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Spontaneous getaways … let's hear about them

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by ken2v, Jan 8, 2014.

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  1. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Another post got me to thinking: What was one or what were some of your most notable oh-to-hell-with-it-let's-go-to-_________ trips??

    We made a number of unplanned, rather-last-second Vegas trips (and I had one particularly crazy episode during grad school), and turnarounds, but the coolest was Mother's Day weekend some years back. Terri was off somewhere with her mum and I'd gone down to Palm Desert to hang with my 'rents. I'd just tweaked my back so what was to have been a good bit of golf was out, so after sitting around staring at each other for 15 minutes, knowing I was gonna go batshitz, I said, "Let's go to Vegas." Being mum's day dad begged off, so in about 10 minutes I'd spoken with our host at TI and the old gal and I were in the Lead Sled -- I drove a Lincoln Mark VIII at the time -- heading for Vegas.

    But the winner was our last trip to New Zealand. We each received the weekly Sherman's or whatever travel-deal blast and w/i minutes Terri called from her office and said, "You see that?!?!" $399 rt to Auckland from LAX. That evening she was on the phone with her boss and I was online, and we were trying to match up dates that worked. A week later we were in NZ.

    Such spontaneity has ebbed with the relocation, though we have been here on a Saturday morn having breakfast only to have lunch in San Francisco or Monterey.

    You?
     
  2. HoyaHeel

    HoyaHeel Grammar Police & Admin

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    The first cruise my husband and I did together was quite spontaneous. After years of agonizing (and working my butt off), in Sept 2006 I decided to leave my PhD program ABD. In October 2006, we were sailing from Norfolk to the southern Caribbean on Holland America (no flights - we could drive to port - which made it an easier/cheaper decision).:drunk:

    Our trip to Paris November 2012 was pretty last minute. We planned to go to New York as we had in 2008 - get in some "winter wonderland", Christmas shopping, see the decorated windows etc. But we looked at our Delta skymiles accounts and said, "you know, if we fly to Paris, we'll both have enough miles for status next year". So we booked the flights, rented an apartment, and had a fabulous long weekend in Paris when we should have been in Manhattan:thumbsup:

    I did a lot more last minute driving trips when I lived out west- no second thoughts driving 3 hours to Moab or 5 hours to visit a friend in Sun Valley. I'm old(er) and the traffic is worse here, so I don't do that as often anymore. Though if my college roommates talk about getting together in VA or DC like we've done in the past, I'm game:beer:
     
  3. NickyDim

    NickyDim Hockey is life

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    This past Saturday after the snowstorm in the Northeast. I woke up, told my wife there would be nobody on the road, picked up the phone, called Showboat, got a room, and left the house within the hour hitting the bank as it opened.

    That was just the latest impromptu jaunt.
     
  4. kitson

    kitson VIP Whale

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    calgary

    last april, was going through the pollstar listings on a sunday afternoon. bon jovi was in calgary tuesday night. confirmed we had help for monday-wednesday. tried to get tickets through ticketmaster...those guys suck. what the heck, i bet we can get tickets up there, and if we can't, will still have a fun trip.

    hit the road next morning, found a nice hotel, info on where the ticket booth in the mall was, and hit an exacta wheel on the horse simulcast at the restaurant sports bar across the street from the hotel. next morning, got highly overpriced tickets at the kiosk, saw some exhibits at the glenbow, lunch at brewpub on stephen avenue. made our way to the casino at stampede park, played a little, then to the concert, front row seats in the balcony straight back from the stage. great concert, his first without richie zambora, and jon made sure we did not miss him.hit a 300 dollar, canadian jackpot at the casino after.
     
  5. sporty8705

    sporty8705 VIP Whale

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    was sponatenous in a way, had a week to get ready for a Vegas trip to see Neil Diamond back in like 2009.. was weird and i ended up going with my then bf, his mom and her bff... played bingo, had some fun, stayed at Hooters.. was dead dead tired..

    then in 2011 my dad got some unexpected money and said your going on a vacation. Booked me a Vegas flight, while my family drove, and I flew with my 5 month old and I to Vegas. Granted it was only an hour long flight but still I was doing it alone. I had like 2 weeks notice for that and I had a MGM comp which was unreal because i hadnt been to Vegas since March 2010 and I hadn't gambled there then either..
     
