What' does your *perfect* vacation look like?

[Boone]

Getting ready to head to the beach for our annual family beach trip. It has to be the least relaxing vacation possible as any time you bring 15-20 family members into a single house, 'calm' and 'rejuvenating' are not likely to ensue. Don't get me wrong. A ton of fun, and lots of great food and drink will be consumed. Bad golf will be played. Family jam sessions will be had. And most importantly, catching up with family, some of whom are only seen once a year, will happen.

What does your ideal vacation look like? I think for me, a week or two off with my wife, just doing nothing, relaxing, cooking, watching movies, and having lots of relaxed quiet time is probably what I crave most. I've done a lot of traveling over the course of my life and although I'll make an occasional adventurous trip, it doesn't hold that much appeal for me anymore. I love to hunt and fish, but don't have friends with those interests, so unless I want to go on my own, those aren't really great options.

Would love to hear what you all think about 'vacations' and what your preferences would be?

 

[Chris]

Very interesting question. For me it has evolved over the decades.

Though my 30s and 40s nothing was better than a week on a beach in the Caribbean. Sun and surf during the day and good local seafood and boat drinks in the evening. Admittedly we never traveled out side of North America, the Caribbean, and Hawaii. Fast forward to the past 5 years and I have visited 12 European countries with my current wife and now have a home base in both the U.S. and Europe.

I don’t have the travel bug as much now, mainly due to the reality of travel these days. It’s much more of a pain in the ass and the most popular destinations are so over-run with tourists that it’s more like work than pleasure. There are still a few locales that I still want to go to like London though, so I’m not done yet.

This summer will have been a special one by the time it is over. We visited two cities in Norway planned around seeing Springsteen in Oslo. A train trip through the interior of the country to Bergen was a lifetime highlight. (If you see the new Mission Impossible movie…the train sequences were filmed there.) And viewing the fjords from the water was crazy. In the 8th grade I had to pick a country to write a comprehensive report on and I chose Norway, for some unknown reason, so it felt like a closing the circle kind of trip.

In September we will go to Copenhagen, Denmark to watch my son compete in their half-marathon and get to meet my potential future daughter-in-law.

While your upcoming gathering should be a great event, I’m very glad that is yours and not mine. 🙃

 

[Canadian Hog]

I am a very simple, and relatively quiet person who likes peace and quiet and tends to avoid huge crowds. It is for this reason that I have always loved cottage vacations directly on the lake here in Canada. Tranquility, relaxation and beautiful views all day long on the beach or dock are right up my alley. Throw in some evening campfires, along with kayaking and paddleboarding and it is time well spent with my wife and two boys that we will always cherish.

Beyond that, if I had to pick something else that involved more extensive travel, I would always pick a beach destination that offered me the opportunity to play on some beautiful tennis courts when I am not soaking up the sun and enjoying the water.

 

[Knightingale]

I go through swings and roundabouts in my preference.

Sometimes it's just nice to go somewhere and chill out. We've just come back from a holiday in Wales where we just relaxed, read books, walked dogs, took in the amazing scenery and I did a little writing. It was a wonderful break from the grindstone.

Othertimes I get antsy and want to do something I've never done, or see something I've never seen before. Like when we did Route 66 for our honeymoon. Or when we went to Florence a couple of years ago. On occasion I get bored just sitting around if I'm not careful. It really depends what mood I'm in. LOL

Here's a few piccies from Wales, just to relax you.

 

[burgold]

The best vacation I ever had was in the Galapagos. I lucked into an amazing group of people. Every day we boated to a new island and slept there overnight. There were 21 km hikes up a caldera, a chance to conquer a lifelong phobia, snorkeling in the middle of the ocean and discovering a sea turtle the size of a Honda and a host of beautiful sea life, coral, etc., we saw bluefooted boobies hatching their egg write in front of us. Then there was kayaking, swimming, climbing, sketching, a beach day. We even had a museum day and a dancing night. In short, it offered everything I needed in that moment. Four years later, I'm still in touch with some of the tour members. That's how good a trip it was.

In some respects, how much I loved the Galapagos surprised me. Usually, the best vacations for me are what I call mixed vacations. Like when I went to Vegas, I spent a day in the casinos and then went to the Grand Canyon. Then, I had another casino day followed by white water rafting. Then, we had a chill day followed by a show. So, you get a mix of nature, culture, history. I was the same way in London. Different types of fun. Different types of stimulation.

