August 29, 2007
The east coast
A lot of people prefer the west coast but my family really enjoys taking a summer vacation on the east coast of the United States. There are some great beaches to explore and they have a lot of stories that go along with them.
For instance, the Outer Banks of North Carolina are beautiful barrier islands that are often the setting for a romance or mystery novel. With names like Nags Head, Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills, how can you resist checking them out? Some parts are fairly old with worn cottage-type homes on stilts, other parts are newly developed with multimillion-dollar estates. The views are equally fabulous.
Further south, you will run into another set of islands in North Carolina. For instance Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle Beach are simply lovely areas for families to rent a beach house for a week or two. Then there's Bald Head Island, to which you must take a 15-minute ferry ride. This can be a pain at check-in and check-out times for the rental houses as the lines get pretty long for the ferry. But the island includes Cape Fear. Haven't we all seen that movie, the old one and the remake? You can buy shirts on Baldhead Island that say Cape Fear, very cool.
Pawley's Island is an older development and it's really interesting. The old houses are really jammed in, like there was no real master plan for this island. But regulars love it! It's famous for its hammocks that sell around the world.
And character. You will find lots of it on the east coast. There are a lot of lovely accents that you will hear and the people are real friendly, sometimes sharing gossip about locals before you even ask. Every time I came out of a store, I had another story to tell my family about, for instance, why a multimillion-dollar house has sat half-built for two years. Or which house the famous race car driver owns.
There are a lot more states along the east coast, all worth checking out for your next vacation.
Posted by Idea Man at 01:38 PM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2007
The right season
Be really careful when you make your travel plans to go during the best season. Or at least, to NOT go during the worst season. My brother and his wife went to an island last month for a weeklong vacation, but it turned out to be monsoon season. After three days of miserable rain, and evacuation, they went home. They did not have travel insurance, and even if they did, it probably wouldn't have covered weather.
For instance, eastern Europe in the winter (Dec-March) is not a good idea. Watch for hurricane season on the U.S. east coast. If a trip has a deep discount, there is usually a reason for it; no one wants to travel at that time. We went to Vegas once, and I was looking forward to a hot getaway, but the hotel pool wasn't even open yet.
Do your homework, learn all you can about seasons and locations.
Posted by Idea Man at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)
July 09, 2007
A weekend in Canada
There's a lot to do in Canada, but we only had two days, a rather quick turnaround for a family of four. Toronto was everything I remembered it to be: cosmopolitan, cool, crowded. It reminded us of New York, actually.
When we were looking for a restaurant for dinner, we found a long list of possibilities. There was even a category of "Canadian" food, though I really can't think of anything that is pure Canadian. (OK, like Canadian bacon, or Canadian beer, what am I missing?)When we finally settled on a place, there was a 45 minute wait.
The city was really bustling. We saw a lot of big groups walking around, from conventions, reunions and sports teams. There were a lot of photo opportunities, for sure. We didn't even have time to go to the Ontario Science Center, which is a really cool place. Next time, we will set aside more time so we can fit everything in.
Posted by Idea Man at 12:32 PM | Comments (0)
July 03, 2007
Toronto is cool
We are planning a trip to Toronto and will travel by train. It's been years since I have been there. It's a beautiful city, very cosmopolitan. Taking the train gives it an even more surreal sense. How often do we get to take a train anywhere?
I was a little surprised by the price and even commented to the customer service rep on the phone that it was almost as expensive as a plane trip. She responded: "Yes, but some people just prefer the train."
Well, right she is.
There's a science museum that I would love to visit again. I have great memories of that place. And we're going to a musical, "We will rock you," music by Queen. This should be interesting.
I'm glad we all have passports, that should make the border crossing a bit smoother. Speaking of passports, I hear there is a big log-jam. I finally convinced my mother to send hers in. Now we'll see how long it will take.
