patrick.net

Grand Canyon + Zion National Park + Bryce National Park

gabbar says

Grand Canyon + Zion National Park + Bryce National Park

Wife still hasn't been to Grand Canyon. I've been to all 3 at least twice. I'm spoiled. Grand Canyon is not a bad option though.

We did the whole Utah circuit of NP's about 2 years ago. But I suppose a Grand Canyon trip is in order. Still have family in Phoenix/Scottsdale and the flight is generally cheap from Chicago.

I'm a beach guy generally. I ain't hiking down Angel trail or whatever it is at GC at the South rim, and the wife and son won't ride the donkeys down. I'd love to get down there or raft the Colorado. I'm not sure I have willing participants. So would probably just be a rim job, pun intended.

You got my gears turning. Fly into Phoenix, visit my uncle and cousins in Scottsdale. Hit Grand Canyon, south and north rims. Go north to this place and piss money out my ass... https://www.aman.com/resorts/amangiri Hit Zion again and end in Vegas for the 12th time probably. Fuck Vegas. Easiest place to fly out of though.

gabbar says

Grand Canyon + Zion National Park + Bryce National Park

Good tour. Bryce canyon is the most beautiful imo but all 3 are worth it.

If it's without the kids, Key West or Atlantic City.

Bryce is unique in its own way. I prefer Zion. It's a workout, but the Narrows are a fun hike if you have the necessary gear. Arches (not listed) is overrated in my opinion. My bucket list NP's are Yosemite, Glacier and Dry Tortugas in FL. Acadia in Maine is 4th. Otherwise I've been to pretty much all of them. Everglades meh, no real interest there besides checking a box of going there.

I'm really intrigued by Belize. We're going to Costa for SB in '25.

Atlanta area in August/September. Work so flights are paid for. I really don't know how to burn through these vouchers (yes, first world problems). I would like a full week in Puerto Rico. Pacific coast of Mexico, haven't done that either and I know most resorts are AI, so no hassle with eating and drinking.

zzyzzx says

If it's without the kids, Key West or Atlantic City.

My parents brought me to both as a kid. lol. Key West isn't all that bad from what I remember. We did to Key Largo with the kids for 2-3 nights about 5-6 years ago. Youngest isn't a fan of Key Lime pie... puked that up.

AC, meh, not my jam. My dad's vice was gambling, so we hit all the hot spots at the time. AC and Vegas. Before I could gamble I'd been to Vegas 5 times... I hate the place to this day. Only was at AC one time and I was young. I just don't like areas where there is gambling. Don't like the vibe at all. Seems trashy.

Not gambling, but it's why I avoid the Wisconsin Dells. If anyone thinks blacks are bad, visit the Dells. Holy trash. Apparently humans in Wisconsin give no fucks that they look like absolute shit. There are some sneaky Wisconsin hotties, but most women, hell men, need to be in a full scuba suit to walk around in public at a water park there.

I had a snarky comment about flying Southwest but I am resisting the urge.
Maybe Cozumel.

Just ask your wife, she is the determiner anyhow.

If you wanted to do something interesting you'd go to East Palestine Ohio and just talk to the locals or Maui.

You'll just go to a tourist trap to meet other tourists. Very few people actually travel.

Do you have a Timeshare in one of those places you like to frequent? Go there.

B.A.C.A.H. says

Do you have a Timeshare in one of those places you like to frequent? Go there.

Nope. With kids we get houses and maybe a condo. Never had a timeshare presentation. We frequent everywhere. If we pick one spot it will be a purchase and vacation rental to others when we're not there. Doesn't need to be profitable, just pays the bills when we're not there.

richwicks says

Just ask your wife, she is the determiner anyhow.

Not sure where you got that. I plan all our trips myself. Hell I help plan her work trips.

I'm looking for new stuff. And FYI, EVERYWHERE is a tourist trap. Most asinine comment I've seen in a while. Good riddance. Get out of the damn house dude. Iraq!!!!!! Blarg!....

WookieMan says

Not sure where you got that. I plan all our trips myself. Hell I help plan her work trips.

Then rent a cabin on a lake in Northern NY or Vermont, or Maine, or New Hampshire.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/RX9E8X6NGis2e4Pc7

If you want to get away from civilization, there's an EXAMPLE. Shop around. Treat locals with respect, don't be the ugly American. Also, wealth is very relative, from my standpoint, people who live in the cities are extremely poor.

Maine is great if you want to get away

As a teen my parents took my brother and I throughout the western US ….multiple vacations pulling a trailer from So Cal through Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

Tried to replicate some of that last year with my wife and both of us loved it. My wife said it was basically the best time of her life. This year we’re doing it again with NP’s and other locations in Idaho, Montana, and Eastern Nevada. Glacier NP is the big stop. Getting out of work for a month is huge. Going to places with basically no real cities, and so opposite in mindset of So Cal is a massive mental health release. Really looking forward to it. Last year I’d been to most of the places we went to. This year, except for the first three nights, it’s all new to me as well.

