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cruise to Bermuda out of NY
Freeze our butts on the days at sea?
Is Bermuda warm enough this time of year?
Fly to Florida - again
Back to Orlando for the umpteenth time?
week stay at a time-share resort, $350
Car Rental $150
Flights - probably $400
Fly to Miami or other parts of Florida - where? To do what?
Working vacation: Drive with friends to Tennessee and spend some time at our new house - Not staying in the vacant house, but getting measurements of the rooms, measuring the slope of the land to get exact measurements for the deck that's being planned (2 years away); planning remodel - what walls to come down, where to put addition; and get to know the area somewhat.
Lots of pluses, above but cons: nice hotel with a pool is not cheap; 2 days EACH WAY in a car! All food at restaurants.
Jump in car and drive - head to the poconos (hotels with pools) - but no events show up on tourist sites - what to do?
Vegas - cheap flights but not to hang out and gamble - we just went to Atlantic City last week - we've done the side trips and don't want to spend our vacation sitting in a car for 6+ hours a day.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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1 wk, + Nov; I would do TN. Drive there 'overnight' to save time and hotel, stop at a library or lobby of a 'lodge' for a nap the next day, and at a local swimming pool / hot springs for a shower and sauna. Use some backcountry B&B's or private guesthomes. Plan a couple 'roughing-it' meals at the new house, take a wrecking bar and get started on a project Check for local events / fundraiser dinners, harvest parties, plan a lot of hiking / adventure. Have some crazy (and cheap) fun. Go to a small town for a High School football game! Find out what the locals do, go bowling or dancing some night. Find a Bluegrass jam session at a local church or community hall.
JMHO, I like the TN / KT area in Nov. The fall smell in the forests is much more enticing to me than the smell of traffic elsewhere.
For Vegas, I would do it in Feb (when weather is really unbearable in NY). I like a couple state parks near LV. Valley of Fire (40 min north) and Red Rock Canyon, (~ 20 min west).
Next trip to Orlando, venture over to Tampa / St Peter's / Sarasota / Clearwater and enjoy the gulf side. It is often pretty quiet and I have found some great restaurants and good beaches there.
@StealthRabbit - I'm 60 - a wrecking bar? Nap in a lobby? ONE night? Overnight driving? LOL I don't drive after dark - period, at all - I can't see. Hiking, my idea of a hike is a jaunt through the superStop&Shop. Thanks for the chuckles - seriously. I would have done that 30 years ago, but it's out of the question these days.
Yeah, we considered everywhere else on the planet, too hot, too cold, or too expensive. We can take 5-6 vacations per year because we keep costs down, but we don't cut corners on sleep accommodations but DH is a govt employee so we get those discounts.
Go down to Gatlinburg, TN and just relax. There's a company called Timber Tops, in Pigeon Forge, which rents fully equipped chalets and cabins up in the mountains. We just got back from 4 days in one and it was a wonderful experience. Very, very relaxing.
And, there's plenty to do afoot in Gatlinburg, but if your tastes run more to "entertainment," you can stay busy in Pigeon Forge for weeks.
Stillkit, thanks! Nice place. That is definitely a place to consider for another vacation - great spot. Do they have any "cabins" not up high? I have a problem with heights!
Cruises are being heavily discounted at the moment. I would recommend looking for a 7 day cruise in the Caribbean. You can sail out of Ft. Lauderdale or out of San Juan. The Caribbean is great in November.
Stillkit, thanks! Nice place. That is definitely a place to consider for another vacation - great spot. Do they have any "cabins" not up high? I have a problem with heights!
Yes, I think they have some which are not so high up, though most of them appear to have excellent views, which means altitude.
They're a little pricey, at $300+ per night, but we joined with two other couples and split the cost. It amounted to LESS than staying in a hotel and the fully-equipped kitchen saved us a bundle. All 7 of us ate for 4 days on just about $150 worth of groceries. I hate to think what we would've spent eating out for that amount of time.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NY Annie
@StealthRabbit - I'm 60 - a wrecking bar? Nap in a lobby? ONE night? Overnight driving? LOL I don't drive after dark - period, at all - I can't see. Hiking, my idea of a hike is a jaunt through the superStop&Shop. Thanks for the chuckles - seriously. I would have done that 30 years ago, but it's out of the question these days.
...
OK, you mentioned 'Working vacation' + vacant future house, so... I was just thinking you were one of the kind that buy a beater home and fixes it up. (My mom does that at age 82, lays stones, runs the tractor, builds decks...).
