msj Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Unless you still got school-age children at home to limit most vacations to July and August, I don't know why Canadians would leave in the summer months.....the only time of the year you're usually guaranteed good weather to do stuff outdoors. I agree. I don't have kids so the staff love me as they take time off during August and I hold down the fort. Then I take 2 weeks in September/October and 3.5 weeks in Dec/January and go places. But I can afford to go places since I don't have kids. In the meantime I live on the ocean and enjoy the summer on Vancouver Island. Life's a beach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-1=e^ipi Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 It's the bullshit position from the right that reduces all social issues to matters of personal morality....or tries to! If you are trying to imply that I implied this, you are incorrect. In any case, I was pointing out your complete hypocrisy. Going on about how we need significant mitigation policies to save the planet while simultaneously thinking that those significant mitigation policies shouldn't or won't affect you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonam Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 (edited) For many people, seeing different parts of the world increases their motivation to "save" the planet in other ways. For some, it's easy not to really have a concept of the natural environment that people advocate saving if all they ever see is a grey cityscape. It's not necessarily hypocritical. Seeing something on a screen is still no substitute for experiencing it in person. Maybe when we have star trek like holodecks. In any case, there are many ways in which emissions can be reduced without making long range vacations taboo. Edited July 24, 2015 by Bonam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 I've been to Every province other than Newfoundland and Labrador (I've driven all of it from Vancouver to Ottawa, and then around the Maritimes) Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and California (twice to LV with day trips, a long road trip from home down to southern Utah and Colorado, and other shorter drives) Baja Califonria Sur Mexico I'm not sure what I'll add to it this year. I just got back from a road trip to Niagara Falls, Toronto, and Ottawa. It was a long 24 hour drive each way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 I think he's more complicated than me since he's been to Afghanistan and Somalia. Still, I wonder if you should take a breather for your own sake. I mean if you need to stalk him into this thread over climate change, well, give your head a shake man. I'm about half as complicated since I've only been to Afghanistan. As a tourist. It is so easy to turn this into a dickwagging competition.... but I do love to travel and have been to all continents except South America and Antarctica. If I had to pick just one country to visit again(4th time) it would be India, specifically the South. Actually it will be India, for a few months, and in the next 3 years or so. Maybe it is just me, but it is an ancient /endlessly diverse place, very cheap, speak English(sort of) and the food is great. Avoid the cities, which are the worst of the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
On Guard for Thee Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 I had to go do some work in Dallas and of course once there one has to visit Dealey Plaza. But that done and the work finished I had some time off so decided to explore a bit further south. Down to the gulf with a stop in San Antonio. The Alamo of course but a less known attraction there is the river walk. Beautiful. Then on to Galveston and along the back roads around the gulf to what was the first actual targeted destination, New Orleans. That was fun, especially if you like lot's of live music and eating "mudbugs". Then the next target, Hwy 61. And yes, we had lot's of BB King and Leadbelly etc. on hand for the occasion. Only got as far north as Vicksburg Miss., and had to skedaddle back to Dallas and fly home for that damn work thing. Took about a week and well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Guy Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 To me, it appears that there are two ends of the spectrum of planning a "vacation": The group at one extreme plans excitement, adventure, risk-taking and filling those days with as much action as possible. The intent is to return with numerous stories and a chance to relax at home and work after the excursion. The group at the other extreme seem to plan to be at a place where they drink well, eat well, spend their time at a pool or lake or ocean. The intent is to recharge the batteries and be ready to jump back into the human race when they get back home. When we were still working and raising a family we never went on vacation. Now that we have retired life is vacation. What is you intent in a "vacation"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 What is you intent in a "vacation"? For us, the reasons vary depending on when we go: Number one by far is a reprieve from harsh winters. We mix our time between adventure and relaxing (and both can be de-stressing compared to the daily grind at home), but the sunshine is always the critical factor. That mid-winter getaway happens every single year no matter what, even if we absolutely cannot afford it. Secondary are event based