Just returned from a two week Panama Canal cruise and am now researching a couple of weeks on the Orinoco River in the Amazon, most likely set for next February.

This summer will just be local stuff and my 40 year high school reunion in Northern Calif.

Jodi-

Nita, someone who lives in Coeur d'Alene used to post here. Not sure who it is/was, but she posted pictures of the town and it is beautiful. Have a wonderful trip. Will you have internet access? Hope you'll share your trip! (And so glad you're feeling better!)

I know you're going to have a wonderful time, Glenda. It's great you'll have all that time to spend with your GS, and it'll be a trip he'll never forget.

Jodi, this is my 50th HS reunion in Indiana. I'm not going to be able to go because I put it off too long. Those class reunions are a real trip! So much fun to see everyone again. We had a small class of just over 100, so we all knew each other. Enjoy!

Just got back from a week in Ocean city, NJ. We don't go away mid-summer because we have day or weekend trips(depending on the distance) to car shows.

Going to Yellowstone for the first time next month. Two days in Jackson Hole, three days in the park and two days in West Yellowstone, where we fly in and out of. Even though it's peak visitor time, I doubt it will be like the time we spent driving through L.A. last year. OMGOSH! that was frightening. I can't wait to see the beauty of Yellowstone.

My summer trips are mainly local within a 100 mile radius. We go camping on the weekends. We just got back from a 4 day camping trip about 20 miles from our house. I love going away close to home. If we take a trip we plan ours for the winter to go somewhere warm.

Already went on vacation the last week of February through mid-March. We went down to Mazatlan, Mexico again with friends of ours that own a timeshare down there. We love it, and where we go is quite safe. Looking forward to it again next February!

I never go anywhere, but that's okay with me. I live in an area where people come to vacation, and I'm happy on my 30 acres. If I want to be out on the water, I can cruise around the lake with my daughter and her family on one of their boats.

At this point in my life I'm glad I no longer have a desire to travel, because I wouldn't be able to afford it anyway. :-)

It's been a while since we traveled anywhere except to Maui for Jan. - Feb. However, there are some temptingly low airfares to London this fall...

I wish they'd hurry up and make that Star Trek 'transporter room' a reality; long flights are no fun.

Monica -- Does your DH show an antique car or cars?

Yellowstone? ABC-TV news had a feature recently about the stupendous waterfalls there this summer -- thanks to last winter's big snows. Gosh, I haven't been to Jackson Hole since I was a kid. My first best friend worked at Jenny Lake Lodge before she was married. Magnificent beauty out there!

chisue...yes, he has a street rod - 1931 Ford Model A.

Nothing far away, but I think we'll go to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, for a few days.

Since we have been married over 57 years we have always taken a vacation. At first it was only for week/or 2 weeks camping (tent) with babies in the redwoods of CA. Later in campers, 5th wheels and even now retired in motels. Most of the time nothing fancy, just relaxing.
Lots of good memories ( and pictures) to look back on.
Now we can go and come as we please. Sometimes with others, sometime just by ourselves.
This year, local stuff, next year hope to get to granddaughters HS graduation in CA. Since we both learned how to drive and lived in the Los Angeles area traffic doesn't bother us.
Good luck to all traveling --enjoy it and stay safe.

toni..i don't know what it was but we only stayed 2 days at yellowstone...we did the "figure 8" drives, did old faithful, saw the required number of beasties..but the sulfur smell kind of got to us, so we left a day early (we camped)

it was awesome but would i go again? don't know...i would have liked to go on to grand tetons, and to lake louise in canada...(not enough time, sigh)

last year we did mt rushmore...it was our first motorhome (rented) camping trip, but because the way the 4 of july fell, we had to have the camper back before so it was a little rushed...however, i would do it again! my cats came with us and adapted quite well...

this year no trips planned...partly because of the gas prices...we do want to drive down to fil's but only 3 days..i can't leave my cats for longer...

