What do you do for vacation

[rgr33]

Eddie, I'm with you on cruising. It is a great way to check out exotic locations that you may want to investigate more closely. The absolute best vacation we have ever taken was back to back cruises, first we boarded in LA, through the Panama Canal, second leg was a week in the Caribbean, fantastic! Also, for those that haven' ever tried cruising, don't worry, there's always a ton of things to do, I like sitting poolside just checking out the view, if you know what I mean ��

 

[mjarrels]

Wife would like to take a cruise but after a 21 year Navy career, I don't think I could ever enjoy paying for a cruise. Six or eight month cruises where I got paid is enough for me!

mark

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Wife would like to take a cruise but after a 21 year Navy career, I don't think I could ever enjoy paying for a cruise. Six or eight month cruises where I got paid is enough for me!

mark

You never know. My first cruise I went ONLY because Sharn Jean wanted to go. Spending a week in a closet next to a clanging engine, rocking ship, seasick, etc. Was not my idea of a good time. Boy, was I surprised. Best time of my life. The cabin was roomy, sea smooth, company good, entertainment good, food outstanding and the shore excursions were great. Who knows, it might be worth the sacrifice on your part to share a new experience with her...just think of all the experience and commentary you have to share!

 

[MacLawn]

I'm also Navy (Vitenam) vet Mark, and thought I'd also had enough "cruising" mess. But, Ethyl booked a Mediterranean cruise for us out of Barcelona a few years ago, and it was very nice! Pleasantly surprised. Especially with our room! Better than a heap of hotels I've stayed in! Food was good, stopped at many ports from Spain to Italy, France and back. Our work takes us to Spain every year if we want to go, it's an option, we don't go every year, so that's how we got to Barcelona in the first place. But, the Mediterranean is almost a dead sea compared to what I was used to! Just seems to be overfished and didn't see any sea crits like I'm used to seeing way off the Pacific coasts all over Asia.

 

[ovrszd]

I find it incredible that this thread went 24 posts in without one single picture. You guys must take very, very boring vacations........

 

[MoKelly]

We tend to like tennis themed vacations to nice places. Our favorite is Palm Springs in the fall. We play tennis pretty much all day with all sorts of folks and then go to the resorts or town for drinks and dinner. If you have never been to Palm Springs I highly recommend.

MoKelly

 

[Parkanzky]

We do one or two ~one week trips every year. We try to take a "big" trip every couple years.

They used to be very carefully planned, but our philosophy on that has changed completely.

We had vacationed in Hawaii where we got extremely busy before the vacation and didn't plan it as well as we usually do. We stayed at a gorgeous resort on Waikiki Beach, but drove all the way around Oahu at least a couple times. We hopped a plane to do a long day trip to the big island and to hike Volcano Nat'l Park, visited Diamond Head, spent a whole day exploring Pearl Harbor, had surfing lessons on the North Shore, took a biplane ride out over the sacred falls, etc.

We liked that experience so much that we took a trip to San Francisco early last year where all we had lined up was a rental car and the hotel for the first night. Then we'd decide what we wanted to do for the next couple days and head that way. We got to experience a couple of neighborhoods in San Fran, Alcatraz, Napa, Sonoma, Lake Tahoe, Reno, Monterey, Big Sur, etc. We had an amazing time!

That trip was such a great success, that we made our big trip last year a three-week trip to southern Europe with almost zero planning. Again, we had a hotel room for the first night or two and a rental car lined up. We also had tickets to the Italian Gran Prix and a hotel room during that event because everything around Monza books solid that weekend. We spent a couple days in the Lake Como area, then drove to Switzerland for a day, down through France to Monaco for a couple days, over to Nice, down to Florence and Rome, across to Rimini (on the Adriatic), a few days in Venice, etc. And we had stops in rural areas throughout where we got to feel like we were really experiencing the cultures we were visiting.

It was the trip of a lifetime, and we plan to do something similar every other year. For us, stripping away the pressures and expectations that come with having plans makes the vacation much more of a real vacation. I used to go on vacation and after a few days I just wanted to be home "sleeping in my own bed." Now, even after three weeks I am sad to see it coming to an end.

