Off Topic: Summer Vacation and Travel Tips
Good morning, I was curious about two things from the members here.
1. If you are going on a summer vacation this year. Where will you go, why, and what do you plan to do?
2. I am traveling to San Diego for business this summer (staying at a business partners house in Santee) and plan to have a lot of downtime fortunately, so I’m also going to make it a vacation. I was curious about what others think about good things to do there. So far, I am planning to go to the Zoo, Midway Museum, Scripps aquarium, Balboa Park, Coronado Island and check out downtown. Are those good places? What else is something I should do there? I will be there about 10 days, with only 2-3 days of work. I’m not a party person in my older age, so nightlife is out for me.
Have a good day everyone.
I'm not a big party guy myself but you really do have to spend an evening or two in the Gas Light District. Lots of really good restaurants and bars. Also, head out to Ocean Beach and Point Loma.
I'll second Point Loma. Be sure to get down to the tide pools there. It's one of those hidden secrets. Also cool if they have an active Navy ship available for tours downtown. Don't know if they do that anymore.
Disney. Hottest time of the year, but hoping the crowds may be a little bit lighter than usual, since we are going just before the new Star Wars stuff opens, so people may be delaying so they can catch that. Maybe.
You’re hoping for lighter crowds, at Disney, at a time of year where literally every student in America is on summer break? Prepare to be disappointed, my friend. Very, very disappointed.
Sure, some people may stay away because of the heat, but all those people who won’t be going are going to be offset and then some by all the families who don’t care how hot it is because it’s Disney, and they are taking their kids to Disney for summer vacation.
I lived in Orlando within 20 minutes of Disney and 5-8 minutes from Universal.
Universal was great, especially for teenagers. Disney was ... underwhelming... unless you have small children OR you went there as a child and have waves of nostalgia.
Both are crowded beyond belief over the Christmas holidays and then from March through September.
But, Orlando after March 1st is like the surface of the sun and extremely crowded.
Side note: Hollywood studios and Animal Kingdom are also both better than Disney unless you have small children or serious nostalgia.
Another side note: the food in all 4 parks is truly appalling (generality for all theme parks, I know). Eat a hearty breakfast.
Florida schools are back in session second week of August, so third week of August is already considered mid-crowds, not high-crowds. Disney actually expected lighter crowds this summer due to people waiting for Galaxy Edge to open and were offering promotions they usually offer during the slow fall months for summer. Since I'm going a mere two weeks before Galaxy Edge, I think it's a valid to hold a small hope that some of the regular summer crowd will be waiting to take their trip over Labor Day weekend instead.
Point Loma - the military cemetery there is always a humbling visit (and includes gorgeous vistas). Spend an evening watching the sunset on Sunset Cliffs Blvd. If supporting the captivity of dolphins and whales doesn't bother you (it bothers a lot of people these days), also visit Sea World. The Zoo Safari Park is a great safari type visit for range animals, including endangered species.
San Diego is one of the most beautiful, and fun, cities I've ever visited. But I lived in Santee for a bit when I was in the Navy - Santee is not San Diego, it is the desert north of SD. Don't confuse the two! SD itself always seems to be 10-20 deg cooler than Santee, Escondito, Rancho Bernardo, etc... Enjoy your visit!
Thank you for the information. Sea World seems good to me.
Pretty good list. The zoo and Coronado are awesome. I'd check out the Blackfish documentary and take a pass on Sea World.
Sea World pretty much never recovered from the documentary explaining how they abuse their orcas. The got shamed into ending breeding of these animals. There is still a pubic push to release them into ocean pens.
I am hoping to go somewhere in the Caribbean this summer.
I highly recommend Aruba. Consistently great weather, amazing restaurants, great hotels, and very nice people. Also, summer is low season so if you don't mind the high temps, you can usually get a decent deal.
The hurricane threat in Aruba is also minimal.
Old Town in San Diego is a good way to spend an afternoon or so. It's kind of like a Mexican-themed Mackinac Island with enormous margaritas.
I live here in San Diego. Here are few ideas: check out old town, hike Torrey pines and cowl mountain, rent a kayak in La Jolla cove, take a beach cruiser (bike) around PB. Spend the afternoon in balboa park and walk over to downtown to sample sereval great restaurants...
enjoy your stay
Adding (rather than responding) to bluetotheday's post ...
In addition to Mt. Cowles, there are several cool hiking possibilities in the Poway area.
A couple of restaurants (not necessarily in the first tier there but good by my standards):
* Din Tai Fung: This is a Taiwanese chain that has a bunch of branches on the west coast.
* The Taco Stand: Somewhere between "hipster" and "authentic."
