Favorite travel destinations

[mstang67chic]

An online friend of mine is basically doing a "tour" of North America. Her mother passed away at home a few weeks ago from cancer. Since my friend was her mom's primary caregiver, she's taking a month off to visit friends across the country and recharge. Reading her emailed updates on where she is and who she is visiting got me thinking.

Where are your favorite places to go or someplace you went to that you absolutely loved and why? This could be from your childhood or as an adult.

For me, I think my two favorites have been New York City and Vancouver, BC.

I've been to NY twice...once when I was about 11 and once when I was 18. When I was there as a child, I was with my mom and we visited my cousin. We did the touristy stuff......Statue of Liberty (LOTS of stairs! LOL), Bronx Zoo, rode the subway...stuff like that. When I was there at 18, I was visiting my college boyfriend during Christmas break. He lived in New Jersey, went home for break and I got to go out for a week. We covered a lot that week but my favorite were the days we spent in the city. We went to Trump Plaza, saw the "famous" outdoor skating rink, the big Christmas tree and took a carriage ride around that area. We also, courtesy of his dad, went to dinner and saw a show.

The Vancouver trip was just last month and I had a ball! The town is wonderful with all sorts of things to do and see. Plus the friend that I went to see is fabulous! (Actually...that's where my traveling friend is right now and I'm jealous!!)

So what about you? What has been your favorite destinations and what did you see and do?

 

[hearts and roses]

One of our first vacations as a family was in Maine, on Long Lake, in a little 2 bedroom cabin, about 25' from the lake's edge. I will always remember that as being our most fulfilling and relaxing vacation EVER. No clocks, no phones, no radios, to alarms, no tvs, no schedule. We ate when we were hungry, slept when we were tired, woke refreshed. It was a perfect 85 degrees EVERY day and no rain. We went boating, we went sight seeing in nearby Portland and then up to the kamgamakus hwy (I know I killed that spelling!) and the rest of the time we went swimming and grilled and chilled. It was the best.

Another family vacation we took that was equally nice was in FL on the gulf. I think it was called 'Treasure Island - just on the tip of land near St. Pete's Beach. I LOVED it there and if I ever moved to FL, that's where I would want to live. We did touristy stuff a couple of days out of the week we were there - for the kids, but all of mostly enjoyed the beach at sunset and walking around the neighborhoods. We did have fun at Busch Gardens in the water park. It was a fun way to finish our week before heading home.

As a child, we mostly went camping. I remember this one camp trip in late October way the heck upstate NY someplace near the Finger Lake Region. My mom called the "Girls Trip". It was my mom, two of my sisters and one family friend - all women. I remember sleeping with our clothes, hats and gloves - yes, in a tent in sleeping bags! I remember one morning waking up with frost on us. It was so freaking cold, but we went hiking and my sisters played guitar and we all sang around the campfire and cooked fabulous camp meals. One day my sister and her friend were up on the mountain behind our site when they came barrelling down the hill, with a baby cub behind them! My mom got us all into the car and we waited for it to leave.

One year, my bought a campsite at a local state park for the entire summer. By day, she went to work and we played at home in our pool and by evening and nights, we stayed at the campground and roasted marshmallows and swam in the pond and played games and slept in a tent. We met really interesting people that summer.

And lastly, my favorite short getaways are with my sister, by myself, in WV, just doing nothing but rafting and chilling with my sister's friends.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

For me a three-way tie between Dillon, Colorado, way up by the Loveland Pass; Tortola, B.V.I.; and Feldkirch, Austria. I love the mountains and the beach about equally; and Feldkirch has European charm and history.

 

[DammitJanet]

In the USA...I would have to say my favorite places to see are the Williamsburg VA area, Washington Difficult Child, Boston, Castine Maine, NYC, the Rocky Mountains outside Denver, the Grand Canyon, NC beaches, Skyline Drive in VA.

 

[gcvmom]

Of all the places I've been to and would want to return to, I think Hawaii is still #1, followed by England and then San Francisco. I like NYC, too, and D.C./Georgetown. Our family has been to the Eastern Sierras dozens of times, so it holds lots of special memories for me as well.

 

[Star*]

I've never been many places but I would LOVE to go to Kenya, Zimbabwae, Congo - and Ireland, and the Rainforests of S. America -

If I hit the lotto I'm gone - literally and figuratively. I would see everything God made.....and colored.