trips. Sports tournaments for our kids more often than not -- we're going to be in (insert city here)for a day or two anyway, might as well add a few more days and get to see the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msj Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 The wife and I tend to go for the pack in as much as we can type of travel. When we were laying over in Amsterdam we jumped on a bus and headed to downtown despite being awake for 33 hours. Saw the Rijks Museum and then headed back to the hotel for much needed sleep before the next morning flight to Athens. We do not necessarily plan everything or take a tour that fills our days but when we have down time we like to be doing something even if it is just driving around Maui in a convertible. We prefer to bar hop and tapas hop instead of sitting in the pool or hotel lounge. Trying to get a sense of the food of the place we're in which is why we also tend to head down to food/farmers markets, Chinatown's (they usually have fresh local produce and fish) and will charter fishing boats to catch something local ourselves. Water and boating seem to be a common part of our travels even when in a land locked country like Laos. We will relax and enjoy the world going by whether it's the canals of Bangkok, the Mekong river, Mediterranean, Rhine river, or boat cruises off of Maui. Whenever we go somewhere now we look for some kind of boat cruise and when we go to Jasper/Banff in September we will check out the river rafting in the region. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msj Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 If I had to pick just one country to visit again(4th time) it would be India, specifically the South. Actually it will be India, for a few months, and in the next 3 years or so. Maybe it is just me, but it is an ancient /endlessly diverse place, very cheap, speak English(sort of) and the food is great. Avoid the cities, which are the worst of the country. Yes, India is on my bucket list for sure and everyone says to avoid the cities which sounds like a good idea. Also would like to see Sri Lanka which is nearby. Ever go there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
On Guard for Thee Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Yes, India is on my bucket list for sure and everyone says to avoid the cities which sounds like a good idea. Also would like to see Sri Lanka which is nearby. Ever go there? If you go to India I would suggest including Goa. If you like windsurfing at all then Bogmalo Beach especially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msj Posted July 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Lived in Tbilisi Georgia for some months and drove from Azerbaijan to the Black Sea once and flew myself over it a number of times. The Caucasus mountains are as good as mountains get I guess, and the culture, stuck somewhere between the old USSR and new Europe was an education. Lovely local wines and beautiful women. The funny thing is that I have been spending some time on Periscope and I often go to map view and pick up live streams from that part of the world. It is an interesting and strange, if somewhat narrow, way to see the world and highly recommend people to download the app and give it a try (including producing content). Many of the live streams may often be boring things like pretty girls stroking their own egos to see how many hearts they can get or men ranting about their ex-wife, but every once in a while I find a gem where someone is showing a classical guitarist playing in Spain, or showing the view of the Black Sea from some place in Turkey I may never get to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthere Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) Yes, India is on my bucket list for sure and everyone says to avoid the cities which sounds like a good idea. Also would like to see Sri Lanka which is nearby. Ever go there? Only briefly, a two day layover between India and Maqlaqysia once. It's definitely a place I'd like to explore more thoroughly. It is a manageable size to tour, and is much more stable politcally now.. If you go to India I would suggest including Goa. Different Strokes for different folks. Goa is one of my least favorite places in India, mainly because it is thick with people from Europe on two week party junkets. Not my scene. Edited July 27, 2015 by overthere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 (edited) Sleepy Hollow, New York for the weekend before Halloween. It'll also be my first time in NYC. Edited October 10, 2015 by Smallc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted October 10, 2015 Report Share Posted October 10, 2015 Oh, and this weekend, in Winnipeg, I travelled into someone else's lane, but that didn't go so well...oops.