I've never heard of Petras, what's that?
I'd rather cruise from Anchorage to Acapulco thru the Panama canal and then from Belize to Nova ScotiaAzamara World Cruise 2025 | Azamara (https://www.azamara.com/2025WorldVoyage)
Many stops along the way
maybe July to July
We're looking at a cruise out of Tokyo that includes South Korea. Our idea is to spot check cities you probably wouldn't see otherwise and think whether you might return for a longer visit later.how many of these "spot checked" cities have you been back to for a longer visit?
how many of these "spot checked" cities have you been back to for a longer visit?Barcelona is one, Rome is on our list to spend some time, maybe Sorrento and the Amalfi coast, we have not done that many cruises (yet).
how many of these "spot checked" cities have you been back to for a longer visit?For us... Amsterdam, Barcelona and Florence - so far.
Barcelona is one, Rome is on our list to spend some time, maybe Sorrento and the Amalfi coast, we have not done that many cruises (yet).Sorrento was OK. We didn't find the Amalfi to be all that. Nice, sure. Worthy of a trip? Not for us.
It's not a trip I would take, to be honest, but it's still fun to read about it here.I highly recommend Taiwan. Over the years I've spent the equivalent of about 4 weeks in Taipei and it's one of my favorite places. It's a bit of a melting pot of cultures and it just adds to the richness of the place. And the food is amazing.
A dream cruise for me would be to start in South Korea, then Taiwan, and then hit Japan intensively.
Not sure if you have hit Normandy yet, but that is a must. Barcelona is one of my favorites.I agree, I've been several times including the Utah Beach area. Bayeux was a great visit.
I highly recommend Taiwan. Over the years I've spent the equivalent of about 4 weeks in Taipei and it's one of my favorite places. It's a bit of a melting pot of cultures and it just adds to the richness of the place. And the food is amazing.Sans the green stinky tofu,I mean if Andrew Zimmern almost hurls it must be the Devil's treat
Sans the green stinky tofu,I mean if Andrew Zimmern almost hurls it must be the Devil's treatThe first time I went, we did go to a night market. I didn't try the stinky tofu, but I did try the oyster omelet. One bite, nearly hurled, threw it away.
Sounds like a great down-payment on a Porche.What's a Porche?
Use it to drive around the USA spot checking places
I visited Sedona quite recently for first time since 90s and it seems outmatched for the volume of people , myself included that flock to it.That area has been overrun for two decades. The secret got out.
Some of the best hiking and exploring around outside of Sedona and surrounding area but makes you wonder if there's a down time. I realize this is near peak.
Having said that, pink jeep tours are still winners and family faves.
I've heard they have golf courses around SedonaGolf in Sedona last year. Highest Hole topped out at 4,200ft. Being an old out of shape man, I tired out pretty quickly. Lots of multi levels and beautiful views.
never been there
I've been invited on a trip with a bunch of retired railroad guys, but I wasn't retired and haven't made itGroup trips aren't my thing because I don't like people.
they seem to enjoy it
they send the wives shopping
Group trips aren't my thing because I don't like people.Amen brutha.
Which cruise line was it?MSC
Istanbul is large and it definitely didn't feel full. The security checks there are the most intimidating and thorough that I've ever experienced.Yes, they were ridiculous, and we were changing planes. We went through four checks where they asked the same questions and then a fifth where we were searched/wanded.
Why did Constantinople get the works?It's none of your business.
It's none of your business.What would be your position then, if I were to inform you, that I am in fact a Turk?
What would be your position then, if I were to inform you, that I am in fact a Turk?My position would be to advise you to not go for a visit. Not that you asked...
What would be your position then, if I were to inform you, that I am in fact a Turk?Then I concede, it may indeed be your business. But nobody elses that are not Turks.
My nieghbor is an old Turk, he's nearly 70, grew up in Ankara. PhD from Harvard and postdoc at Oxford, professor of physics at GaTech for 32 years. He's currently in Ethiopia.Another place not on my list.
I need to visit Florida with a couple sides of beef, perhaps passing through Atlanta on the way
South Carolina is on my list, as well as Cincy & Columbus, OH
Louisiana, Arkansas
I've heard Nashville and Memphis are nice
New Mexico, northern Arizona, Nevada, Utah, even Cali
Boston - New Hampshire - Maine
Maybe Niagara/Buffalo
I have a passport but there's plenty of places to visit that an airport or a passport aren't required
We drove my Turkish friend to the airport two days back and the traffic coming back was horrible, on a Sunday. Something was amiss, I tried to go around and it was horrible too.Snowbirds are killing I-75 and I-95 now. I've noticed traffic is better around here lately.
traffic is one of the reasons I avoid large citiesThis is the time of year to come here. Yeah, it's a little toasty.
I-75/85 southbound was normal, but northbound was stopped, 7 lanes just stopped.In Atl?
Heading to San Diego (in German: A Whale's Vagina) for a conference on Sunday. Any must-eat places? I prefer the ones right on the water if possible.Are you going to have a car? Will you just be downtown?
Disagree about the Asian vs. that available in the Midwest though. Of course, I'm only referencing Chicago when I say that.
disappointing 5 times?No, it was great the first four times, so my wife suggested we go back. Maybe they were slammed with Easter.
Sushi burrito. That has me written all over it.I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on what that area looks like right now. It was my favorite place to go in San Diego.
We'll be in the Gaslamp Quarter right across from the baseball field.
Asian food we have aplenty around here in walking distance, all of it good, to me anyway. My step son's GF from HK pronounced one of the places as outstanding, better than they had in SF, but she was being nice I supposed. We had lunch yesterday at one of the Persian places and it was massively disappointing, was fifth time there.Yeah, I know in downtown ATL there are better offerings. When I lived in Marietta, tho, there wasn't even any good Mexican food, much less Chinese, much less other less ubiquitous Asian cuisines.
Sushi burrito. That has me written all over it.If you've heard of Hodad's (burgers), it's not far from there. It was featured on DDD at one point, and it's an iconic surf-style burger joint. It's excellent.
We'll be in the Gaslamp Quarter right across from the baseball field.
I get that. Especially if you're specifically referring to Chicago's Chinatown. But in general Chicago will have the population to support good authentic ethnic cuisine of nearly every type. It wouldn't surprise me if (outside of Chinatown) you really need to search carefully for the legit joints.
The same is true here of course. Finding really excellent Chinese food in/around Mission Viejo is hard. Drive 10 miles north to Irvine, and it's easy. Finding decent Thai or pho here is not hard, but if you really want authentic South Asian cuisine, you go 10 mi further north to Westminster / Garden Grove. Those areas are far more dense enclaves of those particular nationalities, and thus the food reflects it.
The West Coast has a much higher population density of Asian descent than most places eastward. So you'll get more variety of authentic options in LA/OC, SF Bay Area, Seattle, or Vancouver than you'll get in most cities east of the Rockies, with places like Chicago and NY as notable exceptions.
Yeah, I know in downtown ATL there are better offerings. When I lived in Marietta, tho, there wasn't even any good Mexican food, much less Chinese, much less other less ubiquitous Asian cuisines.Downtown is basically a food desert with a few exceptions. It's sports bars and tourist spots mostly. Midtown is a mecca except for French cuisine. We have two superb Indian places and two Persian places, one of which just disappointed me. Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, galore. These places mostly survived COVID because they are good for takeout/delivery. You can't really get French cuisine as takeout.
Over all of my years up there I managed to find the spots, outside of Chinatown even.If they wanted a lush, mosquito-infested sauna where it rained every day, they would have stayed home.
I'm working on that here. I found the Pho spot but still working on the Chinese, Thai, etc.
Not a whole lot of Asians down here.
Houston has a large Asian population and the cuisine to go along with it. Austin has a smaller Asian population, but it's highly concentrated because of the university and all of the high tech companies that exist here, so there's some excellent Asian food here as well.Yeah, I would expect that from Austin.
Obviously, different folks prefer different places for different reasons (duh). I see no need to belittle anyone for their personal choices.Who was belittled?
If they wanted a lush, mosquito-infested sauna where it rained every day, they would have stayed home.Thankfully it rained on Sunday, for the first time since February.
Who was belittled?Who was passive-aggressive?
D'you know the capital of Alaska?I'd say Anchorage,fairbanks or Juneaux as they are the only ones I can remember,prolly isn't Nome or in Prudhoe bay
It's kind of a fake question.Why is that? Every state has a Capital,turns out to be Juneau up there. I would have guessed Anchorage as it's so much bigger than the others
Who was passive-aggressive?Yeah, towards the weather in Florida, not at a person or people, lol. FFS
We'll be in the Gaslamp Quarter right across from the baseball field.
If you've heard of Hodad's (burgers), it's not far from there. It was featured on DDD at one point, and it's an iconic surf-style burger joint. It's excellent.
DO NOT WALK THERE FROM THE GASLAMP. Uber it.
Last time my wife and I were there (2021), we parked only a few blocks from Hodad's and walked over, and she reminded me of my well-worn tradition of walking her through awful neighborhoods every time we're on vacation. Literally I'm sure if it wasn't me (6'5" 265# with a "dont F with us" look on my face) and the middle of the day, we might have had a problem.
Yeah, towards the weather in Florida, not at a person or people, lol. FFSWe like the weather here, but we certainly would not want to be inland.
lucky you weren't billed for the escortYeah, three police cruisers, and two guys with polls walking on each side of us holding back branches and ensuring we clear any lines. This was near Richmond, IN, I think they enjoyed the excitement, it made the Dayton 11 PM news.
Have not yet been to Tokyo, only seen the airport in Istanbul, Cape Town is on the short list somewhere.The only one that interests me on that list is Tokyo. Been to Rome twice.
That list isn't lying about Bologna.It's on our list for the next Europe trip. Tell me about it.
11h 45mHmm. I thought it was less. Maybe because the return is only 10 hrs.
Nonstop flight
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Tokyo, Japan (all airports)
It's on our list for the next Europe trip. Tell me about it.Keep in mind my two visits to Bologna were in late December with the city enveloped in cold, dense fog. My thoughts:
We try and travel to Europe in the semi off season for obvious reasons. I will say I almost froze in Verdun one December, that was a memorable visit, and extremely depressing in a way. The city seemed very nice though. The battlefields are stunning.Yeah, we were in the Cinque Terre in late March when we went. It was a little chilly and basically devoid of crowds. It was wonderful :72:
Yeah, we were in the Cinque Terre in late March when we went. It was a little chilly and basically devoid of crowds. It was wonderful :72:When we hit the Cinque Terre it was mid June. The crowds were building but the weather was great. I've spent too many Sp'Winters in Europe to ever really desire to be there any time before maybe mid-May.
I'd never, ever, EVER consider going there in July/August.
Keep in mind my two visits to Bologna were in late December with the city enveloped in cold, dense fog. My thoughts:Thanks!!
-Easy to get to. The train station is as close to the city center as they get in the major cities, and all of the high-speed rail lines pass through and stop at Bologna Centrale station. Also, the entire city is very close together and pedestrian friendly.
-It's the birthplace of tortellini, so there are several places in il Quadrilatero that sell it fresh from the roller.
-I know that food is a recurring theme in Italy, but the meals were simple and fantastic. Our dinners were at Trattoria del Rosso, on Via Augusto Righi.
-Even with all the great meals we ate, my FIL's favorite food item was a simple hunk of foccacia with red sauce from a bakery (Pizza Leggera) across the street from the train station.
-If you're interested in seeing how parmesano reggiano (sp?) is made, there are a couple of tours out of Reggio Emilia that I can point you towards.
We see some nice sunsets often from our large window here (not usually THAT colorful). I'm going to try and paint one here shortly in my ultra amateurish efforts to paint.its actually a sunrise Galveston
If it's not too awful I might post it here. It'll probably be pretty awful though.
(https://i.imgur.com/bCrMYsO.png)I believe in you.
This was on FB and I'm trying to paint it, sort of. Right now it looks more like a volcano exploding ...
many many great places to visit that are closer than thatIstanbul to Chicago was brutal. It was our only option when we missed our flight from Venice to Chicago. Our flight from Paris to Venice that day was redirected to Bologna. We sat on the tarmac in Bologna for two hours frantically trying to re-arrange flights. When we finally got to leave Bologna and landed in Venice, the TAP Portugal plane that was supposed to take us to Chicago was taxiing to take off. It's a pretty desolate feeling to see that.
seems like more effort
I didn't enjoy the flight from Honolulu to Chicago
My daughter (4th grade) just had one of her drawings displayed in a school art exhibit.Add a sense of humor, which could be yours, a few other characters, and you and your daughter will be putting out Junesbury calendars and comics (replacement for Doonesbury). That drawing is excellent!