 

[tiredmommy]

I absolutely love the White Mountains of NH. I lived there briefly as an adult and the area is simply breathtaking. People warned me about the winter snow, until I reminded them I was from the Great Lakes, lol!

 

[muttmeister]

My favorite place in the whole world is in the siq before you get to Petra (in Jordan) but for somebody doing the US I'd say, don't forget the Grand Canyon. Some of the places around it are kind of kitschy but that is part of the charm. And if you get to Shiloh battlefield in Tennessee, there is a Civil War museum across the border in Mississippi that is the best small museum I've ever been in any place in the world.

 

[flutterbee]

I haven't traveled much, but I absolutely loved Toronto. I'm not a city girl, but I could live there easily. What was especially striking is that while we were there the city workers were on strike and it was still by far the cleanest city I've ever been to.

Also like the Outerbanks. Off season, when it's not so crowded.

 

[amazeofgrace]

well I live in NJ, and have been to NYC, but not as much as one might think, a few broadway shows, the statue of liberty and once on Junior Cut day (many moons ago) I went with friends and just rambled about the city (boy did my parents have a fit, they thought I went to the beach with the rest of my class)

I love Lancaster PA and the Pocono Mountains in PA. And of course I love Orlando, Florida!

Where have I been:
NY
Canada (Niagra)
Georgia
Pennsylvania
Ohio (Cedar Point)
Maryland (Baltimore)
Virginia (Difficult Child)
Delaware
Connecticut (Mystic Seaport)
Missouri (St. Louis)
Florida (all over)
The Carolinas
Kansas (Wichita area)
Hawaii
Bahamas

I would love to go to Vermont and over seas to Israel, Australia, Ireland, England, Germany & whales, maybe some day!

 

[DammitJanet]

Oh I forgot the White Mountains in NH! I literally drove from down here in NC all the way up there in one day to meet a friend I met online. She lived less than an hour from the Canadian border. It was in November and I had a blast because it snowed that weekend. I saw moose and snow all at once! Long drive up and back but it was wonderful.

 

[DDD]

I love Florida because it is so different from one part of the peninsula to the other. Washington is a favorite. NYC is wonderful if I have big bucks to travel lst class. I loved Boston but haven't been there in an age. As a college girl, by the way, I flew to Boston and my boyfriend drove me to the White Mnts. where I saws my first snow. It was beautiful! I've never been west. DDD

 

[Lothlorien]

I don't live far from Philadelphia and I love Philly. There is so much to do there. I find that in certain areas of Philly it is so clean (unlike many parts of Manhattan) and it is pleasant to walk around. Personally, I prefer Philadelphia over Manhattan any day.

 

[KTMom91]

San Francisco...number one...no question. I love it.

I am fascinated with St. Augustine, FL. #2 graduated from college in Tampa several years ago, and rather than do the Disney thing in Orlando, we went to St. Augustine. It was founded in 1565, the oldest in the country. Beautiful buildings, the lighthouse was beyond awesome, and I need to go back and see the rest of it. Hurricane Alberto rained on my parade, and we literally waded back to the car in knee deep water.

 

[totoro]

Little Dix Bay, BVI... Lake Louise/Banff, BC

Here in the US... I haven't explored much here. Seattle, Glacier, Jackson Wyoming.

So many places I want to explore!

 

[Marguerite]

husband & I are nature lovers. Alwayshave been.

My eldest sister travelled to Canada & the US in the early Sixties (got married there) and I gave her a list of places I wanted her to go to, just for me.

First on my list (after Disneyland, of course!) was the Californian redwood forests. It's still high on my list, too. My sister & her husband loved it, they bought a table made form a tree root, it is my sister's pride and joy, still.
Also on my list - the petrified forest (she never got there). Grand Canyon of course. The Rockies. Just about anywhere with mountains and forests. Death Valley. The Louisiana bayoux. Niagara Falls, the Great Lakes, Hoover Dam, Yosemite, Yellowstone (as the competitor with our own backyard for the oldest national park in the world). Many other places.

Places we've been which I love and would recommend - sorry, never been to the US. And there are many places in Australia I still want to visit. But places for you to check out - Sydney, of course. Do the full tourist bit over the Opera House, the Rocks, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the islands in the harbour (ferry ride as tour is a great way to pack this in to a tight itinerary) and some of our best restaurants in Sydney too - Doyle's on the Strand (seafood restaurant on the beach, literally) and Summit (revolving restaurant at the top of that cylindrical building we call Australia Square - I'm not kidding).