We're taking a road trip to hillbilly country next month. Southwest Virginia mostly. Wytheville, Abingdon, Bristol. Making a beeline north to Charleston, WV, the state capitol, and then a scenic drive down to Big Stone Gap for a festival and concert. Stopping at small towns along the way like Floyd, Norton, Pearisburg on the Crooked Road Music Trail.

https://thecrookedroadva.com/

https://www.floydcountrystore.com/

richwicks says

WookieMan says

Not sure where you got that. I plan all our trips myself. Hell I help plan her work trips.

Then rent a cabin on a lake in Northern NY or Vermont, or Maine, or New Hampshire.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/RX9E8X6NGis2e4Pc7

If you want to get away from civilization, there's an EXAMPLE. Shop around. Treat locals with respect, don't be the ugly American. Also, wealth is very relative, from my standpoint, people who live in the cities are extremely poor.

I don't want to be around people from the Northeast. They're complete douche bags. I'll stick with the midwest and places in Wisconsin where people aren't ass holes. Never met a nice person from the Northeast. Ever. Hence why I haven't been in two decades. Once you get into Ohio it all turns to shit head people. The ugly American comment is hysterical. Lol. I'd be walking into their territory. I'd be the nice guy. Fuck the Northeast and the horse they rode in on.

WookieMan says

I don't want to be around people from the Northeast. They're complete douche bags. I'll stick with the midwest and places in Wisconsin where people aren't ass holes.

The reason I recommended the North East is that there are glacial lakes. The water there is clear and the bottom of the lake is often sand, not mud. They aren't artificial lakes. The point of going there isn't to meet people, it's to avoid them.

People are a mirror in my experience. Be polite and nice and grateful, they will be the same. Food is inexpensive although selection is more sparse. If you're a decent cook, it doesn't matter where you go for that. The last time I was back in the east coast, I was shocked at how cheap everything was. I ordered a pizza and chicken wings for $20 at a bar expecting it to be low caliber, lousy food. They were great, and much more food than I expected. I was only able to eat 1/2 of what I ordered, the rest I took back to the cabin.

I ran into a bartender that was the grand-daughter of my 3rd grade math teacher. Small world. This was about 40 miles from where I grew up.

I admit we can be a prickly bunch.

WookieMan says

I don't want to be around people from the Northeast. They're complete douche bags.

I live there and have never experienced this.

WookieMan says

AC, meh, not my jam. My dad's vice was gambling, so we hit all the hot spots at the time. AC and Vegas. Before I could gamble I'd been to Vegas 5 times... I hate the place to this day. Only was at AC one time and I was young. I just don't like areas where there is gambling. Don't like the vibe at all. Seems trashy

Then you won't like AC because sometimes you have to drive a couple blocks through neighborhoods that will remind you of Baltimore City, even though the touristy areas and beach are nice.

We still don't know if you are bringing the kids or not.

Perhaps you should condier a cruise.

richwicks says

The reason I recommended the North East is that there are glacial lakes. The water there is clear and the bottom of the lake is often sand, not mud. They aren't artificial lakes. The point of going there isn't to meet people, it's to avoid them.

I prefer sand lakes, but that's most of Wisconsin. Not really muddy on any lake I've been to, but maybe rocky in parts. I also like meeting people, just not Northeastern's was more my point. They don't have a filter and are not pleasant to be around. Just dealt with them in Central Florida for a week which is where most retire and vacation.

Remember I live and grew up in the rural midwest. Sure I lived in Chicago for a short bit, but we're not ass holes. I'm near the nicest personality wise part of the country hence why most newscasters are recruited from here. Unless it's a tiny broadcast out of Huntsville, AL or something, no news station hires people with the local accent. My SIL was a meteorologist for a network. Trust me, they're not hiring girls from New York or Alabama. They're generally from the midwest.

I have a big family and travel a lot. So does the wife. She has like 70 cousins and is about to visit one of the gay ones out in Palm Springs while at a conference. Trust me, no one from IL travels to the Northeast unless they're checking a box off a list of states to go to or it's work. Ohio is as far east as I'm really willing to go and Carolinas south. I'll suck it up once or twice for the kids to check their boxes of states, but hell no I wouldn't do it voluntarily. I don't care how rural it is. Ass hole central out there.

zzyzzx says

Perhaps you should condier a cruise.

Just did a cruise with them in January. Kids are old enough to handle their shit if we were to go to Atlantic City. We didn't baby ours like most Millennials did that have kids. I wasn't babied and neither was the wife. She had to basically raise her 4 sisters. Then me... lol. I was beaten a decent amount, with plenty of verbal and other abuse mixed in. Her and I vowed to do better but still be strict. Given our childhood and current situation our boys are phenomenal.

And no, I haven't mentioned bringing the kids or not. We have $1,000 roughly to spend on one person in the next year. My flight is free if I go with her. We have points for the kids. This is why I started the post. I can plan 3-4 trips with or without kids. I'm just not a gambler. So AC isn't gonna work for me. If I go to a city I prefer 200k or under population as well besides the airport situation.