Vacation time - 2012

[Richmond Jake]

I'm heading for a golf trip down to the Ft. Myers area in March.

ZG and I are planning a trip to Washington DC in the spring.

We'll hit the APA Florida conference in September in Naples.

We'll likely take a run out to California in the heat of the Florida panhandle summer.

It's not too soon....And your plans?

[JNA]

What to do with 6 weeks paid vacation ?

[kjel]

I have two weeks paid vacation coming in the back half of the year, 35 hours of comp time, and I have 10 weeks of state paid (half salary) FMLA leave left after I return to work. We will be going to the Dominican Republic in June to visit the baby's grandparents for 7-10 days in July. More than likely I will just have a bunch of long weekends combining a day here and there with already paid holidays and we might spend Christmas in Massachusetts with the Dominican side of the family.

[dandy_warhol]

No big trips this year.

We're heading to NOLA in March for 5 days.

Probably a weekend visit to Newport in June when Hubby is there for war games.

Quick trip to Ohio in July for my Grammie's 90th b-day.

My parents are in the process of securing a timeshare for sometime in August. We'll mooch along for a few days. We're hoping for Maine or the Berkshires.

[illinoisplanner]

Nothing really in the works this year, primarily due to financial reasons.

But I'm already thinking of where I want to go when I do get more money. At the top of my list of places I want to go are Hawaii, the Caribbean, the Pacific Northwest, and New York City.

I know my time will come soon enough though. Just gotta keep working hard.

[Hink]

Naples, FL in March. With my wife starting a new job in August, I don't think that we will be getting too much time off for a year after that.

Columbus / Cincy / Dayton in August for Stanfest...

[WSU MUP Student]

Wife, daughter, and I are headed down to Naples, Florida to the in-laws tomorrow for a few weeks (Naples seems to be a common destination among Cyburbians). We'll also have some side trips to my grandma's in Sarasota and then to a Marine Corps buddy who is now in the Orlando area and recovering from a recent bone marrow transplant.

At the end of the spring, we are headed to the Buffalo area for a wedding. I don't really have a desire to go, but this will give me the opportunity to check out the Bocce Club Pizza that our Fearless Leader has posted of on occasion.

A friend and I are tentatively planning a trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia in October for the Halifax Pop Explosion music festival. Of course, we've discussed going each of the last few years and never actually have so who knows if we will really follow through this year or not.

[dandy_warhol]

A friend and I are tentatively planning a trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia in October for the Halifax Pop Explosion music festival. Of course, we've discussed going each of the last few years and never actually have so who knows if we will really follow through this year or not.

FWIW, we spent a day in Halifax two summers ago and loved it! I hope you get to go.

[Tranplanner]

I'm hoping to take a big trip (2-3 weeks) in late summer/early fall to celebrate a milestone birthday. Haven't figured out where to go yet - suggestions are welcomed. Will probably be somewhere in Europe, but I'm also thinking a lot about Japan or even Australia/New Zealand.

Other than the big trip, it looks like I'll be heading to Vancouver once or twice this year - business related but will probably tack on some personal time and bring Mrs. Tranplanner out with me. Halifax is also on our radar screen - we went there for our honeymoon...and it'll be our 10th anniversary this year, so we're thinking about going back.

[Suburb Repairman]

We went to Key West & the Bahamas a couple of weeks ago on a cruise with some friends. Not a fan of the Bahamas, but I loved Key West.

We're talking about taking a trip to Quebec City in June for our anniversary. Whether we are able to do that financially remains to be seen.

[btrage]

We'll probably head down to Disney with the girls for a week during spring break the first week of April. Other than that, we haven't really talked about anything. We're still in the process of buying a house, so all of our attention has been focused on that.

The wife and I had planned to return to Mexico for our 5-year anniversary, but that didn't pan out. Our 10-year is coming up in March, but it probably won't happen again. This job change/moving the family across the state is probably going to get in the way.