We just got back from two weeks in Spain. Beautiful country; we picked it because we got a good deal on the flight. Will go to Green Bay sometime this summer to see relatives, but I have to do training at four separate conferences this summer, so we have not figured out when we can go. Cousins are all getting together for 4th of July, but my Dad is turning 90 that day, so we will stay here and celebrate with him.

susan - is there really a sulfur smell in Yellowstone? Thanks for the warning.
I get extremely nauseous and dizzy at the slightest whiff of sulfur, even when others can't smell it.
DH has been talking about a trip out west - he wants to go there. NO way.

2nd week of July I'll go on my weeklong backpacking trip to the Bighorn Mts. of Wyoming. I had not heard about the waterfalls of Yellowstone. That means they shuld be spectacular in the Bighorns, also. Oh boy!!!!

This was an average year.

Ron

Mom died in January,Dad passed in 1996, my brother is planning a memorial ceremony for both my parents sometime this summer. My two daughters and I will drive up from Long Island to Buffalo for the ceremony, about 450 miles. That's my only "vacation". DH will be staying home-his MS (multiple sclerosis) is pretty bad and he's basically home-bound. My last real vaction was 2007 cruise from LA to Hawaii and returned thru Mexico.

I go to the San Francisco Bay area every year. I am thinking of going in August while it is really hot here. I would also like to visit a friend in Seattle.

Hoping to get to New Orleans in October. Really looking forward to it!

We live in a resort area so I feel like I'm on vacation all the time. I have a very busy summer schedule so we usually stay put for the summer months. Our vacation is in March...nice to get to sunny Florida then and in October we usually go to the Outer Banks. DH needs his ocean fix.

We just came back from seeing the water falls in Rifle Colorado, Hanging lake in Glenwood Springs CO, Arches in Utah and Canyon lands/Utah. We'll be going on more local trips and DH wants to know if I want to go to the Bahamas to live for awhile .....while he works there. OK. :0)

I have a week off in July, probably going to NV to see my dad.

Oops! I meant to say the spectacular falls featured on TV news were in Yosemite. (I typed the "Y" and my mind wandered -- not that unusual these days. lol)

"Street rod", Monica? Never thought of an early Ford in those terms; always learning! My mother talked about her father's Ford rolling merrily down the hill beside her one-room schoolhouse. It would often falter coming back up, delighting her classmates, whose fathers still drove buggies.

Street rod", Monica? Never thought of an early Ford in those terms

A "Street rod" is a classic car that looks traditional on the outside, but under the hood and body work is a very fast car, with many modern amenities.

Ron, are your sons going along again this year? That's a beautiful picture.

nicole, JUMP ON IT, to live in the Bahamas for a while! Yea!

We are going on a cruise in September. Headed south to Tampa, Cozumel, Belize, Honduras, Cayman Islands......then back to Tampa.

Monica -- Thanks for explaining. Y'all don't RACE in this, do you? (I don't think I want to hear a "Yes".)

I came back from Victoria BC three weeks ago. I was there for a week visiting my sister with my daughter. I have another week to take, just not sure if I will, or when I will. I probably won't go anywhere anyways, so don't see the point. I hate taking vacation time and staying home.

Sue - No wayyyy.

Patti43, The guys I went canoeing with last year in the BWCA are going we me and my youngest son who graduates from high school next week. There will be 6 of us total.

Ron

I knew it, I knew it!! I've suspected this for months (maybe years!), but now you've confirmed it: I'm the only person at the KT who doesn't go anywhere. :-)

going to Indy burbs this week for my niece & nephews 6th b-day, chicago in Sept for a wedding celebration w/ family coming in from all over the world YEA!!! and chicago again in oct for my 25th high school reunion, i have not gone to any before so this should be good lol. we were just about to get a new years eve cruise but tonight decided we want a big hot tub instead lol. ~ liz

Just got back from a week in DC area plus Gettysburg and a trip to the ocean in Delaware. It was incrediably hot, but interesting. Kids loved their first trip to the ocean. Will probably do a week in Colorado and New Mexico later this summer. May go gold panning, rafting and visiting old mining towns along with touristing and enjoying the food.