Posted by Idea Man at 03:34 PM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2007
Zoo trip
There are so many cool zoos throughout the U.S. that I think I want to take a month in the summer and just travel around to check some of them out. I may combine this with a baseball trip; go to a major league game, and check out the local zoo the next day.
We have a lot of mapping out to do, this seems like a great trip for the family. I have been to a handful of zoos already, and they vary greatly in what they feature and how they feature the animals. For instance, I love the pink flamingos that are at the entrance of the Atlanta Zoo. I have some fabulous pictures of those. The Toledo Zoo is fun with some cool interactive activities for the kids.
I have heard some great things about zoos on the west coast, particularly San Francisco, so maybe we'll head that way if we can manage to get the whole family away for at least a few weeks this summer. We'll check out the baseball schedules and the zoos nearby. This should be really cool, and I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures.
Posted by Idea Man at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)
May 02, 2007
Another Kauai Vacation
During 1989, I took a one week vacation to Kauai with a friend. This was back in the days before the Internet, so vacation research was very difficult. We ended up at the mercy of a local travel agent. After much price shopping I finally found a great price during Thanksgiving week in November. Unfortunately, the travel agent did not mention that November is Hawaii’s rainy season. So 6 out of the 7 days we were there we got soaked by a constant rain and drizzle.
The few times it was sunny only showed us how much we fun we were missing out on. Hawaii is truly paradise and I always wanted to go back – non-rainy season.
Well it turns out; we have just planned a trip back to Kauai in August. This time I did a lot of research on the Internet and found a full service Kauai Vacation rental website that has lots of great information and travel tools.
The best part of the website is they have negotiated some amazing deals on Hawaii car rentals. Often after I set up and pay for a vacation, I realize that I need a car and the rental puts me over the top. This time I was able to stay under budget even with a full week car rental.
My friend and I can’t wait to go back and soak up some Kauai sun instead of getting soaked by rain. I love having a great vacation like this in the future to look forward to on my calendar.
Posted by Idea Man at 12:26 PM | Comments (1)
April 19, 2007
Texas Hill Country
I lived in San Antonio during the late 1980's which is at the southern edge of the Texas Hill Country. One of my favorite things to do on the weekend was to visit the Hill Country. Living near the Texas Hill Country was like having a vacation spot in my back yard.
Most people think of Texas as a flat boring state, those people have never visited the hill country. Imagine a place where crystal clear lakes and giant oaks and cedar trees meet the majesty of the Texas hills. I would often go for long drives in the hill country to find some out of the way spot. I found that when I was visiting the Hill Country is was just like visiting a whole other state.
When I find time, I plan on taking a vacation to visit the Texas Hill Country again – but I better be prepared because the Hill Country is not the secret it was in 1989. This area now serves 5 million visitors annually. Based on my experience, it's easy to see why more people keep coming back and telling their friends.
We all know about the Texas summer heat. To beat the heat, one of my favorite summer activities was tubing down the Guadalupe River with hundreds of other rafters on a hot weekend day. I have lived in quite a few areas in my life and this is one place I really want to go back and enjoy.
Posted by Idea Man at 09:24 AM | Comments (0)
February 06, 2007
Skiing Whistler
Tired of global warning ruining your skiing? Hot this ski season is Whistler in British Columbia. While European resorts have had their worst snow year for many years, and even the Colorado resorts are light on the white stuff, Whistler is almost over-burdened with it. However, just as they say you can never be too rich or too thin, if you're a ski resort, you can hardly have too much snow. There is still time to come and ski it, and if you're interested, you should check out Holiday Whistler's selection of great chalets, townhomes and condos.
There is something here for almost every taste, but if you're only interested in the ultra high end you could also look at Whistler Deluxe's array of tasty Whistler vacation rentals. Apparently they will take care of every aspect of your holiday except for the flights, and if you need help with that I've found the best prices are generally on Travelocity. Here they offer prices from all the major airlines which saves a lot of time in looking up fares on different sites.
Posted by Idea Man at 07:38 PM | Comments (0)