Better than I could draw lol...
I got quite good at doing nothing around here. One of my complaints to my wife about traveling is we both like it here just fine.Have fun in Vancouver! We were just there last Sept. Very cool place.
We're off to Vancouver in July, my twins birthday is then, and both will be there. They'll be 35, both doing well, one moved from AUSTIN to C-bus recently.
Maybe we should move to Austin.
We've been to Victoria before, probably won't again. We did several tours of Vancouver last time we were there, my daughter had just moved so it was interesting for her. She scheduled a boat tour this time. We had some pretty good food there also.Ahh, if you've already been to Victoria, probably no need to go again.
I got quite good at doing nothing around here. One of my complaints to my wife about traveling is we both like it here just fine.Sounds more like you need to move to C-bus.
We're off to Vancouver in July, my twins birthday is then, and both will be there. They'll be 35, both doing well, one moved from AUSTIN to C-bus recently.
Maybe we should move to Austin.
We've been to Victoria before, probably won't again. We did several tours of Vancouver last time we were there, my daughter had just moved so it was interesting for her. She scheduled a boat tour this time. We had some pretty good food there also.Been to Whistler?
I booked the flights in coach but we've been upgraded so far to Comfort, hoping we might get FC on some segments, we go through Toronto going out, nonstop coming back. Flights have been so packed of late upgrades seem to be rare.
Where is a place you've been and would really like to return to and spend more time?There are several:
For me, I always enjoy Zion NP, but I'd say Glacier NP because when we visited it was too early, the GttS road was still closed, and it was very overcast and we barely saw much. My wife would probably say Rome because our stay there was quite short though we had a solid tour.
We have a tenth anniversay upcoming and I offered to take her to a really upscale restaurant and she suggested a brief tour of North Georgia, again, which I planned. She likes Dahlonega, and can even pronounce it now. We're also staying in Blue Ridge which I don't know at all. They have a train ride there we might do though it's a bit pricey.
Where is a place you've been and would really like to return to and spend more time?pebble beach
This road is pretty icky also, but has the saving grace of some awesome ethnic restaurants ... Buford Highway ...Yep. When I lived back there in Marietta, it was the best place to get actually GOOD Mexican food.
A new place is about to open that has some prospects of being good, it's not Tex-Mex of course.Here in SoCal, we usually prefer Mexican food to Tex-Mex...
Here in SoCal, we usually prefer Mexican food to Tex-Mex...Both are delicious, but yeah, I've tried the California attempts at Tex-Mex and I wouldn't bother eating it, either.
Heading to San Antonio in Oct to visit in-laws... Any local expertise on things to do / places to see?
One of the best, um, "Mexicanish" meals I ever had was in LA, it was red snapper and something.That's a dish you can get up and down both Coasts of Mexico. My favorite prep for that would be something out of Oaxaca, probably.
I'm heading to the Great White North in about a week and a half. I got a nice little Airbnb on a cliff overlooking Lake Erie. It's a little town at the southernmost point of Canada named Colchester. I was looking for something new to do in my summer off weeks and stumbled across this. It's only a 4.5 hour drive, I can take my dog, there's plenty of golf courses in the immediate area, and 5-6 wineries as well. I've been to a lot of places south of the US but never to America's Hat.My friends overnighted in that Harbor on their journey from NYC to Kenosha!
I'm heading to the Great White North in about a week and a half. I got a nice little Airbnb on a cliff overlooking Lake Erie. It's a little town at the southernmost point of Canada named Colchester. I was looking for something new to do in my summer off weeks and stumbled across this. It's only a 4.5 hour drive, I can take my dog, there's plenty of golf courses in the immediate area, and 5-6 wineries as well. I've been to a lot of places south of the US but never to America's Hat.Took 28 trips up there,12 of my 1st 13 yrs pretty much. Then started back to Ontario and Quebec until 2000. Always loved the fishing & Canadian beers out on the deck overlooking georgeous spacely populated lakes. The Beers were much prized before the rise of the crafts. Still a safe harbor for good suds,never golfed there though but why ruin a good fishing trip - enjoy
Took 28 trips up there,12 of my 1st 13 yrs pretty much. Then started back to Ontario and Quebec until 2000. Always loved the fishing & Canadian beers out on the deck overlooking georgeous spacely populated lakes. The Beers were much prized before the rise of the crafts. Still a safe harbor for good suds,never golfed there though but why ruin a good fishing trip - enjoyDid you go by boat?
With the exception of a couple trips to Windsor to drink during the ages of 19-20, I've only had one Canada trip that WASN'T for work. That was Vancouver last fall.Heh, I've never heard this. They wear boots and 10-gallon hats or something? :)
I've gotten to see Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver for work. Calgary is basically "Cold Texas" lol.
I want to get to Montreal at some point.
Heh, I've never heard this. They wear boots and 10-gallon hats or something? :)Pretty much. Big oil & gas place, lots of cattle, big trucks, ranching, etc.
With the exception of a couple trips to Windsor to drink during the ages of 19-20, I've only had one Canada trip that WASN'T for work. That was Vancouver last fall.Us too.
I've gotten to see Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver for work. Calgary is basically "Cold Texas" lol.
I want to get to Montreal at some point.
I'll be in Florida on Tuesday. Bech resort/yacht club near Pensacola. My sister lived there for almost ten years and I love those white sand beaches.Not sure if you are into oysters- there are some great oyster bars there!
We'll be stopping in New Orleans for a few days on the way home, which I might be even more excited about.
Where in Florida?It wasn't as if this particular visit was some straw breaking back on my views of FL, just reaffirmation.
Some people don't like an 8-hour sauna all summer, lol.Yeah, not interested in FL for that reason specifically.
There are some areas in the "middle" that are nice, but I prefer the coasts, and in particular the West coast.Very true
We could probably live on the East Coast near your area @Honestbuckeye (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=37) but man once you get South of there into Palm Beach the traffic is horrendous. Especially in the season. And the further South you go, it gets even worse.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=torch+lake&t=iphone&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tellwut.com%2Fuploads%2Fmedia%2Fimage%2F64433e1533754253o1640.jpgI was just talking with my nephew yesterday that is looking to rent an AirB&B there in the next few weeks. Gorgeous area.
Pontoon boat and condo on Torch Lake in August this year.
On the job in the Bay Area this week.
My wife and daughter are 7 days into a 12 day trip in Europe that will take them through Ireland, Germany, Poland, The Czech Republic, and Austria. After talking to them this evening I think they are both ready to come home. It’s an educational trip through the school system and everything is busy and on a schedule.That's too many countries with too little time. Each of those places is worthy of 12 days alone..
They are finding out a trip and a vacation aren’t necessarily the same thing. The one place my wife really wanted to visit was Auschwitz but my daughter got a bug or something and was throwing up all day so they had to sit that one out yesterday. She is better now and they were in Prague today. They both sound exhausted. Lol.
I think for a younger person, such a hectic trip can be useful. I agree any major European city needs at least a week to scratch the surface. And the older you are, the more down time you will need of course.If you're going to do that many countries in that short of time, I would do a cruise. At least you don't have to unpack and pack all the time.
My wife and daughter are 7 days into a 12 day trip in Europe that will take them through Ireland, Germany, Poland, The Czech Republic, and Austria. After talking to them this evening I think they are both ready to come home. It’s an educational trip through the school system and everything is busy and on a schedule.It took us two weeks to go through part of the northern half of Italy. Granted, I was ready to leave after a week in Rome.
They are finding out a trip and a vacation aren’t necessarily the same thing. The one place my wife really wanted to visit was Auschwitz but my daughter got a bug or something and was throwing up all day so they had to sit that one out yesterday. She is better now and they were in Prague today. They both sound exhausted. Lol.
To be fair, we packed a LOT into our week in Rome on our honeymoon.
The main event was going to the night Mass with Papa Frankie on Christmas Eve in St. Peter's. The atmosphere was like a super-reverent but high stakes football match. We waited in line with the family of a seminarian from North Dakota (tall English speakers tend to attract other English speakers), and were seated inside the basilica with a bunch of Brazilians.
St. Paul's Outside the Walls was my favorite of the papal basilicas.
We went to the Vatican Museums while there over Christmas 2021. Attendance at the time was capacity limited by COVID. And if the place was that busy while capacity-constrained, I don't want to be within a country mile of there in August with no restrictions on attendance.
Cacio e pepe in Rome was fantastic, and, despite it's simplicity, is something that the Mrs. and I have been utterly unable to replicate back stateside.
We tend to have a fairly loose schedule when we travel. If there are big-ticket events, schedule for that, but we don't want to be tied to an airtight schedule.
Expansion would be more likely.There isn't much room down there, though the current notion is to build a sixth runway. And of course another runway may help with plane traffic but it doesn't help with gates/security lines/parking/etc.
I like the 2 airport model better, but probably not as efficientIt depends. ORD and MDW work pretty well in Chicago. SW dominates MDW. AA and UA generally dominate ORD.
Any second airport would be 50 miles north of downtown and you would have to have a rail connection.thought you weren't a huge fan of rails?
thought you weren't a huge fan of rails?I think intercity high speed rail has major issues in the US, Brightline in Florida might work OK, it's not quite HSR in my view. MARTA works reasonably well despite the criticism and the fact the full plan was never built ($$$). They "could" extend MARTA from its ending point to where the second airport would be, in fact, they would have to do it. Right now, the land is "woods", which is fine with me to leave it be.
It could make more sense, maybe, to build up an airport in some nearby city, Columbus/Chattanooga/Augusta/Bham. Or build one designed for changing planes entirely somewhere in the SE. I dunno if that would be practicable. It would be in the sticks. There is a civil aviation airport in Dekalb now that handles private jets, but again, no room around it. I don't think there is a viable solution really.Is the international terminal connected to the rest of the terminal by tram? I seem to recall that the east end of Hartsfield was underutilized.
Is the international terminal connected to the rest of the terminal by tram? I seem to recall that the east end of Hartsfield was underutilized.Yes, the "Plane Train" connects everything, but if you aren't throught security, you have to take a bus. The east end, the International Terminal, USED to be underutilized, but now it's a flat mess, the infrastructure is not available to support it, parking is always full causing a traffic jam, and only two lanes go to the departure level. I used to love using it when nobody was there, often there would be more gate agents than passengers, no longer. And it only has 11 gates.
Augusta would make sense, as it's halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte.
It could make more sense, maybe, to build up an airport in some nearby city, Columbus/Chattanooga/Augusta/Bham. Or build one designed for changing planes entirely somewhere in the SE. I dunno if that would be practicable. It would be in the sticks. There is a civil aviation airport in Dekalb now that handles private jets, but again, no room around it. I don't think there is a viable solution really.
Augusta would make sense, as it's halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte.Good point, but you can get to DC, Charlotte, Dallas and Atlanta through Augusta now. AA and Delta in in there. Maybe 20 flights per day if I remember right.
Plus it helps out with the Masters, UGA, and access to the S.Carolina coast and Savannah.
I would study the concept of building an airport in the middle of nowhere, maybe between Macon and Savannah, and link it to ATL with HSR. The idea would be to use it for changing planes and little else. This probably doesn't work though.It's interesting, but I see some issues...
if it's a 10 minute HSR ride, they go back to the city.
- Hotels and other infrastructure. What if a bunch of flights get cancelled due to weather and people need someplace to go?
if it's a 10 minute HSR ride, they go back to the city.If it's a 10 minute HSR ride, it's not the middle of nowhere.
It's interesting, but I see some issues...This is happening now at the Punta Gorda airport (PGD). First Allegiant came in, and now Sun Country is in. PGD is expanding to accommodate more.
- Workers. If it's in the middle of nowhere, who works there?
- Supply chain. You're going to need a bunch of goods, food, alcohol that all needs to be available. Easier [or hopefully cheaper] to do that near a city.
- Hotels and other infrastructure. What if a bunch of flights get cancelled due to weather and people need someplace to go?
