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Connie, for me the ocean and the beach really make me ooze contentment. My best vacation to date has been on the Big Island of Hawaii. It was my Hubby and me (sans kids), the deck chair and the palm trees, the beach and the ocean, and the SUN!!

The only “deal” we managed to score was free breakfast buffet every morning of our stay there via Expedia.com packages.

I loved our trip to Universal Studios in FL many years ago. For a max fun per minute, nothing beats the rides there. Hope you’re able to find a suitable package soon, so that you can escape the MN winter (now that it’s there) for warm weather.

I have to say the best trips were the ones I did not have to arrange!  It puts all the responsibility if a: it’s a bad hotel, b: food is bad...etc..
Hubby ‘surprised’ (I knew something was up) me, when we lived in England with a 3 day trip to Paris..all he said was “have your bags packed for 3 days..” It was great, I did nothing, no callling, no booking, just decided which quaint cafe to eat/drink/lounge in..loved it.
As far as the websites go, I’ve heard some stories of booking a 3 or 4 star hotel, but then getting the smallest room they have..what ever is left.

Well, living an hour north of Orlando, all I can say is been there, done that!  The WORST time to go to those places is during spring break and then from May through September.  It’s hot, the lines are long, and there are WAY too many people there.  The best time to go is in late October through maybe early March (and that’s pushing it).  The weather is nicer and you can actually ride some of the rides multiple times rather than have to wait another couple of hours. 
Anyhow...my favorite vacation spot...VEGAS BABY!!!
I grew up in California so my parents used to take us there.  I had not been for a long time and when I got married we went for our honeymoon and man was that fun!!  There is something for everyone!  Gambling, spas, shows, gambling, gondola rides, gambling, top rate shopping, and the food was GREAT.  I can’t wait to go again, I love to stare at the “dancing” fountains at the Bellagio.  I can do that for hours!
And no, your best bet is to actually check out the various airlines to price tickets.  When I am traveling I’ve found that 9 times out of 10 I get a better price at the airline’s site than at those “discount” sites.

Connie,
A friend of mine has it all figured out. She uses her American Express “Starwood Card” (whatever that is) to pay for everything--even groceries.  At the end of the month she writes a check to pay off the card.  She accumulates mucho points for airlines and hotels and always getting upgraded to suites and extra perks when she travels.  I wish I could do this but my hubby doesn’t like us to use credit cards.

How did you manage to be going on vacation with Doodah and her Beloved, you ask?  Could it be the same way we managed to be going to Cancun with our 3 kids and their Beloveds for Spring Break?  Ah, Cancun at Spring Break, my dream come true…

Favorite vacation?  London last year.  It was my first time.  I felt a kind of homecoming because of all the historicals I had read set in London!  I also loved Maui.  I pretty much love any resort with a great pool area.  I sit out there and pretend it is my villa and all the other people are my guests.  Sometimes I wish I hadn’t invited so many people though.

I lived in Florida for many years and I have to admit I cringed, Connie, when I read you were going to Universal at the height of Spring Break.  Hot and crowded just about covers it. 

My two favorite vacations would be the trip to Italy with my niece last year and the trip to Italy with a girlfriend the year before.  Jenn and I spent two weeks touring Italy on a Globus tour I booked through my local travel agent.  I found the prices to be very reasonable and all we really had to do was show up at the appointed times.  Globus took care of booking hotels, tours, meals, etc.  It’s a great way to get a taste of a lot of different places.  The year before was a trip to Italy my friend and I planned ourselves.  We scoured the internet hotel sites and travel message boards and pumped friends for info before selecting our own hotels (very successfully, thankfully).  We booked local tours after our arrival based on recommendations from our hotel concierge and people on the travel boards.  That trip was more leisurely and individually customized than the tour trip though both were great.  Anyway I can get there, I’m always up for Italy!

Like Brownone, I’ve found that the individual airline websites often have the best rates available.

Geneva.  I went when I was 20 and it was fabulous.  The food was wonderful.  The people kind (and most spoke english when I stumbled over my 4 years high school french).  The streets were immaculate.  The sights were breathtaking and I felt so safe and happy to be there.  There was nothing better than grabbing a sandwich and sitting beside Lake Geneva people watching.

Deb

My favorite vacation was the first trip I took to Ireland.  My parents bought me the plane ticket as my college graduation present.  I have friends there that I stayed with and showed me around.  I actually had a fair bit of spending money, but I came home with over half of it. 

