"Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread

[English Natsie]

a handful of MGB GT's got 6 cylinders, and even a few 8 cylinders though they had a poor reputation.

Always thought the 1963 era MGB was one of the coolest looking cars ever.

No problem with the engine - Austin Morris bought the rights to the Buick V8 and used it in a variety of applications (it powered the Range Rover from the original Classic right through to the L322). With the MG it was somewhat shoe-horned into the available space - it upped the power of the car, but MG never really thought much about upgrading the brakes as well...(rear drums). The 1970's fuel crisis killed it off - 14mpg, anyone?...

[wj73]

Writing from the Panama Canal. We’ve gone through the first 3 locks, heading from the Atlantic side to the Pacific, and are now crossing Lake Gatun.


I’ve been up since 5:30 am watching our passage. It's really a fascinating operation. I'm thoroughly geeked out about it. 🤓

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Cool - pictures please!

[Natsinpwc]

We spent last weekend in Seattle visiting son and family.  Rained about the first day and a half but generally weather was fine other than about two hours of sun over five days.  Went up to 60 one day.  We did Pike Place Market.  Kraken were in town but did not have time.  Went to Snoqualmie Falls one day.  About 30 minutes east of Seattle. Hope to catch a Mariners game on next visit.

[Five Banners]

Writing from the Panama Canal. We’ve gone through the first 3 locks, heading from the Atlantic side to the Pacific, and are now crossing Lake Gatun.

Wave to Mariano for us

[imref]

Forgot to share but we made it out to Dry Tortugas NP last month, one of the more remote and least visited national parks in the US. It is on a small island about 70 miles west of Key West, only reachable by personal boat, ferry, or sea plane.

We took the ferry which is about a 2.5 hour trip each way. The ferry seats 175 passengers. We were warned it could get rough and to be prepared so we all took dramamine in the morning before boarding. It did indeed get rough. Seas were about 10' and we had a 10-15 knot headwind. The first hour was bouncy but bearable. The second hour got really rough, to the point where the crew told all passengers to remain seated and to only stand if accompanied by a crew member. The crew members spent about an hour going around to check on passengers, handing out barf bags (many of which where used) and cleaning up if necessary. My son had a particularly rough time and really didn't want to make the return trip. I wasn't feeling great, but I held down my breakfast.

Once we arrived at DT we realized the trip was worth the hassle. The fort is impressive. It was built in the early 1800s to project power into the gulf, but was an engineering boondoggle and hellhole in every way imaginable. It only ever saw limited use as a prison during and after the civil war (it's most famous occupant was Samuel Mudd). The fort was impossible to supply and maintain given its location. And, the ground couldn't support its weight, so they stopped building it in the mid-1800's. It is crumbling in some spots, but holding up well in others.

Fortunately the ride back to Key West was smooth with no issues.

I don't think I would ever return, but it is definitely worth the trip at least once. Some people go out and camp for 3 nights. Others spend time snorkling around a shipwreck and coral reef. The water temp was in the 70's so a bit too cold to snorkel so we spent the bulk of our 4 hours of available time exploring the fort.  If you do go, get a prescription for the patch that goes behind your ear to prevent sea sickness. Several people recommended it to us and I wish I had listened to them.

[tomterp]

In the future, but starting to get amped.  One of my bros and I are going to Normandy for a week spanning June 6.  80th anniversary of Operation Overlord.  My wife has no interest in France as a travel destination, his S.O. has been there, done that.  I think we'll make do.   

Staying in a little 2 bedroom villa about 10 miles away, renting a car.  Baguettes, charcuterie, vin de rouge.  Especially looking forward to walking the landing beaches, visiting Sainte-mère eglise, cheering on the parade of Shermans and just being there.

[imref]

Sounds like an amazing trip.

[Dave in Fairfax]

In the future, but starting to get amped.  One of my bros and I are going to Normandy for a week spanning June 6.  80th anniversary of Operation Overlord.  My wife has no interest in France as a travel destination, his S.O. has been there, done that.  I think we'll make do.   

Staying in a little 2 bedroom villa about 10 miles away, renting a car.  Baguettes, charcuterie, vin de rouge.  Especially looking forward to walking the landing beaches, visiting Sainte-mère eglise, cheering on the parade of Shermans and just being there.

10 miles from where? The landing areas are pretty widely separated. Ste-Mère-Église is 60 miles from Ouistreham, for example.

The times I've been there, I've stayed in Carentan, Arromanches, Bayeux and one or two truck-stop parking lots. Carentan is pretty centrally located for the American beaches and LZs, but it's a bit more of a drive to the Anglo-Canadian zones, as well as other sites like Avranches, Mont-Saint-Michel and Falaise.

I have a book called Major and Mrs. Holt's Battlefield Guide to Normandy Landing Beaches that I picked up in London several years ago. I can loan it to you if you'd like.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Amazing area.  I rode a bike along the landing beaches a while back, camped near Juno and Sword.  They still like North Americans in that part of France.   

