Vacation Ideas
 

Are you curious about vacationing somewhere? Looking for a specific vacation experience? Have you just discovered a wonderful place and would like to share? Ask, share, in this thread for everyone.

Bay Fest - Sarnia

Next year all of you should go to this. You cannot all sleep on my floor, cuz Nick will be mad at me. But if I like you enough I will be willing to take that particular bullet from Nick.

Reposted from the other vacation thread :)

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I wanted to offer a suggestion, Asheville, NC.. Very artsy and gay friendly, BEAUTIFUL location, national parks, Biltmore Estates, wine tasting, hiking, horse back riding.. Not too hot in summer, see the colors in the fall, ski in the winter and watch the mountains bloom in spring.. There are also lots of art stores, a mall, and lots of coffee shops.

I hope to be moving there in the next year or so. I know of a couple of gay friendly or owned B&B's around there too.

Hope that helps

-Tony

And the Biltmore Estate, is incredible ;) Very queer town, really good place to visit..or live !

My favorite place to take in a little vacation is in the Cascade Mountain range in Oregon...

Breitenbush Hot Springs - Retreat & Conference Center

http://www.breitenbush.com/



http://www.pdxecstaticdance.com/PICT0158.jpg
Natural hot springs

http://www6.worldisround.com/photos/29/449/344.jpg

The river

http://www.jointforcesdance.com/images/bb_jam2.jpg <~~ they have cabins, in case you would rather not camp by tent

http://www.eventective.com/photo/40470.jpg
The Lodge - they serve vegan/vegetarian fare for meals
(scrumptious and nutritious!)

Well... I saw this thread title and was coming in to post, but someone seems to have beat me to it... ;)


(Yes, I live in Asheville...LOL)

How about naming the top three things to do, when visiting Asheville?

Suavies Island

http://sauvieisland.org/





Suavies Island is a beautiful place to visit:
Places to take a walk and enjoy nature,
watch birds, play on the beach, watch
ships coming into port or in the fall, to visit
the pumpkin patch or even during summer and fall
season, to buy organic farm fresh produce!


It's a beautiful, peaceful, sanctuary/reserve
that's reasonably close in our PNW (PDX) urban landscape.

Crete, Amalfi Coast, Galapagos Is, Homer, Alaska

Once I wen't to the Flying L ranch dude ranch in Bandera Texas for two weeks,I would love to do something like that again.Or even a working ranch that has a set up for something like it.

If anyone is heading to the Windy City for their vacation let me know. I have plenty of tips that can save you time and money.

If anyone is headed to Seattle or the Olympic Peninsula for vacation this year let me know! I have a few suggestions.

If anyone is going to be visiting the state of Wisconsin this summer, especially around the Milwaukee area, I still remember a few events and places that might be worth checking out! Also some places for sure in the Milwaukee area you'll want to avoid as well!

Vacation
 

I can help anyone planning to visit Texas both coastal and inland.

Funny but I know Maine pretty well too. :)

Also, I have traveled all over Italy so I could offer some insight.

I too have knowledge of Wisconsin but things may have changed since the stone age. :)

Yes Chad, did you now know they have paved roads throughout most of the state:giggle:

Haha! Really? :)

Skamania Lodge
 

Skamania Lodge is located in the Columbia Gorge, in Stevenson, Washington, near the Bridge of the Gods.

https://snoqualmietksummit2012.files...lodge-view.jpg

It's beautiful there. It is a top resort destination, offers top notch hotel service and the food service is impeccable. The surrounding area is breathtakingly gorgeous. I've gone to retreats at this location and experienced wonderful service, as well as went on horse riding expeditions. It's very lovely there.

Here's a link to their website, for anyone interested in visiting this gorgeous scenic area:

https://www.destinationhotels.com/sk..._business_page

Moab, Utah is My happy place.. there is no better place to camp out under the stars and be able to be one with the earth... there is ziplining,rock climing,hiking,native carvings,mountain cave homes... it is where I go to rest My internal clock and My spiritual being

Vacation
 

I am thinking about taking mom to Dickens on the Strand in Galveston, Texas this year. It looks like big fun.

http://www.galveston.com/dickensonthestrand/

Yes for when traveling with mom that looks very good BUT may I suggest the Dinah Shore Open Palm Springs Women's Weekend, Ptown, or an Olivia Cruise for when travelling solo?

Does anyone know of a place that one can go zip lining in the contiguous 48 states? Maybe out west?

I have some info and will post it later on today Cathexis

scenic zip lines with Silver Streak.......
 

Home to 10 zip lines and an outdoor laser-tag arena on 250 acres of undisturbed mountainous terrain. Silver Streak Zip line Tours offers and exhilarating adventure rush in Wallace Idaho. Admire beautiful views of the scenery and wildlife while zipping along lines ranging from 325 feet to 1,800 feet long, at speeds reaching 60 mph.

AAA members save 15% off admission. To receive your discount, present your AAA membership card when you check in at Silver Streak's office. Season runs through mid-October.

For reservations and info called 208-556-1690. More info is available also on
http://www.silverstreakziplinetours.com/

My favorite vacation ever was camping in the U.S. Virgin Islands national park on St. John. (I am suddenly having a flashback of writing a paper in the third grade, "How I spent my summer vacation" . . .)