But even if you can’t do Ireland as cheaply as I was able to, it is a must-see destination in my book.  Incredibly beautiful, wonderful people, great fun, just great.

Ooh, ooh, Connie!
I was just checking out the Lowes Portifino Hotel in Orlando. I hope this link works.

http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Hotels/Portofino-Bay-Hotel/Overview.aspx

It has a Mandara Spa, and you can get some sort of special line bypass at Universal Studios.  It looks like if you book 3 nights you can get free passes to Universal Sutdios.  It’s kind of expensive, but I think the line bypass and the spa would make it worth it.
N

Favorite husband and wife vacation - the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios Jamaica.  This is the place Winston Churchill used to go.  It is where the beach scene at the end of the Eddie Murphy film Trading Places was filmed.  It was obviously a once-in-a-lifetime trip.  Best part - lying on the beach while a waiter in a nice white coat hands you a papaya daiquiri.

Favorite family vacation - Disney World - we celebrated three birthdays while we were there.  My niece turned 6 and she got the royal princess treatment.  I have never seen a smile so big.  Both my parents turned, well more than 6, and we set up a kids party for them complete with snowman cake, pizza, miniature golf and Mickey ears hats with their names on them.

I get regular emails from http://www.vacationstogo.com and they do have a ton of tours and trips to choose from all over the world.  Whether it’s sandy beaches or a trip across Europe, they have it all.

I was lucky enough to go on a Caribbean cruise when I was 16 and it was wonderful but I would really like to go again as an adult (for obvious reasons) since I know how much more fun I could have.  I did get to spend New Years Eve on Beale St. in Memphis a few years ago and that was an absolute blast. 

I have trips to HI and Scotland in the works for this year or next at the latest and I’m pretty sure those are going to pass up anything I’ve been able to do so far.

My favorite vacation was when I was a little girl.  Mom, Dad, and I took day trips around our home state of Kentucky.  My favorite stops were My Old Kentucky Home in Bardstown and the Homeplace 1850 in the Land Between the Lakes area.  I loved the trips back in time, especially the costumes!

As an Army brat, I was fortunate enough to live in Germany as a kid.  The summer I was 9, my family took a trip through Germany, Holland, and Belgium.  I have to say I haven’t surpassed that trip as an adult.

We’re planning a trip to a cabin at a state park this year, including kids and dogs.  My youngest is 9; unfortunately, we’re years away from a couple’s vacation!

Have fun on your trip, Connie - good luck getting it planned!

Favorite family vacation? There are a lot of them. When I was younger, we would use long weekends to take road trips to various educational places (Civil War sites, former presidents’ homes, museums, etc.). I would usually sit on the floor between the seats and the door in our minivan (must not have been seatbelt laws then). I’m now ruined for vacations and have a hard time enjoying myself if I’m not learning something.

I was a senior in high school before I went to an “amusement park.”

Favorite no-family, just-unrelated-friends vacation? Not Italy, Ireland, or Austria (although Salzburg WAS awesome—not that the others weren’t fun), but I just returned from 5 beautiful days in Disney World. It was so much more than I expected. I really thought it was just going to be a larger version of Six Flags, but it was amazing. And yes, I learned stuff!

Plus, I paid for everything beforehand (including the Disney Dining Plan), and if I ever have vacation worries, it’s because of lack o’ money. Everything—airfare from Illinois, hotel, dining, Parkhopper tickets, etc.—amounted to me spending less than $120 a day. OK, that’s still a lot of money, but it was feasible for a 5-day vacation that I’m only going to do once in a very long while.

No online site we found gave us a better deal than our local travel agent. She’s getting a nice card and repeat customers!

Ohhh, Connie!  SUCH fun!!!

Our best vacation was in North Carolina ... we rented a little cabin, went for some great day hikes, had picnics in the woods, saw some beautiful waterfalls, went white water rafting, sat around the fire circle at night, and every night, we soaked in the hot tub sipping chilled wine.

I bet you all have a great time. You HAVE to see the Mel Fisher Treasure Museum in the Keys. I hear it’s fantastic and I’ve always wanted to go, so you can scout it out for me and let me know. 

I don’t know where those fabulous travel sites are at so I can’t help you there.

