# where do you go for a geek vacation? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047 "2009-05-02T01:09:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/1 "2009-05-02T01:09:54Z")
Museums? Planitaria? Tours of sewage treatment plants? Dinosaur digs? If you were making a list, what would have to be on it? And is there a prime example of it in your neighborhood? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/2 "2009-05-02T01:30:07Z")
Geece. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/3 "2009-05-02T01:39:56Z")
As a firmly entrenched member of the geek camp ( I own a computer shop, do they get geekier 😃 ) My personal fave, especially if you have never been Las Vegas Tons of applied computer wizardry to ponder, the star trek experience at the hilton, tons of museum and historical recreations of landmark goodness, shooting ranges that allow you to fire full auto weapons, go during CES or another big electronics event and you could be up to your eyballs in geeky goodness for days. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/4 "2009-05-02T01:42:37Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Tours of sewage treatment plants? I see you’re familiar with the [Musée des Égouts de Paris](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Sewer_Museum) ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/5 "2009-05-02T01:44:00Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > where do you go for a geek vacation? The sideshow? ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/6 "2009-05-02T02:19:24Z")
Does birding count? Does it count if you go out of your way (say, drive several hours each direction and camp overnight) to go somewhere _specifically because of the birds?_ ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/7 "2009-05-02T02:29:42Z")
Gencon (a D&D/gaming convention). I’ve been two or three times, and it’s transcendantly geeky and transcendantly fun. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/8 "2009-05-02T02:59:33Z")
Science museums are pretty great. The Galileo museum in Venice was pretty cool, as was the glass blowing island. Pompei is also pretty cool to see. Akihabara is geek central on the planet. You could always just stay home and try and build something wacky. I once went on a tour of a company that made sewage pumps. It was oddly interesting. Really, seeing any complex factory machine in person is pretty cool. Paintball. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/9 "2009-05-02T03:00:33Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Gencon (a D&D/gaming convention). I’ve been two or three times, and it’s transcendantly geeky and transcendantly fun. I make a yearly trip to Origins myself but the principle is the same. There’s a handful of super-large cons that are vacation worthy for geeks such as the San Diego Comic Con, Tokyo Toy Fair, Essen Game Show, Worldcon, and so on. I keep meaning to stop at the [Mammoth caverns](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_Cave_Adventure) on my way back from Origins but the con is inevitably right in the middle of my busy week season so I can’t afford to take the extra day. One of these days I’ll get to say xyzzy there. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/10 "2009-05-02T03:13:45Z")
Last year I went to the Penny Arcade Expo. [http://www.pennyarcadeexpo.com/](http://www.pennyarcadeexpo.com/) Three full days of video gaming goodness 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bytheway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@bytheway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bytheway)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/11 "2009-05-02T03:26:08Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > Las Vegas > [@Yllaria](#): > > Tours of sewage treatment plants? I got the best of both worlds. I toured the Ethel M chocolate factory in Las Vegas, and was pleasantly surprised that they included their wastewater treatment system in the tour. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/12 "2009-05-02T03:31:31Z")
Living history museums. I work at one and I plan on visiting a lot more. Seeing as many as possible in the next two years is my aim. Geek-out, and tax-deductible! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/13 "2009-05-02T03:44:13Z")
These are great. I am bookmarking this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/14 "2009-05-02T03:46:23Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > Does birding count? Does it count if you go out of your way (say, drive several hours each direction and camp overnight) to go somewhere _specifically because of the birds?_ That is definitely a geek vacation. Are there websites that list good places for beginners to go? ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/15 "2009-05-03T05:37:58Z")
To Left Hand of Dorkness, Gencon is not A D&D/gaming convention, it’s THE D&D/gaming convention. I think I’ve been to four of them. To the OP, I did in fact tour a sewage treatment plant while on vacation. On Maui. Fascinating. But alas, not open to the general public. ---
**Author:** ![EpicNonsense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@EpicNonsense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EpicNonsense)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/16 "2009-05-03T05:55:15Z")
The Bodies Exhibit Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museums DisneyQuest CES American Museum of Natural History Kennedy Space Center Not uber geeky, but all I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/17 "2009-05-03T06:00:17Z")
> [@palindromemordnilap](#): > > To Left Hand of Dorkness, Gencon is not A D&D/gaming convention, it’s THE D&D/gaming convention. I think I’ve been to four of them. Also the place for trading card games. If you prefer board games (like I do) I’ve found the atmosphere at Origins to be the better place (though I’ve never had the spare cash to go to Essen… maybe next year…). ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/18 "2009-05-03T06:30:18Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > That is definitely a geek vacation. Are there websites that list good places for beginners to go? Try reading this and following the links for places to go: [http://www.birding.com/beginning\_birding.asp](http://www.birding.com/beginning_birding.asp) Also, if you google your state and “audubon society” or “birding”, you should be able to find the names of some local birding clubs, whose websites often have lists of local hotspots, group field trips planned, common local birds, etc. Bytheway, with that combination, I bet you’ve never looked at Tootsie Rolls the same way again. 😛 horsetech, an amateur bird nerd ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/19 "2009-05-03T14:39:25Z")
[The Amazing Meeting 7](http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/component/content/article/37-static/446-the-amazing-meeting-7-registration.html) A conference on critical thinking in… Las Vegas! This is assuming critical thinking is geeky… Hmm. You know what else attracts geeks? SCUBA diving. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047/20 "2009-05-03T17:15:54Z")
Las Vegas just keeps coming up, doesn’t it? Who’d have thought. Does it get to be the geek capital of the US? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-go-for-a-geek-vacation/495047.md?page=2)