Tell me your favorite vacation spot

In My Humble Opinion
1

Did the Disney thing last month. We learned a few things about the Pundit family:

  1. We hate lines.
  2. I really don’t care for sweat rolling betwixt my breasts (unless it’s during rampant sex).
  3. We’d rather do a villa than a hotel room. Key are: separate sleeping areas and a kitchen.
  4. We don’t need to dine out every meal.
  5. Max for all, including travel, is $4000/week.
  6. We hate crowds.
  7. I won’t take the kids out of school for a vacation.
  8. We’d prefer to stay in the contiguous U.S. until the kids are older.

Okay, so given our family’s preferences, do you know of a fabulous place where we might check out next year or in 2003? Where’s your favorite place to go?

2

Yeah, same here. Why dontcha keep a towel down there?

I think I may have the solution to all your problems.

Rent a cottage on the coast of Maine.

This is what the Ukulele family does nearly every August. No lines. No heat or humidity (you can wear a SWEATER in the evening…and have a FIRE in the FIREPLACE! WHOOOO!). You can cook as many of your dinners as you like, and have the others at the local lobster pound, fairly inexpensively. It’s not too crowded…and July and early August are LESS crowded that late August. It’s not grossly expensive, depending on where you stay. It’s in the U.S., but just barely…a friend who attended Bates College pointed out that, if you’re in Maine, you have to WANT to be in Maine, you’re not passing through to another state.

We go to Mount Desert Island, to the Quiet Side (the half that’s away from Bar Harbor and most of Acadia Nat’l Park). You can spend the day hiking or biking or canoeing, and buzz over to Bar Harbor for a fine meal at George’s, if you want. I recommend the lobster strudel. Good bookshops, too. Congenial people. And great home made ice cream.

3

Hm. Well, since I MUST live up to my username, I will run Yosemite National Park through your criteria. I visit usually once a year, but don’t pretend to be the ultimate authority.

1) We hate lines.

In the summer months (especially weekends) you will find lines at certain spots, like waiting in line at the grocery store (Village Store) or trying to get a parking spot. But nothing in the line of a Disneyland or DisneyWorld.

**2) I really don’t care for sweat rolling betwixt my breasts (unless it’s during rampant sex). **

It’s not TOO hot up there, depending on what you consider “hot”. It’s in the mountains of California. It’s not humid like in Florida, though.

**3) We’d rather do a villa than a hotel room. Key are: separate sleeping areas and a kitchen. **

I usually like to stay in one of the Park’s “official” lodgings, like Curry Village or Yosemite Lodge in Yosemite Valley. But there are plenty of condos and B&Bs outside of the Valley, or very near the Park that have built-in kitchens. I don’t know if the Park has any lodging that offers kitchens, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

4) We don’t need to dine out every meal.

No…I often eat in my room at Yosemite. Of course, you have to be careful with food in your car (the bears will open your car like a tin can to get to it) but I’ve always managed to eat well without spending too much money on restaurants.

**5) Max for all, including travel, is $4000/week. **

I am not sure what that would all cover, but Yosemite is pretty cheap, barring lodging. It’s all about the scenery. Lodging at Yosemite (and nearabouts) is about $100 - $120 a night. It can be much cheaper, it depends. Blow your money on film - you’ll need it!

6) We hate crowds.

It gets relatively crowded in the summer, but since Yosemite is a HUGE place, there are plenty of spots you can find for solitude. It’s best during the mid-week.

7) I won’t take the kids out of school for a vacation.

It’s gorgeous in the summer!

**8) We’d prefer to stay in the contiguous U.S. until the kids are older. **

It’s in California!

I have some nice Yosemite photos on my website. Also, check out http://www.yosemitefun.com. It’s a gorgeous place - absolutely stunning. Perhaps you’ve already gone, in which case you already know that. But for sure - your kids will never forget a visit to Yosemite!

4

I have to agree with the idea of Maine. The four years I spent in college (by the way, Bates sucks but Bowdoin, er…nevermind I went to Colby :)) there were amazing. I go back when I can, and I wish I could find a job there.

