Spring/Summer Plans?

[Junebug]

With spring just around the corner it's time to shift into outdoor/fun mode!

I'm looking to spend a week at the shore, I've standbys of the Cape are always good but crowded. I've heard the Rhode Island shore is less hectic-any suggestions? I've also thought of CT but Long Island Sound doesn't compare well to the Atlantic.
Also looking at the Newport Jazz Festival in August, maybe some shorter weekend trips to upstate New York to visit family, and Vermont.

Anyone else with plans yet???
June

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

No plans yet. I went out to Cape Cod one day last summer: it was a hoot! There was a determined optimist in a full wetsuit out in what passes for waves, there. (I took a picture.) Air was nice, food spectacular. The best part was the lack of trees. New England is horribly overrun with trees.

I'll probably visit family here and there, do a bit more sight seeing. I've never been to a lot of places.

There are even guidebooks that'll let you plan a road trip from quilt shop, to quilt shop, to quilt shop. With the occasional side trip to museums and yarn stores.

[piqaboo]

We fantasize about a trip to New Zealand. We havent actually done anything toward it yet, tho.
I also hope to get in a visit to G'ma Tenor so we can at least tell the Altoid she met both G'mas in case she doesnt remember. After all, she might have inherited the sentimental gene my sister so strongly expresses.

<small>[ 03-13-2006, 12:11 PM: Message edited by: piqaboo ]</small>

[Schmeelkie]

Well, so far it looks like Princeton, NJ area in June for my husband's step-grandma's 95th birthday. Hope to see some other NJ/NYC area folks while we're out.

Husband has a conference in July in St. Louis - Pumpkin and I will join for some/all depending on what we can find to do.

Around the end of July/early August, we'll probably go see husband's parents in MA - maybe my aunt and cousin (with new baby...) too.

May attempt camping with my parents for a weekend in August. Just don't know if we have near enough equipment... this may also hinge on whether I'm pregnant and if I think I can handle sleeping on an air mattress.

Might try for a visit to Toronto too...

Think I'll burn up some vacation days in May and June for various home renovations - new garden areas, redoing the extra room for Pumpkin (so his eventual sibling can be in the room next to us), getting rid of some more carpet, painting the walls and/or refinishing the cabinets in the kitchen, and getting the kitchen floor redone (it's a nasty grey carpet - I need something I can actually clean!).

Looking pretty busy!

[Jane]

Nothing. Nothing at all. (If I can help it.)

I don't know if I'll be traveling long distance anywhere really. We have some traditional family camping trips within the area though. Those are rather entertaining.

I'm just looking forward to a break from school!

[barfle]

Since we moved to Virginia, all of our vacations have been spent visiting relatives.

I would love a camping trip, a Mississippi River cruise, or simply a weekend with my wife and without projects.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Originally posted by barfle:
... a Mississippi River cruise...

Yes! Go for it! Take wife, abandon computer, laundry room, workshop, tools.

[haggis]

The MRHYN and I are going to Ireland in late May for a week. We have a canal boat reserved for the first four days. Just the two of us on the boat described here; scroll down to the description of the "Kingfisher."

Explore the website too here

We anticipate that we'll get about 10 miles away before we have to turn around. To keep it interesting I'm planning some walking tours near the Royal Canal to explore museums, pubs, churches, pubs, art galleries, pubs....and what did I forget? Oh yes, "pubs"

I figure we'll do the left side of the canal going up and the right side coming down.

After that, I've reserved a car and we'll drive down to the southwest for our last few days. As usual we'll wing it, take lots of photos to post for you guys to ignore and generally unwind.

I'm soliciting any ideas from those who might have visited in the past. We're not much for cities and usually stay on "the paths less traveled."

And, any attempt at sophistications aside, I really want to kiss the blarney stone…….

(Ed. “No, you REALLY want to be able to claim the Blarney stone kissed YOU!!”

Shut up, it’s been nice while you’ve been on sabbatical)

<small>[ 03-13-2006, 08:57 PM: Message edited by: Haggis ]</small>

[Schmeelkie]

Haggis -
Southwest Ireland is really beautiful. We spent a day or two on Dingle peninsula - just driving along the coastline is beautiful. We found an old fort, dated something like 500 AD, and sheep out on spits of land that looked impossible to get to. And the 'shortcut' drive over the middle (instead of around the coastline) is a real adventure in the fog. Lots of low clouds when we were there (also late May, early June). Ate at a great restaurant there - will have to check our travelouge for the name. Pub food everywhere is generally very good.
Just keep your eye out when driving anywhere - old ruins everywhere - we found the remnants of a castle near the Shannon river (south side) (Carrigfoyle or something) that you could climb up in - only a single marker, no fences, no touristy gift shops.... hardly anyone there at all. Probably our favorite stop.

[Schmeelkie]

Also running out to MA the first weekend in May to see my husband's sister's family - she just accepted a job for 2 years in Nairobi, Kenya!! Needless to say, we don't think we'll be able to visit (looks like two 6.5 hour plane rides - not counting Rochester to Boston or NYC - and at least $1500 per person!!). Her two daughters are 6 and 4 1/2 - should be a great adventure for them. They're already world travelers though - both were born in Argentina (dad is from there) and lived a year in Brazil. They've gone back to visit family in Argentina about once a year, and I think they've been to their grandparents vacation place in Belize. Been in Cambridge, MA for the last 2 years. Know we should have gone to see them more often - they were sure to take off for distant lands....

[piqaboo]

Hey Schmeelkie, if you cant make it out to visit them, can I go as your representative?

[Trumpetmaster]

Well, these are not exactly summer plans....
I will be in Miami Beach all next week on Business....

Anyone know the area and have suggestions?