- Airlines -- to make it work you need airlines who are going to make it a "hub". Which can work, but it might be a chicken/egg issue.
What makes more sense IMHO is to pick a potentially underserved 2nd-tier (or even 3rd-tier) city and work to really expand that airport and turn it into a hub for several airlines...
...but I suspect that's somewhat already happening/happened. Charlotte isn't a huge city; it became a hub. SLC isn't a huge city; it's a hub. Cincinnati isn't a huge city; it's a hub.
So think about places that could fit. I'd argue you want it to be centrally located in the US. You want it to be big ENOUGH that it's going to generate some of its own traffic, i.e. Cedar Rapids International Airport (where I've flown into and got stuck lol) wouldn't qualify.
Kansas City or Oklahoma City would be good candidates in my opinion. Nashville or Louisville could work (a bit more Eastern), maybe Albuquerque (a bit more West). They're all far enough south that they probably wouldn't get crushed by winter weather.
But I'm not sure that the economics nor the logistics work out to just shove a major airport in the middle of nowhere.
Gatwick. DeGaulle is pretty remote also, maybe 30 miles. There is some airport in Ireland that was built to be remote as I recall, starts with a G.
The closest thing that exists to a remote airport connected to the city by other transport is the new Denver Airport.
Beginning to sort through my packing for South Korea, and balking at seeing nothing but 70 degree dewpoints for the next month.That is on my list. I'd like to do a cruise that includes Korea, Japan and Taiwan (assuming the CCP doesn't take it).
(https://i.imgur.com/JP4GK57.png)Is this along the Amafi Coast. One of the scariest drives I have ever been on.
I know Paris is really bad about PP. I generally put a wallet in my back pocket full of paper, and carry a slim wallet in my front pocket with a loose credit card to pay for whatever, so I don't ever expose anything. If you're out of the main tourist areas you usually will be OK. If you notice a young gypsie looking girl approaching you, asking questions of any sort, or someone asks if you speak English, do not respond, walk the other way.
(https://i.imgur.com/plbV2mn.png)https://youtu.be/tozRmtD_gsU
Utee got a bit lost.
Interactive Visited States Maphttps://www.fla-shop.com/visited-states/?st=AL%2CAZ%2CCA%2CCO%2CDC%2CFL%2CGA%2CHI%2CIA%2CIL%2CIN%2CKS%2CKY%2CMD%2CMI%2CMN%2CMO%2CNC%2CNE%2CNM%2CNV%2COH%2COK%2CPA%2CSD%2CTN%2CTX%2CUT%2CVA%2CWI%2CWV%2CWY&vc=1ca032&uc=90cfea&hc=40bfa6&bc=ffffff&ss=on&sl=on
This page features an interactive and customizable map builder showing visited states. You can use it to track your US travel history by marking the states you have previously visited! Create a beautiful custom map in a few clicks, and share it with your community.
https://www.fla-shop.com/visited-states/?vc=1ca032&uc=90cfea&hc=40bfa6&bc=ffffff&sl=on (https://www.fla-shop.com/visited-states/?vc=1ca032&uc=90cfea&hc=40bfa6&bc=ffffff&sl=on)
Istanbul to Chicago was brutal.We almost did that one time. Turkish Airlines was the cheapest way to get to Rome, but we would have had to go through Istanbul first. F that.
NYC to Gatwick is not that bad.relatively
The longest road in the World: The Panamericana Route which begins in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and stretches all the way down to Ushuaia, Argentina. All in all, the road covers 30,000 km (19,000 miles)
(https://scontent.ffod1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/368264140_745795700888697_2104844488295086603_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=DgCAcOR5Q7MAX-ZuFgf&_nc_ht=scontent.ffod1-1.fna&oh=00_AfAHNciATvEFqevAu3fwf1Rau6kEgetRBZdeOo14iPMDmw&oe=64ED5DEC)
I think, with some exceptions, any "touristy place" will not have good restaurants.Well if they'd let me eat over the sink I wouldn't have to settle for these touristy joints
Best restaurants on the San Antonio Riverwalk?As has been stated, most of them are really touristy and not particularly good. How many meals/recs do you need?
Go.
No go to list (among others)Note.
We're off for England tomorrow for our cruise around the island, with a stop in Northern Ireland and regular Ireland, and tours of the Loch Ness and Stonehenge (both of which I was informed are not that impressive). Going through NYC to Gatwick, over night flight. Then a "cab" to Southhampton for two days before departing.Awesome!
I'm taking the full camera kit, not sure if I'll get any good photos of course, going to be drizzly and chilly. For such adventures a good phone is probably enough.
The middle of France is worth a visit, get outside Paris some. This is a neat spot, that bridge is a canal, built over the River Loire in the late 19th century. Napoleon was responsible for a lot of canal building (not this one) during his tenure, most of which still exist.Is that a canal above a river, almost like a Roman Aqueduct?
(https://i.imgur.com/fA8CHti.jpg)
Headed to Loch Ness. Captain said we had 85 knot winds74 MPH.
Spent a few days in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains and emerged engaged. We did a nice little hike up to Hen Wallow Falls on the "quiet side" of the park (AKA the side not by Gatlinburg. That's where I popped the question. We also visited Ruby Falls and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. I'd never been to either.Congratulations!!
Spent a few days in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains and emerged engaged. We did a nice little hike up to Hen Wallow Falls on the "quiet side" of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (AKA the side not by Gatlinburg. That's where I popped the question. We also visited Ruby Falls and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. I'd never been to either.Congratulations!
Spent a few days in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains and emerged engaged. We did a nice little hike up to Hen Wallow Falls on the "quiet side" of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (AKA the side not by Gatlinburg). That's where I popped the question. We also visited Ruby Falls and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. I'd never been to either.Congrats!
a buddy of mine from Des Moines is headed to Gatlinburg
I've never been to the area
We've kinda made a decision that we will not travel internationally for a while.Already have plans to go to the eastern mediterrean next October, including Israel & Egypt. Wife wants to cancel, I say give it time before cancelling, things will settle down again. Can always cancel as it gets closer.
We have a chance to go to Rome and Munich next year very cheaply, but I don't think we will do it.
Already have plans to go to the eastern mediterrean next October, including Israel & Egypt. Wife wants to cancel, I say give it time before cancelling, things will settle down again. Can always cancel as it gets closer.I don't believe that at all. This is just a start. That area is a war zone, and it will only get worse.
I don't believe that at all. This is just a start. That area is a war zone, and it will only get worse.no one knows when things will heat up or cool down
I'm also struck by how obese many of us are, especially o a cruise.I will say, I have met obese people in my travels in Europe.
I will say, I have met obese people in my travels in Europe.
They mostly speak perfect [American] English.
International terminal at ORD sucks terribly. Same thing - very long walks to customs if you are on a US airline. If you are on a foreign airline, well, they get the better (closer) gates.Absolutely terrible system there. I strongly disliked coming from international travel into ORD. That being said, it is also the place that someone there did one of the kindest things ever in my life and got me through customs onto my next flight home and I was able to see a family member before they passed a couple hours later. If i would have missed the flight, i wouldn't have made it on time after 23 hours of flights.
Absolutely terrible system there. I strongly disliked coming from international travel into ORD. That being said, it is also the place that someone there did one of the kindest things ever in my life and got me through customs onto my next flight home and I was able to see a family member before they passed a couple hours later. If i would have missed the flight, i wouldn't have made it on time after 23 hours of flights.You've long talked about that region.
I personally also wouldn't touch Europe or anywhere remotely close to the middle east right now. SE Asia is a place incredibly underrated. Long flights, but if people can tackle that, it's worth it.
We ended up doing TSA Precheck instead of Global Entry b/c we don't travel international very often, and I think the closest place to do the in-person stuff was Port of Long Beach or LAX. Instead we could do TSA Precheck at the Orange County airport.Do you know that once you do it, you don't need to go back? Renewals are all on line.
We ended up doing TSA Precheck instead of Global Entry b/c we don't travel international very often, and I think the closest place to do the in-person stuff was Port of Long Beach or LAX. Instead we could do TSA Precheck at the Orange County airport.John Wayne is my favorite airport in the entire USA.
Do you know that once you do it, you don't need to go back? Renewals are all on line.Ahh good to know. Maybe we'll switch to Global Entry next time.
International terminal at ORD sucks terribly. Same thing - very long walks to customs if you are on a US airline. If you are on a foreign airline, well, they get the better (closer) gates.It was a long damn walk to customs when we came back from our honeymoon on Lufthansa to ORD. Fortunately, United staff knew our flight was late from Frankfurt and hustled us through customs and the transfer bus so we could make our connection to Detroit.
The flight will be brutal there, but the time change will get it's pound of flesh on the way back. Total beating.
We booked a cruise for Japan/SK in March. The flight will be brutal. And Hawaii in December, then San Diego.
It was a long damn walk to customs when we came back from our honeymoon on Lufthansa to ORD. Fortunately, United staff knew our flight was late from Frankfurt and hustled us through customs and the transfer bus so we could make our connection to Detroit.No more buses at ORD. The tram is finally done after a 3 year delay. I could explain the delay if anyone cares to know about it.
Delta at Kennedy is the same way. LONG walk to customs. Also, Precheck gains you nothing at the Delta terminal. Everyone had to wait in the long queue maze.
Also, don't fly Delta into O'Hare if possible. They go out of the international terminal, and it's a pain in the ass to get into the city from that terminal.
What's wrong with Malaysia?Nothing wrong with it at all. Been a few times and enjoyed my time there. KL is a cool city. It's just if time is limited and you're going to be in a city, i'd go Singapore first. If you were going to spend time outside a city and outdoors, i'd go Thailand and Cambodia first.. That's just me. That said, I don't think anyone would regret spending time in Malaysia either. SE Asia is simply a beautiful part of the world. Although some of it is heartbreakingly poor.
The flight will be brutal there, but the time change will get it's pound of flesh on the way back. Total beating.I don't miss those flights. I made the mistake once of flying ORD to NRT. That was a bad mistake. 14 hours on a single flight was not fun. Even worse that it was only the second of three legs. Anyone flying out to that area, prepare yourself for some turbulence. I'm not sure what it is, but Narita and Hong Kong always seemed to have slightly uncomfortable turbulence.
No more buses at ORD. The tram is finally done after a 3 year delay. I could explain the delay if anyone cares to know about it.We used it this spring flying to a conference.
We used it this spring flying to a conference.Oh god LAX was hell a couple weeks ago. We were running a bit late after getting the dog dropped off for boarding, and I'm sitting there stressing already on the 405. But once we exited Century, everything was literally CRAWLING until Wally Park, where we leave the car. And then on the shuttle from parking to the terminal, was CRAWLING again.
I'm looking forward for the tram to be done at LAX. It can take as long to get into the terminal road from near the In n Out as it does to drive there from my in-laws family up in Thousand Oaks.
My TSA clearance is coming up next year, and my Amex says they pay for Global Entry which includes TSA, so I just applied.Love Global entry. Even after the long app, you still have to do the in person interview.
That is one of the longest applications I've ever completed.
We had an extra day at sea due to weather, and I asked my wife if she wanted to gamble a bit. She does the slots, I gave her $20 which didn't last long. I sat down at a blackjack table with four other bored guys and started winning, mostly. After 30 minutes or so, I was up a bit, and cashed out, on $100 entry I now had $150. My life entirely changed.My last cruise, I was playing "let it ride" Hit a straight flush last the last night and won $4,200 on a $21 bet was probably down a litttle bit or even before hitting. As soon as they finished verifying the deck of cards and paid me, I left the table. Cruise line keeps offering to give me a free room to get me back, except I generally don't get interior cabins when I cruise.
I've "won" at BJ maybe three times, and of course lost more than that, I usually start with $100 and by the time I'm down $50 I get bored with the inevitability of it all and quit, figuring I'm $50 ahead by not being $100 down.
It was kind of funny the last day, the weather was great and we toured the ship, finding lots of new places, especially outside.
I went and ran a bit today, I was glad to still be in "OK" shape, I hadn't lost much. I threw some against a tennis wall and felt decent there as well.