I've been thinking about trying to hit some of the remaining states I haven't been to - like either a trip to national parks out west or out east. I've not been to Connecticut and though I've been to RI, I've not been to Newport and I'd like to go there. Not sure if I'll actually get organized enough to plan a trip though. We have a lake cabin in a vacation area a couple of hours away so many years that's been my only vacation destination and that could be the case this year as well.

alisande - you aren't the only one. We aren't doing anything. Guess we'll have a staycation and sofalize. LOL

Like georgysmom, we live in a resort area so a day or two at the beach is just too easy to consider a vacation. I used to enjoy the beach but now I just prefer to stay home with my DH, dogs and plants. Unless we get hungry for fish.

If we were to decide to go someplace, I don't know where I would want to go. We've become very boring people. :)

Im with you Alisande! I want to "go somewhere" soooo bad, but just can't yet.

making a trip to Indiana to experience Hot Summer Nights...a big old car show/downtown party in July and driving back up in August to go to a family reunion...my sisters gonna be sooo jazzed cause I'm taking her to the family reunion and I have a new convertible...it's cruising time!!

Liz, tell us more about your new convertible!

Liz, my sister worked for the same airline you do and is retired, but one of the perks is some great discounts for vacation destinations. Right now they're in Cabo in the Baja Peninsula at an all-inclusive resort and they are seriously in love with it. After all the traveling they've done, they say Cabo is paradise! Have you been there? I'd never heard of it until they went.

Years ago I was a long haul truck driver running all 48 continuous states and during the vacation season one thing seemed to stand out. No matter where I went the roads were full of people packed into overloaded cars,pickups and motorhomes dragging trailers of all sorts and hell bent of pushing the envelope way past the point of fatigue as they raced to some distant location to spend a day or two shooting a roll of film to have a vacation memory. The one thing that always stood out in my mind was that for every car that was going east there was another car headed west as people on the other end came to see where you live. The funny part of the whole scenario is that while you set off on a 500mile journey to see a distant site, you really have no clue as to what sites are right around you every day.

When I retired two years ago I decided I needed some of daily activity that would get me out of the house and help me stay active. In my younger days I had been a semi pro photographer but over the years I had gotten away from that. I decided now would be a good time to take it up again. I began by digging out my old 35mm SLR with the whole set of lenses and such, but with the high cost of film and processing that soon gave way to a Digital SLR body that would allow me to use my old lenses.

Being on limited income and having some slight physical disability I decided all those long photo safaris we call vacations were out so I opted for the next best thing. I took a state road map and drew circles at 10 mile, 25miles, 50 miles and 100 miles from my house, then I set out to research all the points of interest within those circles. Up to 50 miles is a day trip and sometimes the 100 miles makes a overnight.

I then put a large dry erase board in my office and we listed parks, museums, botanical gardens, historical sites and other points of interest along with notes on what thier admission fees and hours of operation are. I also listed them as to what was indoors or outdoors so we could schedule our trips to coincide with climatic conditions year around.

Since I started this project two years ago Jan and I have been making at least 4 day trips per week and we have barely scratched the list. On the other hand, we have managed to completely cover all four walls of our living room with 4.5 x 6 or 8x10 dry mounted photos of sites within a mere 50 miles from here that most of our friends and relatives either have not seen or were not even aware existed in our area.

I mentioned this in an email to a friend and she said, thats fine were you live but here where I am there is nothing to see, so I got a map of her state and did the research. To here amazement I found over 400 points of interest within 100 miles of her.

Take my word for it, in this day of $5/gal gas, $15 a plate restaruant meals and $150 motel rooms I will never take a long vacation again. I am on vacation 12 months a year and sleep in my own bed save for the occassional overnite in the tent, and the best part, I don't even pay the KOA campground fees.

Generally its just a nice picnic basket, a gallon of two of gas and our time and we have built a lifetime of memories.

lazypup,

You make a great point. In 1985 I moved 1500 miles away from home to Silver City in the southwest corner of New Mexico. The Gila National Forest begins on the edge of town and covers over 1.5 million acres. I lived there 16 years and didn't get to all the places I wanted to explore. It was amazing how many of the "locals" had never bothered to explore this beautiful area. I also had photos on the walls of incredible canyons, unspoiled, 1000 year old petroglyphs and gorgeous mountain top vistas. Friends would look at my pictures and ask, "Where's that?" They couldn't believe that these places were all within an easy days drive of our home.