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army Guy Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 I've been lucky in a lot of ways my Dad was in the military, and later i would also serve kind of a family thing.....4 th generation sort of thing.... and we were always traveling across the country, Dad dragging us to all the hot spots for family vacations, usually in a tent "Can't take the army out of the man" and he wanted to give us all a taste of army life....So our vacations were some what hard core,living in a tent, bathing in ice cold glacier water, you get the picture....not many hotels, back then Army pay was not so great.. Been to all the provinces and territories, don't get to excited most of the time i only got to see them from a military point of view....trust me wainwright, suffield alberta are not all that exciting....nor is Dundern sask, i did however enjoy my time in Calgary, and Edmonton.....also got to see Victoria BC, and Williams lake as well i love BC just not the hippies....I got to travel through some of Manitoba for the floods, Ontario is one of the best provinces for hunting and fishing.....i loved my time there....I traveled through most of the northern provinces by Herc, helo and skidoo, it's beautiful but very deadly country to travel in....that's where i learned not to piss of mother nature.....got chased by a Moose after an unexpected encounter, thought that i could scare it off with a rifle shot.....spent 4 hours up the largest tree i could find, and it was'nt that big.....closest i ever came to shating myself....also one of the many times me and god had a conversation, ending with me promising to be a very good person.... If i had to pick a favorite it would be Hazen lake, a couple of hours flight time from Alert, on Baffin Island.....it was pristine country, maybe only 30 humans a year, we dug coal out of the cliffs to burn, as there was no wood to be had....the fishing was incredible...and the wildlife....you could feed the birds out of your hands, same as the foxes, and arctic hares....Seen a small herd of Muscox....even manged to get within 100 meters for pictures....got to see the franklin expedition historical land camp.....some of the cabins, mountains of empty food tins, While posted to Germany i traveled alot, and seen almost all of europe....did not get to see turkey....but did do a tour in Cyprus.....both sides.... I did however did not get to see any of eastern Germany, back then the cold war was still going on, even got to meet some real live Russians (SMELEMS) don't ask what it means but thats what we called them .....Russian military pers who would observe or spy on NATO exercises, .....just before i left Germany the wall came down.....worse country in europe was france.....i found them way to stuck up for me, unless you get into the smaller towns, Vimy ridge, Beaumont Hamel ....then they are very friendly....Holland was the best every time we traveled we got treated like royalty....did a lot of battle field tours....Spent some time in England doing some training, Seen alot of Europe from the top of an M-113..... The other spots where not so nice , to be fair there was a conflict going on.....Yugo, Kosovo, Somalia, Sinai desert, Afghanistan, Did mange to take my wife to Thailand, to enjoy the beaches, sun and culture.....would have loved to spent more time in asia, or got to see Australia , or south America.....maybe in the next life.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msj Posted October 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Did mange to take my wife to Thailand, to enjoy the beaches, sun and culture.....would have loved to spent more time in asia, or got to see Australia , or south America.....maybe in the next life.... That was really interesting. Too bad you can't get back to Asia or South America though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Guy Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 (edited) I've been lucky in a lot of ways my Dad was in the military,....maybe in the next life.... Thank you for sharing those experiences. Congratulations, I envy your travels. I have been told by others with similar experiences that one cannot understand what a wonderful country we live in unless you see it for yourself. I am happy to have seen some of it through your eyes. Edited October 19, 2015 by Big Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canada_First Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 (edited) I'll be going to Israel soon. Edited October 19, 2015 by Canada_First Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army Guy Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Spent 6 months in the Sinai pen, that huge glob of land between Israel and Egypt, patrolling ( counting vehs in each zone) the desert by helo , with MFO forces, kind of like UN but a multi coalition force made up of dozens of countries..... Spent all our days off in Israel , Tel aviv, and Elat.....soaking up the sun and drinking way to much.....although we did go to Cairo and do the tourist thing, see the pyramids, valley of the kings and queens in luxor.....Israel had a more western feel to it....As long as you can get by the added security, and everyone being armed.....and of course there is the terrorist thing.....Just be vigilant and you'll be fine.... Got to see many great things, battle fields of WWII, and also the wars between Israel and Egypt.....i have a great bunch of photo's of destroyed Germany, British and American equipment out in the middle of the desert, in pristine condition....like the day the role off the assembly line.....tank tracks still in the sand.....found lots of empty casings, even a US water canteen,which we left as we felt it was a type of war grave, without the bodies... The desert was full of these sites which when we first got there, we'd land besides and check them out.....that all stopped when we started to find mines all over the place.....The entire region was full of history, to see it all you have to do multi trips..... Word of advice, do not eat from any of the outdoor vendors,that have meat on a hook or on display always eat at a good quality restaurant, and do not buy any bottle water,or use ice outside of any good source or you'll end up with what we called Jippo gut....where you puke and squirt at the same time, it is painful, it only gives you seconds to react, so could be embarrassing as well. Although it is a great weight loss program....i learned this the hard way, and spent 2 weeks camped out on a chair next to the bath room stalls in camp......anything more than 10 steps away from the toilet would normally end up with you shiting yourself...and forget about eating, or drinking, your body pumps that stuff out faster than a japanese bullet train.