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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2012 13:20:35 GMT -5
Right now my dream vacation is an RV with DS and DH. Drive to every nice place and spend as long as we want. There are so many gorgeous places to visit in the U.S. I'd love to go to Europe but DH doesn't travel well.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Sept 18, 2012 13:32:58 GMT -5
In my teens (mid-1960s) my family took a six week cross-country summer trip starting in Massachusetts to northern/southern California and back with many stops in between. As a teen I disliked being away from friends during the summer but looking back I saw much of the U.S. and am thankful for it.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Sept 18, 2012 13:44:47 GMT -5
Greece.
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imawino
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Post by imawino on Sept 18, 2012 13:47:25 GMT -5
I want to go back to Greece!!!! This thread is making me itchin' to do some travelin'! It is also making me laugh at myself as I read pretty much all of the responses and think "yeah that - I wanna do that!" I was very fortunate in a previous job to get to travel somewhat extensively and visit a lot of beautiful places. I mean, I usually only got to hit a few highlights as I was working and in town very briefly, but it was a great experience nonetheless. But I haven't traveled much in recent years and I've got to plan a really good vacation!!!! I love the idea of Molly's trip, but there's just no way we can get away for that much time right now. A week or so is probably the max. So as much as I'd like to go to South Africa or New Zealand, I may have to pick something with not quite as lengthy of a journey to and from. So something Mediterranean would be nice.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 18, 2012 14:12:51 GMT -5
I'm doing the same thing with the "yeah that!" If I ever get a bf again, he's going to have to love travel or not care if I go alone. I'd rather go with someone, but I won't allow anyone to hold me back. Either back up your bags and come with me, or quit whining about it When I grow up I'd love to have a job with a travel company (like Globus (sp?), Collette, etc) as a tour guide. The trip I did with one, the guy had been doing it for 15 years and never got tired of it. Every time he went to London he would see something he'd never seen before, and he was there several times a year. I need to work on retiring early
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 18, 2012 14:13:28 GMT -5
I'd love to see Egypt, wish I would have years ago.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Sept 18, 2012 14:31:44 GMT -5
In my teens (mid-1960s) my family took a six week cross-country summer trip starting in Massachusetts to northern/southern California and back with many stops in between. As a teen I disliked being away from friends during the summer but looking back I saw much of the U.S. and am thankful for it. My family did this when I was 15 traveling from NC to CA. We were gone for about 5 weeks and I was allowed to bring a friend with me. It was fabulous! There are some extremely fond memories from that time in my life.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Sept 18, 2012 14:41:04 GMT -5
I did see Egypt years ago and even as a dumb college kid, it was amazing.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Sept 18, 2012 15:15:16 GMT -5
Annapurna backpacking circuit in Nepal including Everest base camp. I'll probably never do it. It takes weeks to acclimate to the altitude.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2012 18:40:04 GMT -5
DH and I don't have a single "dream vacation", although I suppose if we did, it would involve more time and money than we usually have available. We've been to Europe many times and did an Alaskan cruise last July. The cruise was amazing because it was a 78-passenger ship Wilderness Adventurer), with more time with nature and no sales pitches, crowded ports, casinos, etc. Our honeymoon was in St. Petersburg, Russia. Meghan mentioned Croatia; we LOVED Dubrovnik. Usually you get interesting history and natural beauty but not both. This was a rare exception.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2012 18:54:47 GMT -5
Right now my dream vacation is an RV with DS and DH. Drive to every nice place and spend as long as we want. There are so many gorgeous places to visit in the U.S. I'd love to go to Europe but DH doesn't travel well. Anne, start with an overnighter to Crater Lake. UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL!!! And stay in the Lodge (because although the campground is very nice, we went there for a "Ranger Talk" one evening, it is rather far from the lake).