To add to what was already said
Point Loma is beautiful - Cabrillo Monument, WWII guns/bunker, humbling cemetery, amazing views, tide pools below.
La Jolla is just as beautiful - kayaking is great, seal watching, "Taco Stand" with New York style pizza by the slice next store if you're not feeling like Mexican food
Old Town has some great Mexican restaurants also - Guadalajara (sometimes has mariachi too), Coyote Grill (the fresh tortillas)
Downtown and surrounding has some good spots for food, but with my wife and kids, we are normally doing fast casual. Shake Shack, Slaters 50/50 (if you love bacon) or Hoddads for burgers, Crack Shack for fried chicken. Donut Bar for donuts obviously. Salt and Straw in Little Italy has amazing ice cream.
Balboa Park is a great spot to spend the day. A few free museums/galleries and other great paid ones.
Spruce Street Suspension Bridge is a quick little spot to see near Balboa https://www.google.com/maps/place/Spruce+Street+Suspension+Bridge/@32.7387001,-117.1654075,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xfe4155c2352097?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjf1K6DprThAhWBFjQIHYzKDuQQ_BIwD3oECA8QCA
If you don't feel like walking, there are "Bird", "Lime" and "Lyft" scooters to rent all over the place.
San Diego is easily my favorite California city
We are actually planning a vacation to Hawaii. Not to thread jack (and this is definitely not worthy of its own thread!!), but I would appreciate recommendations on activities from those who have been. Going with our two boys, ages 8-12, and planning to stay in Oahu for the week. We want a good amount of downtime on the beach, but also want to do some fun activities (walks, volcano, site seeing, etc.) Any recommendations? Is there a better island to choose?
Pearl Harbor, Punch Bowl National Cemetery, Hanauma Bay snorkeling, North shore, Macadamia farm, Waimea Valley, Pineapple farm, Shark's Cove snorkeling, Hike up Diamond Head, Pali Overlook ...
Pearl Harbor, Punch Bowl National Cemetery, Hanauma Bay snorkeling, North shore, Macadamia farm, Waimea Valley, Pineapple farm, Shark's Cove snorkeling, Hike up Diamond Head, Pali Overlook ...
Pearl harbor tour, North shore is beautiful. Outer islands are very rural compared to Oahu. Was on all 4 islands back in 1998 as I attended the UM vs Hawaii football game.
If any of those days happen to involve being in Maui, go see the sunrise at Haleakala. I saw it when I was a teenager, and my feelings of being pissed off about my parents waking me up in the middle of the night and dragging me to the top of a mountain all went away when that sun came up. Truly a majestic, awe-inspiring sight.
Bike down the mountain afterwards too, if you can.
Saw the sunset up there last year. Stunning. And you could die biking down that thing.
Pro Tip:
Do not bike down AFTER sunset.
Went to Hawaii last summer to honeymoon. Here's what I would say about Oahu. It's very commercialized and large segments of it are basically a city. The North Shore and Wakiki are really cool beaches, but if you are hoping for a more "natural" setting, some of the other islands might serve you better. We also went to the Big Island and Kauai. A lot more nature stuff there, if you are into that.
All that said, Hawaii is pretty amazing wherever you go. Just my two cents.
Go surfing! I wish I had gotten into surfing when I was younger. It's a lot of fun. Obviously pick a beginner spot. I went to Bali before and there were tourists there talking about how they tried paddling out at Uluwatu, which is a spot you should only surf if you have a lot of experience. Luckily they realized it was a bad idea and came back in before they got smashed on some reefs.
I can only speak of Maui. One bit of advice I got from a frequent traveler with family in Hawaii is if you have less than 10 days, don't island hop. One of the best parts of being in Hawaii is settling in to the pace of the island, which you can't do if you are running to airports. We stayed in Kihei, which is a funky beach town on the west side of Maui, rented a condo (VRBO) so we could grocery shop and be walking distance to the local restaurants. We traveled to at least 8 beaches but found the one across the street from us to be the best, Kam1, also walking to distance to a great beginner surf spot. Watched the sunrise on Haleakala, and road to Hana -not worth it unless you wan to kill a day, but if you do go, continue past Hana to the state park and the hike to Waimoku Falls. Wailea Beach, just south of Kihei is nice and great for snorkeling. Beware, a lot of the beaches have heavy shore break, but the ones I mentioned are fairly calm. Best part was Alii Nui sailing charter to Molokini Crater for snorkeling. Try the cornbread at Monkey Pod and the baked goods at Komoda in Makwao on your way down from Haleakala. Best tip: Download Maui GyPSy, an app the gives you history, lore and points of interest as it tracks you via GPS. It will point you to the best roadside banana bread and shaved ice.
