Vacation suggestions

[LadyCrimson]

I was thinking spicy food rather than dysentry, but yeah, I wasn't being totally serious with that one.

 

 

 

Sure, if you want to die of dysentery.

 

Shady won't be dirt poor there though. 

 

How about Iceland ?

 

 

Iceland isn't really known for it's beaches....

But it does have the Blue Lagoon hot springs resort. Which to me would almost be better than a regular ol' beach. Always wanted to visit there. Or one of the other less resort-y hot springs they have, which actually would be more preferable if it was less people...one of the best hiking trips I was on had this small hot springs in the mountains, all by our lonesome, it was awesome.

[Malcador]

I was thinking spicy food rather than dysentry, but yeah, I wasn't being totally serious with that one.

 

 

 

Sure, if you want to die of dysentery.

 

Shady won't be dirt poor there though. 

 

How about Iceland ?

 

 

Iceland isn't really known for it's beaches....

 

Beaches were not part of the requirements, as a developer i try to deliver the bare minimum   And Iceland has beaches of note...well at least beaches worth putting a tourist brochure of sorts about -  https://guidetoiceland.is/nature-info/top-13-beaches-of-iceland

 

 

I really should take a vacation, never have taken one at all in my life.

[Hurlshort]

I can't help noticing you don't have New Orleans on your list of places you have visited, and you say you are into food, so what the heck?

 

I mean, maybe wait until the snowpacalypse ends, but doing a trip of the south with all the southern cooking seems like a must-do. I'd recommend eating in Lafayette and Mississippi, and then going to Memphis for BBQ.

[ShadySands]

I've never been to New Orleans but it's on my list of cities to visit. I have driven though Louisiana when I did a road trip from AZ to NC but I want to say Shreveport is where I stopped. I've been to about 15 other states without the missus and she's been to Hawaii (the big island) before but I haven't.

[Blarghagh]

Hawaii. Specifically Kauai. It's a bit more out of the way than Oahu, Maui, or Hawai'i. To me that makes it so much nicer. It's less hustle and bustle if that appeals to you and it costs a little less too.

Came here to say this.

[Gromnir]

I can't help noticing you don't have New Orleans on your list of places you have visited, and you say you are into food, so what the heck?

 

I mean, maybe wait until the snowpacalypse ends, but doing a trip of the south with all the southern cooking seems like a must-do. I'd recommend eating in Lafayette and Mississippi, and then going to Memphis for BBQ.

we like new orleans music and food, but am personal disliking the deep south to such a degree that future trips to new orleans is only ever gonna be a work/business destination for us.  the casual/reflexive/subtle racism o' much o' the deep south is almost as oppressive to us as is the humidity.  

 

the thing 'bout food though is it is easy to find good food in all the expected places. heck, hurl might as well mention the bay area, no?   san francisco, palo alto and napa is all geographic proximate... with napa being a bit o' a drive.  can spend literal weeks doing nothing but eating at fantastic restaurants in the bay area and napa.  go to the french laundry for dinner and you should be demanding great food, not simple expecting.

 

*shrug*

 

spend less than $10 to get an enormous serving o' the world's best perogies from a little place in gdansk? one o' the three best italian restaurants we ever ate at boasted cracked red vinyl booths and honest-to-god christmas lights adorning the walls year 'round at a nondescript suburban chicago location. have spent rent money for a steak in tokyo which weren't near as good as the ribeyes from a little place in rapid city, south dakota, a place we sacrilegious refer to as heaven. for us, most o' the fun o' eating on vacation is finding the unexpected places which don't cost us the equivalent o' a night's stay at a 4-star hotel.

 

regardless, whenever we go on vacations o' a week or more, we always get a room with a functional kitchen, 'cause chances are we is gonna be making most o' our own meals. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps am suspecting any ca suggestions will be dismissed, but a highway 1 vacation is worth doing at least once in a lifetime. multitude o' great food options, a variety o' unique natural grandeur locales and seeming endless stretches o' water... though admitted teeth-chattering cold water in most places. 

 

 

yeah, the pch doesn't reach san diego, but is a great destination... and not just for the fish tacos.

[smjjames]

I was going to shamelessly plug my hometown of San Diego if maybe they didn't want to spend a huge lot of money, and yes San Diego is a good destination.

