Any Suggestions For Domestic Vacation Destinations?

[Logic]

29 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

I just checked and was surprised to see the USVI has a travel portal with testing restrictions. I’d LOVE to get there, and was surprised they made it a bit more complicated. 

I was surprised to hear this.

I went and took a peak at their COVID situation on the NPR Covid tracker website. Looks like they're at 137 cases per 100,000, with a several thousand percent increase in positive cases over the past couple weeks. May not sound like much, but for an island whose population is only 4,100 and whose health care system is not spectacular, I suppose it's enough to warrant special protocols.

Anyway...when the world gets a little more "normal" (if that ever happens), put St John at the top of your list. You won't regret it.

[Irv]

1 hour ago, Augie said:

 

We went to Stowe (following Boston) on our February honeymoon almost 38 years ago. That might actually be nice to do again! My sister is a partner in a place in Killington so I’ve been there a few times too. 

 

I just checked and was surprised to see the USVI has a travel portal with testing restrictions. I’d LOVE to get there, and was surprised they made it a bit more complicated. 

We went last winter.  Very easy process. Very profesional.  

[BrainwashedBillsFan]

Sarasota Florida rocks

 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

4 hours ago, Logic said:

I was surprised to hear this.

I went and took a peak at their COVID situation on the NPR Covid tracker website. Looks like they're at 137 cases per 100,000, with a several thousand percent increase in positive cases over the past couple weeks. May not sound like much, but for an island whose population is only 4,100 and whose health care system is not spectacular, I suppose it's enough to warrant special protocols.

Anyway...when the world gets a little more "normal" (if that ever happens), put St John at the top of your list. You won't regret it.

St. John has to be my favorite carribbean island or at least in the top 3. Any time we stop on a cruise in St Thomas, we take the water taxi over there immediately and spend the day hiking and snorkeling all along those beaches. 

[Augie]

6 hours ago, BrainwashedBillsFan said:

Sarasota Florida rocks

 

 

Are you serious, or just punching me in the gut for giggles?  😋

 

I lived there for 18 years before the awful decision to end up in Atlanta. I would pack the car and drive back tonight if I could, but Atlanta offers job$ and Career$ Sarasota does not. 

 

The Sarasota real estate market has to crash again. I saw this in 2004-2005, then came the first quarter of 2006. CRASH!  People would rather have an STD than real estate. I want nobody to get hurt, but I’ll be there in 5 years if they crash again. It has to come back to reality. 

[Augie]

On 12/28/2021 at 3:52 PM, The Warden said:

If you have not been to the Grand Canyon - shame on you 

 

I’m watching Aerial America on the Smithsonian Channel. The Arizona episode is the best you can do to understand the Grand Canyon without actually being there. It still doesn’t do it justice, but if you can’t be there in person, it’s a start! 

 

They also go to places @SinceThe70s, @LeGOATski and I think @Nextmanup mentioned like Sedona. If you get the Smithsonian Channel, look for this. It’s worth it. 

[Another Fan]

About 10 years ago already my dad and I went to Boston for a couple of days.  Despite their sports fans it looked/seemed like a nice city.  Hadn't seen it mentioned here.

 

I mean there's NYC.  But most people think Manhattan not Brooklyn.  It's probably my favorite borough in terms of finding stuff to do.  There's Prospect Park which is huge.  Then you can walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.

 

Other cool museums I liked there I've been:

 

NY Transit Museum- it's an old subway station with an exhibit of subways from the 20th century.  I'm a nerd so I dug it

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

Brooklyn Museum- huge art collection 

 

 

I like museums so there's that.  I didn't see many mentioned in the thread  

 

[BrainwashedBillsFan]

17 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Are you serious, or just punching me in the gut for giggles?  😋

 

I lived there for 18 years before the awful decision to end up in Atlanta. I would pack the car and drive back tonight if I could, but Atlanta offers job$ and Career$ Sarasota does not. 

 

The Sarasota real estate market has to crash again. I saw this in 2004-2005, then came the first quarter of 2006. CRASH!  People would rather have an STD than real estate. I want nobody to get hurt, but I’ll be there in 5 years if they crash again. It has to come back to reality. 

😂  no I’m serious. I went down there to see my god mother like 15 years ago and it was a blast to say the least. Like you said would love to move there but the market is crazy. Hope you are able to move there again soon. Happy new year. 

[Augie]

4 hours ago, Another Fan said:

About 10 years ago already my dad and I went to Boston for a couple of days.  Despite their sports fans it looked/seemed like a nice city.  Hadn't seen it mentioned here.

 

I mean there's NYC.  But most people think Manhattan not Brooklyn.  It's probably my favorite borough in terms of finding stuff to do.  There's Prospect Park which is huge.  Then you can walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.

 

Other cool museums I liked there I've been:

 

NY Transit Museum- it's an old subway station with an exhibit of subways from the 20th century.  I'm a nerd so I dug it

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

Brooklyn Museum- huge art collection 

 

 

I like museums so there's that.  I didn't see many mentioned in the thread  

 

 

I really like Boston.  We started our honeymoon there (for some reason I can’t recall 38 years later) and my wife worked for Bank Of Boston for years. Like the town to visit  a LOT. But we’ve also done it a LOT. Sister in Providence and wife has work interests there, so we will be back! 