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Sept 18, 2012 18:59:05 GMT -5
Apple, while I appreciate your desire to do a self guided tour, we think the smartest thing we did for our week long trip to Normandy last May was hire a guide. Since none of the five of us were experts on D-Day or WWII, our guide functioned as a military strategy expert, history teacher, tour guide, and resident storyteller. I like to say that, if left to our own devices, we would have seen some big beaches, and some white crosses in the American Cemetery. Instead, we visited hedgerow as it would have existed in 1944 and learned how Allied soldiers recognized that there were German soldiers in close proximity without being able to hear German voices, discussed the impact of the weather on the invasion, talked about what impact the use of different types of weapons had on the troops landing on the beaches, visited German defenses including marshes that were flooded to make moving off the beaches more difficult, coastal gun batteries, and the command bunker that overlooked Sword beach. We also studied the hows and whys behind the German response to the invasion, and considered what it might have been like to have participated in the invasion as we sat in a small church and heard the retelling of the experiences of two medics who had treated Allied soldiers, Germans, and local citizens in the makeshift aid station they set up in the church. To see the blood stains that remain soaked into the wood of the pews nearly 70 years later tends to shift you from a detached observer to an empathetic student of the history. And a visit to the La Cambe German Cemetery causes you to think about the French reaction to the German occupation. Is the common grave shared by nearly 300 German soldiers a result of the French being unwilling to provide adequate space to bury their occupiers? Does the placement of the cemetery well inland, while the US Cemetery overlooks the beach, signify an attempt by the French to confer a second class status on the German dead? Does the construction of a freeway along one edge of the cemetery reflect longstanding French resentment of the German occupation? We learned so much more with the aid of a guide than we would have on our own that we think a guide is the way to go.
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milee
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Post by milee on Sept 18, 2012 18:59:36 GMT -5
Right now my dream vacation is an RV with DS and DH. Drive to every nice place and spend as long as we want. There are so many gorgeous places to visit in the U.S. I'd love to go to Europe but DH doesn't travel well. Maybe he'd travel better if you let him out of the RV? Honestly, as much as I love my family, the idea of living with them in a small box for extended periods of time might make me a little crazy. Or if your DH just doesn't travel at all, take your son and just go where you want to go. Sounds weird at first, but it's pretty fun. I've taken my older son on plenty of long trips. He traveled well and we had a great time. We started with easy destinations, like flying cross country to see relatives. But by the time he was 6, I was taking him out of the country. Try it - you might enjoy traveling just the two of you.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Sept 18, 2012 19:21:10 GMT -5
I want to visit Twin Lakes in Alaska. If you have seen the movie on PBS called "Alone in the Wilderness" it is where the cabin that was built is. There is someone with a cabin/boat that can be rented in the area for about $1K a week. It requires a float plane to get to. I watch it every time it's on!
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 18, 2012 22:02:09 GMT -5
Apple, while I appreciate your desire to do a self guided tour, we think the smartest thing we did for our week long trip to Normandy last May was hire a guide. Since none of the five of us were experts on D-Day or WWII, our guide functioned as a military strategy expert, history teacher, tour guide, and resident storyteller. I like to say that, if left to our own devices, we would have seen some big beaches, and some white crosses in the American Cemetery. Instead, we visited hedgerow as it would have existed in 1944 and learned how Allied soldiers recognized that there were German soldiers in close proximity without being able to hear German voices, discussed the impact of the weather on the invasion, talked about what impact the use of different types of weapons had on the troops landing on the beaches, visited German defenses including marshes that were flooded to make moving off the beaches more difficult, coastal gun batteries, and the command bunker that overlooked Sword beach. We also studied the hows and whys behind the German response to the invasion, and considered what it might have been like to have participated in the invasion as we sat in a small church and heard the retelling of the experiences of two medics who had treated Allied soldiers, Germans, and local citizens in the makeshift aid station they set up in the church. To see the blood stains that remain soaked into the wood of the pews nearly 70 years later tends to shift you from a detached observer to an empathetic student of the history. And a visit to the La Cambe German Cemetery causes you to think about the French reaction to the German occupation. Is the common grave shared by nearly 300 German soldiers a result of the French being unwilling to provide adequate space to bury their occupiers? Does the placement of the cemetery well inland, while the US Cemetery overlooks the beach, signify an attempt by the French to confer a second class status on the German dead? Does the construction of a freeway along one edge of the cemetery reflect longstanding French resentment of the German occupation? We learned so much more with the aid of a guide than we would have on our own that we think a guide is the way to go. That sounds awesome! We've done the "big trip" on our own and then we hook up with day tours or walking tours during our stay. I love to have a guide in some areas, but not at all in others (DS is a big history buff, we spent entire days during our last trip in war museums, catching short tours while there). I just don't want to do another full blown guided trip again. It was great for the first time out since I had never traveled anywhere, but we had to go at their pace. I'm fortunate that DS and I are both interested in the same sort of museum, etc, so that makes us both happy. We have distant family in France, my dad's cousin has actually stayed with them on the homestead, she'll give me their info, they love to meet the American family. I actually want to have DS plan most of this trip. Like I said, huge history buff, and I know he'd like to explore the lesser-known places with their unique history. I know we'll both learn a lot and have a great time (I tend to find a lot of adventure in things, even when they go wrong, lol).