My best vacation was just a few years ago when as a non-traditional college student, another non-traditional student and I decided to leave husbands and children behind and take spring break together.  We spent a week New Orleans and had such a great time, mostly just people watching. 

Our only complaint about New Orleans was the taxi drivers who either drove like all the demons in Hell were chasing us, or like the car couldn’t get over 20 mph.  More than one driver didn’t know where they were going (or thought we didn’t know so as to raise the fare) but I was armed with a street map, which I’m very good at reading.  We even had one driver try to tell us that they had moved an entire cemetary--the one in which the voodoo queen is entombed.  I told him that it was highly unlikely they would move a cemetary which had been in one spot for at least 300 years.

Despite the taxi drivers, I absolutely love New Orleans and if I could afford it, I would go back every spring break---even though I’ve since graduated.

When my brother was stationed in Germany, Mom and I went and visited him.  During that time, big brother shipped us off to Italy for five days (I think I ate my way through Italy) while he had to go to Normandy and couldn’t take us with him.

Even though I was drowning in jet lag for six weeks because of the trip - I enjoyed it!  It was fabulous.  I want to go back to Europe and drag the Shenan with me. 

But maybe go someplace like Greece or Spain or England!  Some place different.

So meanwhile… I’m waiting for my brother to back to Europe to be stationed - it saves on lodging.

Connie,

I’ll be right behind you in the lines at Universal.  Can you tell my upcoming spring break vacation is just for the kids?  Staying at Nick Hotel, going to Disney World and Universal right in the middle of March....I think I need to stash a couple of xanax in my ditty bag if I’m to survive Spring Break in Orlando…

-Beth

My favorite trip was in 1997.  My college friends and I flew to Hollywood (from Missouri).  We got roundtrip tickets on Southwest for $75, and we stayed at a 3 star hotel, (The Safari Inn) which our room immediately got upgraded for free when the manager started flirting with me and I flirted right back.  (I think we paid $66 a nigh plus tax, and he upgraded us to a room with a fridge and such.)

We got a car and drove our little directionally challenged behinds off all over that town and around.  We went to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and saw John Ritter and Barbara Hershey.  We went to museums.  We went on the Days of Our Lives studio tour.  We walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame (which was irksome because I was avidly looking for Gene Kelly’s star and never found it!  And Gene Autry had like every star they ever issued!) We got lost; we got ice cream; we laughed; we argued...it was a great time.  We also went to Universal--which was the best day out of our whole vacation, and that’s saying something.

My second favorite trip was Washington D.C.  I got to go for free.  I wrote an essay about rural electric (which is a contest all 17 year old can basically enter--it’s a school thing).  The judges liked my essay and my speech (which was a miracle)--and I got to go.  First time on a plane.  The museums were beyond awesome.

Third favorite is a tie between the cruise and the trip to Boston:  Life at sea vs History at its finest.  I think the cruise wins.  They had the rum boat...and Grand Cayman.

My favorite vacation I’ve ever had is a toss-up between Chicago, Illinois (and my first plane ride) and the gorgeous Savannah, Georgia, which is where I saw the ocean for the first time in my life at 12. I’m now 20 and live pretty much right beside it.

I think my absolute favorite will be when I finally get to go to DisneyWorld after all these years of wanting to!

Oh make sure you go to Universal Islands of Adventure!  They have some awesome rides too!

The stories about lines have finished me. I called Doodah and told her we weren’t doing Universal.  No problemo. Doodah is canny enough to realize that n vacaion is ber than none.

So no, my friends, my dear helpful friends, the deal is this. We have a week in Naples, FL. Where do we go for an overnight excursion? We like history, good food, scuba, snorkeling, animals and don’t want to drive more than 4 hous. Please help me oh wise ones!

Terri, I do! I will go to Universal. I love rides but… the idea of all those sticky crabby children, all that noise, all those long lines… what was I thinking? We’ll do it in October as suggested.

My very favorite vacation was when a friend and I took off right after school was out with no plan in mind but to go. We spent ten days deciding every night where we wanted to go the next day. We visted Old Salem, Ashville, Williamsburg, Washington, D. C., Charleston, and Savannah. It was wonderful!

I have a good and generous friend who lives in the Outer Banks and has a second home in the Great Smokies. Visiting her at either place is my favorite vacation now. Fantastic sites and inexpensive too!