Right there with you. I think that's the only one I would attempt. I was borderline to begin with, but when Covid hit and all those people were stuck on boats.. nope.. that ended my borderline desire.
unless, maybe Alaska
I've been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and MSC. Carnival is the Walmart of cruise lines. I'd only do one again if it was free or extremely discounted. I like Royal Caribbean but for an adult-oriented cruise MSC was great. I did a solo Bahamas cruise with MSC last spring just to get away for a while. It was really nice. Just enough fun stuff to do but in a much more adult, relaxed, and semi-upscale atmosphere. I had an interior cabin. I only took it because it was cheap and I planned on spending no time other than sleeping in there. But I love a good balcony cabin. My fiance and I have booked another Bahamas cruise on MSC for next spring. We definitely got a balcony room for that. I love sitting out on the balcony of a cruise ship with some food and beverages and just watching the ocean go by. Plus, it's her first cruise and she's a little nervous about the potential of big crowds. Having the ability to just chill on the balcony and enjoy our time is a big selling point.I've been on Royal but not MSC. Royal was just OK. Been on Celebrity one time, after they were bought by Royal. It was also just OK. The line we use - Azamara - was bought by Celebrity, which was then bought by Royal.
Right there with you. I think that's the only one I would attempt. I was borderline to begin with, but when Covid hit and all those people were stuck on boats.. nope.. that ended my borderline desire.We were supposed to go from Lima, Peru to Miami - through the canal, which is high on my bucket list.
I've been on RCI and Carnival. No discernible difference to me.We do both, but then again, I get 7 weeks of PTO and my wife is retired. Even before that, she also got 7 weeks.
The Carnival ship was one with the big waterpark on top, which is why we chose it, for the kids. A Disney cruise would have been cool too, but they cost considerably more and my parents were footing the bill anyway, for their 50th wedding anniversary. We had a great time, ate formal dinner at the same table every night with the same waitstaff, who were awesome.
I'd like to go on one of those super fancy ones around Europe, but I also enjoy spending many days in one location at a time in Europe, too. So far, the latter has won out every time.
We were supposed to go from Lima, Peru to Miami - through the canal, which is high on my bucket list.no way!!! that totally sucks!!! Not for the people that got your free cruise.
That cruise got cancelled, and the people who were on the ship from Argentina to Peru were not allowed to get off in Lima.
They got our cruise for free, minus the other stops or course. Bastages.
Oh, and they landed in Miami, tested everyone, and were ZERO Covid!!
no way!!! that totally sucks!!! Not for the people that got your free cruise.The biggest thing with Azamara is that it's so small, they stay later. It's not uncommon to get to a port at 8AM and not leave until 10-11PM. They also do overnights in places like Barcelona, Monaco, Venice, Rome (Civitavecchia) and Florence (Livorno).
So dumb it down for me. What's the big appeal of the cruise. I get the stopping at multiple locations, which would be awesome. My turn off was also the time stuck on the boat, rather than being longer periods of time at the places i would want to be.. I also always get nervous i would miss getting on the boat in time and be stuck somewhere.
I have seen so much of the world, yet never been anywhere in Europe so when it's deemed I'm safe to fly, I eventually want to get over there and I've had a couple suggest mediterranean cruise, which I clearly wouldn't do with this state of the world over there, but I'm not sure that's the way i'd want to hit up some of those locations.
I've been on RCI and Carnival. No discernible difference to me.The Carnival I was on was ca. 1996, it was a LOT different from NCL, mostly the screaming hoards of kids. It was fine for us as I had a screaming hoard of kids.
I am retiring early next year. Already have have an Alaska Cruise planned and a 30 day trip to Europe, Israel and Egypt, combination of cruises and touring.The other really nice thing about cruising is you only unpack and pack one time.
I have cruised on Carnival, NCL and Celebrity. As has been said way too many kids on Carnival. NCL is IMO the best combination of price & quality. Celebrity was great, almost no kids, but you pay for the quality and lack of kids.
We usually have to rent a car given the places we're going, in France at least, and often in other countries.
They aren't all that pricey relative to here. We're headed over in February as part of a symphony trip (which we'll extend on both ends). I don't think we'll need a rental car, but I don't have all the details yet.
Delta has a nonstop now from here to Nice, which I guess is nice, but a bit obscure relative to places like say Vienna which they don't service nonstop. We discussed flying to Nice and renting a car but decided that isn't really the better plan than just flying to Marseille.
Yeah I couldn't really do all the things I wanted to do in France, without a car. Touring Bordeaux and Provence were high on the list and you lose a lot of time if you're trying to do that by rail. Driving and parking in Paris sucks, but I don't spend much time in Paris, anyway.When we did Italy we used the train, touring vans, public transportation and uber. If I have tried to drive in Rome, I would have gone crazy. We stayed in an VRBO in Rome and used it as a coming off point to various cities and places.
Italy on the other hand is more easily trainable, and like badgerfan we like to stay IN Florence so catching trains (or even touring vans) out to the countryside is very workable.
Driving in European cities is a thing to avoid if possible. It can however be a necessity if your plans include touring smaller cities and towns. A small city like say Saumur in France is a nice place and driving is pretty easy. I drove to and in Luxembourg City a while back with no issues, I wanted to tour the Battle of the Bulge area. I drove a lot on that trip, a Grand Circle from Paris to Strasbourg to Luxembourg to Brussels to Normandy then Samur and back to Paris.Yeah that would be an awesome trip. I'd like to do that.
That was a great trip.
I had a rental car in Mexico and drove to Chichen Itza, my wife thought I was crazy, and realistically maybe it was.coming from Cancun, maybe not
I never get a car in Boston, DC, SF or NY. Cost being one reason, walkability being other. NY is actually really easy to navigate just not worth the effort. Plus it's easy to navigate via transit and cabs.We used to get a car there because we liked going out to the wineries and taking the ferry out West.
Boston is very dense, not at all a grid or navigable and the most expensive city to park in.
I also go car less in Seattle if I can help it.
We used to get a car there because we liked going out to the wineries and taking the ferry out West.Yeah, when we went to Chicago in 2019 we took the El from Midway downtown, and back. But in the middle we rented a car Saturday morning downtown for the trip down to Purdue for the game and returned it Sunday when we got back.
Never rented a car at the airport though. Always took transit downtown and rented from there when we wanted to.
Yeah most of those Asian cities look crazy to me. I'd definitely avoid driving in them.One day I’ll share my story of scary riding in Thailand as I woke up lost after a night I stumbled into a warehouse that was holding secret Thai boxing matches. I woke up in a random, place, jumped on the back of a guy’s motorcycle that stopped to help me and he drove like a maniac in the busy traffic. Scary yet amazingly memorable as was the rest of the night I can remember.
Heh. I live about 100 yards away from this one. Voted most beautiful roundabout by some fussy Brits who judge such matters. We have a zillion roundabouts here.I remember, and there's probably even more now, 7 years later.
One day I’ll share my story of scary riding in Thailand as I woke up lost after a night I stumbled into a warehouse that was holding secret Thai boxing matches. I woke up in a random, place, jumped on the back of a guy’s motorcycle that stopped to help me and he drove like a maniac in the busy traffic. Scary yet amazingly memorable as was the rest of the night I can remember.Don't share the story... Write the screenplay and sell it to Hollywood.
It's not bad driving in Korea. Everything is on the correct side of the road, and all signs are in English below the Korean characters. It's surprisingly easy to get around once you know what to look for.
That said, we rented and I drove on Jeju Island, the Hawaii of Korea. Driving in Seoul seems like it would be a lot like driving in Los Angeles, traffic and all.
Anybody here with experience in Tokyo or Seoul, SK?
In general I tend to prefer a "restaurant" over a "restaurant concept."Writers need to write more words.
I read that yesterday.Wait.. you moved in this area? Which part of you don’t mind me asking?
Why are you reading Gulf Shore Business?
You moving here?
popped up on my google feedDoing a lot of Punta Gorda searches will do that.
and yes, I might visit sometime
In general I tend to prefer a "restaurant" over a "restaurant concept."
Looks like 2024 is shaping up... Planning a weekend getaway to Paso Robles, a trip to Indianapolis for a wedding, a week- in Kauai, a week+ in Ireland, and likely a trip to Nashville for the board meeting.Check this place out if you haven't already. We loved it because we could do what every we wanted from the place.
I have a "restaurant concept" in my head, it's a real BBQ place with Utee in Aix-en-Provence.Any chance you'd want to connect a brewery operation to that place?
Looks like 2024 is shaping up... Planning a weekend getaway to Paso Robles, a trip to Indianapolis for a wedding, a week- in Kauai, a week+ in Ireland, and likely a trip to Nashville for the board meeting.I could write you a book on Kauai and I have tons of feedback since I'm going to insert myself here as my wife and I have been twice and it's my favorite place in the US.
I could write you a book on Kauai and I have tons of feedback since I'm going to insert myself here as my wife and I have been twice and it's my favorite place in the US.Thanks. Now that we've booked the flights as of yesterday, we need to start mapping this stuff out.
HOTEL (https://www.hyatt.com/grand-hyatt/en-US/kauai-grand-hyatt-kauai-resort-and-spa?src=corp_lclb_gmb_seo_kauai)
I'm a fan of the southside, but there's also a lot of people that would argue to stay on the north. Some of it depends on the time of year and whether or not it's rainy season. If you are anywhere south, Grand Hyatt is amazing. Worst case eat at the restaurant Tidepools on sight. It's amazing.
I'd take Liko Cruises (https://liko-kauai.com/)to see the Na Pali coast. So worth it.
Island Helicopters (https://islandhelicopters.com/?utm_source=Google+GMB+&utm_campaign=GMB2023&utm_id=GMB) is also unreal are the only helicopter service that can land at the Jurassic Park falls and the rest of the 80 mins is breathtaking as well.
Waimea Canyon is a must.. 100% must. Not sure the budget or plan or what you like best but i highly suggest car rental.. First time out I made the mistake of renting a cadillac, which was a brain fart as a jeep or solid SUV is the way to go.
This is truly a place that's tough to fit everything in one trip.. Wailua falls, Hanalei beach, polihale park which is a massive crazy dirt road you have to drive down but leads to an almost empty beach and constant rainbows.
personally, I would in detail plan out days.. I'm typically a relax on a beach type of guy, but Kauai is the one place that planning out days leads to so many amazing experiences.
This is making me want to head back out. There's just so much to do there and every bit of it is amazing.Board meeting in Kauai?
Board meeting in Kauai?lol.. YES PLEASE.. I'm still not sure I can fly, especially not that far, but I'm hopefully getting the thumbs up next week and testing a quick flight down to Florida.. Since my gift to my wife for our 10 year last year was brain surgery, I owe her a trip for being a dream wife this past year and Kauai is our favorite
Start out at a Rainbow Warrior game and hop a puddle jumper!!
Board meeting in Kauai?I'd have to bring my daughters
Start out at a Rainbow Warrior game and hop a puddle jumper!!
Wishing you a quick and total recovery.Appreciate that CD. Unfortunately, the brain is one of the slowest healers i the body. That being said, I'm incredibly lucky for the outcome. I beat a lot of odds. Lucky for me, my wife is a surgical nurse and was well connected to put me in very talented hands under the knife.
Board meeting in Kauai?You know I'd be down. I've gotta hop on an airplane either way.
Start out at a Rainbow Warrior game and hop a puddle jumper!!
Finally settled in Carlsbad condo. Weather good.Carlsbad CA I assume?
They have Mexican here?This place is amazing...
Trying to imagine the Mrs sitting at the bar for counter serviceI'm sure they could find a nice sink in the back for her
After looking at ticket and flight prices for the Natty game, i passed on it and went with booking Orlando (disney & seaworld) for my family. It's really not my favorite city either. I personally think it's WAY overhyped. That being said, I'm at a stage in life trying to put my opinion second to creating memories my kids will love.
We're going to Orlando for a few days afterward. Not my favorite city, but we can stay there "free" ...
After looking at ticket and flight prices for the Natty game, i passed on it and went with booking Orlando (disney & seaworld) for my family. It's really not my favorite city either. I personally think it's WAY overhyped. That being said, I'm at a stage in life trying to put my opinion second to creating memories my kids will love.Man I hear ya, but I looked at the expense of taking the kids to Disney World and just decided that those are memories they're going to have to live without! :)
Greetings from Cabo San Lucas!Maybe we can let ourselves in whilst you're gone.Don't want all of that fare spoiling or some drunk getting his hands on the Scotch
Maybe we can let ourselves in whilst you're gone.Don't want all of that fare spoiling or some drunk getting his hands on the Scotchshut your whore mouth!
