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Where would you go on vacation?

bczoom

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Mrs. Zoom and I have had it with staying home. Time for a vacation.

Where would you go? Mrs. Zoom and I were thinking of Dubai but not sure if we want to ride a plane for 18 hours. We went to Hawaii and that 14 hour flight about kicked our butts.
 

EastTexFrank

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Mrs. Zoom and I have had it with staying home. Time for a vacation.

Where would you go? Mrs. Zoom and I were thinking of Dubai but not sure if we want to ride a plane for 18 hours. We went to Hawaii and that 14 hour flight about kicked our butts.

My son has been stuck in Dubai since the end of January because of Covid-19. He is a consultant for Dubai petroleum and right now is working a 21/10 rotation only every time he comes off the platform he is supposed to isolate for the 10 days off, if he leaves the country he has to isolate for 2 weeks on re-entry and if he returns to the UK he has to isolate for 2 weeks there so basically he can't leave the country. They are taking this Covid stuff very seriously. He says it doesn't matter much because on his time off he has to wear a mask everywhere when outside of his hotel room and the temperature is around 105° in the shade with 85% humidity so now is not the time to go unless you want to spend all your time indoors in air conditioned comfort. According to him it is an interesting place though under "normal" circumstances.

I don't make long flights anymore. About 10 hours is my absolute maximum and that's from Dallas to Aberdeen, Scotland and I haven't made that for a couple of years and may not make it again. It used to be that I could just about comfortably fly for 4 hours in Coach, any longer that that and I flew Business. On really long flights my wife and I used to break it up into 2 legs with a 3 or 4 day break somewhere along the way. It helped.

When I worked for a living, I spent a lot of time flying and, to be honest, the magic wore off and there are not many places in this world that I want to see or visit anymore. We do most of our traveling now in the USA either by motorhome or car. That's more our pace these days.
 

m1west

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I am very interested in archeology and planned to travel after retirement in a few years, unless things change around the world between now and then, those plans are canceled.
 

EastTexFrank

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I have to post a correction. That 10 hour flight to Aberdeen is actually 10 hours to London , a couple of hours layover and 1-1/2 hours to Aberdeen.
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
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Just about an hour and a half out of Miami is Barbados. Also grand Bahama Island and the Grenadines.
Fly into St Vincent,,,;Rent a sailboat, run down to Mayreau or Union Island, Tobago cays, even Palm Island just off Granada.
Tobago Cays - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobago_Cays


  • Overview
  • Geology
  • Coral reefs and seagrass beds
  • Flora
  • Fauna
  • History
  • Issues and threats
  • Current management

2Q==


The Tobago Cays are an archipelago located in the Southern Grenadines of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines comprising five small islands and extensive coral reefs. The cays - Petit Rameau, Petit Bateau, Baradal, Petit Tabac and Jamesby - are a popular tourism destination.
The Tobago Cays are now the key element of the Tobago Cays Marine Park run and owned by the Saint Vincent and the Grenadinesgovernment. The marine park consists of a 1,400-acre (5.7 km ) sand-botto…
New content will be added above the current area of focus upon selection



Unspoiled, no cruise lines, good Island people.
 

EastTexFrank

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I am very interested in archeology and planned to travel after retirement in a few years, unless things change around the world between now and then, those plans are canceled.

It's a pity that the world has become so screwed up and is now a very dangerous place. I'm 73 years old and when I was younger and lived in the UK I could travel just about anywhere. In fact, I took my wife backpacking in Greece and the Greek Islands with no problems and no worries. It was wonderful but I'd hesitate to that today. When we lived in London, Paris was a an hour flight away. We used to go there for long weekends. Not now! It was the same with most countries in Europe. Hop on a plane and in a couple of hours you were where you wanted to go. You could wander around to your heart's content. Again, not now!
 

EastTexFrank

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Iceland or Australia those are the only 2 places on my bucket list

Never been to Iceland but been in Australia a couple of times. I've been to Sydney in the east and Perth in the west but it's like the States, it's so freekin' big that your not going to see much in a couple of weeks. I absolutely loved the place and, if I ever won the lottery, would love to go back for a 3 or 4 month expedition. The other place that I'd love to visit down there is New Zealand. The problem is that they are so far away. Sydney is a 14 hour flight from Los Angeles. I went on company business and on a flight that long we traveled first class but even so it's a long time to be cooped up and takes a couple of days to recover and get straightened out when you get there. Great place and great people though.
 

bczoom

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Just about an hour and a half out of Miami is Barbados. Also grand Bahama Island and the Grenadines.
Fly into St Vincent,,,;Rent a sailboat, run down to Mayreau or Union Island, Tobago cays, even Palm Island just off Granada.
Thanks for the heads-up on Tobago. Wasn't familiar with them.

We had been looking at Barbados prior to this COVID thing. Might have to give them another close look.

I do like Caribbean islands. Our last visit was to the Cayman Islands. Very nice place but I struggled with understanding some strong British accents and driving on the wrong side of the road kicked my butt for a few days.

Have been to the Bahamas. Really enjoyed the Atlantis Hotel.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

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Iceland is cool and worth a week long visit. It's a little expensive but to me most places are.

You can get cheap flights from Seattle and Portland to Iceland on IcelandAir. The last time I went to London I took IcelandAir. They use the Keflavik airport as their hub and have some really good deals and promotions at time.

Word on the street is that no one wears masks in Iceland too. ;)
 

FrancSevin

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Thanks for the heads-up on Tobago. Wasn't familiar with them.

We had been looking at Barbados prior to this COVID thing. Might have to give them another close look.

I do like Caribbean islands. Our last visit was to the Cayman Islands. Very nice place but I struggled with understanding some strong British accents and driving on the wrong side of the road kicked my butt for a few days.