In the future, but starting to get amped.  One of my bros and I are going to Normandy for a week spanning June 6.  80th anniversary of Operation Overlord.  My wife has no interest in France as a travel destination, his S.O. has been there, done that.  I think we'll make do.   

Staying in a little 2 bedroom villa about 10 miles away, renting a car.  Baguettes, charcuterie, vin de rouge.  Especially looking forward to walking the landing beaches, visiting Sainte-mère eglise, cheering on the parade of Shermans and just being there.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

In the future, but starting to get amped.  One of my bros and I are going to Normandy for a week spanning June 6.  80th anniversary of Operation Overlord.  My wife has no interest in France as a travel destination, his S.O. has been there, done that.  I think we'll make do.   

Staying in a little 2 bedroom villa about 10 miles away, renting a car.  Baguettes, charcuterie, vin de rouge.  Especially looking forward to walking the landing beaches, visiting Sainte-mère eglise, cheering on the parade of Shermans and just being there.

I'm curious - does anyone swim at the beaches along the Channel, esp. Normandy?

Also, you ought to rent a bike to experience the crosswinds. 

[Dave in Fairfax]

I'm curious - does anyone swim at the beaches along the Channel, esp. Normandy?

Also, you ought to rent a bike to experience the crosswinds.

I've swum in the Channel, albeit not in the Calvados area, but at Dieppe in Upper Normandy. Although, I'm not sure if it qualifies as swimming if you drive all night Germany, sleep in your car, then go into the surf with a bar of soap to clean up before going to see the sights.

I've seen people swimming, though not many and the oyster trawlers are more common. This is at Omaha Beach:



Closer to the British beaches, the terrain approaching the beaches is flatter and there are more resorts, so it's more common. Here is Ouistreham;

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I've swum in the Channel, albeit not in the Calvados area, but at Dieppe in Upper Normandy. Although, I'm not sure if it qualifies as swimming if you drive all night Germany, sleep in your car, then go into the surf with a bar of soap to clean up before going to see the sights.

I've seen people swimming, though not many and the oyster trawlers are more common. This is at Omaha Beach:



Closer to the British beaches, the terrain approaching the beaches is flatter and there are more resorts, so it's more common. Here is Ouistreham;

so that shot of Omaha, had you faced inland, about how far to the dunes with the bunkers?

[Dave in Fairfax]

Those two shots aren't mine. They are from beachsearcher.com. Their Omaha Beach pictures are from the beach at Les Moulins, below St. Laurent sur Mer, which was the location of Easy Green and Dog Red. These were in the landing zones of Virginia's 116th Infantry and the right flank of the 16th Infantry and were among the bloodiest beaches.

Assuming Google images works, these are pictures I took several years ago on a drizzly day in July. These are (1) from Normandy American Cemetery looking down toward the beach, (2) from the beach looking back toward the cemetery, (3) from the beach toward a bunker and the 5th Engineer Brigade monument, and (4) from the beach looking east toward Les Moulins.

Edit: apparently not. I have no idea how to link to these images so they'll show up to anyone but me.

[wj73]

Forgot to share but we made it out to Dry Tortugas NP last month, one of the more remote and least visited national parks in the US. It is on a small island about 70 miles west of Key West, only reachable by personal boat, ferry, or sea plane.

We took the ferry which is about a 2.5 hour trip each way. The ferry seats 175 passengers. We were warned it could get rough and to be prepared so we all took dramamine in the morning before boarding. It did indeed get rough. Seas were about 10' and we had a 10-15 knot headwind. The first hour was bouncy but bearable. The second hour got really rough, to the point where the crew told all passengers to remain seated and to only stand if accompanied by a crew member. The crew members spent about an hour going around to check on passengers, handing out barf bags (many of which where used) and cleaning up if necessary. My son had a particularly rough time and really didn't want to make the return trip. I wasn't feeling great, but I held down my breakfast.

Once we arrived at DT we realized the trip was worth the hassle. The fort is impressive. It was built in the early 1800s to project power into the gulf, but was an engineering boondoggle and hellhole in every way imaginable. It only ever saw limited use as a prison during and after the civil war (it's most famous occupant was Samuel Mudd). The fort was impossible to supply and maintain given its location. And, the ground couldn't support its weight, so they stopped building it in the mid-1800's. It is crumbling in some spots, but holding up well in others.

Fortunately the ride back to Key West was smooth with no issues.

I don't think I would ever return, but it is definitely worth the trip at least once. Some people go out and camp for 3 nights. Others spend time snorkling around a shipwreck and coral reef. The water temp was in the 70's so a bit too cold to snorkel so we spent the bulk of our 4 hours of available time exploring the fort.  If you do go, get a prescription for the patch that goes behind your ear to prevent sea sickness. Several people recommended it to us and I wish I had listened to them.

Thanks for this. Great write up. We visited there years ago, and were absolutely fascinated by the fort and the history. I agree that I probably would not make the trip back, but it was definitely worth seeing once.

[wj73]

Cool - pictures please!

Wish I could post some of my Panama Canal pix! But don’t really have a good place to post and link pix. We even did a time-lapse of the whole process inside one of the Canal locks. The entire transit took us about 9 hours. An amazing experience. 