I’ve had two vacations that are far above any others I’ve ever taken. In the summer of 2004, my older sister and I spent 6 weeks in Europe, traveling with two guys we know from Germany. The first week or two we spent traveling around Germany, and then we drove to Greece and stayed in a hotel (well, they called it a hotel...) on the beach for a month. It was amazing! Everything was gorgeous and we got to visit some of the famous ruins, in Olympia and Athens. And it just so happened that the Olympics were in Greece at the same time, and we managed to go to a few different events. It was a blast. (Oh yeah, and having my sixteenth birthday party at midnight on a beach in Greece was pretty amazing as well… and yes, I know I’m a baby!  )

The other vacation, the one that steals the spot as my favorite vacation ever, was a two week trip to Spain this past Spring. I went with my high school Spanish class. We spent the first week touring all around Spain, and for the second week I lived with a family in Malaga. After only one day there, I had fallen in love. Spain was INCREDIBLE, and I loved every single minute of that trip. If I had to choose somewhere else in the world to live, Spain would be it.

Mauritius Island, that’s my favourite vacation. A beautiful place - the sea was turquoise!, pristine beaches, great food, amazing flora and fauna, rich with culture and history. And the people so friendly, from different communities, with ancestry from different parts of the world. I could go on and on and on… it was also the only known habitat of the long-extinct Dodo bird.

We stayed at a resort at Le Morne, and there is a story that links it to a sad period in Mauritius’s history (slavery).

Of course it being the place we went for our honeymoon made it special, but there were other reasons: a) first time I travelled really, really far from my country, b) the arrangements were done in a hurry because we couldn’t get tickets to Australia, c) our seats were upgraded to first class, d) we got to stay for an additional 3 days because DH forgot to confirm our return tickets - and we were dangerously close to running out of cash! What an eye-opening introduction to facing the unexpected - specifically on how we approach it: I go to pieces, and he remains calm and goes “what’s the big deal?”

I live in Jacksonville, Fl, about 2 hrs away from Orlando--and let me concur that Universal and/or Disney is the worst place to be in Spring Break-Summer. Avoid at all costs! Since I’ve practically memorized every ride in every theme park within a 100-mile radius of Universal, I suggest going during Halloween--when Halloween Horror Nights happens! You get the rides, plus the whole park gets converted into this insane park of terror. The scare houses are just like walking through a horror movie...the details are literally to die for, haha.

My favorite vacation? Its a tie between Vegas (shopping and crazy buffets--no explanation needed) and the trip I just got back from: the Philippines during Christmas. Maybe I’m biased, since its like coming home for me, but with a conversion rate of 50 Philippine pesos to $1, you can shop like Paris Hilton.  I recommend a stop in Boracay, one of the world’s top beaches, where my family has a long history. White sand + premium mai tais for $1 + handsome vacationing Europeans = perfect.

Connie asks:  “So no, my friends, my dear helpful friends, the deal is this. We have a week in Naples, FL. Where do we go for an overnight excursion? We like history, good food, scuba, snorkeling, animals and don’t want to drive more than 4 hous. Please help me oh wise ones! “

My husband just did a business trip there and took a day excurion on one of those fanboat/hovercraft thingies to see alligators and herons (f’er herons!).  He said it was amazing and that he got to hold a baby alligator....scooped up from the marshy wild.

And my best vacation was Santorini Greece when I was 19.  We went at Easter (no tourists) and stayed in a 5 dollar a night villa and rented mopeds for 5 dollars a day.  8 days tooling around the island and eating Greek salads and dripping baklavah, and I was in heaven.  Also......bathing suits are optional.

Blueskies.....where in Greece?

The best trip I ever took was a safari to Southern Africa.  Around the time we decided to start our family, my husband and I pulled out all the stops with a trip intended to sustain us over what we expected to be lean travel years while our kids were little.  We stayed in these incredible remote lodges where you could have afternoon tea and watch the elephants wander by.  It was incredible and I would highly recommend it.  We stayed here, in Namibia:

http://www.classicafrica.com/portfolio/sossusvleiwilderness_1.htm

And here, in Botswana:

http://www.classicafrica.com/portfolio/dubaplains_1.htm

We hope to go back one day, but have to wait until the little guys are 12 or older.  (Apparently, little people run the risk of being consumed in the African wilderness.)

On a tamer note, we took the whole fam down to this place in the Yucatan over the holidays.  The flamingos were incredible:

http://www.ecoparaiso.com/welcome/index.html

Of course, the main thing that my kids remember about it is that they were allowed to eat as many hot dogs as they wanted. 

