# Your Vacation Location



## Huntn

Kind of a vacation with a purpose, returning our Grandson who has been living with us for the last year to Minnesota, staying with friends who live in Taylors Falls, nice and rural. We are driving up, hitting the road tomorrow, Houston to Minneapolis, 1200 miles, 2 days, will be stopping in Wichita for the night. Coming back, the plan is to swing by Tulsa, Oklahoma and visit a widower friend there. 

Btw searched on “travel” and “vacation” and did not see a related thread.


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## Alli

Huntn said:


> Btw searched on “travel” and “vacation” and did not see a related thread.



Probably because none of us have left the house in a year.

A few weeks ago my brother and sister-in-law took a cruise. They said everyone had to have proof of vaccination and a negative Covid test from within 72 hours. The ship was only 1/3 full. They described it as glorious. Two weeks ago they said they’re ready to do it again, this time with their sons and the girlfriend of one of the sons. We decided to make it a family event and go with them (neither of my kids can take a week off). Royal Caribbean’s newest ship has bumper cars! We’ll fly down to Ft. Lauderdale the day before and everyone else will drive over that morning. It will be a great way to start the year.


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## Huntn

Alli said:


> Probably because none of us have left the house in a year.
> 
> A few weeks ago my brother and sister-in-law took a cruise. They said everyone had to have proof of vaccination and a negative Covid test from within 72 hours. The ship was only 1/3 full. They described it as glorious. Two weeks ago they said they’re ready to do it again, this time with their sons and the girlfriend of one of the sons. We decided to make it a family event and go with them (neither of my kids can take a week off). Royal Caribbean’s newest ship has bumper cars! We’ll fly down to Ft. Lauderdale the day before and everyone else will drive over that morning. It will be a great way to start the year.



Less people always makes it glorious.  If you compare a 950 person Disney Cruise or Viking Ocean Cruise, or a 250 person Viking River Cruise to a 5000 person Carnival Cruise, the latter is lesser in most regards.


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## Herdfan

Alli said:


> Probably because none of us have left the house in a year.
> 
> A few weeks ago my brother and sister-in-law took a cruise. They said everyone had to have proof of vaccination and a negative Covid test from within 72 hours. The ship was only 1/3 full. They described it as glorious. Two weeks ago they said they’re ready to do it again, this time with their sons and the girlfriend of one of the sons. We decided to make it a family event and go with them (neither of my kids can take a week off). Royal Caribbean’s newest ship has bumper cars! We’ll fly down to Ft. Lauderdale the day before and everyone else will drive over that morning. It will be a great way to start the year.




We love cruises, but alas haven't been on one since January 2019.  We had one planned for December 2019 but my M-I-L so didn't want us going on a cruise over Christmas that she decided she was going to fall and break her back the Sunday after Thanksgiving (that is a whole story on its own), so we had to cancel.  Rescheduled for Christmas of 2020......... 

I have to say our favorite cruise was Alaska.  I never wanted to go as I liked to be able to dive at all the islands.  But the daughter wanted to go so I caved.  Best cruise ever.  We went with former neighbors and in Ketchican, they went on the salmon fishing expedition and caught like 60lbs of salmon which was sent to the processor and then shipped to their home.  Except for one fish which was brought aboard, the chef prepared it and we all had the salmon they caught that day for dinner (well I had a couple of bites as I don't really like fish), can't get much fresher than that.

We did the whale watching in Juneau and glass blowing and panning for gold in Skagway.  But the whole cruise was much more casual with nice jeans and sweaters at dinner.  And the sights.  Every where you looked outside was just amazing.  Hope to go back soon.


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## DT

Herdfan said:


> We love cruises




We have best friends and bestie-ILs who have all, for years, tried to convince us to go on a cruise.

Our standard response:  *NFW*


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## User.191

Alli said:


> Probably because none of us have left the house in a year.
> 
> A few weeks ago my brother and sister-in-law took a cruise. They said everyone had to have proof of vaccination and a negative Covid test from within 72 hours. The ship was only 1/3 full. They described it as glorious. Two weeks ago they said they’re ready to do it again, this time with their sons and the girlfriend of one of the sons. We decided to make it a family event and go with them (neither of my kids can take a week off). Royal Caribbean’s newest ship has bumper cars! We’ll fly down to Ft. Lauderdale the day before and everyone else will drive over that morning. It will be a great way to start the year.



I visited our back yard shed last week - was quite exciting. Next year I'm thinking of actually leaving our property altogether - perhaps visit our neighbors...


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## Pumbaa

MissNomer said:


> I visited our back yard shed last week - was quite exciting. Next year I'm thinking of actually leaving our property altogether - perhaps visit our neighbors...



Interacting with the locals is a vital but risky part of any vacation. Try to read up on their culture first, and be respectful, not everything is like home. Stay safe!


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## User.191

Pumbaa said:


> Interacting with the locals is a vital but risky part of any vacation. Try to read up on their culture first, and be respectful, not everything is like home. Stay safe!



I'm a American now. To hell with the local customs.

MURICA! MURICA!


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## Deleted member 215

I haven't been on a vacation since this summer, during that magical month-long window when everyone thought COVID was going away for good and all the rules were relaxed. No one wore a mask anywhere except on the plane. But those days have passed.

Normally by this time of year, I would've gone with my family up to our vacation home at South Tahoe, but the Caldor Fire prevented us from going and now the scenery is permanently scarred and I'm finding myself unmotivated to visit (even though the house is still standing).

So I'm not sure where I will be going next. A couple friends and I have been visiting different American cities and exploring their culture, restaurants, and sights (so far have done Chicago, Madison, Seattle, Los Angeles, and St. Louis). We have a friend who recently moved to New York so there was a plan to visit him soon. I'd like to do _something. _Starting to feel that typical mid-20s boredom and aimlessness


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## Herdfan

DT said:


> We have best friends and bestie-ILs who have all, for years, tried to convince us to go on a cruise.
> 
> Our standard response:  *NFW*




Hear that a lot when it comes to cruising.  I was broken in early as a kid as my parents liked to cruise.  And took my GF on one and came back engaged.


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## Pumbaa

Herdfan said:


> Hear that a lot when it comes to cruising.  I was broken in early as a kid as my parents liked to cruise.  And took my GF on one and came back engaged.



…to the same GF?


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## Herdfan

Pumbaa said:


> …to the same GF?



Yep.  Still married 27 years later.


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## Pumbaa

Herdfan said:


> Yep.  Still married 27 years later.



Had to ask. You never know with those cruises, right? 

May you have plenty of happy years and vacations!


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## User.191

Herdfan said:


> Yep.  Still married 27 years later.



I admire her strength and fortitude!

I stay alive by keeping all sharp implements and poisons well hidden from my wife of over 20 years!


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## Alli

Huntn said:


> Less people always makes it glorious.  If you compare a 950 person Disney Cruise or Viking Ocean Cruise, or a 250 person Viking River Cruise to a 5000 person Carnival Cruise, the latter is lesser in most regards.



That’s why my favorite so far has been the American Queen Steamboat with only 250 passengers. It was great. Expensive, but great!


Herdfan said:


> I have to say our favorite cruise was Alaska.



That was my 2nd favorite. My mother and I did one to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia that was brilliant.


Herdfan said:


> glass blowing and panning for gold in Skagway



We did the glass blowing in Skagway. We always love that. Hell, did it in St. Petersburg, FL too. We’re not fussy.


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## Huntn

MissNomer said:


> I'm a American now. To hell with the local customs.
> 
> MURICA! MURICA!



Wave your gun, and dash a mask onto the ground and stomp on it! And don’t forget about _my liber-tay! _(Only representative of half the country).


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## Huntn

Huntn said:


> Kind of a vacation with a purpose, returning our Grandson who has been living with us for the last year to Minnesota, staying with friends who live in Taylors Falls, nice and rural. We are driving up, hitting the road tomorrow, Houston to Minneapolis, 1200 miles, 2 days, will be stopping in Wichita for the night. Coming back, the plan is to swing by Tulsa, Oklahoma and visit a widower friend there.
> 
> Btw searched on “travel” and “vacation” and did not see a related thread.