[Hurlshort]

I didn't want to seem like I was plugging my hometown, but the Bay Area is great. I've taken a number of trips to SF this year just for a nice dinner and drinks. Hard to beat the Italian eateries in North Beach.

[smjjames]

If you DO come to California, summer is great, but as tourists, you'd probably want to avoid the hotter parts of summer, particularily August.

 

Then again, you've been to Arizona and New Mexico, so, perhaps the heat won't bother you, heh.

Edited January 5, 2018 by smjjames

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I want to seem like I'm plugging my hometown, but Houston is ok and you can give me money to sleep in a ****ty apartment.

[smjjames]

I want to seem like I'm plugging my hometown, but Houston is ok and you can give me money to sleep in a ****ty apartment.

 

lol dude. XD

[Guard Dog]

When are you going Shady? If it's March/April/May time frame you might consider Miami and the Florida Keys. Spend day or two in Miami. Go to South Beach or Coconut Grove for the food and night life. Go to Everglades National Park or even better Big Cypress for air board rides alligator encounters, etc. The Miccosuke Indians run a really nice operation out there. Then rent a car and go south to the Keys. Islamorada is great for snorkeling or scuba diving. The best parts of John Pennekamp are there. The Christ of the Deep is worth seeing. Then head south to Marathon. The middle keys are all about fishing. The best drift boat charters are there but to tell the truth you can catch Amberjack, Black Drum and Snapper right off the old bridge sections. Then head down to Key West for a day or two. That is a.... different kind of place. Definitely the coolest city in Florida though with the possible exception of Cedar Key. You can fly out from there when you're done. The Keys are the BEST place for seafood as long as it's a Florida fish. What you order at night was literally swimming that morning. Plus fried alligator tail is a really, really good Flordida delicacy. 

[ShadySands]

We're not exactly sure when we're going to go since we haven't decided on where we are going, that may be a little backwards but we're weird like that. I think we are going to do two separate trips, one in the US and then another abroad if the cost isn't too bad. That is unless the domestic trip is to somewhere like Hawaii, which is a really strong contender, then it'll likely be just the one trip. Plus we always tend to overdo it.

 

I've been to one of the closer keys, maybe Largo, but not very far out. I actually lived in Florida City for a short while when I got out of the military.

 

I'm still bummed I never made it out to Alaska

 

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions!

[Gromnir]

I didn't want to seem like I was plugging my hometown, but the Bay Area is great. I've taken a number of trips to SF this year just for a nice dinner and drinks. Hard to beat the Italian eateries in North Beach.

plugging the hometown is likely the most useful advice we can provide.  Gromnir has been a tourist in hundreds and even thousands o' places, and while we lived in europe for a couple years, we never stayed in one place long enough to genuine know it.  however, is a handful o' places 'bout which we can give shady the genuine insider info and only a few such places is vacation spots.  cali has a number o' vacation worthy destinations and is a goodly number o' posters hereabouts who is residing in in the loopy state, and each o' us is gonna likely know something unique shady would never glean from internet searches or travel guides.  

 

heck, we can personal provide breakfast/lunch/dinner restaurant recommendations for bay area, monterey, carmel, paso robles/slo, santa barbara and la.

 

as an aside, is worth going to la if only to get tacos and a t-shirt from a guerrilla tacos truck.

 

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited January 6, 2018 by Gromnir

[ShadySands]

Napa is also a possibility because my wife loves wine probably more than me and she's never been to the Bay Area. I have family in Vallejo but I haven't been there in almost a decade by now so it'd be nice to see them again.

 

The tough part for me is that I always want to go some place new whereas my wife would be perfectly happy with going back to Positano which was her favorite place ever.

Edited January 6, 2018 by ShadySands

[smjjames]

Napa is also a possibility because my wife loves wine probably more than me and she's never been to the Bay Area. I have family in Vallejo but I haven't been there in almost a decade by now so it'd be nice to see them again.

 

The tough part for me is that I always want to go some place new whereas my wife would be perfectly happy with going back to Positano which was her favorite place ever.

 

I'm sure the wine country area would appreciate any tourism after getting hit by fire over the summer.

 

California definetly has loads of nice beaches if you just want to walk down the beach or something, geology everywhere too.

