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Thread: Doing nothing Vacation

  1. #11
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveinMN View Post
    Some are; some are not.

    We still like to get out and see the world. Then I will do lots of research on what to see and do. Not that we have to (or will) do all of it; we've always avoided the "if it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium" mode of travel and on Day 3 of the "gotta-see-it-all" vacation bodies just hurt too much to make it enjoyable. We simply like knowing so we don't return home and kick ourselves for being quite close to someplace we really would have enjoyed visiting -- had we known about it. And we'll push a little to see more. Very little TV-watching when we're in a hotel room in Paris.

    Increasingly, though, vacations are more free-form. I recently took a day-long road trip with my second-best friend in the world. No rule other than we had to be back that evening. We headed to a part of Wisconsin neither of us had ever visited. We stopped along the way wherever it looked interesting. We decided on the fly where to eat lunch (okay, there was only one place open in that town but we could have driven on). We had a fabulous no-stress time, even if we didn't see anything that would show up toward the top of TripAdvisor's list.

    Several months ago, DW and I drove down to Austin, Minnesota, for overnight. We just wanted to get away from work, the dishes, and the dog. Really nice hotel rooms (ours had a hot tub) are cheap there. Austin has a couple of attractions but not so many that you feel obligated to see them all. We ate at the hotel restaurant for dinner (probably could have found better food, but research and driving around? not this time). We visited the SPAM Museum (really) and some antique and book stores on their main street, and drove home leisurely. It was just the break we needed and a lot cheaper than flying to Chicago or Kansas City.

    Lately we haven't been on the big trips. That's been OK -- the trips we take still are restorative.
    of course you visited the SPAM Museum! Thats what you do in Austin.I dont remember where we stayed that night but I remember a prefectly awful Chinese restaurant in the downtown area.

    What kind of SPAM did you buy? We bought several for gifts for friends? We dont many gifts but I thought these fancy SPAM varieties woukd be funny.


    SPAM put DH through college. His father worked at Hormel.

  2. #12
    Moderator Float On's Avatar
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    I like spreading out my vacation days usually taking a Fri-Tues off. I'll plan one or two activities but a lot of free time to just see what happens. We kind of like returning to places we've been. Seems a little more relaxing.

    My dad was a planner but the vacation that stands out the most was when he took a wrong turn out in KS somewhere so we did the plan backwards. My grandparents always packed a bag and left the drive way with grandma giving a direction when he'd say "left or right?"
    DH's dad was a planner but they had to include Howard Johnson hotels so he could let the gov't dept he worked for be able to get a hold of him in an emergency.
    Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.

  3. #13
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    Yeah, we have had those kinds of trips too. Pack a bag and just go..... Was fun but we usually only went for an overnight.

  4. #14
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    When I was working f.t. we either went on a real vacation or I would go home to see my Mom. Some years I had to use the time to take care of her for a few weeks as she had a few bouts of cancer in her later years. Now we are semi-retired and my Mom is gone. If we take a driving trip we take the RV and 3 dogs. WE take 2-10 vacations a year besides the driving trips. Sometimes to Europe and sometimes a cruise. When my husband got trips for work I would go and then while he was in training I often would use the time to just swim in the pool, take walks and relax. Once he got off training we would explore. The down time felt good as I was still working f.t. With the job I have now I teach online so I can do it anywhere in the world that I have internet access. WE are limited to 10 days when we leave because my son watches the dogs. I am fine with that as I miss them if gone much longer then that. I do all the planning and research.

  5. #15
    Yppej
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    One week I went to a different state park or forest within an hour's radius of my home each day. At the time they were all free admission. No packing or unpacking as I was home every night. My son was little and we swam in the lakes or hiked. I have such good memories of that time.

  6. #16
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Yppej: That sounds like a perfect vacation!
    We like to go out to North Adams in the Berkshires, usually one week in late summer if we can. There are some great museums and parks and restaurants, and nice scenic drives. Plenty to do or not do, and we know and love the area so it is pretty relaxing. The last time we were out there, we explored a cool old cemetery, hunted down the Hoosac tunnel, learned a lot about train and tunnel history, and were thoroughly delighted to see a huge freight train come out of the Hoosac! We love to go to the historical society, where the history buffs are so exited by our interest and pull out all their best stories for us. This would clearly not be everyone's idea of a good time, but it totally works for us. There is another place we like to stay on the lake in Lee (has recently gotten pretty pricey, but used to be quite affordable). We enjoy watching the bats fly over the lake at night, and they have a really good Indian restaurant where we first tried goat. One night when we were out watching the bats, I told DH how lucky we were to have found each other, because I could imagine running the personal ad looking for someone who would enjoy eating goat and watching bats for a VERY long time without any response.

  7. #17
    Yppej
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    I have eaten at that restaurant RR and it is excellent. Never been to the Hoosac Tunnel though. I would want to walk through it and I think that is not allowed?

  8. #18
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    We've taken staycations.

    We've staycationed at the mountain cabin.

    We did our first (and last) cruise this summer for my sister's 65th birthday celebration.

    Right now we're in Phoenix for a NASCAR 3 day event.

    We've done "brown sign" trips. Day trips from home where we head down a road and stop at every brown sign we see for 6 hours and then turn around and go back home. These have been alot of fun! All those things we never did because we were on our way to somewhere. This makes those places the somewhere

    We've done 2 weeks in summer on the Colorado summit and rented a car and condo with another couple. Great fun. Lots to see on day trips and also some days vegging at home.

    Other than the cruise, I haven't met a vacation day I didn't enjoy and appreciate. Interesting the most expensive of my life, was my one dislike!

  9. #19
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
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    I go diving now - short weekend trips.

  10. #20
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
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    The brown sign trips, what a wonderful idea!

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