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2012 22:13:37 GMT -5
I really am not crazy about traveling. I don't know, just not my thing. I think i would like to go to France though and eat some great French food.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 6:30:40 GMT -5
I love to have a guide in some areas, but not at all in others (DS is a big history buff, we spent entire days during our last trip in war museums, catching short tours while there). Have you visited the one in Brussels? It's fantastic. DH and I went there intending to spend the morning and then go somewhere else. Instead, we ducked out for lunch, came back and spent the rest of the day there. (Which is why we also like to travel independently with the exception of a few short tours.) In addition to the small artifacts, they have planes and tanks.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 19, 2012 8:47:58 GMT -5
I love to have a guide in some areas, but not at all in others (DS is a big history buff, we spent entire days during our last trip in war museums, catching short tours while there). Have you visited the one in Brussels? It's fantastic. DH and I went there intending to spend the morning and then go somewhere else. Instead, we ducked out for lunch, came back and spent the rest of the day there. (Which is why we also like to travel independently with the exception of a few short tours.) In addition to the small artifacts, they have planes and tanks. We haven't been to Brussels, yet... I think it was the RAF in London where we arrived just in time to tour a building that was closed to the public. All the equipment in that room was still completely original and usable. They had a room full of canon balls of different shapes the had experimented with. Since my son was so interested we were the last ones out (we were allowed to just wander around). The guy decided to show just the two of us one more room, in there they had one of the guns from the Mary Rose.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 9:50:13 GMT -5
My dream vacation consists of anywhere I can take lots of pictures of nature and buildings (preferably old ones). So far that has included Italy and Sicily, state and national parks (just spent a week at Voyageurs National Park, gorgeous!), and an upcoming trip to Costa Rica. My previous week long trips average between 1500 to 2000 pictures. Possible future destinations include anywhere in Europe, Egypt, South Africa/Kenya, New Zealand/Austrailia, Asia, California, and Alaska.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 10:02:46 GMT -5
I want to visit Twin Lakes in Alaska. If you have seen the movie on PBS called "Alone in the Wilderness" it is where the cabin that was built is. There is someone with a cabin/boat that can be rented in the area for about $1K a week. It requires a float plane to get to. I watch it every time it's on! It's funny, I am not really a "live off the land" kinda person. However, I LOVE his cabin and his story. I have also loved the idea of going into a very remote area of AK for a while for a retreat. I wish I could find one of those jobs where you live alone on an airstrip in the middle of nowhere or something.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 10:15:23 GMT -5
Maybe he'd travel better if you let him out of the RV? Honestly, as much as I love my family, the idea of living with them in a small box for extended periods of time might make me a little crazy.
Or if your DH just doesn't travel at all, take your son and just go where you want to go. DH's autoimmune disorder makes him take kidney damage if he eats at restaurants too often or doesn't get enough sleep (he likes his own bed!) The RV is so he can have home cooked food and his own mattress. DS and I have done a few trips by ourselves, most recently a week long one to CA. Drove 16 hours one way. I just wish DH and I could travel to Europe or other places without worrying about his health.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 10:19:52 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 10:22:53 GMT -5
Maybe he'd travel better if you let him out of the RV? Honestly, as much as I love my family, the idea of living with them in a small box for extended periods of time might make me a little crazy.
Or if your DH just doesn't travel at all, take your son and just go where you want to go. DH's autoimmune disorder makes him take kidney damage if he eats at restaurants too often or doesn't get enough sleep (he likes his own bed!) The RV is so he can have home cooked food and his own mattress. DS and I have done a few trips by ourselves, most recently a week long one to CA. Drove 16 hours one way. I just wish DH and I could travel to Europe or other places without worrying about his health. Have you looked into renting a cabin or small vacation home near your points of interest? I have a restricted diet that makes eating out problematic. Lately, I have taken to renting a cabin for a week. I can cook all of my own meals and explore the area at my leisure.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 10:34:18 GMT -5
Tskeeter and Apple,
There are actually 6 German cemetaries in that part of Normandy. An additional interesting fact about the German cemetary that Tskeeter visited is that it used to be an American cemetary but those folks were disinterred and sent back to the States and the Americans gave the property over to the Germans to help bury their dead.