Now, that I live back in Minnesota, when I want to go to the mountains I have to drive 850 miles to the Bighorns in Wyoming. Backpacking is such an inexpensive way to travel; if you are physically able to hack it. Two years ago my kids and I drove out there, spent a week hiking, sleeping in tents and eating the bare minimum (because of weight concerns) for a total cost of 81 dollars per person. Not bad for a week in one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in the country. The real beauty in being a two day walk from the end of the road is that it cuts down on the number of people you see.

The number of people in a wilderness area is inveresly proportionate to the square of the distance and the cube of the elevation from the nearest road. --Professor Hildebrand

Ron

lazypup - you make a very, very good point. Anytime I visit someone outside my area and they take me to see all the local points of interest it reminds me that there are many local points of interest where I live that I never take the time to see. Have only seen a few and that's typically when I'm showing them to out of town visitors. For anyone into technology, iphones, apps, etc. Wikihood is a great free app to show you what kinds of things are nearby.

I'm retired - every day's vacation.

Except - I have a garden ... that's late being planted, as there's been so much rain ...

... and I should be out there, now.

'Bye - see y'all later.

ole joyfilled

Today we have enjoyed *perfect* weather out on the screened porch. It's been 73F with low humidity. Blue sky. Quiet. I saw a couple of jets 'way up there, taking off from O'Hare; glad NOT to be on one.

Moonie -- "Boring" can be better than many other things.

Lazypup -- I like your 'strictly local' sightseeing!

I can only WISH. We havent been on a vacation since 1997. Shoot the beaches in MS, AL, or FLA would be omg, WONDERFUL! lol

We live in a beautiful area....San Luis Obispo County, CA.
Our son and his family are coming to visit this summer so we will visit the beach, see the elephant seals and drive some of the scenic byways here.
I am sure one of the places we will visit is Morro Bay State Park Natural History Museum.
Also, the grandkids will probably enjoy playing in the the sand dunes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Guadalupe Sand Dunes

There aare lots of beautiful waterfalls in Yellowstone accessable by car or short hikes. We stopped by several, the "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone is breathtaking!

We have 2 homes so we vacation a lot. Our main house is in Central Indiana and the other in the southern part of the state. The areas are totally different. We enjoy going back and forth. Since we are retired we can go anytime. Other then that we don't go anywhere. We just don't have the desire to do so.

Previously I discussed how Jan & I take short day trips near our home in lieu of an actual vacation. I thought I would share a few photos of what we have found, but keep in mind, this is just the tip of the iceburg;

Yesterday we went to "Old Sturbridge Village" which is one of our favorite spots. It is a living museum depicting rural agricultural and commercial life from 1760 to 1830 in New England. Yesterday they sort of broke the theme and had an antique car show. Imagine seeing not one, but four working Stanly Steamers.

At Old Sturbridge Village they not only have recreated the town, but they have ppl dressed in costume working in the homes, shops and on the farms. Here is a shot of the Timsmith plying his trade:

The Timsmiths Shop at Old Surbridge Village

On another day it was off to the Connecticutt Trolley Museum;

Or how about me holding a butterfly at the
Butterfly Conservatory:

Wathing a man train his pet Red Tailed Hawk in the art of Falconry,,,At Stanley Park, Westfield, Mass.

Oh but tomarrow is a new adventure to the Dr.Seuse Memorial Park in Springfield Mass and on the Springfield Armory Museum where they began making rifles for George Washingtons Army and kept on making military armaments into the 1980's

And next weekend its off to the Connecticutt Air Museum at Bradley Field, about half way between Springfield Mass and Hartford, Conn.

I could go on of for days and days, the Ham Radio Museum at Newington Connect, the Merrygoround Museum in Holyoke Mass, and a hundred other similar places, all within a mere 30 or 40 mile distance. A simple pic nic basket lunch, 4 or 5 gals of gas and home to sleep in my own bed, what could be more fun?

I think I may make some separate threads on each of the day trips to give a better example.

No beach vacation this year. Woody went to CO for about 3 weeks in May, to fish and dog-sit for some friends so they could go to Ireland.

I'll probably go down to TX for a week, sometime this summer, to a girlfriend's house, that'll be fun. Then he has a float/fishing trip in late Sept for a week.