Then get out of Sydney, there is much more to see. The tropical north of the country - everything warms up and gets lush from Coffs Harbour and onwards. Coffs is lovely, I lived there for a while. A relaxed country town, but big enough to be a productive city as well.
Brisbane - a cross between Coffs and Sydney. A city for sure, but relaxed and sun-loving. Just south of Brisbane is the Gold Coast - a really fun place, lots of beaches, plenty of seafood and tropical fruit & veg. Lots of night life if you want it, but handy for the mountains inland (remember though, 'mountains' in Australia are flat and not very high).
North of Brisbane is the Sunshine Coast - a bit more sparsely populated but always plenty to do. Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo is up that way, well worth a visit - it's a Rolls Royce of zoos, I love it. Some of Australia's most popular tropical holiday destinations are on the Sunshine Coast.

Further north is increasingly country, with a marine feel. The Great Barrier Reef really begins as a holiday destination with the Whitsunday Islands. Beautiful, a bit 'touristy' but I remember the fabulous prawn burgers we used to eat for lunch there. They were large, packed with salad and tiger prawns, each one almost lobster-sized.
Further north - Dunk Island, Cairns and many other wonderful tropical names spring to mind. It's getting into the realm of tropical cyclones though - you would need to double-check your best times to visit.

Inland - the Rock. Uluru. Never been there but I want to go one day. I also want to see the Todd River Regatta - it's in Alice Springs. The regatta has to be called off it it rains, they can't do it if there is water in the (usually dry) river bed.
Kakadu - where wild budgies live in flocks so large they darken the sky when they fly overhead.
Western Australia - Broome, where the best pearls come from.

So much I'd like to see...

But other places - New Zealand. We loved it. There, we saw mountains, snow, glaciers (there are none in Australia, only in Aussie territories on Antarctica). The volcanoes - also fabulous. Again, no active volcanoes in Australia (only in Antarctica). There is something about soaking outdoors in a hot spring, in the middle of an icy winter within view of a row of active volcanoes, snow-capped. Or visiting the only ski field in the world, on the slopes of an active volcano. But New Zealanders aren't complacent about safety, they are really careful, but unobtrusively so. Sitting on the veranda outside our room on the lake, and watching the STEAM rise from the edge, a short walk away.

So much to see.

Marg

 

[trinityroyal]

The Caribbean is also beautiful.

If you like quiet, with lots of lush scenery and not much of a tourist scene, then try Bequia (pronounced Beh-Kway). It's a tiny little island in the Grenadines, and it's beautiful (and my Auntie owns a hotel there...shameless plug)

For a more tourist-y area, Freeport or Nassau Bahamas.
Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados where the beaches are like icing sugar with very fine white sand that doesn't scratch at all.

Bermuda (technically not the Caribbean) is wonderful too.

Other than that, England, Florida, and my home town of Toronto are favourites.

 

[witzend]

The Columbia River Gorge, paying particular attention to the smaller waterfalls.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=columbia+river+gorge&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

Multnomah falls is beautiful, beyond a doubt, but it has become a tourist attraction. I love Shepherds Dell (don't blink, you'll miss it!) and Latourelle and especially Wakeena.

 

[Abbey]

Not near, but I LOVE the Camon Islands. (sp?) What a slow pace of life and a beatiful place to be.

Abbey

 

[1 Day At a Time]

husband and I are travel junkies... Unfortunately we are limited by money and time... drat!

My absolute favorite trip was a train trip through the Copper Canyon in Mexico. We started at Chiuauaha (near the Texas border) and ended up in Los Moches (on the Pacific coast). The Copper Canyon is an extension of the Grand Canyon. We spent several days in a resort that was converted from an old -say 1600's- mission high in the mountains. No phones, no cars. husband had a birthday while we were there and the entire village turned out to celebrate in style. Simply unforgettable!

We also took a "jungle train" through Costa Rica from San Jose to Port de Limon on the Carribean coast. At the time that area was completely undeveloped and absolutely pristine - can't say for now though... husband talked me into a "canopy tour" zipping along a line at the tops of the trees in a rain forest. It was absolutely terrifying, but at least I can say that I did it!

Locally we love to take a quick trip to Cumberland Island, an undeveloped barrier island off the coast of Georgia. You must take a ferry to get there and you have to back pack in several miles to reach a campground. It has lovely weathered live oaks, open beach and wild horses. It does wonders for the soul! Come to think of it, I'd like to go today