Made it to Taylors Falls! 12 hours, 0830-2030. Tonight 40ish, had to breakout the blue jeans!


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## Huntn

Two days at the beach on Padre Island, near Corpus Christi. Did not get Sun until today the day we are heading back to Houston.  In the realm of pretty we like Padre Island, but South Texas is mostly ugly imho, flat, scrub, mesquite trees. You don’t get real trees and rolling hills until up around Houston heading North East.


​
Now one part of Texas is pretty in a desert way and that would be West Texas and the Rio Grande area, very pretty with mountains.


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## Huntn

Getting up at 3am  to catch a 6am flight to the West Coast, final destination *Kona, Hawaii*. Be there till Sunday, will send pics!


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## Herdfan

Huntn said:


> Getting up at 3am  to catch a 6am flight to the West Coast, final destination *Kona, Hawaii*. Be there till Sunday, will send pics!




Great star viewing over there.  Might be able to catch the top of the Southern Cross.


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## rdrr

I had a whirlwind vacation last Sept/Oct in Italy.   Saw multiple cities and enjoyed it so much.   This year is going to be toned down as I save for my Wedding and Honeymoon May 2023.   Current Honeymoon idea, Fly into Barcelona spend 3-4 days there, take the train up through the French and Italian Rivieras, and ending up in Cinque Terre Italy, before flying home.


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## Huntn

Left at 3am, got in to the hotel Hilton Waikoloa  20 hours later. Flights went smoothly, I’ve non-stopped, 1 stop, but as the first time on Kona, 2 stops Salt Lake, L.A. with a total of 6 hour layovers, and I’ll  do my damnest never to do that again. The worst was when about an hour before leaving LA Dekta makes this announcement about COVID bracelets that you get by logging into the Hawaiian Travel site, create an account, and give them you life’s  history including the dates of your COVID vaccines, and an uploaded image of your card shot. I was pissed, because this should have been mentioned before then And there was no way for me  to get this done 45min prior to boarding for me and my wife, 

So then I’m thinking, we’ll just show our COVID cards when we get there, and be on our way. Nope, we and about 60 other passengers had to sit in the airport for about an hour and enroll at the Hawaii Safe Travel flight. I coukd if done this at home at my leisure if something had been said in advance.

Anyway, more later.


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## Herdfan

Huntn said:


> Left at 3am, got in to the hotel Hilton Waikoloa  20 hours later. Flights went smoothly, I’ve non-stopped, 1 stop, but as the first time on Kona, 2 stops Salt Lake, L.A. with a total of 6 hour layovers, and I’ll  do my damnest never to do that again.
> 
> ​




I don't know.  Last time we went to Oahu we had a direct flight from DC.  That is one long flight.  Was wishing for a layover. 

Time before that, our airport had a direct flight to Houston, so we took it, 2 hour layover and then to Maui.  That wasn't too bad as there wasn't any flying north to end up south.  Almost as direct as you can go, but that flight to Houston went away.

In any case, have a great time!


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## rdrr

Huntn said:


> Left at 3am, got in to the hotel Hilton Waikoloa  20 hours later. Flights went smoothly, I’ve non-stopped, 1 stop, but as the first time on Kona, 2 stops Salt Lake, L.A. with a total of 6 hour layovers, and I’ll  do my damnest never to do that again. The worst was when about an hour before leaving LA Dekta makes this announcement about COVID bracelets that you get by logging into the Hawaiian Travel site, create an account, and give them you life’s  history including the dates of your COVID vaccines, and an uploaded image of your card shot. I was pissed, because this should have been mentioned before then And there was no way for me  to get this done 45min prior to boarding for me and my wife,
> 
> So then I’m thinking, we’ll just show our COVID cards when we get there, and be on our way. Nope, we and about 60 other passengers had to sit in the airport for about an hour and enroll at the Hawaii Safe Travel flight. I coukd if done this at home at my leisure if something had been said in advance.
> 
> Anyway, more later.
> 
> View attachment 12330​



That sucks!   However, I experienced the reverse.   To get back to the US from overseas you had to fill out a self attestation form.   Days before the flight Delta, emailed me twice, sent me a reminder in text, and had it in the delta app.  I dutifully filled them and printed them out.   About 40 people at the airport said, "What form?"     That just delayed the boarding process.

Anyway looks beautiful.   Enjoy the vacation!


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## Edd

Huntn said:


> Left at 3am, got in to the hotel Hilton Waikoloa  20 hours later. Flights went smoothly, I’ve non-stopped, 1 stop, but as the first time on Kona, 2 stops Salt Lake, L.A. with a total of 6 hour layovers, and I’ll  do my damnest never to do that again. The worst was when about an hour before leaving LA Dekta makes this announcement about COVID bracelets that you get by logging into the Hawaiian Travel site, create an account, and give them you life’s  history including the dates of your COVID vaccines, and an uploaded image of your card shot. I was pissed, because this should have been mentioned before then And there was no way for me  to get this done 45min prior to boarding for me and my wife,
> 
> So then I’m thinking, we’ll just show our COVID cards when we get there, and be on our way. Nope, we and about 60 other passengers had to sit in the airport for about an hour and enroll at the Hawaii Safe Travel flight. I coukd if done this at home at my leisure if something had been said in advance.
> 
> Anyway, more later.
> 
> View attachment 12330​



I’ve mentioned on here before I spent a few years on Oahu as a kid because my dad was a navy guy. We went to Kona once and stayed at this resort place with all cottages. We went on a walking tour across the inside of a volcano that was all rock, of course, which blew my mind. Near the volcano, there was an old flow of lava (again, rock now) that had miraculously stopped directly in front of a radio tower, went around it, and continued on the same path. The tour guide was chalking that up to one Hawaiian god or another.

My school education there was 2nd through 5th grade and we were taught Hawaiian history and quite a bit about the gods, which put a genuine fear in me of Pele, goddess of lava. She was mean and lava was badass. They talked about her a lot on Kona.

Now I’m an atheist. Enjoy your trip, I love Hawaii!


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## Huntn

Herdfan said:


> I don't know.  Last time we went to Oahu we had a direct flight from DC.  That is one long flight.  Was wishing for a layover.
> 
> Time before that, our airport had a direct flight to Houston, so we took it, 2 hour layover and then to Maui.  That wasn't too bad as there wasn't any flying north to end up south.  Almost as direct as you can go, but that flight to Houston went away.
> 
> In any case, have a great time!



The problem is that I am vested in Delta and Houston is not a Delta Hub. Secondly anything other than Oahu will most likely require more stops. When we went to Maui it was first to Oahu, and later to Maui.


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## DT

@Huntn 

Hope you're having a __blast__.    You certainly couldn't find a more beautiful place to eat, drink and do a little <something-something>


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## DT

We've got several smaller trips planned:  Savannah (for spring break, headed the other direction ), Keys (Tavernier) , Orlando/Universal/Hard Rock, Hershey PA,  might to an extended DC trip again, that's work + play.


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## Huntn

DT said:


> We've got several smaller trips planned:  Savannah (for spring break, headed the other direction ), Keys (Tavernier) , Orlando/Universal/Hard Rock, Hershey PA,  might to an extended DC trip again, that's work + play.



I love Savannah when it’s not loaded with tourists.


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## Huntn

*Hawaii Big Island D2-* Today we got a better look at the island, leaving Waikoloa on the West side and driving South on the West cost around the bottom to Punalu’s Black Sand Beach.




Lots of people in the distance​
Overall it was a nice drive, but I’ll be frank, from about the Kona Airport to Waikoloa Village about 25 mile stretch of old lava fields is ugly, desolate, relatively barren, reminiscent of the moon with some grass , and the resort we are staying at is right in the middle of it, however there is a nice swath of green the surrounds the resort and the resort is very nice.