Have been to the Bahamas. Really enjoyed the Atlantis Hotel.

To get to St. Vincent you must use a STOL so Barbados is likely a transfer point from the Commercial jet.

Tobago Keys have Union Island, Palm Island which have modern hotels and full stores. Mayreau has about 450 delightful people and is not a big tourist pit stop. Pretty much unspoiled by modernity. At 4:00 the main generator starts up so that the one bar can cool it's beer.

The society is very tight. One cannot immigrate to Mayreau.

We last visited in the '90's. Only the smaller cruise ships could use the port. There is like only one road on the island and when we were there only about 10 automobiles. Lots of small cc bikes.

The reefs off of Union Island are unspoiled. Miles of them at 4 to 5 fathoms deep. Wonderful for snorkeling. We rented a 53' sloop for the week. Took my parents in their 80's. Spent most of it anchored just off the reef

Delightful.

To the north, about 20 miles, is Mesquite with it's population of celebrities. It also is very primitive but does have modern hotels and shops.
 
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Doc

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Buy a boat and go to the nearest nice waterway. Get a cruiser and you can sleep onboard and stay on it for a week. And use it throughout the summer months. Best getaway for social distancing I can think of. But I will not fly anywhere for the foreseeable future. We do have a trip booked for next Feb with insurance so we can get a refund if we do not feel things are not better by then.
 

bczoom

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I'm pretty damn close to the Ohio river. My problem is I have a "rule" that I won't own "toys" (think ATV's, UTV's, snowmobiles, boats...) unless I can use it out of my back yard. I've had boats in the past and if you don't have a place on the water, they just don't get used.
 

pixie

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You could probably rent a boat....for less $ than a loong plane ride.
 

jimbo

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Mrs. Zoom and I have had it with staying home. Time for a vacation.

Where would you go? Mrs. Zoom and I were thinking of Dubai but not sure if we want to ride a plane for 18 hours. We went to Hawaii and that 14 hour flight about kicked our butts.

After years of travel over the world I've concluded there is no need to travel out of the country to find something interesting. Within the US. Columbia River George. Spectacular views and plenty of interesting side trips.

Anything Virginia. Somewhere Virginia has it all. Richmond for History. Blue Ridge Parkway for scenery and wildlife. Fabulous beaches. Even DC and Georgetown are interesting. Arlington Cemetery should be a required trip for all graduating students.

Colorado with 54 fourteeners and hundreds of tweeners is spectacular. I took an 8,000 mile camping trip through the San Louis Valley. Best trip of my life.
Just my opinion. Every state has something.
 

Doc

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You are right about boating, and I should have mentioned ...to fully enjoy boating you need a river lot or even better a cabin on the river or lake. Or you can rent a spot on the water annually. Near me they rent for 1500 per season which included electric and water and a boat dock for your boat. Some places will also store your boat for you, take it out and put it in for you etc etc. Cost goes up accordingly. But like you said to enjoy boating you need a place on the water otherwise the boat is not used much.
 

Bannedjoe

Well-known member
I think I'd just as soon drop some acid and stay home.

I'm sure it would be just as weird as traveling, less dangerous, and a hell of a lot less expensive. :mrgreen:
 

road squawker

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The Colorado river/ lake Tahoe/Shasta are great with a rented pontoon
 

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EastTexFrank

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The Colorado river/ lake Tahoe/Shasta are great with a rented pontoon

That's not a pontoon, that's a freekin' house boat and yes they are nice. I can't remember where we were, somewhere out west, but there were about a dozen of those things on the water. They would all tie up together out in the middle of the lake at night and then it was party central. There was some wild shit going on out there.
 

bczoom

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Sort of settled. Mrs Zoom and my daughter are going to Florida for a couple weeks.
My son and I are going to stay home and take care of a disabled family member and going to do some day trips.
First thing on our agenda... skydiving.
 

Doc

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First you consider going to Dubai now Skydiving. You Wildman!!!!! Good luck!!!!!
 

bczoom

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Haven't checked yet but hoping they're open.
Another item is to go cart racing. (Those little, very fast go-carts)
 

bczoom

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OK, wife and daughter in week 2 in Florida.
My son and I are skydiving tomorrow, gokarting on Thursday.
If you don't hear from me by Wednesday, the skydiving didn't go well.
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
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OK, wife and daughter in week 2 in Florida.
My son and I are skydiving tomorrow, gokarting on Thursday.
If you don't hear from me by Wednesday, the skydiving didn't go well.

Think of it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn how to fly.
 

bczoom

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OK, we're back from skydiving.
All I can say is WOW, THAT WAS AWESOME!!!
We arrived early and were their first trip for the day. They were ready for us so we got a good jump (pun intended) on things.
Training then strap up. Meet up with the jump masters then load onto the plane.
We were packed like sardines in the plane and it was hot. This was the worst part of the day.
Once the lights came on, the door was opened and things happened fast. My son was the first out, followed by his friend then me. I'd say all 3 of us were gone within a minute.
We jumped from 13,500' with a free-fall for 8000' then chutes open at 5500' for the slow ride down.
Some tumbling as you free-fall then you're in control. You're really hauling ass when free-falling but it wasn't difficult to see (using goggles) and wasn't at all hard to breath.
I could tell when he pulled the cord to open the chute. I was expecting a terrible jolt but it wasn't bad at all.
Once the chute opened, he let me control it for awhile, turning left, right, loops... I did it for a minute then told him I'd prefer he drive so I can just enjoy the experience and view (basically, as a passenger).
The landing was incredibly smooth. He comes down on his feet, me on my butt. It was no harder of a landing than falling off a sled in the snow.

Yes, I'd definitely do it again.
 
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