This was a few years ago but we did an ATV tour of Kualoa Ranch. 50 first dates, Jurassic Park and a few other movies were shot in their valley. I think they also offer horseback tours if that's more your thing.
We also did a group shark swim with North Shore Shark Adventures which was easily the highlight of our trip. Swim cage fit 6-8 adults comfortably and sharks come right up to near the surface. Our trip had 3 groups of 6 on the boat and each group spent about 20-25 minutes in the water.
SD was where we lived before coming home and as far as california is concerned, it is the jewel city. you have good suggestions above, go to the beach, rent a bike, la jolla cove kayak, etc. a couple others here:
1. fish. go out on one of the boats if you don't know anyone that has one/is already going. the later in the summer the further north the tuna come up from mexico. lots of fun. you can go for a few hours up to a week or more. here is a google link to that: https://www.google.com/search?q=san+diego+charter+fishing&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS751US751&oq=san+diego+charter+fi&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.9343j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
2. scuba dive. tons of places nearby.
3. spend a night at the hotel del coronado on coronado island. it is a step back in time much like the grand hotel on mackinac island is. here is a link to the hotel del: https://hoteldel.com/?WT_mc_id=zAREC0US1QQ2OLG3Directory4Yext_May56SANQQQQ7EN8i1%3FSEO_id%3DGMB-QQ-SANQQQQ
depending on when you go, you can get what they call the 'june gloom', its the cloud cover that can be pretty pervasive that time of year based upon the water/air temp differences. if that happens you might want to head inland more to see the sun.
enjoy.
Yep, great fishing out of SD. Even if it's just to a get on a boat to throw lines to rock fish (it's cheap to get a ticket on one of these), it's a good time.
This is our last summer before our son goes off for his freshman year at....Michigan! He'll be a third-generation Michigan Man!
He and I are going with my dad and brothers to Angoon, Alaska, for a fishing trip. Interestingly enough, neither he nor I eat fish...but my dad has been taking various family members on a big fishing trip each year for the past 15 years...so I'm excited to be taking my son for the first time. The scenery and setting are incredible...and the fishing can be thrilling, even for someone who doesn't eat fish.
Most likely also meeting up with one of my oldest friends - and roommate at Michigan - at Lollapalooza. Not a great lineup this year, but neither of us golf or hunt...so this has become our annual guys trip.
As for San Diego? Only been there once....many years ago...so can't really contribute to that discussion. Did you know that San Diego is German for "whale's vagina?"
Congrats about becoming a Michigan parent. I recall you posted something a few months back about your son's application. Forget if it was a question about early admission or considering another school or something but glad it's all worked out.
Do a beer tasting at one of Stone Brewery's sites.
I think I did mine in Escondito about 10 years ago, but they have multiple sites closer to San Diego now. Good food and drink.
Currently visiting my daughter in DFW, TX. Heading to Waco today. Will probably check out Dealey Plaza also.
Dealey Plaza was disappointing because it is overrun by tourists, with all the attendant shops.
Was there last year taking pictures for about a hour. When I got home, phone imploded losing all of my pictures. Find the place fascinating, didn't see all the tourists you spoke of.
edit. nevermind
Pretty light on summer vacations this year. Got a weekend trip to Cooperstown planned a week or two before the induction ceremony (couldn’t find rooms or AirBnBs within 40 miles if we wanted to be in town for the HoF inductions), maybe a weekend trip to Philly in June to see some family, and then that’s pretty much it.
We’re actually in the middle of our “big trip” right now with being in New Mexico for the week, so we’re playing it pretty mellow for the rest of the year after this.
Somewhere I can stay for free. Like and extra room in a beach house rental. Something comes up every year.
Midway museum is so cool!
Good to hear.
You'll get a great look at the recruiting depot when you're landing!
No summer vacation for this guy but i do have a trip planned for late September so i can attend Oktoberfest. Will also be seeing Copenhagen & Stockholm.
Any tips for Munich or the other two cities?
In Copenhagen, tour the Royal Castle, see the Mermaid, and enjoy Tivoli. Hope you are there when it's warm because the city parks are real and they are spectacular!
I am jealous, man. Enjoy it all.
I have no recommendations for Munich because when I went to Oktoberfest, I was in the park grounds from 8am to 6pm and my liver required I immediately go back to the hotel (which was on the outskirts of the city because everything was so booked up) to pass out.
It is an awesome time. I just have two suggestions: 1) buy yourself a nice pair of Lederhosen (there are tons of vendors selling relatively nice authentic pairs all around the fairgrounds) and fully immerse yourself. 2) visit a lot of different tents as they each have a "culture" and different crowds and music.