  6. RebelDiceMan

    RebelDiceMan VIP Whale

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    Twenty years ago, my brother bought a 1956 Pink Cadillac. After driving around in it all afternoon, we decided to see if it had the legs to get us to New Orleans. (about a 3-4 hour drive) We got there just after daylight and were in the middle of rush hour traffic when the ole cat just quit and we coasted to the shoulder of the road. There was a concrete wall about 6 inches away from us and we were stuck watching all the people going to work creeping by in close to gridlock traffic. We still had plenty to drink so we just sat there drinking and waving to the guys as they slowly drove by. After about an hour, I guess the caddy got her second wind and cranked up. We then drove down to the Quarter and partied for the next two days. This was back in the day when we went to New Orleans so often that we knew a couple of dozen bartenders by name in some of the locals bar that we hung out in. That was one fun road trip. Purchasing that pink Cadillac was one of the best investments my brother ever made.
     
  7. LV_Bound

    LV_Bound VIP Whale

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    The only spontaneous trips are probably trips to the bathroom. Too planning involved and any plans must be done weeks in advanced.
     
  8. mdlee3_46041

    mdlee3_46041 MIA

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    I haven't done a spontaneous trip where I just take off and go away for several days. My spontaneous trip was booked with no prior thought of taking a trip. I was at work last year, it was actually February 13, and just before my last break, my boss said something that I didn't like. By the time my break ended, I had a flight to Vegas booked for the next week, hotel booked, and a vacation request filled out.

    That ended up being a great trip. It kind of sucked in terms of gambling, but I met some great ppl and just had a great time on the trip I wasn't expecting to take.
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2014
  9. Kiwicol

    Kiwicol Low-Roller

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    Earlier last year my "second" team in English football made the playoffs to get into the Premier League. The playoff is at Wembley Stadium in London and is billed as the richest football match of the year, as the winner goes up to the top league and is guaranteed a huge payout for at least 2 years.

    A week before the match a mate in London rings me to say he has an extra ticket for the match. 3 days later I am on a flight half way around the world for a week in England..... the team won the playoff 1-0 in an amazing atmosphere, and the week was full of English pubs, catching up with family and friends - brilliant....
     
  10. mikenhe

    mikenhe VIP Whale

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    done one for work..

    prepped for an audit in LA (I was living in England at the time) and did that trip Sun - Sun. took Monday off and went into work Tuesday.
    late Tuesday afternoon I was called into a meeting and told we were doing a deal with a company in San Fran but nobody have looked at the files on my side of the business.

    So Saturday I flew out, worked sun and then mon - thurs from 7am to 10pm and jumped on the Thursday night flight back. The three of us on the trip spent the overnight flight writing up the report. landed at heathrow, was driven to the thames, got a marine boat down to tower bridge and a limo to work where we then made our presentation.

    finished at 2.30pm uk time.

    with that amount of work, four transatlantic flights in 19 days, and finishing with no sleep on the way back I was wrecked for a week. did get an extra couple of days vacation and a lot of airmiles that month though.
     
  11. blackjacknut

    blackjacknut VIP Whale

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    A few weeks back on a Tuesday evening I received an email advertising New York city and broadway shows. I didn't think much about it until I scrolled down and saw they were advertising Wicked on Broadway. I have always wanted to see this show, so I called my partner at work. We decided yeah, let's hang in New York for the weekend, even though it was cold. Booked flights and hotel for that Friday, booked Wicked tickets for Saturday and spent a weekend in New York City had a great time!
     
  12. JosieCat

    JosieCat VIP Whale

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    Kind of spontaneous. Many years ago, can't remember how long, we had a trip to Orlando booked for September. I had a GREAT trip planned, with 2 nights at the Animal Kingdom hotel, the view of the animals, I can't remember what it was called, and the other 2 at a Holiday Inn. First hurricane blows through, we breath of sign of relief. Second hurricane blows through another sigh of relief. Third hurricane means we have to cancel our trip.

