Favorite place is California's Coachella Valley (Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, etc) especially in Feb/March.

Mustique in the Caribbean if I need to just lay back and vegetate. Walt Disney World is always fun, and if I want to do both explore and vegetate, then it would probably be Big Sur, California.

It's been two times now, that I was in Hot Springs Arkansas. I really liked it there, in the old Arlington hotel and spa.

Moni

I like to go somewhere I've never been before. In 2012 I hope to get to some national parks in the west. I like going to other countries but right now I'm on a mission to get to the remaining states I haven't yet been to.

since i've never been east of cleveland (well did take 75 south to fl) i'd love to see the ne...but my heart belongs to highway 1 in ca...

Just love cruising. I am a cruiser.
Been to the Caribbean lots, and I just stay on the ship.
Upcoming one is Feb 5 and have no plans to get off for excursions, but just enjoy the pleasure of my private balcony, sun while everyone is gone and the buffets.

My life pleasure and sticking to it.

I'd love to go away during the Christmas holiday except I live in the upper cold region of the midwest and I am a worry-wart. (I'd choose to go to a resort where I could play with a snowmobile and for photo-ops, or go south below the freezing temperature line.) But while I'm gone, I'd be worrying about the furnace quitting and all the plumbing in the house freezing and bursting. That would keep me from enjoying the trip. I suppose I could shut off the water, drain the water pipes and water heater, and put RV antifreeze in the toilet tanks. But there would be water in all the drain traps and this should not be removed to prevent invasion of sewer gas. If the traps are blown free of water, then the upper portions should be plugged to prevent backup of sewer gas. That seems silly of me so I curtail travel during winter. When younger with a good paycheck, we did take Christmas trips to our parents, alternating each year between my wife's parents and mine. Back then, I never gave much thought about a freeze-up. A few years ago, a freeze-up did occur to an associate of mine and the mess and expense that created has made me more cautious in my old age.

You can't think of everything. For example, my SIL was away for the weekend when the hose to her washer broke. Some clothing floated over the floor drain plugging it and the basement flooded. The water rose until it poured into the sump pump well and turning on the pump. That was followed by a huge water bill.

I'm happy just going up to Vermont for a couple days. I'm a homebody.

My in laws took many cruises. When they left home, they turned off the water source to their house. Never had a problem. I had my plumber show me how to do this. We used to turn off our oil burner in our house. Once, after being gone 2 weeks (in summer) , we returned and turned it back on. We got a "puff-back" which is a big cloud of black oil smoke. Made a mess, fortunately did not start a fire. We have since got rid of our oil burner, we now have natural gas. I wouldn't know how to turn off the gas. Oh, with me on dialysis and DH unable to walk, we aren't going on any holidays soon.

I liked old Rodney Dangerfields comment on this subject..

he said his wife told him she wanted to go someplace different, someplace she had never been before...so he said,,"How about go out in the kitchen and cook a real meal".

I am happy not to go anywhere as I have a lot of fun things I would like to do around home. I never did care for travel.

Sue

Like you, Jasdip, I'll stick with northern climes. Scotland really interests me.

In Europe, Austria and Italy--I've been to both many times. In the U.S.,my favorite trips have been to Wyoming (a week on a dude ranch!), Nantucket and Cape Cod, Seattle, and San Diego.

Each year my family goes to Gatlinburg during the Christmas holidays. We are going soon and I can't wait. We rent a lovely cabin from the same couple each year, and they let us bring our Jack Russell. We love the outdoors so we pick a new trail in the park each year to hike. We also have other traditions like putting together an oversized puzzle on the dining room table, Wi golf tournament, sleep in late and make chocolate chip pancakes for brunch, etc... Love me some family time.

holiday? like, as in vacation? what's that?

I like to go places where I can see and learn things, guided tours, etc. Not too fond of sitting on the beach or by the pool for too long. I love visiting national parks.

I'll go anywhere on minimal notice, warm or cold. I'm thinking about a road trip in the western states, want to see more of Hawaii, Alaska, and western Canada, but have never been to the deep south. I've been to the Antarctic and to Europe but also really want to go to Africa and Australia and New Zealand. So many places to go and so little time and money.

Lot of places. I want to drive up the East coast to Maine, never been up that way other than in airports. I also want to drive up the West coast from Washington to S. California. I want to go back to Yellowstone and see the redwoods again. I want to see Crater Lake in Oregon.

