OT - Vacations
Given it is summer and the board is dead, figured I would create a thread where people could share vacation ideas. What place was your favorite? What time of year did you go? Certain age to appreciate it?
I haven't traveled much outside of the US, but I am a huge fan of Hilton Head Island. That place is a must for any golfers out there and the week after the Masters is a great time to visit.
I'd check out St Simons Island, which is just south of Brunswick. I went there last year and its much more laid back and relaxed. I've heard Tybee Island is nice too, which is near Savannah, which is also a fun town.
Lake Chautauqua, NY. Great golf, boating, food, etc. Cheap and laid back.
I'm not a vacation kind of guy.
I've been to Pensacola/Navarre and stayed with family. Too hot for me. We usually went in July. I was going on 16 the last time we went so it was kind of.....meh.
I would've loved to have went on spring break my senior year this past spring. Oh well.
I don't really care for leaving the state of Michigan. Everything I need is right here for now. I love the cold weather. Maybe I'll vacation in Alaska some day.
/coolstorybro
Yeah, on second thought my opinion is essentially useless on this and a variety of other topics.
I'm rather frightened of the prospects of getting in a metal tube at 30,000 feet in the air to get somewhere.
I hope to make a trip to Pasadena some day. I'd use as many stress balls as possible if it meant flying there to see Michigan play.
Is on my list. Staying with family in Pensacola is not vacation. Once you join the working world, you'll change your tune about vacations. As to the heat, you just have to time your visits with the changing seasons, or be hot.
Chicago in the summer has been my favorite place to visit friends since reaching bar-going age.
Keweenaw Peninsula. Fall. Magnificent.
In general, though there are some islands better than others depending on what you're looking for.
OK, so I just advertised for the Keweenaw Peninsula. It's one of my favorite places to get away from it all. But I'll second the Caribbean vacation notion, specifically St. John. Gorgeous, rugged terrain, great hiking, few crowds on many beaches (I avoided the most popular ones and had amazing beaches all to myself). My tropical paradise. And no passport needed.
Can't go wrong in the Caribbean (at least I haven't so far). I've been to Puerto Rico a couple times, Antigua, and St. Lucia. All are truly different experiences and all very amazing. Flights to Puerto Rico can be had at very reasonable prices, too.
I went to Miami (Florida) for a wedding back in January and had a great time. We stayed in down town and I was very impressed with the city. The restaurants were amazing. We saw the Everglades and drove through Coral Gables and Biscayne Bay. I loved it.
I was in the elevator of my hotel the night we beat Sparty at Breslin. I checked the final score on my cell phone and screamed, "YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!" just as the elevator doors were opening and I scared the hell out of a Cuban family.
better brush up on your Spanish first.
My personal fave within driving distance (I am in Baltimore): Outer Banks (Nags Head).
Wife's personal fave: Thailand (Bangkok, then Phuket)
My personal fave: Seychelles
hands down the most beautiful place on the planet. phenomenol hunting, fishing (fly and deep sea), skiing, hiking, boating, rafting, climbing. alaskans are fun too, generally very helpful. remember one thing about visiting though. locals say 'anchorage, only 1/2 hour away from alaska' in reference to the seedy urban element that lives in anchorage and is so out of place in the beauty and wilderness that is the rest of the state.
Anchorage was disappointing, but I liked everything else about the trip. There is something about watching a bear eat salmon from a stream and watching it all without a barrier between you. I've never been so alert while walking through woods with bells before.
'there's something about shooting the bear and catching the salmon, and eating them both'. living off the land and sea up there will help anyone reorient on what is important and necessary in life. and you are right, the intensity of some of the encounters is really part of the fun/thrill.
A year ago I did a solo-trip through a national park. There's something about being in nature, on your own and just enjoying what an amazing country we live in. It's also fun to meet new people but still have those moments where you've reached the end of a hike and can silently take in what you just did and the amazing place you're in. Rocky Mtn, Yellowstone, Olympic, Grand Teton, Arches, Grand Canyon. There are so many national parks of varying sizes - you can do solo 1-day trips or spend weeks with a family in a place like Yellowstone. I love international travel and literally want to go everywhere, but I've come to really appreciate what we have right at home.
I think that's going to be a new thing for me. I try to do a big trip (thinking international) every other year and a cheaper trip - like a National park - the off years.