Anyway, my partner at the time and I flew down to St. Thomas with all our camping and snorkeling gear. We spent our first and last nights at a B&B in Charlotte Amalie, visiting some great restaurants, drinking, and applying toothpaste to our mosquito bites. In between, via someone's personal fishing boat/water taxi, we traveled to St. John.

Cinnamon Bay campground is one of the nicest campgrounds I have ever been to. You camp right on the beach, but each campsite is private - they are separated by palm trees and these gigantic bushes with huge leaves. The facilities are extensive, nice and well-maintained; they have hot showers (need I say more?) Here's their web site: https://cinnamonbayresort.com/

The snorkeling was great. The water was clear, and warm. There were many opportunities for interacting with nature - I really felt a part of it, not just like an observer. The birds were fantastic. The mongooses were gigantic, and really fast. The crabs crawled past our tent down the beach every night. I had an (unwanted) close encounter with some large underwater predator - probably a shark . . . but I've told that story in another thread, so I won't repeat it here, except to say we were lucky and all turned out well.

The nearby town of Cruz Bay offers some nightlife, including some fantastic restaurants. Everything is on the pricey end. But, we did most of our eating by grilling out on the beach, anyway, so it was worth the splurges.

I miss this place so much. No other vacation has ever measured up, although I try to judge each one on its own merits. (I've traveled a bit around the world; I've stayed in hostels and resorts and 5-star hotels; I love Disney World. But this camping vacation on St. John was the ultimate. Really.) I don't think I will ever re-experience anything like it, either, because I am no longer physically capable of tent camping, and what with TSA now, I'm not sure it's possible to fly with all that equipment like we did back then. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Thanks for traveling with me down memory lane.

Vacation
 

A decade or so back I had a conference in Lake Placid, NY and took my mom with me. We flew into Albany, NY and took the slow road to Lake Placid. By shear luck we passed the Adirondacks and I was just blown away from the beauty. I told mom that I wanted to live there and she replied that it was only like that a couple of months a year the rest of the time it was under snow. Okay it is a great place to visit.

I never forgot the natural beauty of the Adirondacks and I plan to return there again. :)

The 18 Most Beautiful Highways for Road Trips (In and out of the U.S.)
 

The 18 Most Beautiful Highways for Road Trips


Jack Kerouac might have said it best in his famous novel On the Road: “I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future.” His words serve as a testament to the power of a road trip; how the process of packing a car and driving long distances has the ability to transform us. Yet, what about the roads themselves? What makes this form of travel more life-changing than, say, flying in an airplane? Or taking a cruise? The answer could be in the old chestnut: It’s not the destination but the journey that matters. AD rounds up 18 of the most beautiful road trips to take in your lifetime—routes that are as stunning for their natural beauty as they are for their architectural design.

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http://media.architecturaldigest.com...%2520Utah.jpeg
(Photo: Getty Images)

Roughly 123 miles long, and cutting between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Park is Utah's Highway 12. Originally built in 1914, the stretch of road winds in and out of beautiful sedimentary sandstone cliffs.
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For more click here.

Your mom is quite right. You'll want chains on your tires and a LOT of layers if you come outside of summer months. Pretty.... but cold and messy.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...4v9FjkTCW5JWqw


With fall fast approaching consider visiting WA Olympic National Forests..

Some of the best fall foliage can be seen in and around Hiawatha National Forest.


Located in Michigan's wild and scenic Upper Peninsula, the Hiawatha National Forest's dramatic shorelines lie nestled up to Lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan -- three of the five great lakes. Lighthouses, islands, and abundant snow create a place of respite and play within a day's drive of urban and rural areas of Michigan, Wisconsin, other nearby states.

Badlands is beautiful in the Fall..and the chocolate glazed donuts at Wall Pharmacy in Wall are omg, the best! https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/badl...ll-3352169.jpg

OMG is that THE famous Wall Drugs that carries everything and the kitchen sink? I've seen those bumper stickers for years on cars!

Colmar france
 

This beautiful town has been owned by the French & Germans at different points in time.
Now its back in French hands, but you can still see the German influences.
Hopefully going there next year.
Google it, you wont be disappointed

Priest Lake (Idaho)
 

http://visitnorthidaho.com/wp-conten...hoTourism1.png

Priest Lake is in the northern pan-handle of Idaho and it's gorgeous there, during the late summer months or early part of September. I only remember being there, when I was a young girl, but I plan to visit that area in the near future. I remember the fragrant air of the lake and the Ponderosa pines. So very pretty there, it really is.

https://www.ptown.org/wp-content/upl...ovincetown.jpg



Provincetown Massachusetts

I've only been here once, but it was one wild ride!

I first went to Provincetown with my mother in 1955. She was a painter. It was an artists/writers/theatre colony then. The Gay artists and the Portuguese fishermen got along very well.
I've gone back many times since but it's never been as cool as it was then. I stopped going about 20 years ago when Commercial became a zoo of baby strollers and there were no alleys left where you could have a quick drink without being told to "move along, this is Private Property".

Murlough Bay, Fair Head Cliffs (subject of a song by Bob Dylan and 7th season locale for GOT)
 

Because of Covid-19 this year plan a staycation! Check out local haunts and pretend you're a tourist....
 

https://www.seattleweekly.com/wp-con...4-forest_1.jpg


As most know, I'm most definitely not an outdoor enthusiast but IF you are this area offers trails for hiking, biking, camping, etc etc