I'm not a beach bum...

[treebeau]

TM,

I thought we already supplied some info for you on this subject. As far as food, I think youy should try:
1. Shorty's BBQ, on US1, just south of Kendall Drive (SW. 88 st) at the intersection with "Dadeland Blvd."
2. Frankie's Pizza, corner of SW 92 ave and Bird Road (SW 40 st).

Whenever I go to Miami, those are two musts.

If you like beaches, try one. Be prepared for the olfactory onslaught of coconut tanning lotion, sweaty bodies, and Cubans cooking.

I'm not a nighttime person, but there are millions of nighttime hot spots.

Regards,
Tim B.

[Haggis@wk]

This is a follow-up post to what I posted earlier, above.

Schmeelkie, Did you think of the name of the restaurant?

Oh, concerning Kenya, look for tickets to Mombassa and then catch a train from there. Mombassa's a popular tourist destination for Europe and you should find cheaper ticket to there. Although personally, once you get to Mombassa, you'll probably want to stay on the beach there and have your sister join you, MUCH nicer than Nairobi!!!

We're off to Ireland for some MUCH needed R&R on Friday. I'll spend four days cruising the Royal canal west of Dublin.

"Cruising" is probably too grand a description for a boat that goes four miles an hour. If you're interested in the kind of boat I'll have, look at this look under "boats" link and scroll down to "Kingfisher".

The last few days will be a driving tour with few fixed agenda items. The MRHYN and I REALLY want to see the Book of Kells illuminations at Trinity College in Dublin and I've always wanted to kiss the Blarney Stone (call me romantic). Anyone else have some suggestions for sightseeing in the Southern part of Ireland?

I plan, I-net hotspots being available, to post photos and dialogue on my photo website during the trip. I might have to force myself to go into a pub and post from there. A hardship, but one I'm willing to make, all in the spirit of sharing information and beer tips.

[OperaTenor]

Dublin's a great place to spend at least a couple of days. We saw the Book of Kells - truly breathtaking. The other jewel at Trinity not to be missed is the old library adjacent to the Book of Kells exhibit.

The Guiness tour is supposed to be worthwhile, however, we didn't go on it, so I couldn't attest to it personally.

[Schmeelkie]

The Guiness tour is fun and your ticket gets you a free 1/2 pint at the end!

There's a double-decker bus tour through Dublin - you can get on and off at any time during the day and see all the sights. Drivers tend to be informative and funny. While we were stuck in traffic on one leg our driver lead us in singing 'The Boxer' and yelling at some Scottish football fans that were in town.

I'll look up the name of that restaurant when I get home and post tomorrow. Lots of good castles and sights around Shannon. You'll be there in May and could actually go see Glin Castle (on the south side of the Shannon river, I believe) - it's only open in May. I remember because we got there on like June 2 or 3....arg.

My uncle and aunt went recently and drove around the ring of Kerry - said it was beautiful. Dingle peninsula has similar landscape, just further west.

Have fun!!!

[Jeff Dutton]

We (spouse, daughters, son-in-law and prospective son-in-law) will be spending several days in the Black Hills, as we do most years. First, a day or so in Deadwood for a little gambling and sight-seeing, then a leisurely drive down to Custer. We'll spend several days in cabins in Custer State Park, enjoying the scenery, wildlife and quiet.

We were hoping to see "Wicked" in Minneapolis, but couldn't get tickets. My wife was FIRST in line at the local Ticketmaster when tickets went on sale, and she couldn't even get 2 seats together for any performance . Now I remember why I don't like large cities. Oh! We CAN get tickets from a scalper for several times the box office cost...

It will be after Summer, but we also have a cruise planned for the beginning of October.

[BigJon@Work]

Heading to Smuggler's Notch in June. http://www.smuggs.com/ All suggestions welcome for things not to miss.

[Nicole Marie]

Haggis have fun in Ireland. I lived there for a year and miss the country everyday. If you are in Dublin visit Chatham Street. It's a little lane with great pubs and shops. Folks in Ireland are wonderful and extremely helpful. If you can make it to Cork, that's a great city too and they often feature big rugby matches in Cork.

OT - I've done the Guiness tour! WOW! I understand they cut the amount down to one pint per person at the end of the tour but my girlfriends and I went at the end of the day and they lets us stay until closing and have several drinks. Lots - o - fun!

As for me... I'll be in Europe in August. My family from Italy will be in Spain for a week and I'm meeting them in Madrid. Then my husband and I are hoping to get to Portugal in the fall. (Airfare is much cheaper after September.) In the meantime, many weekend trips around New England. We like to make it to the Cape (P-Town) at least once and we also will try to make it to Vermont. There is a great nursery that sells beautiful epimediums in VT and we make a weekend out of it.

[jamiebk]

Well...actually I already took a bit of vacation with trip to Roatan Honduras in February for a week of scuba diving. It was one of the better deals I have ever come across, in spite of the inflated prices around the resort. The rest of the island lives in flat-out poverty. Roatan diving is excellent and ther eis a diversity of underwater terrain, not to mention the illusive Whale Sharks that we were hoping to spot (and did not).

For the rest of the summer I have a week-long backpacking trip planned for the high Sierra...probably around the Sonora Pass region. The elevation is around 9,000 - 12,000 feet so it should be a breathtaking experience. We go packing somewhere every year.

For the balance of the summer, I will be doing somemore diving in Monterey and I am trying to get booked on a trip to the Channel Islands (off the coast of So Cal).

Between that, winemaking, ranching, cycling, and it should be a very busy summer...and, oh, yes....I forgot...we have a visit from Mom to "look forward to" as well. zeeesch...a whole week trapped with my mother-in- law. I will need a vacation after that!