Author Topic: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread  (Read 190776 times)

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Offline varoadking

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3875 on: August 02, 2024, 11:42:02 pm »
Heard them and saw one flying by here a few minutes ago. But time for a nap. Time zone change catching up with me.

I've become a bona fide Blue Angels geek...

Offline imref

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3876 on: August 02, 2024, 11:56:42 pm »
I've become a bona fide Blue Angels geek...
Have you been to Pensacola?  Can’t recall if we discussed already.

Offline varoadking

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3877 on: August 03, 2024, 03:18:50 pm »
Have you been to Pensacola?  Can’t recall if we discussed already.

No...we like to sit right on the flight line, so the beach crowd doesn't really interest us...

I see they have premium flightline seating for sale as well...may have to head down there one of these days...

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3878 on: September 03, 2024, 10:41:56 pm »
Anyone been to a besbol game in Puerto Rico? 

Offline Natsinpwc

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3879 on: September 04, 2024, 07:36:59 am »
Anyone been to a besbol game in Puerto Rico?
No. But sounds like fun.

Offline Count Walewski

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3880 on: September 19, 2024, 02:30:13 pm »
Next adventure for me is in December over winter break: we'll be doing Brussels for Christmas and Paris for New Years. A bit over 90 days out so now is when I am really creating detailed planning spreadsheets etc.

I've ridden public transit all over the world and Paris has by far the most confusing ticket system. There are something like six different kinds of Metro tickets available (one can only be bought on days when there is bad pollution) but most of them have no independent corporeal existence and must be loaded on one of three different physical cards, two of which require you to supply a passport photo when you buy it! Those two also require you to buy the tickets in person from a booth. Makes me long for recent visits to Chicago and Philadelphia where I could just ride the train or bus by swiping my credit card - a system that, thankfully, Brussels has adopted.

Tough decision to make on NYE. Do we go to the Arch of Triumph and watch the fireworks there at midnight, requiring us to get there several hours early and stand outdoors in the cold weather? Or do we bow to the reality of middle age and go to bed early? Most Dec 31's here in America my wife goes to bed at her usual time and I stay up just long enough to watch the ball drop on TV before going to bed myself.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3881 on: September 19, 2024, 02:37:50 pm »
There's usually a massive Christmas tree in the Grote Markt/Grand Place (which looks like the world's largest and most ornate gingerbread house anyways), so good call there

Offline imref

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3882 on: September 19, 2024, 03:48:44 pm »
Next adventure for me is in December over winter break: we'll be doing Brussels for Christmas and Paris for New Years. A bit over 90 days out so now is when I am really creating detailed planning spreadsheets etc.

I've ridden public transit all over the world and Paris has by far the most confusing ticket system. There are something like six different kinds of Metro tickets available (one can only be bought on days when there is bad pollution) but most of them have no independent corporeal existence and must be loaded on one of three different physical cards, two of which require you to supply a passport photo when you buy it! Those two also require you to buy the tickets in person from a booth. Makes me long for recent visits to Chicago and Philadelphia where I could just ride the train or bus by swiping my credit card - a system that, thankfully, Brussels has adopted.

Tough decision to make on NYE. Do we go to the Arch of Triumph and watch the fireworks there at midnight, requiring us to get there several hours early and stand outdoors in the cold weather? Or do we bow to the reality of middle age and go to bed early? Most Dec 31's here in America my wife goes to bed at her usual time and I stay up just long enough to watch the ball drop on TV before going to bed myself.
Could you get a hotel room with a view of the Arch?

Offline English Natsie

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3883 on: September 19, 2024, 06:29:11 pm »
New Years Eve, at the Arc, is always heaving - unless you have to have that 'I was there' experience, then you'll get a better view of the light-show / fireworks on TV. It's also likely to be pretty tense, security wise - not just because of Ukraine and Gaza, but because of the current political situation in France, particularly if Rassemblement vote down the Barnier budget...

If you have time, the best place for Christmas is Bruges - lovely. Only 55 miles (about an hour) away by train, of which there are many each day.

Offline Count Walewski

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3884 on: September 19, 2024, 06:56:01 pm »


Yeah it looks packed, like Times Square. When I first moved to the east coast I considered going to Times Square for NYE and somebody told me that a lot of those people are wearing diapers because they have to get there hours in advance and there are no public bathrooms (nor could you get to one if there were public bathrooms) and it removed any desire I have to ever do that.

I could instead go on a midnight cruise and count down while floating in front of the Eiffel Tower, I could go to an organ concert of classical music at one of Paris's big famous churches, lots of options that could still make the evening feel special.

Offline English Natsie

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3885 on: September 19, 2024, 07:11:10 pm »
Ah - just for clarity, Bruges is 55 miles from Brussels..

I hope you have an enjoyable vacation.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3886 on: September 20, 2024, 04:27:35 pm »
55 miles and 550 years
Ah - just for clarity, Bruges is 55 miles from Brussels..

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3887 on: September 20, 2024, 05:49:17 pm »

Offline Count Walewski

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3888 on: September 21, 2024, 06:40:39 am »
We have 3 full days in Brussels and for one of those days I booked a bus tour that takes us not just to Bruges, but also to Ghent. Not sure how beautiful Ghent and Bruges will look on a cold December day, but I'll find out!

Ghent of course is where the treaty that ended the War of 1812 was signed. My previous experience was a buddy of mine about 10 years ago calling me and saying "hey I'm in Ghent, can you help me find the building where the Treaty of Ghent was signed" - and with the help of Google I found the building and told him exactly where to go. Yeah I'm the kind of friend you call for something like that.

