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(09-01-2019, 07:43 PM)maizegoblue Wrote: (09-01-2019, 07:34 PM)zigbee Wrote: Nothing wrong with visiting the US states AND seeing other nations. I've done both and can say I really enjoy the US. Michigan is one of the best states I've been to. Thinking about my next trip for 2020 and may travel abroad.
Go to the UP. You will love it, Mackinac Island doesn't count.
Been to both. Is that large crucifix of Jesus still around?
DC is a symptom, not the cause. The cause is basic voter stupidity and economic ignorance.
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I liked the UP a lot when we visited. In summer.
Would be good to post places we're been that might not occur to folks to visit (and perhaps vice versa). One for me would be Greenville, SC (for a day).
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Been to the UP. Booooooring,imo..........
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(09-02-2019, 11:10 AM)stxbuck Wrote: Been to the UP. Booooooring,imo..........
Not only boring but waste of time. Just how I saw the place. It was a long time ago - 1980's.
DC is a symptom, not the cause. The cause is basic voter stupidity and economic ignorance.
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One of my favorite places to stay is the Hotel New Grand in Yokohama, Japan. We stayed in the suite Gen. MacArthur used as a mini HQ. I was told Babe Ruth and Charlie Chaplin stayed at the hotel, too. I told the woman to add LRRPS to the list of cool dudes who stayed at the hotel. We also stayed in the modern tower. It was nice.
One of the most overrated places I have stayed is the International Hotel of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia. The American Red Cross booked several rooms including a top tier room for Elizabeth Dole. She ended up staying in Kuwait City, so the brass 'volunteered' several of us to get on a UH 60 and go stay at the rooms since the rooms were already paid for. It was ok, but for the coin spent is was overrated. The worst part was the bath robe with the initials E.D. on it and the slippers in size 7 were non exchangeable. I gave them to some TCN (third world national). He seemed very happy. Filipino dude named Leo.
DC is a symptom, not the cause. The cause is basic voter stupidity and economic ignorance.
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(09-03-2019, 07:53 AM)lrrps21 Wrote: One of my favorite places to stay is the Hotel New Grand in Yokohama, Japan. We stayed in the suite Gen. MacArthur used as a mini HQ. I was told Babe Ruth and Charlie Chaplin stayed at the hotel, too. I told the woman to add LRRPS to the list of cool dudes who stayed at the hotel. We also stayed in the modern tower. It was nice.
One of the most overrated places I have stayed is the International Hotel of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia. The American Red Cross booked several rooms including a top tier room for Elizabeth Dole. She ended up staying in Kuwait City, so the brass 'volunteered' several of us to get on a UH 60 and go stay at the rooms since the rooms were already paid for. It was ok, but for the coin spent is was overrated. The worst part was the bath robe with the initials E.D. on it and the slippers in size 7 were non exchangeable. I gave them to some TCN (third world national). He seemed very happy. Filipino dude named Leo.
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09-06-2019, 08:47 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-06-2019, 08:51 AM by cincydawg.)
At ATL for flight to SEA, then Alaska. Had to pull both suitcases to MARTA, ha.
Wife is doing better. Beautiful clear day here, low RH, can see downtown from the lounge.
No grits only oatmeal. Bummer.
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(09-05-2019, 11:26 PM)ScarletHayes Wrote: (09-03-2019, 07:53 AM)lrrps21 Wrote: One of my favorite places to stay is the Hotel New Grand in Yokohama, Japan. We stayed in the suite Gen. MacArthur used as a mini HQ. I was told Babe Ruth and Charlie Chaplin stayed at the hotel, too. I told the woman to add LRRPS to the list of cool dudes who stayed at the hotel. We also stayed in the modern tower. It was nice.
One of the most overrated places I have stayed is the International Hotel of Dhahran in Saudi Arabia. The American Red Cross booked several rooms including a top tier room for Elizabeth Dole. She ended up staying in Kuwait City, so the brass 'volunteered' several of us to get on a UH 60 and go stay at the rooms since the rooms were already paid for. It was ok, but for the coin spent is was overrated. The worst part was the bath robe with the initials E.D. on it and the slippers in size 7 were non exchangeable. I gave them to some TCN (third world national). He seemed very happy. Filipino dude named Leo.