Knowing a bit more about you makes it easier to recommend options, BUT your age alone wouldn't exclude those options. I just returned from a cross country trip with my 93 yr old friend in his Mustang Cobra (50%+ was night driving). I CANNOT keep up with his hiking, he climbed all the 14,000 ft mtns (52 of them...a few several times) AFTER he retired at age 68. When living in Switzerland we frequently hiked extensive treks with 80 and 90 yr olds. I volunteer at trail maint and over 80% of our crew is over 65. I can understand your apprehension if you are not used to these activities, I'm a prairie kid, so we just go till we turn back to dust. (I grew up on a dairy farm, 24x7 work, work, work, one vacation (a weekend) in 16 yrs)
I would recommend taking advantage of the cheap cruises; maybe there is a 'relocation cruise; from Caribbean to Mediterranean. I saw some from Buenos Aires to Copenhagen for $780. (12 day trip)
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 10-19-2009 at 02:17 PM..
I would say definitely do NOT do the TN trip - it's a waste of your time and money, the cons far outweigh the pro's. It will be anti-climactic.
I would say fly to South Florida - not Miami, though. Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach. The beaches are beautiful, there are great clubs, restaurants and nightlife. Shopping is pleasant even if you just window-shop (as I do there). There is so much to do in that area which is interesting, fun, and different, all with the Florida/tropical style, and the weather will be pleasant barring any hurricane-type weather (unlikely that late in the season, but you should be able to get hurricane-season rates on everything).
I spent many, many months there - altogether it was probably well over 2 years of my life - and I was never, ever bored.
If you like Orlando and go back there, I'd recommend going to Tampa and spending time there also. I feel it's about as good as the Ft. Lauderdale or W. Palm areas, as I've had the same experience there of never being bored and enjoying all my time there.
But I'd more recommend you fly into FLL or PBI, which you can fly direct from Newark on a great Continental flight, and they have several flights a day to each. It should be inexpensive, too - I'd say $250-ish each, maybe less even... You also have Jet Blue.
I'd recommend the Sheraton Yankee Clipper or Yankee Trader in Fort Lauderdale - beautiful twin hotels right on the beach. In West Palm, I loved the Hilton on Singer Island, but there are other options on Singer Island, right on the beach, on a beautiful, quiet, secluded island that has quick and easy access to "civilization" if you want or need it. It's about 15 minutes from downtown West Palm, where you can visit Clematis St. for great food and nightlife.
Both W. Palm and Ft. Laud. offer, IMHO, what Miami would be like if it were more down-to-earth and not so exclusive and overblown. It's what normal people would want as opposed to supermodel-wannabes and overly-flamboyant homosexuals and other people who try to live a stereotype.
Also, I would highly recommend you do something I've done a few times and LOVED -
DRIVE to Key West from W.Palm/Ft.Laud. (wherever you are staying).
What I would do, if I had a week as you do, is I'd fly to W.P. or F.L., stay a couple nights, then on that third morning, leave early (9 or 10) and drive down. You can, if you want, stop off at one of the attractions in Miami. Arrive to Key West, check in for a couple of nights. Park your car and then rent mopeds or scooters the next day, and just explore and enjoy this tiny Caribbean island. It's wonderful. Since you're going mid-week you'll get better rates. I enjoyed the Sheraton Suites, which was away from the downtown area. They have a shuttle to get you to and from the downtown, or you really could even walk because it's a tiny island. You can't drive, though, because there's noplace to park. When you have a scooter or moped you will just use that, anyway. This hotel is right across one of the only sandy beaches on the island, so you can enjoy swimming easily. Also, the suites are huge and all perfectly done in that tropical style, and the grounds are beautiful.
After your second night, enjoy half a day in Key West then drive back up.
The drive through the keys beats flying, because it's not a big time disadvantage (maybe an hour or so each way), but it's much cheaper, of course, and it's much more interesting. You will see small Key Deer along the way and other interesting little sights. Some of the keys along the way are fun themselves, like Marathon Key or Islamorada. It's also fun driving over the 7-mile bridge, it's like driving on the ocean. The time will go by quickly, it feels like an adventure, like you're exploring.
After you leave the keys go back to your original hotel or a different one and enjoy more time there, and then fly home.
I can't imagine this trip being boring in any way - you'd have to go out of your way to TRY to make it boring, if you ask me. There are even casinos around if you get that gambling bug again, or just want that environment.
Also, you will get a lot of bang for your buck. The beaches will rival anything on Bermuda but you won't be isolated and you will spend much less, and it's guaranteed to be warm down there.
If you really wanted to, you can even do a quick day or two trip to the Bahamas from Fort Lauderdale - so you can really customize this trip however you want, and you can even do it "on the fly" or "as you go"...
That's my recommendation, and I am a HUGE Vegas advocate - but the time you gave is ideal for a Florida trip, you'll be beating all the Thanksgiving people and airlines, hotels, etc. will have low rates. it's just perfect timing.
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Check for local events / fundraiser dinners, harvest parties, plan a lot of hiking / adventure. Have some crazy (and cheap) fun. Go to a small town for a High School football game! Find out what the locals do, go bowling or dancing some night. Find a Bluegrass jam session at a local church or community hall.