We saw evidence of the delays caused by the low water levels in Lake Gatun this year. There were dozens of huge container ships just floating in the waters outside either end of the Canal, patiently waiting their turn. One guide told us the wait could be several days.

[wj73]

In the future, but starting to get amped.  One of my bros and I are going to Normandy for a week spanning June 6.  80th anniversary of Operation Overlord.  My wife has no interest in France as a travel destination, his S.O. has been there, done that.  I think we'll make do.   

Staying in a little 2 bedroom villa about 10 miles away, renting a car.  Baguettes, charcuterie, vin de rouge.  Especially looking forward to walking the landing beaches, visiting Sainte-mère eglise, cheering on the parade of Shermans and just being there.

What a great trip!

[Count Walewski]

Wish I could post some of my Panama Canal pix! But don’t really have a good place to post and link pix. We even did a time-lapse of the whole process inside one of the Canal locks. The entire transit took us about 9 hours. An amazing experience. 

We saw evidence of the delays caused by the low water levels in Lake Gatun this year. There were dozens of huge container ships just floating in the waters outside either end of the Canal, patiently waiting their turn. One guide told us the wait could be several days.

I recently watched this YouTube video about the problems the Panama Canal is having right now and its geopolitical implications:

We loved seeing Panama and the canal in 2022 and I hope they get some rain there soon.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

there probably needs to be a rebuild to a lockless canal. Sea levels are rising so chance the water runs out. Don't know if Panama has an environmental impact statement.

[wj73]

there probably needs to be a rebuild to a lockless canal. Sea levels are rising so chance the water runs out. Don't know if Panama has an environmental impact statement.

From what I learned, that’s a tough thing to do, at least in Panama. There’s a mountain range in the middle of the isthmus, so you’d have to completely level miles of mountain to do it. That’s why the Canal has the lake and the locks. They dammed the river, flooding the mountain passes so they only had to scrape away the very tops of the mountains, instead of trying to excavate down to sea level.


The French tried to build a sea level canal in the late 1800’s, but gave up after very little progress, with disease and accidents killing over 20,000 workers. Obviously technology and disease prevention are better now, but it still seems like a pretty daunting task, and the environmental damage would be immense.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

From what I learned, that’s a tough thing to do, at least in Panama. There’s a mountain range in the middle of the isthmus, so you’d have to completely level miles of mountain to do it. That’s why the Canal has the lake and the locks. They dammed the river, flooding the mountain passes so they only had to scrape away the very tops of the mountains, instead of trying to excavate down to sea level.


The French tried to build a sea level canal in the late 1800’s, but gave up after very little progress, with disease and accidents killing over 20,000 workers. Obviously technology and disease prevention are better now, but it still seems like a pretty daunting task, and the environmental damage would be immense.

Nevertheless, it's been talked about again. I was surprised when I heard talk maybe 5-10 years ago, but now it looks like it is really needed.

BTW - sea level for the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast I think is 20 cm different.

There was serious talk in the 1960s.
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1967/september/build-bigger-ditch

More recent american society of civil engineers article:
https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/JWHEAU.0000516

[wj73]

Nevertheless, it's been talked about again. I was surprised when I heard talk maybe 5-10 years ago, but now it looks like it is really needed.

BTW - sea level for the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast I think is 20 cm different.

There was serious talk in the 1960s.
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1967/september/build-bigger-ditch

More recent american society of civil engineers article:
https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/JWHEAU.0000516

Thanks for this! I couldn’t get into the ASCE link (subscription only) but the older USNI article was fascinating. I also wandered further into this rabbit hole, and discovered that in 2013, Nicaragua proposed building a sea level canal through Nicaragua, called The Grand Nicaragua Canal. They actually approved a bill to award a financing and project contract to a Chinese firm. However the owner of the firm ran into financial difficulties, and the project seems to have been abandoned, as no construction was ever started.

[Count Walewski]

Yeah if you watch the video I posted they talk about how the more realistic alternatives to the Panama Canal are rail links. Mexico is building a freight rail network across the thinnest part of Mexico that they are talking about as a canal-killer.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

nicaragua was the alternative to Panama before Panama was built. Panama was shorter but Nicaragua might have been simpler, especially without locks. Of course, I'm not sure the landlocked sharks of Lake Nicaragua would have liked it.

The biological / environmental impacts of these projects are enormous.

[wj73]

Yeah if you watch the video I posted they talk about how the more realistic alternatives to the Panama Canal are rail links. Mexico is building a freight rail network across the thinnest part of Mexico that they are talking about as a canal-killer.

I’ve been trying to open it, but unfortunately I live in a rural area with no broadband access, and cell service is spotty. Will try again next time I have access to public WiFi. It looks fascinating.


There is an existing railroad across Panama now that parallels the Canal and carries some freight, but I got the impression that it’s not that robust yet, and is mostly a passenger line. It could probably be expanded at a fraction of the construction and environmental cost of a new canal, but would not be as economical as cargo containers would have to be loaded on one side and unloaded on the other.