Man I hear ya, but I looked at the expense of taking the kids to Disney World and just decided that those are memories they're going to have to live without! :)I totally get that.. One of the only reasons I'm good with it is two of my wife's good couple friends both moved to that area so it's a mix of the parks and seeing good friends otherwise i'd pass. My kids enjoy Seaworld far more than Disney. I'm just checking the box for their younger years. A few more years and they will have to fall in love with the beach. Living in Cleveland, i'm budgeting more for trips.. my body keeps telling me I need more natural sunlight and there's NONE from late november until May here.
We did a couple week-long beach vacations in Mexico for less than just a few days at Disney. It's insane.
Man I hear ya, but I looked at the expense of taking the kids to Disney World and just decided that those are memories they're going to have to live without! :)Geez, even this poor dirt farmer took his daughters and ex-wife to Disney World
We did a couple week-long beach vacations in Mexico for less than just a few days at Disney. It's insane.
Living in Cleveland, i'm budgeting more for trips.. my body keeps telling me I need more natural sunlight and there's NONE from late november until May here.Nonsense a few yrs back there was plenty of sunshine,of course the clouds clear away and the heat escaped and the Great Lakes froze over.But plenty of sunlight bouncing off the snow 🥶
Nonsense a few yrs back there was plenty of sunshine,of course the clouds clear away and the heat escaped and the Great Lakes froze over.But plenty of sunlight bouncing off the snow 🥶OK.. what secret part of Cleveland are you in? I'd like to sneak in. I'll bring some breakfast bourbon as a thank you.. Also a Championship sweatshirt with an M on it
Geez, even this poor dirt farmer took his daughters and ex-wife to Disney World
and that was before the divorce - I was in debt
Seriously those cold winters in '14-'15-'16 I think it was. Gets below 20 and sunny even the clouds split.And I'll take that sweatshirt never know when there will be another run on TPyeah i take the cold and sunny over this 31-35 and gloomy and rainy every day garbage.
Disney World can suck it. Multiple trips to pristine beaches, countless campouts, and the State Fair of Texas every year, are much much more important.I agree, but my daughters and ex would disagree
it wasn't THAT badTimes have changed, prices now aren't anywhere close to what they were 20 years ago.
it wasn't even THAT expensive
but, a 2-year old isn't a good age - wouldn't remember it anyway
Rich arrogant Horns can easily afford today's pricesThere are a lot of things in life I can afford, but choose not to.
My grand kids will never set foot on Disney.Please explain more lol.
Please explain more lol.We don't need to bring politics into this thread lol...
We don't need to bring politics into this thread lol...Correct.
Correct.lol.. that says enough.
;)
my daughters were around 7 & 9When I was 10 we did the trip down to FL for Disney. Can't say I enjoyed it much then. Perhaps my curmudgeonly personality was already starting to form. I thought Epcot was the more interesting of the parks at the time though.
got the 4-day pass to use outta 5 days
did monday & tuesday at 2 parks
wednesday was rest/relax day at the beach over by Tampa
thursday & friday at the other 2 parks
kids enjoyed the free beach day the most
I love roller coasters so I'm cool with roller coaster parks. We take the kids to Six Flags in San Antonio or Arlington every couple of years.I do enjoy roller coasters but they became a lot less thrilling after I've skydived and ridden a motorcycle on a racetrack. The actual sense of "danger" that comes with them is no longer there after doing various things that could have legitimately killed me. Thrill rides for me are BB King these days... The thrill is gone.
I do enjoy roller coasters but they became a lot less thrilling after I've skydived and ridden a motorcycle on a racetrack. The actual sense of "danger" that comes with them is no longer there after doing various things that could have legitimately killed me. Thrill rides for me are BB King these days... The thrill is gone.
I do enjoy roller coasters but they became a lot less thrilling after I've skydived and ridden a motorcycle on a racetrack. The actual sense of "danger" that comes with them is no longer there after doing various things that could have legitimately killed me. Thrill rides for me are BB King these days... The thrill is gone.Where did you skydive and how many times have you gone?
Where did you skydive and how many times have youFIFYgonebeen pushed?
Where did you skydive and how many times have you gone?This was in Cloverdale, CA in mid-2001. I've only gone once. It was tandem and a jump from ~13,000 ft because I wanted the one that provided the longest freefall. I've never jumped solo.
FIFY
This was in Cloverdale, CA in mid-2001. I've only gone once. It was tandem and a jump from ~13,000 ft because I wanted the one that provided the longest freefall. I've never jumped solo.It's seriously the most exhilarating thing you can do. Your post is so unbelievably relatable. I went once in 2006 in New Zealand. I paid the extra for the higher jump and also video footage. Pretty sure mine was 12,000 feet not 13.
I have to say, that was (at the time) the absolute most exhilarating and adrenaline-inducing thing I'd ever done. I was on an adrenaline high for an hour afterwards. The only thing that rivals it is the other thing I mentioned--riding a motorcycle on a racetrack.
Funny thing... The whole ride up in the plane I was calm. I didn't really get the butterflies until they opened the door. And then, having the instructor strapped to your back, you sorta penguin-waddle yourselves to the door. So I'm hanging out the door of the airplane with one foot on the wing strut step ready to go. At that point in my mind I knew I was past the point of no return, but the fear was absolutely bubbling up and freezing me.I watched an interview with the 101st guys pretty funny some of the comments.Forrest Guth was - it's like a scarry amusement park ride,get real scared but once it ends you want to get right back on again. Shifty Powers said something like the 1st time was not so bad because you don't know what the hell you're doing.
To me it FELT like the pilot tilted the wings and basically threw me out of the plane.
I guess I might be more concerned with the landing ripping something up a friend did that yrs back with his kneeYeah, the landing is interesting. The wind wasn't strong enough to attempt landing on our feet, so it was a "hold your legs up and skid on your butt" landing. Not the most pleasant way to set it down, but still worth it...
I watched an interview with the 101st guys pretty funny some of the comments.Forrest Guth was - it's like a scarry amusement park ride,get real scared but once it ends you want to right back on again. Shifty Powers said something like the 1st time was no so bad because you don't know what the hell you're doing.One of my good friends is a former special forces guy.. Toughest guy I've ever met.. He absolutely hated the airborne part. He's been shot, involved in an explosion and still has shrapnel in him and he said the scariest was jumping out of a plane and no one will ever make him do it again.
I guess I might be more concerned with the landing ripping something up a friend did that yrs back with his knee
Hello from curacao. Left Aruba yesterday.Aruba is awesome. What did you do there? Have a blast!!
Hello from curacao. Left Aruba yesterday.Any recs? We'll be there in 2 weeks, staying off Eagle beach.
Living in Cleveland, i'm budgeting more for trips.. my body keeps telling me I need more natural sunlight and there's NONE from late november until May here.
Nonsense a few yrs back there was plenty of sunshine,of course the clouds clear away and the heat escaped and the Great Lakes froze over.But plenty of sunlight bouncing off the snow 🥶Yup brightest,sunniest Day of the Winter so far,of course it was 4° when i woke - up to 8° now though :celebrate:
Quite chili here in Florida.We didn't get home until yesterday due to a plane from Pittsburgh not getting to DFW.
We didn't get home until yesterday due to a plane from Pittsburgh not getting to DFW.A friend of mine has been down in Fort Myers since Wednesday, and he says it's been raining the entire time.
Yesterday was quite cold and rainy. I think the high was 59.
Was talking to some folks who have been here for 30 years, and they said this has been the coldest "winter" they've had.
brother has snow on the ground in Dallas/FWWe got a little here too.
actually white, hasn't melted yet
We got a little here too.none here just mixed rain and sleet
Yeah, it sorta just happened. I blame my wife.Our Korea trip was on American, on which I don't have status either. I was able to upgrade to the bulkhead out and Premium Economy back for not much money. At 6'5" I need as much legroom as I can get.
I actually am looking forward to it all, but the air travel will be a bit much for me. I'm hoping we might get upgraded a bit going to France on Delta, maybe. The Japan trip is on American where I have zero status.
Finally in hotel in Marseille. Tired.Congratulations. Now it is time to go jump into a vat of bouillabaisse.
Or bourride.I'll allow it.
[img width=280.996 height=500]https://i.imgur.com/0oHWoaQ.png[/img]grits??
Is that outside of Turin?He's in France, not Italy. Marseilles and thereabouts.
Food here is pretty decent.Wine is tolerable, too.
I want to move here and open a BBQ place.BBQ / brewery? I know a guy...
large oysters?back home in Galveston we called them steaks
Yeah. One place said we had to call ahead a day for bourride which cost 70 euros. Same with bouillabaisse. Bummed.That's absolutely crazy. Bourride especially is supposed to be a provincial dish of the people.
Those plates do NOTHING for me.https://youtu.be/p-FX_7SFSsM
[img width=500 height=205.989]https://i.imgur.com/90VsEdY.jpg[/img]
We have zero desire to go to Paris. The South would be more for us and our likings. Nice looks nice.Paris Texas serves a nice med rare T-bone with a baked tater and either corn or green beans
I've only been through Nice. My wife didn't want to spend any time there, she says it's "snooty". Aix and Avignon were both nice, to us anyway. St. Tropez was definitely "snooty". I suspect most folks got to Paris for a week and see the usual sites and think they've done France, which is OK I guess.Yeah, when we went it was only 3 days and we did Versailles, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Eiffel, etc... Enjoyed it, but it was definitely about seeing the major attractions.
I have enjoyed staying in smaller towns (usually) for a few days.
Napa, for me, is overly commercialized (and expensive), and crowded often as not. Parts of Sonoma are getting that way.Yep. I think parts of Paso Robles are getting that way too.
Yep. I think parts of Paso Robles are getting that way too.Been a while since I was there. How is Temecula?
Been a while since I was there. How is Temecula?Been a while since I've been down there actually... Definitely pre-pandemic... Might have even been 2018.
Napa, for me, is overly commercialized (and expensive), and crowded often as not. Parts of Sonoma are getting that way.I'll be taking advice from betarhoalphadelta
We went to a winery in France and they too are making hay on tourists, some of them anyway, and it's spreading.
I'll be taking advice from betarhoalphadeltaHappy to help. Make sure to check out Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa. All the wineries choose by 5 so it's good for dinner and beer.
He's already given me a few tips
Happy to help. Make sure to check out Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa. All the wineries choose by 5 so it's good for dinner and beer.not far from Northwood golf club
Florida train: Brightline lowers ridership projections for 2024 (tcpalm.com) (https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/florida/2024/02/09/florida-rail-brightline-train-lowers-ridership-projections-south-florida-miami-orlando-route/72426990007/)makes sense. they raised their prices. A LOT.
Typical death spiral of commuter rail. Ridership doesn't meet projections so they have to raise prices, which depresses ridership, rinse and repeat.as long as the rail is owned by privately held for profit companies and there's no public ownership or publicly subsidized component to it- just bound to happen.
Americans prefer driving, usually. Family of four, single cost for all, and you don't need to rent a car on the other end. I thought BL stood a chance of making it, and maybe they do, you expect to lose a lot of money early on. But as noted, a family has to drive to the station, buy tix for 4, take the ride, rent a car on the other end, and drive to the hotel.yeah, you have to Uber to the station which costs money- or park at the station-which is I want to say $10 a day. I have taken the BL from West Palm to Miami maybe a dozen or so times here and there before all the expansion- and I was paying $5 to $15 each way depending on day and time of day. Not too bad. Now it's rare to get a ticket on that route for under $25 each way- and some times the fares are as much as $50+ each way. 10000% not worth it at that price. Last time I took it was because I was flying out of Miami and didn't feel like driving. I want to say the tickets were around $30-40 each way. Now that's basically the only time I'll take it- when I have to fly out of Miami.
Or they can just drive, and endure bad traffic, or get up at 6 AM and beat it.
As noted, it's private monies, unlike that albatross out west (CA HSR).
I see various ethereal proposals for train from here to Charlotte or Savannah, it's the same deal, with less traffic.