[HomerJ]

I'm still so new to the job I'm trying to save up my vacation days this year. I'll probably do a couple long weekends in Chicago and there's some talk about going to Vegas

[ofos]

Looks like we'll do the obligatory trips to Michigan and California again this year. Boring! If I hit the lottery, we'll go to Europe the next day, first class, and not come back until after the general elections,if then.

[Mud Princess]

I'm going to Texas in a few weeks... [nature geek on] for a birding tour [/nature geek off].

[boiker]

I'm trying to pencil out a 3400 mile round trip 2 week road trip vacation for my family. I'd like to visit numerous national parks on a trip from AZ to the midwest and back. I want my kids to see the country and not just zip by it or fly over it.

[mendelman]

Hit a week minimum in northern Michigan at a cabin rental with the extended nuclear family.

And, what will likely be a yearly event, another extra long weekend in Chicagoland.

[Richmond Jake]

I returned from central Florida on Monday night. Golf and Citrus League baseball. Unfortunately, we only completed one round of golf; the other two were rained out after 16 holes and 9 holes. One baseball game was rained out after three innings. But all in all, a fun time.
________________

ZG and I just booked our flights to Washington DC. We depart April 21 and return on April 27. We're trying to reserve tour tickets to the White House and Capitol Building through our congressman's office (his district office is across the hallway from my office). We're excited as ZG was last in DC 25 years ago and I've never been to our nation's capital.

[wahday]

Working on a trip to Nicaragua with the family for a week to ten days in early July if I can make the numbers work. If not, my brother just got a permit for a float trip down the Rogue River in Oregon in late July. Either would be great but we’ll have to let the numbers decide. Nicaragua’s cheap once you get there and we have a connection there, but the travel costs to get there are not insignificant.

[Zoning Goddess]

As RJ mentioned above, and I mentioned in the weekend thread, we'll be in the DC area next month. Flying into Baltimore on 4/21, driving to Charlottesville to tour Monticello on the 22nd, then up to Alexandria for 4 nites (where we can take the metro into DC), last night on the 26th in Baltimore's Inner Harbor area. RJ's never been in the area, I haven't been in DC in 25 yrs and never in Baltimore, Charlottesville, or Alexandria. Let us know if you have any ideas for dining, things to see, walking historic neighborhoods, etc. And if anyone in the area wants to meet up, let us know.

[JNA]

Charlottesville - tour the University of Virginia Thomas Jefferson, "Academical Village" and "The Rotunda"

Guided Historical tours of the Rotunda are provided year-round, except during the three-week holiday break in December/January and first of May until mid May after graduation. Historical tours are free of charge and meet daily at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m. inside the main entrance of the Rotunda.

http://www.virginia.edu/uvatours/rotunda/

James Madison's Montpelier

From Charlottesville, VA

Take Route 29 north to Ruckersville, then take a right onto Route 33 east. At Barboursville, take a left onto Route 20 north toward Orange. Go about 8 miles. Take a right into the Montpelier entrance.

Your journey should take about 45 minutes

.http://montpelier.org/visit/

Baltimore - Fort McHenry National Monument http://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm

[dandy_warhol]

As RJ mentioned above, and I mentioned in the weekend thread, we'll be in the DC area next month. Flying into Baltimore on 4/21, driving to Charlottesville to tour Monticello on the 22nd, then up to Alexandria for 4 nites (where we can take the metro into DC), last night on the 26th in Baltimore's Inner Harbor area. RJ's never been in the area, I haven't been in DC in 25 yrs and never in Baltimore, Charlottesville, or Alexandria. Let us know if you have any ideas for dining, things to see, walking historic neighborhoods, etc. And if anyone in the area wants to meet up, let us know.

We went to Baltimore for our anniversary this past December. We had a nice time, stayed about 2 blocks from the inner harbor. There are tons of museums, good restaurants and historic sites in Baltimore. I really like Baltimore and would go back (and I don't often want to repeat cities.)

We ate at LP Steamers/ - a local crab joint, supposedly the best crabs in the city. It was pretty good. Hubby likes crab and said these were good. Most likely you'll have to take a cab to get there as it is a bit out of the city center. It might be cash only too.