I also can’t say enough about the Starwood card--great hotels and it is much easier to use the points than mileage.

I went to Italy the summer of my freshman year of high school.  It was amazing because I went alone to meet a cousin who was stationed in Naples.  A bit scary since I flew ten hours by myself & ended up breezing by the “exit door” of customs without a backwards glance. Apparently I was supposed to declare myself but I didn’t. Anyway I got to see Naples, Rome, Positano, Capri, Pisa, Vesuvius, Florence, & Sorrento.  Absolutely beautiful, but I was too young to fully appreciate it.

My other favorite vacation was a week spent with my boyfriend’s family our sophomore year of high school.  It was just a trip to the beach, or Ocean City to non-Jersians, but it’s the first time we said we loved each other.  Eight years later, we’re engaged to be married =) I’d take that over Rome any day!  Haha, my veri word is wife78.  Coincidental!

Italy, hands down

My aunt (PJ) took me for a 12 day tour of Italy as a gift for surviving 4 years of higher education .

I would describe it, but I would be here for days typing about it.

Man, now I wanna go back!

First, just let me say this.....some of y’all have been to some great places that I’ll never get to, so it’s been wonderful living vicariously through your posts. 

I’ve done some travelling in the US but that’s about it.  I think the best one was when the ex and I went to New Orleans.  We went in August, got a great deal on this quaint hotel not far from the French Quarter.  We walked everywhere.  We’d get up and go out for the morning and hide in the hotel room in the heat of the day and then shower and head out in the evening.  The best part were the beignets and cafe au lait at the Cafe Du Monde.  *sigh*

My next favorite was Washington, DC...again with the ex.  He was military and had to go up there for business.  I was pregnant with my oldest and tagged along for one last trip before parenthood.  It was great, I saw all the sights except for Arlington, which I still haven’t gotten to see yet.  Got to take a tour of the White House. Sat in on the US Senate and House of Representatives.  I had such a good time.  Would love to go back and finish what I didn’t get to see! 

Connie--good luck with your trip, whatever you decide to do!

--dorothy

Jenn....you mean our PJ is your aunt?  PJ, the amazing candy-maker?

And there really are some amazing places in the US, AnneriAilin.  I have never been to New Orleans...but I grew up in DC.  We had the best field trips in elementary/high school!

Speaking of school trips - Virginia is celebrating the 400th birthday of Jamestown (first English settlement) this year, complete with a visit from Queen Elizabeth.  And 4th grade (my daughter’s age) is the year the school kids in this area go to Jamestown.  So I’m excited to go on that field trip!

And yes, I know to Europeans that 400 isn’t old - but it is to us Americans!

I had a great time traveling through England for a coupel weeks the summer before my senior year of high school.  Maybe because it was my first time visiting another country without my parents.

I’m excited to hear so many good Italy vacation stories.  My family is planning a trip for this June.

And the last time I went to Universal in Florida, it was May and I still had a blast.  Maybe because it was a friends only trip so there was no family arguing but the rides were amazing and we rode many of them multiple times.

The trick to avoiding long lines at Universal is being there when they open… bright and early at 7-8 o’clock. Most people snooze in and show up around 10 or 11. By then you’ve run around and done most of the itneresting rides and are ready for lunch. Then around noon, when everyone else wants to have lunch and the lines are not as bad, you’re back in the saddle with smaller lines for lesser attractions.

Connie, one of the lesser known “theme parks” out here is Cypress Gardens.  It has a few rides, some shows, etc.  You should go online and check ‘em out.  Then Miami is less than four hours away from Naples, if you want to hit the beach and night spots.  Theres ALWAYS something going on there (which is why I moved out of there six years ago).  There is also Ft. Lauderdale!  Oh, and Ormond Beach is a nice one.  It’s a few miles off of Daytona (same beach, diffrent name..go figure) and you can park on the beach and do the whole picnic thing.  We usually go once a year (usually around mother’s day).  It’s not as busy as Daytona and if you DO want to check out the goings on there, it’s a quick ten minute ride (if that!).  I know theres a visit Florida website out there somewhere, I never personally needed it......