The thing that really stood out to me when I visited another German cemetary this spring was how many soldiers were "unbekannt" (unknown). I didn't actually count but I would estimate about a third. When I asked my German teacher when I returned back to Bonn, she said it's because many families never knew what happened to their relatives after they were drafted into the war effort. She's pretty young (early 30s) but she knew of an uncle that was drafted and they never knew what happened to him. They know he spent some time in Russia but never heard from him.
If you do wind up in the Bonn area I highly recommend a visit to the Haus der Geschickte. Literally the house of History. It's basically from WWII to the present. One of the most moving displays was the thousands index cards of the missing. Think of the old fashioned Library catalogue system with tens of thousands of file cards. Especially moving were the short profiles that were done of young children who were trying to find some relative who was still alive.
It's very moving to see the Germans as humans too.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2012 10:40:33 GMT -5
txsbbtc - we have been doing that and it's working out well for us. So we're thinking about buying our own vacation home on wheels.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Sept 19, 2012 10:55:11 GMT -5
Bora Bora.....one of those huts over the water. We have a pretty large vacation budget, but that is really pricey and out of reach. Yeah, I know. Those huts run about $1500/night when I was looking at them the other night. Add in airfare, and that becomes a pretty expensive vacation.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Sept 20, 2012 13:50:17 GMT -5
Me, too, Apple. I don't get lost, but every now and again we go adventuring. It seems that the "adventuring" often leads to some interesting sites.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Sept 20, 2012 14:19:45 GMT -5
Hey, Busy Bonny. That's what I found out, too, when I was trying to figure out what motor route it was that ran right next to the cemetary. Since there are only about 22,000 soldiers buried at La Cambe, I had assumed that there were other German burial sites, but didn't know that there were five other German cemetaries in Normandy. But, our visit to La Cambe did get me thinking about the relationship between the French and the Germans after the war. And about how that relationship might have changed over the years. (If your family spent four years under German occupation and members of your family were shipped to work camps in other parts of Europe or were imprisoned by the Germans, how receptive are you to German tourists who are visiting Normandy today?) This is probably what I like best about traveling. The travel causes me to think about things that I would not have considered, otherwise.
One of the things I found striking about La Cambe was the general design. A field of ground level grave markers interspersed with groupings of rustic stone crosses, all surrounding a huge mound that houses the common graves. We were there in the morning and the shadows thrown by the groups of crosses made the shaded side of the crosses look black. Very dramatic against the background of perfectly manicured, bright green grass. Peaceful and serene with a Germanic/militaristic sense of order and discipline. I though the very dark crosses were an interesting dichotomy to the sparkling white crosses of the American Cemetery.
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Driftr
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Post by Driftr on Sept 20, 2012 14:21:17 GMT -5
We just took our Disney dream vacation this summer. Heh. Funny. We took ours on the Disney Dream this past Spring Break. It was great. Dream vacation for my wife and I will be after the kiddos are in college. We'll be heading to the Fench Open for a few days, touring around Europe for a couple weeks, and then heading through the Chunnel to go spend a couple days at Wimbledon.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2012 15:35:44 GMT -5
"A field of ground level grave markers interspersed with groupings of rustic stone crosses, all surrounding a huge mound that houses the common graves." "I though the very dark crosses were an interesting dichotomy to the sparkling white crosses of the American Cemetery." I've been to the American Cemetary twice now and had two really different experiences. The first one (about 6 years ago) the American Cemetary came across as being all about the glory of war and about the victorious. This time it didn't seem to 'shout" so much. Going to the visitor's center and spending time there made a big difference. With respect to how the French and Germans feel about each other; it's a love/hate relationship. I lived in Bonn as you know. It's in the Rhineland and that territory has gone back and forth between the two countries for a long time. No one gives it as an excuse but the truth is that the French made the reparation terms for WWI so tough on the Germans that I think many felt they had no choice but to follow an extremist like Hilter. You have seen the pictures of wheelbarrows of Deutschmarks to buy a loaf of bread, correct? And prior to the WWs, Napolean destroyed nearly every castle along the Rhine to show the French Empire domination over Germany. One of the reasons most Germans love Americans is that not only did we rescue Germany from Hitler, instead of demanding reparations and dividing up territory to give to the victors as was the historical norm, we helped re-build Germany just like we did for Japan. That's something all Americans should feel proud of.
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