J_Correa

Vittrad - I hope you enjoy California. I've lived here all my life and I love it.

placeu2

I have a buddy who goes to Vegas for a week every year...same week...same Hotel...same traveling companions. Has not been anyplace else for over 10 years. This year he is doing WDW...but still doing Vegas later. My goodness, the anguish of anticipation is driving us all nuts. Some people just are not cut out for variety.

I love the variety and spontanity. if it was not for Mrs. Place, we would never make reservations. That would make her crazy so I acquiesce on that aspect. Gotta keep the piece.

Conlet

So glad to find others who feel the same way! We have traveled to 47 of the 50 states and found something interesting, historical,and fun to do in each. We do have some favorites we like to return to (Paris, Spain, northwest coast of US). Like a previous poster, we rarely make reservations ahead except for the first and last nights (if flying), or in large cities. One of our best trips was a month in France, (right after retiring!) with only reservations in Paris. We meandered about, stopping where and when we wanted. It was great.
Only regrets - too little time and too many places!

bardo1

We always look for a new place to discover, in fact it's almost a requirement for our vacations. Well, except for Paris (which never get's old)

polyester

I do this all the time as road trips. Usually I'll pick somewhere that's five or six hours from home by car (Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville from Dayton, Ohio; Asheville, Charlotte, Myrtle Beach, D.C. from the Sandhills of N.C.). Keep on truckin!

enjoylife

I am trying to see all 50 states using long weekends over a period of years. I try to keep the airfares close to $200roundtrip. Therefore, I go to whatever city is cheapest to fly into. It's a great deal of fun. I have been to Birmingham, Alabama; St. Louis, Missouri; Fort Worth, TX, etc. Each place has been fun. There is always something to see.

Kren

Keep in mind that a good way to save money while traveling is by going into hostels. They are like hotels, only a little more community oriented, information friendly, and a LOT cheaper. hosteltimes.com has a good overview of what they are. Most people don't know about them, but staying at one in Hollywood saved my life once.

goklw

well, I am at this forum, because I always need details about the next unknown I visit. We are a family of 4 and can only travel during winter, spring or summer breaks for our 12 and 15 year old. I often determine our destination based on the best airfares, so we may not know where we will be until then. Right now we are heading--we think--not final yet--to Palm Springs--we do not know anyone who has gone there--I know it is not exotic--I a have a big list of kidless destinations that we will make sooner than I can blink--but with the pleasure of renting homes thru owners we have luxury, space, food at home any where we want. I can only say "I am happy when I travel and even when I 'plan' the travel. Maybe it is partly because we have to escape the cold north....If this sounds familiar to you, then you know what I mean....

MelissaHI

People need to travel not just to see the world, but to understand their place in it. I think it is cool that you are taking a trip just to check it out.

I take solo trips to other countries for the fun of it, even if I don't speak the language. Currently, I am in Brazil....I spontaneously decided to take a trip to Rio de Janeiro for Carnaval, since I had never been to South America before and I wanted one last blast before I start my new job. Most people cheered me on; I think only a couple people were super worried about me.

The main thing is to stay flexible, though...due to the backwardness of Brazilians, I got stuck in Rio for two extra days. Then, once I got out of Rio, I got stuck in Sao Paulo for another day, which is why I am 'currently' in Brazil! I guess I don't mind, but it is kind of an inconvenience since I need to keep contacting my new boss to postpone my start date.

Did you ever see the show "Northern Exposure" where in one episode Marilyn Whirlwind decides to take a trip to Seattle by herself? Her boss was so rabidly worried about her, but she kept repeating the same phrase--"I want an adventure." And that's the mantra we should keep in our minds.

rapunzll

I never could understand people who don't enjoy traveling either. When my ex and I moved our family to Indonesia for two years, I had one friend who actually asked me, '"Why do you want to go'? I just replied, 'Why don't you'?

Another thing I find odd is people who don't understand how I can travel alone. I took a couple of road trips down the coast from VA to GA looking for a place to relocate and I can't tell you how many times people would say, 'Do you have relatives or family here'? I'd tell them no, and they would say something about how they could never take a trip alone. To those comments, I just said, 'It's either travel alone or don't travel at all, and that's not an option'!

lenleigh

I always shudder when my in-laws talk about thier family trips to Minnesota. Sitting on a lake for two weeks in the dead heat of summer is not my idea of fun.

When we all went to Playa Del Carmen they drove me crazy because all they wanted to do was lay around on the beach and pool. They barely got up long enough to walk into town while my husband and I toured the mayan ruins, ate mexican food every chance we could and enjoyed the culture. I liken that to the fact that I grew up traveling outside the U.S. and they didn't. I can lay around a pool any day, anywhere.

wtggirl

Please keep in mind that our differences are what makes the world go around. My husband and I are both the adventurous types and like to travel new places. The bigger the culture shock, the better we like it. However, sometimes we don't spend enough time exploring the great old U.S.A and I have found great pleasure in recent years just visiting some great cities in our own U.S. back yard. We were a navy family for our fist six years of marriage, so until I got married I knew nothing other than the mid sized town I lived in. After six years of moving around and international travel I realized just how narrow minded I was and anyone is if they never move or travel. For some who have never been forced out of their comfort zone they feel uncomfortable traveling to far away places. When they find a place they do like then they tend to back over and over worried about spending their hard earned money on something new when they can be guaranteed of a sure thing. I will never understand this- but that is the way I think they see it. My advise is to take your kids when they are young and expose them to as many travel experiences as possible, especially if you always live in one place.