Would love to go back to Germany and Italy. Would love to go to Spain where our exchange student, Maria, is from. I've been there before but in a totally different area, TDY when I was in the Air Force. I also want to see Japan and meet my mom's family, see Scotland, England, Australia, and New Zealand.

I'll never see all those places, I know but I can dream.

We went to Disneyland during the Xmas holiday. It was crowded, but such a memorable experience. They had fake snow falling. I actually cried.

I think I have the best of both worlds, live in SW. Pa. where it does get cold but when it's too cold, I escape to Florida for a couple of months....
I think my favorite might be a cruise, loved everyone we've been on or maybe 6 weeks in Ireland.....

Id love to go to Los Cabos, Mexico. It's at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula and so beautiful. My DSis and BIL spent a week there this last spring and it looked wonderful. Jodi_CA posted lots of pictures from their trip there. Sis stayed at an all-inclusive resort so had all their meals, drinks, tips, etc., paid for up front. Sounds like heaven on earth (and by the looks for Jodi's pictures, it is).

Socks12345, I'm with you. I want to learn too. I live in Virginia and belong to many historical societies and am constantly amazed at the pioneering work of our ancesters. Incredible sacrifices and brilliant vision.

We are cruisers and usually do 2 or 3 a year. Our favorite was a 16 day cruise around Cape Horn, left from Sao Paulo, Brazil and ended in Valpariso, Chile. I would do it again in a hearbeat, quite an adventure. We loved the Alaska cruise, Panama Canal cruise and always like the Caribbean. We've been to several Caribbean ports,many times, but we don't care.

Last year we took our family on a cruise for Christmas. No gifts, except for the little boys, no cooking, no stress. It was great! I didn't put up a tree, decorate the house or put lights on the outside. This year we are doing the same, except leaving after Christmas. I guess since I didn't do any of it last year I put my tree up and decorated the house before Thanksgiving and put the lights on the outside of the house 2 days after Thanksgiving. I will do the cooking, but will only have 3 gifts to buy, for MIL and two grandsons. They were 3 and 6 last year and had an awesome time, that is all they talk about, getting on the boat. I love making memories!

The two places I want to visit are Vietnam and Thailand!

jemdandy, all you need to do is pour some antifreeze in the traps too and your problem is solved. Don't you have a trusted friend or relative who could check your place? Or stay there? While they're there, suggest they clean the oven, paint the kitchen, remodel the bathroom... Hey, just an idea.

Where I would *like* to go is Australia. Where I *do* go is short trips. I really enjoy watching the ships come and go and I like the northern part of the state so I occasionally take a few day trip up there.

Don't usually make special trips for "holidays" though! I'm more of a stay around home guy then. :D

Going to Hawaii started out as 'holidays', but now we just live at our condo on Maui for several weeks of winter instead of here in Chicagoland. We leave in early Janauary and will return at the end of February. (Jem -- We hire a house/pet sitter who lives at our home while we're away.)

We often cruised the Caribbean; did the Canal twice; cruised the Mediterranean and Baltic. I'd like to combine a UK cruise with a stay in Scotland, but am loathe to leave nice weather here to have tolerable weather there!

We haven't found mainland resorts that appeal for long stays in winter. (Perhaps because we aren't golfers.) Hawaii always wins out as a State that's also a tropical paradise.

As everyone knows I love to travel and especially around our own country. In March we went to Fredericksburg, TX for a week along with our friends who have a toy hauler 5th wheel. We had our motorcycles with us and rode all over the countryside. We also went to the LBJ National Historic Park, which is so interesting.

In the middle of June we headed to the Pacific Northwest and toured around Oregon, Washington, Idaho. I also got to meet up with 6 members of the KT. We saw several National Parks along the way. We ended up at Teton National Park in Wyoming.

In October I flew to Cincinnati and did a driving tour with Murraysmom. We were on the road for 10 days and drove over 2,200 miles. We got to meet with 10 KTer's. Murraysmom and I had never met before and had a wonderful time.

Just last month we went to Galveston to see MarilynC and also the surrounding area. I had a get together in my motor home and enjoyed the company of 5 KTer's while we were in the Galveston area. We also got to visit with RuthieG on our way to Galveston and hopefully will see her again in late January.

We will be heading out again mid January heading to Florida to see my folks and other relatives I have there. Hopefully I will get to see some more KT friends that I have also seen over the past few years.

