Author Topic: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread  (Read 145116 times)

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Offline Minty Fresh

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Inspired by the terpman.

I went away for two weeks and just got back today.

Started with a weekend (Thursday-Sunday) at Camp Boyhaven with my two sons in Boy Scouts.  Had a great time doing all sorts of activities and scouting stuff with the boys.  The bug population seemed really low because we slept in leantos and never had any problems.  Swimming, archery, soccer, hiking, etc.  Awesome time.

Next we left for a family reunion in Littleton, NH.  It sucked.  A lot of drama and hardly anyone showed up.  My extended family really sucks.

Then we went to Cape Cod and spent eight days going to the beach, Cape League games and eating lots of seafood.  Very relaxing and much needed. 

The attached image is a photo I took of my workstation when I returned to work this morning.

:lol:




Offline Kevrock

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Awesome! Where in Cape Cod? What teams did you see play?

Offline Minty Fresh

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I grew up in Orleans, MA so I went to see the Cardinals . . . err . . . "Firebirds"  :?  a few times.  They played Harwich, Bourne and Hyannis while I was there.

Offline Dave B

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still allowed to call things Boyhaven nowadays???

Offline CALSGR8

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still allowed to call things Boyhaven nowadays???

Boyscout camp isn't it?

Offline Dave B

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Boyscout camp isn't it?

i dont know if that helps the situation

Offline CALSGR8

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By the way that's tame compared to what they did to one of my coworkers when he came back from training.  EVERY ITEM ON his desk,the shelves,the computer,his computer chair, and the entry way was COVERED WITH SARAN WRAP!

Offline Dave B

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you should probably purell your phone. it likely touched someone's junk

Offline tomterp

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Our normal family vacation is a week at the Outer Banks.  I've stayed in Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, South Nags Head, Rodanthe, and Waves.  I tend to fish quite a bit, so it's an advantage to be closer to Oregon Inlet and its public ramps and beach access. 

But this year, I decided to heed the invitations of some of my relocated northern friends and do a New England vacation.   Ultimately we spent a night at one friend's house in Nashua NH, then the next day finished up the drive to Stonington Maine where we joined another friend's family of 4.  As our friend Susi said, "did you have to get a place that was so far at the end of the road??"  Well, hell yes!  (Find it on the map, you'll see what she means).  Rented a large, beautiful new home right on the water down a secluded dirt road about a quarter mile outside of town.

This would be the perfect place to kick back, read a book do a little poking in shops, eat some seafood, relax.  Unfortunately for my wife, that utopian vision inevitably yields to the "what adventure are we going to do today?"   Stonington, and the Maine coast generally, is packed with islands close by.  We did a lot of kayaking to various nearby islands to explore, fish, or just nature watch, as well as biked around the island where Stonington is (Deer Isle) as well as hiked in nature preserves.   One day we took a boat out to Isle Au Haut, of which about half is part of Acadia National Park.  We mountain biked and hiked around this gem of an island, but 7 hours was too short.

Evenings were cocktail hours followed by mostly seafood dinners.  One night I prepared lobster alfredo over fettucine.  Our last night we did mussels steeped in tomato/garlic/basil broth as an appetizer, followed by a lobster on every plate - 7 for a grand total all in of $50.  $50 for 7 lobsters cooked while we waited!  They had been caught that morning, we bought them from the waterman himself.

We then adjourned to the rocky beach where we built a fire and counted shooting stars until the incoming tide doused the flames.  We also used this opportunity to finish off the rye. 

Next year it'll be back to the OBX I suspect but we'll do another Maine trip in a few years.  The one big downside, we did (I should say that I did) 1,700 miles of driving.


Offline 1995hoo

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We took a two-week trip to Florida last month to visit relatives. Took the Auto Train south and then looped around to Venice, Fort Myers, Miami, and Viera. Drove home over two days the weekend of June 30/July 1. The drive home was far more draining this time than on other trips and I suspect it was in part due to the 100+ degree heat that weekend. Even with the AC blasting, having the sun shine in on you all day (and when you drive north, it's the driver who gets the sun) really wears you down, along with the sun glare, traffic, etc. I prefer an overcast day for driving anytime.

Next summer we're considering a trip to Hungary to visit other more distant relatives, especially if we can get a timeshare exchange in Budapest or the Lake Balaton area. My wife speaks Hungarian (didn't speak English until she was five or six years old), so the incomprehensible language isn't an issue.

Offline DPMOmaha

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The one big downside, we did (I should say that I did) 1,700 miles of driving.

That sounds like one great trip.  And that's a lot of miles.  Though, if it were me, I'd always rather be driving than in one of the passenger seats.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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That is so full of win...

Our normal family vacation is a week at the Outer Banks.  I've stayed in Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, South Nags Head, Rodanthe, and Waves.  I tend to fish quite a bit, so it's an advantage to be closer to Oregon Inlet and its public ramps and beach access. 

