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Cool vacation places
Where have you gone on vacation that was totally awesome? And where have you gone that totally sucked or was just a rip off? I'll start (already brought up in another thread):
Destin, FL: we've never experienced clearer and warmer water than there. Totally awesome if you like salt water beaches and don't worry about shark attacks. But VERY expensive rooms and pretty much everything else (ie food).
Steamboat, CO: Pricey everything but you can't beat those beautiful mountains. Just remember to lather up with SPF50 as the sun/air temperature is very deceiving.
Comments
I often tell about one particular vacation over 20 years ago when the kids were little, we took a trip to the St. louis zoo, 3 hours west. They loved the zoo but I was wondering why they needed so many different species of frogs, toads and lizards. Anyway we didn't make a hotel reservation and it was getting late and we were all tired and hungry. Driving further west on Interstate64 we saw a place up in the hills, turned around and checked the price. The man behind the counter said 130 something a night. I looked at my wife because that seemed very high to me. The man continued by adding that the rooms were very nice, with a loft area where the kids could sleep. Also free dinner bar with chicken nuggets and mac n cheese and some free beers iced down for the adults. I did not look at my wife for approval, I just got my billfold out. I still think that it is better to not try to plan too many details of a vacation.
A beautiful day in Yosemite NP today. Mid 70’s and the high country snow is melting-water everywhere. Wife and I decided to get up
They’re on a weekday and before summer crowds. Still busy tho.
Of course I have to agree
great fun year-round (but best to skip midApril-midMay, mud season as the snow melts).
I like alot of the "off the beaten path" type stuff. So here are a few out-of-left-field suggestions.
I realy enjoyed the Leland Michigan area. Up at Mission point lighthouse I picked and ate an apple off the tree that was next to the lighthouse by the beach. Don't know why that was so memorable
Camping in Black Moshannon State Park (PA) sticks in my head too. The campsite area is relatively small but setup realy nicely. And it is up in the mountains so probably 15+ degrees cooler than the surrounding area in the summer. I would stage there on my way from Ohio to go check out Centralia... It's a shame they covered the abandoned section of highway in Centralia with dirt a couple years ago though.
Bonneville salt flats was a bit of a bucket list thing.. been there twice actually (on motorcycle). But nothing to realy do there if no event, besides soak up the vibe for a while. So that would probably be a day trip coming from something else like Yellowstone.
We do a lot of planning because we like to see specific things in an area. Last year we did Boston for the historical stuff then up the east coast to Maine and Bar Harbor.
Places I'd go back, Yellowstone, San Francisco, Smokey Mountains Gatlinburg, Rocky Mountain National park (Estes Park), Grand Canyon, Washington DC, just to name a few. My wife's the big planner she can give you itineraries for all our trips which include multiple options for places to eat.
In high school there was a summer trip, about 25 kids and 4 teachers on an old school bus that traveled out southwest. We camped out every night. Places like Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon were very memorable- we are fortunate to have such amazing Nat’l Parks. We got to hike down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and camp out that evening. Pictures don’t do it justice as far as getting a sense of just how big it is. And, the hike out the next day seemed to be multiples of the trip down…
I've been to Glacier Park 4 times and it's spectacular. You might have to be careful these days because you can get smoked out from forest fires. We went to Banff several years ago and we didn't stay. It took 3 days of driving to get out of the smoke.
We had better luck in '22. Banff, Yoho and Jasper was a fabulous experience. Last year likely would have been super smoky.
I can relate, John. My wife is the same way. Lately it's been our fam and her sisters fam that go together, she sets up a voting app to gauge what everyone wants to do wherever we're going. Then schedules it out.
Funny how most of the vacation destinations are nature oriented.
I like Gatlinburg/Pigeon forge. Both the nature and tourist attractions. It's been a while, but Red River gorge has some fantastic sights.
Banff in 2017.
Ron
Destin FL
Steam Boat CO
New Zealand
Steamboat (actually Clark)
and The Shire
I just called my sister. Didn't know she and her husband were in Ireland on vacation with some friends. She said the guys were playing golf and she and the girls were out site seeing the country side. She said it was absolutely gorgeous over there and that she'd send some pictures when they get home. Can't wait to see.
Rio de Janeiro
F1 fans
Fuckin A! Only missing the screaming V10s!!🤘🏼
which circuit is this?
I have watched the Singapore Grand Prix when it debuted and I have also seen the Melbourne Grand Prix.
hairpin turn at Monaco
We're in Oz, so not sure how many MAC members have visited, but here are some places well worth a visit.
Noosa (Queensland) ,Byron Bay (New South Wales), Daylesford (Victoria) and Apollo Bay (Victoria) are excellent. Mornington Peninsula, near Melbourne, is great for food and wine, as are the Clare and Barossa Valleys in South Australia.
Sydney is great for a visit, although the traffic and public transport can be a pain; then again, so can Melbourne but at least we have better train and tram services. The Harbour is beautiful , rather like San Francisco.
Unfortunately for us Melbourne dwellers, it's now overtaken Sydney as Australia's largest city and decades of abysmal planning have made it an expensive place to live and very time consuming to get around.
We research our holidays well so have avoided places which might be bleah, but in any destination there might be some things or experiences which are less than enjoyable. For example, a trip to Xian in China in 1998 to see the Terra Cotta Warriors was pretty much ruined by the appalling air pollution and huge crowds.
Geoff
We visited the US in 2005, now rather a long time ago, but really enjoyed it of course. For me as a music nut, Amoeba Records in San Francisco was fabulous, with a range of music which was truly amazing.
There was also a record store in Iowa City which had the second best selection of rare (i.e. bootleg) CDs I've ever seen and one in Soho in New York which had the best.
The Funk Brothers concert at Chicago's House of Blues was one of the three best shows I've ever seen; great sound, great songs and excellent musicianship as you'd expect. The one strange thing is that I was asked for proof of age - strange because I was over 40 at the time - maybe I looked young for my age?
Geoff
House of Blues is a great venue- last saw Keb Mo.
The liquor laws in some states allow people to sue establishments and bartenders. Many places have instituted a policy for 100% proof of age checks by their employees. I'm over 60 and was carded in Austin a few weeks ago.
And I thought I was being complimented!
Geoff
Ani,
Monaco qualies Sat am, race Sun am
(tune in 1 hr before race, catch the pre-show)
Monaco doesn't comply with F1 safety measures like run off areas, catch fencing, sand traps etc but it's still on the calendar; of all the events, it seems like it's 'the' race to win. Possibly one of the few tracks where driver talent might be more important than the car?
I've driven it in the excellent "Grand Prix Legends" PC simulation and it's scary enough on a screen!
It must be awesome (and expensive) to be there and hear the sound bouncing around the buildings.
Geoff
I can only imagine
I am by no means an F1 expert but I have been told by F1 fans that Monaco used to be a great race when the cars were much smaller (shorter wheelbase) but now it is a no passing sort of race. Everything comes down to qualifying position. I call those parade races with Max Verstappen being the leader most times.
you'd be right