where do Black Americans vacation?

Factual Questions
61

Come up to Canada! It is not so far away, the language is the same, and our dollars are on parity. You can find familiar services, and if you attend religious services, there will be something agreeable.

I’ll suggest going to Waterton National Park. It is beautifully developed, but under utilized. You can get there from Calgary in a few hours, and the drive is incredible. 3-4 days there will probably exhaust the activities aimed at casual explorers. I highly recommend canoeing at Cameron Lake. You can rent a Canoe there.

Climb the Bears hump. It starts right at the tourist booth across from the Prince of Wales Hotel. Stay there for one night too. There are also Bed and Breakfasts in the beautiful little townsite.

August is the best time to go to Waterton. I’ll be going back then, and this time we are doing the hike to Crypt Lake.

Googling all that? Good.

From there(or from Calgary), take your rental car to Banff(make hotel reservations or get to a campsite early), and explore that area. Go to Lake Louise for instance. Too many things to list. There are waterfalls right inside the town.

Drive the Icefields Parkway to Jasper if you have time. It is beautiful in day time. More stuff around Jasper, such as Pyramid lake, Maligne Canyon(all accessible to most people). Longer hikes include the Mount Edith Cavell hike.

Many hikes in the parks are segmented so you can do day hikes, or longer trips. Pack water and wear good shoes. The highways were all travelled by google maps, though I recall we didnt have cell service through portions of the Icefield parkway.

We chartered a tour plane over the Columbia Icefields. It was expensive, but divided among 4-5 adults it isnt so bad. My brother and I went, and a Australian couple were the other passengers. If you have children, it-will-blow-their-minds.

Here is a photo I took. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3735901/Mount_Robson.JPG I took that with a macro lens, so that is actually how close we were. We actually got even closer, but the wind was uncommonly mild that day.

Just come. You know you want to.

62

Back when I assisted teaching Scuba diving classes, and in many subsequent diving vacations, it was rare to see black people.
I even inquired of the Instructor that I worked with as to why there weren’t very many black people taking Scuba lessons, (the man had taught Scuba for many years in multiple cities, across the country) his response was, ‘black people don’t like to put their heads under water’. :confused:

63

Awesome scenery! :cool:

64

Waterton is a too-often overlooked treasure. I make it there a number of times a year (hey, it’s local to me), and while traffic in the townsite is ridiculous in high tourist season (though not nearly as bad as Banff), the park is open all year.

In summer, the trail down the west side of Cameron Lake provides a good hike to within about 200 yards of the US border, but don’t go any farther–there are grizzly bears in the area, and large signs warn about them. (How much does US Homeland Security pay the bears, I wonder? :))

Stop into the Prince of Wales hotel for a meal, afternoon tea, or just a beer in the lounge, and enjoy the scenery through the big windows overlooking the lake and the mountains. The hotel is a little old and rickety, but it’s a nice place to stop after you’ve been exploring the park.

As for being black–don’t worry. Canadians don’t seem to be as hung up on someone’s race as other countries are. There are a few bigots, but for the most part, you won’t be seen as “black.” You’ll just be regarded as a “tourist.”

Mr. Blacksmith, if you do come to Waterton, let me know. Maybe I can meet you in the Prince of Wales for a beer.

65

Thanks for backing me on that, my fellow Canuck. The place really is a little known treasure.

That trail is just over 1 mile long if I recall. One can canoe to the end of the lake and back in about 45 minutes to an hour. Since that is where the bears are… dont get out. That little end of the lake is like another world though.

66

Thanks! Have another!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3735901/rockies.jpg

67

Yeap. You may still get carded by a bored cop more easily than someone who looks more “local”, but frankly he’d have to be very bored or very new, as it’s pretty easy to figure out someone is American just from how they move.

And, like BurnMeUp said, both the black people I met in the US and the black people I see in Europe just go wherever their socioeconomic class goes. Grandma loves tourist-watching at Sagrada Famila Square and one of the things that mark the college students from the US, Canada or the UK is that they often come in as many shades as people (many other countries just don’t seem to send small groups of college students, whereas others such as the Italians are boringly similar-looking).

68

You’re welcome! And I’ll extend the offer to you, Fuzzy Ogre–if you plan to go to Waterton, give me a heads-up. Depending on my schedule, it’s possible that we can meet at the Prince of Wales for a beer.