Offline English Natsie

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3889 on: September 21, 2024, 01:33:18 pm »
We have 3 full days in Brussels and for one of those days I booked a bus tour that takes us not just to Bruges, but also to Ghent. Not sure how beautiful Ghent and Bruges will look on a cold December day, but I'll find out!


Bruges always looks great - you can take a canal trip, as well. Going on an organized trip is a good move - Bruges is a parking nightmare - as it shall, no doubt, drop you off near the city center. You'll no doubt encounter plenty of Brits - Bruges Christmas Market is a 'go-to' destination for UK travellers.

Offline English Natsie

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3890 on: September 21, 2024, 05:39:13 pm »

Ghent of course is where the treaty that ended the War of 1812 was signed. My previous experience was a buddy of mine about 10 years ago calling me and saying "hey I'm in Ghent, can you help me find the building where the Treaty of Ghent was signed" - and with the help of Google I found the building and told him exactly where to go. Yeah I'm the kind of friend you call for something like that.

There is one great, of Western art, which is not to be missed, in Ghent - The Ghent Altarpiece.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent_Altarpiece

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3891 on: September 25, 2024, 05:06:43 pm »
Ghent has a nice christmas market

Offline wj73

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3892 on: September 30, 2024, 02:54:17 pm »
Just finishing up a loop trip down around the southern end of the Bay.


First stop was Luray Caverns. I hadn’t been since I was a kid, and had forgotten how really spectacular they are. Then we did the mandatory Williamsburg visit. Last time we did our second day at Jamestown, so this trip we concentrated on Yorktown. The Museum of the American Revolution is excellent. In addition to the exhibits themselves, we attended a great lecture by a historian about the Revolutionary War. We also caught a musket firing demo, and more exciting, a cannon firing. That thing was LOUD and echoed across the landscape for several seconds afterwards. Quite impressive.


From there we headed to the Norfolk area, and spent the day at Fort Monroe, visiting the museum there and taking the guided tour by a NPS ranger. It’s a very large, very impressive fort. It was decommissioned in 2011 as part of the BRAC closings. One of the most unusual features was a pet cemetery winding along the top of the ramparts. A whole line of little headstones with the pet’s name, birth and death years, and usually a brief description (“Beloved Dachshund”, “Best Friend”, “A Great Dog”, etc.). It was mostly dogs, but there were a few markers for cats and even a rabbit or two. Quite touching.


Then it was across the Bay Bridge-Tunnel and up the VA Eastern Shore to Chincoteague. Visited the small but informative Chincoteague Museum. You may have read “Misty of Chincoteague” as a kid about one of the wild Assateague ponies. Well, the museum has the taxidermied remains of Misty on display, as well as one of her offspring, Stormy, on display. Maybe a tad creepy?? Anyway, we did see several wild ponies when we visited the VA section of Assateague. I liked Chincoteague very much. It was lovely, and very low key.


The next day, we headed north to the MD part of Assateague. The Visitor Center had a good film about the ponies, the impact they have on the environment as a non-native species, and contrasting the different approaches taken by MD and VA to control their respective pony populations. And, of course we again saw several wild ponies in the Park. They are such a lovely sight.


Spending a few days in Rehoboth, then will visit a friend in Rock Hall before heading home.


It was a nice trip exploring places close to home.

Offline imref

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3893 on: September 30, 2024, 03:50:20 pm »
by any chance did you see Redoubt #10 at Yorktown where Alexander Hamilton led a bayonet charge against British forces?

If you are ever in that area again you must visit the Mariner's Museum in Hampton Roads. It is spectacular and is home to many pieces of the USS Monitor, the first ironclad warship that battled the CSS Virginia in the Battle of Hampton Roads. The museum features an immersive in-the-round theater that recreates the battle, and is in the process of conserving the original turret as well as guns and the Monitor's engine.

Offline wj73

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3894 on: October 01, 2024, 09:52:23 am »
We did get to Redoubt 10. The American Revolution Museum did an excellent job explaining why the capture of Redoubts 9 and 10 was critical to the success of the siege.


We had the Mariner’s Museum in our to-do list, but ended up spending so much time exploring Fort Monroe that we ran out of time. We will add it to our list for the next time we’re in that area.

Offline skippy1999

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3895 on: October 03, 2024, 10:00:17 pm »
No...we like to sit right on the flight line, so the beach crowd doesn't really interest us...

I see they have premium flightline seating for sale as well...may have to head down there one of these days...
Do it!!! I’ll meet ya there!!

Offline Count Walewski

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3896 on: October 05, 2024, 06:49:58 am »
What's fun to do in the Fort Myers, Florida area with kids? We are booked there for late January.

Offline imref

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3897 on: October 05, 2024, 08:13:05 am »
What's fun to do in the Fort Myers, Florida area with kids? We are booked there for late January.

We stayed in Sanibel a few years ago before Ian wrecked it. The beachfront area in ft myers beach was nice but is still recovering. We had a great time seeing a minor league hockey game (Everblades). Otherwise we mostly hung out at the beach. Sanibel is fantastic for collecting sea shells. We went paddle boarding and did a sunset cruise as well. January might be chilly though.  The Ostego Bay Science Center might be fun for them as well. It provides a tour of the shrimping industry.

It looks like that area is going to get hit again with a hurricane next week, possibly major again. There was some damage from Helene’s surge as well.

Offline imref

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3898 on: January 03, 2025, 06:05:19 pm »
As of January 8 US citizens need a permit to visit the UK:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta

Offline English Natsie

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #3899 on: January 03, 2025, 06:50:25 pm »