    We said what the hell, and went to Vegas instead :)
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2014
  13. hammie

    hammie VIP Whale

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    Made a spontaneous car trip to NYC with my daughter who was on her spring break from college. Parked in Staten Island and took the ferry, then hopped on a subway to our hotel near Times Square. Went to the TKTS booth and picked up half price tix to Phantom. Had dinner at Guy Fieri's restaurant off Times Square and just steps from the theater. Phantom was awesome and a great Father/Daughter show for you Daddies out there. The next morning we rented bikes and rode through Central Park, and had lunch at Gordon Ramsey's Maze.

    All in all it was a great trip and my daughter still mentions it. We will probably do the same thing this year for her spring break.

    Last year I did a semi-spontaneous trip to Vegas. I had planned on a mid September work/pleasure trip with my wife, my main objective was to walk a trade show at the convention center. About two weeks before this trip, I received a call from one of my suppliers asking me to help him work a trade show booth in early October. So, I spent six days min Vegas with my wife, returned home and nine days later, I came back for 5 more days. Twist my arm!
     
  14. luvstp

    luvstp High-Roller

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    Mine is also hurricane related......Hurricane Ike blew through the Houston area and left a big mess everywhere.....including my yard. 3 days without power, lots of downed trees and then they announced no work for a full week.

    Continental was trying to get people back in the air and about 8 pm that night I got an email with a $235 round trip airfare offer to Las Vegas. I was tired of the dismal reports about the devastation and wasn't ready to start the tree cleanup......so, called my host and asked her if we could get in the next morning. She said yes, I booked us a flight that night and we flew out on the 7 am flight the next day.
     
  15. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    This. :thumbsup:
     
  16. shawnawm1868

    shawnawm1868 Tourist

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    Most of my trips are spontaneous. Back in 2004, we booked a trip to New Orleans for mardi gras a week out. Same with Vegas in 2008.
    I just booked a few nights in NYC for next week for my son and I.
     
  17. heatherlovesvegas

    heatherlovesvegas VIP Whale

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    Usually just Vegas! I've done it numerous times. The best was I won a trip to see Donnie & Marie a few years ago from a local radio station on a Saturday, and they called me on Friday lol. I called my friend and was like UM let's go, I'll pick you up in an hour haha booked a room for that night at Excalibur on the cheap, and the contest had us at Flamingo the next day. Good times. That was the most random trip. We ended up meeting them too! Pretty cool.

    Occasionally an OC or San Diego trip is in order. Lately Im more of a planner though. Since I have a job with vacation days, I can plan trips when I want!
     
  18. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    Hard to have spontaneous trips from Hawaii but I did have one to vegas. It was probably over 20 (or more) years ago. My dad had airline miles expiring (that day!). He was already going to vegas on a junket and was going to let the miles expire (I think in those days it was difficult use airline miles to ticket for anyone other than the mileage holder) when he realized that since he and I had the same initial for our first name he could create a ticket under "S. Smith" and let me use it instead (not our real name).

    He called me, I had 2 1/2 hours to get to the airport and catch my flight. I quickly threw everything in my suitcase and took a cab to the airport and got there about and hour and a half before the flight took off. It was before 9/11 and so it wasn't too difficult to get through check in and security and they didn't question the incomplete first name.

    Since my dad was leaving a couple of days later he found one of his friends already up there who I could room with until he got there. I stayed at the stardust and then moved to the flamingo.

    So funny, I had to call work the next morning to tell them that I was 'sick' and I wouldn't be in that day or maybe the next day or two. During the call a slot machine started going "ding, ding, ding". I laughed and quickly covered the mouthpiece to hide the noise. :confused2: Was also funny that I saw a couple of coworkers up there, I had to tell them to keep it quiet since I was playing hooky from work, lol. :ssst:
     
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