There are many places I still haven't been to but hopefully will have a good 10 years to venture out and enjoy our great country and all it has to offer.

Being retired we don't have to wait for a holiday to enjoy our motor home. I just wish I could keep him on the road longer. He is a homing pigeon and says he needs to go home after a month to six weeks on the road.

My ideal way to travel is to go 400 miles and set up, then take day trips to see everything of interest in a 150 mile radius. Then move another 400 miles and do it over again. It also saves on gas to do this since you are not returning home so often and then having to go back to where you were and start over. With diesel prices being anywhere from $3.69 to 4.29 a gallon and only getting 7-8 miles to a gallon it cost about $288.00 a day on the road figuring a 400 mile day.

I tell my husband it is only money and we can't take it with us. We earned it and we want to enjoy it and spend it during our lifetime. If there is anything left over the kids are welcome to it.

I hope all of you that want to travel get to do so. We live life only once so enjoy it to the fullest.

Ellie, you live in a wonderful area! It's in my backyard and I have been remiss in not spending more time there. My boss just got married in DC and we loved our (way too short) visit to our nation's capital. He lives and works in Georgetown so we spent most of our time there, I loved it there. I so want to come back down and be a tourist.

Nita, what a wonderful life! I agree, you earnrd it! Enjoy it to the fullest while you are able to. When you can't travel, sit back and enjoy all your wonderful memories.

Jemdandy, my hubby also worries about all the bad things that could happen. In fact when we arrived home after a month in Florida a few years ago, we found the house to be about 10 degrees colder that the 50 degrees we had set the furnace to when we left and the furnace wouldn't turn on. Temps outside were in the low teens. Fortunately,the malfunction had happened just a few hours before we returned.

Our neighbors weren't so fortunate. Last month they came home after a month away to find their house in ruins. The hot water tank had burst. The water kept running and heating. Flooded the lower level of the split and the steamy moisture penetrated everything. They couldn't live there while all the carpeting, drywall, cabnitery, most of their furnature, etc had to be replaced. Their son had checked the house a week earlier and all was well then.

I forgot...where to go on a holiday. I (we) have little interest in world wide travel, but would like to see more of the good ol' USA. In our motorcycle days, we never made it to Louisanna and would like to see more of southern Texas. So I would fill in the gaps of what we missed by motorcycle in those places. Just wandering around at leisure. Then we would go to visit Nita...if she was home!

Nita, you just have to come up to Eastern Pennsylvania, there is so much history, so much to do, that we take it for granted.

If you haven't been to these places, put them on your 'must see' list.

1. Grand Canyon

2. Bryce Canyon

3. Moument Valley

4. Yellow Stone

5. Yosemite Valley (and while there, tour the giant trees)

6. Crater Lake

7. Oregon/Washington Pacific coast.

8. Columbia River Gorge, south side where the waterfalls are.

9. Arches

10. Vermont/New Hampshire during fall color. Photograph covered bridges and quaint churces. (Note: New England weather is highly changeable during the color season. Expect rainy days 30% to 50% of the time. Clear mornings follwoing a rain period can be frosty.)

11. Blue Ridge Parkway during fall colors. (Note: Motel rooms are scarce during weekends of peak fall color.)

We were lucky to be in the military for 22 years. We got to travel and live in different places. I was raised in MA so have seen New England. We were stationed in the DC area twice so we have seen a lot of what there is to do in the DC area and also PA. We were young then and really were able to get around and do a lot.

Our children were small and we were into bicycling back then. We took the kids with us on our bikes and rode all through Gettysburg, Antietam and other battlefields. Did the Hershey Park and factory tour. Rode all through the Amish country and even camped there. Would really love to get back there but we really would love to see places we have never been.

We keep going back to Florida every year because my Dad is in his nineties and also has Dementia so I don't know how much longer he will recognize me before having to be put in a nursing home. Luckily my Mom is still able to take care of him (she is 87) so I don't have to worry too much at this point.
Once my Dad is gone we won't be going back like we do now.

We are going back to the Pacific Northwest this coming Summer because there is a lot of things we would love to see. If Mike would have stayed out for 2 months we wouldn't be going back there, we would be headed to someplace we haven't been.

I like to meet local people in different places, including various areas of the world ... what good is it to go to a distant place and meet only tourists?

Being a curious cuss I like to learn stuff, meet different people: it's a big, old, wonderful world out there.

(And we're doing a fairly effective job of messing it up).

ole joyful