We ate at Faogo de Chao (or something) for our anniversary. Apparently it is a Braizillian chain. We've had Brazillian before and had it done better. I wouldn't waste my money unless you're dying to try it. But the wine and the cheesy poofs were good.

We really enjoyed the American Visionary Art Museum. All the artists are self-taught usually with no formal training. Folk art and very cool. Tickets are about $15/p. This is in the Federal Hill neighborhood, adjacent to Federal Hill Park. This is a nice historic neighborhood with nice shops and stores. The view of the harbor from Federal Hill is scenic.

We also went to the [Walters Art MuseumIt was enjoyable. Had some interesting collections including some Islamic art. The general museum is free but there is a charge from some special exhibits. A few years ago my dad and I went to a great special exhibit on maps at this museum. Unfortunately it is no longer there. But I'd still recommend the museum. It is located in the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood. We walked from our hotel and enjoyed the stroll through the historic neighborhoods. There are some nice shops and restaurants in the neighborhood.

The aquarium is supposed to be quite nice. We attempted to go until we realized we had to buy our tickets for a specific time that was about 2 hours later.

I did Fort McHenry years ago on a family vacation so we didn't visit it this time. I remember cannons and singing the Star Spangled Banner.

[natski]

In mid April the bf and i are doing a 2844km (or 1767 miles) driving adventure in central Australia for 14 days. Hopefully the weather should be good- its been pretty horrible lately

[chupacabra]

Working on a trip to Nicaragua with the family for a week to ten days in early July if I can make the numbers work. If not, my brother just got a permit for a float trip down the Rogue River in Oregon in late July. Either would be great but we’ll have to let the numbers decide. Nicaragua’s cheap once you get there and we have a connection there, but the travel costs to get there are not insignificant.

I spent a few weeks in Nicaragua. It was one of the highlights of Central America for me.

For vacation this summer I have weekend trips to:
- Seward for halibut fishing
- Dip netting in Chitina in June
- Fairbanks for the 4th
- Kodiak for fishing
- August hiking in fall colors with my wife in Denali NP

It looks like 2-3 weeks with the grandparents in AZ in Nov-Dec.

Hoping for 3-4 weeks in Hawaii again in Jan 2013 (so technically next year).

[Bear Up North]

Due to unforseen circumstances this Bear and lovely wife Katie cannot take the big west coast trip we planned. We had been considering flying to Los Angeles, mingle with the stars there and give them some helpful hints, taking the train from LA to SF, staying in 'Frisco (hey RJ, I said "'Frisco!), and driving the coast route through northern California, Oregon and cut over to PDX, where my son and his family live.

Katie has used many of her vacation days taking care of her sister and her neice. She only has a few remaining. Now that her sis has passed (on Friday) she hopes to save those remaining days for us to take a quick sprint for a long weekend.....somewhere. Considering Pittsburgh, Niagara Falls ("Slowly I turn, step by step....."), Sleeping Bear Dunes, Chicago, or (my fave) the Upper Peninsula of Meeshigan.

Good chance that I will be doing some short trips to the Irish Hills (SE Michigan's rolling land of jolly emerald) for some bass fishing. My boat is small enough that I have no problem being by my lonesome at the access ramp. On a windy day the boat could start to drift away but I will have a line attached and be holding that line. I have no problem tugging.

Bear

[illinoisplanner]

Well, things have improved a little bit more for me recently, and I will be taking about 3 vacation days (Thur, Fri, and Mon) in mid-July for Country Thunder, a music festival in Twin Lakes, WI, where I will be camping with some friends and spending virtually every day drinking, grilling, and partying it up, and seeing major artist like Toby Keith, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, and Big & Rich every night. Not necessarily the long week of relaxing on the beach doing absolutely nothing like I really need, but it should be a good time nonetheless. May take another day or two during the summer as well, but this is the main thing for me. And of course, whatever vacation days I have leftover, I will likely take during the Christmas season.