Where are you traveling to this year?

I am very excited about taking this trip and still have so much planning to do but I decided I am just not going to stress about it. LOL. The main decisions have been made, which is what driving path I am going to take, the start and ending points and roughly how much time I will spend in particular cities and states. Fortunately there are a lot of online resources about the key places to visit and then I'm factoring time (though never enough) to just walk, check out some good soul food joints, etc. I may not be super detailed like my Vegas trip reports but I'd be glad to do one. I already know it's going to be an emotional, powerful and informative experience.

That's awesome that you are planning such a trip with your children. I plan to visit all of the places you mentioned, including hopefully the museum next week as I need to be in DC next week for a personal appointment. If not next week then when I think I may need to be back in DC in mid-February. I also may make two visits so that I can take more time experiencing it.

But my driving tour, which is going to be two weeks (basically the first half of March), will start with my flying into Little Rock and renting a car there. Two nights in Little Rock, then Memphis for a night or two, two nights in Mississippi, three in Alabama (including of course taking plenty of time to do the 54 mile driving/experience tour from Selma to Montgomery), two nights in Georgia, two in South Carolina, primarily in Charleston, and then driving up the South Carolina coast and ending the tour in North Carolina, flying out of Raleigh on the 14th day. My one-way rental is booked as well. Now I just need to fill in hotels but it feels good to have the main outline of the trip completed.

Wishing you a wonderful time with your planned trips and your future one, including the civil rights tour with your family. If you make it to Vegas in April let me know as I'll be there for a stretch!

 

Oh, my goodness that sounds amazing. Thank you for taking the time to share your current itinerary. I think your plan is wonderful, and I’m sure the holes will be easy to fill in once you get closer to the time.

I would love to meet up for a drink in April if our timelines gel! In the meantime, enjoy all of your planning and your renewal time! <3

 

No travel for me. A very bad back and knees make it hard for me to sit in one place for too long so air travel is a no no.

 

Did Vegas 2 weeks ago(ugh, has it been THAT long already!?)

Other than Vegas a few more times, wanting to do Florida or South Carolina in late spring/early summer. Cancun is another we want to get back to, but don't want to deal with testing requirements to return(yea, yea, I know about travel insurance and all that, but I don't want the hassle of getting stuck away for 5+ days if we Test positive somehow).

 

Glad to share! I should also say I am taking 2 weeks as I have the time but my brother @Champster1 and SIL did an amazing tour, hitting different places, and included New Orleans for a side stop, and did the trip in 7 or 8 days, and that included driving to and from Buffalo. I mention it so no one thinks they need to spend 14 days though with almost any kind of travel the more time the merrier. If I had just a few days I would concentrate on Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

 

Woo-hoo!

The good news is that I may get one more enjoyable business trip before retirement.

The bad news is that it's Columbus, and not Las Vegas, probably in May.

I enjoyed Scioto Downs last time, I'm gonna try to stay at the adjoining Hampton Inn this time if the stars align.

 

uhhhh... LA, NYC, Vegas (duh), Martha's Vineyard, Charlottesville and, uh, Delaware.

we'll see if work travel becomes a regular thing again in the summer but for now that's it.

 

Added Vegas in May.

 

Work travel is permanently out for me as they moved me to managing NYC a few months ago and I live here so goodbye racking up points on my job's dime.

 

Delta changed my flight home from Istanbul. I had a layover in Paris and I now arrive in Paris after my flight to NYC from Paris leaves. I called them and had an option to stay overnight in Paris, leaving Istanbul a day early. No thanks. How about the flight that goes through Amsterdam? Yes? Yay! I am now going to Amsterdam. It is only for 18 hours, but it is a new-to-me country so I am super excited.

 

My wife has decided to go to Oz this year to see her sister. She hasn't been Down Under in four or five years. So stoked for her!

 

New Orleans next month, then back to Vegas come summer. Hoping for a spring AC trip as well.

 

Jan - Black Hills/ Deadwood.
March - Black Hills/ Deadwood.
Apr - AZ (parents), CA (Long Beach Grand Prix), fabulous Las Vegas (why not, in the area).
July - CO?
Oct- NHRA & SEMA in fabulous Las Vegas.

 

I'll be doing LAS (maybe as many as 4 trips between April and August as well as Reno for Hot August Nights (If, you like old cars,trucks and music from that era that is the place to be so make your ressies now as rates go sky high).

 

I'm sure everyone is seeing what's happened at Yellowstone. Sympathies if your plans were affected. Wishing the best for the people in Gardiner.

 

Yellowstone was awful news.
We’re going to Seattle next week but if prices were the same as now when booked…..we wouldn’t go.
We deserve to go. We’re good kinda people. But not at that price.
I see people are worried. I get it. But traveling is at its peak regardless of cost it seems.
We are lucky to be in our position. i would wait
It out.
So no vacation…..vacation reduces stress
But it won’t remain to take it away when completed.
Tough call.

 

We see some crazy travel prices out there, indeed. But then you look over and there are 99 dollar flights to Hawai'i. The rental car might be three house payments but, hey, the flight is cheap. We're using mileage credits for all of our '22 flights and burning down our hotel reward points.

Wow, Yellowstone. Nature usually wins.

 

I was shocked when I first heard the news about Yellowstone. I haven't visited Yellowstone, since I was a little kid on vacation with my parents.

As for traveling, I got in one trip to Vegas so far this year. I hope to do another one sometime in the Fall. With the crazy high gas prices, I doubt that I'll be doing any long roadtrips this year. I wouldn't mind traveling somewhere this summer, but I'm still undecided on where to go.

 

I only drive now. Airplanes are a hassle and I don't live far enough away from any place I want to visit—did Europe and most of the U.S. years ago and I loved it, but not worth it now. I limit much of my travel to places I can go with Charley. Of course, he doesn’t get to go to Vegas. It would only corrupt him.

So, this summer C and I are off to Dinkey Creek in the Sierra for three days. Below is a picture of C at Dinkey two years ago—notice the huge logs because a good percentage of the trees at Dinkey died from bark beetle infestation. Next, we are off to Lake Almanor up by Lassen—a bit of fishing because to see C go after a freshly caught fish is something to behold. And then it's Crater Lake in southern Oregon (never been there but it has always been on my bucket list).

Otherwise, non Charley trips include San Diego for a few days—my friend has a two-year old colt that should be running at some point during the Del Mar Meet. She has high hopes for him. Vegas in August to stay four nights at the Wynn, my home away from home, and then September in Phoenix to see Alice in Chains at Ak Chin and a Dodgers-Dbacks game at Chase Field.

Pretty boring, I know. I'm old.

 

We have Yellowstone and Grand Teton on the agenda for a few weeks from now but 99% sure we’re just going to pivot elsewhere. Have never been and while I’m sure the south loop is fantastic on its own I really wanted to see Lamar Valley. Hopefully they’ll build the infrastructure back even better than ever and we can visit a few years from now.