That said when we got past Honalo and the road started rising above sea level we got into what I expected to see in Hawaii, nice, lush vegetation, those big glorious trees, walls of philodendrons cascading down embankments, and small picturesque villages. Tomorrow we will explore North and West, maybe take the Saddle road up between the two volcanoes.

Now, these lava fields, something curious about them, sections are undisturbed lava flows, where you can see how it flowed before cooling, but other huge sections look like a lot of bulldozers went at the lava breaking and churning it up with the dirt underneath, mikes and miles, far into the distance of the climbing terrain to the volcano. So I looked up “lava field restoration/recovery, but not a peep I have found.




I am strongly suspecting for tourism neither the The State, nor the Resorts are going to be advertising their lava fields as a great feature. They are interesting in a bleak scientific way, and fortunately there are  the green belts of what you expect to see. Even the woman we met on the plane who lives here unsolicited said, _Hawaii is not the prettyist Hawaiian Island, but there are fun things to do. _

Not said  as a critique, just an observation, everything is expensive, breakfast at the resort was $60 for 2 egg and bacon breakfast, for 2 of us. I was expecting that, off resort is usually always better. Gas for the car is running $5.09 per gallon. I know, by European standards that’s a huge bargain. 

As of today, subject to change having been to Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii, for natural beauty I’d rank Oahu No. 1, but Honolulu is a congested mess, Maui No.2, Hawaii No.3. Maui has some nice enchanted locals. Both Maui and Hawaii with so few people living on them, they  feel more like the frontier in a way and that’s good too.


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## Herdfan

Huntn said:


> I love Savannah when it’s not loaded with tourists.




Next week will be the offspring's first St. Patrick's Day in Savannah.  SCAD always goes on Spring Break over it, but she is staying a couple of extra days this year before coming home.


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## DT

Herdfan said:


> Next week will be the offspring's first St. Patrick's Day in Savannah.  SCAD always goes on Spring Break over it, but she is staying a couple of extra days this year before coming home.




It'll be fun, were headed up later in the week.  SCAD, no shit, we know some SCAD-grads, one was one our our principal, senior designers (that pivoted into multimedia type work).


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## Huntn

*Hawaii Big Island D3*- Today drove from Waikoloa on Saddle Road over to Hilo (1.5 hrs approx 70 miles) The exterior of the island is mostly dry moonscape with grasses, lava flows or bulldozed up lava flows, no one lives there, and now that I’ve seen it, no surprise. Pretty in a stark way.  Who wants to live between 2 volcanoes on a lava strewn plain?

I just never pictured a great portion of the island looking like this. And from what I’ve seen so far there are primarily 2 coastal strips down both sides where most residents live.



Black dots are goats which are all over the island.​Hilo is nice and quaint. If we ever make a return visit it will be to fly into Hilo. And we found one of the island’s magic spots, a tropical rainforest biome North of Hilo on the coast, in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Tropical Bioreserve and Garden. The place is amazing although my wife tweaked her back, so walking was out, and we mostly drove around the vicinity and took pictures.




Not my image













This is a slice of heaven that aI would move here in a heartbeat if I could afford it, and there were no pesky volcanos to consider. 








						Best Of Hawaii | Learn | Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve & Garden
					

The Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve & Garden is a place for learning and a place of beauty. Come visit or check out our website to learn about tropical plants.




					htbg.com
				




Heading North up the East Coast to Honoka’a, we past large stands of Eucalyptus trees, I believe imported to help the island’s forests, a pretty area. The roads on this side of the island are nice and minimally curvy so you can make nice time  as compared to the West coast road which has stretches of very curvy, low speed roads.

Bottom line, the coastal strips are nice, but not in the NW unless you are on a resort and the East South East area seems iffy too. It seems that although it‘s the biggest Hawaiian Island, it has a really limited area where people would want to live. Just telling it like I see it, but we have no regrets visiting here on vacation, because today was a good day and the sights were really good.


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## Huntn

Ok, back home and tired. A long trip, mostly had a good time. Will never do another 3 leg trip* to or from Hawaii, will not go back to Kona, nor ever do another Time Share presentation.  For the Big Island, if you are intrigued by volcanoes, lots of lava fields and an active volcano, but instead I would choose Maui. Kauai is a possibility for the future, but I think the best plan is to fly into Oahu first and then catch a short flight to one of the other islands.

* Before anyone kids me about you get what you pay for, that was not to save $,  not the case, but the fault is ours for wanting to fly from the States directly to the big island, and sticking with a specific airline without considering other possibilities, and the most direct flights are to Oahu.


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## Huntn

One thing I forgot to mention, I detested wearing my mask in the airport and on the plane for 20 hrs. I’ve been wearing a mask regularly for 2 years now, but this annoyed me, hot and stuffy.


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## DT

Huntn said:


> One thing I forgot to mention, I detested wearing my mask in the airport and on the plane for 20 hrs.





This X at least 6 ...


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## Herdfan

Huntn said:


> One thing I forgot to mention, I detested wearing my mask in the airport and on the plane for 20 hrs. I’ve been wearing a mask regularly for 2 years now, but this annoyed me, hot and stuffy.




Which is why I haven't flown in 2 years.  And won't until this is rescinded.  So I have put my money where my mask goes and have driven to FL 3 times.  And that is a direct 1.5 hour flight.


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## Huntn

Herdfan said:


> Which is why I haven't flown in 2 years.  And won't until this is rescinded.  So I have put my money where my mask goes and have driven to FL 3 times.  And that is a direct 1.5 hour flight.



It’s not that I am against masks, I understand where airline employees/companies  stand, they are constantly exposed in tight quarters. It’s just in the airplane on a long trip, as in  20 hrs, they were hot and uncomfortable. Everyone complied without complaint,


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## Arkitect

Exmouth estuary long weekend.

Salt marshes, seabirds, sunshine, lots of salty fresh air.


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## DT

Huntn said:


> It’s not that I am against masks, I understand where airline employees/companies  stand, they are constantly exposed in tight quarters. It’s just in the airplane on a long trip, as in  20 hrs, they were hot and uncomfortable. Everyone complied without complaint,




Yeah, an hour or two, no sweat, we've been to NYC, and PA.  20 hours?  Wow, that's tough.


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## DT

We blasted up to Savannah for a few days for spring break, figured north would be a little quieter, for the most part is wasn't too bad at all around the riverfront (Saint Patrick's Day proper, we stayed a few blocks away ).

We walked, and drank, and ate, and walked more, and ate more and, well, you get it (very highly recommended:  Rhett, A.Lure, Grafitto).  Also did a lot of fun shopping, especially for the little G, she had a great time, lots of super cool boutique shops for art, clothes (Nourish, Earthbound)  Also, several great local breweries, hahaha, Service Brewing right near where we stayed had a food truck show up, about an hour after we ate, so of course we ate again (we managed to split a Big Finn and Pork Fries )


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## DT

DT said:


> Speaking of flying to NYC, holy shit, we scored a killer deal flying out of a local regional airport.  JAX is about an hour plus 15-20 minutes of parking/walking - and we often fly out of MCO and combine that with a Universal stay-over that's around 2 hours and closer to 20-25 just to get into the airport.   This is 7 miles away and one flight coming and going




So that turned out to be fantastic, land, get off place in 5 minutes, get luggage in 5 minutes, walk 60 seconds to car   (see "What are you doing today ...").

The departure from this end on Friday was VERY delayed, so much that we wound up getting tickets for our Friday night show for Saturday afternoon/matinee, same 1/2 price, special select seats through AMEX, and we're HOPING that they at the very least give us credit on the other tickets (bummer, LMM was at the Friday premier  )  Wife scored great seats (1st and then 4-5th row end seats), they were all in really stellar theaters too.

We hit up some of our favorite walking spots, Bryant, Central, Turnstyle Underground,  the  hotel was excellent,  boutique, and very modern, lots of fitness options if you're into that (like literally yoga gear in the room ).

