On the road - traveling for fun & good places to go

We left Jacksonville in March and drove to Athens, GA, to see Leo Kottke. Amazing little town focused on beer, culture, and, of course, UGA. Really fun time. Drove from there to Unicoi State Park for an overnight camping stop and some drinking and German food in Helen. I used to vacation there as a child, so it was full of memories that I got to share with S, so now he truly understands my family's madness. We then drive through the mountains and twisties to Asheville, NC for more food and music exploration. Such an awesome trip, it was worth the 900 miles on the Beemer.

The year before, S and the boys took an RV from Jax to the Terrapin Brewery then to Asheville, NC, then to Dogfish Head in Delaware, and then to Baltimore for Savor. And back, the nutters.

All of our trips that don't involve family tend to be focused on beer or food experiences. And getting outside our Box. Can't wait for for the San Fran trip to get fitted for my ring and the Chicago trip eventually. New York and Oktoberfest in Germany are on the list... Do those count?

 

We've been up and down the BosWash corridor more times than I can remember. Going to DC for a few days, running down to Baltimore to catch a weekend Sox series. Shopping trips to NYC. Touring Amish country. Visiting friends and relatives in NY and NJ. Atlantic City. Lots of places to see and things to do in a 8 hour driving range. Been north to Maine more than a few times and a couple trips to Montreal and Quebec City as well.

Did two week long road trip to FL a few years ago. Still my favorite vacation to date. Stopped in Atlantic City, Colonial Williamsburg and Savannah, GA on the way down for over nighters. Spent a week in FL (if I never get back to FL, I'm fine with that) and then drove straight through going home.

Out west we've gone down the PCH from San Francisco to Monterrey. From Vegas, we've gone to Death Valley, the Grand Canyon (3 times so far) and to Zion Natl Park in Utah. Spent a week driving all over Yellowstone (my 2nd favorite vacation).

I drive for work, I go on road trips while on vacation and when I have free time at home, I play racing games on XBox....you'd think I'd be sick of being in cars...

 

We go down there at least once a year. We've been to all the mansions, some several times. One of our favorite places to bring out of state/country friends and family. Breton Point State Park is nearby as well. Great place to picnic and fly kites.

 

The drive from Boulder CO to Estes Park. Stunning. Been years since I have been in the Colorado Rockies. Think I might need to do that again. Mountains have an effect on me unlike any other terrain.

 

What I do most days on my motorcycle, I live between the two.

 

When I was in Germany 2 months ago, I drove some 4,000+ km all over the place. Sure, there was a General sitting in the backseat, but us being Afghans it simply had to be turned into a fun trip or they would've literally died out of boredom.

So we took many stops and enjoyed some great views and food. I'm still grateful that bad weather during that trip occured on the first night only... after that it was sunshine all around in Germany and the Netherlands. I should probably make a blog entry out of the Germany trip.

Something I always love doing in Germany: Driving into one of the many petrol stations that have restaurant extensions (proper restaurants). They usually serve their region's specialties and thus make them great food safari places for people who want to have a taste of the diverse German cuisine without having to always research a good local restaurant in each region.

 

ya'll have seen all my "G'day from [insert destination here]" threads.

Next stop? not sure, but rest assured, ill share it here. Im flipping a coin between a few high altitude adventures in a few different continents.

After that im going West Coast USA, and hopefully catch up with a bunch of you.

Out of all the places ive visited, the ones that were least touched by industry and commercialism are the ones i enjoyed the most.

This place remains my favourite place, and is a must see.

 

Roadtrip!

I don't get to travel by car very often anymore. But I did drive from Vegas to Yosemite, and that was a great trip. I wish I had more time and more friends to go on big trips with. When I was staying in a hostel in Sydney, I came across a small group of Swiss 20-somethings who were traveling around Australia cheaply and having a great time. I so wanted to just drop everything and join them...

 

So that was you... I had to pull over a few times to let the idiots pass me who wanted to do 60 on a road with no shoulder and a 100 foot drop without guardrails... And how many of them were not distracted by some of the views. I am shocked that there aren't more accidents there.

 

Wow, I want to go to China next summer if everything falls in to place. Nanjing, Xian where the Terracotta Army is located, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army
Shanghai and Bejing.
I have been to many places in the US.
My favorite thus far was Alaska; I took a free style cruise with 2 other couples and we all were lucky to have had a front cabin suite which was beautiful. I woke up every morning early just to see us pull into a different port every day and it was breath taking. The mountains, wildlife, and the lifestyle in these little towns are awesome.

Jackson Hole was my second favorite, we stayed at a dude ranch on top of a mountain and had one of the villas.

Jackson Hole Lodging | Luxury Resort | Spring Creek Ranch | Jackson Hole Wyoming | Mountain Villas Lodging Options


We drove up to Yellowstone Park from Jackson and the first thing we saw was a mother grizzly with her cubs. I know I have a picture of them, will add later.
I love the Island of Aruba, which I have visit almost every year. Virgin Islands, Bahamma's, Vegas many times, death valley a must see, also New York City, California, Texas, up and down the east coast and Nashville Tenn.
This past weekend I was here, right in PA. A great place to think clearly. http://www.visitpa.com/rose-valley-lake

 

Jackson Hole, Tetons and Yellowstone.
Grizzly mama!

 

I've already been to many of the places I want to travel to, though in most cases years ago as part of family vacations. In particular, I would like to return to the American North- and Southwest as an adult, in a trip designed around my priorities as opposed to my father's. Similarly, I would like to revisit the parts of Europe my family took me to as a child and a teenager and see them again through adult eyes.

There are parts of Michigan @GeneticShift has promised to show me that I've never been to, and I am eager to see them. We've talked about visiting Alaska, Spain, Hawaii and elsewhere, all of which I look forward to experiencing for the first time. Although I traveled around the continental US by train a decade ago (as part of an independent study project for school), I wouldn't mind embarking again in cross-country train travel, provided with a flexible schedule and enough funding to secure on-board accommodations (traveling 24hrs+ in coach pretty much sucks). Either that—or possibly in addition—I've always wanted to try a cross-country road trip.

My hope is to experience these things as a young(ish) adult and not be forced by financial necessity and/or workplace obligation to postpone them until retirement.

 

I love travelling!

When I was a kid we used to do a lot of travelling from Ontario and Newfoundland (and all the provinces in between). My parents never had a car when I was growing up, but my grandfather made the drive from Windsor Ontario to St. John's Newfoundland every summer, so sometimes my dad and I would jump in with him. I LOVED being on the road for 4 days straight. Since I've had my own vehicle, I've made the trek a few times by myself. It makes it all the more interesting when there's an overnight ferry ride involved. For a couple years I could fit all of my belongings into my car.

Living in Newfoundland now, there are SO many road trips to be taken within the province, lots of outdoor stuff to see. I've done a lot of it, but I have never been up to the Northern tip and i've never been to Labrador.

I've been to England once, and along with a trip to see my gf's family in Montreal in April this year, we're also going to Ireland in September

There are still so many places i'd like to see though. Here's the top places I want to travel/see:

- New Zealand (Glowworm Caves)
- Iceland (Northern Lights and Volcanoes)
- Labrador
- Singapore
- France
- Hawaii