No question. Bali, Indonesia.
It’s a huge European vacation spot so you can find the ritzy, polished Western style amenities but if you’re a little more adventurous there’s tons of ancient temples, exotic handcrafts markets and these gorgeous musical, dancing extravaganzas. ( These tend to be done for the tourists but they’re great fun to watch anyway. )

Another favorite is Thailand. This place is dirt, dirt cheap. Silk scarves for a dollar. Hour long massage for ten. A hostel (with air conditioning and a regular Western bathroom) for 30-40ish. You can eat like a king for a buck or two. The flight will be pricey but aside from that, you can have an utterly luxurious, pampered vacation for pennies. And like Bali, its full of old temples and ruins. And all the beautiful handcrafts! Bring an empty suitcase!!
I didn’t even mention the beaches but it goes without saying in both places they’re pristine.

As far as lines - they have this “fast pass” or something like that that you print up your spot in line ahead of time, and you can go do something else instead of standing in line.  I know Universal has it, I think Disney does too.

So, you walk up to a kiosk by the ride, you print the ticket.  It tells you what time to come back, and when you do you pretty much walk right on.  It’s slick.

When I was at Universal a couple of years ago, you got a certain number of fast passes (or whatever they were called) free with your paid admission and you could buy more for a fee.  I don’ t know if the program has changed much.  It was great.

Dorothy, I know what you mean about the beignets--just don’t wear black when eating them!  I was a bit put off about Cafe Du Monde though as one night I was sitting on one of the benches next to the cafe and I saw big old rats running in under the tables--and no one noticed!!!  But just as delicious as the beignets are the pralines.  I still order them from Aunt Sallies online website.  And since we’re talking about the food, let’s not forget the Po’boy sandwiches.  I ate one in Houston that couldn’t even begin to compare and I’ve tried numerous times at home to reproduce the sandwiches, to no avail.  My mouth is watering now.  I’m all set to make a trip to New Orleans just long enough to grab some of the food.

I was lucky enough to travel to some absolutely amazing places while residing in the UK (and no, I didn’t ignore the UK) - Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Turkey, Greece (twice - the mainland then the islands), Egypt, Amsterdam/The Hague, Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Beijing (oh, and a few trips home to pacify the family). I’ve also visited California and Mexico with my family when I was younger.

All of holidays were amazing in their own way. The one that still blows my mind is Beijing. It was so different! Standing on the Great Wall was something else!

Good luck with wherever you decide to go Connie,

orannia

brownone- we lived in Ft. Lauderdale, too..and moved away! I concur w/your reason! We loved Cypress Gardens..lush is the word that comes to mind.
-Connie, look into the smaller parks in S. Florida, there was a park called Butterfly Gardens where you walk into an atrium filled with flowers/trees/vines and thousands of butterflies, it was beautiful, they had picnic tables set up out under the palm trees w/fresh squeezed oj..
-There is also in Miami area (Coral Gables) The Venitian Pool, an old wonderful granite pool that you can swim in, and have lunch there, it’s beautiful, and at an historic mansion near by..

Wow what awesome vacation ideas *quickly jotting it down LOL*

Well Connie I’m hoping that my visit to RT in Houston far exceeds my expectation. I’ll also be visiting San Francisco to meet some family that I’ve never met before. So I think this might be tops ;o) So hope that I recover quickly from jetlag as its gonna be the longest flight duration I’ve taken so far - worked out that it will take about 18hours to reach Atlanta and then another 5 hours to reach San Francisco - hectic!!

Yeah I agree where are those mysterious sites *lol*. I so wish somebody would cater for those of us who would wish to pay for the total trip in local currency so we don’t have to pay such high exchange rates *sigh*

Oh yeah...I forgot that Miami has Viscaya Museum and Gardens which is gorgous and right there is the Museum of Science.  Pretty cool stuff goes on there.  And...when in doubt...check out the Kennedy Space Center.  Man, I feel like a tour guide!

I loved doing the shopping tour up to New York City.  We drove up one night, shopped all dau, and drove back at night.  We went into Chinatown.  It’s amazing what the people sell underground or out of the back of vans.  I was so exhausted but it was so much fun.  I really want to go back but stay longer.  Right before Christmas is awesome with all the decorations. 

My second choice is the Outer Banks but only in the fall.  Last summer we went there in July and it was horribly hot and sticky.  I am not a hot weather person.  I love snow but most of all I love the fall and early spring.  These are the best times to go to the Outer Banks.