Saw three amazing shows, that were radically different (selected for that exact reason):

*A Strange Loop *(Lyceum Theatre)

A powerful show, great music, very intimate, joyful, sad, had something to say, and said it, sometimes it was very racially intense, sometimes very sexually explicit.  We suspect this show is going to be huge.

From an articles on Forbes:

_Apart from its strong critical reception, A Strange Loop is historic in more ways than one. It is the first musical by a Black writer to win the Pulitzer, and the first that had not yet played a Broadway stage. It is also, in no uncertain terms, brilliant.

However, it doesn’t necessarily fall into the bounds of “traditional” Broadway fare, as a self-referential, unflinching examination of race, gender, sexuality, beauty standards, and religion. Described by its own lead character, it is: “a black, queer man writing a musical about a black, queer man who’s writing a musical about a black queer man who’s writing a musical about a black queer man, etc.”

The Music Man it is not._


*Company* (Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre)

A classic by Stephen Sondheim, fun music, more surreal / introspective than some other "older school" shows, amazing / updated set designs, this is a revival that started in 2018 in the West End, and Patti LuPone continues her role as Joanne, if you don't know, she's a notable broadway star, has done TV, voicework, film.  Neat update from the original, where the lead was Robert (Bobby) who was male, to now a female lead (Bobbie), and really illustrates something that Sondheim said just before his death:

_Five days before he died, Sondheim discussed the revival's change of the lead character's gender from male (Bobby) to female (Bobbie). He expressed how theater is distinguished from film and video because "you can do it in different ways from generation to generation… What keeps theater alive is the chance always to do it differently, with not only fresh casts, but fresh viewpoints. It's not just a matter of changing pronouns, but attitudes."_


*The Play That Goes Wrong *(New World Stages)

Amazing, at the always fun new New World Stages (we've seen several shows there, including Evil Dead: The Musical ), we laughed so hard, I mean we literally lost it a few times, we had front row seats, got called out for laughing (in a good way ... )  I was just astounded at the physicality involved, and so many surprises, twists, turns - without revealing too much:

_The fictitious Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society (Cornley University in the American version), fresh from such hits as The Lion and The Wardrobe, Cat, and James and the Peach (or James, Where's your Peach?), has received a substantial bequest and is putting on a performance of The Murder at Haversham Manor – a 1920s murder mystery play, similar to The Mousetrap, which has the right number of parts for the members. The script was written by the fictitious Susie H. K. Brideswell. During the performance, a play within a play, a plethora of disasters befall the cast ..._

We scored this for the last show, it's a contribution to Broadway Cares plus a pretty cool bit of swag:






As always, we eat and drink ... and drink and eat ... and ... 

Grabbed a bite here and there and everywhere, a drink anytime it presented itself, but we did a few pre-planned meals, Wife had them reserved in advance, either before we left or just early in the day so we'd know we had a seat, the first night we moved the reservation 3 times, but it was pretty stellar once we finally got there (after the aforementioned flight delay).

For our more major eats (we did some other stop and eats and sits downs, a few of our usual places in the theater district), first up, Lilly's, ate outside, between the street and sidewalk, in this island they created with tables, so fun, a little chilly. Spectacular mixed drinks, decent beer, very good food, kind of stepped up American, we had roasted sprouts, split burgers, fried pickles, an incredible lobster truffle mac and cheese.

One of our favorite places to stop for a beverage, while we hit up the park and a couple of adjacent shops (including a huge bookstore with the most incredible anime area, which is a whole floor ...), is The Porch, inside of Bryant Park, and we always order, A Huge Order of Fries, which is the actual name on the menu 






(Image that stacked twice as high)

We had brunch on Sunday at The Terrace, inside The Edition, it was excellent, it was a little slow coming out (had an order/POS issue), we weren't in a rush, manager comp'ed all our drinks 

They had one of my White Whale beers:







97 on BA, it's as good as it gets / as I imagined, seriously world class.

On, and the entrance to the hotel/restaurant is pretty fun:









Pizza?  Of course, maybe more than once, but when we sat down, it was this insane pie:






Also, amazing timing, the New York Auto Show was this past weekend!  We went 6 years ago by design, this time, just happen to be there   And it was super close, 3 avenues away, so off we went, and it was some unexpected fun!

Snapped a few pics, won't post too many here (maybe in a car thread), but some neat stuff, I mostly was interested in the EV presence (notably missing was both Lucid and Rivian).


Upcoming VW Bus/Van, aka the ID.Buzz electric.






Some mind blowing displays, the background and most of the floor was LCD panels, so everything was in motion!  This was the huge Subaru exhibit (the vehicle is their new EV), they had rope bridges ... and "snow" falling from the ceiling 






And I love all the EV trucks on the way, that's the next major market to get into ZEV technology, and I have to say from a design standpoint, liked the Chevy better than the Ford, the latter is clean, and very nice, the Chevy has a little more EV character.







We ate more, saw more, did more, but I think this post is a pretty decent sample - now we have this killer air option that's ~10 minutes away, and all the flight logistics:  parking, gate, luggage handling is almost like having a private aircraft - we'll be going back more often.


----------



## Edd

DT said:


