Ok, so I’m planning to go on vacation with an old friend.
Her only rule: “No beach drinks”.
We both like being able to do what we like on any given day, change our plans according to whim.
It would be optimal to have the choice to do outdoorsy stuff (like snorkeling, hiking, kayaking), or see some history, or get some good food and drink, or do absolutely nothing.
We live in the deep southeastern USA.
What say ye?
Hrm…Might have to be more specific, as to whether this is to be a drive-to vacation, or a fly-to affair, or whether a cruise is out of the question. Off the east coast, and out of Florida, there are many cruises available that don’t seem nearly as dorky as they used to be.
Okay, so it’s not so wonderfully easy to do outdoor stuff, but for everything else, I can unequivocally recommend a visit to my favorite city in the U.S.: Chicago.
Great theater, great food, great architecture, lots of history, fantastic parks, and even good beaches (right in the middle of the Loop, amongst all the skyscrapers - how cool is that?)
I just returned from my honeymoon there. And for what it’s worth, I too live in the deep south.
If Chicago’s too cold for you - and it was near zero this week - try Charleston, S.C., my second-favorite city in the U.S.
Go to Europe and get a couple of Eurail tickets. If you’re bored with the Alps, you can head for Paris or Amsterdam. Then maybe visit a Bavarian culture or catch the opera in Milan.
I have the best suggestion ever… if you’re planning on driving.
In the olden days, people used to drive to their vacations. Not only that, but the drive itself was part of the trip. When the interstate system came along people, the driving part of the trip became nothing more than an efficient way to get from point a to point b.
Last year my wife and I took a bold step to enjoying our vacation from the minute we left our house to the minute we returned. We were driving from the Atlanta, GA area to Kansas City, MO to see some of wife’s family, then to Pittsburg, KS to a family reunion on my side, then to Branson, MO to hang out with my my sister, and finally to Tulsa, OK to spend some time with my inlaws.
We went to roadsideamerica.com and picked out roadside oddities along our route. Nothing more than 3 or 4 miles off the path we were driving anyway. It gave us a chance to take a little driving break after being on the road for a couple of hours. We emailed the results of our trip to our friends and updated facebook regularly. Everyone LOVED it (including us). We had the best time.
Things I’ve seen because of this:
I could go on… The point is, it totally made our trip. So much so that we now incorporate this wherever we travel. On a recent trip we stopped off to see the biggest rocking chair in Gulfport, MS. That thing is 35 foot tall!
If you like the historical stuff and the kayaking stuff and all, go to Amelia Island in Florida. (It’s right up against the Georgia border.) My parents live there half the year, and my boyfriend had never been, so we went last July Fourth and did all the touristy stuff there that I’d never done - we had an awesome time kayaking, and we rambled the cemeteries, and went to the museum and all. Normally I just go there with my folks and we eat out a lot and walk on the beach, but there’s a lot more there than beach.
Moved Cafe Society --> IMHO.
Colorado? I went on a family reunion and in a week we did:
Coors brewery
downtown Denver for shopping, walking around
Garden of the Gods
Pikes Peak cog train
a really cool train ride through a ravine + walking over the world’s largest suspension bridge
Hiking and seeing beautiful waterfalls at some park we stumbled upon
Strolling through ‘downtown’ Manitou Springs, trying out the spring water that comes through wells on the street, eating, shopping
And my aunt’s family did some white water rafting and had a blast
We went in June 2007. It was very beautiful, weather was nice. I really want to go back on my own itinerary and spend my time taking photos and exploring more. There are other places in CO I’d like to see as well. Here in MO it can be pretty but we don’t have scenery like they do out there.
San Francisco is great. It’s compact, you don’t need to rent a car, lots to see and do. If you want outdoors, there are tours to nearby Redwood forests, there’s mountains close by. It’s great.
New York is my second favourite place, though you have to go a ways to get any outdoor type stuff.
Washington DC is also fun and lots too do.
All three place I love 'cause you don’t need a car.
Nah, no cruises. When you’re on a cruise you have no choice. It’s either the boat, or the port of call for whatever window of time they give you.
That violates this criterion:
Hate to admit it, but I’m too old for that.
Did it in my youth, but I’m middle-aged now.
Eurail passes are rather restrictive. I have great memories of slouching in baggage racks, taking whatever came to hand, conversations with other international bohemians in the aisleways… but that’s not my idea of a vacation anymore.
I want a warm room and bed at the end of the day, with a bath in.
I have given this option some thought. And as it turns out, my companion and I have done this, many years ago, tho not as far as KC.
But on a car tour, you do miss out on some of what we’re looking for, which is the option of waking up and deciding, today we’ll take the hike in the mountains (or the swim down the river, or whatever it is).
We’re looking for a destination where we can settle in, have some comfort (tho we’re not looking for luxury), and wake up every morning and decide what to do that day, then return to our little pad.
In short, we’re looking for a single destination that offers us some choice among history, nature, food, culture, and just goofing off.
Interesting!
She and I both have spent our lives in Florida and Georgia, but I’ve never been to Amelia, as it happens.
I’ll ask her if she’s interested.
Might be just the sort of thing we’re after.
Thanks!
The area around Charlottesvilla, VA & the Rappanhanock valley.
There are many small wineries and food makers scattered around, there’s a lot of interest in small scale/artisan food production. Shenandoah National Park is right there (the Old Rag hike is one of the classic eastern day hikes; White Oak Canyon Trail has a waterfall pool you can wade in). Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s estate. Montpelier, James Madison’s estate. Tons of good restaurants (Inn at Little Washington if you wanna splurge… Thornton River Grille in Sperryville… Lucio’s and It’s About Thyme in Culpeper…).
It’s beautiful country.
I’ve been to Colorado a couple of times, once to hike Oh Be Joyful pass, and later to visit friends and bum around Boulder.
Thoroughly enjoyed both visits.
Wouldn’t mind going back.
San Francisco sounds interesting.
I have an ex there… or at least, who used to be there. No one knows where she is now.
I think I’ll put that on the short list along with Amelia Island. Kinda odd b/c they’re on opposite coasts and one is tiny and the other is a metro area, but it seems like both offer the kinds of things we’re looking for.
You know, I had not even thought about that area.
I will now, tho!
Tunica, MS has casino gambling and resort-y stuff as a base of operations. There’s a blues museum, as well as a restaurant owned by Morgan Freeman in nearby Clarksdale (and, if you wish to trade your soul to the devil for guitar lessons, the intersection of Hwy 49 & Highway 61 is there. I understand midnight is the preferred time for the transaction). You’re close to Memphis if you wanted to see a zoo or Graceland, and you’re within day-trip range of two civil war battlefields–Vicksburg and Shiloh.
Disneyland or Disneyworld.