But this year, I decided to heed the invitations of some of my relocated northern friends and do a New England vacation.   Ultimately we spent a night at one friend's house in Nashua NH, then the next day finished up the drive to Stonington Maine where we joined another friend's family of 4.  As our friend Susi said, "did you have to get a place that was so far at the end of the road??"  Well, hell yes!  (Find it on the map, you'll see what she means).  Rented a large, beautiful new home right on the water down a secluded dirt road about a quarter mile outside of town.

This would be the perfect place to kick back, read a book do a little poking in shops, eat some seafood, relax.  Unfortunately for my wife, that utopian vision inevitably yields to the "what adventure are we going to do today?"   Stonington, and the Maine coast generally, is packed with islands close by.  We did a lot of kayaking to various nearby islands to explore, fish, or just nature watch, as well as biked around the island where Stonington is (Deer Isle) as well as hiked in nature preserves.   One day we took a boat out to Isle Au Haut, of which about half is part of Acadia National Park.  We mountain biked and hiked around this gem of an island, but 7 hours was too short.

Evenings were cocktail hours followed by mostly seafood dinners.  One night I prepared lobster alfredo over fettucine.  Our last night we did mussels steeped in tomato/garlic/basil broth as an appetizer, followed by a lobster on every plate - 7 for a grand total all in of $50.  $50 for 7 lobsters cooked while we waited!  They had been caught that morning, we bought them from the waterman himself.

We then adjourned to the rocky beach where we built a fire and counted shooting stars until the incoming tide doused the flames.  We also used this opportunity to finish off the rye. 

Next year it'll be back to the OBX I suspect but we'll do another Maine trip in a few years.  The one big downside, we did (I should say that I did) 1,700 miles of driving.




Offline HalfSmokes

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I'm a fan of Delaware to avoid the 95 traffic, but next year I want to convince my wife to do lake or mountains instead of beach

Offline GburgNatsFan

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But this year, I decided to heed the invitations of some of my relocated northern friends and do a New England vacation.   




Offline DPMOmaha

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Is it better to reserve a rental car in advance or close to your travel date?

Offline Dave B

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Is it better to reserve a rental car in advance or close to your travel date?

I think they are almost always non binding so you can always cancel them. go nuts. Reserve as many as you want

Online skippy1999

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Went to Miama/Ft. Lauderdale for a long weekend, here's me and my daughter frolicking in South Beach :)

Offline tomterp

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Went to Miama/Ft. Lauderdale for a long weekend, here's me and my daughter frolicking in South Beach :)

Aren't some of those beaches bathing suit optional?    :twisted:

Offline RobDibblesGhost

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Aren't some of those beaches bathing suit optional?    :twisted:

I went to a clothing-optional beach in New Jersey earlier this summer with a girl I was seeing at the time.  It was a strange experience, but it was a good time overall (except for the sunburn in new places).  That's probably the extent of traveling for me this year as the replacement of my vehicle's A/C compressor last month took a bite out of my vacation budget :(

Offline tomterp

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Years ago I was working a job in Pocomoke City Md, on the eastern shore, when a Playboy article gave a "top ten nude beaches" nod to Assateague Island Nat'l Seashore, near Chincoteague Va.  One of my co-workers decided this was too good to pass up so that next weekend he made a visit.  It was quite a hike up the beach to the nude area, but he found it alright.

It took him a week before he could sit comfortably his ass was so scorched by the May sun.    :lmao:


Offline CALSGR8

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HEY Terpman!

After Boston, my friend Kathe took a $20 train ride to Portland Maine, got a rental car, attended a Seadogs game and then the next day visited relatives.  Just a thought for next time.

Plane fare to Beantown $67
Boston at $98 per night.

Offline mitlen

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Penciling in a roadtrip for October.    It'll be family and historical in nature.

Offline Minty Fresh

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I'm a fan of Delaware to avoid the 95 traffic, but next year I want to convince my wife to do lake or mountains instead of beach

Come up this way and go tothe Adirondacks.


Offline mitlen

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Come up this way and go tothe Adirondacks.



I have a line of my family from around Worcester (sp) NY   ...   near Cooperstown.

Offline Obed_Marsh

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Re: "Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread
« Reply #24: August 04, 2012, 02:42:07 PM »
So it might strech the vacation concept a little bit but I have gotten to the paperwork stage on the house we are renting for the wedding. The idea is to have the wedding on premise and have enough space for family and long term family friends to stay with us in the days leading up to it. I was surprised how many people will not rent to wedding parties. I think the owner is terrified I am going to turnout to be a frat boy running a kegger.

Planning to head down to Fort Lauderdale, FL on a Sunday and have the wedding the following Saturday. :mg: