Shoegirl, I'd so much enjoy a cruise to Alaska by myself. I'd pay the extra to a cabin by myself. I'd get up when I wanted to and I'd eat what I want, when I want. I'd walk the deck and smell the salt air. I'd get a real sleezy book and park myself by a window in the lounge on one of those big comfy chairs with a tall cold glass of water and just veg out.
That's easy -- I'd gas up the motorhome, toss in a few clothes and rock hunting apparatus (tools,where-to-find-them books, portable GPS, etc.) and head "Out West" intending to lead a vagabond lifestyle looking for gemstones -- but I wouldn't want to do it alone.
Goardchipper! Let me go, too, Let me go, too!!! I grew up doing that stuff, too! We traveled all over the united states for turquoise, jade, rubies and saphires, all kinds of fossils! My dad was a skilled lapidarist (SP?) and had a whole workshop full of apparatus. Later became a custom jeweler working with gold and silver when he retired from NASA. DREAM TRIP! I'd like to go to Australia for opals, but we couldn't go there by motorhome. (and I have my own tools)
I'd load up my touring bicycle and head for Bar Harbor, Maine. Then down the Atlantic Coast to Key West. I'll meet a friend in Texas next spring and we'll head up the continental divide to Montana and who knows from there. I'll take along a copy of 'Roadfood: The Coast-to-Coast Guide to 700 of the Best Barbecue Joints, Lobster Shacks, Ice Cream Parlors, Highway Diners, & Much More.' But if you have a favorite place to eat I'd love to meet you there when I'm passing through.
Okay, Jen, I'll pick you up in Staunton, VA, and maybe we can practice a little on the Amazonite and other stuff at Amelia Court House nearby before heading "Out West" -- and since this is a guilt free trip, I guess you won't have to worry about who's going to take care of the animals, will you? You didn't mention topaz -- I'd love to introduce you to Spruce Grove campground in Colorado and Topaz Mountain in Utah if you haven't been there before.
I think I'd buy myself another two-seater sports car and head up the Blue Ridge Mountains through the Shenandoah Valley and on up the Blue Ridge Parkway where ever it leads me. Then I would swing over to the Atlantic Coast and head down the East Coast to Key West, stopping at all of the good seafood restaurants and wonderful beaches along the route and then head back home.
Of course, I would need an attractive and vibrant female companion to accompany me, help me read the maps , apply sunscreen and help with all of the other decisions I would have to make.
briegull i am with you. greece. islands in a private yacht -captain, pool boys:), and a 5star chef! and lots of friends here to take with me. break tons of plates to let out our fustrations. and drink ouzo? and get smashed on good booze at every port. then from there why not end up in venice??? the gondolas, good wine and pasta and shopping - divvi
Goardchipper....the mine at Amelia has been closed....is being sold. Will probably be open again in the next year, I'm sure. Yes, Amazonite....I have huge chunks of it in my front yard! And big boulders of Unikite...VA's state rock.
I'm torn between the cruise to Alaska - a cabin all to myself and the cold drink by the big window in the lounge sounds wonderful to me too - and a bus trip to everywhere in the whole country - someone else does the driving, someone else deals with the baggage, and there are people around to the extent that I really want to interact with people.
I think the cruise because it is something I've always wanted to do, and because I love cruising. But I want to get onto a boat in New York City, go through the Panama Canal, up to Alaska, and back again without every getting off the boat except if I choose to do a day trip somewhere. Yes, that is my idea of heaven.
Stuntgirl--- I know I will need a guide for the Blue Ridge portion of the trip. Florida is my old stomping ground, I know where all the good beaches are down there. I also know how to apply sunscreen and/or suntan lotion so I wouldn't let you get a sunburn on the beach.
Way to go, jimmy -- maybe you could drop StuntGirl off here in Florida (nice beaches and seafood restaurants here) after she gets a good suntan, and then she and I could head "out west" straightaway -- maybe hooking up with danielp for some great Texas barbecue in Lockhart and then maybe crossing tracks with him again on his bike trek along the Continental Divide. Oh, by the way, will that litle two seater of yours have room for all of StuntGirl's rock hammers, gads, etc.?
danielp, when you start out on your bicycle in Bar Harbor, be sure to head to Blue Hill (about 40 miles). We have some great restaurants. Let's plan to meet for dinner at Arborvine!!!
Jimmy....can we go to Sanibel Island????? My husband and I had a home down there for a few years and THAT is my fantasy vacation . To go back there. The most serene times of my life. NO ONE around, where we were. He got bored with it and sold it, damnit. But, really, the best vacation of my life with him was when we went to Sanibel Island (before we bought the house) and stayed at this really ratty mom and pop style motel/efficiency apartment complex called the Jolly Roger. Gross accomodations, but what a fun time I had then!!!! Not even a television and he left his pager at home for a solid week!
Starling--when your boat docks in Seattle, I'll join you. There are lots of motor cruises leaving from Vancouver BC and Seattle. What do you think about boarding at Vacouver and heading east along Canada's Highway 1. Or maybe the transCanada rail trip. Whadda ya think? Shall I pack now?
Man o man--that sounds like sooooo much fun. I have an extra sleezy book if you want to read quietly by that big window. I'll share.
Mawzy, you are right. Get on the boat in New York City. Go through the Panama Canal and up to Alaska and get off the boat when it comes back down to Seattle. Then take the bus all the way back to New York again, or to Philly.
And there are those wonderful rail journeys that I almost booked before I realized how sick my husband was.
I've got book shelves full of "sleezy books" although most of them are actually quite nice books, just light reading. These days I can't always deal with intense reading or TV watching situations, even when the author is doing a good job.
OK, Susan ... meet you in Bar Harbor. I don't ride fast any more but if I leave tomorrow I can be there by the 3rd week in June. And let's do Europe in 2011, I understand there's some great biking in Tuscany. Marsh, what's on the menu at Arborvine? Looking forward to that Texas barbecue, Gourdchipper.
Loose weight - then Unhook, pull in the slides and take off in my motorhome. Go anywhere there is no big cities. Travel the side roads to see real America. Maybe take a break to fulfill a dream I have had for years: ride a bike coast to coast.
Stuntgirl----- We certainly will go to Sanibel it is one of the best beaches in Florida and is a great beach for shelling. We will have room for your rock hunting tool kit. The two seater will have room because I tend to favor the larger two seaters, I fit into them a little easier and they ride better. I like Geology too, I deal with soil borings and aggregates of all types in my daily work.
Another one of my fantasy trips is to go to Scotland and spend a month, anyone want to go on this trip. You would have to put up with frequent stops as I would need to stop and look at all of the stones, monuments. battlefields, distilleries and cairns and visit the ancestral lands at Dunoon, Couston, Argyll and Paisley. What I really need is a vibrant and attractive female companion who can drive on the left hand side of the road and won't get seasick on the ferry trip to the Isles and Hebrides. Oh yeah, it would also be helpfulf if my companion liked Scotch Whisky and men in kilts.
Jan K-no need to come back from this escape. One way tickets and passports for everyone :) :) Wow, there's a lot of these trips I would like to tag along on. And I would love to go to Italy. I would shop, drink wine, sketch, visit the countryside, look at artwork and drink more wine. Then I would join divvi , briegull and mary in Greece, maybe I could be like Shirley Valentine. Ever see that movie?
How about two weeks in Tuscany? Wonderful central location for visiting other spots..incredible food and wine with scenery to die for..tool around and get lost on the back roads, then hop a train to Venice...wander and poke around in the alleys and byways, grab a ship to the Greek Isles for some laid back touring...nothing required buy good company and a lust for adventure. Ready Divvi?
kathi-boy am i.... i really dont see anything here as a 'fantasy' that cant be a real life adventure for any of us! some day we should really make this happen, and i mean any of us who want to make it happen. i would LOVE to travel with any of you all! and by all means add tuscany to the plan! fabulous. i have travel addiction and i can say i have planned and done alot of these same trips. a 12day cruise by princess cruises travels to these destinations greek isles/venice/rome/pisa for a little as 3k airfare included! (inside cabins, upgrades available:)you can see for yourself if you go to greek isles and mediterranean cruises by princess. 12 glorious days -heaven! why cant it become a reality at some point??? (*.*) i loved the UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN movie with dianne lane...boy!
Normally shoes and long wool socks with flashes with a sock knife tucked into the top of the sock are worn under a kilt. I would tell you but I don't want to destroy the mystery. Then the other Scots would have to kill me, have you ever seen a Scot kill another Scot? Clue - - think "Braveheart".
I will need to know my companion's favorite Scotch just to make sure I have the right flavor of aqua vitae in my flask.
LOL! Dan where do you live? Not to worry, I was never a fast rider, I just loved it. Tuscany in 2011, as long as we don't try to bike across the ocean, I'm with ya! Ah to dream........and it does sound like a dream trip..................
More back to nature for me. A summer cottage on a ridge in woods, overlooking lake with good fishing and swimming. A firepit for bonfires at night. Burgers and onion rings cooked in beer on the grill. Burnt marshmallows. And good company to be with.
I've never been skinny dipping--wonder if it's too late. Probably would have a hard time finding a private place. Oh, well, I did other things for fun. Ever been to a beach party? Do the kids still have them? Bet not like we did during the late 40's. :)
I used to own a house with a pool and we had sold it and were getting ready to move. My Mom and Dad and an apt on that house. Well, one night Mom decides, "what the heck, I have never been skinning dipping, I'm gonna do it1" So out she goes (it was dark out) strips off the suit and she was loving it! My father comes walking into my livingroom and say "have you seen your Mother, I say, Yup, she's out in the pool, he says oh, ok, then I say SKINNY DIPPING, he almost, had a stroke! OMG too funny, LOL
One summer night some years ago -- we were quite a bit younger and a little crazier then -- we were spending the night with another couple on their sailboat tied up at their dock at a yacht club they belonged to. Very hot night, no breeze, and no air conditioning of course on a sailboat, so after tossing and turning for a couple of hours we all decided to get up cool off in the yacht club pool. Nobody else around, so somebody dared somebody else and before you knew it, we had all shed our bathing suits and "christened" the pool with a little skinny dipping frolic -- and got away with it undetected. So, Mawzy, it doesn't have to be a "private" place -- just choose your time!