> So that turned out to be fantastic, land, get off place in 5 minutes, get luggage in 5 minutes, walk 60 seconds to car   (see "What are you doing today ...").
> 
> The departure from this end on Friday was VERY delayed, so much that we wound up getting tickets for our Friday night show for Saturday afternoon/matinee, same 1/2 price, special select seats through AMEX, and we're HOPING that they at the very least give us credit on the other tickets (bummer, LMM was at the Friday premier  )  Wife scored great seats (1st and then 4-5th row end seats), they were all in really stellar theaters too.
> 
> We hit up some of our favorite walking spots, Bryant, Central, Turnstyle Underground,  the  hotel was excellent,  boutique, and very modern, lots of fitness options if you're into that (like literally yoga gear in the room ).
> 
> Saw three amazing shows, that were radically different (selected for that exact reason):
> 
> *A Strange Loop *(Lyceum Theatre)
> 
> A powerful show, great music, very intimate, joyful, sad, had something to say, and said it, sometimes it was very racially intense, sometimes very sexually explicit.  We suspect this show is going to be huge.
> 
> From an articles on Forbes:
> 
> _Apart from its strong critical reception, A Strange Loop is historic in more ways than one. It is the first musical by a Black writer to win the Pulitzer, and the first that had not yet played a Broadway stage. It is also, in no uncertain terms, brilliant.
> 
> However, it doesn’t necessarily fall into the bounds of “traditional” Broadway fare, as a self-referential, unflinching examination of race, gender, sexuality, beauty standards, and religion. Described by its own lead character, it is: “a black, queer man writing a musical about a black, queer man who’s writing a musical about a black queer man who’s writing a musical about a black queer man, etc.”
> 
> The Music Man it is not._
> 
> 
> *Company* (Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre)
> 
> A classic by Stephen Sondheim, fun music, more surreal / introspective than some other "older school" shows, amazing / updated set designs, this is a revival that started in 2018 in the West End, and Patti LuPone continues her role as Joanne, if you don't know, she's a notable broadway star, has done TV, voicework, film.  Neat update from the original, where the lead was Robert (Bobby) who was male, to now a female lead (Bobbie), and really illustrates something that Sondheim said just before his death:
> 
> _Five days before he died, Sondheim discussed the revival's change of the lead character's gender from male (Bobby) to female (Bobbie). He expressed how theater is distinguished from film and video because "you can do it in different ways from generation to generation… What keeps theater alive is the chance always to do it differently, with not only fresh casts, but fresh viewpoints. It's not just a matter of changing pronouns, but attitudes."_
> 
> 
> *The Play That Goes Wrong *(New World Stages)
> 
> Amazing, at the always fun new New World Stages (we've seen several shows there, including Evil Dead: The Musical ), we laughed so hard, I mean we literally lost it a few times, we had front row seats, got called out for laughing (in a good way ... )  I was just astounded at the physicality involved, and so many surprises, twists, turns - without revealing too much:
> 
> _The fictitious Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society (Cornley University in the American version), fresh from such hits as The Lion and The Wardrobe, Cat, and James and the Peach (or James, Where's your Peach?), has received a substantial bequest and is putting on a performance of The Murder at Haversham Manor – a 1920s murder mystery play, similar to The Mousetrap, which has the right number of parts for the members. The script was written by the fictitious Susie H. K. Brideswell. During the performance, a play within a play, a plethora of disasters befall the cast ..._
> 
> We scored this for the last show, it's a contribution to Broadway Cares plus a pretty cool bit of swag:
> 
> View attachment 13355
> 
> 
> As always, we eat and drink ... and drink and eat ... and ...
> 
> Grabbed a bite here and there and everywhere, a drink anytime it presented itself, but we did a few pre-planned meals, Wife had them reserved in advance, either before we left or just early in the day so we'd know we had a seat, the first night we moved the reservation 3 times, but it was pretty stellar once we finally got there (after the aforementioned flight delay).
> 
> For our more major eats (we did some other stop and eats and sits downs, a few of our usual places in the theater district), first up, Lilly's, ate outside, between the street and sidewalk, in this island they created with tables, so fun, a little chilly. Spectacular mixed drinks, decent beer, very good food, kind of stepped up American, we had roasted sprouts, split burgers, fried pickles, an incredible lobster truffle mac and cheese.
> 
> One of our favorite places to stop for a beverage, while we hit up the park and a couple of adjacent shops (including a huge bookstore with the most incredible anime area, which is a whole floor ...), is The Porch, inside of Bryant Park, and we always order, A Huge Order of Fries, which is the actual name on the menu
> 
> 
> View attachment 13352
> 
> (Image that stacked twice as high)
> 
> We had brunch on Sunday at The Terrace, inside The Edition, it was excellent, it was a little slow coming out (had an order/POS issue), we weren't in a rush, manager comp'ed all our drinks
> 
> They had one of my White Whale beers:
> 
> 
> View attachment 13353
> 
> 
> 97 on BA, it's as good as it gets / as I imagined, seriously world class.
> 
> On, and the entrance to the hotel/restaurant is pretty fun:
> 
> 
> View attachment 13354
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pizza?  Of course, maybe more than once, but when we sat down, it was this insane pie:
> 
> View attachment 13358
> 
> 
> Also, amazing timing, the New York Auto Show was this past weekend!  We went 6 years ago by design, this time, just happen to be there   And it was super close, 3 avenues away, so off we went, and it was some unexpected fun!
> 
> Snapped a few pics, won't post too many here (maybe in a car thread), but some neat stuff, I mostly was interested in the EV presence (notably missing was both Lucid and Rivian).
> 
> 
> Upcoming VW Bus/Van, aka the ID.Buzz electric.
> 
> View attachment 13360
> 
> 
> Some mind blowing displays, the background and most of the floor was LCD panels, so everything was in motion!  This was the huge Subaru exhibit (the vehicle is their new EV), they had rope bridges ... and "snow" falling from the ceiling
> 
> 
> View attachment 13362
> 
> And I love all the EV trucks on the way, that's the next major market to get into ZEV technology, and I have to say from a design standpoint, liked the Chevy better than the Ford, the latter is clean, and very nice, the Chevy has a little more EV character.
> 
> 
> View attachment 13363
> 
> 
> We ate more, saw more, did more, but I think this post is a pretty decent sample - now we have this killer air option that's ~10 minutes away, and all the flight logistics:  parking, gate, luggage handling is almost like having a private aircraft - we'll be going back more often.



Lunch IPA is the best Maine beer I know about.  It's made an hour north of here, but finally starting to hit the taps in my area.


----------



## DT

Edd said:


> Lunch IPA is the best Maine beer I know about.  It's made an hour north of here, but finally starting to hit the taps in my area.




Holy smokes, it was so good, it actually exceeded my expectations (a few others I've tracked down while excellent, weren't quite the "hear a choir of angels" experience people suggested).

Though it's probably hard to separate the beer from the experience.  And heck, after the manager came around and said, "drinks are on me, order up ...", it got even better 

I first saw it on Total Wine's site, but this is the state of availability:


----------



## Deleted member 215

My best friend and I just finished planning a trip to NYC around Memorial Day weekend. We have a friend there who is attending grad school at Columbia, so we're going to visit him and his girlfriend and stay in their Manhattan apartment while we do touristy stuff around the city (I've been before, though as a teenager; my friend has never been).


----------



## ronntaylor

TBL said:


> My best friend and I just finished planning a trip to NYC around Memorial Day weekend. We have a friend there who is attending grad school at Columbia, so we're going to visit him and his girlfriend and stay in their Manhattan apartment while we do touristy stuff around the city (I've been before, though as a teenager; my friend has never been).



In the past Memorial Day weekend was a great time to be in the City. Lots of people leave and it's not as crowded. Don't know how it is since the Pandemic; I've avoided the City the last few summers. Enjoy and be safe.


----------



## lizkat

TBL said:


> My best friend and I just finished planning a trip to NYC around Memorial Day weekend. We have a friend there who is attending grad school at Columbia, so we're going to visit him and his girlfriend and stay in their Manhattan apartment while we do touristy stuff around the city (I've been before, though as a teenager; my friend has never been).




Have a great time!   I loved it when out of town kin or friends would visit in the city,  and it was a two-way benefit:  they got to relax and not worry about getting lost, and I got to check out cool touristy things I otherwise never seemed to make time for. 

I mean I'd never even been on the Staten Island ferry until one of my brothers asked what it was like after he'd landed in Brooklyn to go to Pratt.   "Hmm..." I said.   I was embarrassed. I'd been in the city 10 years.


----------



## mollyc

My husband and I lived in NYC for two years when we were first married; he moved in July 2001 and I joined him in November 2001 after the wedding. Such a weird time to move there. We moved to CT for 8 years when we were ready to have kids, but I always enjoy going back when we can. We went last August and were supposed to go in March, but my daughter got covid instead. Slight chance we might go in a couple of weeks for a concert, but the odds are not in our favor to get tickets. I wouldn't want to live there forever, I'm too much of a country girl but I'm happy to have had the experience of living there for a time and love going back; it's just about three hours on the train for us.


----------



## Cmaier

lizkat said:


> Have a great time!   I loved it when out of town kin or friends would visit in the city,  and it was a two-way benefit:  they got to relax and not worry about getting lost, and I got to check out cool touristy things I otherwise never seemed to make time for.
> 
> I mean I'd never even been on the Staten Island ferry until one of my brothers asked what it was like after he'd landed in Brooklyn to go to Pratt.   "Hmm..." I said.   I was embarrassed. I'd been in the city 10 years.




My dad went to Pratt! (Electrical engineer). 

We are planning to visit Brooklyn and Manhattan this summer, if some issues with my kid work out.  I’m working on convincing my wife that we should move to Brooklyn when my kid goes to college in 5 or 6 years.  At least then I can get Mets season tickets and see some games.


----------



## Edd

Sedona, Arizona. 

I’ve driven through AZ several times but never spent real time here. Sedona is an easy place to like. Still got a few days left but did one of the best hikes of my life yesterday and I was barely trying. The trailhead was 1.5 miles from our place and we spent a few hours wandering around jaw dropping sights before the sun really started hammering. 

View from the bed around 5:30am yesterday. 





Views from the deck:





Times like these call for a real camera.  I really had no interest to come here but today is the wife’s birthday so she called the shots this trip. Glad we came, it looks nothing like back home and I needed a change of scenery. First flight for me since Covid started.


