

We drive to Lexington, Kentucky every year for Thanksgiving at DW's sister's place and visit a new place on the Bourbon Trail each time. Lexington has some great breweries (Sixth Street is my favorite), and there are good opportunities for live Americana and bluegrass music (Check out Red Barn Radio),if so inclined.

 

[audreyh1]

We lived in NJ on the PA border for 28 yrs. Been all over PA and pretty much all of the East Coast, but my wife has not seen KY or TN yet. We would probably fly to KY as opposed to dealing with I-95 , etc..

Still mulling over the San Antonio/Austin trip, looks like they are only 1.5 hrs apart, then Dallas is roughly 3 hrs north of Austin. Fly into San Antonio and fly out of Dallas? Could be fun. How's the weather in TX in October?

Generally very good, but there is so much to do and see in the TX hill country west of San Antonio and Austin that IMO you should focus there: beautiful scenery, enjoyable drives, wineries, breweries, great BBQ, old German towns with lots of traditions, nice state parks for hikes, lakes, etc.

 

[target2019]

We lived in NJ on the PA border for 28 yrs. Been all over PA and pretty much all of the East Coast, but my wife has not seen KY or TN yet. We would probably fly to KY as opposed to dealing with I-95 , etc..

Still mulling over the San Antonio/Austin trip, looks like they are only 1.5 hrs apart, then Dallas is roughly 3 hrs north of Austin. Fly into San Antonio and fly out of Dallas? Could be fun. How's the weather in TX in October?

Ok. We're in NJ/Philly for 71 years. We wouldn't have to use 95.

I've been to Austin in the fall. I don't recall the exact month, but it was plenty hot. Fortunately it was a short trip. Had a nice BBQ dinner with younger folk.

For expected weather, I don't know how reliable a report would be. Extreme weather seems to hit here in NJ more often, and seems to stay longer.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/austin/78701/october-weather/351193

Of course you can find other sites with different predictions. And focusing on bourbon and whiskey tasting would probably get you through most days.

 

[kfsinc]

How about the Pacific Coast? Fly into San Diego, drive the coast, fly out of Portland? I've done this on two wheels and it's epic.

Or, Quebec City? Haven't done that, but its on the list.

If you're east of the Mississippi, the Smokeys / Blue Ridge Parkway / Asheville are great in the fall.

Austin is fun, but getting crazy.

Nashville if you're going to the Bourbon Trail.

 

[audreyh1]

Generally very good, but there is so much to do and see in the TX hill country west of San Antonio and Austin that IMO you should focus there: beautiful scenery, enjoyable drives, wineries, breweries, great BBQ, old German towns with lots of traditions, nice state parks for hikes, lakes, etc.

Just to be clear I meant the 2 cities in addition to the surrounding area.

 

[gailwinters]

October is lovely in Kentucky. The bourbon trail has many great distilleries to visit. If you are At all interested in horse racing go to Keeneland during the fall meet in October. Keeneland Race Track in Lexington is not as famous as Churchill Downs in Louisville where the Kentucky Derby is held, but it is much prettier.

We live in Tennessee and we go up to Keeneland for the fall meet every year. It’s a beautiful track. We always visit a couple of breweries. My DSIL is a bourbon aficionado, so we usually end up buying something that isn’t available in our local liquor store.

 

[Badger]

The first time in Texas was in the mid 70s in July when I drove through on I-10 with a side trip to Big Bend in an old VW bus with a top speed of 55mph. It was a long 1200 mile drive over a few days. There were times past San Antonio when we didn't see anyone for a couple hundred miles. I kept thinking "Twilight Zone". It was a different world for this flatland Florida swamp boy. Interesting and beautiful in its own way but I found it and most of the South West too different from what I was comfortable with. It would make a nice trip in October though for such a unique environment.

 

[iloveyoga]

We have big international trips scheduled for the next two years, but I'm getting restless and was thinking of doing a short domestic trip in early October. Was considering a trip to Kentucky , rent a car and do some of The Bourbon Trail. My wife has never been to Kentucky so could be good. Or, maybe a Texas trip to Austin, San Antonio , Texas Hill country and up to Dallas to see some friends. My wife has never been to Texas either. Having trouble deciding, it would be nice to see some different landscapes other than east coast forest and hills, on the other hand I like bourbon....

I was in Austin and the Texas hill country for a wedding last November and really enjoyed it. Very different scenery from my usual travel spots. I saw quite a few breweries and distilleries as we drove around. We stayed in a very nice airBNB near the wedding site.

 

[Koolau]

How about the Pacific Coast? Fly into San Diego, drive the coast, fly out of Portland? I've done this on two wheels and it's epic.

Or, Quebec City? Haven't done that, but its on the list.

If you're east of the Mississippi, the Smokeys / Blue Ridge Parkway / Asheville are great in the fall.

Austin is fun, but getting crazy.

Nashville if you're going to the Bourbon Trail.

We flew into Vancouver, ferried down to Seattle and then drove to San Diego and flew back to the Midwest. We called it our BC to BC trip (British Columbia to Baja California.) Fantastic trip!