MelissaHI

Despite coming from a small town, I think it also has to do with your spirit for adventure and learning, too, though. Yesterday I met a college graduate from Virginia whose hometown was so small, she had never had Thai food before. She had Thai food for the first time a couple of weeks ago! Then when I mentioned Diamond Head in Honolulu, she had no idea what that was (yet). It all sounded so strange to me, since I come from a big city with many different cuisines & sights, but I was so excited for her and her openness to enjoy new things. Sounds like she got turned on to knowing that there is a whole new world outside of her hometown, and she's going to experience every inch of it now that she's a flight attendant.

xxxx

This is how I see it...a "trip" is any time you leave home for a few days or longer.

"Traveling" is when we go to explore a place, area or country. We are on the go and want to see as much as possible.

"Vacation" is when we go somewhere to relax perhaps a cabin, lake or beach.

Vacation may include a day or two of traveling to see local culture but is primarily a time to do nothing.

I could usually use a "vacation" after "traveling!"

Vittrad

"I could usually use a "vacation" after "traveling!"

No kidding, a couple of summers ago I backpacked through Europe, I needed a serious 'vacation' from that 'vacation' but it was worth it.

KruzinKevN

These are GREAT!! We have for years felt the same way that we were somehow the misfits that always liked to go somewhere new and no we don't have family there! Yes there are many places we liked enough to go back to, but as many of you said, there are so many more places to go. We were both close-minded and never traveled either, and friends in college talked us in to going with them to Florida. You would have thought they asked us to go to the moon!! It opened up a whole new world to us and we have been going ever since. No we are not wealthy, we just make our choices like everyone else on what not to spend our money on so we can still travel. Last year we spent 10 days in Guadeloupe and the only tourists we were around were French! (no we don't speak the language) It was a real adventure and we had many frustrations, new experiences, and we learned we could survive and enjoy ourselves no matter what. So we just took a long weekend to New Orleans and stumbled in to many great times there as well! We can't wait to explore the world some more!!

flamingomonkey

When I turned 21 my Dad offered to pay for a trip anywhere in the US. I chose (are you ready for this?) MEMPHIS!!! Why? I really couldn't tell you. I don't even have any particular interest in Elvis and I didn't even go to Graceland. Probably the first and only Memphis visitor who didn't. Still, I had a great time. I also took a winter vacation, not in Florida, but in Greensboro, NC. Another December, I vacationed in Boise, Idaho. All fabulous trips. There may not be as much to do, but costs are lower and crowds fewer in off the beaten path locations. I haven't been to New England yet, but when I go, it'll be to Providence instead of Boston.

Also on my list are Des Moines, Omaha, and Kansas City.Hard as it may be to believe, I'm not making this up. I like visiting average places, and despite popular opinion that everyplace in the world looks identical now, they don't. I've visited Milwaukee from Chicago numerous times, and despite superficial similarities, Milwaukee is very much it's own city with it's own personality. Also, like many American's I have idle dreams of relocating, and these destinations are all good places to live, if not the most exciting to visit. So that's another reason I'm interested in seeing them.

flamingomonkey

I'm not completely crazy though. I have been to Las Vegas, Florida and New Orleans.

ninasdream

Audrey- I say, good for you! It doesn't matter where it is- as long as it appeals to you, in my book. ANd change of scenery is often the key to being refreshed by a vacation. This year, I will be taling a break from the euro, and exploring the U.S. I havewn't chosen yet...but why NOT
Memphis?

I agree with the poster who said they like both- there is something to be said for the comfort,familiarity and usually spare decor of a vacation/2nd home. Then again, I know I enthusiastically exclaim after each trip abroad, "I must return here!" knowing I will move on to the next new place.

MelissaHI

OK, now I have to vent. I just went to a party with my high school friends. I'm one of only two people in the whole group who travels a lot and *wants* to see the world. When they found out I had just come back from Brazil, they were so in shock that they didn't know what to say to me. I wasn't even sure if the looks on their faces were surprise or repulsion. They asked if I had gone by myself, which was probably to add to their repulsion to the situation because 1) they know I often travel alone and 2) they all have husbands and look at me like my life is unacceptable.

Later when I was describing the trip home to one of them, I told her I had a 7 hour layover in LAX so I left the airport to catch a bus to Santa Monica and have lunch at the Border Grill. She half fell off her chair in shock at the thought of such boldness.

I'm not able to tell you the whole story here but basically, my high school friends haven't really moved on from their little lives and consider me a freak for wanting to see the world and be independent.

I know, I have to keep reading these posts to keep me sane. Thank God for this forum!