Folks often point to the TGV in France (and elsewhere) and ask why we can't do the same thing, and of course "we" could, with heavy government involvement ($$$$$$$). The TGV operates at a significant loss of course, something only governments can "manage" (for a while). And it gets built with government funding, entirely. So they never try and recover the sunk capital, and couldn't. And it's still pricey, about $100 one way Paris to Marseille.yeah, people always complain about the HSR here and try to compare us to Europe, but all those govt's put serious public funds into the rail, operate at loss, and it just makes more sense for people over there to use the rail because of the cost of driving over there. same make/trim car in US is always going to be less than in EU and of course our gasoline prices are way lower as well.
Where is that?
My wife and I discuss going somewhere like that for 2-3 months to see how it is, probably in Provence.I could do 2-3 months in Provence. Of course, if I did, there's the distinct possibility I might never come back.
Has anyone ever done a European river cruise? I'm very interested in one of those.We have, on the Rhine. It was kind of a cut rate operation put together by a retiree group, not Viking or that ilk. It was pretty good, I'd say, my wife was no so impressed. We saw a lot of different places. A lot of the tours were pretty bad really, we walked off several of them.
Months. I'm restricted currently to 90 days in the Schengen zone, so that's an upper limit. I'm not sure I'd do two months personally, it's just a topic of conversation.let me know if you need a house sitter in January or February
I like living here just fine, and there are a lot of places I'd like to explore I've not yet been.
let me know if you need a house sitter in January or FebruaryYou should probably just move there. Or Florida.
attending the Bockfest with my daughter saturday afternoon
Polka bands and sausage and 3 bocks on tap!
One thing my wife points out here is how "efficient" government is, relatively speaking. We don't think so, but we don't have a point of reference. When we moved here, we went to thhe DMV to get DLs etc. thinking it might take hours, it took less than 30 minutes, done, registered to vote, cancelled in Ohio, new license. She was astonished.It's like that here too. I was shocked.
It's like that here too. I was shocked.People bag on California, but the DMV process here is actually relatively efficient. It's improved significantly in the 20+ years I've been here, with a much greater ability to schedule appointments which smooths the process significantly.
DL, registered to vote, license plates, all in about 30 minutes. We dealt with one person for everything.
In Illinois, to get all of that done, you'd need a half day off work, and you deal with 10-12 people, all with their own lines. I'm not kidding.
That's a beautiful trailer. However, $300,000 plus, and you still only get a single bed...If I'm spending $300K on a trailer, you think I'm letting the kids inside that thing? Nah, that's for me and ONE other person.
Crime is another big issue, at least in France. If you own a house, you have to have high walls around it, all of it, and they do. The police are uninterested in property crimes, they treat you like a criminal if you report one. We had a large group of French retirees over to Cincy and some of them we knew visited our house and marveled that we had no fence, and asked how that could be? I looked at the dude and said "Everyone is armed", which was not really true. Go into a suburban area near Paris or Lyon and you'll see what I mean.
If I'm spending $300K on a trailer, you think I'm letting the kids inside that thing? Nah, that's for me and ONE other person.Oh agreed, but there are still solely single beds available.
That is equal of course to 300 stays at a $1,000 per night hotel. I know what my wife would say.
So no matter who you are, the largest bed available to you, is a twin.Ahh...
That's a beautiful trailer. However, $300,000 plus, and you still only get a single bed...Ya and if you look into the windows why is it filled with boxes?
Yup. I see the usual 2500s pulling some massive travel trailer and figure they are getting 10-12 mpg, same with a motor home. Then they are towing some midget car usually. I'll just stay in a hotel.
My wife notes it would mean she'd be cooking and cleaning as if she were at home.
Our hotel in Tokyo is $861 per, but I managed to use points. As if.
A cruise with the uprated balcony suite runs about $900 per night, not including excursions (tours) which get pricey.
A "normal" driving trip runs maybe $250-300 a day for a decent hotel, food, and gas for two people.
Travel is expensive unless you use rail and hostels etc.
Heading out tomorrow. Going to Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, St. Thomas, San Juan and Amber Cove in the DR. Nice little 8 day cruise.Make sure to hit up Old San Juan and check out the fort, if you've never done so. Some of the street food in OSJ is fantastic. Your ship should dock at OSJ. Very walkable, but cobblestone.
Make sure to hit up Old San Juan and check out the fort, if you've never done so. Some of the street food in OSJ is fantastic. Your ship should dock at OSJ. Very walkable, but cobblestone.
And believe it or not, there is a fantastic BBQ joint in St. Thomas, close to where the ships dock.
Smoking Rooster BBQ (thesmokingrooster.com) (http://www.thesmokingrooster.com/)
Yeah, so we didn't get that.When I was getting divorced and found myself on dating apps before I eventually found the correct wife, there were three things that were automatic "no" if I saw them on a woman's profile:
They gotta appeal to people who like that kind of crap.
Man wants brisket. Woman is vegan.
Man wins.
Your wife can't get the smoked chicken. ;)She'd prefer the brisket anyway :72:
I'm gonna say something highly controversial, something that could get me lynched down here in Texico, so I'll deny it if y'all repeat it anywhere, but...Actually, I'm with you on that. The only sausage I really do like is Kielbasa. There is nothing like a Maxwell Street Polish.
...I don't really give a rat's ass about smoked sausage. I consider it filler and it takes up room in my stomach that would be better used for brisket, ribs, smoked chicken, smoked turkey, and pretty much any other protein that is not sausage.
It's not that I dislike BBQ sausage, it's fine. I just don't really care about it and would pick almost anything over it.
A good German bratwurst, simmered in beer, kraut, and onion, then grilled to add color, tossed on a bun with coarse mustard and fresh kraut.That works too. Been a long while since I've had a brat. I should go check at the German Butcher up the road a piece. I'm sure they have good brats. I've had their Weiss Wurst and that was good.
Perfection.
4. She lilkes smoked sausage.
- She mentioned being vegetarian/vegan.
- She mentioned not drinking.
- She mentioned religion/God.
5. She wants a 16 team CFB playoff.
6. She puts beans in "chili".
7. She graduated from Eastern Michigan.
8. She majored in fine arts.
9. She has a FICO score below 500.
10. She smokes cigars.
Ha @Cincydawg (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=870) !hahah.. 8-10 might be deal breakers.. but FICO i would have more questions first. Need to see a credit report first to determine it's below 500. Medical collections.. co-sign on a bad debt... now tons of store cards and credit cards with high balances, lates and charge offs, see ya.
Actually, the only thing that would be a dealbreaker there would be the FICO score. Although per my original point, if she put nearly any of those into a public dating profile, it would be... weird.
My experience in continental Europe differs from Catsby and is more akin to CD's. Working class families only have one car, even in small cities/towns and suburbs that aren't walkable for everything you need, as you'd find in the large cities.
Crime is crazy-- my rental car in Catania, Sicily was stolen right out from in front of the hotel where I'd parked it normally and legally. When I went to the agency and told them, they just issued me another one. They warned me if it happened again then I might need to fill out some paperwork.
Amsterdam's coffee shops. ;)
On the subject of Crime—
America’s underlying ‘drug despair’ causes and reinforces a different reality of crime not readily seen in Europe. America’s drug culture is more deeply rooted. Not only are ‘street drugs’ (heroin, meth) and ‘party drugs’ (cocaine, ecstasy) more prevalent, but Americans are uniquely conditioned into a runaway drug culture through several generations of addictive prescriptions. Benzos, Ambien, Percocet, Adderall, Lexapro – all of which (except Lexapro) are substituted for and cut into street drugs, widening the road to heroin or crack addiction that much more for a decreasingly religious, decreasingly family-strong population.
America’s drug culture is a primary driver behind the enthused state level legalization of marijuana, something for which there is almost no demand for in Europe.
To those who might counter with Amsterdam’s cannabis bars, the Netherlands has spent decades deemphasizing their cannabis tourism by not granting any new cannabis bar licenses since the 80s. What’s left of Amsterdam’s cannabis tourism is dependent on bars retaining their licenses. By the 90s their cannabis tourists were almost exclusively American or British; the French, Germans, and Russians were more interested in the prostitutes. And by the 2010s much of the American ‘pot tourists’ dropped off once Colorado and others legalized their own cannabis sales.
Nowhere in Europe does city center reek of lingering pot fumes that’s overtaken the downtowns of our Western cities. And outside of a few slums, nowhere in Europe is drug abuse as visible as on street-level America with its increasing overdoses and homelessness.
Take for example my recent morning commute to work. I called an ambulance because of a body in the street. Thankfully he was alive, still in his hospital gown and just discharged from the hospital for an overdose that he was still coming down from.
(https://i.imgur.com/6JkTOU4.png)
To Generalize the Mindsets—I had never quite articulated that as well as this, but I agree.
There’s a subdued yet pervasive pessimism among Europeans that contrasts with the more open optimism of Americans.
To Generalize the Mindsets—Tommy Tiernan, an Irish comedian, has a great bit on this. Starts at the 0:52 mark.
There’s a subdued yet pervasive pessimism among Europeans that contrasts with the more open optimism of Americans. It’s an optimism that though might fade for an American eventually resigning to their life with similar pessimism, it’s a life more of their own educational and career making, and the same lost optimism can be rediscovered for their children.
From day one Europeans seem more resigned to what they’re born into, be it stagnate economies, unaffordable housing markets, and less upward mobility.
America’s is a religious optimism, a creative optimism, an economic optimism that widens youthful expectations into all sorts of vain pursuits for unrealistic fame and fortunes.
Europeans, at least the French and Italians, are often very sensitive about style in clothing, shoes, hair, appearances. I wonder if that focus is related to this generalization. My best efforts to "look European" fall short.Can't speak to the French, but yeah, Italians go all out in most places. Ironically, Florence is not of those places. Actually, none of Tuscany is. Now, go to Venice, Milan, Rome, Genoa, Naples, etc. and yes. I think they spend more money on clothing than anything else.
They spend a lot of effort on this, not just the women. My wife gets a bit annoyed with me when I wear sweats around the house, and out. She's sorta learned it's part of the deal.
I'm wearing sweats now FYI.
Europeans, at least the French and Italians, are often very sensitive about style in clothing, shoes, hair, appearances. I wonder if that focus is related to this generalization. My best efforts to "look European" fall short.
They spend a lot of effort on this, not just the women. My wife gets a bit annoyed with me when I wear sweats around the house, and out. She's sorta learned it's part of the deal.
Texas is simple. Add the 10-gallon hat and a big ass belt buckleDon't forget the Longhorn hockey sweater.
Slim cut suits are European.Guess I'm out then... I'm both of those.
I notice them because they absolutely do not work on big or tall men.
For me, it's a matter of limiting getting accosted by the gypsies and other folks in Paris.I whacked one with an umbrella in Rome. He stopped.
Last time I was in good shape, but it was out of tourist season.
All I do is wear decent clothing and black shoes, nothing with writing on it, no cap, etc. I usually let my hair grow out also.
If I and my money aren't welcome somewhere, I won't be there long and won't come back.You'd be welcome in Paris by merchants and whatnot, but there is a segment that would see you as a mark. They can be a bit annoying for first timers.
Slim cut suits are European.
I notice them because they absolutely do not work on big or tall men.
all I'll say is my goal is to stay under 200#I'd have to cut off a leg to be under 200#.
and I'm under this week!
I'm trying pretty hard to stay in shape, or get back into shape, once you let yourself go and put on some years, it seems impossible without draconian measures.Yeah, I've finally found something that I both like and that I'll actually do. And I don't want to end up like my parents. I want to still be capable and active in my future years.
I went over to the tennis practice court today and threw against the wall for half an hour, worked up quite a good sweat, and then ran a few sprints coming back. Well, they are sprints for me anyway. I'm thinking I should work my way back to running 5k three times a week, it's a slow 5k, but that's some energy.
I hit the gym on alternate days, nothing major, but some lighter weights going hither and yon, better than nothing. And I type a lot. I've about finished my next book.
I know LAX was expanding, or building more "stuff" back in the day. I prefer to avoid it when possible, though we fly through on Delta at times and it's "OK". I don't now about American. The cruise line put us on that flight. In the back. I was able to upgrade us a bit anyway.Did you at least get the premium economy?
I got first from here to LAX and then exit row to Tokyo, nothing else was open. We got premium coming back from Seoul and then first to ATL from Dallas.I don't mind premium or exit. We get that free. I do like being upgraded, of course, and our names are pretty high on the list.