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueblood Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 Going to pop my BC cherry in the wintertime hopefully and head to revelstoke for backcountry snowmobiling. Apparently the powder there is unbelievable. Itll be a big fuel bill lugging the sled across the prairies, but itll be a nice change from the carribean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msj Posted October 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 The wife and I spent some quality time driving through BC to Jasper and Banff from about September 21 through to October 6. Started in Victoria, really, due to a business meeting on the 20th so took the ferry to Tswassen the next morning. Forgot how nice that ferry ride is through the southern gulf islands (Green country). Came off the ferry and headed out to Kelowna via the Coquihalla Hwy. Stayed one night at a nice B&B with a shower with more nozzles than I knew what to do with. Next day went to Mt. Boucherie, Volcano Hills, Quails Gate, St. Hubertus, and Gray Monk wineries and filled the car with wine before heading to the Delta Hotel on the lake. Had some more business there the next day and ended up at a really nice French restaurant nearby. Then the trip to Jasper began. We made our way to Mt Robson, the highest peak in the CDN Rockies, before heading to Patricia Lake bungalows outside of Jasper. Jasper is awesome: elk, big horn sheep, the hot springs at Miette, the brew pub across from the train station, the little crappy grocery stores, the cool little coffee shop and bakery, and Maligne Lake/canyon. We stopped by the Skywalk and a French Canadian young lady drove us down/up the second steepest grade in Canada to see the glacier (Athabasca I think). Then it was off to see Lake Louise, Banff, Canmore and even a run into Drumheller to see the Tyrell Museum. Canmore is a nice little town, Banff was ok (did the hot springs there - as sulphury as ever) and the museum was awesome. Only the Natual History Museum in Frankfurt surpasses it but that is due to my bias for birds and German beer and the green sauce. Then headed to Radium Hot Springs. Stopped to see the red ochre on the way. Got to Radium and found out that big horn sheep own the town. The hot springs there are nice. Visited Invermere which has the best bakery. Also had a micro brewery so picked up some beer (we had lightened our load of wine by several bottles by now so we had the room). Then it was off to catch the free ferry over to Ainsworth. Grrr, free ferry when I have to pay on the coast. Stopped at a brew pub in Cranbrook for a lunch, got to the ferry and got to the Ainsworth Hot Springs resort for more hot springs. Really liked these hot springs as we could just walk down the hall and go through to them. The big pool was cooler than usual hot springs - around 37c so I could swim around. The cave hot spring was warmer - ~ 40c. Next morning it was off to Osoyoos via Nelson (stopped for some beer at a micro brew). Spent a couple days in Osoyoos, saw Desert Hills winery and Burrowing Owl winery and picked up some more wine. Then it was time to head home so we got up early and took the Crows Nest route through Princeton, Grand Forks, Manning Park, Sunshine Valley etc before hitting the Horseshoe Bay ferry home. Overall a very satisfying run. Almost 4,000 kilometres in the newish car which made it bearable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallc Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 Okay, I'll take Sleepy Hollow, but Americans can keep New York. I thought I was in the third word with all the garbage and homelessness....and the driving reminded me a lot of Mexico. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Squid Posted November 4, 2015 Report Share Posted November 4, 2015 ...went to Mt. Boucherie, Volcano Hills, Quails Gate, St. Hubertus, and Gray Monk wineries and filled the car with wine ...the brew pub across from the train station... ... German beer and the green sauce. ...had a micro brewery so picked up some beer (we had lightened our load of wine by several bottles by now so we had the room). ...(stopped for some beer at a micro brew). ...saw Desert Hills winery and Burrowing Owl winery and picked up some more wine. Sounds like you had to come home to dry out and let the liver recover! Sounds like a great trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msj Posted November 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Sounds like you had to come home to dry out and let the liver recover! Sounds like a great trip! Going to Ucluelet this weekend and the wife asked about bringing wine and Campari. I told her no; austerity all weekend. But she talked sense into me so wine and Campari it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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