 

[ericb2400]

I find it incredible that this thread went 24 posts in without one single picture. You guys must take very, very boring vacations........ <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/rural-living/423423-what-do-you-do-vacation-dsc06622-jpg"/> <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/rural-living/423424-what-do-you-do-vacation-dsc06638-jpg"/> <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/rural-living/423425-what-do-you-do-vacation-dsc06673-jpg"/> <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/rural-living/423426-what-do-you-do-vacation-dsc06692-jpg"/><img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/rural-living/423427-what-do-you-do-vacation-dsc06696-jpg"/>

Have to ask. Where is this. Is it Black Bear rd? It looks like fun.

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

 

[The Suburban Farmer]

I get 4 weeks of vacation per year at work. It USED to be that I never used all of it, but after living a little longer and realizing that the business doesn't fall apart when I'm not there, I now take it all. Usually we break it down into:

• 2 weeks family vacation somewhere warm and sandy (the wife LOVES the beach -- I tolerate it, but would rather be in the mountains... but who can argue with cold Corona and margaritas every day?
• 1 week around the holidays to visit family
• 1 week of "me time" that I take to do the things I like. I think EVERYONE needs some alone time now and then. I usually don't go anywhere, but I will use that week to take the boat out fishing, or do a project around the house, or whatever.

I am amazed at how few people take their entire vacation allotment. I saw a survey not too long ago that put the US at the bottom of the pack in terms of "how many vacation days go unused." Honestly, I think my European colleagues have it right -- the senior guys usually take the entire month of August off. Our European executives get 6 weeks of vacation at my company. Maybe I should move to Tuscany or Spain...

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I go to Quicksand Farm and work like a convict sentenced to hard labor.

 

[roadhunter]

Tried the cruise vacation and its' simply wasn't for me. Cramming as many people on a boat for as possible for a week is not my idea of a vacation. I prefer quiet out of the way spots. Big crowds and waiting in lines is not my idea of a vacation. One way to do this is to go during the off season. Visiting Yellowstone in the winter, spring, or fall, is much more enjoyable than battling traffic in the Summer.

 

[ovrszd]

Have to ask. Where is this. Is it Black Bear rd? It looks like fun.

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

Yeah, some of it is Black Bear. The mountain town in one picture is Telluride, taken from the driver's seat of the Jeep.

I take vacations to escape people. Others take vacations to be around people. Personal choice. No wrong answer.

 

[ovrszd]

Tried the cruise vacation and its' simply wasn't for me. Cramming as many people on a boat for as possible for a week is not my idea of a vacation. I prefer quiet out of the way spots. Big crowds and waiting in lines is not my idea of a vacation. One way to do this is to go during the off season. Visiting Yellowstone in the winter, spring, or fall, is much more enjoyable than battling traffic in the Summer.

I took my parents to Yellowstone several years ago, right after Labor Day weekend. It wasn't too bad. I have a goal of doing Yellowstone in the dead of Winter.

 

[jmc]

The highlight of my year is with my old fishing buddies. We go back about 35 years and although we're scattered about the country now, we get together once a year to fish in the Ontario wilderness. 20 hrs from N Indiana to an end of the road mining town- Red Lake, Ontario. Then a 140 mile floatplane trip to an outpost cabin where they drop us and we have about 10,000 acres of water to ourselves for a week. Even on the worst fishing days, there's always enough walleye for lunch.

 

[ovrszd]

The highlight of my year is with my old fishing buddies. We go back about 35 years and although we're scattered about the country now, we get together once a year to fish in the Ontario wilderness. 20 hrs from N Indiana to an end of the road mining town- Red Lake, Ontario. Then a 140 mile floatplane trip to an outpost cabin where they drop us and we have about 10,000 acres of water to ourselves for a week. Even on the worst fishing days, there's always enough walleye for lunch.

Now that's a vacation!!!!