I would make our own flight arrangements but going through the cruise line is WAY cheaper with two one way flights.
Going to Orange County later this week for my wife's conference in Anaheim this weekend.Welcome! Hit me up if you want any info on places to go / eat / drink etc...
I cannot imagine what a war would be like here. We’re in artillery range of NORTH Korea.I found Korea to be fascinating at all levels.
| Thu (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Seoul (Incheon), South Korea | --- | 7:00 PM | 0 |
| Fri (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Jeju, South Korea | 12:00 PM | 9:00 PM | 0 |
| Sat (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | At Sea | --- | --- | 0 |
| Sun (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Ishigaki, Japan | 7:00 AM | 7:00 PM | 0 |
| Mon (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Taipei (Keelung), Taiwan | 7:00 AM | 6:00 PM | 0 |
| Tue (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Kaohsiung, Taiwan | 8:00 AM | 4:00 PM | 0 |
| Wed (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Hong Kong, China | 11:30 AM | Overnight | 0 |
| Thu (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Hong Kong, China | --- | 6:00 PM | 0 |
| Fri (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | At Sea | --- | --- | 0 |
| Sat (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Nha Trang, Vietnam | 7:00 AM | 3:00 PM | 0 |
| Sun (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My), Vietnam | 7:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 0 |
| Mon (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | At Sea | --- | --- | 0 |
| Tue (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Thailand | 6:00 AM | Overnight | 0 |
| Wed (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Thailand | --- | 8:00 PM | 0 |
| Thu (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Ko Samui, Thailand | 10:00 AM | 6:00 PM | 0 |
| Fri (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | At Sea | --- | --- | 0 |
| Sat (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633261/vacation-summary#) | Singapore, Singapore (Flight Departure) | 7:00 AM | --- | 0 |
| [th]Day[/th] [th]Land Tours And Cruise Ports[/th] [th]Arrive[/th] [th]Depart[/th] [th]Booked[/th] | ||||
| Sat (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | Singapore, Singapore | --- | 5:00 PM | 0 |
| Sun (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Malaysia | 7:00 AM | 4:00 PM | 0 |
| Mon (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | Phuket, Thailand | 11:00 AM | 6:00 PM | 0 |
| Tue (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | At Sea | --- | --- | 0 |
| Wed (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | At Sea | --- | --- | 0 |
| Thu (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | Colombo, Sri Lanka | 9:00 AM | 4:00 PM | 0 |
| Fri (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | Cochin, India | 10:30 AM | 6:30 PM | 0 |
| Sat (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | Mangalore, India | 7:00 AM | 6:00 PM | 0 |
| Sun (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | Goa (Mormugao), India | 7:00 AM | 4:00 PM | 0 |
| Mon (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | Mumbai, India | 7:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 0 |
| Tue (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | At Sea | --- | --- | 0 |
| Wed (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | At Sea | --- | --- | 0 |
| Thu (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | 10:30 AM | 9:00 PM | 0 |
| Fri (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 7:00 AM | 7:00 PM | 0 |
| Sat (https://www.ncl.com/shorex/237618718/56633516/vacation-summary#) | Doha, Qatar (Flight Departure) | 7:00 AM | --- |
Do you recommend a trip to Korea? We've thought about it quite a bit.Ive watched video on utube about the bullet trains in Japan and looks like it would be a lot of fun to ride
What cites in Japan stood out?
(https://i.imgur.com/dYIkTah.png)I've heard 20 years or so.
They also carry up to 5,000 people, who really are not there to be transported in any normal sense. I asked the chief engineer on our last cruise how much lube oil his engines had, I forget the answer, it was like 30 metric somethings, a lot, was it 30 metric meters? He said they don't ever change the oil except during a full overhaul.
I wondered how long the engines last between majors.
That sounds reasonable to me for a huge Diesel. I imagine they usually run at constant RPM and get excellent maintenance (one hopes). I know Diesels on ~35 footers go for a premium over gas. My friend in Wisconsin had one of those but with 454 gasoline engines (2), as I recall. He sold it finally.Sounds like you're talking about me...
Yup. My buddy lived in Racine. WI while he was working, and then retired in Sturgeon Bay. He had a boat the whole time, we visited them 5-6 years back and had the last ride on his boat before he sold it. He also was the Chief Poohbah of the local boating group, whatever they called them. He talked some about gas vs Diesel.Commodore.
Reminds me of the old $50 hamburger stories pilots would tell, which now would be $200.
I've flown through DFW about a gazillion times, but never internationally. I kinda like walking between the terminals when I have enough time. There are trains that go both ways and "they say" the max time from one end to the other is 9 minutes, but I don't know about that.Yeah, I don't mind a walk from terminal to terminal when there. But, then, I like walking.
Yeah, I don't mind a walk from terminal to terminal when there. But, then, I like walking.
I've never had any problem with the trams tho. And while I think I've only flown into/out of Dallas as a destination once, being that I fly American I used to spend a fair amount of time there for layovers. Definitely would get my annual allowance and then some of Shiner Bock.
Kennedy was a breeze for customs, it was the TSA line that was a pain. Pre Check, Clear, and regular at the Delta terminal all dumped into the same entrance of the queue maze, and everyone got the business. Nothing was gained by the line cutting programs.When we travel out of the country, we usually visit Chicago before and after, to see family, friends and hit the offices. So, for us, in that manner, it's very easy. We have Global Entry which makes it even easier.
Also, in said line, agents from LAN Airwys were calling for Santiago passengers. A woman confused that for San Diego, and kept insisting that she was on that flight.
My opinion of clearing customs at DFW is likely soured by having to do so with a sprained and badly swollen ankle.
O'Hare is good if Chicago is your starting or ending point, or if you don't have to clear customs. However, if you're coming from or going to a non-US airline, the number of potential failure points goes up substantially.
My wife and I did our best impression of the Home Alone dash on our way home from our honeymoon. Our flight on Lufthansa was late leaving Frankfurt due to fog, and by the time we landed we had less than an hour to clear customs, take the bus to the main terminal (the tram was out of service), clear TSA, and get to the dead end of the concourse where the United Express flying beer cans load. Fortunately United staff helped us as much as they could, and we did make it.
Going from Lufthansa premium economy in a 747 to the back row of a United regional flying beer can was a bit of a shock.
You went up there on a good day to see the DMZ. I went up there on the day after a typhoon had gone through Korea. The cloud deck was so thick that we could barely see the lines on the road.
The line is the southern end of the DMZ.(https://i.imgur.com/uY3OCq4.jpeg)
Headed to Indianapolis tomorrow for a wedding on Friday.I'll be going to lovely Indianapolis for my first time ever in November, for the Marching Bands of America Grand Nationals competition. Yay...
Probably won't flood this thread with all the amazing photos of exciting... Indianapolis.
Indy:Honestly no time... Get in late enough tomorrow that all we'll be able to do is get checked in and grab a quick cheap late-night bite near the hotel before we crash. Wedding is Friday, and then our flight back leaves 6:15 PM Saturday. Whirlwind trip in and out.
Eat a steak at St. Elmo's, if you can get in. If not, they have a bar a few doors down that serves some of the same food. Shrimp cocktail is a must-eat at this place.
Honestly no time... Get in late enough tomorrow that all we'll be able to do is get checked in and grab a quick cheap late-night bite near the hotel before we crash. Wedding is Friday, and then our flight back leaves 6:15 PM Saturday. Whirlwind trip in and out.Buy this:
Indy:Prime 47 is a really, really, really good alternative if you can't get into St. Elmo's.
Eat a steak at St. Elmo's, if you can get in. If not, they have a bar a few doors down that serves some of the same food. Shrimp cocktail is a must-eat at this place.
Headed to Indianapolis tomorrow for a wedding on Friday.We had a shooting within one block of our house last night that resulted in IMPD going door to door looking for possible video evidence. Who says it isn't exciting?
Probably won't flood this thread with all the amazing photos of exciting... Indianapolis.
How can pizza suck?Well even when it's bad, it's still alright. But I'd never order there again.
And to me they are way over priced at lofty dining places, like $20 for 4 shrimp.Yeah. For the price of rather make it at home.
You don't know what you're missing.I do. We've had a very good shrimp cocktail at Mastro's Ocean Club, but I fail to see why it's worth $30 for four shrimp. Even if they were the best shrimp I've ever had, I still don't think it's worth it.
A friend once told me that raw oysters were just an excuse to eat cocktail sauce, but I've learned not to use that on good oysters.
For whatever reason she hadn't put this together perhaps because in France, the food can be somewhat less local than here?I'd say food across the USA is quite a bit more varied than France, but it's really not a fair comparison because not only is the US much larger, it's also been more of a "melting pot" than France has over the past 200 years, with a wider variety of ethnic foods introduced here, compared to France.
I dab some mignonette on them at times.If they don't have it, that tells me to not order oysters.
Some places don't have it of course.
No steak is "worth" the price in a restaurant.Yep. And as "overpriced" as the steak is at a good steakhouse, it's usually very high quality meat. Far superior to a supermarket or even Prime at Costco. Better IMHO even than a good butcher, although my local butcher is close. My last ribeye from the butcher was $40. My last at Mastro's was $79. The butcher steak was larger, to be sure, but that's not egregious for restaurant pricing.
For that matter, nothing in a restaurant is "worth" the price.
$15 for mushrooms, to share? $15 for a potato?
That's a steakhouse. It is what it is.
I'd say food across the USA is quite a bit more varied than France, but it's really not a fair comparison because not only is the US much larger, it's also been more of a "melting pot" than France has over the past 200 years, with a wider variety of ethnic foods introduced here, compared to France.I don't know about France, but it's a lot more varied than Korea.
Never been a big fan of French cuisine. First time I went to France, I was on a high school tour (long time ago), they didn't give us an options on our first meal. they served us some kind of fish covered in olive oil. Was not happy. As soon as I found the McDonald in Paris, I got a Big Mac. This was back in 1977, so it may have been the only McDonald's in Paris at the time if I remember right it was on the Champs Elysees not too far from the Arc De Triomphe.
Going to be in France in about 40 days, I am much more adventurous in my dining these days, so no McDonald's. Not sure how adventurous, but definitely will try different things.
Well, Utee lived there longer than I've visited, there is a difference. And I'd note that chicken and pork are not often on menus in France, you'll more likely see a fish, duck, lamb in local spots, maybe some steak of some sort, I've never had a good steak there. They do like their sauces of course. It helps to learn the French words for basic menu items, like duck is canard, lamb if agneau, fish is poisson. No, not poison. Steak may be bouef or biftek or just steak, fried are pommes frites.And of course the jambon on your pizza or croque monsieur. (ham)
Moules is mussels, a real item in the north and Belgium.
A very casual looking bistro can be excellent, they use fresh stuff, daily.
And the pizza sucked.
I'm sketching out a trip for two weeks in the south of France and then two weeks in Tuscany. Maybe longer. Now I'm hungry.
Where did you get it from? The best pizza in Indy is Jack's. That's our standard Friday night fare.It was Donato's. This town seems to shut down at 10 so we had few options. Rental car was valeted and my wife didn't want to walk anywhere, so we were stuck with whatever GrubHub could deliver.
Man I'd love to do this. Make it a couple of months, even.Between Ireland, England, France, Belgium and Netherlands, I am going to be gone for about a month. About 5 of those days will be at sea crossing the Atlantic. another 9 days in various ports and the rest going over the land and visiting various places in a France and England. My retirement trip.
Between Ireland, England, France, Belgium and Netherlands, I am going to be gone for about a month. About 5 of those days will be at sea crossing the Atlantic. another 9 days in various ports and the rest going over the land and visiting various places in a France and England. My retirement trip.Awesome, I'm jealous, have fun!
Between Ireland, England, France, Belgium and Netherlands, I am going to be gone for about a month. About 5 of those days will be at sea crossing the Atlantic. another 9 days in various ports and the rest going over the land and visiting various places in a France and England. My retirement trip.From what port to what port?
I could deal with ocean view, but not interior. No chance of that happening.We looked at both types when the doors were open, they really are tight, and the "ocean view" types are hardly better in my "view" on NCL ships. They have a fairly small window over the bed. They are the same size otherwise. When you go to "balcony", you get a small sitting area with sofa bed and desk and larger BR. They are close to twice the size.