Relaxation vacations can be good, but after two or three days, I want to do something. That can be physical or it can be going to a museum. Adventure vacations likewise need that moment to stop and chill. Digest. So, I think it is partly dependent on where you are in the moment. If you are completely stressed out by work or family, then a beach vacation is awesome. Sometimes, there is nothing better than doing nothing. Sometimes though, you crave new. New experiences, art, music, physical challenges, new cultures, food, etc.

For me, and I know not alone in this, the Galapagos was special and it came when I think I needed it. It's not actually the prettiest place, but you go there for the critters not the landscape. I know I'm hardly unique in being wowed by the Galapagos

 

[Fat Bastard]

I am not much of a beach type person. Been to plenty in my time mind, but overall am more of a mountain type vacation person. For one, I get sunburnt too easily being redheaded(Kind of takes away from the fun when have to use a whole bottle of sunscreen almost haha so as not to look like a tomato) and for two, beaches are just too crowded for me.

For me,a vacation has to have good restaurants and some good brews also, and some good excursions if you will. Also helps if as above, not a ton of people there. Don't have a phobia about crowds by any means, but don't want to deal with a lot when on a relaxing vacation.

Have been to several different places for vacation over the years(Montana, Toronto,etc) but have to say best one I have ever been on is when my brother and I went to London, Amsterdam, and Berlin back in 2014. London was cool for the tons of different pubs to try and of course the landmarks and such; Amsterdam for the canals and fantastic food(Though did eat some hash brownies that messed us up haha) and Berlin was cool again for beer, but also saw some live soccer(Hertha Berlin) which was awesome due to the passion. Hope to get back to Europe sooner rather than later.

Only thing left I got until teaching starts back up is gonna head to Oklahoma here in a couple weeks to visit a friend of mine. He is a big outdoorsman so sure a lot of fishing and such will be involved haha but that's ok with me.

 

[Miles Monroe]

I too look for more quiet relaxation in a vacation at this point in life being I'm a bit limited on my feet.... knees are shot. For me, an isolated mountain cabin by a lake works... some photography, a little fishing, nice fire at night with a night cap. I could also do the same in a villa in Italy. If I didn't have the knee issues, my ideal vacation is a month long motorcycle trip around the country... gulf coast, west coast, across canada, and back down the east coast. Hit a hotel every third night to do laundry and a good shower, camp the rest of the time. There are so many places I'd love to visit, and once I hit retirement and get the knees sorted, it could happen.

 

[MikefromOH]

I'm at this part in my life. Jellystone with the wrestling families. Lake with toys, pool, water slides, and lots of beer/bourbon/cigars/BBQ.

I figure I got about 6-8 more years of this before we have to do other things so I'm enjoying the heck out of it.

 

[Chris]

I'm at this part in my life. Jellystone with the wrestling families. Lake with toys, pool, water slides, and lots of beer/bourbon/cigars/BBQ.

I figure I got about 6-8 more years of this before we have to do other things so I'm enjoying the heck out of it. View attachment 6786

A couple of good looking healthy boys there, Mike!

 

[Skinsfan1311]

I'm at this part in my life. Jellystone with the wrestling families. Lake with toys, pool, water slides, and lots of beer/bourbon/cigars/BBQ.

I figure I got about 6-8 more years of this before we have to do other things so I'm enjoying the heck out of it. View attachment 6786

Bourbon, Beer, BBQ, Cigars.....you have all the food groups covered!

 

[Skinsfan1311]

When the kids were growing up, it was the beach and Universal/Disney World, (wife used to work at WDW..way before the current state of affairs, so we went on the cheap, for years) Now that we're empty-nesters, we've been all over the Caribbean and the mountains. We cruised, back in the late 90's & early 2000's, but found that we'd rather stay someplace for a week, rather than visit a port every couple of days. We've taken a few trips to Kentucky to visit distilleries, horse farms and Churchill Downs. We had a blast at Niagara Falls too....it exceeded all of my expectations. A few years ago we went to Dublin and London. The next trip to Europe will Italy and Scotland. Some years it's the mountains...some years it's the desert...regardless, we always make at least a week available for the Caribbean or Florida beaches. I guess that I'm trying to say that our vacations run the gamut and there's no "perfect" vacation, but as long as your with the people you love, it probably doesn't matter where you go....