PurpleJedi said:

Lisa10 said:

The only thing that is definite and booked so far is.... FLORIDA! I'll be staying in Kissimmee for a couple of weeks and doing all the Disney stuff. I'll hopefully be able to catch up with some .org'ers while i'm there. Fingers crossed. It's a long way off yet, though.

Disney Org Invasion!!!!!!

Party @ Lisa's hotel!

That would be a lot of fun!

Lisa10 said:

PurpleJedi said:

Disney Org Invasion!!!!!!

Party @ Lisa's hotel!

That would be a lot of fun!

Yes, ALOT of fun.

But you need to ask yourself...CAN you afford the many subsequent years of psychological counseling to deal with the trauma we'd inflict upon your young children?

Child would run screaming at the sight of Mickey Mouse.

PurpleJedi said:

Lisa10 said:

That would be a lot of fun!

Yes, ALOT of fun.

But you need to ask yourself...CAN you afford the many subsequent years of psychological counseling to deal with the trauma we'd inflict upon your young children?

Child would run screaming at the sight of Mickey Mouse.

So...I was looking at places to stay in Virginia Beach, and they seem unreasonably expensive.

Prices for a regular hotel room comparable to what I paid for a 3-bedroom suite in Myrtle Beach.

Has anyone ever been to St. Augustine, Florida???

So are you cancelling your Virginia Beach trip?

I am headed to a family get together on Tybee Island, Alabama in July.

Anyone ever been there?

Nothinbutjoy said:

So are you cancelling your Virginia Beach trip?

Probably. I need a 3 bedroom suite.

We paid around $3K last year for one in Myrtle Beach.

There's barely any available in V.B. and the one that I did find was over $5K!!!

PurpleJedi said:

PurpleJedi said:

Nothinbutjoy said:

So are you cancelling your Virginia Beach trip?

Probably. I need a 3 bedroom suite.

We paid around $3K last year for one in Myrtle Beach.

There's barely any available in V.B. and the one that I did find was over $5K!!!

That's a hella lotta money for an East Coast vacation, and you're basically at the mercy of the weather. If it rains all week you're screwed, IMO it's not worth the risk.

PurpleJedi said:

Nothinbutjoy said:

So are you cancelling your Virginia Beach trip?

Probably. I need a 3 bedroom suite.

We paid around $3K last year for one in Myrtle Beach.

There's barely any available in V.B. and the one that I did find was over $5K!!!

3K for Myrtle Beach ???

You can find houses in the Florida Keys for that... with Ralph Lauren accented, Hemingway inspired decor!!!

For real though, what sites are you checking out to make your travel plans?

Nothinbutjoy said:

PurpleJedi said:

Probably. I need a 3 bedroom suite.

We paid around $3K last year for one in Myrtle Beach.

There's barely any available in V.B. and the one that I did find was over $5K!!!

Yeah, Virginia Beach is ridiculous.

Pokeno4Money said:

PurpleJedi said:

Probably. I need a 3 bedroom suite.

We paid around $3K last year for one in Myrtle Beach.

There's barely any available in V.B. and the one that I did find was over $5K!!!

That's a hella lotta money for an East Coast vacation, and you're basically at the mercy of the weather. If it rains all week you're screwed, IMO it's not worth the risk.

The family likes the beach.

Ottensen said:

PurpleJedi said:

Probably. I need a 3 bedroom suite.

We paid around $3K last year for one in Myrtle Beach.

There's barely any available in V.B. and the one that I did find was over $5K!!!

3K for Myrtle Beach ???

You can find houses in the Florida Keys for that... with Ralph Lauren accented, Hemingway inspired decor!!!

For real though, what sites are you checking out to make your travel plans?

Gots to be within driving distance of Long Island...and it was a three bedroom unit with kitchen, washer/dryer, room service, free onsite parking, etc. for a whole week.

I've been checking out Orbitz, Travelocity, Yahoo, and random internet searches.

ZombieKitten said:

I'm writing to my travel agent tomorrow to get prices

I still plan on hitting the Seattle invasion as well!!!

PurpleJedi said:

Ottensen said:

3K for Myrtle Beach ???

You can find houses in the Florida Keys for that... with Ralph Lauren accented, Hemingway inspired decor!!!

For real though, what sites are you checking out to make your travel plans?

Gots to be within driving distance of Long Island...and it was a three bedroom unit with kitchen, washer/dryer, room service, free onsite parking, etc. for a whole week.

I've been checking out Orbitz, Travelocity, Yahoo, and random internet searches.

Try Travelzoo too .

PurpleJedi said:

ZombieKitten said:

I'm writing to my travel agent tomorrow to get prices

I still plan on hitting the Seattle invasion as well!!!

I'm no longer going to be able to make the Seattle trip.

My sister turns 50 on 11 Aug and I have a grandbaby due on 7 Aug.

Good things to be sure, but I hate missing the meet-up.

PurpleJedi said:

GoldDolphin said:

Rome is overrated just so you know, yeah it's full of history and beautiful but not really that much fun like other capitals in Europe, at least that's my experience but northern Italy is better ...

I've heard that it's EX-PEN-SIVE as well.

