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9/11 was how many years ago? I'm not too worried about Japan attacking Hawaii anytime soon.
Flying is the quickest way to travel. I'd rather ride high speed rail for domestic and/or land-locked travel, but that's only available in certain parts of the world.
As I've gotten older, my passion for travel has only increased. I absolutely love exploring the country and the world with my wife and young daughter, and we plan vacations 6 months in advance so we almost always have something booked that we can look forward to. Although we certainly don't have the time or the money to be on the road all the time, we usually take 2 flying vacations per year, and I've probably been on 100 plus airplane rides in my lifetime.
In recent years, however, I feel like I'm becoming more and more of a nervous flier, to the point that turbulence really bothers me and I pretty much cannot fly without taking a mild sedative. Anyone else in the same boat? If so, do you have any advice? I try to fly on larger airplanes whenever possible, but I'm having a really hard time not getting nervous on planes.
Convince your wife and daughter to be interested in shorter trips by car? There's some real interesting things to be seen once you get away from the Interstate highways. Since most of them are free, most travel guides won't promote them. Budget motels, free campgrounds, cheap good non-chain restaurants, unusual stores, drive up a mountain if you dare.
Explore historic pioneer settlements, ghost towns, check out the farmers' markets, antique stores and shows, city-wide garage sales, used book stores, rodeos, fairs, stroll across a college campus or walk along a scenic river, fishing, boating, annual small town events & more. Amusement parks, tours of big businesses, micro-breweries if you drink beer. Maybe do a circle tour around a great lake, though US now charges admissions and requires papers if you go into Canada; see major league sports facilities, attend a concert, visit relatives?
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I luv to travel (always Away, much more than HOME) Travel (food and lodging) CHEAPER than staying home ($43 / day property tax). https://wikitravel.org/en/Hospitality_exchange 1,000s of great stays in the last 30+ yrs (100+ in 2016 alone (5 this week))
I luv to fly (100+ flights this yr, 5 this week) If I go down... at least It will be FAST! (I have attended to too many in hospice / cancer - give me a CRASH ) Thousands of flights, never a close call (too my knowledge), except for the Air Canada 759 Pilot trying to land on the taxi way!! (I had just departed SFO)
I luv to drive (4 road trips this week)
I luv to bike (too busy to bike this week, but did take a spin at the beach today)
...
I love to GO! (Born into a trucking family) Have not got tired of it YET... (20+ yrs of 40 yr career was spent traveling >50% of the time, usually overseas.
There are many ways to travel without flying, BUT... I like international cultures and I MUST leave USA for Healthcare... and will need to leave FAST if I am in bad shape (no rockets available yet).
Options: Ships: (OK, but not for me... , but I prefer to sail myself) Ships are not all that stable!!! (or safe) When you pilot a ship in fog, or on rough seas, you know you indeed are VERY small! Roadtrips: FUN ... but LONG days (I prefer trucking / safe / earning dough to travel / accomplishing something of value for wasting the fuel (My cars have burnt free cooking oil since 1976) I my spouse lets me use their MH, the roadtrip is pretty sweet (nap, camp, shower, eat, stay at my leisure) but at 20mpg it is a spendy way to travel. Trains: These really scare me... I know there are many risks / human / mechanical errors. I feel safe with trains in Japan, Switzerland, and Germany. But... Spain, France, China, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Indonesia USA scare me BAD!!! Buses (tour / transit); As a commercial driver... you won't catch me stuck in a BUS (dangerous in a crash ) But,,,, I do know some good tour operators in USA and Europe for those who do not want to fly. hiking / trekking / walking EZ in UK Horses very fun in Wales!!! B&B(pub) to B&B via daily horse trekking Biking Do this in Belgium and The Netherlands! and Northern France
Remember to consider the LOW risk of flying..statistically insignificant (Not that statistics can calm your fears...)
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 11-26-2017 at 12:09 AM..
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,712 posts, read 58,054,000 times
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another options...
Travel vicariously...
Many hosts we stay with are doing this due to regulations / health / finances.
In most cases they are elderly and have many adventures of their own to share. Some cases, younger hosts are doing this because family and jobs are keeping them home.
It is always very fun to learn from, and share experiences with others.
I hate 31" seat pitch/17" seat width economy seats. I hate long security lines. I hate lousy air quality. I hate peanuts and a bag of junk food as my dinner option. I hate flight delays, canceled flights, and missed connections. I'm fine with international lie-flat business class seats, VIP security lines and customs lines, VIP club lounges, and the other things you get with a $6,000+ airplane ticket or the upgrade from all those flights I did in that lousy 31" seat pitch seat. I'm also fine with a private business jet.
I had three months of a 4 1/2 hour Amtrak ride every week recently. That was way better than flying. Even the cheap seats were wide with plenty of leg room and you can get up and walk around. No TSA lines. I could toss a couple bottles of wine or a full size can of shaving cream in my bag. If the US had true high speed rail, I'd take that for any 3 or 4 hour trip.
Me too, GeoffD, I second the train travel. No being stuck in your seat for the whole trip. They do have security, but it's nothing like the lines in the airports. Too bad the schedules are so limiting.
I admit that I haven't read through this entire thread. But does ANYBODY really LOVE to fly anymore????? At best, I think most people tolerate it or do it out of necessity.
And everyone's level of what they will tolerate or what they consider necessary is variable.
We've enjoyed the trains in Europe and tolerated them in a few other countries. We went from Raleigh to Manhattan a few weeks ago. DH had never been on Amtrak so he basically insisted that we "try" it. As much as I knew this was a bad idea, I gave in. Both of us were damn glad that we were flying home.
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) Thousands of flights, never a close call (too my knowledge), except for the Air Canada 759 Pilot trying to land on the taxi way!! (I had just departed SFO)