[Azdeus]

Hey all, I'm trying to start planning my vacations for 2018 and am looking for some suggestions that I might not come up with on my own. Only real requirements are that it is safe and there is something interesting to see and/or do there. My wife likes the water but nice beaches would just be a plus and not a requirement.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Suggestion; Sweden.

 

Things to see; Swedes.

 

Things to do; Swedes.

[Maedhros]

 

Hey all, I'm trying to start planning my vacations for 2018 and am looking for some suggestions that I might not come up with on my own. Only real requirements are that it is safe and there is something interesting to see and/or do there. My wife likes the water but nice beaches would just be a plus and not a requirement.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Suggestion; Sweden.

 

Things to see; Swedes.

 

Things to do; Swedes.

 

Why go to Sweden when you can go to Norway though? Pretty much the same country, except with more beautiful nature.

 

Best regards,

a Norwegian

 

In seriousness though, I love Sweden. Stockholm over Oslo any day.

 

As for my own city, Bergen, I definitely reckon it to be among the best tourist destinations in Scandinavia. It's got cool up-and-coming "neo-fjordic" restaurants, great hiking possibilities just minutes from the city centre, an interesting history as a former Hansa city (fun museums) and the fjords nearby. Too bad it rains all the time though. I used to live right beneath where those two people are standing, waking up to a great view every day.

 

Edited January 6, 2018 by Thingolfin

[Rosbjerg]

Gotta agree with the Norwegian there - if you can only visit one Scandinavian country, go to Norway. Denmark and Sweden have their unique charms, for sure. But Norway has some of the most breathtaking narture I've ever seen.

 

If you're going to Europe I'd actually recommend Poland or Croatia. Both are kinda off the beaten track and are both the less crowded, cheaper and much friendlier versions of central- or southern Europe.

[algroth]

I want all three of you and kirottu for Finland (I think he's Finnish at least) to go all-out in a Scandinavian battle royale to defend your country's pride as the best touristic destination in the region. I'll be dropping a knife or two to help things along. The winner also gets to claim Iceland as a province.

[Gromnir]

visiting europe would be nice... if not for all the europeans.

 

 

in our experience, the linked vid is kinda typical o' most western europeans.

 

sub-saharan africa and much of eastern europe (not all) is suffering less ack jassery than western europeans when dealing with Americans. am admitted having little experience with south americans in their native countries, so got little input save for to note how we genuine need make a south american trip eventual.  asians is weird split. vietnamese and chinese were great on our visits-- warm welcomes.  south koreans and japanese were... polite, but... 

 

also gonna observe how as a dark-skinned man, recent years has seen us receiving increasing chilly reception from locals in much o' europe.  for all the talk o' american racism, europeans as a whole is having a hard time with their recent refugee crisis and as an obvious minority o' enigmatic origin, we draw more than a little additional attention than we is accustomed to. not many lakota on the streets o' berlin, eh?  

 

HA! Good Fun!

[smjjames]

You could say that of foriegners visiting the US as they're bringing their own perceptions and we have our own views and stereotypes of people from other countries.

[Gromnir]

You could say that of foriegners visiting the US as they're bringing their own perceptions and we have our own views and stereotypes of people from other countries.

the thing is, most foreigners find Americans to be friendly and welcoming... if stoopid, lazy, bigoted, etc.  so regardless o' the preconceptions Americans got o' others, even the folks who appear to hate us thinks we are cheerful if dimwitted lot. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[smjjames]

 

You could say that of foriegners visiting the US as they're bringing their own perceptions and we have our own views and stereotypes of people from other countries.

the thing is, most foreigners find Americans to be friendly and welcoming... if stoopid, lazy, bigoted, etc.  so regardless o' the preconceptions Americans got o' others, even the folks who appear to hate us thinks we are cheerful if dimwitted lot. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

 

And Trump definetly doesn't help in that regard.

 

We're the world hegenemon, so, it's only natural that we'd end up a target like that.

[ShadySands]

also gonna observe how as a dark-skinned man, recent years has seen us receiving increasing chilly reception from locals in much o' europe.  for all the talk o' american racism, europeans as a whole is having a hard time with their recent refugee crisis and as an obvious minority o' enigmatic origin, we draw more than a little additional attention than we is accustomed to. not many lakota on the streets o' berlin, eh?  

 

This is a concern for me as well. Especially since my wife is white and I tend to fit whatever darker skinned ethnicity someone wants to apply to me.