2012 Summer Vacation Thread

[guido911]

All right. Who's with me on this:

[heironymouspasparagus]

Why go to warmer weather (hot) in the summer?  Go cooler.  Montana - Yellowstone, Museum of the Rockies and an entire state of hugeness!  And decent temperatures most of the time.  Could swing by Sturgis the first week of August...may want to leave the kiddies at home for that one...

Little Bighorn.  Devils' tower.  Cody - rodeo every night!  Mt Rushmore.  Cave of the Winds.  Crazy Horse statue.  Keystone South Dakota - very cool town.  Deadwood - Wild Bill Hickok fame.  Lead, SD - claims to have the "Green Door" that the song inspired (Behind the Green Door).

Jackson, WY.  Dinosaur, CO - home to a big wall full of dinosaur bones and further down the little road, the cabin of Josey Morris.


Scoot on up a little bit north and you get to Edmonton, Canada.  Biggest mall in the world.  Plus go west a ways and get some fantastic mountains.  Plus, there are all those oil fields to look at!

[Conan71]

We are doing Leadville in August again.  This time as course volunteers not dry-heaving my way up seven mile long climbs.  I'm sure a couple of nights might get spent in northern New Mex and a night or two at Pagosa Brewing Co.

[Red Arrow]

Montana - Yellowstone, Museum of the Rockies and an entire state of hugeness!  And decent temperatures most of the time. 

September through March?  I've seen some pretty hot temperatures listed for those areas in the summer. 

[enits]

My sister got married in Kauai a year ago during spring break.  Had she not chosen that place, I probably would never have gone out there!  Granted, it was very nice and relaxing, but, it was also VERY expensive!!! 

Before having a kid, we went to Sydney, Australia about once a year because my spouse has family there.  I really had a great time visiting that place. 

In the mid 2000s, we also visited Amelia Island, Florida. 

Of course most of these vacations were pre-kid days...so it was affordable then.  Nowadays, it's more like staycations!  Oklahoma Science Museum on a weekend was pretty cool in my sons's eyes so I had a blast playing with him.  Next stop, OKC Zoo.  And no, I haven't forgotten about our very own zoo...but I gotta keep a kid entertained and we've been to the Tulsa Zoo a million of times! 

[Red Arrow]

My sister got married in Kauai a year ago during spring break.  Had she not chosen that place, I probably would never have gone out there!  Granted, it was very nice and relaxing, but, it was also VERY expensive!!! 

Maui between Thanksgiving and Christmas (2004) was delightful although a bit early for whale watching.  There were numerous local quick/informal food places that offered grilled fish and veggies that were a lot more reasonable than motel food.  There was a place in Paia that had a really good seafood/pasta plate for about $15.  It was all I wanted to eat.  One evening we had to work (business trip) late and all our favorite places were closed.  McDonald's was the only place open.  There is no more salt in the Pacific Ocean.  It was all in the fries I tried to eat that night.  If you are going to be there more than a week, renting a condo can be a lot less expensive than a motel stay.

[nathanm]

In the mid 2000s, we also visited Amelia Island, Florida. 

I have a friend in Yulee we visited last winter, so I got the chance to see Fernandina Beach. Pretty nice stuff. It seems like it would be quite relaxing to spend a few days or a week there.

If any of you guys find yourself in Panama City, take the shortish drive up to Dothan, AL one evening and eat at Hunt's. The chili dogs are to die for and the steak and oysters aren't bad either. And drink some Yuengling for me while you're at it. Dothan is also the home of Richie B's, the only place other than Phat Phillies I've had a decent Philly. Supposedly he also makes good pizza, but I've never tried it.

Conan, I was serious when I said you need to get over to Durango and hit Steamworks Brewing Company. Some of that beer was completely delicious. Unfortunately, I don't remember which ones. 

[enits]

Maui between Thanksgiving and Christmas (2004) was delightful although a bit early for whale watching.  There were numerous local quick/informal food places that offered grilled fish and veggies that were a lot more reasonable than motel food.  There was a place in Paia that had a really good seafood/pasta plate for about $15.  It was all I wanted to eat.  One evening we had to work (business trip) late and all our favorite places were closed.  McDonald's was the only place open.  There is no more salt in the Pacific Ocean.  It was all in the fries I tried to eat that night.  If you are going to be there more than a week, renting a condo can be a lot less expensive than a motel stay.

We were able to do some whale watching from the balcony of the house where we stayed!  It was a wonderful sight to see!  I agree about renting a condo vs motel stay.  Since there were a ton of us, my sister rented a huge house.  We were able to cook our own food the majority of the time so that saved us a ton of money.  Of course, the cost of groceries there was atrocious, so it was still expensive to me!  

[Red Arrow]

I have a friend in Yulee we visited last winter, so I got the chance to see Fernandina Beach. Pretty nice stuff. It seems like it would be quite relaxing to spend a few days or a week there.