----------



## Herdfan

Edd said:


> Sedona, Arizona.
> 
> I’ve driven through AZ several times but never spent real time here. Sedona is an easy place to like. Still got a few days left but did one of the best hikes of my life yesterday and I was barely trying. The trailhead was 1.5 miles from our place and we spent a few hours wandering around jaw dropping sights before the sun really started hammering.




And now you see why we are going to retire there. 

Have you done Devil's Bridge?  It is about a 45 - 60 minute hike from the TH, but worth it.

And if you really want an adventure, rent a Jeep or SXS (this will ride better) and explore Schnebly Hill Rd and Broken Arrow (Submarine Rock is really cool also).


----------



## Edd

Herdfan said:


> And now you see why we are going to retire there.
> 
> Have you done Devil's Bridge?  It is about a 45 - 60 minute hike from the TH, but worth it.
> 
> And if you really want an adventure, rent a Jeep or SXS (this will ride better) and explore Schnebly Hill Rd and Broken Arrow (Submarine Rock is really cool also).



Ah, lucky you. I assume this isn’t the cheapest place to live but to retire here seems a dream. The only hike so far was around Cathedral Rock. Only a couple hikes left before we leave but Devil’s Bridge looks great, hopefully we’ll hit it. Driving to Jerome today to be a complete tourist and we have a Pink Jeep tour booked 5-8pm this week.

A big thing I commend Sedona on is the clear efforts to blend everything into the landscape. They’ve done an amazing job to my eyes. Virtual mansions are well camouflaged compared to any other place place I’ve been. I also love all the ranch houses. So much more my style than the vast majority of New England housing.

The drought situation here is downright distressing. Been warned twice by locals about smoking outside, and I’m not a smoker.

Have you been to Red Rock Cafe? We thought the brunch was great and their Bloody Mary crushed it; that’s a New Orleans level recipe.


----------



## Herdfan

Edd said:


> Ah, lucky you. I assume this isn’t the cheapest place to live but to retire here seems a dream. The only hike so far was around Cathedral Rock. Only a couple hikes left before we leave but Devil’s Bridge looks great, hopefully we’ll hit it. Driving to Jerome today to be a complete tourist and we have a Pink Jeep tour booked 5-8pm this week.




We will probably end up closer to Cottonwood than Sedona.  Basically get 20-30% more house for the money, so even though we are wanting to downsize, we don't want to downsize that much.   You can still get the nice red rock views, but the trade-off being it about 10 degrees warmer.    My wife has Sedona as a location in her weather app and the temps are very similar to where we live now in the spring through fall, but the RealFeel is very close to the temp vs here where it can be 85, but feel like 98.  I am tired of being able to chew the air.  Winter there is awesome.  We spent a week here in January 2020 (last trip before everything shut down) and it might be 25 when you wake up, but soon warms to 50-60 and sunny.  It was that trip that basically cemented the idea we wanted to live there.

You need to at least walk through the Jerome Grand Hotel.  It is kind of creepy. 

Haven't been to the Red Rock Cafe' as we usually stay at the Pinion Point and haven't wanted to fight the traffic down that way.  But have heard it's good.  

For breakfast, the Coffee Pot in Sedona is very good.

Depending on the Pink Jeep tour you booked, you may end up out Broken Arrow.  So enjoy.


----------



## Huntn

We are in relatively boring Minnesota hanging out on a friend’s farm. It’s very refreshing to have no one living closer than 1/2 mile.


----------



## DT

Huntn said:


> We are in relatively boring Minnesota hanging out on a friend’s farm. It’s very refreshing to have no one living closer than 1/2 mile.
> 
> View attachment 14495​




Nice.  I'd go nothin' but sneakers around midnight and head up that road ...


----------



## Clix Pix

I hope you have someone checking on your own residence while you are away.....probably not the greatest idea to advertise to all and sundry on the Internet that you are away from home right now?


----------



## Joe

Just got back from Chicago. Had a blast


----------



## Herdfan

Clix Pix said:


> I hope you have someone checking on your own residence while you are away.....probably not the greatest idea to advertise to all and sundry on the Internet that you are away from home right now?




My neighbors post pics from the beach every time they go and I just shake my head.  Post your pics AFTER you get home.


----------



## Huntn

Clix Pix said:


> I hope you have someone checking on your own residence while you are away.....probably not the greatest idea to advertise to all and sundry on the Internet that you are away from home right now?



Who is to say no one is at our house? 

As a new chicken tender,  I have learned that chickens are not very discerning, human =  food, and hand feeding a chicken is the fastest way to their avian hearts  

​


----------



## DT

Just got back from the Keys (aka, the Florida Keys), posted one pic last week  but I was basically offline otherwise and mostly offshore / in the water, in some capacity.

We drove the Tesla for the first time (have driven down ICE vehicles for decades), for anyone interested in how that worked out:

https://talkedabout.com/threads/ele...chasing-modifications.2738/page-5#post-105407

So much fun as always, it's just one of the most beautiful places, the water is glorious and if you're into diving, snorkeling, boating, having an amazing water experience, it's fantastic.

For those NITK, the Keys are a group of islands off the southern coast of Florida:






Surrounded by amazing reefs, this is where John Pennekamp state park is located (specifically Key Largo), one of the more famous dive locations.  We mostly don't go south of Islamorada and avoid Key West. 

Got a super nice place, a private/VRBO condo on the ocean side, two big rooms so the little G had her own suite, balconies, and setup with nice boat parking/ramp/docks too.  Super nice area, lots of trees, very natural, way off the road, so completely quiet at night.

Our sunrise from the bedroom balcony (better from the other, I'll have to get that pic from the wife):





The Royal Poincianas (the tree with the bright red flowers) were in bloom, and all around the condo:








The one pic I posted last week again:







We rented a boat a nice 23' Seafox CC, ran around the close reef spots, one stop that's always a must is the Alligator Reef lighthouse (above), since it was a weekday and not lobster season, nice and quiet.   Anchored and hung out for a long while, some interesting fish, a few curious barracuda and a bunch of sea turtles that kept swimming right up to us.

That water is around 10' deep or so and and that clear, it's glorious.  We had some great weather, a little cooler than expected for June (which was terrific).  Ran out to Cheeca Rocks, very close, knocked around the bay side for a bit in the evening, that's the NW side of the islands, you see all sorts of interesting things, different critters (manatees, dolphins):







... an occasional boat eaten by the ferocious mangroves and being claimed by an osprey 







I'll post up a few more later ...


We are headed back for Christmas, already reserved the condo, while we love NYC around that time, the travel/cold/packing in winter is just a bit tough, our NYC trips are now scheduled for Spring and Fall


----------



## mollyc

DT said:


> Just got back from the Keys (aka, the Florida Keys), posted one pic last week  but I was basically offline otherwise and mostly offshore / in the water, in some capacity.
> 
> We drove the Tesla for the first time (have driven down ICE vehicles for decades), for anyone interested in how that worked out:
> 
> https://talkedabout.com/threads/ele...chasing-modifications.2738/page-5#post-105407
> 
> So much fun as always, it's just one of the most beautiful places, the water is glorious and if you're into diving, snorkeling, boating, having an amazing water experience, it's fantastic.
> 
> For those NITK, the Keys are a group of islands off the southern coast of Florida:
> 
> View attachment 14884
> 
> 
> Surrounded by amazing reefs, this is where John Pennekamp state park is located (specifically Key Largo), one of the more famous dive locations.  We mostly don't go south of Islamorada and avoid Key West.
> 
> Got a super nice place, a private/VRBO condo on the ocean side, two big rooms so the little G had her own suite, balconies, and setup with nice boat parking/ramp/docks too.  Super nice area, lots of trees, very natural, way off the road, so completely quiet at night.
> 
> Our sunrise from the bedroom balcony (better from the other, I'll have to get that pic from the wife):
> 
> View attachment 14888
> 
> The Royal Poincianas (the tree with the bright red flowers) were in bloom, and all around the condo:
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 14897
> 
> 
> The one pic I posted last week again:
> 
> 
> View attachment 14885
> 
> 
> We rented a boat a nice 23' Seafox CC, ran around the close reef spots, one stop that's always a must is the Alligator Reef lighthouse (above), since it was a weekday and not lobster season, nice and quiet.   Anchored and hung out for a long while, some interesting fish, a few curious barracuda and a bunch of sea turtles that kept swimming right up to us.
> 
> That water is around 10' deep or so and and that clear, it's glorious.  We had some great weather, a little cooler than expected for June (which was terrific).  Ran out to Cheeca Rocks, very close, knocked around the bay side for a bit in the evening, that's the NW side of the islands, you see all sorts of interesting things, different critters (manatees, dolphins):
> 
> View attachment 14904
> 
> 
> 
> ... an occasional boat eaten by the ferocious mangroves and being claimed by an osprey
> 
> 
> View attachment 14896
> 
> 
> I'll post up a few more later ...
> 
> 
> We are headed back for Christmas, already reserved the condo, while we love NYC around that time, the travel/cold/packing in winter is just a bit tough, our NYC trips are now scheduled for Spring and Fall