Favorite vacation ever…

Each had their own intrigues and setbacks.  It’s not the location or even the hotel that determines a successful vacation.  It’s the expectation of the holiday and what it will provide. 

Since we acquired the RV, we have enjoyed our holidays much more then when we were shelling out for hotels and airfare.  While the initial investment is sizeable, the benefits to the consistent traveler are significant.

Your RV is your hotel room.  There’s no tipping, leaving your socks under the bed or being unable to buy that really cool coffee table at the bazaar.  It’s all in the RV.  Your bed is your bed, not a foreign mattress that is a concrete slab or pile of fluff. 

Food…while a fancy dinner served to you by others is always a bonus (working woman here) I’m also practical enough to know that the majority of meals eaten on holiday will be burgers, fast breakfasts and overpriced snacks.  It’s hardly a chore to pack all the ingredients in your own fridge and take it with you.  Besides, there’s still the steaks on the BBQ to be considered. 

Location!  We’ve parked on the water in Bar Harbor at $40/night.  We’ve parked on the in-field at Watkins Glen for $200/wk.  Mountain views in PA for $30/night.  Dover, DE for $65/wk.  Loudon, NH for $100/wk.  A football field away from the track in Atlanta for $200/wk.  Are ya getting the idea?  National Parks and State Parks tend to be inexpensive as well, all on prime real estate.

Worried about the bugs? Hop inside your comfy home on wheels.  It ain’t really camping when you have cable TV, Wi-Fi, microwaves and AC or heat as needed. 

We look at it as vacations at our own speed.  Another trick to having a holiday with no stress? (At least in the US) Realize that whatever you left at home, there’s a Walmart around the corner with a cheap replacement that will see you through the week.

I have been on some nice holidays, but of my favorite was the tour of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland that I took back in 2001. I went with my Mother and we had a great time. We went with Cosmos travel because it was an economy tour group. We met some really nice people and saw so much. There wasn’t a lot of time to go out on our own, but that was good for a first time visit to the UK. I have been back since and I usually just wing it now.

ronsquared, you are spot on when you said bring an empty suitcase to Thailand. The shopping is great - from the giant flea market at Chattuchak to the long snakey night markets to the upscale shopping centres- we can get 1001 things in Bangkok alone. And the massages at the spas - woohoo!

Bali is probably just about two hours flight away for me, but I haven’t gone there yet. But you are making me seriously consider it for next year.

I have two favorite vacation my very first time that I came to the US, that was 10 1/2 years ago. I went together with my parents to celebrate my highschool graduation and their 25th wedding anniversary

And the trip to the RT last year, I can hardly wait for this years

My favorite vacation was probably a cruise to St. Thomas with my girlfriends when I was single.  I did Europe as a senior class trip also but was too young to appreciate it and really want to go back.

All you Florida residents I would really appreciate any info you have on something interesting to do for a couple of hours (maybe the everglades?) on a car trip from Miami to The Keys.  Thanks!

Thank you for all the help! I wish i could read them but this noon I was playing tennis and took a line drive (okay, a hard forehand at the net) smack into my right eye. A couple hours later I look like one of those demon creatures in a horror flick. Scratched lens and torn whatever that clear sac that covers the eyeball is. It hurts!

The opthamologist says I should be able to see okay by Sat. So keep the suggestions coming and I’ll read them then.

Isn’t it about time for someone to show up and make some comment about the typos?

What I remember most about the Everglades were spiders the size of salad plates hanging over the wooden walkways, mosquitoes that left huge welts on me, and the over powering smell of rotted vegetation.  Of course I was 16, and it was a family trip, and there were no cute boys around, so that might have colored my visit there.  But I’ve sworn to never return!    Give me the sun baked beaches or the pool hopping anyday!

J Perry Stone said…

“Blueskies.....where in Greece?”

The hotel we stayed at was about 20 minutes up the coast from Koroni. Gorgeous!

Ouch, Connie!  Relax and take care of that eye.

J Perry, yes, I’m very proud to say I’m Jenn’s aunt. 

Btw, thank you for that very nice compliment!  Just so happens I’ve spent this evening making Super Bowl and Valentines chocolates. 

PJ, I’m pretty sure Connie could use some chocolates for that eye of hers. And I’m pretty sure I could send them to her

My three weeks in France two years ago was the highlight of my (admittedly short) travel history. The DH and I rode borrowed bikes to a different village in the Loire Valley each morning, and hit up the boulangerie for pastries, and cafe au laits from the bar. Then we’d see if the village church was unlocked. It was utter bliss.