One day when the kids aren't interested in hanging out with dad for vacation, that's a trip you need to put on your bucket list, it's well worth it if you have good insider tips and know how to avoid the tourist traps and scams.

If you want to get a really authentic romantic Italian experience, stay away from the large cities like Milan and Rome; their hustling bustling metropolises that will just remind you of New York from the feeling. They aren't places to go to relax, you have to be in a hustle-y on the move kinda mood to enjoy those places. Plus, like any large city, they have too many areas with urban blight and can be downright butt ugly in some spots. Also, you'll save yourself headaches, big city attitudes, and several trips to the police station from having to report all the times you'll be pickpocketed.

The key to reveling in Romantic, Picturesque Italy is to go in the off-peak season when the summer hoards haven't descended onto the place: April-early May-ish....or September-October-ish.

Also, the best way to explore is to go to wherever the nearest town is in any direction 1 or 2 hours outside of the larger cities by train (Train travel is cheap. It costs 10 Euros and takes less than an hour to get from Florence into Tuscany by train, for example). It's so incredibly picturesque as a country just walking down the street or stopping for a 5 o'clock drink at a bar is a full experience.

BERGAMO (Less than an hour outside of Milano)

Varenna (at the base of the Italian Alps, 1hr. 15 mins by train from Milan)

Sienna (1.5 hours and 7 euros from Florence)

or I would visit cities like Genoa, Verona, Cinque Terre (though that's kind of a baller place), off season Amalfi, the possibilities really are endless.

I always read this as a "time travel thread"

Ottensen said:

PurpleJedi said:

I've heard that it's EX-PEN-SIVE as well.

One day when the kids aren't interested in hanging out with dad for vacation, that's a trip you need to put on your bucket list, it's well worth it if you have good insider tips and know how to avoid the tourist traps and scams.

If you want to get a really authentic romantic Italian experience, stay away from the large cities like Milan and Rome; their hustling bustling metropolises that will just remind you of New York from the feeling. They aren't places to go to relax, you have to be in a hustle-y on the move kinda mood to enjoy those places. Plus, like any large city, they have too many areas with urban blight and can be downright butt ugly in some spots. Also, you'll save yourself headaches, big city attitudes, and several trips to the police station from having to report all the times you'll be pickpocketed.

The key to reveling in Romantic, Picturesque Italy is to go in the off-peak season when the summer hoards haven't descended onto the place: April-early May-ish....or September-October-ish.

Also, the best way to explore is to go to wherever the nearest town is in any direction 1 or 2 hours outside of the larger cities by train (Train travel is cheap. It costs 10 Euros and takes less than an hour to get from Florence into Tuscany by train, for example). It's so incredibly picturesque as a country just walking down the street or stopping for a 5 o'clock drink at a bar is a full experience.

BERGAMO (Less than an hour outside of Milano)

Varenna (at the base of the Italian Alps, 1hr. 15 mins by train from Milan)

Sienna (1.5 hours and 7 euros from Florence)

or I would visit cities like Genoa, Verona, Cinque Terre (though that's kind of a baller place), off season Amalfi, the possibilities really are endless.

Hopefully by then it won't be a SOLO trip either!

But yeah those look like amazing places to visit.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

I always read this as a "time travel thread"

I spent 15 days on the beautiful island of Kauai in early Feb. Pure bliss - I love the Hawaiian islands!

PurpleJedi said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

I always read this as a "time travel thread"

Initially, that's what I read too... man, my eyes are getting bad

We're still figuring out where we're going, but I should be popping through NYC for like, 10 seconds in the summer, but outside of one Sunday off it won't be a pleasure trip

What we're kicking around:

A few days in Eutin (pronounce Oy-teen)

*A dash over to visit some friends from Old Dude in the South of France; I have no idea what the place looks like, only that it's somewhere between the Cote d'Azur- Nice region

*A run over to Pisa and taking a couple trains to the seaside, making some architecture photos for fun...

* Some days at either the North Sea or Baltic Sea

and one more jaunt and that would be enough. instead of one long trip we'll be breaking things up into smaller pieces.

Empress said:

I spent 15 days on the beautiful island of Kauai in early Feb. Pure bliss - I love the Hawaiian islands!

Ottensen said:

We're still figuring out where we're going, but I should be popping through NYC for like, 10 seconds in the summer, but outside of one Sunday off it won't be a pleasure trip

What we're kicking around:

A few days in Eutin (pronounce Oy-teen)

*A dash over to visit some friends from Old Dude in the South of France; I have no idea what the place looks like, only that it's somewhere between the Cote d'Azur- Nice region

*A run over to Pisa and taking a couple trains to the seaside, making some architecture photos for fun...

* Some days at either the North Sea or Baltic Sea

and one more jaunt and that would be enough. instead of one long trip we'll be breaking things up into smaller pieces.

Take me with you?

I just spent two weeks in Australia where I saw Zombiekitten (again) and Moonbeam.

The gf and I are thinking about visiting Montreal in August.

I just spent a month in South Africa. No plans yet for the rest of the year but hopefully SA again at the end of this year.

I'm going to Disney World next month!

The rest of the year is so far, unsure.

Time traveller too. It's like a trick sentence.