As for Copenhagen, I won't give recommendations, per se, because different people have different tastes and interests but here's a description of some of the sights:
- The mermaid is just a little three foot statue sitting on a rock well north of the city. It's bit of an excursion to get there, you snap a photo, and you come back. Unless you're a big fan of Hans Christian Anderson or just looking for a reason to take a bike ride out there (which is gorgeous, btw), it is an underwhelming piece of art to say the least.
- Tivoli is a generic theme park. There's really nothing about it that's different than Navy Pier or any other touristy theme park in an urban setting. For kids, it's a good distraction, I suppose.
Some things I found pretty uniquely Danish/Copenhagen:
- Christiana (or Freetown Christiana) is a really interesting section of the city that until recently was a self-governing "commune" because it was a former military barracks that was not subject to Danish or city laws. A bunch of hippies squatted there in the 70s or something like that and created this lawless social experiment. It was for long time a peaceful place where the govt stayed away and people did what they wanted (which was usually smoking a lot of marijuana, ha). Crime started to be an issue as drug markets became competitive and it has since had Danish law imposed (2010 I think) but the character mostly remains. Not for everyone, but it's certainly interesting.
- Copenhagen has become world renowned in foodie circles for pioneering "new nordic" cuisine which is basically foraged local food. Noma started it all and was named the best restaurant in the world from like 2011-2015. Tables are very hard to get and it's very expensive but a lot of cooks from Noma have started their own restaurants in the city so if you're interested in a largely foraged meal, check one of them out.
- The palace is a good place to see and learn about Danish history.
- Nyhaven is a beautiful Harbor with a lots of outdoor seating and great place to get a drink/eat outside.
- If you're into craft beer, the name Mikkeller may be familiar to you and Copenhagen is his home base. War Pigs is a very cool brewery/brewpub with awesome BBQ. When I was there last they had Bell's Hopslam on tap that the Bell's brewmasters came to Copenhagen to help them brew in a collaboration. It's located in a former meat packing plant in Vesterbro which is the "hip" part of town - think the Brooklyn of Copenhagen.
Going to Paris and Edinburgh first week of July. Can’t wait to play golf at north berwick, going to try to get onto the old course as well. Any tips for each city are welcomed.
Edinburgh is fantastic. We did a lot of walking. If you're into that hike Arthurs Seat and Calton Hill for magnificent panoramas. Also walk to Portobello Beach though the water in the North Sea will be cold. Do some scotch tastings. Be prepared for large crowds at the Castle and on the Royal Mile leading up to it. The National Museum of Scotland is a half day well spent. Walk south from High Street along Clerk Street for nice eating and bars that are more local than tourist.
Had a great experience picking up last minute tickets for a concert at The Queens Hall, an old hall that you could imagine holding a 19th Century political rally. There are a lot of music venues so keep your eyes open.
Great thank you. We had Arthur seat already planned along with a scotch tasting. Were expecting it being busy in both cities, the tourist don’t bother us as we are one of them.
Been to Paris a number of times. The Musee d'Orsay is an underrated museum. Impressionist paintings and not the heavy, heavy crowds you get at the Louvre.
When I went there a few years ago in the high season there was a pass you could get that allowed you to skip the lines and get into a number of high profile places. If you went to 3 or 4 you saved money but it was the skipping of lines that made it most worthwhile. I'm sure they still have a version of it.
If you like your military history, Les Invalides is a must. Napoleon's final resting place, a retrospective of de Gaulle, and these unbelievable relief maps that are really really unique.
Lastly, Notre Dame is nearly always packed, but if you're an early riser or commit to getting up early you can get there when it opens at around 7 or 8 (can't remember exactly) and literally walk in the building with only a handful of people around you. Within 45 minutes it will be packed, but it was very special to walk through that cathedral without it being a shitshow of tourists. Sainte Chapelle is also on the island and definitely worth a visit.
Lots of trips up to Higgins Lake. Nothing planned out of state at the moment. I did just get back from my yearly trip to my Grandma's vacation home in West Melbourne, FL. It's always one of the best weeks of the year. Kick back with the family, drink on the beach everyday, go swimming in the Atlantic, go out to dinner and just get the fuck away from the cold. A handful of years ago Florida started selling Founders. I get to drink my favorite session beer (All Day IPA) and relax. It's perfect.
I work through the computer so I'll be packing up my laptop and spending another summer in NW Montana. Lots of biking on Glacier National Park's Going to the Sun road before they open it to vehicles. Once that's open and the park gets overrun by hordes of visitors I'll spend the time in the adjoining national forest / Bob Marshall wilderness complex.