Acadia Nat’l Park is beautiful. There are huge amounts of places to be outside, and a cottage on the coast is definatly doable with the $$ you’re looking at.

If you don’t want to be on the coast, the lakes region, is beautiful as well. The water can be very cold even in summer, but it feels great when you get out.

If you’re there long enough, it’s possible to make a day trip up into Canada-the kids wouldn’t need passports or anything special to cross the border.

5

Will you consider vacationing in Canada? I just came back from a week in Vancouver and have been singing its praises all about the place.

Praises:

  1. Fairly inexpensive. There are plenty of good, cheap hotels in which to stay. Frommer’s lists some hotels that are family friendly.

  2. Easy to get around. I stayed downtown and found everything within either easy walking distance or rather quickly by bus. (Except during rush hours.)

  3. Pretty good food. I generally ate in restaurants, as my hotel room did not have a kitchen, but there are hotels that offer suites. There is a nice variety of different cuisines, including vegetarian. Also, some of the stores have a decent deli and sald bar. Some of the hotels do a great afternoon tea.

  4. Gorgeous scenery and plenty of it. I spent a couple of days just wandering around Stanley Park and would have been content to spend a few more. Islands, mountains, beaches, and large bodies of water. Gotta love it!

  5. Most of the crowds are the general crowds you get with any city and are easily navigated.

  6. Lots of museums and shops. I never did finish a tour of the Museum of Anthropology, nor did I make a complete circuit of the Granville Public Market.

  7. It is relatively easy to travel outside of Vancouver to, for example, Vancouver Island, Whistler or Grouse Mountain. These are pretty much day trips but worth the time.

  8. Not disgustingly hot. Well, not in mid-August anyway. The temperature range was in the 70’s (Faranheit) most of the time and then the rain kicked in and everything cooled off. Yeah, there is lots of rain but so what. It kept the annoying tourists inside and anyway, it wasn’t very cold.

  9. I found everyone to be quite pleasant. I don’t know if that’s a general Vancouver thing but the only obnoxious people I met were mid-Westeners from the States. It was kind of odd.

I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff but you get the general idea.
Vancouver rules! :slight_smile:

6

How about renting an RV? Prices are very competitive with the alternative hotel+car rental, and you get your own kitchen, bathroom and fabulous views from your windows. Check out CruiseAmerica. You can rent a wide range of vehicles, from pickup-truck campers to huge class A motorhomes with separate sleeping areas (think rock star tour bus - hooo yeah, baby!). With an RV you can go pretty much anywhere you like, and carry everything you need. Don’t like one location? Just unhook and drive off to the next one. Don’t like people? You can go places where you won’t see anyone for days. Campsites these days are pleasant, clean, cheap and fully equipped. Many have a pool, tennis courts, walking/bike trails and loads of games for the kids.

Mrs K and I are renting a class C for two weeks this Christmas. Twelve nights rental: $1700 including tax and insurance. We’re picking it up in Vegas and driving around Arizona and Utah. We’ll hit the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Arches and probably a few other places too.

7

You all are making me KICK myself for going to Disney! Lakes (I assume this means there’ll be fishing. Mr. Pundit LOVES fishing), beautiful forests and scenery, R&R, HOMEMADE ICE CREAM! Now that’s more my speed!

I think we’ll leave Yosemite for when the kids are a little older and when my husband can take off 2 weeks. I’ve heard it’s positively beautiful. BTW, is there whitewater rafting nearby? We’ve only been once but we loved it.)

An RV sounds good in theory, but my daughter and I both suffer from motion sickness. Just the thought of driving through mountains in an RV makes me want to urp. Thanks for the suggestion, though!

Acadia National Park sounds great, as does Vancouver. Do you know of any good websites for rental chalets. It sounds intriguing.

Thanks, Lisa

8

Try http://www.mtdesertisland.com

The realtor we always use is Sally Black, who’s based in Northeast Harbor.