so pretty. we hope to do a keys trip sometime. but we are running out of time as our daughter is going to be a high school junior.  stupid covid took away a lot of good travel time for us as a family.


----------



## DT

mollyc said:


> so pretty. we hope to do a keys trip sometime. but we are running out of time as our daughter is going to be a high school junior.  stupid covid took away a lot of good travel time for us as a family.




Heck, you guys could fly into Miami, rent a car, Key Largo is about an hour away.    Stay at some place like the Reefhouse, they run all sorts of water tours (diving, etc., to some killer locations like Molasses Reef ) from there (if you'd prefer not to run your own boat), smaller groups, really fun crews, they have an actual beach, a fun bar and grille, we were actually there this trip too:


----------



## mollyc

DT said:


> Heck, you guys could fly into Miami, rent a car, Key Largo is about an hour away.    Stay at some place like the Reefhouse, they run all sorts of water tours (diving, etc., to some killer locations like Molasses Reef ) from there (if you'd prefer not to run your own boat), smaller groups, really fun crews, they have an actual beach, a fun bar and grille, we were actually there this trip too:
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 14912



Yes, we've thought about it! My husband is still scared to fly because of Covid and gets a bit anxious when we talk about it, so for now I think we are stuck with driving only trips.  But some day!


----------



## Huntn

DT said:


> Just got back from the Keys (aka, the Florida Keys), posted one pic last week  but I was basically offline otherwise and mostly offshore / in the water, in some capacity.
> 
> We drove the Tesla for the first time (have driven down ICE vehicles for decades), for anyone interested in how that worked out:
> 
> https://talkedabout.com/threads/ele...chasing-modifications.2738/page-5#post-105407
> 
> So much fun as always, it's just one of the most beautiful places, the water is glorious and if you're into diving, snorkeling, boating, having an amazing water experience, it's fantastic.
> 
> For those NITK, the Keys are a group of islands off the southern coast of Florida:
> 
> View attachment 14884
> 
> 
> Surrounded by amazing reefs, this is where John Pennekamp state park is located (specifically Key Largo), one of the more famous dive locations.  We mostly don't go south of Islamorada and avoid Key West.
> 
> Got a super nice place, a private/VRBO condo on the ocean side, two big rooms so the little G had her own suite, balconies, and setup with nice boat parking/ramp/docks too.  Super nice area, lots of trees, very natural, way off the road, so completely quiet at night.
> 
> Our sunrise from the bedroom balcony (better from the other, I'll have to get that pic from the wife):
> 
> View attachment 14888
> 
> The Royal Poincianas (the tree with the bright red flowers) were in bloom, and all around the condo:
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 14897
> 
> 
> The one pic I posted last week again:
> 
> 
> View attachment 14885
> 
> 
> We rented a boat a nice 23' Seafox CC, ran around the close reef spots, one stop that's always a must is the Alligator Reef lighthouse (above), since it was a weekday and not lobster season, nice and quiet.   Anchored and hung out for a long while, some interesting fish, a few curious barracuda and a bunch of sea turtles that kept swimming right up to us.
> 
> That water is around 10' deep or so and and that clear, it's glorious.  We had some great weather, a little cooler than expected for June (which was terrific).  Ran out to Cheeca Rocks, very close, knocked around the bay side for a bit in the evening, that's the NW side of the islands, you see all sorts of interesting things, different critters (manatees, dolphins):
> 
> View attachment 14904
> 
> 
> 
> ... an occasional boat eaten by the ferocious mangroves and being claimed by an osprey
> 
> 
> View attachment 14896
> 
> 
> I'll post up a few more later ...
> 
> 
> We are headed back for Christmas, already reserved the condo, while we love NYC around that time, the travel/cold/packing in winter is just a bit tough, our NYC trips are now scheduled for Spring and Fall



My 1972 college story about John Penneycamp State Park:
Some friends and I at University of Miami (Coral Gables) wanted to snorkel the reef. So we drive down to Key Largo, rent a little dingy, outboard motor, and with a mostly worthless map head East out into the expanse of water, no food, no water, no sunscreen, no hats. We can’t find it, so we chase down a boat, actually the only way we could do that was because  it was stationary.

We ask directions, and head North a bit and find it! Snorkel and have a great time until the combination of salt water ingestion, sun exposure, and di- hydration, most of us get sick and throw up our guts. Somehow, we limp back and actually find the marina where we rented the boat. I think we could have easily become one of those lost at sea stories.


----------



## Herdfan

DT said:


> So much fun as always, it's just one of the most beautiful places, the water is glorious and if you're into diving, snorkeling, boating, having an amazing water experience, it's fantastic.
> 
> Surrounded by amazing reefs, this is where John Pennekamp state park is located (specifically Key Largo), one of the more famous dive locations.  We mostly don't go south of Islamorada and avoid Key West.




One goal was to dive the Duane and Bibb, but ever since my eye surgery I am hesitant to go that deep (100'+).  Also wanted to dive the Atocha even though there is not much to see anymore.

You have to go to Key West at least once to visit the Hemingway House and its 6 toed cats.  I was able to see Phil Clark's (subject of Jimmy Buffett's _A Pirate Looks At Forty_) ashes above the cash register of the Full Moon Saloon before it closed.


----------



## DT

Huntn said:


> My 1972 college story about John Penneycamp State Park:
> Some friends and I at University of Miami (Coral Gables) wanted to snorkel the reef. So we drive down to Key Largo, rent a little dingy, outboard motor, and with a mostly worthless map head East out into the expanse of water, no food, no water, no sunscreen, no hats. We can’t find it, so we chase down a boat, actually the only way we could do that was because  it was stationary.
> 
> We ask directions, and head North a bit and find it! Snorkel and have a great time until the combination of salt water ingestion, sun exposure, and di- hydration, most of us get sick and throw up our guts. Somehow, we limp back and actually find the marina where we rented the boat. I think we could have easily become one of those lost at sea stories.




Laughing [reaction] only because it's a great (and funny) story __and__ you didn't die 

We actually got creamed by a storm on the ocean side, we stayed a little too long, I ran back out around the lighthouse, down south, ducked under a bridge for a few (there was some lightning).  Then came back up the gulf side along the flats, it was high tide, but there are a lot of shallow areas, that unless you know them really well, you can get into trouble - so I decided to turn into the storm, follow the channel markers - hahaha, wow, I was getting pelted with rain, the temp dropped like 10 degrees, it was a serious adventure   I should've snapped a pic, it was literally just gray for a few minutes, the channel markers would just sort of appear


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## DT

Speaking of boating/routes, knowing your way around, I used this app quite a bit:



			https://apps.apple.com/us/app/i-boating-marine-charts-gps/id994992062
		


It's pretty stellar, and the free version lets you download one tile which was enough to cover the entire Keys (you can download the entire US at one time, including lakes/rivers, plus additional real-time data for $20, which is a steal).