I'd pilot that. I've also seen it there, while on a cruise.1&3 Restaurant at Yacht Haven Grande in east Charlotte Amalie. Quality place.
Where did you take that picture from?
Recs on luggage? My wife's luggage is WAY past its prime so she was looking for a carry-on sized bag, and my carry-on sized bag finally gave up the ghost after more than a decade with a catastrophic wheel failure...Amazon.com | Amazon Basics suitcases 30 Inch Softside Spinner, Black | Suitcases
Looking for carry-on + one larger bag, so maybe a 2 pc set plus an individual. If you know of good places to buy it (i.e. we have some outlets, I think Samsonite & Tumi, within driving distance), also helpful.
We've always been soft-side luggage folks, but if anyone has an argument to sway us to a hard case style, I'm listening.
Deadline is that we need it before May 20, because that's the next trip when we leave for Kauai. I just threw all the existing stuff in the trash to make that a VERY hard deadline lol...
1&3 Restaurant at Yacht Haven Grande in east Charlotte Amalie. Quality place.We've walked by that place a few times. Never went in.
That was the only time we spent anywhere near Charlotte Amalie. We stayed out at the Ritz on the east end of the island.
I think St John's has two of the nicest beaches I've ever seen.
From what port to what port?New York to Hampton
We looked at both types when the doors were open, they really are tight, and the "ocean view" types are hardly better in my "view" on NCL ships. They have a fairly small window over the bed. They are the same size otherwise. When you go to "balcony", you get a small sitting area with sofa bed and desk and larger BR. They are close to twice the size.We always get a balcony, Love to get up in the morning, go out on the balcony and relax watching the ocean.
I've been told Alaska cruise is outstanding and a must doWife went on one with her late husband and loved it, so we are doing it in July.
I've been told it sucks
We always get a balcony, Love to get up in the morning, go out on the balcony and relax watching the ocean.On a crossing, the weather can tend to be cold. We didn't use our balcony much on the last one we did, until we got closer to home.
Our last cruise we had a balcony and it was great, but it was also all through the Caribbean so the weather was fantastic.Yep, definitely need a balcony for a cruise like that.
Our last cruise we had a balcony and it was great, but it was also all through the Caribbean so the weather was fantastic.Even in the cold. A nice warm robe and something hot to drink. One of the few times I don't mind the cold too much
Peak golf season in Carolinas.Hardly any golfers were out even in Sunday when the weather was great.
9 holes is like kissin yer sisterPeople here generally play 9 holes and are done.
the 19th hole isn't cheap either
I was idly thinking of taking it up again. I probably should hit the range and see where I'm at.not as hard on your body as baseball
Wrong thread.you would prefer the "Hotties Thread"?
I'm surprised at Istanbul being #3 on that list above.It's a big connection airport for a number of airlines.
Why did Constantinople get the works?
It's a big connection airport for a number of airlines.Istanbul doesn't make any sense as an eastbound scissor hub unless the western European airplanes don't have the legs to make it to East Asia without refueling. And if they didn't, they're going to Anchorage for fuel, not Istanbul.
Never been. My wife has (for a convention) and she said it was really nice. This is about 20 years ago or so.Large city with a small town feel, depending where you are. I enjoy hanging out on River St, and my wife enjoys wandering around town. We have friends who just moved there from here in Northern Ohio. Will probably be there from time to time now.
Yeah, for years we were restricted to travel in the summer due to kids in school and sports. Unfortunately, we got into that habit and didn't think it through when we made the trip to Tybee Island and Savannah a couple of years back. (I was thinking it was last year, but apparently it was in 2022). We have now decided to head north in the summer and save the south for the cooler months.Come visit Florida in July. Savanah would be a dry heat.
Come visit Florida in July. Savanah would be a dry heat.Yeah when we went to Pensacola last summer the locals kept apologizing for the heat. It felt about 15 degrees cooler than Austin was at the same time of year.
Currently on a layover at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport - very nice. From here work is sending me into the Third World. To a region where the Travelex agents just told me they don’t carry these particular nations’ cash because their governments are too unstable to dependably rate their currency.
Our working group is supposed to have armed Marines assigned from the Embassy escorting us, but that might only be for when we’re transiting between the cities. Otherwise, not allowed anywhere alone.
Yeah, for years we were restricted to travel in the summer due to kids in school and sports. Unfortunately, we got into that habit and didn't think it through when we made the trip to Tybee Island and Savannah a couple of years back. (I was thinking it was last year, but apparently it was in 2022). We have now decided to head north in the summer and save the south for the cooler months.Ah Ontario/Quebec good choices
Ah quite quaint,reminiscent of a gondola ride thru the Venetian canals at sunset. Progress.....
(https://i.imgur.com/MT7XNep.jpeg)
Wow. Where exactly are you, and what is the visit for?He can’t say for security.
Currently on a layover at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport - very nice. From here work is sending me into the Third World. To a region where the Travelex agents just told me they don’t carry these particular nations’ cash because their governments are too unstable to dependably rate their currency.
Our working group is supposed to have armed Marines assigned from the Embassy escorting us, but that might only be for when we’re transiting between the cities. Otherwise, not allowed anywhere alone.
This trip has been in the works for awhile but I’m briefed to not to say much more than to give short notice to family/friends that I will be unreachable for a few weeks. Although there are apparently “internet credits” that can be bought for limited online access.
Will let Folgers leave one last, vague hint:
Wow. Where exactly are you, and what is the visit for?Little Rock
Wow. Where exactly are you, and what is the visit for?
it's double secret
The Embassy is laying off the armed escort requirement unless business requires us to venture over into its borderline failed neighboring states. Instead our group has been given a full time driver entrusted by the Embassies to chauffeur foreigners.That does not look good, by any stretch.
As for the Capital City, the international airport district is modernized with glassy office towers and well known business outlets like Pizza Hut, Shell, Best Western, Burger King, Marriot, Illy, KFC, DHL, and Nike – brands mostly unseen across the rest of the nation. The Capital City is also built up and modernized in its central area of Embassies, the Parliament, the National Universities & Museums, and along a strand of beachfront dominated by resort hotels catering to foreign travelers. I say “built up and modernized” as in wide/paved streets cleared of squatter settlements, operable traffic/street lights, and powered buildings with fenced off parking.
Outside of that though, the streets of West Africa are as visibly destitute as anywhere among the world’s poorest areas. I mention our local driver, because when driving us he hears our reaction to some of the shanty sights we’ve never encountered before – sewage runoff in the streets, livestock crossings whose cattle and goats stall traffic, people walking out in en masse everywhere, children lacking shoes and full clothing, people living out of plywood structures, and trash mounded in the streets. For our driver, this is his native land – the neighborhoods he grew up in – so after yesterday’s long day visiting a jobsite, we ask him over dinner whether some of the sights we’re unfamiliar with are reactions he’s already heard from other foreigners he’s chauffeured. He tells us that he finds us foreigner’s unfamiliarity mostly humorous. In return, by chauffeuring us he gets treated to restaurants and properties otherwise unavailable to most of the local population.
I didn’t have a lot of success taking pictures yesterday, though did capture glimpses of the widespread practice of head-carrying, especially by women balancing dish pails of bottled water and ice for selling to passing traffic – notice our driver reflected in the window:
(https://i.imgur.com/mY0Nwa2.jpeg)
The Embassy is laying off the armed escort requirement unless business requires us to venture over into its borderline failed neighboring states. Instead our group has been given a full time driver entrusted by the Embassies to chauffeur foreigners.
As for the Capital City, the international airport district is modernized with glassy office towers and well known business outlets like Pizza Hut, Shell, Best Western, Burger King, Marriot, Illy, KFC, DHL, and Nike – brands mostly unseen across the rest of the nation. The Capital City is also built up and modernized in its central area of Embassies, the Parliament, the National Universities & Museums, and along a strand of beachfront dominated by resort hotels catering to foreign travelers. I say “built up and modernized” as in wide/paved streets cleared of squatter settlements, operable traffic/street lights, and powered buildings with fenced off parking.
Outside of that though, the streets of West Africa are as visibly destitute as anywhere among the world’s poorest areas. I mention our local driver, because when driving us he hears our reaction to some of the shanty sights we’ve never encountered before – sewage runoff in the streets, livestock crossings whose cattle and goats stall traffic, people walking out in en masse everywhere, children lacking shoes and full clothing, people living out of plywood structures, and trash mounded in the streets. For our driver, this is his native land – the neighborhoods he grew up in – so after yesterday’s long day visiting a jobsite, we ask him over dinner whether some of the sights we’re unfamiliar with are reactions he’s already heard from other foreigners he’s chauffeured. He tells us that he finds us foreigner’s unfamiliarity mostly humorous. In return, by chauffeuring us he gets treated to restaurants and properties otherwise unavailable to most of the local population.
I didn’t have a lot of success taking pictures yesterday, though did capture glimpses of the widespread practice of head-carrying, especially by women balancing dish pails of bottled water and ice for selling to passing traffic – notice our driver reflected in the window:
(https://i.imgur.com/mY0Nwa2.jpeg)
I know you can't say but I'm going to guess it is either Guinea or Ivory Coast.
My wife loves to haggle, it's a French thing I guess. We were in Mexico and she was haggling with this poor fellow at Chichen Itza. I slid him a bit of money as we left and she got quite irate with me. I agree with you, maybe it's $5 for me, which means hardly anything these days, and maybe for them it's a day's profit and ability to survive a bit.
You're a nice fellow, CD, but I can assure you after scores of visits to Mexico, nobody there is going to sell you something for a "bargain." They will actually let you walk away if you go below what they consider a fair price.This is especially true in Cabo.
You're a nice fellow, CD, but I can assure you after scores of visits to Mexico, nobody there is going to sell you something for a "bargain." They will actually let you walk away if you go below what they consider a fair price.Yeah, I realize that, I know his "list price" was 3x what he would take, maybe. But he looked poor, and we're not.
On the drive there, the Know-It-All among our group (always wearing loud Hawaiian shirts) obnoxiously lectures us on “standing our ground” when haggling...the Know-It-All makes an obnoxious jerk of himself by aggressively haggling to the point of insulting shop owners. “It’s ok to let yourself get ripped off,” I tell him while the lady among us is fitted for dresses. “It’s not even about saving money. It’s about winning the interaction!” the Know-It-All insists…The Know-It-All carries on his clownish haggling even more...
Needless to say, West Africa is not the place to go chasing the night.Guess he couldn't cut it
In April, the website unveiled its rankings for the most expensive airports in North America, after collecting price data for hotel stays, parking, and a pint of beer. Once it looked at all the information, it named San Diego International Airport (SAN) the most expensive airport in America.San Diego being expensive for a hotel makes sense. The airport is very near downtown, and obviously hotels in downtown San Diego aren't cheap. It's always a crazy airport to fly into because it seems like you're flying right into the heart of the city.
According to the findings, accommodations, parking, and a beer would cost someone $574.46 on average at the airport. "Looking to bunk nearby? Be ready to splurge, with an average hotel rate of $529 per night, $265 more than the average. Parking? Well, it'll set you back $38, landing SAN in the top three for pricey parking spots," the findings revealed. "But fear not, beer lovers — your pre-flight beverage won't break the bank here, coming in at a modest $7.46."
Denver International Airport (DEN) came in second, with an average total for hotel, parking, and beer at $514.74. "It claims the second spot for the priciest airport hotels, ringing in at a hefty $477.33 per night. Need a parking spot? That’ll be $30 for the night. The good news? If you're fancying a frosty beverage before takeoff, you’ll be paying lower than the average, at $7.41 per beer."
Rounding out the top three is Nashville International Airport (BNA), which averages $449.24 for a hotel, parking, and a beer.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/san-diego-international-most-expensive-airport-north-america-8638940 (https://www.travelandleisure.com/san-diego-international-most-expensive-airport-north-america-8638940)
If, by some miracle, you get to choose which hotels to fly through on your next trip, you may want to choose San Jose International Airport (SJC), which ranked as the least expensive. Hotel prices here come in "at just $79, an impressive $152 less than the average," the findings noted. "Thirsty travelers will be pleased, with beers priced at $7.75, while parking spots go for $18. That brings the grand total to $105.08, which is a wallet-friendly $159.17 below the average across all airports."
Know it all seemingly knows nothing.
Your trip will now be better!