 

[Paddy]

I travel for a living so staying home is best for me. But when the CEO decides, my wife, Asia or Europe. Though next week is Memphis/New orleans with a stop in Nashville works fine. In the USA, food and music. To see things/places you can't see at home, USA, far away. Best country, Italy, best city Prague, Asia to see things that make you say, "wow, I've never seen that before!".

It's all good if you can leave it all behind for a few.

 

[DrRod]

Each spring and fall I sequester myself in my cabin on my farm and catch up on projects, tractor/ATV riding, and hammock time. I really like the outdoor work since I spend most of my time sitting in an office. Sort of makes you come back alive. I also like to take short trips to do something interesting. Just took a train ride so I could to see the Horseshoe Curve from the track side. Also went to a car show at Carlisle and a couple of big country auctions.

I once did a "stay-cation" -- just stayed at home and visited all the stuff a tourist would but we locals never take the time. I hiked up to the ruins of the seminary, took a walking tour of the old historic district, checked out the local state park, visited a winery, etc. It was one of the best times I can remember.

I'd like to fly into New Orleans and drive up the blues highway. Also would like to visit the Little Big Horn Battlefield but otherwise I've seen much of the west having lived there in a previous life.

Never could understand the whole beach thing. Sitting around with a million other people and spending money like water to feed and entertain the family with the most cheesy of experiences. Not a fan of air travel unless I can go first class but would like to go back to Europe again when time permits. Never been on a cruise but in the words of Samuel Johnson it appears to be prison with a chance of drowning.

 

[Parkanzky]

Never been on a cruise but in the words of Samuel Johnson it appears to be prison with a chance of drowning.

My parents took a few cruises. My father passed away in '11. A year or so ago, my wife and I decided that my Mother would enjoy getting away for awhile, so we took her on a cruise. My mother enjoyed it, my wife tolerated it, and I disliked it.

I know lots of people that take one or two cruises a year and when they get back they can't wait to plan the next one. But it's not for me. As I said above, I like to wander and really experience a place. Everything on the cruise was "artificial" and when we got to port, they tried to funnel us into touristy "excursions." The only time I enjoyed the trip was when we were off on our own exploring the villages away from the ports.

The biggest surprise to me was the food. Most "cruisers" rave about the cuisine on these boats. My wife and I really enjoy fine dining, so I did a lot of research before I booked and made sure to pick a boat/line where the food was especially well-reviewed. It turned out to be mediocre at best and a big disappointment. People around us were all enjoying it, so I think that most go into it with different expectations than we had.

We had a similar experience when we spent half a week at an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica (We were there for a destination wedding). There were tons of people around us sucking down cheap booze and having a grand time, but we ended up just counting the hours until we could get out of there.

 

[DrRod]

We had a similar experience when we spent half a week at an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica (We were there for a destination wedding). There were tons of people around us sucking down cheap booze and having a grand time, but we ended up just counting the hours until we could get out of there.

Ya' know, this makes me think . . .

I work hard to make my everyday life a good one. While a getaway can be nice, I don't need a vacation to make my life worthwhile. And I'll bet that holds [more or less] for most of the people in here. I mean, if you have invested in some land and machinery, you are probably pretty heavily into your home life. You probably take pride in where you live/work and in the results of your efforts. Why else would you have a tractor? Similarly, you like doing things, accomplishing things, etc. and a cruise or resort is sort of the antithesis and rubs you the wrong way. Just a thought, sorry if I've committed psychology.

 

[sseelhoff]

Ya' know, this makes me think . . .

I work hard to make my everyday life a good one. While a getaway can be nice, I don't need a vacation to make my life worthwhile. And I'll bet that holds [more or less] for most of the people in here. I mean, if you have invested in some land and machinery, you are probably pretty heavily into your home life. You probably take pride in where you live/work and in the results of your efforts. Why else would you have a tractor? Similarly, you like doing things, accomplishing things, etc. and a cruise or resort is sort of the antithesis and rubs you the wrong way. Just a thought, sorry if I've committed psychology.

Taking a vacation is more than "making my life worthwhile." As much as I enjoy where we live, we enjoy seeing new places, meeting new people, and learning about other cultures. And sometimes it's good to get away just to get away. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all.