I’m going to Disney World!
Because, seriously, how else do you celebrate a fortieth birthday, except by refusing to act like a grown-up?
I’m curious as to how people in the U.S. can swing something like this. Same for a few earlier responses mentioning “three weeks in___”. In general, throughout my working life, it’s been one week at a time, and if anything more than that it has to be scheduled way ahead of time, and carefully.
Are you retired? A student still going with parents? Independantly wealthy? You don’t have to answer me, but I’m curious.
This summer, I’m toying with the idea of flying to the east coast, renting a car and doing a driving tour of DC, Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, Shenandoah, Blue Ridge parkway, Great Smokey Mountains & Mammoth Caves, but its a costly trip and the current poor exchange rate of the Canadian dollar makes it unlikely.
Alternately I might drive down to California, see the coast, the Bay area, Yosemite, the Channel islands, etc.
Or drive through Banff, Jasper, Glacier, maybe the Cascades loop.
Or drive back to the southwest and see the parts of Phoenix, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, Zion & southern Utah that I missed the first time around due to time restrictions and injury.
Or head up north to the Yukon, Queen Charlottes and Alaska.
Or… well you get the picture.
None of the above- but we do have a very flexible working schedule because we have a family business. So while there are times that we work very hard, we also get to play hard. Some trips are combination work/vacation, others are strictly recreation.
But you can’t judge “average” people in the US by m husband and I. Most folks get two weeks a year of vacation, but many can’t use it to go anywhere. We usually take at least 6 weeks, sometimes 8, and we make very good money compared to most areas of the US. We are married, late30s/early 40s with two kids.
If you come to Alaska and have the time, take the cutoff to Dawson, see the old gold rush town there, cross the Yukon on the ferry and drive over the Top of the World Highway into Alaska. You’ll end up in the same little crappy town of Tok, which will put you right back on the Alaska Highway, and the scenery is much better. Be forewarned, though, the road on the Alaska side can be very bad.
I just googled that and it looks interesting.
How bad is bad? 4WD only? Washouts & potholes?
MammaHomie has mentioned taking the (adult) kids and their spouses on a short Carnival cruise out of New Orleans some time around Christmas, paid for with what’s left of her inheritance. Otherwise all my disposable income is going into a savings account to put a down payment down on a house.
In late July, my boyfriend and I are going to Martinique! 4 or 5 days, nothing but a room, a balcony and access to the beach. Maybe a nice bar too. 
Probably nowhere. Might go down to Virginia Beach for a few days, or hopefully camping in WV, but that never seems to happen.
I love the “Disney Muggles” bit. That’s funny!
Do you use it to mean they don’t like Disneyworld, or that they’ve never been?
This spring I’ll be off to Boston on a combined work/vacation trip (a medical conference with several days added sightseeing tacked on). In the fall, I’m heading off to Yellowstone to go on a horse-packing trip through the backcountry.
Well, the wife’s UK trip has been canceled. 
So we’ll definitely be doing some good tropical, southern-Thai beach time.
old_joe, you vacationed in Yuma? Yuma? Are you a cow-shit enthusiast or something?
I keep winding up in Yuma on the way between San Diego and Tucson, and hating every minute. It really is a shithole. The central part of the city, the part that doesn’t reek of cow shit, reeks of desparation. Everyone I talk to there can’t wait to get out. Billboards all over town advertise mining jobs in other states–it’s a little surreal, like a modern Gold Rush.
Seriously, if there’s something interesting to see in Yuma, I’d love to know about it. At least El Centro has a dispensary!
OTOH, Sattua, it sounds like you guys are going to have a grand old time all year. Congratulations!
MrAru, self and 2 friends are going to be taking a cruise the end of November, the Royal Carribean one that leaves from New Jersey, wanders down to the carribean and back up for about 8 days. It really is more about the transit than the destinaton mostly … the NJ departure is to avoid having to actually cram our fat asses into an airplane. It also has the added benefit we can get a car service to haul us from Hartford CT to the port, and not have to deal with leaving a car somewhere for a week.
I believe it is hitting Haiti, San Juan and St Thomas … so I am looking at gimping around el Moro, doing a beach in st Thomas and a cafe in haiti to people watch. and lots of lazing around on the ship swilling iced tea and people watching. I admit I am actually looking forward to actually getting dressy for dinner =)
I am really going to Colombia after all. The price went down again, and I bought my tix last night! wooooo vacatioooooon!
Usually just washboard and potholes, and fairly narrow in some places. It’s slow going, if you have any regard for your vehicle. In very rainy times, it can wash out, but that’s not all that common. On the plus side, it’s not that long of a drive, so you can do it in a day. A side trip off that road is to the village of Eagle, which is on the Yukon River. We didn’t make that trip, as we happened to be there during torrential rains and the road to Eagle was washed out. I’ve been over that road (TOTW) several times in an RV, so you shouldn’t have any problems unless you’re driving a big motorhome.
For any who are contemplating an Alaska cruise, this is definitely the time. I just saw an article that said 7-day cruises are going for under $500.
Excellent. Thanks for the tips 
Next week, we’re going to Vermont, Montreal and Ottawa for five days total.
A 3-4 day trip to Boston, Maine and maybe New Brunswick is a possibility for October.
Last June, our family took a two-week drive to Mount Rushmore and back, with many fun stops in between. It’ll be a few years before we can afford to do something like that again.