Glacier is amazing. I regret not spending more time there. We were on a 7 week cross country trip and only spent 4 days there. Not even close to enough. This was a long time ago ...before kids.
... you remember the name of that hike? Sounds fun.
There was a group-on a few months back for a 5-day trip to Iceland that was basically your flight and hotels (and nothing else except an add-on excursion) for $900... I almost pulled the trigger, but held off. You're making me regret it! It would have been in late February, so a little chilly, but I think their climate is similar to ours, so it wouldn't have been bad at all.
Iceland isn't cheap, so 5-days for flight and hotel is pretty darn good. And the flight is pretty manageable.
My teenage sons are in Iceland this week with their mom, having a great time. I woke up to some photos of them hanging in the Blue Lagoon.
...was pretty cool. I went there first. After my road trip was complete, it was clear that it is likely Iceland's biggest tourist attraction. It was very commercial and sanitized. Tourist buses were the norm. What's more, there was an OSU grad working there - he made it very clear to me (I was, of course, wearing Michigan gear).
What I'm trying to get at it is that, while totally awesome and worth going, the Blue Lagoon was probably the most "un-Icelandic" thing I saw. The charm of Iceland lies in the pure, uncommercial and untouched nature that surrounds them. You can easily walk to places that no one human has ever walked or seen before.
Fun Icelandic fact: Only 1 million people ever in the history of the world can say they are from Iceland.
Jackson, Wyoming is probably my favorite place in the United States. Absolutely beautiful, tons to do and see, great restaurants, and a brewery as well. The Tetons are insane to see up close, and their prominence and the rate at which they rise takes you back. For those that are up to the challenge you can also climb the Grand Teton. Also, Yellowstone is just to the North, and the Wind Rivers (more great scenery and fly fishing) are to the East.
I think Kalamazoo takes credit for Gull Lake!
with a bunch of med school buddies this weekend.
i've been to nearly every state, traveled around the world, but in 22 years living in michigan, i've spent such little time exploring michigan. only cities i've been to on the west coast are holland and south haven, save a class trip to sleeping bear dunes in terrible weather (and i remember none of it).
it's a shame.
About two years ago now I went to Peru for a wedding and some sightseeing. I remember seeing places like Pisac and thinking, "this is incredible scenery, I hope it doesn't spoil Machu Picchu for me," and then getting to Machu Picchu and thinking, "wow, it definitely didn't."
I have a cousin, or really a cousin once removed, who's the kind of adventurous dude who never bothered having a car in college because he would just hitchhike his way there and back, all 500 miles of the trip. He found us a tour guide who gave us a terrific tour of central Lima, which is really beautiful, and bribed our way into some places we wouldn't normally have seen.
earlier this year.
stayed with a family in ollantaytambo. one of the most spectacular cities i've ever been.
got to hike up wayna picchu. stayed in cusco. stopped by pisac.
maybe my favorite "vacation" ever.
Ollantaytambo was the one place I really wish I could've seen more of, but we had the train to catch. (And then it broke down 20 seconds out of the station.)
I will never forget the little girl of about 8 or so (who along with her brother had been thoroughly annoying our tour guide) who saw the little fountain at the palace ruins there and exclaimed, "Es como un baño!" The guide looked like she wanted to strangle the kid.
Last actual vacation trip I went on was to Paris and Cologne. Paris was incredible. For me, it wasn't at all overrated. Standing on top of the Arc de Triomphe, which for my money is the best view in the city, honestly, I was star-struck. Like meeting a celebrity, except way more famous than any silly movie star, and they let you stare all you want.
And the Cologne Cathedral is one of the world's most mind-blowing incredible man-made structures.
...I quite like the easy luxury of Cap Ferrat-St Jean. If only I could afford my own place there...
mexico city is the bst place i've ever been to, amazing food, best ive ever had, and the drivers there are INSANE, plus there are ruins really close
Probably not all that exciting for most of you but living down in Texas, I am very excited to be spending all of next week on Lake Michigan in South Haven. Weather looks like it's gonna be crappy, but at least it will be cool!
Wife and kids LOVE Gulf Shores, AL...so i send them once a year and get the place in St. Louis to myself. Highly recommended.
/s
Actually Cape Cod is amazing in July with biking, sailing, kayaking and whale watching!