 

The wife technically works out of NYC now (Manhattan), but has barely been there the last couple years. I bet you can guess why! But you make an excellent point about getting out of Manhattan. My nephew lived in Brooklyn for 10-15 years before recently moving to Newport, RI. He could be a good advisor for us on where to go and what to do. My sister would visit him often and said walking the Brooklyn Bridge is one of her favorite things to do in the city. 

 

I’m not a huge museum guy and have done the highlights there, but I’d love to get to know Central Park better. What a gem! 

 

Good ideas, and will probably extend a trip when the wife starts getting back regularly and the trip is subsidized by the bank. 😋 

[Jrb1979]

Do any of you visit amusement/theme parks ever? 

[Augie]

1 hour ago, Jrb1979 said:

Do any of you visit amusement/theme parks ever? 

 

A family friend took us to Cedar Point in Ohio as a kid. It was better than the only thing I knew at that point, which was Crystal Beach. 

 

We lived a couple hours from Orlando when the kids were young. I didn’t love the parks, the heat on blacktop, waiting 45 minutes for a 2 minute ride or the prices. Having a Fast Pass made it more bearable. I preferred Busch Gardens in Tampa to anything in Orlando, but maybe that’s just me? 

[Jrb1979]

48 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

A family friend took us to Cedar Point in Ohio as a kid. It was better than the only thing I knew at that point, which was Crystal Beach. 

 

We lived a couple hours from Orlando when the kids were young. I didn’t love the parks, the heat on blacktop, waiting 45 minutes for a 2 minute ride or the prices. Having a Fast Pass made it more bearable. I preferred Busch Gardens in Tampa to anything in Orlando, but maybe that’s just me? 

I've almost always took my vacations to different parks across the US. I have no interest in museums, beach resorts or island getaways. Though I was impressed with Put-in Bay. 

[Augie]

6 minutes ago, Jrb1979 said:

I've almost always took my vacations to different parks across the US. I have no interest in museums, beach resorts or island getaways. Though I was impressed with Put-in Bay. 

 

I’m not really into museums or cathedrals. You could count on one hand the museums or cathedrals I’d willingly spend my time on. Only the best of the best. 

 

We went with a bunch of friends from church to Spain a few years ago. On a side trip to Montserrat (unbelievably beautiful!) the guide was trying to get us all into the cathedral. To my great relief, our priest buddy who organized the trip pulled us aside and said “we’d enjoy the incline more” and took a ride to the top of the mountain. One of the most amazing hours of my life! When we came down I had ten minutes to go thru the cathedral, and that was plenty. 

 

One exception: Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is one of the most amazing sights of my life. Still under construction after a couple hundred years, the stained glass made you think you could touch the light coming thru. I don’t have words to describe it, but it’s the best of the best quality. 

[Einstein]

Key West.

 

I did a cross country trip last year that included the majority of NFL stadiums, so i’ve seen a lot recently.

 

I’d pick Key West over most of the places i’ve been.

[Einstein]

On 12/28/2021 at 11:09 AM, Draconator said:

My wife and I did a 3000 mile, 3 state driving tour this past January. Flew into Reno, stayed in Lake Tahoe, Lone Pine, California (where westerns in the early days of film were made), drove through Death Valley, stayed in Vegas, Sedona and Phoenix, AZ, stayed in a little town called Solvang, CA

 

Are you me?

 

Just kidding, but my Bills hat and I enjoy traveling too. Here are a few of the places i’ve been recently.

 

Texas:

 

 

DC:

 

 

Cleveland:

 

 

Vegas:

 

 

Arizona:

 

 

LA (SoFi was still being built):

 

 

Nashville:

 

 

Tampa:

 

San Diego

(the old stadium is horrendous, no wonder they moved):

 

 

 

Thsre are lots more but posting photos from a mobile device is tedious.

[Draconator]

14 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

Are you me?

 

Just kidding, but my Bills hat and I enjoy traveling too. Here are a few of the places i’ve been recently.

 

Texas:

 

 

DC:

 

 

Cleveland:

 

 

Vegas:

 

 

Arizona:

 

 

LA (SoFi was still being built):

 

 

Nashville:

 

 

Tampa:

 

San Diego

(the old stadium is horrendous, no wonder they moved):

 

 

 

Thsre are lots more but posting photos from a mobile device is tedious.

 

Awesome! I'll have to post pics of our trip. 

[Draconator]

after some screen shots and editing, here are trip pics

 

Lake Tahoe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along Highway 395 (Eastern Side of the Sierra Mountains)

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by Draconator

[Draconator]

 

 

 

 

Mono Lake and Mono Lake Tufa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mt. Whitney. Tallest peak in the 48 continental states

 

 

 

Badwater Basin. Lowest point in the Western Hemisphere

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by Draconator

[Draconator]

 

 

Artist Pallet in Death Valley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vegas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sedona. 

 

These next couple are from the deck of our AirBnB in Sedona.

 

 

 

 

 

More Sedona

 

 

 

 

 

[Draconator]

 

On our way from Laughlin, NV to Oatman, AZ, we looked on Google Maps for the best way to get there. There were two routes that where the same time to get there, but one was way shorter. So my wife and I said lets take the shorter route. The shorter route was an unmaintained dirt road.

 

 

 

 

 

Solvang, CA. Dutch Capital of US

 

 

 

 

 

We traveled at the height of the pandemic. Solvang shut down Main Street and allowed restaurants to set up outdoor eating areas on the street.

 

 

 

More Solvang