At any rate, yes, on the trail, you do not go beyond the warning signs; and I imagine on the water, you do not land. I can deal with US Homeland Security; at least, their officers do not eat you. Grizzly bears, on the other hand…

I have seen grizzlys and black bears in Waterton, though always from the safety of my car. Beautiful creatures, though I’m not anxious to get out and meet them personally.

69

Thanks. I’ll remember that, and may take you up on it.

Thanks for reminding me:

The water is fairly shallow on either end. The lake is shallow overall. Dont get hung up on rocks(on the far end), or tipped over by bumping one too hard. The water is quite clear, so just keep your eyes open.

Regarding the bears: they dont mind being wet. And they can swim.

On the other hand, they feed higher up on the slopes, and there are numerous ephemeral streams for them to drink from. They probably dont have much reason to come right to the lake. We didnt see any regardless.

There isnt really anywhere in the canoe to place your camera so it doesn’t get wet. I hung mine around my neck, and that was awkward to paddle with. Next time I’ll just take a point and shoot. Or a waterproof case.

At the end of the trail is a better place for taking photos with large cameras.

70

So, how do Americans “move”?

Of course, now I’m picturing a bunch of tourists in Hawaiian shirts doing the Harlem Shake (on the tundra surrounded by confused moose).

71

It’s difficult to describe, but I think it’s related to the differences in personal space. Americans are more likely to stare straight ahead and to walk in straight lines at a constant speed, stopping suddenly when faced with an obstacle - people from other places weave and waver more, walking as if they’re trying to anticipate other people’s movements; Americans, who as I’ve said do not look around as much, are less likely to make eye contact with people who just happen to be in the same general area, but when they do they hold it, whereas People From Elsewhere make a lot of short eye contacts. Generalization etc etc, neither of the two descriptions applies to every single individual from the group being described and all that.

72

Lots of excited, exuberant gesturing and pointing while loudly exclaiming, “Hey y’all, look at this!” :smiley:

73

Black American here-- Californian, to be exact, and the following are a few of the places where my family members and I have already vacationed:

Within the U.S.

Michigan
New York
New Jersey
Louisiana
Illinois
Missouri
Mississippi
Texas
Washington
Florida
Arizona
Tennessee
Pennsylvania
Nevada
Ohio
Hawaii
Georgia
Alaska
Minnesota
Puerto Rico
St. Thomas
St. Croix
St. John

Outside Of the U.S.:

Cuba
St. Maarten
Dominican Republic
Dominica
Haiti
Bahamas
Ghana
South Africa
Kenya
Brazil
Canada
Jamaica
Tanzania
Dubai
Morocco
Israel
Netherlands
England
France (incl. the French Riviera for the Cannes Film Festival)
Germany
Singapore
India
Mexico

I’m sure that I’m missing a few places, but this should give you an idea. In fact, my brother-in-law just returned home from Brazil this weekend and my cousin just returned from a several month long visit to France (while there, he also visited Black family members living in Germany). My son is currently planning his second trip to England this summer and hopes to also visit Scotland for the first time.

This list does not include the places where my Black American friends have visited or places where friends and fam have had to travel for work. My son’s job has him traveling to different parts of the U.S. 3-4 days per week every week. I also have a couple of family members who travel to every corner of the globe for their jobs.

You may also be interested to know that I have a Black American godson living in Alaska and a Black American cousin living in the UAE. My cousins who live in Germany were born there, but that’s because my Black American cousin traveled there, decided on a permanent stay and started his family there.

I’ve taken a cruise before as part of a girlfriend trip, but my husband isn’t a fan. After trying one myself, I have to agree with him. Neither of us care for all-inclusive touristy type vacations especially when confined in a limited space. No offense to people who love cruises, but it’s just not our thing. Ditto for resorts.

Earlier, someone described Black Americans as being roughly 1/5 of the total U.S. population and I agree with their assertion that this is why you probably don’t see as many at one time while you are traveling. We definitely get around, though, domestically and internationally.

Edited to add: We also do a little camping here and there. :wink:

If the OP is still around and reading this, I hope I’ve helped to answer your question.

74

Too late to edit again, but I meant 1/5 of the total White American population. :smiley:

75

You mean, like this?:

If you don’t want to watch the entire video the story between 2:50 and 6:40 speaks most directly to your point.