The DH is an expert at finding good deals on the net. Two things we’ve learned: you don’t need a high class hotel, as you won’t be spending that much time indoors, anyway; and always sign up for the budget car when you rent one. They might be out of the cheapies, and will give you something much nicer, if that’s all they have.

martha

bookwormkim said…
PJ, I’m pretty sure Connie could use some chocolates for that eye of hers. And I’m pretty sure I could send them to her

Yes, Kim, but *would* you send them to her? 

If you’re thinking Bali, don’t stay down South.  Head North to Lovina Beach.  It has been several years ago, but we stayed in the most lovely little hotel there, Barunda Beach.  A swim up bar, black sand beaches, and little ladies who gave massages.  Best of all, when we checked in, after a two hour car ride (which the hotel sent for us), the room had a carpet of hibiscus petals arranged on the floor and a petal design laid out on the bed.  My husband is lucky I didn’t make us sleep on the floor just to preserve it.  Did take pictures though.

There was an open air restaurant and every morning someone would come and ask if we had a “program” for the day.  Shopping, a trip to a local temple, driving through the terraced rice paddies.  And at sundown you could walk up the beach to the local fishing village and watch the ladies send their offerings to the gods out to sea with the tide on little boats made of banana leaf.

We met a wonderful old couple from New Zealand.  He had been a boy, about 10, when the Japanese had taken over Singapore and had been sent to a concentration camp on one of the islands.  Said he could see Bali and always promised himself to go there one day when he was free.  He had brought his wife back with him to show her.

Sounds like I’ve picked my favorite vacation without even trying.  That said, we are going sailing the Greek Islands this May for our 20th anniversary.  Another place you have to go back for a second time, or a third.

Busch Gardens at Tampa for animals and rides. A trip up to the Tampa Bay area should include a drive over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge into St Petersburg.  The Greek sponge fishing metropolis of Tarpon Springs is good for at least a day of antique shops, wonderful food, boat trips, and sponges. Circus museums and memorabilia at Sarasota.  There used to be great fishing on the jetties at Naples ..... and the seafood is mmmmmmwah!  And of course, there are the Everglades, Miami, etc., all close enough for a day trip.

Oh, and St. Augustine is really pretty.  I think it’s the nation’s oldest city or something but it is beautiful.  Theres alot of shopping and there’s alot of museums and I beleive and old fort you can check out.  The beaches out there are really pretty too.  I know they have ghost tours at night if you are into that kind of thing.....

The best vacation was the one we just went on to Disney World with the kids.  They had no idea we were going until we arrived at the airport and I let them read the luggage tags from Disney. My sister-friend and I planned the whole thing after waiting for our significant others to do it.

Lesson Learned: Never wait for the significant others to take the ball and run with it!

My kids had no idea she and her partner were going to be there, so that was a delight to see their faces light up once again.  They were a wonderful double set of eyes for us.

At the last minute my sister-in-law invited herself along.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my sister-in-law but she has the attention span of a gnat.  So, we had four people to keep track of.  Sigh...but I DO love her!

Lesson Learned: Never mention travel plans to others until you are at the airport where they can’t find you and follow along…

We all had such a blast!  What a joy to see my kids’ faces light up any time we saw a beloved Disney character.  November was the perfect time of the year.  The parks were not too crowded. Lines were practically non-existent.  The weather was perfect...not too cool and not too hot!

Well heck anyplace I suggest would be weird as they would be too far away for you. (Australia is only like half a world away) Still I did have a wonderful holiday in Britain and Ireland when I was a teenager that will live in my memory as a terribly romantic, manic, exploration that would be hard to beat. 

Still if you were to come to Australia then the little island of Tasmania down the bottom is gorgeous and then there is the dramatic shipwreck coast along the bottom of Victoria. Personally I reckon the Gold Coast is over rated, but there are still lots of lovely little treasures of spots to be found.

my favorite is probably our honeymoon to jamaica.  But that was because it was also our wedding and we spent half the time alone and half with really good friends and family. 

As far as sites, try travelzoo.com

Connie

If you want to fall in love all over again and believe in the majesty of mother nature, go to Bali. I fell in love with it 5 years ago and my love affair with it still remain strong till now.

http://www.indo.com/active/kuta.html