The dude Leo thought the robe and slippers were great. He thought the E.D. was short for Edward. Elizabeth Dole probably wouldn't have used either the robe or slippers. A very 'privileged' broad.
DC is a symptom, not the cause. The cause is basic voter stupidity and economic ignorance.
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Our 2 week vacation. Flew into Seattle the night before the cruise and walked around a bit. The downtown is vibrant, a lot of folks walking about, a lot of high rise construction, a LOT of folks begging. We dined at a happy hour place and I noted a surcharge on the bill for the $15 thing, it was a couple bucks. Left on the cruise the next AM. Ports of call were Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Vancouver, CA. The wife wanted this helo ride to a glacier which was pricey, but it was mildly interesting. The ice fields are rather close to Juneau, the glacier was said to be in rapid retreat. WE had shoes with special fittings to walk on the glacier but it was slippery nonetheless, and cold. We had nice weather, nicer than expected. Skagway was somewhat interesting, I found a couple museums about the gold rush. Vancouver, CA is nice looking, didn't spend much time there but did walk a good bit. Some scenery was interesting but the trip to a glacier on the ocean was changed for some reason and we just saw some glacier from the ship which we'd seen anyway previously several.
On the whole, I was not impressed, the wife liked it. The ship had 3800 passengers and 1800 "crew". It's not hard to find places where no one else is though. The ship had 17 decks, 3 below water line. The food is decent (NCL), I liked their Indian cuisine pretty much and ate that most of the time. We did not have the alcohol package and had none on the trip.
We left Seattle and went to Mt. Ranier which was shrouded in clouds from about 11,000 feet but was impressive anyway. I've seen it once on a clear day, we had a glimpse of it when the clouds were gone from 40 miles or so away. We then stayed in Yakima with her cousin 3 days, visited one winery there and the third day I got a fast moving cold and stayed in bed. We then drove to Hood River which is a nice town on the Columbia and then to Vancouver, WA, and again saw a LOT of homeless people (In Seattle there are a lot of tents just off the freeway in any open areas). Had a nice dinner on the Columbia River at a place called Salty's. Â
We drove back with a side trip to Mt. St. Helens. Again, it was shrouded at about 10,000 feet but we could see into the crater as clouds drifted by, it was worth the trip (about an hour each way off I-5). They've done a good job with the visitor center there.
I still have this lingering cold but it seems to be lifting, I seem to catch one every time we travel. I try to wash my hands often, but ...
Next up is Hilton Head for Thanksgiving and then again in January and then baseball in Sarasota this time, then another trip to France and then in April Turkey.
I used to laugh at retirees who said they planned to travel, play bridge/golf, and read a lot, and here I am sans the bridge and golf. We keep the economy spinning I think.
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A note on cruises, there are of course all kinds, the megaship type we've done, and the small ship "elite" cruises our neighbor does on occasion. His last cost him $14,000, for one person, and he said it was fantastic. His photos certainly were, it went from Tierra del Fuego to South Africa on a ship with 230 passengers and as many crew. And there are river cruises as well, of which we did one on the Rhine.
The pros, in my mind, are:
1. You can visit 5-10 ports of call without changing your location.
2. You don't have to worry about food at all.
3. They aren't that expensive considering, at least the mega-ship type anyway, if you work a deal. Our 9 day in the Baltic will be about $3300 for two people.
4. The balcony staterooms are decently sized, we've not stayed in a window only or no window stateroom.
The cons are pretty well understood:
1. The mega ships are massive and a lot of people are around.
2. They try and nickel and dime you on all sorts of things, you can avoid these with some awareness.
3. Some of the visited places may be pretty boring.
4. A central portion of the ship is casino/duty free stores/"art" sales places. One figures these are high profit centers for them.
5. I think they water down the booze.
I think the European cruises are much better, personally. The places are more interesting, to me, and unusual, and the clientel is different.
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The idea of a cruise has never appealed to me. Fortunately, the wife largely agrees. We've discussed the Alaskan cruise idea, but even that doesn't hold much appeal. I like to drive.....I like to see the land as it is......
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I did a Carnival cruise with the kids ca. 1994. We had a good time, I really figured that was it for me and cruising. What changed was that western Med cruise we did 3 years back, it was excellent. The subsequent two have been mundane, though the wife oddly enough likes them.
I'll see if cruising in Europe is really different in kind.
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