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## JayMysteri0

Saw this post & thought it was interesting, wondering how they came up with what is "average" & why these specific places.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1538122053907259392/

I was surprised to realize I could only say I've been to 10 of those places.


Statue of Liberty
Walt Disney World
Times Square
Chicago River
Washington Monument
Empire State Building
Road to Hana AKA The Hana Highway
Liberty Bell
Central Park
Arlington Cemetery
Of the 10, half were due to living near the locations.  I may need to get out more.

How about yourselves?


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## SuperMatt

JayMysteri0 said:


> Saw this post & thought it was interesting, wondering how they came up with what is "average" & why these specific places.
> 
> https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1538122053907259392/
> 
> I was surprised to realize I could only say I've been to 10 of those places.
> 
> 
> Statue of Liberty
> Walt Disney World
> Times Square
> Chicago River
> Washington Monument
> Empire State Building
> Road to Hana AKA The Hana Highway
> Liberty Bell
> Central Park
> Arlington Cemetery
> Of the 10, half were due to living near the locations.  I may need to get out more.
> 
> How about yourselves?



Here’s my list:

1. Statue of Liberty
2. Walt Disney World
3. Hollywood Sign
4. Las Vegas Strip
5. Times Square
6. Chicago River
7. Washington Monument
8. French Quarter
9. Golden Gate Bridge
10. River Walk
11. Niagara Falls
12. Mall of America
13. Gateway Arch
14. Empire State Building
15. The White House
16. The Liberty Bell
17. Central Park
18. Arlington Cemetery
19. Lake Tahoe

I think I might have gone to St. Augustine and/or Fort Sumter but I can’t remember for sure…


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## Cmaier

Been to 15 of them. Helps growing up in NY - it’s an automatic 7 or 8 between just living there, cheap family vacations, and field trips.


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## Edd

Been to 12 of those. I take some pride in hitting the road to Hana but my NYC hits are non-existent. I’ve been to almost every state but never spent a night in NYC.


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## Herdfan

JayMysteri0 said:


> How about yourselves?






The ones I have actually visited (with qualifiers):

1. Statue of Liberty (from Manhattan)
2. Walt Disney World
3. Pikes Peak (didn't drive to top)
4. Las Vegas Strip
5. Times Square
6. Chicago River
7. Washington Monument
8. French Quarter
9. Zion National Park
10. River Walk
11. Niagara Falls
12. Mall of America
13. Gateway Arch (Didn't go up in it)
14. Empire State Building (Didn't go up in it)
15. The White House (from the gates)
16. Road to Hana
17. Central Park
18. Arlington Cemetery
19. Everglades (drove on what was formerly known as Alligator Alley)
20. South Beach (just driving through it)


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## Alli

22 - does it really matter which ones?


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## Alli

I am all set for the next vacation though. Our 25th anniversary is in August, but the trip we wanted wasn’t available then. We’re doing a riverboat cruise on the Dutchess (American Queen Steamboat Co.) round trip New Orleans on Dec. 23rd. I loved my last cruise with them on the Queen and knew at that time it was something my husband would love.


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## DT

Alli said:


> 22 - does it really matter which ones?




Is it the same place 22 times?  If so, I've got like 60 or 70 ...





Do I get to count St. Augustine?


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## Herdfan

Alli said:


> I am all set for the next vacation though. Our 25th anniversary is in August, but the trip we wanted wasn’t available then. We’re doing a riverboat cruise on the Dutchess (American Queen Steamboat Co.) round trip New Orleans on Dec. 23rd. I loved my last cruise with them on the Queen and knew at that time it was something my husband would love.




I know you do cruises.  Have you looked at Virgin?  I keep seeing ads for them and 1) they are not as expensive as I expected and 2) no one under 18.

Might have to give them a try.


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## Alli

DT said:


> Do I get to count St. Augustine?



Of course you do. 


Herdfan said:


> I know you do cruises.  Have you looked at Virgin?  I keep seeing ads for them and 1) they are not as expensive as I expected and 2) no one under 18.
> 
> Might have to give them a try.



I haven’t been on one of their cruises. I also see a lot of ads for them lately, and the kid-free feature is a big draw.


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## DT

View from the current location …


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## Herdfan

Alli said:


> Of course you do.
> 
> I haven’t been on one of their cruises. I also see a lot of ads for them lately, and the kid-free feature is a big draw.




Yes it is.  Did the kid one once (Disney) and it was nice to have a few adult-only areas.  Sadly I didn't realize until we were aboard that there was no Casino.


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## Alli

Herdfan said:


> Yes it is.  Did the kid one once (Disney) and it was nice to have a few adult-only areas.  Sadly I didn't realize until we were aboard that there was no Casino.



That is why I’ll never do a Disney cruise.


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## DT

Alli said:


> That is why I’ll never do a Disney cruise.




Yes.


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## DT

This is kind of fun, so we walk - a lot - when we go to Universal, we rarely take the boats, and when we stay at the Portofino (above), it's a bit further away than the other two resorts we usually stay at. plus of course all the walking around the parks.

Fri - Tue (kind of 2/3rd days on the first / last), hahaha get this:

83,789 steps
37.4 miles
70 flights of stairs (equivalent)


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## Deleted member 215

Time to visit Milwaukee! 

I'll be traveling there at the end of July to visit a friend who recently moved there. I just can't keep away from the Badger State.


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## Edd

Flew into the airport near Cabo San Lucas for a night before we drove to our primary destination. Stayed in a treetop hotel. Pics will explain it.


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## Edd

Bugs love to bite me in New Hampshire and Mexican bugs are no different. My wife isn’t getting bit at all. The coast in La Paz is awesome.


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## lizkat

Edd said:


> Bugs love to bite me in New Hampshire and Mexican bugs are no different. My wife isn’t getting bit at all. The coast in La Paz is awesome.




Not usually a fan of beaches and summery weather, but we're all still awestruck by the very cold winter here last year.  I'm inclined to bookmark those pix for day-dreaming next February!


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## stingx

Being I have some Greek DNA, i love vacationing on the Greek Islands, particularly Santorini and Naxos. The best time to go is right after Labor Day until early October. The water is the warmest and most tourists are long gone - no lines, queues or waits for dinner. Most places are still open as well. Locally, I spend the latter part of August in Bethany Beach, DE.


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## Edd

I just had an experience in Mexico I’d read about and was mentally prepared for although I made a couple of errors. I got pulled over by a cop. 

The stop signs here are considered “rolling stops”, as evidenced by my research and observations since arriving. I didn’t see one early enough and did a pretty shitty stop and a motorcycle cop pulled me over immediately.

His English was bad but way better than my Spanish. I used Google Translate a few times. He went straight to infraction showing me a form to fill out. Today is Saturday, and he said he’d have to take my license and I could pick it up at the police station Monday and pay a fine of $1950 pesos (nearly $100 USD). I’m flying out Monday and that’s not happening.

My first mistake was not catching the stop sign soon enough. My second was having too much cash visibly next to my license which he saw. I had $1500 pesos ($75 USD) so I asked if I could pay today. 

He accepted my offer. Took all my cash and sped off quick, taking zero of my information.  

My wife was quite wound up following this incident. I don’t think I learned much except don’t keep cash right next to your license. I got lazy after 8 days here.

Much of the pleasure I’ve experienced has been from the people. I find them so patient, especially with the language barriers presented due to my bad Spanish. La Paz is touristy, to a point, but it functions economically without, so there’s limited need to cater to the likes of me.

I love Mexico, and I just paid $75 for a good story. I’m a lucky guy.


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## Herdfan

DT said:


> Yes.




Man, if I lived where you do, we would do weekend cruises every other month or so.  We have some friends that live in WPB and they go all the time.  Well used to pre-COVID.  They had a travel agent that would look for highly discounted, unsold cabins a couple of days before sailing.  They could do 4-day weekend cruise for few hundred dollars.  And since they lived there, no transportation expense.


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