I vaguely remember going through Yulee on the way to visit my Grandparents in the 60s.  I-95 wasn't finished.  Somewhere in SC, we departed US 301 at the sign that indicated save 45 minutes to FL, or something like that.  We wound up on US 17 but there may have been an intermediate route. At Yulee we took a road west to reconnect with US 301 to go to a town just south of Ocala where my Grandparents lived.

If any of you guys find yourself in Panama City, take the shortish drive up to Dothan, AL one evening and eat at Hunt's. The chili dogs are to die for and the steak and oysters aren't bad either. And drink some Yuengling for me while you're at it. Dothan is also the home of Richie B's, the only place other than Phat Phillies I've had a decent Philly. Supposedly he also makes good pizza, but I've never tried it.

You may want to go to Philadelphia for a good "Philly".  There's a lot of other cultural stuff to do there.  I recommend the Franklin Institute. Yuengling should be available since their PA brewery isn't that far away.  There are some other nearby craft breweries from what I've read.  None of them existed when I was last there.

Conan, I was serious when I said you need to get over to Durango and hit Steamworks Brewing Company. Some of that beer was completely delicious. Unfortunately, I don't remember which ones. 

Evidently several of them were good.

[Red Arrow]

We were able to do some whale watching from the balcony of the house where we stayed!  It was a wonderful sight to see!  I agree about renting a condo vs motel stay.  Since there were a ton of us, my sister rented a huge house.  We were able to cook our own food the majority of the time so that saved us a ton of money.  Of course, the cost of groceries there was atrocious, so it was still expensive to me!  

We also got groceries for breakfast and some lunches.  I think there was still a Safeway store.  It was more expensive than Tulsa but I remember it being only somewhat more expensive, not excessively.

[sauerkraut]

Why go to warmer weather (hot) in the summer?  Go cooler.  Montana - Yellowstone, Museum of the Rockies and an entire state of hugeness!  And decent temperatures most of the time.  Could swing by Sturgis the first week of August...may want to leave the kiddies at home for that one...

Little Bighorn.  Devils' tower.  Cody - rodeo every night!  Mt Rushmore.  Cave of the Winds.  Crazy Horse statue.  Keystone South Dakota - very cool town.  Deadwood - Wild Bill Hickok fame.  Lead, SD - claims to have the "Green Door" that the song inspired (Behind the Green Door).

Jackson, WY.  Dinosaur, CO - home to a big wall full of dinosaur bones and further down the little road, the cabin of Josey Morris.


Scoot on up a little bit north and you get to Edmonton, Canada.  Biggest mall in the world.  Plus go west a ways and get some fantastic mountains.  Plus, there are all those oil fields to look at!

Yep the summer time is only time you have to visit those places, the winters are too cold and severe during the rest of the year. I still like to go to warm places be it summer or winter. I'm going down to Texas in July or August for a few days. Been in Las Vegas in August when it was 115 degrees.

[sauerkraut]

We also got groceries for breakfast and some lunches.  I think there was still a Safeway store.  It was more expensive than Tulsa but I remember it being only somewhat more expensive, not excessively.

Speaking of a SafeWay Store, back in the mid-1980's when Safeway was starting to close up- they opened a brand new store in Arlington, Texas across the I-30 Interstate from 6-Flags park. (North side of the interstate)  The store was brand new, it was  built from the ground up, when it opened either in '85 or '86 they had big opening sales events with the works-- Then 6 months latter they closed up. I dunno what became of the empty building, I know  it sat vacant for a while,  dunno if another company took it over or if they knocked it down. It seemed like a big waste to me.

[Hoss]

Speaking of a SafeWay Store, back in the mid-1980's when Safeway was starting to close up- they opened a brand new store in Arlington, Texas across the I-30 Interstate from 6-Flags park. (North side of the interstate)  The store was brand new, it was  built from the ground up, when it opened either in '85 or '86 they had big opening sales events with the works-- Then 6 months latter they closed up. I dunno what became of the empty building, I know  it sat vacant for a while,  dunno if another company took it over or if they knocked it down. It seemed like a big waste to me.

[nathanm]

Been in Las Vegas in August when it was 115 degrees.

You should try sitting out on the tarmac in a Pilatus at Sky Harbor at 4PM any day in July. You think the usual high temperatures combined with monsoon humidity are bad? That is literally the only place I've ever been where the plane heated up so fast I had to go into the FBO on a 15 minute stop. Usually the oven effect only happens when the plane has been sitting around a few hours.

[Red Arrow]

You should try sitting out on the tarmac in a Pilatus at Sky Harbor at 4PM any day in July. You think the usual high temperatures combined with monsoon humidity are bad? That is literally the only place I've ever been where the plane heated up so fast I had to go into the FBO on a 15 minute stop. Usually the oven effect only happens when the plane has been sitting around a few hours.

No APU and air conditioning?