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Just wondered what everybody was doing this summer for vacation? Anything special that you're looking forward to?
For vacation i'm planning on going to the national encampment of our civil war group. I'm especially looking forward to showing off how much longer my hair is from the encampment last year.
(Most of the guys will have short hair, probably two or three of
us will have long hair. But I don't care, i'm going to continue to wear my hair long even if i'm the only one with long hair. Oh and my hair will be longer than all the women in the allied orders.)
I'll probably be serving at a youth retreat for a week (which really isn't a vacation at all), and then I'll be going to upstate New York to study in late August.
Well looks like no vacation this summer for me but looking forward to going to Cali this fall:)
Mârk
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This may seem weird to most who should read this. I take a lot of half day vacations throughout the year.
I ride a bike for exercise and I DON'T ride in rain. This means that I have to put my bike in my car and take it to a place up to 150 miles from home when it is raining in my town.
By taking these half day vacations to escape the rain, I can be as fit in winter as in summer.
Scott
Scott,
Have you considered getting a "beater" bike? I don't like to use a top-level bike either in rain or salty winter conditions and when I used to only have one bike, I didn't ride through the winter. Now I just use my oldest bike and don't mind it getting dirty. Of course, I thoroughly clean it after ever ride still.
I also take lots of partial vacation days so that I can continue to cycle three days per week, every week, even when the daylight gets much less in the autumn and winter. I think it's a great use of the time!
Jason
I normally get out of town 2-3 weekends a month, either for pleasure hiking or backpacking or trailwork (or trailwork related activities) year-round...these may be 2, 2.5, or 3 day weekends.
Currently I have a 5-6 day trailwork expedition scheduled for the end of July (just got back from scouting the location and clearing the stock route in).
I don't have other stuff scheduled, but likely I'll take a week off in late summer to go backpacking.
Flying to Calgary, Alberta - except just as I was setting up those plans, the place has suddenly had record flooding like never before as you may have seen. The entire downtown core is shut down. Have been watching live video on CTV and the CBC. The Calgary Stampede is/was supposed to start in a few days.
I'm the manuscript editor for an academic book written by a Canadian Solicitor General forensic psychologist, so the trip will be work and play whenever it happens.
Ironically, Calgary is the energy company capital of Canada, including the folks pushing Alberta Tar Sands oil and the XL pipeline. Now they're arguably being hit heavy by the climate change problem which they help create.
When I finally get there, I'll check out the Alberta long hair scenario! Canada is in general a very tolerant place.
Hey OKCDude,
It's incredible how things are different here in the south hemisphere of the world hahaha.
Our regular school year goes from March to end of November, so we have vacations during December-January-February (some people in march also). That is because our summer time is from December to March or so.
Right now we are starting a very cold winter. In my country we have a 2 week winter vacation time though. I am not planning anything for those 2 weeks.
During my last vacations ( in february ) I visited your beautiful country. I have been to New York City and then to Los Angeles and I am looking forward to visit the USA again - but this time, during the american summer, not winter-.
And I would LOVE to visit some place within the States, like not the typical big cities like NYC, LA or Miami. I want to get to know the "real america" .
For my next vacations I will probably visit the USA again, or go to Europe ( main cities I want to visit are Paris , London , Amsterdam ).
Cheers from the south :)
Dave from Argentina.
Then if you really want to experience the real America then
i would suggest renting a car, start out in Maine, and take a few months to travel from Maine to Florida, Florida to California,
California to Washington State. There is a lot more to the US of A than just NYC and LA.
Of course if you're really ambitious you could buy a bicycle and
bike from one end of the country to the other.
The highlight of my summer will be moving to our new home. My current landlord has decided to sell the house I've been renting for the last eight years. Fortuitously, the tenant living in the house across the street transferred out of the area, and the owners of the house, whom we befriended while they lived in the house, contacted us to see if we knew anyone that was looking for a new home. A little talking back and forth, and as of a couple of days ago we have a signed lease to rent the house until we get financing arranged to buy.
Almost 50 years old, and this will be the first house I'll own. I'm quite excited. [BIG GRIN]
Frodo
I've owned a house now for over 15 years now. My wife and I decided to buy rather than rent after a number of bad experiences with landlords. (One of them was the plumbing inspector for the city I lived in was arrested and convicted on a bunch of charges.)
I would also mention that when I got my house back in the 90s
you could get a house mortgage for $600 a month where the rent of a studio apartment was in the $1500-$2000 neighborhood especially around colleges.
Part of that is the supply of apartments is dwindling with condo conversions.
It is also nice to have it up to me if I have cats rather than
a landlord who doesn't like pets.
Hi Frodo,
Iam so happy to hear you are achieving the American dream! This is wonderful news and it is never too late! I sincerely hope you all enjoy your new home! Congrats!
Hope your week is going great my friend! Take care of yourselves!
Ted
Well, other than not having quite as much $$ as I wish I had for a nice vacation, here are a few "mini-vacation" plans that I hope will happen at least on a local level:
1) every October I try to take off for one week to attend a C&W dance convention that happens in town;
2) every year I usually make it up North to the Northern Calif. town of Cotati to their annual Accordion Festival, in late August (no, I don't play the accordion; but I do have a friend who does -- as well as they have a great outdoor dance floor with live Polka music, including some Cha-chas, Waltz's, Foxtrots and Tangos thrown in... I've gone with friends of mine from SF in the past, and we always have a blast)!
3) my brother and sister-in-law invited me to go up to the redwoods and far North coast of Calif. with them this past spring; but unfortunately couldn't take off time from work that time -- but they go up there fairly frequently, and they always love dragging me along (along with various nieces, nephews and family friends, whoever happens to be available (LOL)....
As you can see, not any "BIG" plans, as such; but it's never the size that counts, it's the quality of the experience (hmmm, where have I heard that sort of thing before - LOL)!
- Ken in San Francisco
PS - a different sister-in-law and niece just came back from a month's trip over in Italy, Germany, and Russia, had a TERRIFIC time over there -- so I'll soon be hearing all about it, and will be enjoying their vacation experience vicariously (since I didn't experience those places first-hand myself - LOL).
Just curious where on the far north coast they drag you to.
A favorite family destination is often going to the Mendocino coast, my sister-in-law having lived and studied in the ruggedly beautiful town of Mendocino itself, at an Art school during her college years; but sometimes we stay overnight in nearby Ft. Bragg, or go even further North to Eureka... Then again in past years we've also gone as far North as crossing into the Oregon border (I have another brother who lives about an hour inland from Coos Bay, OR -- although I confess to not seeing him all that often anymore).
Over the years since having moved to CA in 1977, I've spent more vacation time -- both long and short -- along the Coast Highway both North & South, as well as slightly inland within the "Redwood Empire" of No. Calif., including visiting most of the state and National Parks there several times over... I never tire of it! Spending a day hiking among the towering majestic Coast Redwood trees is just as sacred an experience to me as going to church is for folks in the Bible belt, it is truly a "born again" experience!
From Guernville to Garberville, or whether deciding to drive south instead to Big Sur or go as far north as crossing into the OR border, the old saying "I left my heart in San Francisco" should really be changed to, "I left my heart in rural Northern California!"
I hope that answers your question!
- Ken
I was mainly curious since I live in the hills of Mendocino
county. We do have some beautiful areas here and I am glad that
you enjoy them. But hopefully you guys don't drive like some of
the bay area tourists do. ;-)
Driving on a very old transcontinental highway!